In 26 years of ordering the worship life of a church, I don't remember one time that people came up to me and said, "I am really looking forward to our Christ the King worship!" There were many years that people commented on how much they love Thanksgiving and how much they look forward to Thanksgiving. In recent years, people have lamented how Thanksgiving gets completely squeezed out in the rush to shop (which has never been more evident that this year...)
When the calendar falls like it does this year -- with the first Sunday of Advent just 3 days after Thanksgiving, pastors face a dilemma when planning the focus of the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Liturgically, it is Christ the King Sunday. Traditionally, it is Thanksgiving. The two Sundays are not opposites -- one good and one bad. But they are not the same in focus.
I believe one of the greatest gifts of the church is the church year. Because of our observance of the CHRISTIAN year - which is centered around CHRIST-we have a chance every year to walk through the life of Christ and the Scriptures. The Christian year keeps us grounded in Christ. Because of the observance of the Christian year, I hope that people are already anticipating that our Christian Happy New Year begins this coming Sunday - not with the partying and resolutions of the calendar year/January 1 new year -but with the joyful reminder that Jesus is coming again to claim this world in victory. What a great way to begin a year!
And the great addition to the thrilling, reassuring beginning of the Christian year is the triumphant, praise-filled close of the Christian year: Christ the King Sunday. After months and months and months of "Ordinary Time" - the longest of all the seasons of the church year-Ordinary Time comes to a dramatic close with a glorious celebration called Christ the King Sunday. Of course, some churches didn't observe it...because this year-as many years-because of the way the calendar falls, ministers have to choose between a worship emphasis on Thanksgiving (which people are often expecting) and Christ the King (which people are rarely anticipating). I hate it when the calendar forces a choice. As with life's hardest choices, this is a choice between two good things. How important it is to lift up the thankful heart! But, if I have to rank one over the other, I would have to say that lifting up Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is more than anything.
So I say hooray for all pastors who shaped last Sunday as a Christ the King service in our churches. I am guessing they didn't get much other thanks. They run the risk of grumbling from the congregation about why there wasn't a thanksgiving emphasis. These last few days of ordinary time are the right time to remember Christ the King -- in worship and each day.
We spend most of the time in our lives, just like in the Christian year, in ordinary time. And day after day, week after week, ordinary time in our family life, on the job, in friendships we value and in the church doesn't seem like it is sensational or dramatic. (If, of course, you have teenagers in your home, that's an exception. There's plenty of daily drama during some seasons of life. J) But, for the most part, we spend our life in ordinary time - learning, living the Gospel, practicing love in small, daily ways. Christ the King - the end of ordinary time-defines what gives substance and hope to all our ordinary time. Christ the King says that all our ordinary times are shaped around the safe, secure and ultimate ground of our hope: the victorious Jesus-Lord of life. So you can see why I hope Christ the King doesn't slide away into enhanced gratitude. Christ the King is like the triumphal spike of the winning touchdown for the game of games ---and the jubilant coach on the sideline who is wanting to say to his players: "Now, see, THIS is why we have practiced so hard every day....." There's a victory coming. And, for those of us who are in Christ, it is a certain victory.
So, no matter what Sunday's worship included, in these last days of Ordinary Time (which last until Saturday night at midnight), I hope Christians will cherish our great hope in Christ-King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Name above ALL Names. My prayer is that the daily routine of life does not dull us to the great adventure of living in love with a magnificent Savior. I long for the glorious victory of Christ to burn bright in our hearts. " Lift up your hearts!" is more than an introduction to the communion prayer of Great Thanksgiving. Life has a lot of ordinary time - but it is all in light of the great victory of Christ. Now, THAT's the foundation for a rich and powerful Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Why we do what we do....
As much as possible, I have tried to cut down on the paperwork that is involved in organizing churches. I remember how much paperwork is involved in being a pastor and I do my best to minimize that for the clergy I serve. But, after learning that many of my churches were not up-to date on their Safe Sanctuary practices, I added a form. I required an annual Safe Sanctuary form from every church every year.
The horrifying and heartbreaking headlines from Penn State this week is the answer to the question that I heard from plenty of lay persons: “Why do we have to do this?” We all know that sexual abuse of children is not confined to one university hundreds of miles from North Carolina. We have grieved over the stories of sexual abuse of children in Roman Catholic churches. And we recognize that a common thread in too many of the stories of the sexual abuse of children has to do with adults who cover up the abuse—which then leads to more children being abused.
I will do everything in my power to be clear: every United Methodist Church is expected to have and abide by Safe Sanctuary practices. Yes, there are going to be ways that it is inconvenient to have two adults at all times with children. Yes, some churches have had to modify their doors to provide for windows. Yes, some churches resist doing background checks with people who work with their children. Yes, it involves extra thought and preparation and supervision. Yes, it is a nuisance to have annual training for people who work with children and youth. Yes, people complain. But the protection of children in United Methodist facilities is a baseline that we are not going to alter. Complain if you want to. But everyone must comply.
Safe Sanctuary is our organized (METHODist) way of taking a proactive stand in a world awash with sexual deviance. Safe Sanctuary is our way of saying that we are going to put a priority on our children and young people. And if that means an inconvenience to adults, so be it. That's a small sacrifice compared to the horror of a child being harmed in our care. The safety of our children is worth it. If there is a sexual predator among us, we will have done everything we can to find that out before a child in our care is molested. Safe Sanctuary practices mean that we will not allow the setting where someone could take advantage of a child. We recognize the special place that children have in God’s heart and we are going to go all out to be sure that the children in our care are safe. We should take the clear teaching of Jesus to heart— re-visit Matthew 18: 1-9. . When United Methodist pastors are ordained, they are asked a series of historic questions from John Wesley (found in the Discipline, paragraph 336). Of all the things that are involved in church ministry, the one age group that is singled out is children: “Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?”. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about young adults, older adults, middle adults. The focus on children is a reflection of the clear priority and responsibility Jesus taught.
Every United Methodist pastor under appointment has been required to attend a day-long sexual ethics training. No exceptions. That’s how important it is to us to be sure that we are not caught unawares about the issues of sexual impropriety, the consequences of failure to supervise and the importance that we not be naïve about this. Sexual predators are often people who have won the trust of others. You can’t discern a sexual predator by looks or title or job. That’s why Safe Sanctuary is so important. Safe Sanctuary practices make sure that no one would ever have the opportunity to take advantage of a young person in our care. That’s the ultimate--and only true-- protection for our children.
My churches have turned their Safe Sanctuaries forms in. I want more: I pray that all churches will carry out Safe Sanctuary practices with a sense of purpose and joy. And when we read news stories about the terrible things that happen elsewhere, we can take watchful joy in knowing that, in the United Methodist Church, Safe Sanctuary practices keep our children safe. That’s a witness we dare not neglect.
The horrifying and heartbreaking headlines from Penn State this week is the answer to the question that I heard from plenty of lay persons: “Why do we have to do this?” We all know that sexual abuse of children is not confined to one university hundreds of miles from North Carolina. We have grieved over the stories of sexual abuse of children in Roman Catholic churches. And we recognize that a common thread in too many of the stories of the sexual abuse of children has to do with adults who cover up the abuse—which then leads to more children being abused.
I will do everything in my power to be clear: every United Methodist Church is expected to have and abide by Safe Sanctuary practices. Yes, there are going to be ways that it is inconvenient to have two adults at all times with children. Yes, some churches have had to modify their doors to provide for windows. Yes, some churches resist doing background checks with people who work with their children. Yes, it involves extra thought and preparation and supervision. Yes, it is a nuisance to have annual training for people who work with children and youth. Yes, people complain. But the protection of children in United Methodist facilities is a baseline that we are not going to alter. Complain if you want to. But everyone must comply.
Safe Sanctuary is our organized (METHODist) way of taking a proactive stand in a world awash with sexual deviance. Safe Sanctuary is our way of saying that we are going to put a priority on our children and young people. And if that means an inconvenience to adults, so be it. That's a small sacrifice compared to the horror of a child being harmed in our care. The safety of our children is worth it. If there is a sexual predator among us, we will have done everything we can to find that out before a child in our care is molested. Safe Sanctuary practices mean that we will not allow the setting where someone could take advantage of a child. We recognize the special place that children have in God’s heart and we are going to go all out to be sure that the children in our care are safe. We should take the clear teaching of Jesus to heart— re-visit Matthew 18: 1-9. . When United Methodist pastors are ordained, they are asked a series of historic questions from John Wesley (found in the Discipline, paragraph 336). Of all the things that are involved in church ministry, the one age group that is singled out is children: “Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?”. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about young adults, older adults, middle adults. The focus on children is a reflection of the clear priority and responsibility Jesus taught.
Every United Methodist pastor under appointment has been required to attend a day-long sexual ethics training. No exceptions. That’s how important it is to us to be sure that we are not caught unawares about the issues of sexual impropriety, the consequences of failure to supervise and the importance that we not be naïve about this. Sexual predators are often people who have won the trust of others. You can’t discern a sexual predator by looks or title or job. That’s why Safe Sanctuary is so important. Safe Sanctuary practices make sure that no one would ever have the opportunity to take advantage of a young person in our care. That’s the ultimate--and only true-- protection for our children.
My churches have turned their Safe Sanctuaries forms in. I want more: I pray that all churches will carry out Safe Sanctuary practices with a sense of purpose and joy. And when we read news stories about the terrible things that happen elsewhere, we can take watchful joy in knowing that, in the United Methodist Church, Safe Sanctuary practices keep our children safe. That’s a witness we dare not neglect.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Essential life lesson, my little one
I do have the cutest grandchildren...if I do say so myself. :) And we have the BEST time together. I wouldn't trade anything for the time we share.
Yesterday, we were heading for a tradition of lunch together at McDonalds. My daughter is the best mother these children could have and she had put Chap-stick on Connor's badly chapped lips before we headed outside. His lips are tender and, he felt he was grievously injured by her ministrations. "She hurt me," he appealed to me. "It really hurt."
I know better than to try to get into the middle of a situation like that. Yes, I love my boys and will defend them vigorously.
And yes, his chapped lips may have hurt...but, bless his heart, his mommy hadn't hurt him. When we got to the bottom of the outside steps, he was still crying. So I stopped us and said, "Ok, we have to make a decision. Are you able to stop crying and get over this? I don't take crying children out to eat." "But," he said so earnestly, "she hurt me." Beloved child, you are breaking my heart! "That may be," I replied, "but, Connor, even if something hurts you, it is important to learn to get over it and move on. Do you want to go to McDonalds?" He did. He stopped crying, we got in the car and had a wonderful time together.
As I thought about it, I realized how important this life lesson is: learn to get over it. The teaching of Jesus is full of guidance about forgiving and moving on. And the Epistles to the early church are slammed full of admonitions to be kind, be loving, be forgiving, move forward, don't carry grudges, treat each other with gentleness. Life is just too precious for us to be bogged down with the hurts that have happened to us.
I know what it means to be hurt by others. I could go back through the last 30 years of ministry and have volumes to write about the way people have disappointed me, hurt me and unfairly treated me. I know what it is like to be let down in deep ways. If I held on to all that hurt, I would be a miserable, bitter person. Not letting go of hurt doubly hurts and cripples the person who has a grievance....except that not letting go is a decision that we make -- not something that is done to us by someone else.
This superintendency ministry involves hearing a lot about people's hurt feelings. I get so many complaints about people who have been hurt from something the pastor said, something the pastor did, something the pastor didn't do. Many of these complaints are YEARS old. And, while I care deeply about guiding pastors, catching mistakes and developing the most effective ministries possible, I also want to say to followers of Christ: Haven't you walked with God's word long enough to apply Christian love and move on? Do you have to lash out in attacks, spread your hurt feelings to anyone who will listen and stir up discord in your congregation? There's a mission to be done for Christ. Whatever happened, can't you love the church more than your hurt feelings, let God heal your hurt and show by your forgiveness and love that you are walking close to Jesus? Isn't the witness for your church more important than whatever has disappointed you? How can you move forward and help the church move forward?
I am so glad Connor decided to stop crying and go with me for a fun time together. How I hope that, as he grows, he will continue to be able to make that kind of good decision when he is hurt: get over it and move on. And how I pray that church people could learn to apply the gospel, get over their hurts in forgiveness and kindness and move forward in Christian love. Harboring hurts can't help anyone. There is a better way. My little grandson figured that out yesterday. A good time was more important -- and God has a great future for all who will move toward it.
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