On to Perfection

I just came back from two Bioethics courses at Asbury. One was Sickness and Disability and the other was Death and Dying. We covered some pretty heady topics as far as the meaning of life, the value of life, what constitutes life, who decides and on what basis when to "pull the plug", etc. We also talked about how within each of our cultures we value some things above others and this in turn informs what we might label as sick or disabled or even life. One thing we had to read amongst a whole lot of reading, was a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne called "The Birthmark". It is the story of a scientist married to what Hawthorne describes as an incredibly beautiful woman whom he loves dearly. However on her face she has a birthmark, that although he still sees as a part of who his wife is he longs to remove so that her perfect face might be completely flawless. I won't tell you the end of the story. You can actually find it on line if you look. Anyway I tell you all this to say that it got me to thinking about the human condition in conjunction with the perfecting and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.

A leap? Maybe. What strikes me is this...our culture seems to be awfully caught up in perfection. Perfect hair, skin, body, so much so that we will pay thousands of dollars on surgeries to "enhance" or "perfect" what we perceive as flaws. What I started wondering was, where does this desire for perfection come from? Why do we try so hard to acheive it? What I know is that God created us with many desires and drives that He intends for specific purposes and because of the fall and the sin in this world many of our God given drives and desires have been misdirected. I believe that God created us with a desire for spiritual perfection that can only be found in relationship with Him and as a coworker with the Holy Spirit. Instead we have taken this God given desire for spiritual perfection and misdirected it to physical or temporal perfection. Once we make Jesus Christ the leader of our lives the gift of his Spirit in us becomes the perfector of our souls.
I am not against taking care of the bodies God gave us, don't get me wrong. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and wherever we walk is hallowed ground!

Matthew 5:48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus says this and what the original Greek points to as far as this perfection is one of completion and we can only be made complete when we are joined once again in relationship with our Creator through the saving blood of Christ.

On to perfection...

God's Economy

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. So many people are out of work. So many people are hurting and trying to figure out what to do next. A lot of people suddenly have a lot of time on their hands so why don't we see more people out serving? Serving in our soup kitchens and churches?
This is what I know. God is the GREAT economist. Whenever and whatever we give in His name He multiplies and we get so much more in return. I keep waiting for people to wake up and look around and realize that there is something they can do, there are people that need help, that we all truly do need one another. God created us for relationship, with Him and with others. When we hunker down and hide and never cease from licking our wounds we all lose, none of us benefits, I don't even know what is going on in your life so that I can pray with you, comfort you, offer you a helping hand. So many of us are just waiting, hoping, for things to change, for things to get better.
I was thinking about this today and it brought to mind some in the early church. They were so ready for his second coming that they quit working or doing much of anything and were just waiting. Check out 2Thessalonians 3:6-7. This is a warning againsst idleness and a call to live lives after the example of Christ.
What do you think?

Have you had that baby yet?

The longest gestation in history. That is what this journey feels like. Just for the record, a Masters of Divinity is a 3-4 year program depending on how many hours you take a semester. At Asbury we are required to take 96 credit hours. I hear we have the highest requirement out there. Most Masters Degrees are what? 60 hours or something like that? Anyway I am in year three and since last year people have asked me, "Are you done yet?" "When are you going to finish?" It has soooo reminded me of being pregnant with my two girls. Inevitably I would be about 7+ months and starting to look very fat and uncomfortable and someone would ask me, "When are you due?" "Haven't you had that baby yet?" AAAHHHH! This kind of feels like that. I really want to have the baby. Believe me you will know when I have the baby! But the baby is not yet done!



Just like any expectant mother I get worn out and just want this baby out of me already :) especially about mid semester. I get nutty! Guess what it is midsemester and I see all of the papers and exams and deadlines looming and the contractions are terrible! They don't give epidurals for this stuff, not that I had them with either birth. Hey!!!! Maybe that was preparation for these birth pains! I know it will all be worth it when I see that beautiful baby next December, a labor of love in obedience to my God who called me by name!

Start looking for your birth announcements this summer!

A Change of Perspective

As I said in my last post we started a new sermon series Sunday and I had the privilige of preaching. If you are interested in hearing the sermon I preached you can hear it by following this link and clicking on "Show details" under the "Enough" artwork. The title of my sermon is "A Change of Perspective"

Please feel free to comment here on what God might be saying to you in this message.
I received some positive feedback and am curious as to how it speaks to you.

Peace!

http://www.snellvilleumc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=45125

Enough already!

We are starting a new sermon series this Sunday based on a book written by a United Methodist pastor called "Enough". Long story short it is about the economic crisis we find ourselves in, how we got here, what the Bible has to say about it, and how we are called to live differently.

In pondering these things I have thought about just how our convenience programmed, consumption oriented minds, have gotten us where we are. The industrial revolution ushered in a new age and certainly had some positive effects, but the more I look at technology and convenience the more I question our connection to anything of value.

Consider just a few points:
Because food is so easy to get, readily available, heat it up from its prepackaged container are we overconsuming? Is this part of the reason we are the fattest country in the world? Think about it. If we grow our own food, clean or kill our own food, prepare our own food, don't we relish it all the more? Do we eat as much? waste as much?

If we make our own clothes are we so quick to throw them out if there is a stubborn stain? When it is not easy or convenient to buy another shirt to we just make it work? Now we toss it right away, go out and buy another, and another, and another. If we make it with our hands doesn't it hold more value?

The average person has so much stuff they don't even know what they have.

We are majorly connected but don't really communicate.

I don't know. These are just some things that I have been thinking about that I believe are part of the more basic reasons we are where we are, before the nose dive of the stock market or subprime mortgages, before the freeze of credit and sky rocketing unemployment.

I pray that we will all take the time to really learn something from this and live differently as a result.

Reframing Your Ministry

That is the title of a book I am reading for one of my classes this semester. I have to say the things this book has to say is resonating big time with me. I have seen a glimpse of the future and how things could go horribly wrong if I am not very intentional about some things. Ok, well I already knew that about some things like knowing my weak places, boundary issues, and where I get my energy, but this has emphasized some things I am only coming to realize. What I know is this; now is the time to not only know what those weak places are and where boundaries need to be set up, but the habits that need to be formed in regards to my home and family, to my personal care, and to my relationship with God. Well, of course, you say, of course your relationship to God, you are studying to be a pastor. Thing is, often in seminary we students get so consumed by the work of the books about God, theology, ethics, missions, spiritual formation, the Bible, etc. that our personal devotional, prayer, and reflection time falls to the wayside. I experienced this my first year in seminary and it absolutely broke my heart. Finding my way back to school, a graduate student, wife, mother of two, chef, and church leader, I had to learn to navigate the waters. I got to the point where I was literally mourning for my God and His word. I wanted to just sit and read the Word and pray and talk to God. Crazy, huh?

Thankfully since then I have fought to make sure this does not happen again. We cannot give what we have not received. We must be able to share from the overflow. This is not possible if we are so spent that we have nothing to give! I am learning. I am certain there is so much more to learn, but like so much of life, it may have to be learned on "the job". I am so grateful for the many opportunites, (both practically and in the classroom) I am being given to grow into the call God has placed on my life. I pray always, that as just one of the parts of the body of Christ, I will live into my purpose alongside those with whom I am blessed to walk!

3 Highlighters, hundreds of pages, and a sermon

It has been more than a week since my last post. I have taken a flying leap into the Fall semester and am trying to get my "groove". I am taking the heaviest course load yet and working to maintain some balance but have yet to get there. I have read hundreds of pages and burned through 3 highlighters already and the semester is just one week old. I had the privilige of preaching again this past Sunday so the sermon prep took some time as well.
It is hard to believe this time next year I will be in the midst of my last semester but time keeps ticking by and the credits keep adding up! I covet your prayers now more than ever as I continue to seek God's guidance and strength in this journey. I don't have any deep theological thoughts this time, I am all thought out for the moment!
Peace!