By this everyone will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.
- John 13:35

I have appreciated the thoughtful emails, phone calls and conversations with many of you regarding the topics addressed in our current sermon series, "Faith and Politics." One of the ways I brag about you as a congregation is that you are a group of people who love to learn, are interested in ideas, and know how to listen to others’ opinions, and to continue in relationship with one another in spite of deep disagreements over various issues of theology and politics.

It takes energy, patience and perseverance to listen with the intention of really understanding the other’s point of view. We are often tempted to interrupt someone whose point of view seems outrageous to us. Other times we are tempted to simply wait silently until we can defend our own positions. Sometimes it is comforting and reassuring just to hang out with others who largely reinforce our existing opinions. But if that is all we ever do, we really do ourselves a big disservice. When we converse with others who believe and think differently, we are often able to see the flaws and limitations in our own arguments. We become aware of the complexities, subtleties and nuances that are often required in our endeavors.

This is not to say that we should adopt the goal of changing others or that we will change our basic position. However, when we converse respectfully with those whose ideas diff er from our own, we do better thinking! When Christians have conversations like this in a spirit of generosity, we are practicing the best of agape love and making a positive witness for Christ.

A few members have told me that they are refraining from public worship during part or all of the series. In all cases, people have affirmed their regard for me and for the congregation. I’m guessing
that there are others who are doing the same who haven’t talked to me about it. Some people have wanted to avoid particular subjects. Others believe that "Faith and Politics" should never be in the same sentence and that it is a deep violation of the concept of "separation of church
and state." One person said that church should be about spiritual things and not political things.

I encouraged people in this latter category to listen to the introductory sermon about how we are defining the terms "faith" and "politics." We are using a Harold Laswell definition that says politics is the process of deciding who gets what, when and how. Thus politics is
about power and justice which are very much concerns of the scriptures and woven through Jesus’ teaching. For example, we might disagree about how to implement care for the poor, but caring for the poor is at heart a political process which, for Christians, is informed by our faith as disciples of Jesus.

In the sermon on "The Definition of Marriage," I described several theological perspectives that Christians have in response to Proposition 8. One perspective included a high value for the separation of church and state. But I didn’t go into detail about where we derived the
concept. That question was raised in the panel discussion on the following Wednesday evening. Two panelists, one on each side of the issue, affirmed agreement on this topic and reminded us that the U.S. Constitution never uses the phrase. Rather, the first amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…"

The phrase in question is generally traced to an 1802 letter from Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist leader in Danbury, Connecticut in which Jefferson said that the first amendment created a wall of separation between church and state. Of course, many citizens were coming from countries in which there was a state-sponsored religion and in which they had experienced exclusion and persecution just for being part of a diff erent denomination (same religion) from the one sponsored by the state. The amendment was meant to protect the people from the state, not the state from the people! Yet we do need caution to ensure that as we infuse our political decisions with the values of our faith perspective that we are not infringing on others’ constitutional rights.

We have some complex matters before us and I have very much appreciated the opportunity to discuss them with my brothers and sisters in Christ from the perspective of our shared values. I have appreciated the opportunity to bring these matters before God as a community and to ask for wisdom as we discern together how best to respond. Once again, I have been impressed with you and the ways we
are modeling our faith for the larger community. Keep praying!

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful… so that everyone who belongs to God may be profi cient, equipped for every good work.
– 2 Tim. 3:16-17

Years ago, at the end of a Disciple Bible Study class, one of the students sent me this:

The Bible in 50 Words

God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split. Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, bush talked, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, people walked, sea divided, tablets guided, Promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, poets warned, Jesus born, God walked, love talked, anger crucified, Hope died, Love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained.

She concluded with this pithy reflection: "And to think that this Disciple Class took 34 weeks!"

If you weren’t able to follow the catchy little poem, then you should seriously consider signing up for Disciple Bible Study I this fall. (See pages 10-11 for details). It is a huge commitment and takes planning and perseverance. While I’ve heard people complain along the way over the 15 years I’ve been facilitating Disciple classes, I’ve never had a student finish the class and say that it wasn’t worth it.

At the General Conference of the United Methodist Church this past spring, the Council of Bishops issued a Call to Action to guide us as we move forward in our missions as United Methodists. It has four parts which I’ll be addressing in future columns. But the first one says "Live the United Methodist Way." The Bishops want to encourage congregations to have effective systems of reaching, forming, equipping and sending disciples of Jesus Christ in the world. Living the United
Methodist Way means that we form disciples who practice both personal holiness and social holiness.

One of the ways we nurture our personal holiness is through Bible Study and reflections. I notice that many people in our church feel a little nervous about reading the Bible. It feels overwhelming,
intimidating and hard to understand. That’s why it’s especially helpful to join a Disciple Bible Study class where you get support and encouragement.

It’s helpful to learn the difference between reading the Bible literally as inerrant and infallible versus the United Methodist Way. We believe the Bible is the primary source of authority (in tension with tradition, reason and experience) for our theology. We believe that it is inspired
by God yet we also read it critically acknowledging the historical and cultural context through which God’s voice is heard.

Rather than believing that the scripture has one fixed meaning across culture and time, we believe that God continues to speak to us as we engage in the text. We hear God speaking to us as we reflect and meditate and study. So, we believe the Bible is God’s holy word for us today. We find meaning for our individual journeys and community ministry together.

When we are nourished by reading the Bible, we are equipped to be sent forth to demonstrate God’s love and justice in the world in practical ways. John Wesley said that there is no personal holiness without social holiness. The life of discipleship leads us to act in the
world. We hold the two in tension.

In mid-August, our worship themes will turn to social holiness. (See page 4) for the schedule. We will consider how scripture, tradition, reason and experience inform our decisions as prepare for the
November election. We’ll consider Christians responses to two ballot measures involving Gay Marriage and Farm Animal Ethics. We’ll also reflect on immigration issues with an emphasis on Mexico and Central America.

Each of those sermons will be followed by a Wednesday night panel discussion in the Fellowship Hall in which we can hear more about the topics from various experts and also have a chance to discuss our views and ask questions.

I hope you take these opportunities — Bible Study, Worship and Community Discussion — to grow as a disciple in the United Methodist Way.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

Yet, O Lord, we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
–Isaiah 64:8

The Bible uses the metaphor of potter and clay to describe God’s relationship to us. It imagines God as a divine artist shaping us and the world according to God’s purposes. When it comes to fine art, I would describe myself as a paint-by-numbers sort of person. If you presented me with a blank canvas, a brush, a pallet full of colors, and a command to paint, I would be paralyzed by possibilities and nearly unable to make the first brush stroke.

I was thinking about my tendency toward the paint-by-numbers during our Annual Conference in Sacramento last week. The theme of our conference was the fourth part of our Conference Mission Statement – "Extending Christ’s Invitation for a Joyous Life." This theme was played out, or I should say painted, sculpted, danced and woven out through the lens of art. Bishop Beverly Shamana, an accomplished artist, is retiring in August. We celebrated her "artful presence" among us as a gesture of gratitude and farewell.

We enjoyed several artists-in-residence who contributed richly in describing the joyous life of following Christ. Yet I also was aware of how limited I feel in contributing my own artistic expressions. I come by my paint-by-numbers orientation honestly, I suppose. Where I come from (most of you are familiar with Boron, the small mining town in eastern Kern County), it was not uncommon for me as a child, when visiting friends, to see a paint-by-number which had been carefully completed, framed and hung in a place of honor in the living space. The painting might feature colorful Flamenco dancers or maybe even Elvis on black velvet. There was no shame in it! I was 18 years old before I heard paint-by-numbers referred to with derision.

Fortunately, one of my college roommates was an art history major. She exposed me to the conversation between artists over the course of human history as they used color, texture, and images to convey the truth about human experience and the world(s) around us. My friend helped me build a vocabulary to better appreciate the dialog between generations and among schools of artists.

Last month, Steve and I were visiting an art gallery in San Francisco. The curator stood beside me as I studied a surreal painting by Joan Miro. He asked what I saw. Then he suggested that I shift my focus and assumptions and asked me again what I saw in the painting. He said that surrealists challenge our assumptions about how we see the world and our ability to observe with objectivity.

The curator explained that even though surreal paintings seem chaotically composed, they can be expressed in precise mathematical formulas. Mathematicians studied surrealist paintings and using geometric grids, translated paintings into mathematical algorithms. Their work was the basis for the pixels in our modern day computer monitors and laid the foundation for modern film animation. As I stood gazing at the Miro painting, I felt I had come full circle. perhaps there is something to paint-by-numbers after all!

While I have a deep appreciation for abstract art of various kinds, I find comfort in order and tradition. I admire those who are more "avant-garde" and prone to the wild fling of the brush. Yet I like to remind those who are boldly adventurous that their work has deeper meaning when in relationship with people like me who stay inside the lines.

Such is life in community as disciples. We strive to have the mind of Christ and yet what a striking variation we see as our gifts are expressed. It is easy to become judgmental of how others approach the life of discipleship when it doesn’t look like our own. Those who color outside the lines by protesting the injustice of the status quo can leave those of us who adhere to it feeling disoriented. We orderly folks can seem to others as though we are squelching the life of the Holy Spirit right out of the community. Thus it is important for us to listen and observe with open minds and hearts what others have to contribute to the conversation as we generously offer our own gifts.

As we approach our "Faith & Politics" summer sermon series, I am beginning to hear from several of you as you struggle with the various issues we plan to address. Th ese issues stir our passions as they touch upon longheld assumptions, our principles, and our vocations. I am praying for all of us that we will be open to God&rsqou;s nudging and to one another as we ponder how best to live faithfully as Jesus’ disciples.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

…let us also lay aside every weight and
the sin that clings so closely, and let us run
with perseverancethe race that is set before us
-Heb. 12:1

Certain ages are natural milestones at which we pause for refl ection and assessment. Th e half-century mark for many of us is a particularly poignant one. As I approach turning 50 later this month, my overall mood might be best described as queasiness. Before you start ridiculing and teasing, let me just acknowledge that “feeling queasy” is not a logical reaction to this particular birthday. But I have learned over time to pay attention to these sorts of illogical reactions to events in life as they generally prove to be good fodder for spiritual and emotional insight and growth.

Some of my queasiness is actually grief as though I’m grieving the loss of my youth, the loss of certain dreams that are now more likely never to be realized, and the loss of some physical vitality since I cannot see, hear and move as easily as I once did. Some part of my queasiness is connected to regret about things done or undone, relationship hurts not quite resolved or healed, opportunities missed. No small part of my queasiness is connected to that deepening realization of how quickly time is passing and feeling overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to invest my time and energy in the right way… whatever that might be.

These observations have been good topics for prayer as I invite God to participate with me in this assessment and to continue to do a work in me. They have provided me with new opportunities to explore the depths of God’s forgiveness, grace, healing, and the ways God calls us to be alive in the world and engaged in God’s purposes. One surprising thing that has come out of all this reflection and assessment is a deep longing for more adventure in my life. I have such a deep sense of duty that I sometimes fi nd myself feeling bored and bogged down with obligation. So, I’ve made a decision to engage in a particular kind of practice during the next 12 months. Every month in the coming year, I’m going to attempt something I’ve never done before which will
not only provide a sense of adventure but also require considerable courage and perseverance.

I have identified a few things already. In July, I’m going to go skydiving (a tandem jump with an expert, of course). In August, I’m going to attempt a mini-triathlon which means swimming, biking, and running shorter distances than regular triathlons. In September I’m going to hike up Half Dome in Yosemite. Next May, Steve and I are planning a 3-week trip to South Africa. A decent agenda so far, don’t you think?

I’ve begun training for the triathlon. For some of you, this is not a big deal but others of you will appreciate that for a non-athlete, this is a huge deal. My goal is to finish the course in one piece with no major injury! Already my training is pushing me to the limit. Each time I come up gasping for
breath in the swimming pool, or my knee begins to cramp from jogging, I decide that I’m going to give up because I’m just not good at it. Persevering in something I’m not all that good at is causing me to pray in a different way, to practice grace toward myself and my body, to examine the resources I have for persevering in a challenging endeavor.

I’m finding that all of this experience is providing a bucket-full of rich metaphors for the life of Discipleship following Jesus which requires no
small measure of risk tolerance and perseverance. Undoubtedly these experiences will generate topics for future Cornerstone columns and a sermon illustration or two!

As I prepare for our "Hot Topics" sermon series, I’m reflecting on what it means for us as a congregation to persevere in the face of complex theological and ethical issues. Consider this tentative sermon plan for our Faith and Politics series:

• August 17 – Part 1: Where Faith & Politics Meet
• August 24 – Part 2: Gay Marriage
• August 31 – Part 3: Farm Animal Ethics
• September 7 – Part 4: Global Warming
• September 14 – Part 5: What Would Jesus Say to the USA?

On Wednesday evening following each sermon, we will have an opportunity to gather for feedback, questions, refl ection and discussion. In some cases, we will be inviting guests to participate on a panel in order to learn more about the subject.

You’ve already proven to me that you are a congregation that can take risks and rise to the challenge of persevering through some diffi cult topics.
I think it will be a great time to invite a friend or neighbor to worship as we together model the kind of Christian discipleship that wrestles with hard
issues together.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

Psalm 16:7, “I will praise the Lord who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me.”

This past Sunday I concluded our Dr. Suess sermon series referencing the book "Oh, The Places You’ll Go!" At the end of that sermon, I addressed our newest confirmands and reassured them that God has a plan for each of them and will be with them as they take their journey.

This morning I got THE EMAIL! It said, "I believe God has a plan for me, but how do I know what it is?"

Oh my! That is a hard one! I really wanted to pass this email and question on to Pastor Debra, but I have been kind of avoiding her since the green eggs and ham incident.

Actually, I have been asked this question before by some of our youth and it often comes up as they prepare to go off to school. First, I admire their dedication to wanting to do God’s will. It isn’t easy to know God’s will in specific life decisions. I’ve found it to be a process that usually takes much longer than I want!

Most youth I have spoken with have a dream or are passionate about something! I think they are already heading in the right direction! That is a winning combination. One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 16:7, "I will praise the Lord who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me." In other words, one of the ways God counsels us is through our dreams and passions! The dreams of our hearts often connect us to God and God’s purposes. Indeed, if you can connect God’s blessing and your passion you will be sure to accomplish great things and have much to praise God for.

I have heard it put this way! The process of knowing God’s will for life’s decisions is like climbing a mountain. You begin with a vision of the mountain and a dream of climbing to the top. You may have a map and a compass and all sorts of camping equipment and supplies. And yet, as you go along the path you come across many forks in the path and have to decide which way to go. It can be quite difficult to know which is the better path. And often they’ll both get you to the same place, but by a different route.

As you get higher the hiking can get harder and your initial enthusiasm may diminish. You see a peak and think you’re close to your goal, but once you reach that peak you see that another peak is ahead. You’re increasingly subject to the elements heat or cold, rain or wind. And you continue to encounter unexpected forks in the road and still higher peaks until you realize - in wonderful ways and in challenging ways - this mountain you’re climbing is so much more than you initially anticipated!

When you’ve reached the top and hiked back down the first thing you’re likely to say is, "I wonder which mountain I’d like to climb next!"

That’s the way it is with finding God’s will. You begin with a dream or a sense of calling from God of where you’re going to go. You have a number of tools at your disposal to help you choose your path and guide you along the way and yet the way may still seem uncertain and you will surely encounter many unexpected blessings and difficulties along the way. And as soon as you accomplish your goal you need to find another goal to guide you.

Here are seven questions I found that may be helpful when considering God’s will for our lives. 1. What do I want to do? 2. What am I equipped to do? 3. What direction do I get from the Bible? 4. What counsel do I get from people I respect and know me well? 5. What opportunities have come my way? 6. What is good for others? 7. What is God saying to me?

I think that sometimes it is OK for me not to know what God has in store for me! Not knowing allows me to embrace each day that comes my way. I love not knowing what is around every corner. The mystery of life is what often keeps me going through the good and the hard times. If I knew how and when everything or anything would unfold in my life, I might judge whether or not it was worth it for me and forget God indeed has a plan for me.

And I love the statement; How do you make God laugh? Tell God your plans!!

Blessing on your journey,

Cindy

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." -Ps. 126:2

Imagine my surprise when I returned from leading a Family Retreat at Monte Toyon for the San Ramon Valley UMC to find a plate of Green Eggs and Ham on my desk! Of course I knew the first person with whom I should speak was Pastor Cindy. She’s usually the one who would know about pranks but I was aware of the title of her May sermon series. I wondered if she served this for Communion on Sunday morning! She assured me that even Jeshua would not eat them on Sunday when they were fresh and not 48 hours stale!

I appreciate the way that Cindy brings insight and nourishes our community through the use of humor. When we laugh, we relax and are able to hear things we can’t hear when we are stressed or distracted.
I enjoyed listening to a recorded version of her first sermon in this series about the ways we are invited to consume Jesus even though we may be put off at first by the whole idea.

I certainly appreciate Dr. Seuss more now than I did when I was a child! C. S. Lewis makes a similar point when he writes the dedication of his series, The Chronicles of Narnia, to his goddaughter Lucy. He tells her that by the time he fi nishes, she will be too old to read fairy tales but he takes hope in the fact that she’ll return to them again when she is old enough to appreciate fairy tales again.

I’ve been listening to recorded versions of The Chronicles of Narnia on my iPod this spring. I was inspired to return to this series when I found a Spanish-language copy of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” when I was studying in Guatemala a couple of summers ago and also from the film version of the book. I read them in high school but I wasn’t yet mature enough to fully appreciate Lewis’ craft of
story-telling and his great insights about the power of the Gospel in our lives.

With the renewed interest in this series, book reviews abound that criticize and respond to criticism about the sexism and racism contained in the books. Some Christians renounce Lewis’ work for its inclusion of magic and mythology. Certainly there is some merit to the critical analysis. When we read literature from other periods, we must be mindful of how our views about such things have progressed. Yet we need not reject literature from the past because it has some things to which we object. I still find the series worth reading!

I appreciate the way Lewis depicts the lion Aslan simultaneously as compassionately loving and terrifyingly fearsome. Our Biblical writers have described God and the returning Christ in similar ways. We 21st century Christians are sometimes put off by divine images that evoke fear in us. We rightly critique the ways fearful images have been used to manipulate people and keep them in their place when they strive to give voice to injustice and oppression or that leave us hopelessly separated from God. Yet too often we are tempted to treat God as a lap dog whose sole function it is to entertain and comfort us at our beckon call. A domesticated God is stripped of power in our lives and world to
confront and overcome evil and injustice.

One scene I particularly appreciated was what I think of as Eustace’s conversion experience in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” Eustace was an annoying child – pompous, contemptuous and cruel toward his
cousins. At one point, he is mysteriously transformed into a dragon. He begins to try and participate with the other adventurers and help them even as his own loneliness and isolation deepens. One night,
Aslan comes to him and invites him to take off his clothes and enter baptismal-like waters. Of course the dragon Eustace isn’t wearing clothes but he realizes he can shed his skin like any reptile. Three times he sheds his skin only to find himself still a dragon. Finally Aslan, with a mighty claw, cuts into his dragon hide and rips him to the core. It hurts but Eustace also experiences relief as the dragon hide gives way to his true human self.

Everyone does notice the difference in Eustace but he still slips back to his fearful ways at times… just like all Christian disciples do! Eustace’s experience reminds me that not one of us is able to save ourselves or transform our own brokenness. We need God’s grace. As you worship together this month and encounter the gospel through the lens of children’s literature, may you experience that life-changing intervention of God’s grace.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

… for the Holy Spirit will teach you at the very hour what you ought to say.
–Luke 12:12

“How do you come up with your sermon themes?” I am asked this question from time to time. It’s not an easy question to answer. Certainly I believe that God puts themes and issues on my heart and mind. I have
methods of preparation to help me be open to God’s leading but the movement of the Holy Spirit is often spontaneous. Therefore, the way that themes and the sermons themselves develop can feel chaotic and surprising.

As with our discipleship in general, I find that I can hear God most clearly when I am calm and set aside time for that purpose. But I’ve also learned that I must tune the ears and eyes of my heart to watch and listen in every day life because I never know when a chance conversation or event will be a word from the Lord.

In general, our worship themes follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Th is is a 3-year cycle of scripture readings that include a passage from the Hebrew Scriptures, a Psalm, an Epistle lesson, and a Gospel reading. We are in Year A which means our gospel readings come primarily from Matthew. (Likewise Year B is Mark, Year C is Luke and the gospel of John is sprinkled across all three years.)

In 2007, I preached from a lectionary text every week. But this year, I’ve returned to an approach I began trying in 2005 and that is to leave the lectionary in order to do a sermon series after Christmas, after Easter and in the summer that are teaching sermons. I attempt to identify subjects that I think will encourage holiday visitors to keep attending worship. Some of those series have been “Difficult Questions Thinking People ask about the Bible,” or “God and Science,” or “Relationship Cures.” These are “evangelism” sermons because I’m trying to reach out to people who haven’t made a personal commitment to the discipleship journey of following Jesus or who have been way-laid for time.

I also try to balance the kinds of sermons that I do between Evangelism, Pastoral Care (support in difficult times), Discipleship (challenging us to grow in our faith), and Institutional (Mission, Stewardship, History, etc.). Typically, I work about six months out. I’m now planning themes for Advent and Christmas. But my goal is to have a preaching plan for 2 years. I’ve already developed some ideas for Lent and Easter next year and outlined a 10 part series for the summer of 2009. Th is summer, I will be taking a couple of days to work on laying out themes for the year after that. Doing long-range planning allows me to collect resources and do some advanced study as well as coordinate with our musicians and other worship leaders.

In all cases, I begin with prayer asking God to guide me. I spend time thinking about the context of our discipleship – world and national events, issues in our own community and the kinds of questions and issues I hear or observe in the lives of people in the congregation.

I often respond to specifi c requests. For example, a couple of people have asked me to address mental health issues that plague us. So, at the end of July, we will have a three-part series on Depression, Anxiety and Grief. Others have asked me what I think of the current presidential race and the faith language in the candidates’ speeches. Others have asked me what I think about the referendums to allow or prohibit Gay Marriage by the State. When people ask me what I think, they are usually trying to figure out what they think and believe and how these diffi cult topics relate to Christian faith. These particular questions have helped me frame a 4-part series beginning in mid-August called “Hot Summer Topics” in which we will address things like Faith and Politics and Gay Marriage from a Christian perspective.

If you have a topic that you would fi nd helpful to have addressed in a sermon, please let me know. God speaks to me through all of you and I try to pay attention to that!

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; so we will be with the Lord forever.
–I Thess. 4:17

"Are United Methodists pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib and are they pre- or post-millennialists?” asked a woman in my new members class several years ago. The other people in the class stared quizzically at the speaker as though she were speaking a rare dialect of Cantonese.

I responded, "United Methodists are not dispensational millennialists.
While we affirm the second coming of Christ with all other Christian communions, officially we don’t believe in the rapture. I say ‘officially,’ as a way of referring to our stated theological stance and acknowledging the diversity of belief you’ll find among individual members."

The woman, who had been raised in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, seemed a little surprised but overall satisfied with my answer. The other people were now staring at me quizzically, amazed that I, too, could speak this rare dialect. Though it had been awhile since I left the Christian tradition of my childhood which held a dispensationalist view of scripture and God’s relationship with creation (Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth was our second Bible), I could still speak the language!

If you have no idea what I mean by "dispensationalist," and "millennialism," don’t worry; you are not alone. Dispensationalist premillennialsm is a rather recent development and a rare theological view in the larger Christian community. It has been popularized in the Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. The novels are fiction, of course, but present a scheme of future events that the authors believe to be biblically based.

In the late 1990’s, after I heard some church members say that they were enjoying the books, I tried reading the first book and only got through the first few chapters. I found the book unappealing so I gave up and didn’t think much more about it.

However, the Left Behind series struck a chord with the American public way beyond a Christian audience. The publishers printed 150,000 to 200,000 copies of the early books in the first run. By the time the eighth novel was published, the initial run was 2.5 million copies, most of which were pre-sold eight weeks before the volume’s release. The seventh book, The Indwelling, was the number one seller on four major best-seller lists in fiction. In 2001, the tenth volume, Desecration, was the best selling fiction title in the United States, unseating John Grisham for the first time since 1995. What’s most remarkable about these sales achievements is that these sales numbers do not include Christian bookstores!

I read an essay Bruce David Forbes on the series who categorized three Christian responses to the series. First there is the group of devoted fans. Second, there is the group of conservative Christians who read the books but disagree about the apocalyptic details. And third, there is striking silence
from the mainline Christian community (which would include United Methodists).

I’ve also read that because of the popularity of Tim LaHaye’s series, his view of the end times is becoming the dominant view of the Christian community in our country. So, I’ve decided to end my silence on the topic. Beginning on March 30, we will spend five weeks in worship focusing on
Revelation, Rapture and the End Times. We will cover topics such as:

• What is the rapture? Where do we find it in the Bible?
• How is the Rapture different from the Second Coming of Christ?
• What does the Bible Say about the end times?
• What happens when we die?
• How do we interpret the book of Revelation?
• What will heaven be like?

Bring a pen and be prepared to take notes. I’ll also provide a resource list for further reading for the scholars in the pews.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . .
and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
Col. 3:16
Our Lenten journey will include a Taizé-style service on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel. It will include Holy Communion, anointing with oil, and Taizé singing and last about an hour. Child care will be provided.

What is Taizé? It refers to a style of prayer-in-song that arose out of an ecumenical, international Christian community located in Taizé, France
– a village in the south of Burgandy. The community was begun in this village by Brother Roger in 1940 and is today made up of over 100 brothers from 25 countries from various Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. The brothers are committed for their whole life to material and spiritual sharing, to celibacy, and to a great simplicity of life. At the heart of daily life in Taizé are three times of prayer together.

Every week from early spring to late autumn, young adults from different continents arrive on the hill of Taizé as a pilgrimage that encourages them
to deepen their experience of God and build relationships of trust among human beings. Some weeks in the summer months, more than 5,000 young people from 75 different countries thus take part in a common adventure.

And this adventure continues when they return home. It is expressed in their concern to deepen an inner life and by their readiness to take on responsibilities in order to make the world a better place to live in. (For more information, visit their website at www.taize.fr/en.)

One of the key features of Taizé worship is a form of repetitive singing based on a phrase of scripture. The words and tune are easy to learn so that one may simply enter this experience of prayer without juggling a hymn book. It is a spiritual practice that allows us to hear God as we let the phrase of scripture sink into our soul. It is a spiritual practiced that quiets our fretting hearts and distracted minds so that we experience the presence of God and come to know our true selves. In other words, this kind of worship is a means of God’s grace. It is a way we can reach out and receive the grace God offers us.

As we have been focusing on the secrets of our lives, this service will be an opportunity to continue to lay before God areas of our lives where we are longing to be authentic, where we long to be free from the things that enslave us, the things for which we feel guilty or shamed. Many things that bind us are not due to things we have consciously done but spring from wounds that need God’s healing touch.

Thus, this particular service will include the celebration of Holy Communion and anointing with oil. What is anointing with oil? Anointing with oil is an ancient Christian practice for healing. James 5:14 says: “Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pay over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.”

We use olive oil as a connection to the ancient practice in the Holy Land.
(Olive oil was used for healing purposes and also to consecrate prophets, ordain priests, and crown kings). We make the sign of the cross on your forehead and say something like “I anoint you with oil in the name of Jesus the Christ, our savior and healer.” We often then lay a hand on your head or shoulder and say a prayer of healing – either general or in response to a specific request you might make.

I encourage you to participate in this service as part of your own journey of following Jesus to the cross this season. You may simply sit in the pew the entire service. No one is compelled to participate in Communion or Anointing.

If you haven’t yet submitted the 5×7 card to participate in our community art project, I encourage you to do so. (Supplies are available on the information table in the church lobby.) Submissions are anonymous but will be posted on the sanctuary wall. Take time to walk around the sanctuary and read what some of your brothers and sisters have said. Pray for them in their struggles, dilemmas, questions, searching, and yearning.

It is a little scary but also incredibly freeing to lay out your life before God in this way. May you grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ this season.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra

Return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with morning;
–Joel 2:12

Lent began this week on Ash Wednesday. It is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, which ends on Holy Saturday. Thee word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon world lencten, which means “spring.”

The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians. Somber colors such as purple or ash gray and rough-textured cloth are used in this season. For a long time, the Christian tradition discouraged scheduling weddings or any other joyous celebrations during the season of Lent.

While some Orthodox Christians still maintain this practice, it has largely fallen by the way side. Perhaps it seemed too rigid or was inconvenient. I suspect that part of the reason the Lenten tradition became more lax is that our mood as individuals is often contrary to the prescribed mood of the liturgical season.
The season of Lent calls for introspection, solemn reflection, repentance, and mourning. Yet if you just welcomed a baby into the family, got a promotion, or are celebrating an engagement, it would be easy to feel out of step with the more somber mood of worship.

Conversely, the mood during the seven weeks after Easter is especially celebratory as we focus on the good news of the Resurrection. Yet many individuals might be struggling with grief and depression and feel out of step with the joyous tone of worship.

For Christians, worship is both individual and corporate. We hold these in tension. Each one of us is offering individual worship to God and we come fully expecting to be personally transformed as God meets us in the particularities of our current life circumstances.

Yet, worship also encompasses much more than individual experience. We remember that we are woven together, members of one body, participating in something larger than ourselves. We come to worship even when we don’t think we need it or don’t feel like it because we remember that God has given us gifts to be used for the greater benefit of the community of which we are a part. We come because others need us to be there for them.

We come to worship even when our mood and circumstances do not match that which is being observed in a particular season. I like to think of it as practice. During Lent, we practice the disciplines of repentance and mourning even when we are personally celebrating.
Then, when we do encounter some period of bad news (and notice that I said when, not if), we will be equipped with resources to cope and respond with hope because we have practiced and acquired the rich resources of our faith.
“The Secrets of Our Lives” is the theme for our Lenten Worship. We are inviting you to participate in a community art project. If you missed the Ash Wednesday service, we will distribute the materials and instructions again on the first Sunday of Lent and then have them available in the church foyer throughout the season. We are asking you to identify some aspect of your life that you would like to offer to God for healing, forgiveness or transformation as a reflection of your desire to feel more authentic and free so that you can be the person and live the life that God intends for you. We are asking you to write that “secret” on one side of a 5 x 7 card and decorate it in any way that supports and heightens the message. We provide envelopes so that your submission can be anonymous and confidential. We will be posting the secrets in the sanctuary and including them in our worship in various ways.

You will notice some changes in our worship during the season of Lent. While routine is comforting and keeps us oriented, changing our routine makes us alert and can rouse us from complacency.

Changing the way we do things can create a receptive mind and heart as questions are generated about why we do or don’t do certain things. New insights and perspective are gleaned as we are stirred to be more mindful about worship.

Each Sunday during Lent, we will engage in a longer period of silent prayer instead of our normal unison prayer of confession. We’ll offer suggestions for how to engage in this silence for it is not a passive time for daydreaming, but an active time of prayer inviting a highly disciplined mind. We will celebrate Holy Communion each week as was practiced in earlier days of our tradition. Our hymns and liturgy will omit Alleluia’s and Hallelujahs as we have packed them away until Easter Sunday. I trust that you will find this season a rich time of spiritual growth.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,

Debra