The Unlikely Gift

When it comes to discerning our spiritual gift, it is important to know that a spiritual gift is not a talent, nor is it something we have trained ourselves to do through a disciplined life.   What makes a spiritual gift a spiritual gift is that it is a gift of the Spirit.  The church makes a serious mistake as it assumes that a school teacher will make a good Sunday School teacher, or that a banker is the person to chair the Finance Committee.  I remember on one occasion some years ago asking someone who was a counselor to serve as a member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee (a personnel committee in the Methodist Church) only to be told "No, my spiritual gift is in evangelism."    

Even as the Spirit gives the gift, so can He be trusted to reveal the spiritual gift to the one receiving it.  A pastor or friend may be helpful in the discerning process, but the Spirit will reveal His intent to one who is open to listening.  Since each one of us is gifted by the Spirit with some gift which can be used to build up the body of Christ, we each one need to spend time listening to the Word and the Spirit.  The witness of the church and its service in the world for Christ is diminished when we keep ear plugs in our ears.  

And, of course, once we discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, we do not need to discuss it with others to gain consensus.  Instead, we need to act upon it with obedience and faith.  We should not be afraid of what seems unlikely.  When God acts, the practical test does not always apply.  When I was eighteen years old, I could not even conceive of speaking in public.  I was such an introvert I could not talk my way out of a paper sack.  Yet, God called and gave me a gift for preaching.  It had to be a gift.  I could never have done it, otherwise.

A Failed Experiment

Some years ago while in ministry at Richmond Hill I offered a short term study on spiritual gifts and then followed it up by leading the program planning group to abandon the traditional way of setting the program for the new year.  Instead of following the prescribed plan which meant finding people to fill certain ministry areas, we made a decision to set our program on the basis of the spiritual gifts given to individuals.  Some of the traditional areas of ministry did not have leadership and some new ones came into existence as someone responded because of their given spiritual gift.    

It was an experiment not repeated a second year.  It drove the people who were sticklers for doing things the way we have always done them crazy.  And while it was one of the many things I tried which did not really work, I have often wondered how the church would look if it allowed itself to be guided by the spiritual gifts given to its members.  The Scripture does say, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."  (I Corinthians 12:7)  It also says, "...serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received."  (I Peter 4:10)  And finally in Romans, the Word says, "We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us."  (Romans 12:6)    

The Word of God points us to a church that is empowered not so much by careful intentional researched planning as it is by its people responding to the way God is spiritually empowering it.   For the church to be led by its own awareness of how it is being spiritually empowered through the giving of spiritual gifts, a measure of trust in God to provide is required.  This spiritual virtue is not always present in the church of today.  Whenever the church seeks to live in such a way that the controls are abandoned for the sake of God being in control, some are surely going to do everything in their power to restore the church to traditional order so that good common sense can prevail.   

No Exemptions

One of the temptations thrown in the way of every preacher like the one thrown out by the serpent in the Garden or the tempter in the wilderness not far from the Jordan River is the one about circumventing the plan of God.  Most preachers at one time or another get so caught up in their own sense of greatness that they begin to actually believe the church is all about them.  While none of us wants to confess it, there are those times when we figure the church will not survive without us.    

Over the course of forty years I went to and left ten different churches and not a one of them closed when I drove away for the last time.  While they may have depended on me for leadership, they did not depend on me for survival.  The Word of God points to something far different when it speaks about the functioning of the church.  The preacher at the church where I worshipped this past Sunday morning preached about spiritual gifts which is the life blood of the church.  The Spirit can be counted on to equip the church with people who are spiritually gifted to fulfill its ministry.   I Corinthians 12:5-7 points the way, "...there are varieties of services, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."   And later the Apostle goes on to say that the Spirit, "...allots to each one individually as the Spirit chooses."  (vs. 11)   

The church needs good preachers.  I will never fail to argue for that need.  But, as much as it might need good leadership, it also needs people who sense their own calling to pick up their spiritual gift and use it for the good of the whole church and even beyond so that the work of the Kingdom of God in the world is strengthened.  The Word makes no exemptions.  We are each gifted with at least one spiritual gift.  Any preacher who thinks the success of the church is all about the preacher needs to do some ear cleaning so the Word of God can be heard more clearly.

The Shimmering Word

In the morning as the sun brings light to the new day, I often sit in a chair facing an open door and watch what God is doing with the wonderful part of creation He has put on the other side of my front door.  Sometimes there is a breeze which stirs the green branches of the pecan tree and sometimes there is such a stillness in the hanging green foliage that it is hard to believe such sheer stillness and silence is possible.  This morning was one of those mornings when it seemed the gentle hand of the Spirit was stirring not only the large green tree outside the front door, but also the stilled heart which was being awakened within me.  

Some time ago I found myself instructed by an author to look for what shimmers.  It seemed strange at first and then when I opened myself up to explore the possibilities inherent within the image, I began to see things that shimmered in such a way that they demanded the attention not of my eyes, but of my heart and spirit.  This morning as I began to sense being a part of what God was doing outside the door, a Word from the pages in my lap shimmered and seeped into my soul.  From the prophet Isaiah came the words, "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion for you."  (Isaiah 54:19)  It is such a wonderful blessing to be unconditionally loved by God.  

It may be that some of the most precious relationships of our life point us toward that kind of love, but no matter how rich and powerful is that love which holds us to one another, it still pales in comparision to the unfathomable love of the One who created us.  I am surely amazed that He not only loved me, but continues to love me.  And, I am ever grateful for a word like this shimmering word this morning which came in the stillness to speak to me of its unending and eternal nature.  Thanks be to God for a goodness that comes not according to what I deserve, but comes according to divine grace!

Life's Not Snake Proof

Most of the chicken houses around here are not architectural wonders.  The only amazing thing about most of them is that they continue to stand up!  Instead of going to the farm supply store and buying one of those painted trendy chicken houses that has every convenience except air conditioning, most folks around these parts opt for dragging out scrap lumber from other projects and putting together a house that is more about being functional than pleasing to the eye.  Most of them are like mine.  They are not air tight, nor are they snake proof.    

More than a few times I have raised the panel over the nesting box and found a black snake curled up on top of my egg stash.  It is one of those moments which gives you a quick cardiac check up.  After a few such experiences you learn to look before you reach.  It is kinda like life.  We may think we know what is just ahead of us and just beyond what we can see, but every now and again we run into some surprise which jolts us and causes us to come to terms with the fact it is always best to pay attention to what is right there in the present moment.  As Jesus said, there is no need to worry about tomorrow when you have today.

The only One who really knows what is waiting on us in the life we live is the God of the past, the God of the present, and the God of the future.  What I often have been told in some recent days which have been filled with more than just a little difficutly is that God knows what is out there ahead of us and that He has a plan which is at this point unknown.  The important word in all this spiritual help is that it speaks of the assurance that we are not alone.  We are not forsaken.  And, that God knows about the surprises which are hanging out there beyond the abilitiy to see them.  

Glory! Glory!

While out at the cemetery in the very late part of the afternoon which was also the very early part of the evening, I noticed midst the sorrow that took me there, a sunset so beautiful it was beyond description.  I stood there for a moment in a place littered with tombstones that told the stories of lives lived, simply overwhelmed by the unfolding orange glory in the sky.  Most likely anyone who saw it from their corner of the world stopped and took a second look as well.  I only know to say it was glorious.  Perhaps, it was even beyond glorious.    

But, hardly had I paused to see and allow its glorious light to settle in my soul when it was gone.  Oh, it was glorious indeed, but unlike the glory of the heavenly place, it was a fleeting moment of glory.  Heaven is surely such a different dimension of life.  Heaven's glory is not fleeting, but eternal.   Who can imagine living immersed in a glory that does not end, one that forever shines resplendent and full of majesty, one that bears such an imprint of the God of the great throne room that those sainted souls who see want to bow their knees and lift their voices in surging praise to the One who has brought them to a glory of which we mortals can only catch glimpses in the creation around us.   

It is good to know that Jesus said to His disciples and all of us as well, "I go to prepare a place for you."  (John 14:2)  And how we are comforted by that holy dialogue in Revelation when the ones robed in white are pointed out to John, the Apostle and writer.  As John beholds, those angels speak saying, "These are those who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb...and...they are before the throne of God....and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  (Revelation 7:14-15, 17).  To read the Word is to be blessed with a vison of glory that  so greatly transcends the pale glory of the evening sunset that it hardly seems right to speak of them in the same breath.  Thanks and praise be to the Holy One who plans to take us Home.

Invisible Now Visible

Some months ago now I had the privilege of visiting with an artist in her working studio.  The walls were full of paintings she had done.  Some were no doubt personal keepers and some were waiting on a new home in another place.  It was a delightful experience to see the movement from empty white canvas to a colorful eye pleasing creation.  In the moment I was reminded again of the way both writing and painting take empty space and bring into visibility something that was invisible.   

Of course, there is nothing profound about this observation.  Instead, it is the nature of creation.  Creation is about bringing what was in darkness to light, about bringing into view what existed unseen except in the eye and heart of the creator, and about making visible the invisble.  With God, the Creator, it is not a one time and done event, but something which is constantly unfolding for us to behold.  The creation is not done as might be suggested by the Genesis story, but a work of God which is eternal in nature and constantly in process around us.    

God has placed us in the midst of a marvellous ongoing work.  Every time we see the river up the road, it is a new river.  Every time we see the tree out from the house, it is a new tree.  Every time we see someone we love, there is something new within them.  And when the work of the new birth is done and a new creation is birthed in the heart (II Corinthians 5:17), an invisbile work begins which will soon show itself in the visible dimension of the human experience.  

The One Book

Recently I purchased a new, though slighty used bookshelf from one of those ministries which converts donated stuff into services for those in need.  So many of my books were packed up when I moved to the farm because the small home we built did not have room for an office, or a lot of books. With the added bookshelf I brought in a box and unpacked the books.  It was a box marked "Commentaries" but to my surprise, I found two books by an old friend.  Of course, I digress with a hyberbole since I never even met Henri Nouwen.  Reading his books puts him in an old friend group.  Anyone who reads, understands.    

Both books I read in the years of ministry.  One is entitled "The Wounded Healer"  and the other, "The Return of the Prodigal Son."  The first is directed toward the spiritual leader and is a call to ministering to the suffering in the world by recognizing first our own personal suffering.  And the second is a wonderful reflection of the several movements of the father and his sons in that parable which holds so much insight about living with others and living with God.  As I put them in a visible place on the shelf, my only question has to do with which one I will re-read first.     

Anyone who knows anything about me knows most books get read more than once.  Maybe it has to do with wanting to get my money's worth, but it is really that so many of the good books have more than can be digested the first time it is served.  It is obvious that God sees writings as important gifts to those of us who are seeking His unfolding plans.  Of all the writings we have, the Scripture is, of course, the most precious gift as it "is inspired by God."  (II Timothy 3:16)   To speak of the Word being inspired is to declare that the Holy Spirit has breathed and is breathing His life into it.   And though many of our old friends were inspired by the Spirit to write the words we read in their books, there is no writing other than the Holy Scripture which is worthy of being the one book we need on our bookshelves and in our heart.

Under the Trees

Back years ago when I was pastoring the St. John Church in Columbus, we had an outdoor early morning worship service.  We had to drag out chairs every Sunday, figure out how to do the music without a piano, and convince people that the weather was most comfortable.  And it was comfortable most of the time under the shade of the trees.  Since it was outdoors, we started the services on the Sunday after Easter and brought them to an end on Labor Day.  It went well for several years until someone remembered there was air conditioning in the church and nary a gnat!    

I have often wondered why more churches do not offer outdoor services.  Maybe everyone has gotten too conditioned to manufactured air to enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors.  Being here at the farm has made me realize that the creation is a wonderful place to experience God, to sense His presence, and to Hear His Word.  It often seems that when I retired I traded the brick and morter sanctuary for an outdoor cathedral so huge that the horizon provides its walls.    

A church up the road from here has an occasional outdoor worship service in its prayer garden and it is always such a refreshing experience to sit with the people of God in the creation God has given us.  The 19th Psalm casts some wonderful images as it says, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork...In the heavens He has set a tent for the sun...Day to day pours forth speech...There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes through the earth..."  (Psalm 19:1-4)  There is no sanctuary like the Creation and whether we worship within it alone or with a gathering of folks, it is always a place to offer praise to God and to listen for His voice.

A New Definition

Life is about letting go.  Strange thought.  It is a realization planted in my mind and heart by Esther de Waal in a book she wrote entitled, "The White Stone."  And while she is writing about the letting go which inevitably comes in the later years of life, what is true is that the letting go is only more visible in those years than it is in the earlier ones.  In the later years we have to let go of a lot of the accumulated stuff because there no longer is enough room and we have to let go of some of the dreams and hopes because there is not enough time.  These moments of letting go are hard moments of reality, but being hard does not make them disappear.    

In a way we should not be surprised by such moments when the years are full of memories and shorter on days to make more memories.  The truth is we start the process of letting go at the very beginning.  We let go of the comfort and security of our Mother's womb, we let go of the innocense of being a child, the vigor of adolescence, our independence as we marry and rear children, and our illusions of being one who is always patted on the back for doing a great job.  We are constantly living with the work of letting go, but we call it something else which is more palatable to our ego.    

It would seem that people of faith in God would be able to see this letting go part of life, but such is not necessarily the case.  A very trite phrase which has been worn out is the one about "Letting go and letting God."   Bonhoeffer's most memorable words, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die," really says it all, but for most of us who spend a life time holding on to stuff, it is a hard word to embrace.  Still, it is true.  Even as life itself is about letting go, so is our walk with God.

Spitting on My Life

In my heart I will always think of myself as one of Wesley's preachers.  As a way of avoiding conversations about the controversy within the United Methodist Church these days, I have started identifying myself as a Methodist preacher.  Actually, I define myself by more than that one title during this season of being on the farm, but it does speak to the better part of my years.  While some have expressed a quiet disappointment with my not changing ships at this time in my life, I find it unnecessary.  I do not need a piece of paper to tell me who I am.     

One of my favorite cowboy movies is "Monte Walsh."  With the wild west changing and the cowboy jobs drying up, Monte Walsh is asked to become a performer at a wild west show.  He puts on the cowboy costume, looks at himself in the mirror, and as he takes it off, he says, "I ain't spitting on my whole life."  The Methodist Church that includes the United Methodist Church which ordained me has shaped my life since I knelt at one of its altars at age nine for the baptismal waters.  It is not a perfect church.  In fact I see it as being more imperfect than it was in the days of my beginning.  But, "I ain't spitting on my whole life,"  at least, not yet and likely never.    

It would be foolish to say I am staying because I am about changing the direction it is going.  I think it is more that I am staying because it is where I sense belonging.  Most of the institutions and all the people to which I sense belonging are imperfect.  It is the same with my church.  I am going to hang around as one of its disagreeable members being a voice where I am that is not going to reflect the mainstream values.  At the moment it is the best I can do because, "I ain't ready yet to spit on my whole life."

The Moravians

As a young man, John Wesley came to Georgia.  It was 1735 and James Oglethorpe was carving the city of Savannah into existence.  And while there were significant things which happened as Wesley went back and forth from Savannah to St. Simons Island, one of the most significant moments took place on board the sailing ship, The Simmonds.  On board with John Wesley and his brother, Charles, was a group of Moravian Christians.  Their intent was to establish a Moravian community in the new colony, but their intentions like those of Wesley to convert the Native American Indians did not bear fruit.    

What they did do was to have a powerful spiritual impact on the young English missionary.  As the ship sailed across the Atlantic there was a violent storm which broke the mast off the ship and threatened the safety of those on board.  During the storm Wesley feared for his life and the Moravians calmly sang hymns and prayed.  Wesley saw in these believers a deep inner faith which he also saw himself as lacking.    As we go through life, we do not always see in the moment the power of the present in changing our future.  

Such was surely such a moment for Wesley.  The witness of these unafraid to die Moravian Christians and Wesley's disappointing work in Savannah sent him back to England a broken man who was so unsure of his faith that he was ready to give up preaching.  Had the Savannah experience with all of its attendant moments not happened, John Wesley may not have made the trip to Aldersgate Street where as a man desperate for God, he had his heart strangely warmed.  The Savannah experience made him ready for the Aldersgate Street transformation and the Aldersgate Street transformation set in motion a spiritual stream that still has the power to make the broken whole.  

The Knees of Wesley

On March 2, 1871 John Wesley died at the age of 87.  During his lifetime this preacher of the gospel who gave life to a spiritual movement which still breathes life today traveled on horseback some 250,000 miles.  He preached two or three times a day and preached over 40,000 sermons in his lifetime.  He required very little for himself giving away 30,000 pounds.  One historian wrote that when Wesley died, "he left a good library of books, a well worn clergy gown, and the Methodist Church."  It was a Methodist Church which permeated the English culture, took root in America, and became that new nation's largest denomination.    

One thing which must not be overlooked as we remember the work of this spiritual giant and father of Methodism is his prayer life.  Every morning at 4 am Wesley would rise and for the next four hours he was praying and seeking God.  No preacher in today's church could be more busy in ministry than was Wesley and, where as, too many preachers today find themselves too busy to pray for even one hour, praying long, praying early, and praying first was never an option for Wesley. We often say that Methodism is a faith born out of a "heart strangely warmed," but it must also be said that it was surely birthed on the knees of Wesley.  

When those who lead the church become too busy to pray and when the church's ministry of doing becomes so dominant that there is no still hours for praying, it is certain that the church is going to lose both its spiritual power and its reason for being.  We may point our finger in many directions as we consider the cause of the trouble brewing and boiling over today in the church founded by Wesley, but as we do, each of us must surely point that finger at the one we see in the mirror.

A Possible Future

In a day when the Methodist Church which I have known all my years is suffering and splintering into what is unimaginable chaos, it has been helpful to look back to John Wesley whose desire for God gave birth to the Methodist movement.  In those beginning days he never envisioned a new denomination being birithed.  He was ordained in the Church of England and his work was reflective of his desire for that church to be renewed and revived.  But, as we know, God's plans are not always our plans.  Often times His plans far exceed the feeble dreams with which we live and the work we actually accomplish.   

To remember Wesley is to remember him through the many notations he made in his journal.  He was a disciplined journal keeper.  One note often remembered seems to speak more than ever to our current denominational malise.   "I am not afraid the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having no form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine,  spirit, and discipline with which they first set out."    While I agree with his asssesment of things spiritual in the life of the church, there is a  part of me which believes that even in times of theological stress and rancorous division, the genesis of Methodism will somehow manage to surive as a valued stream of sprituality.  

What gives me such hope is the way the Celtic stream of spirituality still prevails on the fringe of organized religion giving renewed hope and life to hungry spirits such as mine.  The Celtic heart and movement was pushed underground and mostly disappeared from public view after the Synod of Whitby in 664.  It was a moment when the emerging Celtic tradition clashed with the Roman Church and the Roman Church prevailed.  And though its visible identity was lost, it continued to exist in the hearts of people and continues to find expression even in this day among many who seek to know the God who roams beyond the boundaries of the four walls of the institutional church.

American Methodism

After the Revolutionary War it became necessary for John Wesley to provide the leadership for the American Methodists.  No longer would the people be looking to the Church of England for spiritual nurture and no longer would the Holy Sacraments be available to them through its priest.  Wesley broke with the Church of England which maintained that apostolic succession could only be transmitted through the Bishops of the Church.   He ordained men for the American work according to his belief that presbyters, or priests, could also ordain men for the ministry.    

The American frontier became the ministry field of men like Francis Asbury, Thomas Coke, and others who rode horseback across the new nation.  They rode long routes called circuits and when the Methodist preacher arrived in a community, services would be held, the Sacraments provided, and weddings were performed.  Without becoming settled in one place, the Methodist circuit riding preacher would stay long enough to finish the work and then move on to another place.  As the frontier was pushed westward so went the Methodist preachers.    

The church is certainly different than it was in those early days.  It is a more affluent church.  Preachers tend to stay put in one place though there are those in some places who still serve several small churches which are still known as circuits.  And, of course, the Methodist preacher is still considered an itinerant preacher as he or she is assigned by a Bishop to a place of service for a year at a time.  In the early days of American Methodism the church was known as an evangelistic church.  Saving souls for Christ was its primary business.  It seems that today's church has taken as its primary business building bigger buildings and raising money which has proven to be a disastrous trade-off.  

The Strength of Methodism

From its earliest days Methodism has been a spiritual movement not bound by the dictates of the institutional church.  From its beginning it has been a spiritual movement that centered among the ordinary people rather than the ordained clergy.   John Wesley was an ordained Anglican priest and was trained to observe its high church practices.   He often found himself outside the boundaries of a church which he perceived as one that had lost contact with the masses of people.   

When the Anglican pulpits were closed to him, he went into the fields to preach.  When there were not enough clergy to provide spiritual leadership to a growing movement, he approved local unordained preachers to preach and do pastoral work.  When ecclesiastical propriety got in the way of taking care of the needs of the people being entrusted to him, he would not allow the proper way to stand in the way.  He put lay men and women to preaching and entrusted them in places of leadership.  Methodism may have flourished because of the leadership of John Wesley, but it also flourished because of the work of the lay people who were a part of it.    

Sometimes it seems that the church of our day has forgotten that its strength does not just lie in the witness of the ordained, but also in the faithful service of those who have not been touched by the ordaining hands of a Bishop.  The growth of Methodism in this country is certainly in part due to the tireless and faithful ministry of the circuit riding preacher, but it is equally as true that it has been sustained by the many who have served the church and the Christ without any certifying credentials.  The real strength of the church is with the saints who served it over a life time and if we stop for a moment to think, we can soon begin to call their names.  

The Flawed Ones

John Wesley, the father of Methodism, was born when the 18th century was beginning (1703) and died as it was coming to an end (1791) .   He was one of those men who could be characterized as a spiritual giant and a shaper of history.  The fact that he is still remembered by people who call themselves Methodists speaks to the lasting impact this man has had upon the life of the church and human history.  He was one of a kind.  The story he started writing in 18th century England has not yet been completely told.   

Even though his life bears the marks of greatness, it was also flawed.  His missionary work to the very young colony of Georgia can only be spoken of as a failure.  A woman named Sophy Hopkey was his downfall and he fled the colony with legal proceedings against him hanging in the air.  Much later at age 48 he married a widow, Mary Vazeille, who left him after seven years.  She later returned and left again and did the same several times before their final separation.  When they finally parted company, Wesley wrote in his journal, "I did not forsake her, I did not dismiss her, I will not recall her."  In addition there were times when he had a strained relationship with his brother, Charles.   

The life of John Wesley reminds us of the way God's use of a person can lift him or her onto a stage of spiritual influence that is staggering to consider, but it also reminds us that God uses ordinary flawed folks to accomplish the work of His Kingdom.  We see this story played out again and again in the pages of the Scripture as we read the stories of people like Moses and Simon Peter.  We also see it played out when we look in the mirror.  What often seems most improbable and most amazing is that God has found a use in the work of the Kingdom for the flawed person who looks back at us in the mirror each day.  

The Yellow Center Line

Before the Bishop put his hands on me and the class of ordinands who stood with me, we were asked questions.  We knew the right answers and we gave them.  One always sent a light ripple of laughter across the room, "Are you in debt so as to hinder your work, or have you obligation to others that will make it difficult for you to live on the salary you are to receive?"  Regardless of our situation we all knew the right answer was "No" and so we spoke with one voice.  Another one caused us to break out in a sweat, "Are you going to perfection?"  The expected answer was "Yes" and it did not reverberate across the room with too much strength.  

 

It was, of course, one of John Wesley's historic questions.  I have not been to an ordination service in the past thirteen years and I wonder if all the change which is in the air has blown that traditional question to the wind.  I hope not.  The idea of Christian perfection has always been one prone to confusion.  Wesley never used the term "sinless perfection."  When he preached it, he spoke more of a perfection in love which pointed to a believer being motivated not by self centered desires, but a deep desire to please God.  

Years after ordination and during times when the issue was avoided because of my own confusion, someone cleared it all up by simply saying, "If you are not going on to perfection, then what are you going to?"  May my high school English teacher overlook the bad grammar, but it makes the point that if we are not going on to perfection, then we have our sights and our heart set on imperfection.  Christ never made the middle of the road an option and neither did John Wesley.  Unfortunately, it seems that many who call themselves Methodists in these days are hugging the yellow center line.  

The Holy Beckoning

It is not surprising that John Wesley brought the Holy Spirit to the forefront in his preaching.  His very personal experience at Aldersgate greatly altered his view of the way God worked in the heart of the sinner and the believer.  Grace truly became all sufficient in a way he had never before known.  And the saving response to that all sufficient grace was not something which could be passed from one generation to another, or something which could be known through strict adherence to church law and ritual,  but instead, it was that faith response of the heart which was prompted by the Holy Spirit.    

Romans 8:15 became a key passage for Wesley as he preached his message of a personal faith in Christ Jesus.  "...When we cry 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."   How often we have thought of the beginning of our faith as something which originates in us and which is known by us because of some intentional action on our part.  The more we pause to consider what has happened, the more we come to realize how much it is about God and how little it is about us.    

It is God's beckoning which enables us to respond in faith.  It is a beckoning that begins with what Wesley called "prevenient grace."  It is a beckoning that we see most clearly as we come to Golgotha and behold the Lamb of God sacrificing His life as a sin offering for each and everyone of us.  And it is a beckoning that is heard in the deep places of our spirit as the Holy Spirit whispers our name and becomes as One who says, "Listen!  I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.  (Revelation 3:20)

Midst the Stones

 Midst the stones I stand,

      big whitewashed square stones,

         story telling stones,

           laughter and sorrow, 

              the lives once lived, 

                 the last word is said, 

the last deed is done.

Midst the stones I watch

     across the dirt road

       swings going up high

         and coming down low

            with young one shrieking

               lost in child's play, 

the silent ones not seen.

Midst the stones I wonder

     about the things of life,

        beginnings, endings

          and all in between, 

            one like the other

              the last like the first,

all inside God's hands.

Methodist Music

Dwight L. Moody had Ira Sankey.  Billy Graham had George Beverly Shea.  John Wesley had his brother, Charles Wesley.  Of course, Charles Wesley was not his brother's song leader at those field preaching meetings, but he did bring music to the Wesleyan movement which was stirring in the 18th century.  The younger Wesley wrote some 4,500 hymns.  Many of them are in church hymnals today.  Some of them are "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, and Rejoice the Lord is King."   

If we have ever held a hymnal in our hands during a church service, it is likely that we have sung one of Charles Wesley's hymns.  A personal favorite has always been "And Can it Be."  It is one of those songs which captures the spirit and sends it soaring toward the heavens as that last verse comes round.  It is also a hymn which teaches.  Anyone who sings the hymn and slowly considers the words being sung will quickly realize it is a tutorial in Christian theology.  John Wesley surely preached sound doctrine and the people heard it.  His younger brother, the hymn writer, taught sound doctrine and the people sang it.    

It seems that Methodist people have always been singers of powerful hymns.  Certainly, not all the hymns we sing are Wesleyan, but they are on many of the pages of the hymnal.  I am grateful for those hymns written and first sung so long ago by the early followers of the Wesleys.  They have led me along on my faith journey, stirred my spirit sending it soaring into the heavens, and have become like a music library in my heart.  

Spiritual Revolution

John Wesley ushered in a much needed spiritual revival in 18th century England.  Some historians have written that the spiritual renewal brought to England as a result of his preaching averted a revolution such as the one which took place in France.  It is certain that his ministry gave hope to the common ordinary person who was largely forgotten by the Church of England.  In Wesley's day the church seemed unconcerned with the vast poor masses of people who struggled to survive from one day to the next.  It was these forgotten people who gathered around Wesley and became a part of this great spiritual revival which swept across the land.   

In many ways it was a Jesus centered ministry which gave life to the the downtrodden and hopeless.  Jesus touched the lepers, called tax collectors to follow Him, and gave an important place to the invisible members of the community around Him.  In much the same way, Wesley gave women places of leadership, utilized lay preachers, and established schools for the children and places of healing for the sick.  There is no way to measure how this spiritual stream impacted a society that saw little reason to attend the organized church of their day. All of this is the heritage of those who call themselves Methodist.  

As we see our gathered congregations today, we see too many heads full of gray hair, too many white collar folks, and too few of those who are broken down by lost battles with life and are, therefore, not really seen at all.   Of course, such descriptive words may describe more denominations than just the one given birth by John Wesley. There were many social and political issues in Wesley's day even as there are in ours.  It was a spiritual revolution which saved that land from internal chaos and despite what might be said in the houses of government, only a spiritual revival like unto the one which was let loose through Wesley in England has any hope of saving us.  

Prevenient Grace

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was not a Calvinist.  Unlike the Calvinist of his day who believed in predestination, Wesley maintained that everyone could be saved because of the prevenient grace of God.  The term prevenient grace was not a new idea with Wesley, but instead can be traced back into the early days of the church.  Instead of declaring with the Calvinist that only some were saved, when Wesley preached prevenient grace he preached that all persons could be saved by faith in Christ.  Everyone did not have to choose for Christ, but everyone could choose Christ because the grace of God made such a choice possible for everyone.   

One of the often quoted verses of Scripture declares, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."  (Ephesians 2:8)  We are not saved because of our faith.  Faith cannot guarantee salvation.  The Scripture makes it clear that grace precedes faith and that it is the grace of God which is operative before our faith that makes our salvation a possible option.  Make no mistake.  We are not saved and delivered from our sin because of our faith in Christ, but because of the grace of God.  Without prevenient grace personal faith would have no power.    

Methodism has always been about grace.  It has always been about what God has done for all of us through Christ.  Methodism has never held forth that salvation is for some but not for others.  It is a way that takes us to the foot of the cross where we see Christ dying for each and everyone of us.  At the cross we are all the same.  We are all in need of the grace of God, but thanks be to God the cross declares that grace is available to all of us.  

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral

When it comes to finding the way to sound doctrine and a clear theology, there is no better path to take than the one provided by John Wesley, the 18th century father of Methodism.  A 20th century thinker and theologian, Albert Outler, termed it the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.  This method of determining sound doctrine provides four check points.  Sound doctrine must be Scriptural, based on the Word of God.  It must be in keeping with tradition.  And a third check point brings to the table experience.  What is truth can be verified in the personal experience.  Finally, every sound doctrine must be rationale.  Scripture, experience, tradition, and reason were the four components of this Wesleyan Quadrilateral.     

Where this becomes unacceptable to many is Wesley's belief that tradition, experience, and reason were always subject to the Scripture.  If there is any confusion, the written Word has the deciding vote.  Wesley had such a high regard for the centrality and the authority of the Scripture that he called himself "a man of one book."  It is a simple formula for determining good theology, but one that is constantly overruled by what we think is a better way.  Many of those who are called Methodist in this day, and likely many who go by other names as well, can adhere to the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as long as a fifth dimension is added which is the common consensus of culture.  

And not only is popular cultural opinion given a vote, it is given the deciding vote.  It even trumps Scripture.  And therein is the reason for much of our theological chaos in these days.  Culture is trendy, always changing, and a product of human reasoning.  Scripture is the Word breathed into existence by the Holy Spirit.  Choosing culture over Scripture brings to mind the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Holy Groups

During his years at Oxford, John Wesley was the leader of a group called the Holy Club.  It was not the name picked by Wesley, but one used to mock the group which met to seek inner holiness.  Not many of us would want to be a member of such a group.  It met daily every  morning from six until nine for prayer, reading the Psalms, and then reading the Greek New Testament.  They were committed to receiving the Sacrament every Sunday and fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays until three o'clock in the afternoon.  It was definitely not a group for dabblers in religion.  Those fainthearted in their spiritual lives need not apply!  

Any group we might join today in our church is more likely to take into consideration the issue of convenience.  It would also have to fit into our "hurry to get somewhere" schedule.  For those early members of the Holy Club cultivating inner holiness was an issue worthy of personal sacrifice.  And while spiritual disciplines have no inherent saving power, they do enable us to put our spirit in an attitude of openness to what God is saying and wanting to do in our lives.   Even as it is true that we are a generation of worshippers who want our preaching sugar coated so that it is painless to swallow, we also want any religious instruction to be like fast food: quick to get and something to be ingested while on the go.  

The Methodist Church of our day, as well as other denominations, needs to be less concerned about being convenient and easy and more concerned about enabling its people to grow in a disciplined spiritual life.  Such an attitude will not attract the masses so important to the church growth people, but it would go a long way toward creating a community where spirituality takes precedence over the trivial things the church declares to be so important in these days.  

The Small Group

Small group ministry has been an integral part of Methodism since the days of John Wesley.  One of the ministry opportunties I came to embrace in the second half of my ministry was Disciple Bible Study.  It was a systemmatic study of the whole Bible that stretched out over nine months.  Weekly the twelve members of the group met with the basis for the gathering being the Scripture read at home during the week.  Of all the programs in which I was involved in the years of ministry, this small group ministry was the most life changing.    

It was a gathering that brought to mind the small groups Wesley called bands and societies. Small groups would meet for Bible study and prayer and in many cases those who met also made themselves accountable to the other members of the group as they gave permission to each other to ask personal questions about their spiritual lives.  At its core it was a group focused on spiritual nurture.  The Disciple Bible Study was one of the means at my disposal to provide such a moment for a small group of people each year.    

The church needs such groups.  While worship is important, there is a need for those who gather in the pews to gather in smaller group settings for the spiritual nurture that cannot be provided just by being present on Sunday morning.  A church that does worship well may be an attractive option for the people who live in the community, but it is also possible for a church to become so large on Sunday morning that no one really knows anyone else and the dimension of spiritual nurture is more like a side order on a menu than the main entree.  John Wesley had it right when he encouraged those who heard his preaching to join a small group and the church folk of our day regardless of their denomination are in a stornger spiritual place through involvement in a small group focused on Bible study, prayer, and personal accountability.  

A Vile Thing

As John Wesley moved away from that life changing Aldersgate Street experience, parish churches started denying him opportunities to preach.  Though he was an ordained Anglican minister, his church was threatened by his willingness to avoid religious protocols and his belief that the church was failing in its mission to call sinners to repentance.  Preaching outdoors which he had declared to be "a vile thing" was his only option if he was going to be faithful to God.  And so Wesley began a ministry to those masses of people who had been so forgotten by the church of his day that they would not even consider entering a church.    

The Methodist tradition was born out of this "do whatever it takes" to reach people for Christ attitude.  The sophisticated religious system into which Wesley had been ordained was failing in its most fundamental task and so this man of Aldersgate Street cast aside the mantle of priest for the cloak of an outdoor evangelist.  More than once he actually used his father's tombstone as his pulpit!   It would probably be a good thing for most churches if the doors were locked on at least one Sunday morning out of the month so that those who would sit in the pews and stand in the pulpit could go out into the places where people are gathering on Sunday mornings.  

Maybe worship gatherings in the parking lot of the shopping areas would be something which might enable Methodists and others as well to get involved in "doing whatever it takes" to get the message about Jesus out into the world.   Of course, before such a radical thing could be done, the church would have to be convinced that conversion in the name of the Christ of the cross is something which is absolutely necessary.   

Strangely Warmed Hearts

When John Wesley went to that Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street, it was like Moses going to the burning bush, it was like the Samaritan woman going to Jacob's Well, it was like Saul of Tarsus going to Damascus.  When Wesley left that meeting, his life was never the same.  He wrote in his journal, "I felt my heart strangely warmed.  I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."    

The language Wesley used was not the language of the head, but the language of the heart.  What he had been trained to understand in his head became personal experience.   Methodism has ever since that day embraced the experience of the heart strangely warmed.  It is the experience of the new birth.  It a word which speaks of conversion.  It is a word about the inner change worked by grace as we repent and turn away from our sin toward the Savior on the cross.  

When I was growing up in the Methodist Church it was a common thing to hear preachers preach invitational sermons calling those who were listening to open their hearts to the experience of the new birth.  It seemed back then that preachers assumed that there was someone within the sound of the Word being proclaimed who needed to be born again.  Over the years it has seemed that preachers have come to the place of assuming that everyone within the sound of the sermon being preached has had that born again experience so there is no need to preach that message.  As a result the altar started needing dusting and the baptismal font stood empty of water.  And the church started losing its spiritual power.

Susanna's Kin

John Wesley stands as an important historical figure in the life of the Methodist movement.  And what must not be forgotten is that there are those denominations other than the ones bearing the name Methodist which are deeply indebted to him.  The Wesleyan churches have many signs out front.  And while Wesley stands in the spotlight on the stage of church history, his mother, Susanna, should be standing there alongside him for no one shaped this man any more than did his mother.  She was his spiritual mentor and his model for faithful living.    

Many of us have those kinds of mothers.  Certainly, it is  true that all mothers are not models for faitihful living, but those of us who have memories of such a woman in our lives count ourselves as those who are blessed.  When I think of my mother, I am always amazed at her steadfast faith in Christ.  I cannot remember her when this dimension of her life was not evident.  She made sure my sister and I were in church in those years when my father wanted nothing to do with the church.  She knelt by my bed at night and prayed with me.  And, there was never a time in my spiritual journey when she was not standing in the shadows as one who prayed for me.   

The  church may be an important place for religious instruction and spiritual nurture to take place, but it must begin in the home. If our children are to be the beneficiaries of the power of prayer, it must begin in the home.  If the young ones entrusted to our care are going to learn what it means to live a life of faithfulness to God, they will not be looking first to their preacher, but to their mothers and fathers.  In my home where my father came to faith in Christ very late in life, it was my mother who stood and kneeled to lead me toward faith.  She, and hopefully your mother, and Susanna Wesley are all kin and are spiritual giants who lingered in the shadows to point us toward our eternal Home. 

Methodist Roots

When I was ordained in the United Methodist Church back in 1973, it was impossible to imagine the chaos and confusion that now is changing the face of Methodism.  I recently ran across an old broadcast by Billy Graham in which he was celebrating the 175th anniversary of Methodism. In this 1959 radio broadcast he listed four things distinctive about Methodism.  He said Methodists believe in conversion and preach the new birth.  They uphold the authority of the Scripture.  They are a people who believe in the Spirit filled life and they have a strong social concerns ministry.     

It was refreshing to hear and to have it laid out in such simple language by a Baptist!  Those of us who have the name "Methodist" attached to our spiritual identity know that John Wesley who lived most of the 18th century is the father of Methodism.  It is, as Billy Graham pointed out long years ago, a rich heritage and one that was in the beginning filled with such spiritual power that it became the largest denomination in our country.   

In a time of such denominational turmoil, it would be a good thing for those of us who are called Methodists to spend some time looking at our roots instead of looking at those who might disagree with us.  It may be impossible to turn back the pages of history and go back to those days of beginning, but it can only help us in finding our way forward to understand that if the past is forsaken, it is likely that Wesley's fear will become reality:  "I am not afraid the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having no form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine,  spirit, and discipline with which they first set out."

Statio

While I am not considering selling the farm and trying to find a monastery that would accept me, I do read with much interest the writings of some of the monastic souls.  And, one of the things which certainly has an appeal is the order which is created during the day.  Joan Chittister, a Benedictine sister, writes about the monastic life in her book, "The Monastic Heart."  It is subtitled "50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life."   

Obviously, her book based on 50 practices include some that are very familiar such as Lectio Divina which enables us in a reflective reading of the Scripture, but also some that are not so familiar such as "Statio."  This particular practice is one which points to the value of arriving where we are going with our whole self.  This may sound a bit strange until we stop and consider the hurried life we often live which seems to fragment our life to the point that our body arrives where we are going before our ability to pay attention to the moment where it has brought us.   

Chittister writes that as she was being trained in the Benedictine order, she was instructed to arrive in worship five minutes before the bell sounded to begin an hour of prayer or worship.  The practice of Statio could point to the value of arriving early for our own worship services, or sitting for a moment before we jump into our devotional time, or simply waiting in the car a moment before entering into a meeting which awaits us.  It is always important to arrive on time, but when we do arrive we need to be sure we have not left part of us elsewhere.