After some thought, my church website has improved to be able to handle blogs internally. Therefore, all new posts will be at www.newhopevaumc.org/blogs/pastorblog. Please follow me there!
Pastor Brian
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Brightness and Warmth
We are coming into the time of year when everyone seems to be a bit antsy. The weather is nicer (some days), the days are getting longer, the robins have returned, and we just feel like getting out more. As we go about our increased time outside our homes, let us try to remember to keep our eyes open for God. I have been asking our youth group to be looking for places they can see God at work during the week, and we have a time to share these observations every time we are together. It is amazing how much we can see God out there, active in the world, when we look. In addition, I would encourage everyone to be a reflection of God’s love to the world around us.
As everyone emerges from dark homes, squinting in the almost spring sunshine, let the brightness in our hearts that is there because of Christ, shine as an even brighter witness to the power, majesty, and grace of God. The world is a place that is in need of some serious light. Everything around us seems to be changing, and while that is difficult to navigate at times, it is not necessarily bad. The changes required for God’s Kingdom to fully be on earth are significant. Until that time, as Christians, let us live our lives as if we believe it already is here. Let us live our lives devoted to sharing the Light of Christ. Let us live our lives in reflection of the indescribable wonder of the Creator of the Universe that, somehow, still loves us and desires a relationship with us. When I think about that, I can’t help but remember the words of the refrain of a well known hymn by Charles Gabriel,
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
While we are out and about to enjoy the brightness and warmth of the season, let God’s love go with us and through us so that God may bring spiritual brightness and warmth to those around us through our actions! Indeed, how marvelous!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Brian
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Valentine
Valentine's Day. Some love it, some hate it. It is yet another holiday that has been coopted by the marketing gurus on Madison Avenue. It has become a day of chocolate and trite sayings. The "love" spoken of these days for Valentine's Day is something often shallow, self-serving, and purely physical. Somehow, we have allowed ourselves to get "love" and "lust" confused. Maybe the reason so many relationships fail is because we base them on fleeting criteria such as physical attraction, happiness, or emotional fulfillment. What if we really looked at love in a Biblical sense? What if we really took love seriously, and based it on the ultimate model of unconditional love that we find in Scripture - the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ? I dare to say that things would be different.
All in all, I look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with my lovely wife whom I try to make the most important person in my life every day. For those who are married, I encourage similar behavior. For those who are not yet, treat everyone with the integrity they deserve. Do not let the world's corrupted, selfish image of "love" distract you from being able to truly express (and receive) real love in a real way. If anything, Valentine's Day should serve as a reminder of the commitment required for real love to blossom, grow, and mature. God did the same with us.
As Reba McEntire sang, "Love isn't love until you give it away." I agree. Let's really make this Valentine's Day mean something as we try to give real, unconditional, selfless love away in meaningful, deep ways. If we do this well, we can shake the world upside down and show a little bit of Christ's light in a world full of darkness. That's real love.
All in all, I look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with my lovely wife whom I try to make the most important person in my life every day. For those who are married, I encourage similar behavior. For those who are not yet, treat everyone with the integrity they deserve. Do not let the world's corrupted, selfish image of "love" distract you from being able to truly express (and receive) real love in a real way. If anything, Valentine's Day should serve as a reminder of the commitment required for real love to blossom, grow, and mature. God did the same with us.
As Reba McEntire sang, "Love isn't love until you give it away." I agree. Let's really make this Valentine's Day mean something as we try to give real, unconditional, selfless love away in meaningful, deep ways. If we do this well, we can shake the world upside down and show a little bit of Christ's light in a world full of darkness. That's real love.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Focus
I was inspired last week at Minister's Convocation. For those who don't know, Minister's Convocation is a gathering of pastors from across Virginia who come together for inspiration, worship, training, and fellowship. I have always enjoyed the time, since before I knew it was optional, and valued at least the comradery of the event that I have attended every year I have been in ministry. This year, however, the inspiration portion was particularly touching. There is so much I could share, but one of the most significant points was the realization that we often completely mess up our focus. What I mean is that we so often talk about how we have accomplished something wonderful. When we celebrate an event as a success, we say, "Thanks to all the hard work from so many hands. We couldn't have helped so many without the work of everyone involved." We pat ourselves on the back, and celebrate the lives that we have helped change. At best, we attribute the success to assistance from the Holy Spirit. At worst, we leave God out of it entirely, as if we accomplished this all by ourselves.
To be honest, there may be times in which what we do is entirely our effort and we have left God completely out. But more commonly, I hope, we just forget that God is the actor, not us. It's really our culture to blame. The western, and particularly American, focus is on the individual and individual abilities. After all, the American Dream was built on sweat and hard work alone, right? And that plays out in our churches as well. Clergy as well as laity are guilty of this glaring omission in our celebration and focus.
The solution, it seems, is to be honest with ourselves and think a bit more. We definitely need to pray more. We claim all the time that when God is for us, nothing can be against us. We claim all the time that we are on God's mission to the world. We claim all the time that we are seeking God's will for our lives. So why don't we celebrate our success along the same lines? We should say, "Look what God has done through us! Look at the lives God has touched through our hands! Look at the amazing power of God at work in a world that needs light!" See the difference?
For us to really be on God's path for the world around us, we need to be willing to step aside and give God the real glory. Let's get out of the way and let God's work really shine!
Praise God for God's patience as we strive to finally get it right! Thanks be to God for every wondrous gift given to every person, and for God's power in enabling that person to use it for God's purposes. Glory to God. Amen.
Pastor Brian
To be honest, there may be times in which what we do is entirely our effort and we have left God completely out. But more commonly, I hope, we just forget that God is the actor, not us. It's really our culture to blame. The western, and particularly American, focus is on the individual and individual abilities. After all, the American Dream was built on sweat and hard work alone, right? And that plays out in our churches as well. Clergy as well as laity are guilty of this glaring omission in our celebration and focus.
The solution, it seems, is to be honest with ourselves and think a bit more. We definitely need to pray more. We claim all the time that when God is for us, nothing can be against us. We claim all the time that we are on God's mission to the world. We claim all the time that we are seeking God's will for our lives. So why don't we celebrate our success along the same lines? We should say, "Look what God has done through us! Look at the lives God has touched through our hands! Look at the amazing power of God at work in a world that needs light!" See the difference?
For us to really be on God's path for the world around us, we need to be willing to step aside and give God the real glory. Let's get out of the way and let God's work really shine!
Praise God for God's patience as we strive to finally get it right! Thanks be to God for every wondrous gift given to every person, and for God's power in enabling that person to use it for God's purposes. Glory to God. Amen.
Pastor Brian
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Questions
I am glad to be part of a tradition that encourages questions. Recent conversations with others have gotten me thinking on this topic. Many faiths, and even some denominations within the Christian faith, discourage questions of faith. The Methodist tradtion has always promoted thought, learning, and seeking. I think everyone, at some point, begins to wonder if what they've been told is correct. We feel the "what about..." questions coming to our minds. We can deal with that in two ways. The first is to dismiss the question as a weakness of faith. The second, and I think more helpful, is to allow the question to help us seek a deeper understanding of our own faith. With that being said, having a strong community of faith and spiritual leader to help us explore these questions is critical. We cannot do this alone!
A new year is a great time to begin new habits and new explorations. I would encourage everyone to write down your questions, no matter how silly they seem, and get them to your spiritual leader. If he or she is unwilling to help you explore them, I would encourage you to look to a different guide who will be able to help you grow on your own journey of faith. The faith of our fathers and mothers is a great faith, but we eventually have to come to an understanding of faith on our own, and that requires some deep questioning, searching, and struggling to do. Explore the questions, and be blessed by the journey!
Pastor Brian
A new year is a great time to begin new habits and new explorations. I would encourage everyone to write down your questions, no matter how silly they seem, and get them to your spiritual leader. If he or she is unwilling to help you explore them, I would encourage you to look to a different guide who will be able to help you grow on your own journey of faith. The faith of our fathers and mothers is a great faith, but we eventually have to come to an understanding of faith on our own, and that requires some deep questioning, searching, and struggling to do. Explore the questions, and be blessed by the journey!
Pastor Brian
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