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

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