Over my ministry, I have enjoyed going through the process of adoption with a number of couples. When I was the pastor of Chapel Hill UMC in Farmers Branch, we were one of the designated locations for the Methodist Mission Home to meet with adoptive parents as the case worker placed their new baby in their loving arms. I participated in several worship services that celebrated the event and, I can tell you, there is no feeling like the one that enters your heart when you see the joy in the faces as the eyes of the new parents and their child meet for the first time. It is the personification of love.
I have felt that same feeling these past few days as our church was presented with the opportunity to adopt one of the elementary schools in McKinney. Six churches in town have been asked if they would join with another school to adopt one of our MISD Title One schools. Title One schools are those with at least 40% of their students on the free breakfast and lunch program. We have been invited to join forces with Bennett Elementary and Wolford Elementary to adopt Malvern Elementary School. Malvern has about 87% of their students on the free meal program. I knew you would want to beadoptive parents, so I committed our church to this new ministry. Then the church staff started to find some people willing to direct our part of the mission. As is always the case when God guides you into a new ministry, the people were there just waiting for someone to ask them. We now have a team of 10 people who have agreed to be a part of the liaison team with Bennett, Wolford and Malvern.
Let me tell you a little about Malvern Elementary School. It is located at 1100 Eldorado Parkway; about a quarter mile east of highway 75. It is a vibrant and innovative community school of about 600 students. It opened in 2001 as one of the McKinney ISD sustainable schools that are environmentally sensitive in architecture and engineering. It is a “recognized” school. Sandra Barber is the principal.
There are a lot of areas in which we will be able to assist in this new ministry in the years to come. There will be opportunities for people to be mentors, reading partners and tutors. We can support and appreciate the teachers and administrators. We can assist in the workroom, the library, the clothing/food closet and with technology. They need people to join the chess club and the PTA. Some will want to be involved at the school at night; like leading parent seminars and developing a parent center. I hope some of our small groups will decide to adopt one of their individual classes. They even have a garden in which our green thumbs can play.
The reason you are receiving this email a little earlier than usual is that we have an immediate need to which we can respond. The students need school supplies. A list of the supplies needed is below:
Crayons
Pencils
Gluesticks
Notebook paper
Pocket folers
Spirals
Pencil pouches
We will be collecting these supplies so that they can be delivered to the families before school starts. Our deadline for the supplies to be brought to the church is Thursday, August 6. If you would prefer, you can make a cash donation for the purchase of the supplies.
Adoption can be the personification of love. Let us begin to share the love of God with the families of Malvern Elementary.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Reflections on Coming Back from Vacation
“Vacation – noun, from the Latin ‘vacatio’ meaning freedom; the freedom from any activity; a rest; a respite; an intermission; a period of rest and freedom from work or study; a time of recreation.”
It has been nice being welcomed back to the church after vacation the last few Sundays. Of course, being a minister, I only work on Sundays and only until noon at that, but it is nice to get a break from the routine every once in a while. Many have asked where we went on vacation and the answer is nowhere. Oh, we got away on a short junket the last few days of my time off, but most of the time we stayed home and caught up on projects that have been on our “to do” list for way too long.
This all came about when my two sons (both in their 20’s and living away from home) gave me their slave labor for a few days. This developed into a plan to lay travertine tile in the master bathroom and St. Augustine sod in the backyard. Some vacation! In defense of my seeming insanity, I had planned to be the supervisor over these projects and simply direct my sons in what to do next. You would think, after twenty-seven years of fatherhood, I would have learned better. They worked hard, but being twice their age calculated into me being twice as tired and sore. The amount of sweat I released broke every rule in the clergy code of conduct. Looking at the above definition makes me think I failed vacation miserably.
However, I have to admit, as strange as it might sound, it turned out to be a time of freedom from the everyday routine and pressures. It was restful in that my mind could take a break from creating worship bulletins, sermons and Moments with Mollet. It was a respite from what can become ordinary, usual, normal, common and it gave me the opportunity to look at things fresh again. It was recreation, not in the sense of play and fun, but a time of re-creation – giving God the opportunity to create in me again. I enjoyed the time I spent with my boys. That time gets more precious every day. And it was good to do some manual labor. For this pencil-pusher it was good to feel the muscles I don’t use as much as I should.
Coming back from vacation also helps me realize that the stuff I leave behind to go on vacation will always be awaiting me on my return. The work I left was still on my desk when I got back. The problems of the world still existed. The hurts in people’s lives were still present. No matter how long and far we go, we cannot run from the realities of our lives. However, the good news of the gospel is that God never takes a vacation. God lives through the pain and problems with us. We are never left to take on the whole load ourselves. (Read Psalm 139:1-18) I guess it was good that my sons were there to help me through these projects. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead. Shared burdens are always more bearable.
It has been nice being welcomed back to the church after vacation the last few Sundays. Of course, being a minister, I only work on Sundays and only until noon at that, but it is nice to get a break from the routine every once in a while. Many have asked where we went on vacation and the answer is nowhere. Oh, we got away on a short junket the last few days of my time off, but most of the time we stayed home and caught up on projects that have been on our “to do” list for way too long.
This all came about when my two sons (both in their 20’s and living away from home) gave me their slave labor for a few days. This developed into a plan to lay travertine tile in the master bathroom and St. Augustine sod in the backyard. Some vacation! In defense of my seeming insanity, I had planned to be the supervisor over these projects and simply direct my sons in what to do next. You would think, after twenty-seven years of fatherhood, I would have learned better. They worked hard, but being twice their age calculated into me being twice as tired and sore. The amount of sweat I released broke every rule in the clergy code of conduct. Looking at the above definition makes me think I failed vacation miserably.
However, I have to admit, as strange as it might sound, it turned out to be a time of freedom from the everyday routine and pressures. It was restful in that my mind could take a break from creating worship bulletins, sermons and Moments with Mollet. It was a respite from what can become ordinary, usual, normal, common and it gave me the opportunity to look at things fresh again. It was recreation, not in the sense of play and fun, but a time of re-creation – giving God the opportunity to create in me again. I enjoyed the time I spent with my boys. That time gets more precious every day. And it was good to do some manual labor. For this pencil-pusher it was good to feel the muscles I don’t use as much as I should.
Coming back from vacation also helps me realize that the stuff I leave behind to go on vacation will always be awaiting me on my return. The work I left was still on my desk when I got back. The problems of the world still existed. The hurts in people’s lives were still present. No matter how long and far we go, we cannot run from the realities of our lives. However, the good news of the gospel is that God never takes a vacation. God lives through the pain and problems with us. We are never left to take on the whole load ourselves. (Read Psalm 139:1-18) I guess it was good that my sons were there to help me through these projects. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead. Shared burdens are always more bearable.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Numbers Just Don't Add Up
Last Sunday I admitted to the worshippers in the Celebration Service that I was never good in math. Algebra still makes little sense to me. I was very thankful that the least math credits required for any major while I was a student at Centenary College was for a religion degree. God is gracious!
However, I do have enough math savvy to realize when the numbers don’t add up. Through the first 29 weeks of the year, our attendance in worship is up an average of 125 people a Sunday. That is an increase of almost 10%. We have already had 3,637 more people in our worship services this year than in 2008. We have had only four Sundays of the twenty-nine this year that had less people in worship than the same Sunday the year before. This is great news and a good indicator of the continuing growth and health of our church. Thank you for welcoming your neighbors into our church.
On the other hand (I’m sure you knew there was going to be another hand involved), offerings to the church have not increased with attendance. For eighteen of the twenty-nine Sundays of 2009 giving has been less than the same Sunday in 2008. Some Sundays the difference is just a couple hundred dollars, a few are down as much as $15,000. Overall, giving has decreased over these first twenty-nine Sundays by over $65,000. As the reports from our Financial Ministries Team have reassured us, we have been keeping our spending down to record levels, so the numbers are not as bad as they seem. But you don’t have to be a math genius to realize the attendance figures and the giving numbers just don’t add up. The old church adage is “giving follows attendance” and usually that is a truism. If that were the case for us, we should be having a banner financial year in 2009.
The most frightening number of 2009 is the comparison giving for the summer. Giving since June has decreased this year from 2008 by over $28,000. Of the $65,000 we are behind our 2008 giving, $28,000 of that has come this summer. That means 43% of our shortfall for the year has come over the last seven Sundays. In other words, we are going in the wrong direction…fast. Instead of catching up, we are falling further behind and the fall has increased in momentum. We cannot even blame this one on the economy – it has been picking up the past few months. Even my retirement fund increased this last quarter for the first time in the last year and a half.
Your church needs your help now. Please help us catch up these next six weeks of summer. I am asking you personally and individually to prayerful consider your response to the church’s need. We cannot allow this trend to continue without serious harm to our ministry. Starting this Sunday, we will give you an update each week on the comparison from 2008 to 2009.
In addition, in August we will inaugurate a new stewardship emphasis campaign called “One Dollar More”. Watch for details in the next few weeks. Until then, please make your additional contribution to the church so we can right the ship. Together we can make a difference and help these numbers begin to add up.
However, I do have enough math savvy to realize when the numbers don’t add up. Through the first 29 weeks of the year, our attendance in worship is up an average of 125 people a Sunday. That is an increase of almost 10%. We have already had 3,637 more people in our worship services this year than in 2008. We have had only four Sundays of the twenty-nine this year that had less people in worship than the same Sunday the year before. This is great news and a good indicator of the continuing growth and health of our church. Thank you for welcoming your neighbors into our church.
On the other hand (I’m sure you knew there was going to be another hand involved), offerings to the church have not increased with attendance. For eighteen of the twenty-nine Sundays of 2009 giving has been less than the same Sunday in 2008. Some Sundays the difference is just a couple hundred dollars, a few are down as much as $15,000. Overall, giving has decreased over these first twenty-nine Sundays by over $65,000. As the reports from our Financial Ministries Team have reassured us, we have been keeping our spending down to record levels, so the numbers are not as bad as they seem. But you don’t have to be a math genius to realize the attendance figures and the giving numbers just don’t add up. The old church adage is “giving follows attendance” and usually that is a truism. If that were the case for us, we should be having a banner financial year in 2009.
The most frightening number of 2009 is the comparison giving for the summer. Giving since June has decreased this year from 2008 by over $28,000. Of the $65,000 we are behind our 2008 giving, $28,000 of that has come this summer. That means 43% of our shortfall for the year has come over the last seven Sundays. In other words, we are going in the wrong direction…fast. Instead of catching up, we are falling further behind and the fall has increased in momentum. We cannot even blame this one on the economy – it has been picking up the past few months. Even my retirement fund increased this last quarter for the first time in the last year and a half.
Your church needs your help now. Please help us catch up these next six weeks of summer. I am asking you personally and individually to prayerful consider your response to the church’s need. We cannot allow this trend to continue without serious harm to our ministry. Starting this Sunday, we will give you an update each week on the comparison from 2008 to 2009.
In addition, in August we will inaugurate a new stewardship emphasis campaign called “One Dollar More”. Watch for details in the next few weeks. Until then, please make your additional contribution to the church so we can right the ship. Together we can make a difference and help these numbers begin to add up.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
What I Read On Vacation
Every once in a while, I read a book that stretches my traditional Christian thinking and that was the case with a book I read over my vacation. Several years ago, I was told by a church member I shouldn’t be reading such books and certainly not sharing them with others. I have to say my faith has grown much more from reading books that challenge my faith than from reading books that just confirm what I already believe. I hope, by sharing with you what challenges me, you grow in faith as well.
The book is entitled An American Gospel by Eric Reese. I decided to read it after I heard the author interviewed on the radio. Reese is the son and grandson of fundamentalist Baptist ministers and is presently a writer in residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. There is a lot going on in this book: Reese’s attempt to capture what he calls “the American Gospel,” which grew out of a response to the restrictive puritan beginnings of religion in America; sharing his love of American literature and its writers and finding spiritual direction in them; working through his father’s suicide and trying to make some spiritual sense of it; and a little touch of environmentalist tree hugging at the end of the book. But the reason I decided to read the book was that Reese, in the radio interview, said he no longer went to church. If the Christian church is declining, as the surveys increasingly tell us, we better find out the reasons our friends and neighbors are choosing spiritual pathways other than the church. Eric Reese’s story and faith journey did not disappoint.
In the introduction to the book, Reese begins with Leo Tolstoy and the inspiration Tolstoy received from the free spirits of American writers Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. Reese writes, “In The Kingdom of God is Within You, Tolstoy argued that one cannot believe in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Nicene Creed… In this sermon (following the Beatitudes), Jesus goes on to charge his crowd to love their enemies, turn the other cheek, give to those who beg, and avoid hypocritical judgments. By contrast, the Nicene Creed is solely an assertion of the divinity of Jesus…Tolstoy argued that either one accepts the Sermon’s rigorous demands for how we must act in this world, how we must treat others, or one chooses the Creed as a way of escaping from this world into another.”
Reese goes on to quote Tolstoy as writing, “The man who believes in salvation through faith in the redemption or sacraments cannot devote all his powers to realizing Christ’s moral teaching in his life.” What Reese says in his book is we have emphasized the divinity of Christ to the exclusion of the humanity of Jesus. We have placed personal salvation over our responsibility to love God and our neighbor – the greatest commandment as Jesus would say. We have concentrated our faith more on entering the Kingdom of God in heaven than we have building the Kingdom of God on earth.
First let me say, I don’t believe we must put such a strict dividing line between the divinity of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus – our salvation and the works of faith. As the Book of James reminds us, through our salvation (our oneness with God through Christ) flows the works of faith. One does not have to throw out the divinity of Jesus to follow the teachings of Jesus or visa versa. But Reese’s point is clear and important – as a person seeking spirituality outside of the church Reese is telling us, until I see the people of the church changing the world through the works demanded by Jesus, I will not believe of your salvation (oneness with Him) in His name. Jesus warned us of being like the hypocritical Pharisee praying in the marketplace. (Luke 18:9-14) He encouraged us to show God’s love through our lives more than anyone else. (Matthew 5:43-48) Jesus knew that was the way into the hearts of those seeking something more in their lives.
We must listen to the Eric Reeses of the world. They are telling us why they have not found the church to be a legitimate pathway to the spirit of God. They are telling us there is an incongruity in what we say and what we do and they don’t want any part of it. John reminds us of that incongruity, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (I John 4:20). So put your acts of faith where your religious mouth is. Never ask someone if they are saved before you show them your oneness with God in the way you live.
The book is entitled An American Gospel by Eric Reese. I decided to read it after I heard the author interviewed on the radio. Reese is the son and grandson of fundamentalist Baptist ministers and is presently a writer in residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. There is a lot going on in this book: Reese’s attempt to capture what he calls “the American Gospel,” which grew out of a response to the restrictive puritan beginnings of religion in America; sharing his love of American literature and its writers and finding spiritual direction in them; working through his father’s suicide and trying to make some spiritual sense of it; and a little touch of environmentalist tree hugging at the end of the book. But the reason I decided to read the book was that Reese, in the radio interview, said he no longer went to church. If the Christian church is declining, as the surveys increasingly tell us, we better find out the reasons our friends and neighbors are choosing spiritual pathways other than the church. Eric Reese’s story and faith journey did not disappoint.
In the introduction to the book, Reese begins with Leo Tolstoy and the inspiration Tolstoy received from the free spirits of American writers Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. Reese writes, “In The Kingdom of God is Within You, Tolstoy argued that one cannot believe in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Nicene Creed… In this sermon (following the Beatitudes), Jesus goes on to charge his crowd to love their enemies, turn the other cheek, give to those who beg, and avoid hypocritical judgments. By contrast, the Nicene Creed is solely an assertion of the divinity of Jesus…Tolstoy argued that either one accepts the Sermon’s rigorous demands for how we must act in this world, how we must treat others, or one chooses the Creed as a way of escaping from this world into another.”
Reese goes on to quote Tolstoy as writing, “The man who believes in salvation through faith in the redemption or sacraments cannot devote all his powers to realizing Christ’s moral teaching in his life.” What Reese says in his book is we have emphasized the divinity of Christ to the exclusion of the humanity of Jesus. We have placed personal salvation over our responsibility to love God and our neighbor – the greatest commandment as Jesus would say. We have concentrated our faith more on entering the Kingdom of God in heaven than we have building the Kingdom of God on earth.
First let me say, I don’t believe we must put such a strict dividing line between the divinity of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus – our salvation and the works of faith. As the Book of James reminds us, through our salvation (our oneness with God through Christ) flows the works of faith. One does not have to throw out the divinity of Jesus to follow the teachings of Jesus or visa versa. But Reese’s point is clear and important – as a person seeking spirituality outside of the church Reese is telling us, until I see the people of the church changing the world through the works demanded by Jesus, I will not believe of your salvation (oneness with Him) in His name. Jesus warned us of being like the hypocritical Pharisee praying in the marketplace. (Luke 18:9-14) He encouraged us to show God’s love through our lives more than anyone else. (Matthew 5:43-48) Jesus knew that was the way into the hearts of those seeking something more in their lives.
We must listen to the Eric Reeses of the world. They are telling us why they have not found the church to be a legitimate pathway to the spirit of God. They are telling us there is an incongruity in what we say and what we do and they don’t want any part of it. John reminds us of that incongruity, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (I John 4:20). So put your acts of faith where your religious mouth is. Never ask someone if they are saved before you show them your oneness with God in the way you live.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Remembering Pete Messick
On October 24 last year, we lost a cherished member of our church and the drummer in the Celebration Band, Pete Messick. Pete’s face became an iconic presence in our worship services. He found so much joy in playing songs that praised the Lord that his face became radiant when he played. I cannot tell you how many times people would comment to me on the pleasure they received in their worship watching Pete play. As I said in the eulogy at his memorial service, Pete was our Little Drummer Boy.
After some interesting years on the rock and jazz music circuit, Pete began to grow in his relationship with God. Through their professional careers, Pete and Buddy Mattei, director of our music ministries, became friends. On the way to and from gigs, Buddy and Pete would talk about the church in McKinney Buddy was involved in. Soon Pete and his wife, Joanne, found themselves in worship at Stonebridge UMC. After one of the services, Pete told Buddy that he liked the music, but the band could use a drummer. From that point on Pete became our drummer boy. If you remember the classic Christmas story, a little boy was trying to find a way to give a gift to the new born Son of God. He finally and reluctantly decided to play a song for him on his drum. This act pleased the Lord more than any other gift. Pete’s playing on Sunday mornings pleased the Lord and Pete came to understand it as his gift to God. That was the radiance you saw on his face.
To honor Pete’s memory, we are installing a prayer labyrinth on the property at the church. The labyrinth came from Greek mythology and found its place in Christianity in medieval times. It symbolizes our pathway to God. It has a clearly defined center which represents our union with God and has one entrance which is to remind us of our birth and baptism. Labyrinths are symbolic pilgrimages where we focus on our growing relationship with God. Its significance faded over time, but its spiritual use has recently experienced a rebirth. Today, you can find labyrinths in churches and parks. We have a portable indoor labyrinth we use for special occasions in the life of our church.
The Pete Messick labyrinth will go on the east side of the church building where the portable buildings used to stand. It has been approved by the church Trustees and it will be paid for from memorial gifts given in honor of Pete. If you would like to honor Pete and make this wonderful addition to our church a reality, make your checks payable to the church with Pete’s name on the memo line. You will also be able to give electronically through the Secure Give kiosk located at the information desk outside Celebration Hall or through our web site by clicking here.
This Sunday, a picture of the labyrinth will be in the church hallway close to the church office. As you imagine people walking the labyrinth, think of Pete’s face as he played. I have no doubt that radiant face will be looking down on us in joy.
After some interesting years on the rock and jazz music circuit, Pete began to grow in his relationship with God. Through their professional careers, Pete and Buddy Mattei, director of our music ministries, became friends. On the way to and from gigs, Buddy and Pete would talk about the church in McKinney Buddy was involved in. Soon Pete and his wife, Joanne, found themselves in worship at Stonebridge UMC. After one of the services, Pete told Buddy that he liked the music, but the band could use a drummer. From that point on Pete became our drummer boy. If you remember the classic Christmas story, a little boy was trying to find a way to give a gift to the new born Son of God. He finally and reluctantly decided to play a song for him on his drum. This act pleased the Lord more than any other gift. Pete’s playing on Sunday mornings pleased the Lord and Pete came to understand it as his gift to God. That was the radiance you saw on his face.
To honor Pete’s memory, we are installing a prayer labyrinth on the property at the church. The labyrinth came from Greek mythology and found its place in Christianity in medieval times. It symbolizes our pathway to God. It has a clearly defined center which represents our union with God and has one entrance which is to remind us of our birth and baptism. Labyrinths are symbolic pilgrimages where we focus on our growing relationship with God. Its significance faded over time, but its spiritual use has recently experienced a rebirth. Today, you can find labyrinths in churches and parks. We have a portable indoor labyrinth we use for special occasions in the life of our church.
The Pete Messick labyrinth will go on the east side of the church building where the portable buildings used to stand. It has been approved by the church Trustees and it will be paid for from memorial gifts given in honor of Pete. If you would like to honor Pete and make this wonderful addition to our church a reality, make your checks payable to the church with Pete’s name on the memo line. You will also be able to give electronically through the Secure Give kiosk located at the information desk outside Celebration Hall or through our web site by clicking here.
This Sunday, a picture of the labyrinth will be in the church hallway close to the church office. As you imagine people walking the labyrinth, think of Pete’s face as he played. I have no doubt that radiant face will be looking down on us in joy.
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