Prayer and Good Works

I have been reading Church History in recent days. In the days after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Between 480 and 550 there lived an early Church Father known as Benedict of Nursia. Benedict was distraught by Rome’s collapse, fled to the Italian countryside around the year 500. There with his sister Scholastica, gathered two communities of people, “who were themselves looking for a more meaningful way of life” than was offered by the remnants of Christianity.

He envisioned the spiritual life as “Twelve Steps of Humility” shaping the heart for “holy obedience” whereby external chaos would give way to an internally ordered soul. Compassion was balanced with discipline.

It was a communal life of prayer and good works.

When the Methoidst movement was gaining momentum in England, there was a deep sense that folks were looking for a more meaningful way of life. It was also rooted in prayer.

These days, when an average pastor is asked to name the three most important tasks of ministry, prayer rarely makes the list. Preaching, Pastoral Care,and Adminstration are often the top three.

In the days to come, I believe the center piece of the United Methodist movement is prayer.

Prayer rooted in scripture.

Prayer centered in Christ.

Prayer that moves out in the world, serving in love.

Let's build some bridges across the church that we might prayerfully reach beyond ourselves with compassion and good.

Hair Cut Witnessing

I had not expected the conversation to turn in that direction.
She had been cutting my hair for about three months.

I knew she was a recovering Baptist.
She knew I was a United Methodist Minister.
She doesn’t believe in women ministers.
Or building programs.
Or once saved always saved.

She does believe in the power of Christ and the teachings of Jesus.
I’d invited her to attend a United Methodist Church near her home.
She said she’d think about it.
She never did.

I asked why she didn’t come.
She said she was busy.
I asked, “do you have a holy longing?”
She said she didn’t.
I asked, “do you ever wrestle with doubt?”
She said, “I do.”

As she finished my hair cut, she said,
“You know, my husband grew up Jehovah’s Witness.
His family didn’t speak to him for ten years when we joined the
Baptist Church.
Will you pray for my husband ,Mark. I’d go back if he’d go with me.
But he has trouble with it all.
"Ok."

“I’ll pray,” I said.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.

Today was her last day to cut hair. She was retiring.

So I’m left to my prayers.
I am wondering how many thousands of others like her are cutting hair or
Checking at Wal-Mart or changing the oil at Jiffy Lube.

She said she missed singing in the choir and serving.

“I was a worker,” she said.

“Thanks for the haircut,” I said.,
I’ll pray for Mark.

And I walked out the door.

Was it enough?

The Good Life

St. Augustine said in a sermon: "You all say 'the times are troubled, the times are hard, the times are wretched.' Live the good lives and you will change the times by living good lives. You will change the times and then you will have nothing to grumble about."

The Sermons of Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century
Ed. John E. Rotelle, OSF
Sermons 111.9.74, New York 1991

An Open Invitation to the People of the United Methodist Church

If you believe that Jesus Christ is the center of our Faith and that all of life flows from life in him…

If you believe that what unites us in Jesus Christ is greater than any difference that may separate us…

If you believe that we as Christ-followers need to recapture the gift of Christian Conversation…

If you believe that the Holy Scripture is best understood in light of the life, teaching death and resurrection of Jesus…

If you believe that we are better together than we are apart…that our strength is in unity not in schism…

If you believe that resurrection is stronger than death, that hope is greater than fear…

If you are tired of the endless arguing about who is in and who is out, who’s acceptable and who’s not…

If you would like to have a conversation about what’s right with the United Methodist Church…

I invite you to a conversation about the matters of our hearts and the desires of our faith…

I invite you to a conversation where we discover those places of vitality and strength…

Losing Self

Four years ago today I left Tupelo, Mississippi to travel to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to offer a hand in the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. Little did I know then that journey would begin a relationship which would ultimately bring me south to a new beginning. I arrived, first, in Bay St. Louis to visit Rick and Lynn Brooks. Before I could find their parsonage, I had to negotiate with the Mississippi National Guard that I had legitimate business coming inside I-10. When I finally got to Rick and Lynn’s home, which had received eight feet of flood water, I discovered that the difficult work of “mucking out” had been done.

I would return several more times over the several months as First United Methodist Church, Tupelo, partnered with Main Street, Bay St. Louis to restore their home. In the midst that recovery work, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward invited me to become the District Superintendent of the Seashore District. It’s been quite a journey. We’ve got an abundance of stories. We’ve come a long, long way, thanks to the wonderful people called Methodists across the world. UMCOR, United Methodist Committee on Relief, an arm of the General Board of Global Ministries has been a great gift to our recovery. The Bishop’s Appeal for Church Recovery brought financial resources to our congregations. Through those efforts and the partnerships that were forged we have been able to restore, rebuild and reestablish our congregations and sustain our pastors. The United Methodist Church is a making a difference in the lives of millions of people!

The work of UMCOR and UMVIM(United Methodist Volunteers in Mission), the church is being renewed. Too much of our time is wasted focusing on all that is wrong with the United Methodist Church. There is much that is right. Our people respond when a tangible need is place before them. We in Mississippi are the benefactors of what the writer of the book of James teaches, namely that faith without works is dead. The faithful United Methodist Christians across this country and the world have given hope where there was no hope.

On Wednesday of this week, we will dedicate a home for Amy Hille, who for the last four years has been living in a makeshift home made of scrap wood, tin and tarp. Her house has built with love by the hands and feet and hearts of faithful United Methodist Christians. Teams have come thinking that in their coming they were helping. In one sense they have done just that. In a deeper sense, they have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel. In losing themselves for the sake of the Gospel, they have been renewed. For many, they have been saved.

Go lose yourself, somewhere today, for Jesus’ sake.

And while you are at, build a few bridges. The world needs you.

More Thoughts from Christianity for the Rest of Us

Michel de Certeau: …the Christian story begins on the ground level, with footsteps…intertwined paths give their space to spaces as they weave their places together.

The early Christians were known for what they did…practicing hospitality and forgiveness…

I like the image of “cutting edge traditional.”

There is a distinction between the life giving great tradition, says Huston Smith, that is the voice of peace, justice, and beauty emanating from the Christian soul, and the authoritative, exclusive traditionalism as practiced by some contemporary American Protestants.

Thoughts stirred and discovered by re-reading, “Christianity for the Rest of Us” by Dorothy Butler Bass

Four years out: Healing Hearts and Homes

Today I spent the day with a team of volunteers working on Katrina recovery. 120 United Methodist lay and clergy from across Mississippi gathered to spend the next three days restoring hearts and homes. Four years out we have had over 160,000 volunteers from across the world who have contributed in excess of 1 million dollars in labor savings.

Across the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church alone, VIM efforts have increased by 35% among those who have been inspired to take their mission efforts to other places in the world.



I am mindful of what a great gift the United Methodist Church is as we continue to offer hope to a hurting world.


As I was reminded recently, the early Christians were known for what they did…practicing hospitality and forgiveness…present day Christians continue that legacy as we offer hope, healing and the possibility of new beginnings.

Thoughts for a Saturday morning

1. Martin Luther King said, “that the religious community could help a divided nation find common ground by moving to higher ground.”

2. A more authentic Church, writes Dorothy Butler Bass, is one on a journey to becoming God’s church…new people…new ways of being…new communities.

4. New image: Transformative Traditions

5. Jesus is not the way to get somewhere else but Jesus is the Christian Journey itself. The arrival is in God.

6. Jesus says “follow me” not follow a map to me.

7. Maybe every congregation needs a full year of mentoring new comers into a life of discipleship.

8. We’re invited to come into a living relationship with Jesus Christ who takes over the center of one’s life.

9. Christianity is a religion of the streets.

These thoughts stirred today as I re-read Dorothy Butler's Bass' book, Christianity for the rest of us.

Building Bridges...

Centered in Christ

In our time, authority is being questioned.



In this post Modern, post Christian world, the authority of Scripture is being debated and scrutinized. On the one hand, the orthodox view holds that all authority is in the Word of God as it is written. The words are inspired, inerrant, and infallible. God said it, I believe it, which settles it. Additionally, God is not continuing to offer any new revelation or understanding to what God has already said in Scripture.


On the other hand, are revisionists who hold that God’s word is ever unfolding and must continually be interpreted in light of current realities and new knowledge. The Word of God is continuously being brought under the light of each new day with new understandings and interpretations. God is still speaking, and one must be open to that new Word from God. While one who follows this model holds that God’s Word is authoritative, it is only so as it is interpreted under the current light of day.


One of the difficulties in the midst of this debate is that since 9/11/2001, there has been a dramatic increase in anxiety in the world. Anytime anxiety increases, so does the desire for there to be an external authority in which to place one’s security. The growing secular culture, coupled with the rise of uncertainty in our world, gives fundamentalism more than an honest hearing; it becomes truth for many.




The antidote to that anxiety isn’t to become rigid.


Rather, the antidote to that anxiety is to become centered in Jesus Christ.



What I believe the Church needs today is disciples who live a balanced lives, head and heart, in their approach to the Holy Scripture.



By being centered, lives are transformed.


This is my deepest hope.


I’m grateful God is raising up those who share my hope.


May our tribe increase!

I give thanks today for:
-cell phones that work

-email that makes it to the right inbox

-for air conditioning that keeps on cooling

-for a hot meal cooked and served among friends

-Melodye Luke who keeps us all informed and sees her work as servant ministry

-Pastors who care about their congregations and who don’t mind going the second
mile

-Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Guide, and our Friend

-Prayer that allows me to take all my anxiety and need to the One who knows
my need even before I ask

-for the privilege of serving a long side you and laboring in God's Kingdom known
as the Seashore District

As Paul wrote in Philippians 1: I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.

Ode To A Seminary Student

The first Bible that made a significant impression on me was given to me for my 16th birthday. It was one of those imitation leather, green copies of the Living Bible. If you remember that greenback book, you are a baby boomer. Two friends offered it to me with their favorite verses highlighted in yellow. John 3:16. Romans 8:28. Philippians 4:13. In those days of my adolescent formation, I was glad to get my hands on a version of the Bible which was more accessible.

Since those days, I’ve spent a lot of my life pouring over the Bible. I’m prone to look at a variety of translations in search of the meaning of a particular text. I’m grateful for good scholarship which challenges me to dig deeper. My most recent favorite translation is Eugene Peterson’s The Message. I even have a Bible app on my iphone with a host of translations at my fingertips.

There is no lack of interest in the Bible. It is the foundation of our faith. Indeed, I believe that Jesus models an incarnational theology. His life, teaching, death, and resurrection provide the very foundation on which our lives are transformed. Simply stated, that transformation is a result of living in relationship to Jesus Christ rooted in the whole of scripture. From my vantage point, the best way we understand life is by studying the Bible and following Jesus. As a result, persons become vibrant witnesses to the Word made flesh. We honor not just the stories that confirm our particular points of view, but also affirm the whole of scripture as it forms and informs our spiritual lives. In our time, we are losing a sense of our rootedness in scripture with, on the one hand, an interest in the spiritual, and on the other hand, a growing sense of secularism. For that reason, I’ve always preferred the language of Christian formation rather than merely spiritual formation.

One of the key issues facing both the United Methodist Church, and our culture is how one appropriates authority. In fact, voices across the landscape of Christendom today speak freely about Biblical authority. In truth, the Church has been trying to settle on its understanding of authority since the fourteenth century. The question that emerged was: what authority will we trust?

For a very long time the Church and tradition spoke as one voice. With the onset of the age of enlightenment along with the onslaught of the plagues which swept Europe, the authority of the church began to break down. With the Protestant Reformation and the emergence of the priesthood of all believers, the Church divided in two branches, Roman Catholic and Protestant. Later the Church of England was added to the mix. Then, along comes John Wesley with a heritage in the Church of England. Wesley was influenced by Thomas Aquinas via Richard Hooker who articulated the ideas of what we now know as the quadrilateral: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. For Wesley, scripture was primary. While Wesley referred to himself as a man of one book, sola scriptura, he was actually a man of many books. His primary authority, however, was Scripture.

Authority is being questioned in our time.

If we are to build bridges from the Church to the culture, understanding and appropriating authority will be essential.