Peopled Grace: An Open Letter to Clinton First Church of the Nazarene

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism and our theological forefather, spoke and wrote often about the means of grace. When Wesley referred to the means of grace, he was talking about things like prayer, scripture reading, communion, and preaching. These are a few examples of some means by which God’s grace comes to us. That is, they are places where God has promised to meet us over and over again. They are regular conduits of his healing mercy. Even if “means of grace” is not terminology you find familiar, most of these practices are familiar ones if you’ve been around the Church for very long. We engage in these practices so that the Holy Spirit may use them to shape us into the likeness of Christ.

There is one means of grace that has become particularly important to me over the last several years even though it may not be one we typically consider alongside of things like prayer and scripture: other people. I’ve come to realize just what a gift from God other people are for shaping us into the likeness of Christ. Other people can obviously serve as friends and people of encouragement and support but they can also serve as a kind of mirror to our own incompleteness. They may do this directly in their words or their actions toward us but more often it is simply by being who they are. Simply by being “other,” by being something other than I am, others can remind me of the vast array of what it means to be human and therefore also remind me of what it means to be whole in Christ.

I’ve experienced this in a number of ways in my life. I’ve experienced it in parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles who have shown me godly love. I’ve come to know it in a wife whose loving presence has rescued me from a solitary life that would come all too naturally to me. I’ve come to know it in children whose constant desire for my presence is a constant reminder that I need to truly be present with those around me. I’ve experienced it in professors and mentors who have deepened and enriched my faith. I’ve experienced in strangers, mere acquaintances, and new friends every time they force me to see life from a perspective other than the one to which I’ve become accustomed. But neither is it merely a matter of my own personal experience. I think it is of the greatest significance that when God wanted to reveal God’s character to us in its fullest and deepest sense that revelation came not in the form of law or prophetic utterance but in the form of a person; namely, Jesus.

                                                                                                               

Over the past six years, I’ve also come to experience this same truth and grace through the community of people among whom I’ve had the privilege of fulfilling the role of  pastor. For the last several weeks, as I’ve reflected on my time here in Clinton, I have been reminded of the many things about ministering here for which I am thankful; the many years of faithfulness by so many, the willingness to serve others, and the hospitality and care you have shown to my family and I. But there is one thing for which I am grateful above everything else; that you have helped to shape me into a person who is a little more like Jesus than the person who became your pastor six years ago. It is perhaps obvious that the role of the pastor is to be an instrument by which a congregations is urged to be more like Christ. What may be less obvious is that a congregation can also shape the pastor to be more like Christ. Clinton First Church of the Nazarene has done that for me. You have been a means of God’s grace in my life. By allowing me to be your pastor, with all of my weaknesses and incompleteness, you have made me a more whole person and a more faithful follower of Jesus. What greater gift could you have given me than that? Thank you for being a gift of God and a means of God’s grace in my life. 

Annual Report 2013

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

            Our reading from Hebrews this morning says that it was “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” This verse characterizes so much of Abraham’s story. The story of Abraham is the story of a journey with God; a story of following God’s leading; trusting that God knows the way even when Abraham does not.

            Abraham’s story resonates with me tremendously because my own spiritual life has become such a journey. I have come to believe very strongly in the very simple idea that the Spirit is leading so long as I am willing to follow. That leading of the Spirit has taken me on a journey around the eastern half of our country; first from Virginia to Boston and then to Kansas City. It is that same leading which brought us here to Clinton. For 6 years, our respective journey’s, yours and my family’s, have coincided. It has truly been a blessing to walk this path with all of you for the last six years and so it is with sadness but also with trust in the Spirit’s leading that I announce to you this morning that the time for our paths to diverge has come near.

            I was recently informed that I was accepted into Boston University’s Doctor of Theology program in New Testament studies. As a result, our journey will be taking us back to the Boston area and we will be leaving Clinton some time this summer. I want to tell you a little bit about how God has led me to this point but before I do there are a few things I want you to know.

First, I want you to know how thankful I am to have been your pastor over these last six years. I feel like calling it a blessing isn’t really adequate to describe just how grateful I am to have been your pastor and how appreciative I am of the way you have cared for my family in the time that we have been here. Being your pastor has changed me. It has made me a more complete person and a more faithful follower of Jesus and for that I am eternally grateful. I will never forget that you took a chance on a 25 year old fresh out of seminary with no pastoral experience and that you were patient with me as I learned my way and discovered my own pastoral identity. You have had a tremendously significant role in the formation of that identity. Your influence on me in my time here is something that will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Second, it is important to me that you know how deeply I have been committed to you. I want you to know in all the time that I have been here that I’ve never considered leaving for another church, never sent out a resume, never looked to see what else was available. I have been dedicated to being your pastor. Jess and I have always felt that it was the Spirit of God who led us here, not mere chance. We believe that same Spirit is now leading us once again.

Along those same lines, it is extremely important to me that you know that my time as your pastor was not a means to some other end. I know that pastors, myself included, are not immune to ambition and that sometimes pastors can use churches as a stepping stone to something else; a bigger church, a higher position of leadership, or whatever the case may be. Some of you have even indicated to me personally over the last several years, in the most gracious and complementary of ways, that you expected great things for me and that those things would one day lead me away from here. I imagine even now, as I am announcing to you that I will be pursuing a doctoral degree, that it may have the appearance of going on to “bigger and better things.” I want you to know that is not how I see it. I won’t deny that this is something I’ve desired for a long time and I also won’t claim that God told me this is what I had to do. I believe very strongly that God has opened this door for me but I also believe it is my decision to walk through that door. However, I will say with great confidence that my criteria for making this decision has always been about whether or not this was the best way for me to serve Christ and His kingdom. A number of things have happened over the last year which have convinced me that it is. But I want you to know that it is not as if I knew this is where I was headed all along. My time as your pastor has not been a stop on the way to something else. I have thrown myself as fully as I know how into being your pastor, given it everything I have known to give it, given you all of myself I knew how to give in the time I’ve been here. Far from being a mere stepping stone, I have regarded you as partners and co-travelers on this journey together for the last 6 years as we have sought to follow Jesus together.

With that in mind, let me share with you my own testimony this morning of how the Spirit of God has been leading me lately. As I said before, whether or not to pursue a doctorate in New Testament studies is something with which I’ve wrestled for a number of years. Ever since college, I’ve had a number of professors tell me they thought I was capable of such work and I always thought it was something I would enjoy. However, given the immense amount of time, energy, and resources it takes to complete such study, I wanted to be as certain as possible that this was my place in God’s kingdom. So even as I continued to pray and think about it, I committed myself to the task to which I knew God had called me; being your pastor.

Some of you may remember that in the fall of 2011 I went back to Kansas City for two weeks to take a class at seminary. It was around this time that I was finally beginning to give up on the idea of a doctorate. I was beginning to feel like I had been out of school too long and that the path back would be too difficult. While I was in Kansas City for that class, I spoke with one of my former professors who I knew would give me his honest opinion about whether or not this was something I should pursue. We had a lengthy conversation but what I remember most about that conversation was a sense of urgency.  My former professor reiterated to me that he was confident I had the ability to complete doctoral studies but he felt that it was important I do so sooner rather than later.  At the time, I felt that meant the decision was made; that the door was indeed closed.  I simply wasn't at a place where I was ready to leave our church. It felt as if this long-wrestled-with-decision had finally been made.

In the midst of those autumn months, in this time when I had basically given up the idea of doctoral work, I received a phone call.  It was on Halloween night of all nights and it was our District Superintendent, James Spruce.  Dr. Spruce had mentioned to me before that he thought I should keep further study open as an option and he began to reiterate that sentiment as a part of this conversation.  At first, I thought this was simply a passing comment as he was making his way onto his "real reason" for calling but I eventually realized this was the reason.  Right in this time when I thought this door was finally closed, here was my District Superintendent, who knew nothing of what I have mentioned above, calling me on a random week night to say nothing other than that it was not time for that door to close.  

This caught my attention.  It was very much like my call to ministry.  This was someone speaking directly to what I was wrestling with even though they didn't know that I was wrestling with it much as others had said to me "Have you ever thought about being a pastor?" when they had no idea that was exactly what I had been thinking about for months.

I started praying about it... a lot.  I couldn't stop thinking and praying about it...again, much like my call to ministry had completely consumed my thoughts and prayers.  And the more I prayed and thought about it the more I felt like this was the direction the Spirit was leading. I started to see my conversation with my former professor differently.  Whereas I had seen it as a "No" now I saw it as a "Hurry up and get on with it." Since that time, there have been so many little confirmations along the way. The most significant of those confirmations came just last week when I not only found that I had been accepted into Boston University’s School of Theology but that the scholarships they would be providing were far more than I had anticipated or even imagined was possible.

Last Sunday, so many of you shared how God has been faithful to you. This is my testimony to you this morning concerning God’s faithfulness. I’ve said often that when I look back over the course of my life I am nothing short of astounded at where God has brought me. I marvel at how God has taken an often shy and timid kid and made him the husband of an exceptional woman, the father of three amazing children, and the pastor of a congregation of such wonderful and faithful people.. It is far more than I could ever deserve or even have imagined. And now God is providing and promising anew. Overwhelmed is one of the few words that even approaches adequately describing how I feel.

It is for that reason that I have complete confidence that God will also remain faithful to this church; to all of you. God’s love and faithfulness is already being demonstrated in and through so many of you and I know that it will continue to be. Sunday after Sunday for nearly 6 years now, we have proclaimed together that “We are called to be a community that is a faithful image of God’s love” and I say “Thanks be to God” because there are so many ways that calling is becoming a reality among us. I believe the future of this church will be brighter than its past so long as you continue to dedicate yourselves to that calling.

In fact, I believe that the words of the prophet Haggai that we heard in our time of worship together just a few months ago are appropriate for a time such as this. “Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

Finally, I want to say this morning that although the day will soon be here when I will no longer be your pastor, I hope that doesn’t mean we can no longer be friends. I hope that you will give Jess or I a call from time to time or send an e-mail to let us know how God is continuing to build his kingdom among you here in Clinton. I trust that you will get on facebook to see pictures of our children as they continue to grow. Most of all, I hope that you will pray for us fervently for years to come as we will for you. The path ahead for my family and I will not be an easy one. We will covet your prayers just as we have in the time that we have been here.

It has been such a gift from God to me to be your pastor and I know that it will be just as much a gift to continue to be your friend. May the Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon as you serve him faithfully for many years to come. 

Esther's Baptism

What's So Great About Being a Nazarene?

In our Sunday evening services, I have been responding to questions that individuals in my congregation have asked. One of those questions was this: With so many different churches and traditions to choose from, 12 churches just in our own little town, what is the benefit of belonging to and attending the Church of the Nazarene? The very first thing I want to say in response to that question is that I regard all Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ and I think we can learn a lot from other denominations. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy participating in our minster’s association here in town, why I always strongly encourage our members to attend the community services we have with other churches every year, why our teens are currently learning about and visiting other churches in town, why we combined with the Methodists and Presbyterians for VBS this past summer, and why we are happy to have those same two denominations participate with us in our community 4th Wednesday meal. As the priest at the Catholic parish we visited just last Sunday reminded us, there is much more that unites us than divides us.

That being said, there are meaningful differences between the different denominations within the body of Christ. Furthermore, while our allegiance to Christ should always be held in higher regard than our allegiance to a given denomination, I do think there is something to be said for digging in deep and putting down roots into a single tradition. This is not because one denomination is without fault or superior to all the rest but because the only way to truly know Christ is to know his Church in all its humanity and brokenness. Our loyalty to Christ inherently entails some loyalty to a local congregation and, therefore, the tradition of which that congregation is a part.

I confess and rejoice that I was born into a family of Nazarene parents and grandparents and that this has a lot to do with me being a Nazarene today. In spite of that, I could have found a home somewhere else at any time. Instead, I have not only remained but become a minister in this denomination. That doesn’t mean that I think the Church of the Nazarene is perfect or without the need for Spirit inspired change. But it does mean there are good reasons I have happily stayed. Here are my top ten.

10. We affirm historical Christianity. This may seem an odd way to begin a list of what makes us distinctive as Nazarenes but I think it is important. There are some traditions and non-denominational groups which acknowledge little or no connection to the history of Christianity which has preceded their own fellowship. As Nazarenes, we confess the historic creeds of the Church and acknowledge that our story does not skip directly from Jesus and the apostles to our founding as a denomination in 1908.

9. Our Wesleyan heritage as a via media between Catholicism and Protestantism. We typically refer to ourselves as protestants and John Wesley certainly wasn’t Roman Catholic. However, as an Anglican, he was part of a tradition that had found a blended, middle way between the Catholic and Protestant traditions which had alternately prevailed at different times in England. Since we often look to Wesley as our theological father, that moderate, catholic spirit has been passed down to us. The earliest Nazarenes followed the maxim “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity”.

8. We believe that God’s prevenient grace makes salvation available for anyone who will accept it. This is not an attempt to put down our Reformed brothers and sisters. They remind us of the important reality that salvation is not first and foremost a matter of human will. It is primarily an act of God. However, we do not believe that God chooses to elect only a few for whom that act is efficacious. We believe that God’s work of salvation in Christ has freed every human will to the extent that they can choose to accept or reject Christ. While salvation is entirely by the grace of God, we believe that God’s Spirit enables our spirit to cooperate with that grace.

7. We Are Not Fundamentalist (but neither do we exclude fundamentalists from our fellowship). Nazarenes have an extremely high regard for Scripture. We confess that it is “inerrant in all things concerning salvation.” Wesley described himself as “a man of one book.” Yet we also recognize that one can not read this one book without making use of reason, experience, and tradition. Our understanding of Scripture does not require us to choose between a faithful interpretation of Scripture and modern scientific and historical research. We believe that the two can easily co-exist. However, neither do we make an attempt to exclude those from membership who do see a conflict between modern science and their faith. We believe there is room for both approaches in our tradition.

6. Global Fellowship and Missional Unity. In a time when “denominational loyalty” is in decline and “church hierarchy” is often viewed with suspicion, I actually think our denominational structure is one of our great strengths. Nazarenes enjoy a fellowship and mutual support structures across a district that independent congregations do not. Furthermore, even denominations which have such a fellowship often go no further than a district or conference level. By contrast, Nazarenes from around the world gather every four years. Our most recent General Assembly was the first to consist of more delegates from outside the United States than from within and also the first to elect a General Superintendent (the highest office in our denomination) from outside the United States (Eugenio Duarte of Cape Verde, Africa). Additionally, while some churches see the budgets we pay to the district and the general church as a drain on local resources, I see them as an opportunity to pool resources and carry out ministries in other parts of our district and the world that simply would not happen if it was left up to each local church to plant churches or send missionaries.

5. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. I am proud to be a part of a denomination that has an organization dedicated specifically to compassionate ministry to those in need across the globe. NCM works in impoverished areas throughout the world, especially providing nourishment and education for children through their sponsorship program. In times of disaster, NCM is often quick to respond because they have already been working in the area where the disaster struck. When they do not already have resources in place, they are quick to funnel resources to those who do.

4. The Church of the Nazarene began with the stated mission of serving the poor of the inner city. In contrast to the “white flight” pattern of many churches in North America today, Phineas Bresee (usually considered the founder of the Church of the Nazarene) envisioned America’s cities as “centers of holy fire.” As such, service to the disadvantaged in the urban core of America cities has been a part of our identity from the beginning. In fact, the name “Church of the Nazarene” was chosen to reflect the humility of Christ who called lowly Nazareth home and was to be reminder that Nazarenes were always to find themselves among those of humble means as well. To be sure, we have not always lived up to that heritage but it is an encouragement to know it is a part of who we are. A renewed insistence on the presence of Church of the Nazarene in the urban core is not a strange, new development for us but a reclaiming of our ecclesial DNA.

3. The Church of the Nazarene has ordained women for ministry since its inception. In a world where a large number of denominations still do not allow women to serve as ordained ministers (and others won’t allow women to hold any office of authority whatsoever), I am thankful to minister in a denomination whose ordination practices reflect Paul’s words when he says that in Christ “there is neither male nor female.” In its 100 year existence, the Church of the Nazarene has always held that women are just as fit for every office of ministry as are men. While there is certainly more work to be done in this area (since female ministers still make up a very small percentage of senior pastors in the Church of the Nazarene), the ordination of women is certainly one of the reasons I am proud to be Nazarene.

2. Our Colleges and Universities. This one is especially personal for me. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for Eastern Nazarene College. My time at ENC changed the course of my life in a number of ways. Obviously, my faith already played an important role in my life before college since I chose to go to a Nazarene school but the “conversion” which took place in the way I understood my faith while I was at ENC was, I believe, no less significant than the life changing stories we often hear from others when they first come to Christ. The existence of eight colleges and universities (in addition to the Bible college and seminary) spread across the country where Nazarene young adults (and many non-Nazarenes as well! Two other ministers in Clinton attended Nazarene schools when they were younger.) can find a “safe” environment, full of trustworthy mentors, in which they can ask the hard questions of the Christian faith while also gaining competence in their various future vocations and professions is an invaluable resource for our denomination and the Church in our country as a whole. So many of the graduates of our schools go on to become the lay leaders of our local churches as well as Christian professionals who engage others in their field in thoughtfully Christ-like ways. I know that we are not the only ones with great schools but the schools we do have are, in my opinion, one of the most encouraging things about being a Nazarene.

1. Entire Sanctification and the Possibilities of Grace.  Our doctrine of Entire Sanctification declares that we are a people who are optimistic about the transformative power of God’s grace in this life. Our optimism does not stem from a naivety concerning human nature but from the hope that the Holy Spirit can make us truly new creatures in Christ thus fulfilling God’s promise to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is little doubt that we have overstated this claim at times in our history. Even as our article of faith on Entire Sanctification has been recently revised in positive ways, I have made no secret of the fact that I believe it needs to be revised further still. Nevertheless, I think we are right to continue to proclaim that it is possible for the Holy Spirit to turn all of our affections toward the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, even in this life. Even as I am painfully aware of our many failings to live up to our calling as Christ’s body in this world, it is good to be a part of a denomination that boldly declares that those failings do not have to be the norm of our existence. We believe that the possibilities of God’s grace are so great as to include a whole and complete sanctification of our lives for God’s purposes in this world. For that I say, “Thanks be to God.” 

2012 Annual Report

My annual report as delivered to Clinton First Church of the Nazarene April 29, 2012.


In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul gives us a taste of the fruit of the Spirit; that well known list of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  We often think of these as a list of Christian virtues, characteristics which good Christian people should strive to exhibit.  To be sure, these are the kind of attitudes and practices we would expect to find among disciples of Jesus.  However, I think we sometimes become so enamored with the list itself that we rush over Paul's chosen metaphor for this list without giving it much thought.  That is to say, I think it is significant that Paul calls these qualities "fruit of the Spirit".

Consider how a fruit tree goes about bearing fruit.  An apple tree doesn't try really hard to bear fruit.  It doesn't just keep working at it until it makes a good apple.  No, making apples is simply what it does by its nature.  It is a natural by-product of its existence as a healthy apple tree.  What an apple tree does work very hard at is seeking the life giving elements which will sustain its existence.  It is continually putting down deeper roots to find water and nutrients.  Its branches actively seek out the sunshine needed to convert those nutrients into usable energy.  One might even say that the apples tree's whole existence is consumed and defined by the search for these life-giving elements.  Without these things, the tree will wither up and die.  With them, it will produce fruit as an effortless out pouring of what it is by its very nature.

I think Paul means to communicate the same thing about these qualities he lists when he calls them fruit of the Spirit.  As Christians, it is not our task to seek the fruit of the Spirit.  We are not called to try really hard to be loving, joyful, peaceful, etc.  In fact, if you've ever just worked really hard at being patient, you may know from your own experience that is one of the fastest ways to make sure you become more impatient.  No, our task as followers of Jesus is not to seek the fruit of the Spirit but to seek the Spirit.  We are to be a people who are continually becoming more deeply rooted in the Word so that we might drink from streams of living water; a people continually branching out in the ways of the Spirit.  One might even say that our whole existence as the people of God should be consumed and defined by this single task of seeking the Spirit.  For without the Spirit, this tree will shrivel up and die.  With the Spirit, it will produce the Spirit's fruit as an effortless out-pouring of what it is by its very nature.

What I'm saying here is nothing new.  In fact, several of you have heard me say this very thing on a number of occasions.  However, my confession to you this morning is that as much as I have recognized this on an individual basis, I have failed to fully grasp its significance for us as a church body.  As I look over the goals and emphases we have had in past years, I recognize that in many ways we have sought the fruit of the Spirit rather than the Spirit.  We have focused on things like outreach, discipleship, serving others, and greater inter-generational fellowship.  These are not bad things.  They are, in fact, very, very good things.  They are precisely the kind of fruit we would hope to exhibit as the Body of Christ.  However, I don't think it is our first task to seek those qualities as a church.  Our first task as the Church is to seek the Spirit.  Really, our only task as the Church is to seek the Spirit.  We are called to seek the Spirit and trust that Christ will build his Church.  Only then will we produce the kind of fruit we were created to produce as the people of God.

So how do we seek the Spirit?  There are a number of ways - what we typically refer to as the spiritual disciplines - things like prayer, meditation, service, study, worship, solitude, and confession.  These all have their place in the Christian life. They all are means of seeking the Spirit so that the Spirit's fruit might grow in our lives.  However, we find in Scripture two disciplines which were often combined when the people of God desperately needed the Spirit of God to move: prayer and fasting.  

Fasting is a way of humbling ourselves before God.  It is a way of confessing that we are completely dependent upon God, that the Spirit of God is our real source of sustenance.  When we fast, we are saying that we hunger and thirst for God's righteousness more than we hunger for our next meal.  

Perhaps you are wondering to yourself how fasting will enable us to be better at outreach, discipleship, service, and all the other things we are about as a church.  How is fasting going to help us grow as a church?  The answer is that it won't.  That's not its purpose.  Its purpose is to confess that we can't grow the Church.  Its purpose is to confess that we can't disciple, reach out, or serve without the Spirit.  We can not be the Church without the Spirit.  Fasting is a confession that if the Spirit of God doesn't sustain us then all of our best efforts will not produce an ounce of fruit.  It is a confession that if we fail to seek out the Spirit then we will be nothing but a tree that withers and dies.

So I wonder this morning how hungry we really are for God's Spirit to move among us?  We say we want God to do miraculous things among us but are we hungry enough to go hungry?  Here is what I would suggest.  We have four weeks until Pentecost; the Sunday on which we celebrate the gift of God's Holy Spirit to us.  Could we engage in a church-wide fast of one meal a week for those four weeks until Pentecost in anticipation of the Spirit movement among us?  I know that some will be limited in their ability to fast due to age or health conditions but I beg you not to use that as an excuse to avoid fasting entirely.  If you can't fast a whole meal, will you pray and seek out advice about what you can fast?  And can these four weeks until Pentecost just be the beginning, a way of jump-starting our spiritual lives together?  I don't believe fasting until Pentecost guarantees anything for that particular Sunday.  This is not a way of manipulating or controlling God.  This is simply a way of getting us started into a new practice together.  It is my hope and prayer that after Pentecost we will continue to engage in regular fasting throughout the year as the Spirit leads us.

As for prayer, there is already no shortage of opportunities for corporate prayer in our fellowship.  Prayer meeting will resume on Wednesday nights next Wednesday (May 9).  We are continuing to have our prayer service on the first Sunday night of each month.  There is also the morning prayer times at 9:30 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for those who don't have to work in the morning.  If we are a church that believes in prayer, a church that believes in the power of the Spirit then let us show it by taking part in the opportunities that are already before us.

One of the most consistent themes of Scripture is the propensity of God's people to rely on their own strength rather than God's.  I believe this continues to be one of the greatest temptations for the Church today as well.  May we be a people who signify our complete dependence upon God through prayer and fasting.  May we hear these words of Jesus from John 15 this morning.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

Sacred Trust

Last Thursday night, I was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene.  As I have reflected on my ordination over the last several days, there is one word that comes to my mind repeatedly: trust.  While ordination is an event filled with much meaning and significance, perhaps what it signifies more than anything else is that Christ's Church has placed its trust in you.  After seven years of education and three years of applications, interviews, and full time ministry, the Church has in effect said "We believe David Young to be a trustworthy steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Of course, this sign of trust on the part of the Church does not come as a surprise.  I committed myself to be a minister of the gospel 10 years ago and have been on this path ever since.  I have been pastoring a congregation for 3 years already, my calling as their spiritual leader being a substantial gesture of trust to a 25 year old in its own right.  And I've known for several months that I had already been approved by the ministerial credentials board of our district, meaning that barring some unusual event I knew I would be ordained on July 15th, 2010.  And yet, in spite of all that, there was still something surprising, unexpected, subtly grace-filled about the ordination itself.  While it was expected, I know it was not earned.  In that sense, it was like the wedding anniversary of a strong marriage; while you've always expected that person you committed yourself to years ago to be by your side you still find yourself surprised by the grace that is their presence in your life.  While you expected nothing less, you also know it is infinitely more than you deserve.   

Even while I have oriented my whole life around this calling, it is difficult for me to comprehend that the Church has entrusted to me the same gospel which Christ entrusted to his apostles so many years ago; that Christ's Church has said "Yes, we believe, as you do, that the God who created and redeemed us has called you to this ministry"; to think that this apostolic faith passed on faithfully for centuries has now been laid on my shoulders by those who had it laid on their shoulders by others who had it laid on their shoulders...  It is exhilarating.  It is humbling.  It is terrifying.  It is affirming.  It is a sacred trust that I will not forget nor forsake but by the grace of God will give myself to as long as I shall live.

Our Part for Haiti

We have to do something.

This seemed to be the one thought that ran through my head as the images of Port-au-Prince ran across my TV screen. It's not that I'm an unusually compassionate person. Like anyone who follows the news, my mind and heart are too often numbed to the images and reports of pain and suffering that make their way from around the world into my living room on a daily basis. In fact, it was one such report that came flooding back to my memory as I watched these new images of devastation and death. It had told how people in Haiti were so poor that they were resorting to making cookies from mud just so they would have something to quell the sharp pains of a woefully empty stomach. Now they had to deal with a massive earthquake too? We had to do something.

At first, the "we" I had in mind was only my wife and I. I wondered what we could do, how much we could give in order to lessen the suffering of our Haitian brothers and sisters. However, as the magnitude of this tragedy became more apparent it wasn't long before I began to realize that my role as a minister necessitated that I call upon my congregation to respond. We dedicated our entire worship service last Sunday to those who are suffering in Haiti. Our church board also made personal pledges that added up to over $2500 for Haiti relief through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and we are expecting much more to be given by the rest of our congregation in the weeks ahead. Some in our church are working with others in our town to collect items for orphanages in Haiti. Still others are considering how we can continue to help Haiti recover in the months and years ahead.

We know that whatever our church contributes will be an immeasurably small portion of what is needed in Haiti. We are grateful that it is not our task alone and that so many countless others are responding with such generosity and compassion. On the other hand, we also know that however small our part might be, it is still our part and it is not to be left to someone else. As much as our actions are meant to help those in Haiti, those same actions are also exercises in breaking through the numbness of our own hearts and minds to the suffering of those around us and around our world. I once heard a preacher say that compassion is when you see someone else hurting and you hurt with them so badly that you have to do something. It is our hope that our acts of solidarity with those who are hurting in Haiti, however small those acts might be, will be a step toward shaping us to be the kind of people who see the suffering of others and know that we have to do something.

Malachi's Baptism

Yesterday, we had the joy presenting our son to God through the sacrament of baptism. Of course, Malachi will have no memory of this day. He did not choose to be baptized and he will only know of it by watching this video and listening to our words of explanation about its significance when he is older. But we do not believe that lessens the significance of this day.

In fact, we believe that baptizing our son at this very young age is a testament to the extraordinary grace of God. It is a reminder that God's grace is not dependent upon us. Yes, we have to accept it and we will rejoice as Malachi comes to know and accept God's grace throughout the rest of his life. However, it is a basic tenet of the Christian faith that God is always reaching out to us before we even know that we should be searching for him. Indeed, we could not even have the freedom to choose God were it not for his grace first breaking the chains that hold captive our will. Malachi's baptism as an infant is a symbol of God's love and acceptance of him even before Malachi can return that love and acceptance.

Malachi's baptism is also a promise on our part, both Jess and I and our church family, to raise Malachi to understand the significance of this day. We know that God's grace and love has come to us through the discipling we received from our families and church families. We now commit to doing the same for Malachi so that he too can know the joy of serving Christ as Lord and Savior.

The Kingdom Experiment

Fortunate are those who are poor. Truly privileged are those who mourn. Favored by God are those who are persecuted and oppressed. It is with these words, normally called the beatitudes, that Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount.

You can sense the tension we feel when we read these words by the way we normally try to explain them. We know that the poor, those who mourn, and the persecuted and oppressed are not really blessed. Blessedness means that it is obvious to everyone that God is taking care of you. It means that all your needs are met. The poor, persecuted, and mourning are those who have not had their needs met. They are not blessed. So we often say that Jesus meant that these people are spiritually blessed in spite of not being physically blessed. Or we turn these statements into a checklist of Christian morality. In other words, the Christian must be a gentle, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker. There is some truth in both of these statements but I think somehow they miss the point that Jesus is really making.

Only in a world completely different from ours could these statements be true. In our world, the powerful, influential, and violent inherit the earth, not the gentle. In our world, the merciful are usually taken advantage of rather than receiving mercy in return. In our world… well you get the idea. What Jesus is describing in the beatitudes is a world which operates by different rules than our own. He is describing the Kingdom of God, a kingdom which is backwards and upside down in comparison to the kingdoms of this world. These words are not an observation about how things are or a checklist of Christian virtues. They are a promise of what is to come, a promise that one day things will really be different. They are a promise that one day those who mourn will find real comfort and that the violent and powerful will not always control everything and that mercy, purity, and peace are really possible.

As followers of Jesus, we live in the hope of these promises. It is the promise of God’s kingdom which sustains us as the Church. However, it is not our mission to simply sit around and wait for this kingdom to show up. We aren’t called to just get by in this life until Jesus fixes everything. Instead, the hope that we have for the future impacts how we live today. Because we believe that our world will play by different rules when God’s kingdom finally comes, we want to live by those rules now as witness to the new reality that we anticipate with eager expectation.

This fall, we are going to participate in a small group study entitled The Kingdom Experiment. It is a study centered on the beatitudes but it is much more than just a Bible study. It is an experiment in intentionally living out our hopeful anticipation of the Kingdom of God. In addition to a lesson on one of the beatitudes each week, there will also be experiments from which to choose. These experiments are challenges to live out the kingdom value of that beatitude throughout the week. Each person in your group will choose which ever experiment they want to try that week and journal about it before your next meeting. Your meetings each week will consist of discussing your experience from the previous week as well as the beatitude for the next week. I believe that this study can help us to see the Kingdom of God in new ways and I hope that you will prayerfully consider participating.

Faithful in the Small Things

I have big dreams for our church. I’m pretty sure all of us do. We want our church to grow in size and maturity. We want to see God impacting our town in tremendous ways through us. We long to see vibrant ministries for all ages and to encounter story after story of transformed lives. We want God to do amazing things with us and through us. And it is good for us to want that. If we didn’t want God to do an incredible work through us, then something would be wrong. We should be a church with big dreams for the future since we serve a God who can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or even imagine.

As I’ve thought about some of these big dreams lately, it seems that God keeps reminding me that we must first be faithful in the small things. We can’t get so caught up in all that we hope God will do through us in the future that we miss what he is doing through us and in us right now. While we want our church to grow and impact our community for Christ, we can’t forget that our impact begins with the people right next to us. Reaching out to our community is not something that is going to suddenly happen all at once through a giant event or crusade. It begins with taking that visitor at our church out to lunch or faithfully discipling the children in your Sunday School class or starting up a friendly conversation with that neighbor or co-worker.

At the ordination service at our district assembly, Dr. J.K. Warrick spoke from John 6 where Jesus uses one little boy’s meager lunch of just a few loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a crowd of thousands. Of course, what this little boy had wasn’t enough to feed the crowd. Nevertheless, he was faithful and trusted Jesus with the little that he did have and because he placed all he had in the hands of Jesus it was enough. God isn’t asking us to do anything extraordinary. He’s just asking us to give all that we have. He is asking us to be faithful with the small things and watch what he can do when we put it in his hands. At the end of the day, living out the gospel is still ultimately about loving those around us with the love of Jesus. It is about doing the small things well. May we be a church that has big dreams about what God can do when we are truly faithful in the small things of everyday life.

“A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling his disciples to him, he said to them ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.’”

Mark 12:42-44

“His master said to him ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”

Matthew 25:23

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa

2009 Annual Report

Yesterday we had our Annual Church Meeting and Elections here at our church. You can listen to the podcast of my Annual Report on the player below or you can read the written text of the report by clicking here.

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A Second Touch

It is at least partially because of passages of scripture like the 8th chapter of Mark's gospel that I love to study the Bible and am thankful that such study is an enormous part of my life's work. Mark 8 is a literary masterpiece.

At first glance, Mark 8 begins with the kind of story that we expect to find in the gospel. It is a story which many people who don't attend church or study scripture have probably at least heard before. In fact, this story is so common to accounts of Jesus' life that we've already heard a similar story once before in Mark gospel. Just a chapter and a half earlier (Mark 6:33-44) we heard a story about how Jesus fed five thousand men plus the women and children who were with them. Now at the beginning of chapter 8, Mark tells an almost identical story about a crowd of four thousand people. And therein lies the first clue that there is more going on in this passage than just another miraculous feeding.

This miracle begins much like the one in chapter 6. Jesus feels compassion for the people because they have been several days without food and are far from home. Now at this point, if we have been paying much attention at all to Mark's story, we should be able to anticipate what Jesus is going to do next. After all, he fed well over five thousand people not much earlier in the story. Certainly, he can handle four thousand. We would expect Jesus' disciples to anticipate this as well since they were there when Jesus performed the earlier miracle. But much to our astonishment, when Jesus states that he wants to feed the people the disciples don't say "Awesome! Jesus is about to do another miracle!" Incredulously, they say "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?" What? Are you kidding me? Didn't you guys see what Jesus did before? I can only imagine Jesus rolling his eyes in strained patience as he says again "How many loaves do you have?".

After Jesus feeds this mass of people, Mark decides to show that the Pharisees aren't too far ahead of the disciples in their understanding of Jesus. The Pharisees come to Jesus and ask him for a sign from heaven. I suppose feeding four thousand people out of almost nothing wasn't quite good enough for them. Not surprisingly, Jesus refuses to show off for them when he has just done a miracle and they completely missed the significance of it.

Unfortunately for the disciples, Mark isn't quite done emphasizing their cluelessness just yet. Jesus and the disciples are headed to the other side of the lake in a boat. On the way, Jesus tells the disciples to be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Yeast was seen as a corrupting agent in ancient Jewish culture. One's entire household had to be rid of leaven before the passover meal so that the unleavened preparation would not be contaminated by it. Therefore, Jesus is using leaven as metaphor for the disciples to guard against the corrupting influences of the Pharisees and Herod. He is saying that the house of Israel must be cleansed of their corrupt way of doing things. However, the disciples think that Jesus is scolding them for not bringing more than one loaf of bread with them for the journey. I have to imagine that even Jesus' patience wore thin that day. "Why are you talking about not having enough bread? Didn't you see what I just did? Twice!"

Next Jesus and the disciples encounter a blind man. Again, the healing of a blind man is exactly the kind of story we find in the gospels again and again but this particular episode has a twist. Apparently, Jesus' first touch of the blind man is not enough to heal him. When Jesus asks the man if he can see after he touched his eyes, the man says "I see men, for I see them like trees walking around" The man has sight now but its still a little fuzzy. Is Jesus suddenly experiencing a lack of healing power? Jesus places his hands on the man a second time and this time the man is able to see everything clearly? Why the need for a second touch?

The very next story that Mark tells is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus asks them "Who do people say that I am?" They tell him "John the baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets." But then Jesus cuts to the chase and asks the disciples directly "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answers boldly "You are the Christ". This is a high point in Mark's gospel for the disciples. Finally, they seem to be getting it. After failing to grasp Jesus' amazing power in so many previous episodes, Peter finally gets it right. He is the first human character to recognize Jesus for who he really is.

But then Jesus begins to talk about how he must suffer and die. Peter isn't too fond of that kind of talk. And not just because Peter isn't willing to die for Jesus. He may very well be ready to do just that. But Jesus can not die. Peter has just proclaimed his belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the conquering hero whom God has sent to deliver Israel. Peter might die along side of Jesus in battle but Jesus can't die because if he does then that means that all of Peter's hopes and dreams for Israel will have failed. If Jesus dies, then its game over, there is no hope for Israel to be an independent nation with a God given king instead of the pagan Roman emperor and Peter takes Jesus aside to tell him as much.

Jesus' response is to actually call Peter Satan because he has his mind on man's interests rather than the interests of God. Once again, Peter has misunderstood who Jesus is and what his mission is all about. Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ demonstrates that he has begun to see Jesus for who he really is but like the blind man in the previous story, his vision is still a bit blurry. Although, Peter is beginning to see, he will need a second touch, the touch of the resurrection if he is going to see Jesus clearly.

So it is with us as well. Most of us in the Church today have been following Jesus for a very long time; many of us our whole lives. As a result, we think we know Jesus. But incredulously, when we come to difficult points in our lives or the life of our church, times very much like ones that Jesus has carried us through before, we wonder how Jesus could possibly do anything for us. Jesus response: Give me what little you have and watch me multiply it just as I have done for you time and time before. But even when we are obedient to that command, even when we finally see Jesus in all his glory and power and like Peter we are eager to confess Jesus as the Christ, the savior who has come to deliver us, even then our vision of Jesus is not yet complete. We need a second touch of healing for we need to see that Jesus is not all glory and power; that he is also compassion, mercy, brokenness, and weakness. And he calls us to be the same if we are to be his followers. Only when we take up our own cross and trust in Jesus to lead the way no matter the costs will we really be able to see him clearly.

Hannah's First Birthday Party

Here are some pictures and video of Hannah's first birthday party. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the celebration.

16 Random Things About Me

This post has been prompted by a similar note of the same title which I recieved on facebook from a friend. Usually, I'm not inclined to do things like this because I am not particularly clever at thinking up random things about myself that I think other people will find interesting and I usually don't want to put in the extra effort and time to try to make them interesting. At the current time, I definitely have plenty of other things I should be working on: we are in the process of closing on a house and getting ready to move, it is nearing Christmas time and I am pastor, well the list could go on and on. Ironically, it is probably due to the current chaos of my life that I am taking time to do something like this since it gives me some small measure of respite on a Saturday afternoon. Besides, I haven't written anything of a more personal nature on my blog for several weeks now. So here it goes...

1. I love being a daddy. I say this first of all just to reinforce what I said above about not being all that clever when it comes to being random. After all, this is something that all fathers are supposed to say. Nevertheless, there is a bit of randomness to this statement about myself mostly because it was unexpected for me. I never had any idea how much I would love being a father. Of course, I always thought there would be good things about having kids but I knew there would be not such great things too and overall, I was more or less ambivalent about the idea of kids. I wasn't against it. I just figured it would happen eventually and I was in no rush to get there. But now, I look forward to coming home every evening to find out what new and entertaining thing my daughter will do tonight. I love being her daddy.

2. I hate cliches. This comes to mind mostly because I realize how much of a cliche #1 is. But I really, really hate cliches. (I also hate that I don't know how to put the little accent line over the e in that word, only adding to my frustration with the word itself.) I especially hate it when people offer a cliche as if it is the most profound wisdom that has ever been uttered or as the final word on the matter. I find life to be messy, complex, chaotic, and disorganized and it annoys me when people either pretend that its not or just don't recognize it as such.

3. I love hiking but my wife is better at it than I am and we don't get to go nearly enough. I love being outside, especially in relatively remote and peaceful places. I think it is safe to say that I even regard such experiences as a spiritual discipline of sorts. The great thing about hiking is that it is the one athletic thing that my wife absolutely kicks my butt at. I don't know why. I just can't keep up with her. Although, there was this one time when we were hiking and Jess' shoes were hurting her feet so badly that I had to carry her half way down the mountain. I consider that one of the greatest physical feats of my life. Unfortunately, we don't get nearly enough chances to go on real mountainous hikes.

4. I might be the least musical person you'll ever meet. I can't sing. The only instrument I play is my iPod and I probably have fewer songs on it than most people you know. I tried piano when I was a kid but ulitmately decided that music speaks a language that I can barely understand.

5. I am discovering the shaping power of communities. The importance of community and its ability to shape people to be more like Christ is something that I have affirmed theologically for several years now. It was a major theme of my education at Eastern Nazarene College and Nazarene Theological Seminary. But now I feel its importance. I am experiencing the importance of community because I can feel how my current community is shaping me to be a different person than I have been up to this point in my life. Of course, the other communities I've been a part of have shaped me profoundly. Its not that Clinton First Church of the Nazarne is shaping me any more than my family, my home church, ENC, or NTS did although it is shaping me in very determinative ways. Its simply that now having been a part of these different communities I can see how each one has redirected my life and reshaped me as a person immensely. Of course, some of the influence of these communities has to do with other aspects of my life only tangentially related to those communities themselves. For example, being married influenced my time at ENC and NTS, having a daughter has influenced me since being here in Clinton, and my role in each of those communities has been an important factor as well(student vs. pastor). But apart from these life changing factors, I can see how the communities themselves have had and are having a profound impact on who I am.

6. I really enjoy taking pictures, mostly of nature. Although, I can't really say I'm a photographer, not even an amateur one. In that sense, the digital camera, along with its editing software is a good friend of mine. My wife says I have an obsession with taking pictures of the sky.

7. I like pizza, cheeseburgers, and Chipotle burritos way too much. As a result, I am about 40 pounds heavier than I was when I got married. I used to balance my bad eating habits with ridiculous amounts of exercise but as there are more and more demands on my time I find it difficult to exercise as much as I used to. I guess that means my eating habits will have to change eventually.

8. Only half way there and I'm already having trouble thinking of things. My wife is the one who should really be doing this. She just said "I think I would need more than 16."

9. I would really like to see Israel, Greece, and Rome someday. For now, my travel records include only places between Toronto and Belize, the East Coast and Kansas. However, those records will soon include a trip to the Western Carribean which I am excited about.

10. I am unwittingly like a ninja. Completely by accident, I am constantly entering rooms so quietly that I scare people out of their skin when they suddenly realize I am there. My wife and my church secretary are my most frequent victims. If I ever leave the ministry maybe....

11. Actually, if for some strange reason I ever did leave the ministry I have no idea what other career I would find. I've spent the last 8 years of my life studying theology. I don't have any other skills! Good thing I like what I do and I believe its what God has called me to.

12. I can throw a frisbee further than you would think a frisbee could be thrown.

13. I enjoy reading and learning for learning's sake. I don't feel like everything I learn has to be immediately relevant or pragmatic, especially when it comes to theology. I think the most profoundly true thoughts that I've read or heard are the ones that may initially apear to be esoteric abstractions but actually turn out to have vast implications for the Church and the Christian life. Of course, some of those esoteric abstractions are just worthless distractions and vain words that have to be sifted through to find the real gems. Often, I enjoy the process of sifting as much as the gems themselves because there is learning in both.

14. I once averaged 19 points a game in a pretty competitive January term basketball league in college. The next year I was horrible but I was on a really good team and we won the championship. Both experiences were fun.

15. I hate Wal-mart! For a lot of different reasons too. Unfortunately, I find it to be a necessary part of my existence.

16. Every year, it seems like I feel more and more acutely aware of how badly our world needs for God's kingdom to come.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight, we had the annual Halloween event known as Trunk or Treat at our church. Several members of our church decorate the trunks of their cars and fill them with candy for the kids from the neighborhood and from our church to enjoy as they trick or treat. We decorated and handed out candy from the foyer and hallway as well.

You can see the line up of trunks on the right. The trunk above on the left certainly won for the scariest. It was on the bed of Jim Wade's truck with only his hands exposed beyound the sheet. He lay motionless waiting for an unexpecting victim to reach in the bowl for some candy at which time he would reach out and grab them. There was one blood curdling scream loud enough to be heard inside the church.

There were a variety of costumes, some of which were camera shy and became bowl heads.

One of my personal favorites was Jordan Hendricker's costume. He was ME! You can see him here with jacket and tie and Bible in hand. And in case you can't read it, that name tag says "Rev. David Young (NO - I'm not still in college)".

Jess and I were pirates for Halloween and Hannah was our pirate monkey. However, by the time we got home, she had developed into a full blown pirate herself.

Now to preparing to preach my sermon all in "pirate". "Aye matey, make Jesus ye capin' or ye will find ye self adrift at sea. Ayyyeee!!!