Grateful

Dear Christian friends of Woodville UMC,

This will be my last column written as your pastor. This week, I am attending the annual meeting of Texas Conference Methodists in Houston. During this conference, as happens every year, our Bishop will formally make the appointments that have already been announced in the churches. For several years running, I have been reappointed to Woodville but now after 5 years as pastor of Woodville UMC, the Lord is sending me to a new place for ministry. This Sunday, June 6th, will be our last Sunday in worship with you as your pastoral family. The very next Sunday, I'll be preaching at Westbury UMC in Houston. We go with joy, anticipation and obedience to God's call but with a deep love and gratitude in our hearts for you.
The apostle Paul did this several times in his ministry. Although not who we would call a local church pastor, he did begin, shepherd, and mentor many churches and did itinerate and move around like we Methodist preachers. He was clear as Methodists are today that the church is the people, you, who live, work and serve in your community. We pastors are pilgrims passing through. While feeling every bit a part of this community and fully engaged here, we are much like the Levite priests of the Old Testament who do not take up residence on particular plots, so to speak, but serve the people and rely on your generosity. You have been exceedingly generous with us!
What has meant as much to me as anything else has been your generosity with my family. Bethany, Addie and Samuel have had beginnings here in their lives and their ministry with me. Addie and Samuel were baptized here. Woodville UMC and Tyler County will hold a special place in our hearts because of these beginnings and the way you welcomed and included us with such grace.
Bryan, Carol, Rachel and Brayton Harkness will of course be saying goodbye to Klein UMC on the 6th and hello to you on the 13th as well. One of the unique things about the Methodist way is the continuity of pastoral leadership that it provides. Most all the time, churches do not go without a pastor. Even as difficult as it can be emotionally to say goodbye and hello so quickly between pastors, there is also such a great continuity of leadership and care that provides stability and confidence for the church. I'm grateful for that.
Grateful is what I feel most of all. I share with the apostle Paul his words to the church at Philippi. "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. I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ."
To the past and present staff and lay leadership of Woodville UMC, I am thankful for the ministry we have shared together and for our friendships. To all the people of the church, I thank you for sharing your life and faith with me, for the privileged moments we have shared, for the way you have sharpened my own faith and grown me as a pastor. You have been patient, kind, gracious, affirming and bold. I have already spent much time in prayer over each of you by name and your families and will continue to hold you close in love.
Bryan and Carol are very excited to be coming to Woodville and I know you will welcome them in the same fine way you welcomed us. Your attentiveness to the Lord's work through him will be so vital to your continued growth as God's people in Tyler County.Bethany, Addie, Samuel and I love you and always will. Hold us in your prayers when you think of us and do the same for your new pastor and his family. They are coming to a great church. Continue to Embrace your Heritage, continue to Build your Future, with God's leading. May God bless you and keep you Woodville United Methodist Church from this day onward and forevermore.

Goodbyes and Hellos

Bethany and I want to thank the Young at Heart Sunday School Class for hosting our farewell reception last Sunday afternoon. It was a delightful informal occasion that allowed us the opportunity to share some more lengthy conversation with some of you than we would have otherwise. Your generous love offering and your notes wishing us well, will be treasured for a life time. We can't thank you enough for your extraordinary grace and affirmation of our ministry together. Know that I hold you in my prayers, giving thanks to God for the ministry we have shared, and praying God's blessings upon your ministry in the future. Bryan Harkness' first Sunday here will be June 13th. I encourage you to come that day to worship with Bryan, his wife Carol, and his children Rachel and Brayton. Your support for their beginnings in ministry are just as important as the affirmations you have given us in our endings.
We have two more Sundays to share in worship with you. Our last Sunday with you is June 6th. I hope to see all of you both Sundays or at least one of them so that we can say goodbye to each other. I know that our paths will cross with some of you because of the interconnectedness of the Methodist church and simply the highways and byways of life. Even though sad, I know there are others of you we'll never see again in this life. The joy for me is our common love for God and common love for His church. Your best gift to the world is your love for His church and its mission. One day, we will see one another again, in this life or the next.
My mind has been attracted to poetry lately, I suppose because poets can often give voice to life's realities in unique ways. I've removed this short piece from a long Robert Frost poem entitled, "1916 Mountain Interval, In the Home Stretch." This poem is about many things, but it centers around a person who is moving from one house to the next.

"You're searching, Joe,For things that don't exist; I mean beginnings.Ends and beginnings-there are no such things.There are only middles."

This time in your lives and ours feel like an ending and a beginning all at once. For us, it is the ending of our ministry in Woodville and the beginning of a new one in Houston. For you it is the ending of a pastoral relationship and personal relationship perhaps with me and my family, and the beginning of a new one with the Harkness family. Maybe though, in God, who is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, it is all middle, as the poem says. It is most suredly a place of change and transition with very real goodbyes and hellos, but it is also one place along an eternal journey that has its beginning and ending with God. Thank you for sharing with us in the middle of this eternal journey.

Seasons of Life

This Sunday, May 16th, we honor high school graduates who are connected with our church. This year, we honor six graduates from Woodville High School, including two exchange students who have spent the year with us. Please note some information about them in this newsletter. I strongly encourage you to be present in worship to praise God for this achievement in their lives and to pray God's blessings on them in the next step in life's journey.
Life is a series of passages. We are born, as Eugene Peterson says, "into a world we did not create, into a life we did not earn" but God graces us with blessings. Along the way, we encounter great joy and great struggle. Sometimes the joys carry us for a long while and sometimes the struggles consume us. Children grow into an awareness of an abstract world, discovering fears and experiencing rejections. They also can learn what it is to love and be loved. Every day, learning of all kinds are taking place. As they pass into young adulthood, they can experience a big, wide, complicated world of victories and defeats, betrayals and acceptance, and hopefully grace along the way. Adulthood is spent working, raising a family perhaps, trying to make a difference, readying oneself for retirement. Older adulthood comes and it's almost as though the life cycle starts over. We begin and often end this life needing the care of others. Life's ultimate passage happens in the form of physical death, when we pass into that unseen life.
Some do not make every season. Sometimes life is cut short. Sometimes we are so consumed with the struggles that it's not death that cuts short life but defeat and fear.
One of my favorite quotes from a saint of the church comes from Iraneus, many centuries ago. "The glory of God is a man fully alive." Are you alive today? Are you really alive? God is looking for people who are full of the Spirit, seeking His grace, searching for opportunities to serve, in good season and bad.
The great Christian hope is that through the various seasons of life, the grace of Jesus Christ is abundant and available for us, not only to survive but to thrive in this life in service as a disciple of Christ.
Join us Sunday as we celebrate the life passage of these high school graduates from this step to the next step. Let's begin praying now that they won't just "make it" in life's journey but that they'll be found by God to be "fully alive" in Him.

Reflections on Discipleship University at Woodville UMC

Discipleship University has been a great joy and enriching experience for me this semester. Since January, a combined group of 15-20 have been reading and discussing challenging Christian books that probe theological issues, and ask what it is to be a growing Christian disciple. We are currently reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life Together, exploring what it means to live in Christian community. Let me lift up a few quotable insights from that book for your thoughts and prayers this week.
"He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial." Bonhoeffer is encouraging us to not be overly idealistic in our view of Christian community but rather let it be a place where we can be vulnerable with each other, take away the facades that seperate us, and truly be together.
"Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things...How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?" I think of where the Lord's Prayer leads us to pray not for a grand feast or a life time supply of our favorite meal but for "daily bread."
"Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases." This is a good reminder that it is God who grows us as a church.
Finally, Bonhoeffer writes about the uplifting experiences we have in Christian community and the blessing of that, but he cautions that "we do not live with other Christians for the sake of acquiring them (experiences)." It is not the experience of Christian brotherhood, but solid and certain faith in brotherhood that holds us together...We are bound together by faith, not by experience."
Here Bonhoeffer returns us to the New Testament and reminds us that what the church is, is the Body of Christ. We are formed and held together in Christ and through Christ, and it is our common faith in Him that holds us together, not a string of inspirational experiences alone, but our unity in Christ.
What a good word for all of us.

The Easter Season

We are enjoying worship with you these days as we celebrate the Easter season. You may or may not know that after Easter Sunday, the Easter season continues through until Pentecost Sunday later in May. Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a year-round, life long joy and this season focuses us on that great victory of God.
In these next few weeks, the school year will close and many of you will be off to travel, vacations, camps, and everything else that summer brings. As you do that, I hope you will make a few things a priority. First, be present to welcome your new pastor, Bryan Harkness and his family. Their first Sunday will be June 13th. Second, take note of all the summer ministry happening at Woodville UMC and shape your family calendar with those dates for camps and Vacation Bible School in mind. Finally, be sure to continue your financial committments to the church. Your giving to general ministry of the church is most important. It is what allows us to have great Sunday school curriculum for adults, children and youth. That giving allows us to give to world-wide missions that support methodist universities, scholarships for young people, and help for the needy. Your giving makes a difference, whether it's keeping the lights bright and the air cool this summer at church or if its sending a child to camp. Your faithful giving is vitally important for us to continue to grow in being disciples and making disciples of Jesus Christ.
While secondary to your general offering, your giving toward Wesley Center's building progress is also important. We are projecting 8-10 weeks for completion of Wesley Center, which means that in all likelihood, that place will be buzzing with activity in a matter of time. Thanks in advance for your faithfulness to welcome the Harkness', your participation in ministry and your giving commitments. Please know that I continue to pray for you and for the ministry of Woodville UMC now and in the future. I share these words from Paul's letter to the Colossians for your reflection this week.
"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1: 10-14

Heritage Sunday

What a glorious Easter season and celebration we have shared together! Our worship attendance has been sky high for three Sundays in a row. We have been close to 200 two of those Sundays and close to 300 on Easter, as you'll see below. Sharon Dominy and I looked back at our records and find that our Easter crowd was the largest Easter attendance in almost 20 years! Truly the Lord is doing a powerful work among us.
I am so thrilled at the continuity of ministry that I trust Bryan Harkness will bring to Woodville. Our lay leadership met him and his wife Carol last weekend. Bryan is a passionate Christian, a good listener and an experienced pastor. He will bring strong and capable leadership to Woodville. He and Carol are impressed with the visionary leadership of our lay leaders and are looking forward to coming to a small community. As you have read, they have two small children, one who will enter kindergarten this Fall here and another who will begin in our Wee Wisdom pre-school. Join me in praying for Bryan, Carol, Rachel and Brayton and their ministry in Woodville come June.
This Sunday, April 18th, we will celebrate our annual Heritage Sunday. Every year, Woodville UMC gives an award to an outstanding lay person for Christian service. This person is selected by ballot among our Church Council. This year, we will also award an honorary Heritage Award. You won't want to miss this celebration as well as the passionate worship we'll give to God together. After worship, we'll enjoy a Covered Dish lunch to honor our receipients and to share in time of Christian fellowship and community.

Transitions

Dear friends,
By now, many of you know that I have received a new appointment effective June 7th of this year. Our bishop has appointed me to serve as Senior Pastor of Westbury United Methodist Church in Houston. While Bethany and I are genuinely excited about what God has in store for us, our hearts are heavy. It is a bitter sweet time for us because of the great love we have for you.
When Bethany and I arrived here 5 years ago, we had been married just 7 months. Now, we have two children who have been baptized here and loved by you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for loving me and loving my family in the way you have. This kind of love only comes from God, shared through His people. The people of Woodville UMC are a blessed people and we are blessed to have shared with you in ministry these years. We will always treasure our time here and will anticipate the good work that God will continue to do among you. You are strong. God's church here is strong and has a bright future!
In terms of future, our District Superintendent also announced last Sunday, when he was with us, that your new pastor come June will be the Rev. Bryan Harkness. Bryan is an associate pastor at Klein UMC in north Houston. Klein is a large church where Bryan has done great work and given tremendous leadership. Before that, he served small churches in the Tyler area. Bryan and his wife Carol have two children, Rachel, who will enter kindergarten in Woodville this Fall, and Brayton who is 3 years old.
Bryan had a brief first career in the community mental health field, living and working in Liberty County for seven years and then working at the Denton State School for 3 years before entering seminary. He is an Aggie and then a graduate of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Bryan brings a warm heart, a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a good deal of experience to what will be his new ministry here in Woodville.
While we spend these last months together, let's talk and share memories and nurture our friendships, because those will never go away. Let's also pray for the Harkness family and their new ministry with you. It is a time of transition for all of us and yet our never changing God remains faithful and true to guide, strengthen and build His church.
I look forward to sharing in Holy Week services with you this week and focusing ourselves on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Palm Sunday and Holy Week

This Sunday March 28th, we celebrate Jesus' final entry into the grand city of Jerusalem. Our children's choir will sing and we will all wave palm branches just as the people did two thousands of years ago when they welcomed Jesus that first palm day. The story is recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew 21: 1-11; Mark 11: 1-11; Luke 19: 28-40; John 12: 12-19).
Palm Sunday begins what is called Holy Week or Passion Week. The earliest Christians remembered Jesus' final days with devotion, reverence and worship. We will have worship on Maundy Thursday (remembering the Last Supper with His disciples and Jesus' commandment to celebrate it), and Good Friday (remembering His death on the cross). I've said it many times but it's worth repeating, your Easter experience will not be what it can be without experiencing these holy days.
This year the annual Dogwood Festival here in Tyler County falls on this Good Friday and Easter weekend. It did a couple of years ago as well. Some of you have commitments of involvement in various activities surrounding this great festival that we enjoy. Let me suggest a way in and through it all to focus on Jesus next week.
Enjoy Dogwood as always. Enjoy the Springtime, it's God's reminder of new life. He designed creation this way. We'll hope for good springtime weather but whether its' rain or shine, dogwoods blooming yet or not, God will have His way with this world and resurrection will come. It came in Jesus Christ and it can for you too!
Pray daily. Pray for resurrection in your life. Walk with Jesus, worship on Sunday, Thursday, Friday and Easter. Fast. If your health allows, join me and others in fasting on Maundy Thursday. When you wake up on Thursday morning, abstain from breakfast and lunch, drink water and then come to Thursday service. The first taste on your tongue will be the bread and juice of the Lord's Supper. After worship, go enjoy a filling supper.
Finallly, I encourage you to spend time in God's Word. Read a different version of the palm passage I gave above, choosing to read one Gospel each day perhaps. Let the Spirit reveal insight and wisdom to you.
It is a joy and privledge to share this Lenten journey with you and our Lord.

This Sunday

This Sunday we welcome two special groups to our worship service. We are celebrating "Scouting Ministry" Sunday. We have some very active girl scouts in our church and a couple of boy scouts. They are encouraged to wear their uniforms. If any of you were an Eagle Scout, you're encouraged to wear your Eagle Scout tie pin. Scouting is a life-changing ministry for young people that teaches leadership, character, team work and skills for life. I am Eagle Scout along with my brother and Dad and count those memories as some of the best of my growing up years. I look forward to the day when I can share that experience with my son Samuel.
The second group coming are our Wee Wisdom children. Your school is thriving! With the direction of our board, chaired by Melissa Castillo, and the leadership of our pre-school director, Mary Nell Rainey, our school is doing great. Their enrollment is full with many already pre-registered for the Fall. They are financially strong because of this strong enrollment and with the support of generous people like many of you. The board is providing good fiscal stewardship as well.
Central to it all, we are being faithful to our mission, to provide "a quality pre-school education in a Christian environment" with an emphasis on the social development of the child and their preparation for kindergarten. We have an excellent teaching staff and involved parents who are very supportive. No doubt, several of our children will not be in worship because many of them will worship with their families in their home church. However, the ones who come will sing the songs we've sung during our Wednesday Chapel Services and we'll enjoy welcoming them and their families to our church.
Make an effort to celebrate with us this Sunday in these ways and walk the Lenten journey together to Easter. I promise that if you do that, your Easter celebration will be all the more meaningful.

The Lenten journey

I pray that your Lenten journey is transforming you by God's grace this year. Remember that the Christian life is not about trying to be somebody we're not, it's about becoming more fully who God intended us to be in the first place. Be firm and intentional about your spiritual disciplines but be gentle and humble too. If we hold those seeming opposites together, I believe we'll find where God meets. Our Lenten disciplines are not meant to make us heroic but more like Christ. If you have tried some practices and failed, offer that to God too and begin again. If you haven't undertaken spiritual disciplines this season, it's not too late to commit. Name a time of day to pray, if health allows, fast, be regular in your worship attendance and your giving, participate in our Lenten mission - Health Kits, read the Scriptures faithfully, use a devotional. My prayers are with you in whatever your choices have been.
I want to shift briefly to lift up where we are in the "Embrace our Heritage, Build Our Future" Capital Campaign. The year 2010 began the second of our three year pledge committments. The first year was very fruitful in that pledges fulfilled totaled where we needed to be at the end of year one. I encourage you to continue that faithfulness to your pledge. If you did not make a pledge at that time, you can always make a pledge now and give to the construction of the Wesley Center. It is coming along very well and we look forward to experiencing mission and ministry in that space.
Always remember that our pledges to the Capital Campaign, are "above and beyond" giving. They are gifts given in addition to our regular giving to the ministry of the church. We have many ongoing ministries that continue to make a grace-filled difference in the lives of children, youth and adults. Our ministries are growing and need our support to remain strong. By giving, we are "embracing our heritage and building our future" together in ministry. To God be the glory!

Open Table

I want to celebrate a new ministry with you in the area of missions. Second Friday lunch is a new ministry with the poor in Tyler County. Elizabeth Adkisson, our missions chair, began to feel the call of God to serve a hot meal to folks who need it, and to build relationships. We are beginning this on a trial basis on Friday, March 12th and doing it once monthly through May. At that point, we'll evaluate the program.
As Elizabeth shared her vision with others, she invited prayer. We prayed about it during our Wednesday night prayer time. She solicited input from others and finally came to the Church Council for their discussion and approval. They unanimously approved this new mission.
Second Friday Lunch is a mundane name but a helpful one that communicates clearly what is being offered and when. The spiritual concept here is an open table. The open table captures the heart of Methodist Christianity. It refers to our belief about the Sacrament of Holy Communion as a holy meal, open to all who seek Christ. It conveys our belief that all people are welcome in the church. It also goes further by saying that we too need the grace of God offered at the table. Our servers will be eating with our guests. This meal will be holy and sacred because it comes out of a heart of love for God's people.
When you survey the Gospels, Jesus spent a great deal of his time sharing meals at a table with many. Think about Zaccheus. Jesus called Zaccheus out of the tree and went to his house. I know that they shared a meal there. Think about the Emmaus experience after the resurrection. The disciples didn't recognize Jesus at first but they invited the unknown traveler for a meal. And "they knew him in the breaking of the bread." They recognized him as they shared a meal at the table with him. We trust that we'll not only provide a service but that we will indeed encounter Christ himself at the Second Friday Lunch open table at Woodville UMC. Please continue to pray for this ministry.

Christian Accountability

The season of Lent is underway. We are challenging one another to "give up something and take up something for Christ." I've shared with you all what I am giving up and taking up (caffeinated drinks and exercise) and I do that so I will be held accountable. Accountability is what I want to reflect on with you this week.
I don't come naturally to accountability, many of us don't. I am self-motivated, comfortable with initiating new ideas and commitments. I can usually hold myself accountable by giving myself a good talking to when I slip or having a time of confession in private prayer when I make mistakes or don't follow through on commitments. The trick is this. We human beings can become good at staying right where we are. We say things like, "how I pray is fine, how often I worship is fine for me, my relationship with my spouse, children or friends is just as it should be, my physical health is what it is..." and so forth. We are good at consoling ourselves and not always good at challenging ourselves.
Christian accountability invites us to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, together. If we feel led by the Spirit this Lent to try something new like fasting, or praying more or differently, we are more likely to meet that leading of the Spirit if we mention it to others. Because, you see, at the moment we mention it, we become accountable to it. The call for fellow Christians then is to gently inquire with our Christian friends - how is it with your giving up caffeinated drinks? How is it with exercise? This way, we are held accountable and we grow in grace because of it. You all have been wonderful to ask me those questions.
I heard recently a powerful word about what a true Christian friend does. They are one who "hates the sins we love, and loves the gifts we ignore." Christian accountability is not just about harshness therefore, it's not about judgementalism or critique, it's about true love. It's one that also sees the gifts of God in us.
I pray that you all have such a Christian friend. If you don't, pray for the courage to find one, to mention your Lenten commitment to someone. Ask how your friends are doing with theirs. In so doing, we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, we walk the journey to the cross with him and find true and eternal life.

Giving Something Up, Taking Something Up, for Christ

This week is the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a centuries-old tradition of spiritual preparation for the Easter celebration. It begins on Ash Wednesday with worship centered around repentance and renewal. It continues for 40 days, not including Sundays, until Easter Sunday.
Many Christians are accustomed to living through this time just as any other and then waking up Easter morning to celebrate. While this is maybe the easier path, it is the less fulfilling and meaningful one. Lent is here to empower us to walk the journey to the cross with Jesus. When we explore the depth and riches of his journey - his teachings, his healings, his words of life, Palm Sunday, the last supper, his death - then we more powerfully experience meaning of Easter. Resurrection, new life, hope for tomorrow and forever - all of these cannot be fully realized by us if we just wake up on Sunday and think about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for that one hour of worship.
I want to encourage you as strongly as I know how, to experience Lent this year and walk it with your brothers and sisters at Woodville UMC.
In addition to all the special worship opportunities, small group studies, and mission opportunities, I want to share with you what I am doing as a Christian disciple this season. For Lent this year, I am giving up caffeinated drinks, a tough one for a young parent whose children don't always sleep through the night! However, I will drink decaf! The purpose of "giving something up" is to leave new space for prayer. So when 2pm comes and I am a little drowsy, I will pray, because afterall, God is my true strength!
Second, I and going to "take something up." I've been very neglectful with exercise. I'm not taking care of the body God gave me as well as I could. I've been talking about the need to exercise for a long time, now I'm going to actually do it.
In addition to worship, study and mission, will you join me in -
Giving Something Up and Taking Something Up for Christ?!

The Journey

I am enjoying the Discipleship University classes which started last week. We have just over 20 enrolled in them. We are reading a new book every 3 or 4 weeks that covers an area of discipleship. This kind of reading deepens our discipleship journey with Christ because it causes us to ask deep questions. We begin to think and discern theologically around essential questions in life. When we start reading the second book, we'll open enrollment again for these classes. Right now, we are reading The Illumined Heart: Exploring the Vibrant Faith of Ancient Christians. Let me share a few reflections from that little book.
In the first chapter, the author, Fredericka Mathewes-Greene talks about our very existence in this wild, unpredictable, exciting, God-created world. Here are some excerpts-"What is this human condition, this timeless question? To take the most global approach, we could say that it is the riddle of why none of us feels truly at home in this world....
It can take different forms in different people. For some, there's a vague, haunting feeling that we're always disappointing others; for others, it's that everyone else is always disappointing us. A lot of us feel like the whole rest of the world is in on a joke we're not getting, and we just smile awkwardly and pretend to go along. Some of us are burdened throughout our lives with guilt for a severe and genuine evil we committed. Others feel peppered daily by twinges over a host of minor offenses, pursued as by a cloud of mosquitos." Can you see your life here? Can you find your walk with God here? I can. At the base of it the author reminds us gently and powerfully "the only really important thing we can do is to live in Christ." Living in Christ means we begin and end each day with prayer, asking God to forgive and transform us by His grace. "God's love is a healing love, and healing is always uncomfortable. It heals in a surgical sense, and the scalpel can hurt."
In and through it all, God desires to see us transformed, day by day conquering sin and moving closer to God. It is a journey that cannot be done alone.
I'm thankful for a church family that seeks to be in authentic relationship with God and one another. God bless each of you this week as you walk with Him.

Wesley Center Update

Please pray for our youth as they attend the Mid-Winter Retreat at Lakeview camp this weekend, February 5-7. We have 17 youth and 3 adults attending. This Sunday in worship we will enjoy our Children's Choir as they sing praises to God. Yolanda Griffin directs this choir with assistance from Judy Brown. They do a wonderful job.
In this space, I would like to provide an update on the progress of the Wesley Center building. As of the writing of this column, here's where we are.
The metal structure is of course up, framed, walled with ceiling. I understand that the wood framing inside is complete or close to it. If you take a look inside, you'll see a large open space on the east side. This will be our fellowship area. It will have a basketball goal on the south wall. There is plenty of storage on the bottom floor there for tables and chairs. The elevator machinery began to arrive today (February 2nd). On the bottom floor on the west side of the building, you'll find a large kitchen, parlor area and youth director's office. In addition, there are two bathrooms, men's and women's, each with two showers. This will equip us to be a shelter in case of disaster and will also be a blessing for hosting mission camps.
The second floor is located on the west side of the building and it contains four classrooms, two devoted solely to our youth ministry. They can call this space home. There is also a small restroom upstairs.
As you know there is a porte-cache drive through on the south side of the building that is covered for drop off in the Wesley Center. We were able to add this to the project without going over the approved budget, because of cost savings in other areas.
At present, the elevator is on its way, the electrician is beginning his work inside and other utilities are close to doing their work.
The brick work has begun with a great deal of progress made on the north side of the building (Walt Davis Drive) and preparations being made for the other sides. Brick will go up from the ground to just above the first story windows on every side. There will also be brick columns going higher on every side, which you can begin to see on that north side. Just a reminder that the non-bricked area will be covered with a stucco-like finish that will match the brick coloring.
We don't have an accurate "move-in" time. You can understand the contractors hesitancy to put a target date on that but if you drive by the church frequently, you'll notice that all the laborers are hard at work nearly every day of the week. We are grateful for the work of our building committee and particularly Sidney Allison its chair. Great thanks to Otis Fortenberry also, our General Contractor. Otis and Sidney go to extra lengths to make sure things are done right.
At our recent annual Church Council Leadership Retreat, we announced the formation of the Wesley Center Task Group. This group will study and make recommendations for Wesley Center ministry to the Church Council. We want to be ready to transfer exisiting ministries to that space as soon as it's open, as well as plan new ministries that this space makes possible. This group will also work with the Trustees on policies that will govern the use of the building. The Wesley Center Task Group is Gordon McCluskey, Council chair; Stephanie Smith, lay leader; Reagan Pillack, Building Committee, Dixie Jarrott, staff; Grady McCluskey, Trustees; and me. If you have ideas or questions related to Wesley Center ministry, please contact one of these folks.
Please pray for us as we work on putting together some concrete recommendations for Wesley Center ministry.
God bless you this week.

Dying Well

One of the Christmas gifts I received from Bethany was a book by one of my favorite Christian writers, Henri Nouwen. This particular book is entitled, Our Greatest Gift: Meditations on Dying and Caring. It is a short little book and even this slow reader, completed it quickly. Now you might wonder why a 34 year old young man is reading a book about dying. After all, I feel like I am in the prime of life. I feel healthy, my energy level is high, I have a beautiful young family.
I really wanted to read this book and was enthralled in the reading of it both to help my work as a pastor and to come more to grips with that unknown part of life called death.
Death, I believe, is on a continum of life. It is something dramatic that occurs along that line of life that is a harsh, painful and stark. No matter how we people of faith try to gloss over it being " a passage way" and a "bump" in the road of life, the pain is not eased for loved ones left behind.
With all the advances of medicine, all the knowledge gained, and many mysteries solved in this world, the mortality rate is still holding firm at 100%. We will all die. The mystery of death can be frightening for the person of faith and the person of no faith. It is an unknown.
Let me glean a few points from this little book I read. First, Nouwen says, to "befriend death." Talking about it, discussing it, remembering that you are a child of God. Always know that you can talk with me as your pastor or a trusted Christian friend. Befriending death means to reject fear, to not treat illness as simply a battle to be won or a foe to conquer but period of time where we can demonstrate "grace through powerlessness," like Jesus did in his suffering and dying.
Some will never know the experience of dying. It can come suddenly, or our minds are lost so much so that we may not be aware of our condition. For the young, therefore, reading and thinking about "dying well" is a matter of spiritual preparation that can bring peace.
Nouwen moves in the book to caring for the dying. Many of you are doing that for loved ones and many of us probably will one day. He notes that we are "parents of generations to come." We love the dying as "children of God" and treat them with that dignity. I recommend this book for those who are caring for aging and dying loved ones. It offers spiritual grounding for you in that journey.
Overall, he says, "I stay close to the heart of Jesus, whose life and death are the main source for understanding and living my own life and death."
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, said that "Methodists are people who die well."
I hope this is helpful for you or one you love.

Christian Marriage

I read a sad fact the other day. While many of us know that the marriage success rate in the United States of America has hovered around a depressing 50%, did you know that among Christians the percentage is the same? Half of all marriages end in divorce and those of us who claim the name of Christ do not have a better “success” at it. Truly a sad fact. I don’t know the reasons for that. I suspect that many of the Christians polled are not active Christians worshipping regularly in a church, studying the Bible, serving their neighbor. With these life practices, our lives and our relationships are nurtured for the glory of God.
Many of you reading this column have experienced the tragedy and hurt of a broken marriage; I grieve for you and pray for others whose marriages are “on the ropes.” The difficult thing is that many are suffering in the shadows. Almost no one outside the home knows what is happening inside.
In this very brief space, I would like to offer some guidance for our marriages, both healthy and happy ones, and ones on the rocks. Marriages of every kind need nurturing. Even if good marriages are neglected, they will be damaged. For all married folks, read these words coming humbly from me and for unmarried folks, try to apply it to relationships in your life. I am adapting some of these pointers from Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California. Warren is a pastor I admire in many ways and also disagree with in other ways but his pointers are helpful and I’ll note where I borrow from his writings.
Like the saying goes, “the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence; the grass is greener where you water it.” We must make sure our marriage is growing and developing, or we’ll be susceptible to moral failure. If you want a happy marriage, you’re going to have to work at it.
1. Surround yourself with reminders of your family. Warren keeps a drawer filled with reminders of his family. I keep pictures of my family in my office so that I can both remember them, celebrate them and let their need for me hold me accountable to be present when I am needed as a husband and father.
2. Keep lines of communication open. Keep the lines of communication open. Talk through issues in a way that works for you and your spouse. Some need to talk everything out, others need to “walk away” for a bit after an argument. The main thing is to return to a disagreement if it’s significant to at least one of you, and work it out. It’s very important also to understand what your spouses’ frustrations and dilemmas are, and understand their hopes and dreams.
3. Date your mate. You and your spouse need a regular date night. Put it on the calendar. Don’t let anything get in its way. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If the weather is nice where you live, have a picnic somewhere. There may be someone in your church willing to babysit your kids as a ministry to your family (Warren). Regardless of how you make it happen, you need to do it. For Christmas 2009, Bethany identified dozens and dozens of free things we could do together all over our area. They were both family fun and couple fun. It doesn’t have to be expensive but your marriage is what you had before children and your marriage is what you have after children are raised and on their own.
4. Pray. The most important one. Many folks are in marriages where one spouse is an active church involved Christian and the other is not. Ultimately we are responsible for our own relationship with Christ and with the faith exposure of the children God entrusts to us. If you are a nominal Christian, you could do nothing more important right now than to begin worshipping regularly, and letting study, service and personal generosity grow from there. If you are an active Christian, pray and stay committed.
Please receive these as words from a pastor who cares for each and every one of you. I pray for your church family and I treasure the knowledge that you are praying for me.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to the Woodville UMC family! I pray that your new year is off to a good start. I feel blessed to enjoy this time with you and I'm looking forward to some special opportunities this Winter and Spring to spend in study as well as worship with you.
At this time we are always making new years resolutions. Mine have to do with exercise, time for nurturing my journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ, renewed dedication to being an attentive and loving husband and father, and spending increased time in prayer for them and you. What are you resolving to do this year?
It's true that most of our resolutions revolve around stuff we will do - diets, exercise, finances, calendars and the like. What would it be like if we would ask this question - "who does God want me to be this year? and how do I start becoming that person this year?" We are afterall human beings not human doings. Being and becoming have to do with prayer, relationships, integrity at work and at home and an openness to God growing us by grace into something new.
The scriptures are full of words from the Lord about the new. In Isaiah the Lord says, "do not consider the former things of old, for I am about to do a new thing." Jesus talks a great deal about old and new. In I Corinthians, Paul says that "in Christ you are a new creation." Jesus also challenges us by saying that "you cannot put new wine into old wineskins," in other words we can't expect to completely hold the new if we are unwilling to let our old selves change.
I would repeat here something I shared in the sermon last Sunday. The author, George Bernard Shaw at the end of his life was asked who in history would he choose to be if given the chance. His response - "I would choose to be the George Bernard Shaw I was created to be but never became."
God's invitation to you and me this and any year is to allow His grace to grow us into becoming the people God created us to be. Do your resolutions respond to this question?
After we ask the question about being and becoming, I trust that the doing will flow naturally out of it.
Please take a look at this newsletter for new year opportunities for Bible study, discipleship growth, and service. This Sunday we will gather to renew our faith together in worship through the Wesleyan Covenant Renewal service and also bless our church leaders in this new year.