Putting on a bandage when we need surgery

My heart breaks for the families in Connecticut. As would be expected, a conversation has arisen in light of this most recent tragedy about gun control. This is a conversation that has needed to happen for too long, but it's simply a bandage on a situation that is so dire it requires surgery. You see, guns are only a small portion of the problem. The real problem lies in an American culture that much like Rome, thrives on violence. So much so that the violent culture flows along naturally every day and we perceive it to be "normal". Americans whether they will admit it or not love violence. Some would like to say they don't but we all do? #1 sport in America? American Football one of the most violent sports in the world. Top Pay Per View purchases since 2009? UFC. Some of the top songs for 2011? Grenade by Bruno Mars, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People, (run run faster than my bullet?), S&M by Rhianna? See where I'm going with this? What happened in Newtown was terrible, horrible, and should never be forgotten. What is forgotten in the conversation is while it was a tragedy, these tragedies happen every single day on the violent streets. Statistics tell us that between 1,300-1,900 people will die in gang related violence every 7 years in major cities alone.They didn't die because easy access to guns. They died because of a culture in film and music that glorifies violence, gang banging, and the "ride or die" attitude.  Fixing the gun culture in America is a start, but I've always be told if you want to kill a snake you cut off the head. I'm sorry to inform many many people out there but the NRA is not the head of the snake. Violent American culture is the head of the snake. We turn on the news and see nothing but bad news about violence, war, death, and crime yet we keep watching because we can't turn away. Celebrities and media types cry out for stronger gun laws but decry any effort to cut down on the sex, drugs, gun play, and objectification of women in media as "censorship". We can't keep talking about gun control. We have to get to the root of the issue. We are the little boy with his finger stuck in the damn plugging the leak. It's only a matter of time. Want to stop Newtown from happening again? Don't just ban assault weapons, refuse to participate in the culture of violence.

Why the battle over homosexuality may be the death of the UMC

"A house divided against itself cannot stand"

Abraham Lincoln

In his famous speech while accepting the Republican Senate Nomination, future President Lincoln uttered these words. For those familiar with Scripture, you will probably realize Lincoln is repeating the words found in the 12th chapter of Matthew "And every city or household divided against itself will not last" (Matt. 12:25). This my friends is how the United Methodist Church currently finds itself. At the crossroads of an almost Civil War within the church that will no doubt end with the same pain and hurt the last time the church came to this point (Methodist Episcopal Church Split Over Slavery). Now before everyone goes huffing and puffing about the title let me say this. Homosexuality and how the United Methodist Church deals with it, is a very important issue. That being said it is not the only important issue and in some people's opinion not the most important issue. I think it is a divisive enough issue to lead to the death of the UMC and here's the main reason. It does not significantly affect the path the church is on now. That is to say it doesn't stop the bleeding. Churches like St. Mark in Atlanta (across the street from Charles Stanley's Church) have seen drastic growth when becoming more open and friendly to people who identify as homosexual. That's excellent and great, but to simply suggest that changing the churches stance on homosexuality would fix the ills of the church is misguided. If we convinced every LGBT person to attend and support a UMC, it still would do little to stop the drastic rate in which we are shutting church doors. It is a start, but the root of why we are losing people is way deeper. Say you have a youth group. In that youth group are 10 young men. Statistics tell us that 6 out of those 10 men will walk away from their faith during their college years. Similar statistics tell us that the likelihood of a family becoming actively involved and remaining actively involved in a church drops drastically when the mother or the child is the primary member responsible for drawing the family to church. We have to rediscover what it means to be Wesleyan. We have to get people not only into the doors but to where they become passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.Fighting for gay rights is great, but not when you focus so much on social gospel you forget personal gospel. Wesley realized both were hand in hand. Focusing only on social gospel and not holiness does nothing to create disciples. It takes both parts of the equation. Are there people who are passionate about social justice who balance it with personal gospel? Sure. The inverse is also true, but elevating social justice above personal gospel like we have been known to do completely flies in the face of what it means to be Wesleyan. When you realize how fluid some people believe doctrine within the UMC to be, you begin to realize why Jon Stewart called the UMC the "University of Phoenix of Christianity. Give your money and believe what you want" Don't believe me? Google United Methodist Church believers baptism. You'll find tons of UMC churches that while acknowledging infant baptism openly state they prefer "believer's baptism" while only offering infant baptism a few times a year. If you need something more recent, you can also find pastors that despite the UMC saying people coming to the United Methodist Church from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) should be rebaptized due to drastically different understandings of Jesus Christ, feel it is their place to decide whether they need to be baptized or not. Every pastor upon being ordained takes an oath to uphold the Discipline of the United Methodist Churches. Every single day pastors readily ignore their oath. Jon Stewart was accurate. You really can disagree with things even Wesley himself taught and still be Methodist. That has to change if we are to grow. We have to be willing to say "This is what we believe" and stick to it. Having a Pastor saying "I don't think Hell exists" when we recite a creed affirming our belief that Christ descended into hell is why Jon Stewart is right. We have to begin by holding ourselves accountable.






Secondly, the battle over homosexuality within the UMC has become all consuming. I served for 2 years on the United Methodist Student Movement Steering Committee and attended Student Forum 2 years before that. I distinctly remember one year when there were approximately 20 petitions to the student forum. 12 of the 20 dealt with the issue of homosexuality and were almost identical in wording. This was 2006. How many more things were going on in the world that students needed to be aware of and vocal about? How many injustices and atrocities were being committed all over the world? In my opinion, the UMC has become so focused on the issue of homosexuality that we overlook the rest of the world. If we are a global church, we must insist that issues facing our brothers and sisters around the world are just as important as the issues facing Americans. For me this was no better displayed than in the post General Conference responses from Bishop Minerva who told our brothers and sisters from Africa to "grow up" because they felt differently about homosexuality. The struggle over homosexuality led to protests and demonstrations at General Conference in Tampa this as it has for the last few general conferences. The difference being this year General Conference was a complete and utter waste of time. No beneficial changes came out of General Conference. The one's that did were quickly done away with by judicial council rulings. Rather than discuss any of those issues and how we address them, the responses and reflections kept pouring in from Bishops and Pastors on General Conference and focused on a singular issue. The fact that changes to the Discipline and Ordination rulings concerning homosexuality had not changed. Even after we heard passionate debate from the floor about divestment, little to nothing was said about it in the wake of General Conference.






So where do we go from here? Do we continue to be a church divided against itself who is more interested in our side "winning" than holy conferencing? Do we continue to focus solely on homosexuality to the point that we ignore those hurting within the global church? If we do start to take a more holistic approach rather than basing success or failure on a single issue, how do we insure that the issue does not fade from conversation? These are questions the United Methodist Church must answer in the future.I believe homosexuality is a massive issue for the UMC and churches around the world, but we must quit acting as if it is the only issue. The hatred, time, effort, and energy spent ensuring "victory" for one side or the other has only served to strengthen the split within the UMC. Liberals and Conservatives, it's time to come forward and work together for the good of the global church. Liberals admit there are issues in the world just as important as whether a homosexual person can be ordained. Conservatives admit that homosexuality is a major issue and can no longer be simply swept aside. The church must deal with it and deal with it appropriately. We can either go forward focusing on both homosexuality and other issues or simply continue to look more and more like congress in Washington each day where we choose not to give a single inch until the divide is as deep as it can possibly be. When we reach a place where we began voting or expressing opinions simply because our idea was "voted down" or not spoken about favorable like happened at General Conference this year, we begin the end. We step foot down a road that will lead to ruin. A house divided against itself can not stand. We can no longer let a single primary issue drive the divide so deep in the church. Remember how that ended last time.

Learning To Trust:Turning It Over To God

Confession. I have trust issues. Not so much trust issues as much as jealous issues that lead to trust issues. I've been sick today so I haven't done much. When I don't do much my mind races so I play on facebook or video games to distract me unless I feel like being particularly pensive. I started to notice an increased number of engagement announcements on my facebook news feed. I started to notice people with boyfriend and girlfriends who were previously single. I began to feel jealous. I caught myself making unfair comparisons and saying mean things in my head about people who were my friends. I began to think thoughts like "What? That guy is a complete ass to women. How does he have a girlfriend while i'm still single?" These are not fair questions to ask. You see when you don't trust in God guiding you in the right direction, you begin to be unthankful for what you have. You begin to experience jealously. Ultimately for me this is a lesson in trust. Now I am a firm believer in free will. I don't believe that God lays out every single minute of every day for you. I believe God knows all that but doesn't make the choices for you. I do however believe if you take a destructive path that leads you away from things that God does have planned for your life God will do everything within His power to get you back. Ultimately it comes to trusting that faith. Trusting that the grace of God is sufficient. Trusting that if there is a desire that God has put on your heart it's there for a reason. I began to think about this as I mumbled through idle conversation with my barber. As the barber removed the hot towel from my neck to use the straight razor on my neck, I began to think of how much the trust required in this resembles the trust required of God. As I said on my twitter when you as a man let your barber take a straight razor to your face, you're basically gambling he or she is not going to go all Sweeney Todd on your neck.

In order to get the great feeling of a straight razor shave you need that level of trust (it's an amazing feeling by the way.That's for another time though). God is a lot like that. It takes trusting in God to know that you're not being led astray. John Wesley used to say (paraphrasing) that any good in a man and from a man comes from God alone. I fight so hard sometimes not to fall into the traps of jealousy and lack of trust. It's hard to have the desire to share your life with someone and it seems like everyone else around you is having such joy while you haven't been in a serious relationship since Bush was President. For me this is a time when I must rest in God alone. I've already seen through my brokenness that I alone can not overcome the feeling of inadequacy, jealousy, and mistrust I experience when struggling with the desire for a relationship. Instead I must learn to trust. I must learn to allow God to place the answers to the touch decisions on my heart so that I can make the choices that will grow me the most and bring Him the greatest glory. What are you turning over to God today.

Living into your calling

A few years ago, I was helping out with a campus ministry at a community college I attended.  The speaker that night was a guy I knew. He had played football at the junior college, went off to LSU, then transferred to Southern Miss where I went. The campus ministry had plenty of football players that attended the speakers and Bible studies. He and one of the current football players who was being recruited by various universities to play football were talking. As I overheard them talking, the question of regret came up. The speaker told the young football player if he could do it all over again, he wouldn't have went to USM. He would have went to a larger school where he could have had a better chance at being drafted. Now aside from my obvious disappointment at his disregard for our alma mater, I was struck by this statement in another way.Here was this guy who had a college degree, a beautiful wife (who he had dated as long as I had known them), got a chance to play college football, and knew the love of God. It began to dawn on me that he like many of us was not "happy" with his lot in life. He desired more than what he had been given. From listening to him speak, he was obviously successful in the career he had chosen and it allowed him to speak to students and make an impact on their life. I have no doubt he was exactly where he was called to be. The problem is many of us, myself included fail to live into our calling. For my friend, he would have been happier being a pro football player because to him it offered more value than what he was doing. Inversely there is my friend Catherine. As we were talking over facebook tonight, it dawned on me that Catherine was most definitely living into her calling. I'd only known Catherine about two years, but she had always been kind of quiet and reserved. The fact I'm overbearing and talk to much probably doesn't help encourage others to speak but it's my curse. However recently God has been doing amazing things in her life. She has shared ideas for outreach at the campus ministry I was a part of at Southern Miss. She volunteered to give her testimony to the youth group she is an intern with and is genuinely happy about both. She is living into her calling. She is making the most of life and speaking for God and about God in an unashamed way. Our calls change, but hers right now is to reach out to people and share how Christ has worked in her life and how God can work in theirs. She is experiencing the pure joy of how we feel when we live into our calling and are exactly where God wants us to be. As you go forward, look around and see the impact you making. Are you where God is calling you to be right now? Are you where you are supposed to be but not reaching out to who you are supposed to? I hope that anyone who reads this, can come to know the pure joy of the moment you realize that you are right where God has called you to be at that very moment in your life. The joy of realizing that we have the free will to choose the direction our life takes and we have chosen a path that is pleasing to God and allows us to work and build His kingdom.

-Shawn

Why Jesus isn't Taylor Swift or any other major music artist for that matter.

So I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of Taylor Swift but some of her songs are catchy. By some songs I mean all, because all of her songs are essentially the same. You're probably thinking, what does this have to do with God or Jesus. This is what it has to do with theology. Taylor Swift and every major musician/artist has one great trait about them that makes them successful. They know their audience. Taylor Swift makes what I call high school drama queen music. She's like a more dramatic Adele. Her music is predominately about her last boyfriend and how terrible he was during their relationship which leads to my statement of all her music is essentially the same song. Regardless of how I feel about it, she's obviously very successful at writing songs that express the angst of teenage girls. It's as I hear these songs and words, that I'm thankful God is not like Taylor Swift. That's not a slight to Taylor Swift but simply a statement about the greatness of God. Romans 1:16 that in the Gospel is the salvation for ALL who believes. See unlike Taylor Swift, God doesn't want to focus on one demographic. God wants all of us. He doesn't just want the girls who have been hurt by a relationship. He doesn't only want the macho guy that fights in the UFC, God wants all of us. He chases after us with a relentless passion. You see it's not that Christ can't tell a story that appeals to a certain demographic, it's just that Christ tells a story that is bigger than any one person, group, or even musician. You see I'm not a fan of the idea that God chooses certain people to save and others to condemn. I think that's so belittling of the power of God to save any and all he chooses. Many times when explaining God we use the reference of a parent. That's akin to a parent choosing to lavish all their love and praise on one child while neglecting the other child. God is right there with you. He's walking alongside us begging us to follow him. I find solace in the fact that I never truly walk along. All of us like "the chase". It's part of a relationship. Since it's usually a man chasing after a woman, men don't often think of themselves as being pursued. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We men are pursued daily by a voice saying "Come Son, follow me and I will show you the way." What a great story for all of us. I'm thankful God puts storytellers in the world. Artists, Musicians, Actors, and Singers tell great stories through art, song, music, stage, and screen. However God tells a bigger and better story. Quit worrying about if you're in His "demographic". You're one of his beautiful and glorious creations. We are all God's target audience.

Shawn

Service To Myself: Reflections From SOS:Legalism and Holiness

“I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God's creational intentions.” John Wesley

I know it's been a while, but I was dealing with a Hurricane. This is the final post in my SOS series. I didn't want it to drag on forever, so I narrowed it down. One thing that I realized this summer, is that no matter how much we preach on it, read about it, try to avoid it, everyone in the Christian community struggles with legalism to some extent. As I listened to my then coworkers and soon to be friends share their stories with me, the consistent stream was a struggle with legalism. Many had been raised in a home where while loving was more legalistic and moral than based on holiness and discipleship. Now there is a fine fine line between holiness and legalism. That I think it something as a whole the church doesn't often speak on even though it should. Holiness is living you life in a way that is pleasing and brings glory to God all while growing closer to God. Legalism is simply living a certain way to avoid God's wrath or to check something off the list. While I may be a tad biased because I am Methodist, many scholars agree there are not many theologians more well versed on Holiness than that of John Wesley. For Wesley, social and personal holiness were paramount to the life of a Christian. It is through holiness that grow closer to God and closer to the people God intends for us to be. It is through social holiness that the earth begins to look a little more like God's kingdom each day. Even in Wesley's day holiness was a struggle. We simply can no longer afford to live a  life of legalism and ignore the holiness that God calls us to. "Be Holy for I am Holy" 1 Peter 1:16. The move from legalism to holiness is a heart condition. What I mean when I say that, is that many things that we do that are legalistic, are only legalistic because of the desires of our heart when we perform them. Reading your Bible and praying daily is not legalistic. Taking communion weekly is not legalistic. When these things are done out of a desire to avoid God's wrath and to check them off your list they become legalistic. The prophet Isaiah tells "Your righteous acts are like dirty rags". When we do what Wesley would call "attending upon the ordinances of God" and we do them out of a desire for our heart to be molded to more like Christ, we shift from a life of legalism to holiness. Even holiness can become legalism if we let it. While we start doing things to grow closer to God, they too become like a checklist. I find this to be especially true of people who grew up in the church.A few of the best books on holiness I can recommend if you want to read more on the subject are below.My prayer for you as you read this, is may your heart be "strangely warmed" by the Gospel of Christ. May your heart draw you closer to Christ daily. May you move to a place where you serve God out of love and not out of expectancy.

"The spiritual poverty of the west is far worse than the material poverty here in India" Mother Theresa. 

"Why Holiness Matters" by Tyler Braun. It's an outstanding book that relates his real life experiences with legalism, holiness, and his own failures.

Holiness of Heart and Life by Charles Yrigoyen. An overall look at Wesleyan tradition and history as well as the holiness that marked the early methodist movement and led to revival. A must have for any Methodist bookshelf.

A Blueprint for Discipleship by Kevin Watson. This is by far my favorite book I've read in the last year. It talks about Wesley's Three Rules (Do Good, Do No Harm, Attend upon the ordinances of God) as a pattern for Discipleship and has some really great nuggets as it relates to holiness.

Service To Myself:Reflections from SOS:Wealth and Affluence

This is the second of a series of blog posts about my summer working for SOS or Service Over Self in Memphis, Tennessee. You can check out their website here, if you'd like more information. Please take the time to check it out and see the amazing things they are doing to revitalize the Binghampton section of Memphis and prove to Memphis and specifically Binghampton that God is not through with "The Bing".

What are these strange things above this post you might ask? Well those are food stamps. Many people have never seen them as the US government has now switched to an EBT card that folks use to pay for food when they are on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or welfare. The image of these are burned into my mind as a reminder of where I came from. While I would be considered middle class now, it is only through the hard work of my mother that we are in fact middle class. It wasn't always that way though. From the time I was born until I was about 8ish I didn't know what regular Christmas was. Very few presents I got came from a place other than Dollar General or Family Dollar. I still vividly remember being at Winn-Dixie with my mother as she bought groceries for us and paid with those stamps with the all too familiar Liberty Bell on them. I say that to reveal one of my greatest struggles that reared it's ugly head this summer. Money and Affluence. Money is not a real issue for me. I don't have a lot but I have enough and work hard for it as does my family. However, I realized this summer while at SOS I really struggle with people of affluence. Many of the campers who come to SOS are suburban white upper to upper middle class kids. Many of the kids come from families with money who live in the wealthy suburbs of cities they come from. I realized this summer as one kid refused to follow the "Serve to Your Left" rule (at SOS you always serve food to the person to your left at dinner) that he had never been told no. He had seemingly always been allowed to do what he wanted when he wanted. There was a sense of entitlement. The words of my grandfather often ring through my head, "The world owes you nothing and there's nothing worth having that you don't have to work for". God began to reveal in me my struggles with people of affluence and wealth. I harbored resentment towards people who were given everything they ever wanted and had allowed that to mold them into people who felt they were entitled. I began to be shown the resentment I harbored in my heart even towards these campers simply because their parents had enough money they could go to the store, point something out, and have absolutely no problem paying for it. I also began to feel shame for how I grew up even though it was no fault of my own. I felt shame upon realizing these things for multiple reasons. One, I had undervalued the life God had given me. While life has never been easy, there are many moments that have shaped me into the person I am today. Two, I was being judgemental towards campers because of something that was no fault of their own. It wasn't the campers fault they were entitled and affluent. That is a learned condition. Their parents through not forcing them to work for the things they wanted and valued had created a sense of entitlement and superiority in these children. It was through this time that God not only showed me to be thankful for the life I've had and the lessons it has taught me, but that the church has work to do. The words of Mother Theresa ring true when she  “The spiritual poverty of the Western World is much greater than the physical poverty of our people". While God does not necessarily frown upon wealth, we must as the church be diligent in encouraging those with the means to use the gifts God has given them to reinvest in the world. We must also do it not only with the intention of it being a checkmark, but as an outpouring of the grace God has shown us in our lives. We have to show people that you come to SOS to serve God and serve others before yourself. The title Service Over Self is not just a catchy name that rhymed with SOS but a response to the commandment of Christ that "anyone who would follow me must deny himself and take up his cross daily"(Paraphrase of Luke 9:23). For these kids and their parents, it means not only coming to SOS but committing to using your means to serve the least, the last, and the lost that Jesus Christ came to save (Luke 19:10). It means not being so poor that all they have is money. For me it means living into the life and the story God has given me and being thankful for it. It means spending my time educating and preventing people from falling into spiritual poverty while they maintain material wealth. It means realizing we are all broken and live in some kind of poverty.

In Christ
-Shawn