United Church of Cracker Jack

In my new effort to lose weight and live a more healthy lifestyle, I've come to enjoy grocery shopping. Every aisle is a litany of possibilities now that I understand the dynamics of healthy eating. Occasionally I buy myself a little snack. The other day when I was grocery shopping, I came across Cracker Jack. For $1.25 you could get 3 boxes of Cracker Jack. Cracker Jack conjures up memories of my childhood for me so I bought it. I got home and unpacked my groceries, my mother remarked "oh look cracker jack". I told her the price and she said "wow i remember when they were 10 cents a box". As I enjoyed a box of cracker jack I pulled out the prize. A folding piece of paper that when folded and unfolded showed a young then an old George Washington. My mom then said "wow you don't even get real prizes in them anymore". As I laid in bed that night thinking, I began to realize something. The United Methodist Church is a lot like a box of Cracker Jacks. The prize (Jesus) is still there, but rising costs and ineffectiveness have caused the prize to be cheapened. The United Methodist Church in part due to inflation and other economic circumstances now spends more than they ever have to accomplish the churches mission while the number of members have dwindled to the point that in 20 years the UMC will not exist if the decline doesn't stop. You see much like Cracker Jack, the UMC relishes in nostalgia  People don't buy Cracker Jack anymore because of the outstanding taste or it's affordability. People buy Cracker Jack for the sheer nostalgia value. The same reason people purchase thing from the Cracker Barrel store. It's simply a reminder of better times for most people. The UMC experiences the same thing. As I said before the UMC is spending more now than it ever has. Every year the church is spending more money in an attempt to accomplish it's mission. However, the mission is not successful as it could be because of nostalgia  The old way isn't necessarily bad. The UMC could stand to get a healthy reminder that Wesley focused on both personal and social holiness to bring it back where it originally was rather than the social holiness centered ministry the church mostly engages in now. The nostalgia we hold on to is the unhealthy kind. The kind of nostalgia that says we've always done it this way even though it hasn't worked in years. For some reason, the UMC abandoned it's method of discipleship of the band,class, society system that had led to growth in membership and true discipleship among early Methodist  Instead we've held tightly to systems that haven't developed true disciples in decades. In the process we've cheapened the meaning of Jesus and what it means to our world. We've done things to help the poor, homeless, and disenfranchised in the name of Jesus without actually sharing the hope and reason that we actually are moved to that action. Many don't see much difference in members of the UMC and the outside world they live in. In that instance we've spent more money for a cheaper prize. We treat Jesus like a cheap paper Cracker Jack toy instead of the precious jewel of grace that he was. When will we move beyond the nostalgia  When will we embrace healthy change and re-adapt the things about Methodism that allowed it to grow to meet modern needs? When will we realize that we are called to both personal and social holiness not just one or the other? Until we change, we are simply the United Church of Cracker Jack. Join up, pay some money, get a cheap prize, and feel just a little bit of nostalgia about how great the UMC used to be.Cracker Jack serves a great role in American culture. It ties us back to some say a simpler time. Some nostalgia is healthy, but too much leaves us to being relegated to a bottom shelf tiny spot in American alongside the boxes of Cracker Jack.

Preach like a Methodist

One of the real joys of faith is sharing your faith with people. It gives me a great source of joy. I dare say it's my favorite thing about working with my youth is trying to answer the questions they have about faith and what it means to be a Christian in today's society. Even more enjoyable is when my peers ask me these types of questions. As I spent the last week serving with SOS in Memphis, TN. (Read more about SOS and their work in the Binghampton community HERE), I entered into a conversation with my friend Leanne. Leanne is a brilliant, smart, and funny girl. Like what seems to be a lot of my college friends, she was raised in the Methodist Church but now finds herself enjoying worship and ministry within another denomination. She asked me. " My pastor at home doesn't really reference scripture a lot in his sermons like the pastor of the church I attend while away at college. Is that just a church thing or a Methodist thing?" She asked other questions and made other statements about how when she got to college her friends had memorized scripture etc and she hadn't. Where does one begin on such a large question? I started the only place I knew. I started with the Bible. I discussed how Jesus really taught two different ways. One which would be considered "lectionary" and it led to attempts to throw him off a cliff, and the other being relationally. I discussed how both are important styles of preaching and it's really important for the pastor to know his/her audience to realize which style of preaching they would respond to best and lead to the most spiritual growth for them. It hurt as future Methodist Clergy to hear someone who was raised in the UMC feel like their pastor didn't put enough emphasis on scripture. John Wesley put Scripture above all else. Wesley too often told stories in his sermons but always brought it back to scripture.Pastors in the UMC used to preach with fire and enthusiasm.  I began to realize so many things that have worked in the past the UMC has turned away from simply in the interest of being "relevant". While I have my own theological issues with reformed theology and "neo-calvinism" ,statements like Leanne's confirm that the boldness however good or bad displayed in the preaching of modern reformed thought draws people in. There's no middle way. You might not agree with what they are saying but they hold strong to their beliefs. It used to be whenever theologians conversed about the most effective preachers at least 7 out of 10 would be Methodist. Sadly I feel that's not the case. Why did we change a system that was working? The Methodist Church I truly believe offers a theology that the "nones" so desperately seek in today's society. We offer a theology that points to the grace of God at work in our lives. We point to the work of the kingdom here and not just sell "fire insurance". We are a theology that doesn't force you to choose between science and religion. We are a theology that preaches how the love of God is big enough to draw the darkest of heart and not how God spends his time deciding who's in and who's out. If we are to claim that and stop the decline while creating disciples for Christ, we must reclaim the old "preach like a Methodist" saying.

What am I?

I used to be really into poetry, but gave it up after a while here is my foray back into it.


What Am I?
 A man without a home
a place that is empty where only me and Jesus roam
I'm too far left to be claimed by the right
and too far right for the left to say alright
I believe in saving babies
and that murderers can redeemed by grace
that I can be passionate about issues
without getting in your face
So why am I homeless
despite having my church
Because I live in the gray
and I make it work
My house sits near the middle
not the far left or the far right
I have no interest in the fight
that will continue until our church splinters
with all of it's might

I believe in change
but not just for the sake of doing it
I believe that grace helps us through suffering
because I've been through it
What am I then?
A man without a home
Not conservative or progressive enough
to avoid being stoned
What I am
is a man with a plan
and hope among all hopes
to draw folks back to the middle
to let God redeem what has broke
so we look more like the church
and less like politicians in empty suits
and a tree that is dying begins to grow
and bear fruit.

Carnival Triumph, Humanity, and our need for something bigger

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've no doubt seen the photos of the Carnival Triumph. The ship lost power after an engine room fire and was adrift in the Gulf of Mexico until being towed to Mobile, Alabama. As you're undoubtedly aware if you read my last post, a tornado recently ripped through the town I called home for 7 years. As I read the stories of people hoarding food, stealing food off people's tables when the lights went out, and daisy stringing power outlets together so they could charge their phones and other electronics I began to realize exactly what we were dealing with. You see this is an idea often discussed by various sources. There's even wikis that describe steps to surviving when social order breaks down. You see it took less that a week for social order to breakdown aboard the Carnival Triumph.In less than a week, people began stealing or hoarding food from other people. People continued using the bathrooms despite them not working with zero regard for the health or well being of their fellow passengers. People immediately started putting on life jackets and panicking as soon as the pa call came on calling for crew help.For their part the crew did everything possible to make this bad situation as bearable as possible. The attitudes and actions displayed by the folks on board the ship (waiting 4 hours to get to the gift shop and buy a $6 can of pringles?) display the most basic idea of humanity. At our most basic, panicked, or desperate moments we are simply a broken people who revert to our primal instincts of protect ourselves and forget everything else. It's in this brokenness we reveal our need for something bigger than ourselves. See Christ calls us to lay down ourselves. At certain points in the New Testament, we are called to lay down our lives and follow Christ or told that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for their friend. What we saw on the Carnival Triumph was a broken people desperately in need of a better way. One of the most joyous and frustrating aspects of my walk with Christ is times when I want so desperately to watch out for myself and follow my own path but am moved by the Spirit to put others before myself. If the Triumph incident teaches us anything, it's that we are a broken people who must remember our call to put others first even when our mind tells us to watch for us.

Where was God when.....

Hattiesburg Tornado

Sunday a tornado ripped through Hattiesburg, Mississippi and the surrounding area. As is typical in this technological age, almost immediately a facebook group for info and support popped up. At the end of tuesday, the facebook group posted a video of the University of Southern Mississippi's Wind Symphony playing Amazing Grace. USM's music program is world renown and is one of the top music programs in all of the United States. The music program lost 2 of their 3 buildings in the storm and the 3rd has major damage to it. It was a great gesture to acknowledge the importance of the music department and acknowledge the grace of God that despite over 1,400 homes being damaged or destroyed and over 100 people being injured there were no deaths. An individual began commenting on the post about where was God's grace for all the people who wanted to keep their home and not have it destroyed by the tornado? What do we do with that? How does one respond? Here is how I respond when asked that question. God created the heavens and earth and every thing on it. God continues to create every day and in every way. Natural Disasters are simply a part of the environment and ecosystem that God has created. God does not "cause" natural disasters. Contrary to the teachings and musings of the folks on the 700 club God does not send tornados and hurricanes down on us to "punish us" for our sin. They are simply a result of the ecosystems in which we live. However God's grace is always present. Those who worship Christ worship the great redeemer. A God who emphasizes new creation who takes the broken, beaten, and damned and redeems them. A God that brings beauty from the ashes. God is not the reason people lost their homes. God is not responsible for the evil and disaster of the world, but God's grace and providence is the reason that there are zero deaths from an EF4 tornado ripping through the 3rd largest city in Mississippi and it's suburbs. I'm reminded of how Rev. Adam Hamilton addressed a similar question when returning from earthquake relief in Haiti. "If you remove God from the earthquake in Haiti, the earthquake still happens. It's a part of nature, but you've removed the only source of comfort some people may find in the midst of such a terrible disaster" Grace is in the midst of disaster. There will always be cynics, agnostics, and atheists who decry God as evil for not protecting people from disasters like this. We as Christians must respond and articulate good theology of Christ who has and is redeeming despite destruction.Where was God when a tornado ripped through Hattiesburg? In our midst, wrapping his arms around those he calls his beloved and protecting them.

Fitness Update

Okay, I probably should have written this post long ago but hey life happens. In early November I was in a friend's wedding. As the pictures from the wedding began to hit Facebook, I began to find myself more and more unhappy with myself. I didn't like how I looked. I made the decision that would have to change. I embarked on a healthy regimen. I either enlisted or had those around me volunteer to help. As of this writing, I have finished day one of week 5 of the couch to 5k program. Yesterday after a 5 minute warm-up walk, I ran for 5 minutes and walked for 3 minutes and repeated that before closing with a 5 minute run followed by cool-down. It was tough, I was tired and exhausted but it shows how far I've come since I started. Also at the typing of this, I have weighed myself. For the first time in eight years, the number on the scale begins with a two. Not since 2004 have I been under 300 lbs. I would not have made this point without one major helper along the way. My friend Luci, is a lifestyle consultant. Upon hearing about my new quest for health she struck out to help me along the way. I get weekly healthy tips that range from everything to plate arrangement to cut down on portions all the way to how to eat when going out to the movies. Luci runs a blog filled with fashion, food, and my favorite thing her Fun Fact Fridays over at Luci's Morsels which you can find HERE.I really can't begin to explain how instrumental she has been in me getting to this point. If you want to make a healthy lifestyle change beyond just working out, contact her or a lifestyle consultant who can help you along the way. Her blog is also now on my blogroll up on the right side of this page if you lose this post along the way and still want to read her helpful hints. The most important thing I've had is support. Whether it's through my friends who have encouraged me along the way, Luci answering emails at random hours of the day with health questions, or my trainer at the gym who often leaves me in pain but feeling accomplished they've been supportive the whole way. I've learned so much about what it means to be healthy and make healthy choices in just the few months I've been doing this. You realize when your high school health teacher is the Golf Coach you often miss out on some really important lessons about health. Finally I know this is not a sprint but a marathon. There will be setbacks. There will be weak moments but with support and prayer I can make it. Thanks to all who have been a part of this incredible journey so far.

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.