Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Tag: #UMC

  • UMC General Conference: Rumors and Games

    Yoda-QuotesI am not at the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in Portland, Oregon but I have been watching through social media and the video stream when I’m able. It has been stressful to watch so much fighting among people who I greatly respect and even admire. Today has, by far, been the worse.

    It all started during the night when rumors were released by the Love You Neighbor Coalition (LYNC – a group which advocates for LGBTQ inclusion) which claimed that the Council of Bishops were set to announce a plan for schism which would divide the UMC into liberal, progressive, and centrist factions. This afternoon the President of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Bruce Ough (pronounced “Oh”) addressed General Conference to deny these rumors and say that the rumors were the result of conversations that the Bishops have, indeed, had (from his tone, I speculate these conversations were no different than conversations many people within the UMC have been having) but that nothing pertaining to separation or schism was going to be presented or advocated by the Council of Bishops. In short, the rumors were pure bunk.

    Assuming all of this is correct, I have to say that I feel that this was nothing but a publicity stunt perpetrated by LYNC. Personally I find such stunts pulled by any kind of special interest group of any kind to be sickening. These people have played and heightened the fears of many within and without the General Conference and I can not denounce their actions enough.

    I don’t have time for games and neither should they.

    I have no time or desire to play these games when we have a world with hurting people in it. We have people who desperately need the gospel and when I’m trying to figure out how best to reach out to them, I don’t have time for games. I don’t have time for games when I live and serve in a county with one of the highest rates of poverty and drug addiction in the state of Kentucky. I don’t have time for games when I have people within my congregation who I am trying to care for when they are sick, dying, or uncertain about their faith. I don’t have time for such games when there are people who have been harmed by the church and those within it who I am trying to show love to.

    If you feel that you have time for such games, I encourage you to check yourself.

    I am one of the people in the center of this debate where I believe we can find a way to coexist in spite of our differences. Unfortunately, people in the center are not being heard because those at the extreme ends of the homosexual issue insist on being heard because it’s “our way or no way.” My desire is for the table and those at it to be increased, not hindered in any way. I don’t have the answers but I hold to the hope that a way to coexist can be found. In Being United Methodist in the Bible Belt, F. Belton Joyner used the analogy of the church being intended to be a large bus with lots of people on it as opposed to a two-seater convertible with “just me and Jesus.” We need to strive to keep it that way.

    Even if the bus is a double-decker, the point is we would still be on the same bus.

    I have not been a Methodist all my life (my wife gets the blame or the credit for bringing me to the UMC); I grew up in a church within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) which broke off from the PCUSA way back when. I’ve seen first hand the damage and the scars which are left from such splits. I constantly heard comments like, “those liberals are ruining that other church, I’m glad we left. We don’t want them here.” If the UMC splits and further fractures the body of Christ, such is what awaits us. I can not, in good conscience, support any talk of a split when I still feel that it can be avoided.

    Let’s stop playing games, spreading silly rumors, and let’s stop the nastiness toward one another. Let’s work for unity and the good of the Body. Let’s be the church and stop the foolishness.

    Submitted for what it’s worth,
    Jonathan

  • Biblical Leadership

    4070b18a4c0375f82ee73208f15b1874302d3a269de045e28994de1162799d1dAre you sick of the Presidential debates yet? Oh, just wait until we get closer to the general election!

    As a pastor, I don’t feel that it’s appropriate for me to tell you which candidate or which party to support. Non-Profit status concerns aside, I simply do not believe that’s what the sacred desk is for. I realize that not all of my brothers and sisters agree with this notion but I would much rather talk about what the Bible says makes a good leaders as opposed to whom I believe is God’s man/woman.

    During the last Presidential election in 2012, I was made aware of a movement of clergy called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” where they would spend a Sunday sermon telling their flocks which candidates and parties they believe should be supported. Preachers are typically discouraged from making such statements from the pulpit because such would endanger the congregation’s non-profit status with the IRS. The rationale is that the IRS should not hamstring clergy from campaigning from the pulpit. Again, I do not agree with this because I simply do not believe a pastor should use the pulpit to stump for a particular candidate or party (that does not mean that I am opposed to talking about issues as they relate to scripture – quite the opposite). When I was asked to participate by a parishioner at the congregation I was appointed to at the time, I explained that I would much rather preach about what scripture says about leadership.

    And that’s what I did.

    Below is that sermon (more or less). Keep in mind that this is one of the first sermons I ever wrote so it’s not stellar (not that the ones I write now are great!). However, I feel that the overall message is very timely as we approach election time. How do the candidates stack up base do what God’s word says about what makes a good leader? I pray this helps you gain some insight as you decide which candidates to support.

    Jonathan

    As we approach this election season, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been bombarded with messages and some might even say propaganda from all sides of the political spectrum. Largely it seems like it’s all rhetoric, sound bytes and “vote for me because I’m not the other guy.” What we as Christians should take in to account more than what the media tells us is what the Bible says about leadership. What Biblical standards should we be looking for in a candidate for any kind of office or any kind of leader for that matter? Today I want to look at what the Bible says we should be looking for in our leaders and give some examples of Biblical leadership. Of course, this message is for all of us but I especially want the youth to pay attention as they are the future leaders of our church and our world. I’d like to ask them to come forward at this time so that we can say a blessing over them.

    The Bible gives us several things we should look for in our leaders. In preparing for this week’s message, I took to Facebook to ask some of my friends what they look for in a leader. Some of the responses I got included:
    • Humility
    • Wisdom
    • Seeks wise counsel
    • Willing to serve
    • Willing to listen, not just order

    Indeed, the Bible shares these qualities in what we should look for in our leaders. Let’s look at the broad spectrum of all qualifications. In 1 Timothy, Paul lays out what should be sought after in looking for elders – or pastors – of the church. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:1-5: This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position. So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?

    Paul pretty plainly lays it out on the line: A leader must be honorable, have integrity, be hospitable, be able to control his/her temper, not be greedy.
    • By the way, this applies equally to men and women. Women can certainly be leaders and they should be no less wise.
    • Leadership involves being willing to pass along ones’ knowledge to the next generation in order to help raise up quality leaders for the future.
    • Being humble – not boastful, not greedy, willing to help others – is one of the most important leadership qualities there is. What kind of leader is someone who isn’t humble and who demands respect instead of commanding respect by their actions?
    • You can attract more flies with honey than you can vinegar – a good leader knows this.

    Have you ever looked at the perks that online companies offer their employees? It’s not uncommon for websites such as Google and Amazon to offer their employees things such as free lunches in an on-campus cafeteria (not like our school cafeterias thankfully!), pool tables, free massages, unlimited vacation time, and even allowing employees to bring their pets with them to work. There was a CEO of one online retail website that started offering these things to his employees when it wasn’t common to do so. Traditional CEOs told him that it was a waste, productivity would suffer and he would end up losing his shirt if he offered his employees such cool things and gave them so much freedom. It was not uncommon for this CEO to even do things like grill hamburgers for all of his employees and he even took groups of employees to amusement parks – on the clock and all expenses paid too! Today his company is well known and is enjoying success beyond what he even imagined. Because he had the vision to be a servant to his employees and to treat them exceptionally well, his company has been successful, productivity has been great and many of those who said he would fail by doing these things have gone out of business themselves.

    A leader has to be willing not only to lead and be the boss, he/she must also be willing to serve. In Mark 10, Jesus plainly tells us this when He says in verses 42-45: “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus even exemplified this when in John 13 we read that Jesus – being the very reason we are here and as the leader of His disciples – committed an act that no leader of the day would dare to do and something I doubt very many would be willing to do today. In verses 4 and 5 we read that Jesus got up from the table, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured some water and got down to wash the feet of His disciples. Imagine being there for a moment: The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords – someone we very much should be the ones lowering ourselves down to – lowered Himself to be a servant to those who follow Him. In verses 14-16 He explains to them: “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.” This is probably the absolute best example of leading by being a servant that any of us could ever find.

    There is a legend that is told of a French Monastery known throughout Europe for the exceptional leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks took a pilgrimage to visit this extraordinary leader to learn from him. Starting out on the pilgrimage they almost immediately begin to argue over who should do certain chores.

    On the third day of their journey they met another monk also going to the monastery; he joined them. This monk never bickered about doing chores and did them dutifully. And when the others would fight about which chores to do, he would simply volunteer to do them himself. On the last day of their journey, others began to follow his example and the bickering stopped.

    When the monks reached the monastery they asked to see Brother Leo. The man who greeted them laughed. “But our brother is among you!” And he pointed to the fellow that had joined them.

    Many seek positions in leadership to serve their own interests and not that of others. There are many self serving reasons why a person may want to lead such as power, status, networking and money. But the best leaders lead because they care about people. And those are the types of leaders that lead like Brother Leo. They teach through their actions, not by words alone. They are servants, not commanders.

    Is risk-taking something that’s wise? Some might say that taking risks as a leader means that you just go out on a limb no matter what anyone says, do what you want to do anyway and hope for the best. That’s certainly the way a lot of people look at risk taking but it’s not always so haphazard. Taking risks isn’t always wise as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. However, sometimes risks – with lots of prayer, wise counsel and benefit and consequence analysis – that will have a huge impact on the church, the household or the whole world. If you want an example of that, look no further than the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley.
    • John Wesley was born in 1703 in Epworth, England to Samuel and Susanna Wesley. Samuel was a priest in the Church of England.
    • John and his brother Charles were raised in the tradition of the Anglican faith and John and Charles both got the necessary education and experience to become ordained into the Anglican church themselves.
    • John went to Savannah, Georgia as a missionary in 1735. During the sea voyage to America, a big storm arose. John found himself scared to death but noticed that some Moravians on board were not only calm but even singing hymns in the midst of this storm that threatened to sink the ship. He wanted to have the peace that they had – the peace and contentment that we can have through Jesus Christ.
    • As Wesley learned about salvation through faith, he plugged away until the fateful day on May 24, 1738 when he had what he called his “Aldersgate Experience” where he heard someone reading Martin Luther’s preface to Romans. It was at that time when Wesley wrote that he “felt (his) heart strangely warmed.” The rest, as they say, is history.
    • Wesley – in spite of protests from many within the Anglican church – started what would become known as the Methodist movement, which included doctrines such as prevenient grace, sanctification through faith, Christian perfection and the then-unheard of practice of using lay local preachers to spread the gospel.
    • Of course, all was not always well with Wesley’s leadership. For example during his initial time in Georgia he denied communion to a former girlfriend and her new husband. Charges were brought against him and eventually Wesley returned to England a beaten, broken man.
    • Eventually Wesley persevered and rose above all of the bitterness and shame he experienced. It’s in large part thanks to John Wesley that we’re here today. His vision, wisdom and faith carried him through the storm and he was able to lead a movement that is still ongoing today.

    Biblical and Godly leadership qualities are things we should all strive to conduct and certainly something we should look for in our leaders no matter their office. As Christians it’s our duty to discern who these Godly leaders are. People who are first and foremost committed to Christ, people who are wise and seek wise counsel, people willing to not only lead but to serve, to lead by example and who aren’t afraid to make unpopular decisions are who should be our leaders. This certainly goes for our elected officials. As the Presidential debate is a hot topic issue, many in churches are asking their pastors to tell them who they should vote for. Well, I’m not going to do that. What I will tell you is this: Pray and ask God who He wants to be our next President. Consider all of the qualities that the Bible says make good leaders. And when you get into the voting booth, vote your conscience. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. He will never fail you in any situation, even in the voting booth.

  • Sermon: “What’s The Fuss?”

    Shiloh-UMC-logo-final-webI wrote and preached this sermon last week at Shiloh as a reminder of what we celebrate on Thursday (Thanksgiving) as well as a reminder of why we will celebrate Christmas in December. It’s all about perspective. I incorporated some material from the sermon I preached at the community Thanksgiving service at Stanton Baptist Church last week. I had several people tell me that it served as a great reminder of the true purpose for the holidays as well as a means of centering in preparation for the craziness. I hope you find a blessing from reading this sermon (it’s not perfect and I did end up throwing in a couple more thoughts while I preached but, more or less, here it is).

    In Christ,
    Jonathan

    “What’s The Fuss?”
    A Sermon Preached at Shiloh United Methodist Church – Stanton, KY
    Rev. Jonathan K. Tullos
    November 22, 2015

    John 18:33-37 (NRSV) – Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

    Today is one of the days on the church calendar called “Christ the King” Sunday, which is when we remember and celebrate the kingship of Jesus. Next week we will begin the season of Advent which is a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. It is extremely easy to forget that the “stuff” of the season is not why we are celebrating. The reason we celebrate is the one who would be born in a stable and grow up to be the greatest king the world has ever known. So today, I want us to spend this time together remembering what all the fuss is about.

    We have all been there. Let me tell you about one of the experiences of holiday craziness I witnessed. I was a teenager and we arrived at my grandmother’s house early on Thanksgiving. We actually arrived earlier than normal because my grandmother had called and said she was overwhelmed and needed some help getting the thanksgiving meal prepared. We arrived and Moo, as we called her, looked flustered. I’m don’t remember exactly what happened but she had some sort of mishap in the kitchen and also had found out that a few more people were coming than she had expected. I do remember her saying this: “I just don’t understand why I go through all this fuss.”

    I remembered that incident and those words recently when I was working on an assignment for one of my classes at Asbury. The assignment was to write a column for a church newsletter about the Christmas season called “What’s The Fuss about Christmas” in which the object was to remind church members of the purpose of the holiday season, specifically why we are supposed to be celebrating Christmas. We tend to ponder that a lot as we go through all the hustle and bustle of the year. We forget about the main purpose because it gets lost in all of the stuff we are expected to do. We wonder why we should even bother with preparing a feast for Thanksgiving and why we go to the trouble of decorating for Christmas and making such a big deal out of things like the Cantata or any number of other things.

    It’s obvious to state that the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving is because we want to take some time to give thanks to God for seeing us through, for providing for our needs and simply to thank him for loving us. Just as the pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock did, we give thanks. The fuss is worth it because it is a correction to our egos to remember how blessed we are and how grateful we should be for even the smallest things. For example: When was the last time you gave a quick word of thanks to the man who picks up your trash so that you can live in a safe and healthy house? When was the last time you thanked the clerk at the grocery store? When was the last time you thanked God for even the things that make us frustrated like our computers, TVs and cell phones? Giving thanks helps us to keep our priorities in line with God’s will and is an important correction to our egos.

    Does anyone remember the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special? I love Charlie Brown because I can relate to him in so many ways, namely how he often undertakes things with the best of intentions but he just ends up making a mess of it. In the Thanksgiving special Peppermint Patty invites herself to Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving dinner and then Lucy and Franklin are invited by Patty. Charlie Brown finds himself in a mess because he is supposed to go to his grandmother’s for a meal with his family. Linus convinces Charlie Brown that he can have two Thanksgiving meals and to prepare one for him and his friends. So Charlie Brown sets out to prepare a feast but it’s not exactly traditional. When the gang sits down for their meal, Linus leads them in a prayer and then the food service begins.

    By the time it’s all said and done each kid ends up with an ice cream sundae, two slices of buttered toast, and a handful each of pretzel sticks, popcorn, and jelly beans. Peppermint Patty is not happy and has some harsh words for Charlie Brown, who leaves the table in shame. Peppermint Patty gets a reminder that she invited herself over; eventually she apologizes to Charlie Brown. All ends up well because the gang all end up being able to go to Charlie Brown’s grandmother’s house to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

    Does this kind of sound like what happens at your house around Thanksgiving? We prepare a meal and someone complains. Then you start to wonder why you even undertook this project in the first place. Thanksgiving is a good reminder that it’s not about us. It’s not about the turkey, the sides or the parades. Thanksgiving, at its core, is a reminder that we should be thankful to God His provision, his protection and for his love. It’s out of this love hat he came to us in the form of a baby who from his birth was the great king that had been long expected and excitedly anticipated. That’s the fuss about Thanksgiving. The fuss is we give thanks not for how we have gained but for what God has given.

    Although Thanksgiving is our next holiday and I certainly believe in taking the one at a time I know we have all been thinking about our Christmas plans. As a church we have been practicing for the upcoming cantata and I have been planning our Advent sermons and some other special times of worship that you will hear more about soon. I hope that you are looking forward to Advent as we prepare for Christmas. Even more, I hope you’re looking forward to Christmas as a time that we celebrate the birth of Christ our savior. But I know that Christmas and the preparation for it causes a lot of stress. Perhaps you’re even now asking, “What’s all the fuss about Christmas and why is it worthy of my effort?”

    The fuss about Christmas is something called the incarnation. Just in case you don’t know, what I’m referring to is the coming of God in the form of Jesus Christ. The incarnation is vital to our salvation story because without it, there would be no point. Without the coming of the long promised messiah there would be no need for us to celebrate Good Friday or Easter or really to have much hope because we would still be expected to keep the commandments and the other rules and such found in the Old Testament to the letter. Oh, we could repent but in order for our sins to be atoned for there has to be blood spilled. Again, we can look through the Old Testament to see all of the ways in which atonement for our sins could be achieved and none of it is pleasant or pretty. From the very beginning, God planned to do something to reveal Himself to us and to bring us once and for all His grace and mercy.

    The incarnation is how God reveals himself to us. You see, Jesus was born just as any other baby was. The only difference was that this baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and therefore was divine. He was God, yet he was also fully human. John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” The incarnation of Christ is vital and even is one of the central tenants of our faith.

    Let me put it this way: As with anything else, certain conditions have to be met in order for something to work. In order for a light bulb to work properly, there has to be a power source, wires to transmit the electricity, a socket connected to the wires and that acts as a way for the lightbulb to, in turn, be powered by the electricity and to shine bright. A switch is also helpful so that the power can be turned on or off (and so we can sleep at night). Without any of these things, the lightbulb will not be illuminated and we are left in the dark.

    Jesus works he same way. Without His being born like you and I were, without Him having lived among us, without His having taught, healed and performing miracles, without Him having been nailed to a cross, died and then being resurrected three days later, God’s work to reconcile us to Him would not have been completed. It is a wonderful thing when you really think about it. God came to the world as a human being, grew up from a tiny baby, and lived among us. He did all of this to draw us closer to Him by drawing closer to us. Without His coming and living among us as one of us, this mission would not have been fulfilled.

    In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis wrote: The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature’s total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation. There is no question in Christianity of arbitrary interferences just scattered about. It relates not a series of disconnected raids on Nature but the various steps of a strategically coherent invasion—an invasion which intends complete conquest and “occupation.” The fitness, and therefore credibility, of the particular miracles depends on their relation to the Grand Miracle; all discussion of them in isolation from it is futile.

    That’s what the fuss about Christmas is all about. Jesus Christ, being born in a stable after being turned away from proper housing. A tiny baby who, at a young age, had to flee to Egypt with his human parents to see refuge from a plot to kill him. A child who would grow up to teach in the temple and overturn the stranglehold the temple elite had over the people. This divine man who would perform miracles, demonstrate mercy, and teach us the way. It’s all about Jesus who would do what no other king in history would willingly do: Lay down his life for the entire world, including people who were not even born yet. And he would go on to cement his title as the king of kings by being raised from the dead on the third day. All of this is out of God’s abundant love for us! All of this so that all who believe in him could be restored and reconciled to God as well as enjoy eternal life with him rather than suffer apart from him.

    As we go through these next few busy weeks, let us remember that the fuss is ultimately about God. The fuss is about being thankful for God’s love, both in how he provides for our needs so richly and for his becoming human so that we can be healed of our sins. May we remember that the fuss is about the ultimate ruler, the King of Kings whose kingdom includes us. May we remember that the fuss we are making is a fuss to make much of Jesus.

  • Sin

    Who likes talking about sin? No one that I know of actually enjoys talking about sin. Well, no one likes talking about their own sin. We love talking about the sins of other people; maybe we just like talking about other people in general.

    I’m getting ready to preach a sermon on Sunday at Shiloh about our belief in the forgiveness of sins. As i have been pondering that message, I think not so much about what is and isn’t sin but rather I’ve been thinking more about grace. Why you ask? Because, as an old hymn proclaims:

    Grace, grace, God’s grace,
    Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
    Grace, grace, God’s grace,
    Grace that is greater than all our sin.

    It’s not uncommon for us to talk about all these “sinners” out in the world but we don’t talk enough about grace and forgiveness that God grants to His children through Jesus Christ. One thing that my fast from Facebook has helped me to understand that many posts – many of my own if I’m being honest – are judgmental. We love to point out the shortcomings – real and perceived – of other people. We love to talk about certain people or groups of people who are bound for Hell, all in an attempt to show off our own righteousness. We attempt to show the world that we are such good Christians that we are willing to condemn people who sin. Many of us think that our “fire insurance” (a term I’ve actually seen and heard) gives us a license to condemn.

    In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says that it’s wrong for us to want to remove the speck from someone else’s eye when we have a plank in our own. In other words, we have no right to judge someone for their sin when we have our own skeletons in our closet to deal with. It is not our job to condemn people for their sins when we are sinners ourselves.

    You can’t fight sin with sin.

    Southland Church is a multi-campus congregation in Lexington, KY and they broadcast their services on one of the local TV stations. I decided to record their service out of curiosity and as I have been watching this sermon I have found good food for thought. Basically we have three common responses to sin: One one side we judge; on the other we join; and somewhere in the middle we remain joyful in Christ. The right response to sin is actually pretty simple: We are to be light in the darkness of this world. Light drives away darkness.

    Trying to fight darkness with darkness only brings more darkness.

    I know that some might misunderstand me and think that I’m advocating Christians being weak and “tolerating” sin. On the contrary: I believe we should take action. I don’t believe that action should be in the form of protests, revolts or fire and brimstone sermons on the courthouse steps. Instead, we overcome evil with good by our living. Yes, we take action and instead of proclaiming condemnation for everyone except ourselves we instead proclaim the gospel by loving as Christ loves the world.

    “Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good” Romans 12:21 (CEB).

    Just some thoughts on my mind this afternoon. Perhaps this will take shape better by Sunday. 🙂

    Jonathan