24K Gratitude

I want to follow up on some points made in my sermon on October 14th for all of us to consider and, perhaps, get some comments posted. The sermon title was “Altitude from Gratitude,” meaning that gratitude or thanksgiving can be a refined type of faith that lifts the faithful into higher levels of Christian Discipleship. For a little background on the topic, we are a congregation with the mission of making Disciples of Jesus Christ, which requires a commitment of our members to be Disciples first. I believe that only Disciples can make Disciples. Furthermore, Discipleship requires a person to hear a calling from God to “Follow me;” an acceptance of that calling; and a commitment to actively living a life characterized by Jesus when he said, “… deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” (The commitment is proven by action.) All of this is made possible only when empowered by the Holy Spirit to practice a life transforming type of Faith. Now back to this week’s sermon.

Last Sunday, I reminisced about learning the key to this type of Faith from my late grandmother, Frances Ball. I told how I eulogized her by describing how if you had ever met her, you had to have heard the phrase, “Thank you, Jesus.” She was a African American woman of the early twentieth century who lived through the Great Depression and hardships that modern African American women of the same age can hardly imagine. Yet, after surviving all the challenges of her life, she was able to greet the blessings of her later years with a powerful sense of thanksgiving. Consequently, she constantly thanked God, even when counseling me about the molehills that I had made into mountains in my life. She coached, me while celebrating my successes, to give thanks to God. “Just say, 'Thank you, Jesus,'” she’d say.

Life is full of hardships and difficulties, but it is in these times that the opportunity to practice one’s faith is most obvious. When times are less strenuous and stressful, it is harder to practice faith, until you embrace the concept of continually giving thanks. You see, the blessings that come from answered prayers and practiced faith inevitably result in gratitude. It is not unlike how precious metals are released from a chunk of rock (sometimes called ore) only when enough heat is applied. What melts out of our “faith ore” when the heat of life’s circumstances gets hot enough is the “precious metal” of gratitude. I would like us to shine and polish that gratitude and wear it, just as one would wear fine jewelry. Imagine those hip hop recording artist who wear so many gold chains, bracelets and rings (on fingers, in ears, noses, tongues, etc.). Now imagine that all that jewlery is gratitude and put your face on the head underneath that backward baseball cap.

Then, I made a distinction between 10 karat gratitude and 24 karat gratitude. 10K gratitude is the type that looks at the pain and misfortunes of others and finds us feeling grateful that we are not suffering as they are suffering. “Thank God, that’s not me.” The problem with that type of gratitude is that it is mixed with feelings of selfishness and superiority. Often there is little consideration of helping the “poor soul” upon whose back your gratitude is built. However, 24K gratitude is, “built on nothing less than Jesus love and righteousness,” to quote a favorite hymn. 24K gratitude is pure, not an “alloy.” It comes from the genuine thanks that come from being the recipient of rewarded faith, or even the unearned Grace of God. 24K gratitude also drives the Disciple to mortgage all personal possessions (like time, talent, resources and influence) to the Kingdom of God in order to have it. Then all the Disciple becomes a steward of God's blessing which she, then, uses to help those who need it.

Is your gratitude a dazzling ornament that identifies your Christian Discipleship to everyone you meet? Posting your comments might help us, at SMUMC, to make Disciples of ourselves and others.

The Shalom Cycle - A Five Year Plan for SMUMC

As the Pastor of a 127 year old congregation, I am acutely aware of the historic perspective of long-lived churches like Sloan Memorial United Methodist Church. I am not content to set a short range vision in the light of such a generational perspective. Therefore, I have prayed and meditated upon the direction in which I should lead this historic congregation. In a word, our church will enter a period of “Shalom.” Here is my five year plan for Sloan Memorial United Methodist Church, entitled, “The Shalom Cycle.”

I am calling this period of type a “cycle” because it will be possible to repeat this five year plan over and over again. The Shalom Cycle is a ministerial focus cycle that begins with the local congregation and spreads to the wider community. I used a definition of Shalom that comes from author and Messianic Jew, David Silver.[i] He uses the Strong Concordance definition that says Shalom means, “Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.” As a common Jewish greeting, the word is in itself a blessing from the greeter to the one being greeted that speaks peace, wholeness and wellness into his or her life. After all, the book of Proverbs, 18:21, says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” That speaks to the blessings of both the people of Israel and those of Sloan Memorial United Methodist Church as we move forward to speak, plan and work The Shalom Cycle into being.

Each year of the 5 year plan has its own title. The titles are; 1) Shalom at Sloan, 2) Shalom in the Home, 3) Shalom in Your Dome, 4) Shalom Where You Roam, and 5) Shalom Like a Foam. Year one is there year of Shalom at Sloan, when we address ministries that will bring wholeness to the congregation. Year two will be when we address family ministries in ways that promote harmony, prosperity and tranquility. Year three takes the concept of Shalom between the years of the individual by spiritually addressing mental health and wellness issues. Year four will find us well equipped to spread Shalom beyond the walls of the church in new and innovative ways. Year five is a year that intensifies our outreach efforts in a way that penetrates our community as completely as foam penetrates all the cracks and crevasses of a space where it is applied. The Shalom Cycle will operate within the context of our mission statement, which calls us to make Disciples of Jesus Christ. The concept of Shalom will help us to make Disciples and build a congregation that reflects our commitment to excellence.

I'd like some feedback on this plan. Post your comments and let's begin a discussion.

[i] http://www.therefinersfire.org/meaning_of_shalom.htm; David Silver

Recently we have been discussing the topic of faith in bible study classes. In Luke 17:5-10, the faith of a mustard seed seems like a miniscule amount, but my assertion is that faith is the most highly concentrated substance on earth. Therefore, a mustard seed amount of faith can create reactions billions times larger than you might expect. More combustible than nitroglycerine or TNT, faith can create an explosion that reaches every corner of the globe and beyond.

However, it was stated that we all have received a measure of faith(Romans 12:3) that obviously must be a microscopic amount. Or, we lose vast comparative amounts of faith as we grow older and are influenced by "the world." I believe the concensus of the class is that faith alone is the power that unleashes the spiritual potential in us that can change our lives, our church and our world.

As a pastor, my question is how can we unleash such a powerful substance like faith within the members of our congregation (and myself). I have determined that the only barrier between most of us and the fullness of our faith is "the self." Jesus said that anyone who would be one of his followers must first deny themselves, take up the cross and follow him (Matt 16:24). I would argue that denying one's self is not natural. In nature, self-preservation is the first law. In the supernatural (or spiritual) world, self-denial is the primary law. God, neighbor and self is the order of how one is asked to distribute one's love. The answer is that we have to diligently work at overcoming our survival reflex and its selfish consequences in order to build the faith that I am speaking about. Practice makes perfect ... practicing prayer, practicing faith in God and practicing generosity where we instinctive tend to be selfish.

First Post

As a United Methodist Pastor, I have the challenge building a team when I am appointed to a congregation. When I arrived last June, Sloan already had lots of team dynamics in place but all we needed was a clear vision and a plan. Our vision and mission statements both reflect the input of the people of our church but they very clearly say that our mission is to make Disciples of Jesus Christ with help of transformative power of the Holy Spirit. It's a great vision and mission. But now comes the hard work of producing a plan and executing it.

The "planning and doing" phase is here. Hats off to the Anniversary Committee and their slogan, "The time is now, just do it." It places the church on the path of responding to the challenges that face us as we plan new programs, ministries and activities together. UMC pastors are not benevolent dictators ... we are team captains, coaches, cheerleaders and general managers who empower congregational teams to reach their fullest potential.

This blog is a tiny first step toward team building, open communication and getting feedback as our church moves forward in our mission. So read it, respond to it, share it and return often.

Shalom.