Making Disciples Project

This is a major part of my ordination project. A plan for Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.

Making Disciples Project
North Texas Conference
United Methodist Church
Presented by Christopher Everson

Making disciples for Jesus Christ first and foremost is not a task.  We get in trouble when we look at making disciples as something we must do in order to survive. When Jesus Christ gave us the command in Matthew 28 to “Go and make disciples”, it wasn’t a call to build an organization. It was a call to introduce people to Jesus Christ and then to equip them to move out into the world to share the transformation that Christ has done in their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus gives us examples of disciple making through his calling, teaching, healing and sending.  Jesus called his disciples to be in relationship with him and through their relationship with Christ, they went out to bring others into relationship with Christ. We see that in scripture when Jesus found Philip, then Philip went to Nathanael and brought Nathanael to Jesus.[1]  It is the experience that Philip had with the living Christ that compelled him to share with one of his friends.  When we experience Christ, we then must be like Philip and share our experiences with others so they may experience Christ’s transforming power for themselves.

Disciple making calls us to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen. Just as Jesus reminded Martha that she needed to follow Mary’s example by taking time to sit and listen instead of doing busy work, [2] so we can learn and grow through hearing God’s word proclaimed and through intentional study of God’s word. As I continue to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I see that I can be like Martha and fail to take time to be with God, when I should be listening for God’s voice for direction.  Helping others to become disciples means I share the importance of taking time to listen and study God’s word.

Disciple making calls us to be a part of healing ministry to the poor and the marginalized.  Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”[3] Being a disciple means that we ask God to, “Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”[4] When we are free for such obedience, we can experience joy in giving to others.

Finally, making disciples means that we are to be sent into the world. Within Jesus’ ministry he sent his disciples out into the world to proclaim the good news.[5]  While his call within the Gospels was to go throughout Israel, Jesus says, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[6]

In April 1972 five couples met in Sherman, Texas to discuss the possibility of starting a new United Methodist church in Grayson County.  The last United Methodist Church started in the county was started in 1880, more than 90 years earlier.  As they sat and talked, they looked at the needs of the surrounding area and saw that “an ‘alternative’ kind of church – a very open, welcoming church, a less formal and more contemporary form of worship, with emphasis on involving children, youth and all the laity in the work and worship services of the church”[7] was needed. From that time, Grace United Methodist Church moved forward to be actively involved in the community providing mission and ministry to the community and also providing a new style of worship that wasn’t currently available in other churches in the area.

Now, almost forty years later, Grace has become more of a mission-focused church with a strong focus on works-based ministry, sending missionaries throughout the community, state, country and world; however the focus on worship became stuck in a 1972 context. Contemporary worship meant not having a pipe organ in worship, but replacing the organ primarily with a piano with an occasional guitar or other instrumentation featured as part of the services. While the church celebrates the active mission work that members of the congregation participate in, worship has towed the line and has stayed static over the past 20 years since Don Smith was pastor of the church.

The lay leadership of Grace UMC has become keenly aware that the church, while active in mission, has steadily declined in membership and worship attendance over the past several years.  The administrative council, sensing that the early impetus of being a place where those looking for new and refreshing ways to experience Christ has been lost, has decided to recapture the vision of providing worship that will engage people and introduce Jesus Christ in vivid and passionate ways. 

            When I arrived at Grace over five years ago, the church was trying to provide a worship experience that they called Grace at Night.  This was a monthly worship service that took place the second Sunday of each month at 6:00 p.m.  The service included singing, led by laity with either taped accompaniment or music videos of contemporary Christian music. The pastor would then present a message or there would be a testimony from laity. The service would conclude with communion as participants circled around the altar as they shared in the breaking of the bread and pouring of the cup together.  This was done to capture how communion was celebrated at the founding of Grace.

            During my first four months, I saw that this service wasn’t sustainable.  Attendance rarely climbed above 25 people,[8] and there was no plan for growth.  Before the fall of 2007, we decided to disband the service and then develop plans to provide a passionate worship service to reach out to the community.

            After disbanding the “Grace at Night” service, we had to ask a few questions: what do we want to accomplish, and who do we want to reach? We knew that the former service was there to satisfy members of Grace who wanted a more contemporary service, but it wasn’t used as an outreach tool to connect those outside of the walls of Grace to Jesus Christ.

A task force was established in April of 2008 by the worship committee to discuss starting a new service in a new place. One other possibility that was explored was if we could reinvent the worship services at Grace to reach out to young adults in the community.[9] During our first meeting, we held a post-it note session where we developed a series of questions that we wanted this new task force to prayerfully consider as we started on this journey.  We were able to divide the questions down to five separate categories: spiritual, outreach, logistics, cost and service questions.[10] These questions were discussed by the task force over the next couple of months in order to keep moving toward the goal of planning a new worship service.

Through this taskforce, a weekly jam session was established to start practicing music and to prepare for a worship service to start that next September 2008.  This was a step of faith that six members of the church took to be prepared when they were called upon to sing and play during worship.  This group had an opportunity to lead worship during the 10:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service in 2008, letting members hear how a Grace United Methodist Church flavored praise team would lead worship.  As we started the endeavor, two key moments in the life of the church took place. 

First was a sermon preached by Bishop Scott Jones from the Kansas Area during the 2008 Annual Conference.  In this sermon, Bishop Jones challenged the church to envision themselves as either a church of pioneers or a church of settlers.  In his sermon, Bishop Jones explained that pioneers reach out and share Christ with the community around them and look for new ways to share the story of Jesus Christ with others and not staying put to what is settled now.  However, he also shared that the settlers were important too, because they continued to support those pioneers who wanted to reach out to new people in new places, each working in concert with one another, not competing with each other, but understanding that we have a shared goal in reaching people for Christ and encouraging them to grow in their faith. 

Second was General Conference 2008.  During the conference, young people from the worldwide United Methodist connection had the opportunity to address the entire conference.  We shared a clip from General Conference where Rev. Annie Arnoldy said, “Think about your church building and your young adult program. Open up your thoughts about the identity of young people. And offer a place to belong.”[11] This quote helped the church discern who our target audience would be.  After assessing the needs of some of our own young adults and the needs of young adults in Sherman, including students at Austin College and Grayson County Community College, we started to consider offering a worship opportunity for young adults either off-campus or at Grace UMC.

While all of this discussion was taking place, we started to place feelers out to find the proper place to establish this ministry.  Cost prohibited us from renting space near downtown or at the Midway Mall, and the possibility to purchase the soon-to-be vacated home of Sherman Bible Church fell through when Sherman Bible turned down our offer to purchase their property across the street from Grace’s property.  After determining that the new service would take place in our current worship space, plans soon were underway to renovate the Celebration Center worship space with a new sound system and video capabilities.  These updates were purchased with the help of a “Leap of Faith” capital campaign, and the discussion changed to what kind of worship we would offer at Grace.  To answer this question, the task force sent out two different surveys.

One survey was written for church members to get their feelings about worship at Grace, with the questions asked revolving around what music they preferred, what did they love about worship at Grace, what additional experiences would they like offered in our worship services and what day and time they thought a new service would be best offered.[12] Forty surveys were return which represents approximately 25% of the worship attendees on an average Sunday. Almost all of the surveys were positive about the new or changed service, with people saying they were looking forward to supporting the service with at least their prayers.[13]

The second survey was sent out to first time guests who attended worship between January 2008 and June 2008.[14]  These surveys included stamped envelopes addressed to the church for easy return.  Twenty surveys were mailed out and only five were returned. Three were members of other churches and the other two were interested in more information when we started the service.  We thought about setting up a booth at a local store, going door-to-door, or even setting up a booth at a local festival to have more people fill out the survey, but leadership in the church didn’t want to seem too pushy to non-church members, so those plans were tabled.

When August 2008 rolled around, we were not ready to start the worship service.  Members of the taskforce continued to lift up the new initiative in prayer and also visited different congregations that held the type of worship experiences we were looking to incorporate.  With the “Leap of Faith” campaign wrapping up, plans were underway to add the needed technology for a new service. With the work from the taskforce along with the worship committee, plans revolved around establishing a third worship service between the existing services at Grace starting in February 2009.  Plans for this service were put on hold again because of the fear of Sunday School classes being torn apart because of the new service. A compromise was established to hold a “Taste of Grace” practice service during the season of Lent in 2009. This “Taste of Grace” service would introduce elements of what a contemporary worship service would look like.  It was held immediately following the 8:30 a.m. worship service before the 9:55 Sunday School hour.  During this service, the praise team would play and I presented different elements that could be incorporated with the new service including videos, interviews, congregational discussion and brief messages.  Our Lenten theme was Micah 6:8[15] and we used different ideas and media for the worship “experiment.”  Overall it was greatly accepted, but at the end of the day, worship committee and administrative council voted to retain the early service as our traditional service and make the second service a blended worship service, basically keeping the order of worship, but substituting the piano-led music with music led by the praise team.

The results of the service have been positive for the most part.  We have seen an increase in young adult attendees and members since we started the blended service in September 2009. Our marketing has been simple due to the lack of budget to support a strong advertising effort.  One of the ways we have promoted the service is by updating our church website.[16] And that alone being connected to the denomination website has brought in several guests who are looking for a worship service that has a praise band.  We know of people of all ages[17] who live as far away as Gainesville that have attended worship at Grace because they are looking for a United Methodist Church that provides band led worship. We are also using social media to provide an opportunity for congregation members to “like” GraceSherman and share updates with other friends.[18]

Over the past three years, as we have worked to build the new worship service, we tried engage young adults in ministry at the church as well as in the community.  Young adults are actively participating, planning and leading worship on Sunday morning during the blended worship service.  We have young adults that are leading mission events including our annual Thanksgiving lunch for the Women’s Crisis Center, supporting the Imagine No Malaria campaign and preparing to head to Africa for a two-week mission trip.  Young adults are wanting to be a part of the youth ministry of the church, and they want to help support the youth as they grow in their faith in Jesus Christ by being sponsors for events including or annual Weekend of Grace spiritual life retreat or just driving around for a youth scavenger hunt.  Young adults are promoting Grace UMC by participating in local 5k/15k events in Sherman as a part of our Running with Grace team, and one of our young adults is now on the Grayson County Relay for Life planning team; he is in charge of online donations.  Each step is a small step, but the membership of Grace UMC is living out the challenge given by Rev. Annie Arnoldy by offering a place for young people to belong. 

One of the young adults recently shared with me that he was asking God to help him complete a sale at the car lot he works at that would give him a $1,500 commission.  He promised that if he made the sale, he would immediately go to church and tithe on his commission.  He made the sale and made sure he was at church the next Sunday so he could give God his tithe.  This young adult did this because he believed in the church that has so recently made him feel welcomed and he wanted to thank God for providing a place that he could feel at home, and a place that he could continue to grow in his faith, so he can transform the world around him.

Looking over my notes and the work the church has done to get to this point, I know that our task is not over, but have instead just begun.  If we could do this all over again, I would try to move toward a third worship service rather than using the second worship service as a blended service.  I think we lost some of the creativity that could have come with the third service because we tried to fit the style of music into the mold of the traditional worship service of Grace UMC.  Having a separate worship would have allowed us to try different approaches to worship and really would have set that service apart as the pioneer service looking for new and creative ways to reach out to the non-churched in our community.

Through this process, I have been able to take care of myself because of the strong support I have from my wife.  She has stood beside me through all of the meetings and all of the planning.  Her support and encouragement gave me a different viewpoint through the creation of the service, giving me words of encouragement when I felt like things weren’t going as well as they really were.  I have been blessed with a strong group of laity that would let me know if I was getting over-extended through the process, and they would and still will take care of details of the service and planning so I can focus on other areas of ministry.

Because of this service and because of the support I have received in this process, I am most definitely a different disciple today than when we started working on the new service.  It started out as just a project to provide a platform for non-hymnal music to be used in a worship experience, but it evolved into a place where people’s lives are being transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I see that in my own life I have been able to place my ministry in God’s hands.

There is a quote that I can’t recall who to attribute to, but it says “You cannot expect your people to go where you are not willing to go.” Through this process, I have grown in the understanding that if I truly want to make disciples of Jesus Christ, I need to be a disciple. I need to be firmly rooted in scripture and prayer even more so when times become difficult.  It has been an honor to work with the laity and with my lead pastor to create this new service. I’m looking forward to see where God will lead me as I seek to remain faithful to my call in ministry.

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[1] John 1:43 - 51

[2] Luke 10:38-42

[3] Matt 25:40-41 NRSV

[4] UMH pg. 12 – Confession in A Service of Word and Table II

[5] Matthew 10: 5- 15; Luke 9: 1-6

[6] Acts 1:8b NRSV

[7] From Growing In Grace: A History of Grace United Methodist Church, Sherman, Texas 1972-2007 by Nana Rylander

[8] The service took place during the time UMYF was scheduled, and it was assumed that the youth would participate in the service.  Youth members provided the majority of participants, with only a handful of others in the congregation attending the service.  Usually, the balance of the participants consisted of people related to those participating in the service as worship leaders .

[9] Attached to report is letter sent out to prospective task force members page 20

[10] See Contemporary Worship Questions sheet page 21

[11] http://umcmedia.org/gc2008/video_archives/20080424_young_people/20080424_YoungPeople_Annie_sm.asx

[12] This survey was placed in worship bulletins and members were asked to place in the offering plate or return to the office.  Pg. 22

[13] Excel results pg. 23

[14] See visitor survey with attached letter pg 24, 25

[15] Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/GraceWorksSherman#p/u and view Taste of Grace Micah 6:8 Walk Humbly, What does God Require? Micah 6:8, Do Justice Micah 6:8 Taste of Grace. These videos were created for the Taste of Grace “practice” worship sessions.

[16] http://www.gracesherman.org

[17] One of our current praise team members, who is over 50 years old, heard about the praise team and he drives from Whitesboro every Thursday evening for practice and plays keyboards every Sunday. This shows that the service is not only reaching out to young adults, but it is reaching out and connecting older adults who want to be a part of something exciting that in his words, “is connecting people to Jesus Christ.”

[18] http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherman-TX/GraceSherman-Sherman-TX/92884710853

Ordination Questions 1 - 3

1. How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?

As I continue my journey toward ordination, I have been able to grow in my understanding that God is always present and active in the world around us.  Even when we refuse to listen to what God is calling us to do, God never leaves us or abandons us.  This is highlighted in scripture where we read that God is love.[1]  The testimony we have in scripture illuminates God’s love for us. We see this with God freeing the Israelites from Pharaoh and with God raising up Judges in the Old Testament to rescue God’s people time and time again even though they turned from God.  We see in our own lives that while we turn from God and follow our own ways, God continues to shower us with God’s love. We see the culmination of God’s love through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son who was sent to earth so we can be justified through Christ’s death and resurrection.

Because of God’s unfailing love, we respond in the love that God has given us to wholly worship and love God and to love those around us.  This is a quality that I have seen exhibited in my ministry setting at Grace United Methodist Church.  I see how much God has done for them, and in return, they want to reach out to the community and world to share God’s love with all of God’s children.  Locally, this occurs through building ramps for those who need assistance coming and going from their houses, collecting food, school supplies and clothing for the poor in our community, and being mentors as Jefferson Elementary School.  Grace members show God’s love to others by leaving the comforts of their homes to be in mission throughout the country and the world.  They talk about what Christ has done in their lives and  demonstrate God’s love through things like home repair projects or ministering to AIDS orphans in Africa.

Grace members also show God’s love by walking with people during difficult situations in their lives.  The often-quoted 23^rd Psalm says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff —they comfort me.”[2] Because we have experienced God walking with us through the darkest valleys of our lives, that experience has equipped us to help others who are walking through their own dark valleys.  Members have answered the call to be Stephen Ministers, sit in hospital rooms, provide support during funeral services or knit prayer shawls for those who are sick.  Through these activities members have shared with those in need that God is walking with them in and through their difficult times, and God’s love will never abandon them.

The psalmist wrote, “The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.”[3] I started this journey toward ordination over ten years ago when I left the comfort and stability of teaching music in Kansas.  During these past ten years, four ministry settings, and the blessings of a new family, I know that God loves me.  I see that God has remained faithful to me through all of my challenges and difficulties as I have answered God’s call in my life.  Because of God’s love and faithfulness, I know that through all the joys and trials, God’s grace will guide me.

2. What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?

I see that humanity is always in need of reconciliation.  Our world is full of broken relationships and with the guidance and help from the Holy Spirit, the Church can provide that reconciliation to the world. The key to this reconciliation is God’s divine grace.  This grace is a gift from God that we can never earn on our own merit, but it is freely given to us because of God’s love for us.

When humanity seeks and strives for full reconciliation, we have the promise that Paul proclaims when he says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[4]

First, humanity is in need of reconciliation with God.  We see in scripture time and time again how humanity ignored God and found their own standards, oftentimes with disastrous results.  Unfortunately, humanity ignoring God isn’t just a Biblical event.  We see in our own lives where we have failed to listen to God and have moved out on our own.  Or, we set up other idols in our lives thinking they can bring us the peace and joy we can only receive from our Creator.

Second, humanity is in need of reconciliation with the rest of humanity. In the book of Acts, following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the community saw the need to band together and we read that, “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”[5] Shortly after this celebration, we hear of a couple that refused to give all to the community and then were ultimately punished for their own selfishness.[6] We look around us and understand that the ultimate goal is to live in community with all of humanity. However our own selfish desires, jealousies and temptations separate us from others which call for reconciliation.

Third, we are in need of reconciliation with ourselves.  Sometimes, we can be our own harshest critics.  Mistakes from our past come back to haunt us. We feel like we can never be good enough. We overanalyze our every move and become frozen in our own grief, self-doubt and failures. Reconciliation is needed so we can have peace within ourselves.

Finally we are in need of reconciliation with all of creation.  In the creation story, God creates and places humanity in the midst of creation. God does this so that humanity can provide stewardship over God’s creation. The Amplified version of the Bible adds that humanity should use “all its vast resources in the service of God and man;”[7]  Over the course of history, creation has been misused and destroyed in pursuit of convenience and profit. Humanity needs to be reconciled with creation and should begin being faithful stewards of all creation.

 3. What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of: (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?

During my ministry, I have learned that I must wholly trust in Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life.  By living my life fully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I am submitting myself under that authority and I commit my life to live the way Christ is leading me.  In ministry, there is always a temptation to look at what others are doing and then focus on imitating their activity in order to accomplish the same result.  So many times this focus of imitating leads to disappointment because we can’t produce the same results.  When we succumb to this form of imitation, we take our eyes off of Christ and Christ’s Lordship in our lives and we state that we want to be more like the ministries we are modeling.  Paul shares in his letters to, “be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”^[8],^[9] Following the Lordship of Christ in ministry means that I am constantly following the example of what Christ has done in his ministry and follow Christ’s lead in my life.

The example of Jesus that I follow is Christ’s willingness to serve.  Jesus said, “…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve;”[10] in order to fully live this example of Christ, I look for ways to be in service to others and invite members of the congregation to join in that service.  Whether it be serving at the local woman’s crisis center or helping doing dishes after a Church event, I know that the work I am doing is ultimately serving the Lord of my life, not trying to win the approval of others in my congregation.

We do not have to guess at how to respond as Christ our Lord.  Christ promised us that, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”^[11] In ministry, as we seek to live under the Lordship of Christ, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us.  In the Evangelical United Brethren Church Confession we confess that the Holy Spirit leads us “through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth.”^[12]  As we live our lives listening to the Holy Spirit, we can make a faithful witness to what Christ’s Lordship means to us.

We are able to listen to the Holy Spirit when we practice the means of grace.  Through prayer, fasting and searching the scriptures, we open ourselves for that faithful response to the gospel.  Looking back at my call to ministry, I see how listening to the Holy Spirit through the means of grace has guided me, and I know that God will continue to guide me as I strive to live under the lordship of Christ.

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[1] 1 John 4:8,16

[2] Psalm 23:4 NRSV

[3] Psalm 145:13b

[4] Rom 8:38-39 NRSV

[5] Acts 2:44-46 NRSV

[6] Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira conspired to hold back a portion of the proceeds from land they sold from the community of Acts.  Peter did confront Ananias and told him that he was lying to God. While the lie was ultimately to God, this action shows that Ananias and Sapphira believed they were above the rest of the community and deserved more which brought division between that couple and the community.

[7] Genesis 1:28 AMP

[8] Ephesians 5:1-2 NRSV

[9] Paul also talked about imitating him, or imitating other believers.  While Paul said this, his intention was clear that we aren’t to imitate that particular person, but how Christ lives within that person and how we should allow Christ to live in us as Christ lives in them.

[10] Matthew 20:28 NRSV

[11] John 14:26-27 NRSV

[12] BOD ¶103 Article III – The Holy Spirit 

Ordination Questions 4 - 6

4. The United Methodist Church holds that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason are sources and norms for belief and practice, but that the Bible is primary among them. What is your understanding of this theological position of the Church?

Using the sources of Scripture, tradition, experience and reason we are able to see the entire picture when we participate in theological discourse.  Our theological task always is based in scripture; we read that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”[1]  When we look at scripture, we see who we really are. We see ourselves as individuals who are in need of divine grace.  This is evident as we contemplate our sense of brokenness as we see our own lives in the characters of scriptures.  

In order to live faithfully to Scripture, we understand that we don’t live our lives in a vacuum with Scripture.  “…Our attempts to grasp its (Scripture) meaning always involve tradition, experience, and reason.”[2] In his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote, “I did not make it. God and humanity made it; and it made me.”[3] It is the faith of our forbearers that help shape and guide our own theological reflection.  We grow in our understanding of God as we recite the ancient creeds and confessions.  We experience the witness of the hymn writers when we sing their statements of faith.  Reflecting on tradition helps us see how God has moved through God’s people in the past and helps us to see how the Church has grown in our understanding of God today.

With the lens of tradition, we also rely on our experience and reason.  God is active in our lives and in the world around us. It is through the experiences we’ve had that we are able to point to what God has done in our lives.  When we are able to share how God is active in our lives, then we share that experience with others so they can see God actively moving in the world around us.

This is one of the main reasons why I like to be active in ministry with my congregation. Recently on a senior high mission trip, we had a client night where the people whose homes we were working on had a chance to address the youth who had been working on their houses all week.  One elderly woman whose siding we replaced came and talked about seeing God in the youth that week as they repaired and painted her house.  At that moment, the youth were encouraged and strengthened as they grew as disciples of Jesus Christ.  The experience of having that client express how God was working through them allowed them to see God work through her as she encouraged them in their faith journey.

Reason is important because it is used to make sure that our witness to Christ is true and clear.  Throughout the course of history, people have used Scripture, tradition and experience to abuse, manipulate and mischaracterize the Gospel of Christ for their own advantages.  When we understand and use the reason that God has given us, we make sure that our actions and beliefs are in accordance with God’s will.[4]

5. How do you understand the following traditional evangelical doctrines: (a) repentance; (b) justification; (c) regeneration; (d) sanctification? What are the marks of the Christian life?

The understanding of repentance lies in our understanding of God’s prevenient grace. We come to repentance because of the work God is already doing in the world around us and in our lives. The Psalmist reminds us, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”[5] God is always actively involved the world around us, constantly showing us love and mercy.  Repentance occurs when we become aware of God’s activity in and around us and we then turn from our sinful ways to live life differently, embracing the grace that God has given us.

Justification is God continuing to extend grace to humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When we are justified, we are set right with God.  We are then set free from the bondage of sin to a life of freedom in Christ Jesus. Justification is something humanity cannot grasp on humanity’s own merit. Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”[6]

Regeneration is new birth. New birth occurs at the same time as justification with a major distinction.  Justification is something God has done for us, while regeneration is something God does within us.[7] It is what Christ shared with Nicodemus when he came to Christ in the middle of the night in John.[8]  Through regeneration, we are new creations.  As Paul writes, we are changed: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”[9]

However, God is not finished with us after regeneration.  We continue to grow in our love of God and love of neighbor, through sanctification.  Sanctification is a continuous work of grace that sets us apart from our sinful nature by changing us into Christ’s likeness.  It is through sanctification that we continue our growth as God’s people. Romans 12 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.”[10] Even though we will be tempted by the things of this world, God gives us sanctifying grace so we are strengthened “to increase in the knowledge and love of God and in love for our neighbor.”[11]

             The marks of a Christian life are the visible changes that we see in ourselves. Because of what God has done for us, we then are called to action in response.  We show that response by letting our actions reflect the grace God has given us.  Paul wrote, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;”[12] In my ministry, I follow Paul’s words by being a grace extender, extending the grace God has given us to the world around us.

6. For the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness to the Christian gospel and in consideration of your influence as an ordained minister, are you willing to make a complete dedication of yourself to the highest ideals of the Christian life; and to this end will you agree to exercise responsible self-control by personal habits conducive to physical health, intentional intellectual development, fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness, integrity in all personal relationships, social responsibility, and growth in grace and the knowledge and love of God?

As a called and ordained person of the word, I know that I have a responsibility to live my life in a way that reflects God’s love and grace to those who see my witness of Christ.  Romans 12 tell us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what the will of God— what is good and acceptable and perfect.”[13]

One of the ways that I can accomplish this witness is to live out the General Rules: “Do no harm…. Do good… and attending upon all the ordinances of God…”[14] By following these three rules established by John Wesley I am striving to live my life ever mindful of how I can be readily available first to God in my life, but also how I can serve my family and neighbor. By exercising responsible self-control, I am maintaining habits that aid me in doing no harm.  This includes what I consume in food and drink, but also what I choose to place in my mind. Paul reminds us that, ““All things are lawful for me," but not all things are beneficial. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be dominated by anything.””[15] Making a commitment to do no harm acknowledges that there are several things that will compete for my attention. What I eat or what I allow to occupy my time maybe lawful, but it could be at an expense to my own health and my relationships.

By doing good, I am living out Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as ourselves.[16] As a Christian, I am called to help those in need and make myself available to those in my family and those who I am in relationship with.  By doing good, I am committed to take care of myself both physically and mentally to maintain my physical and mental health.  Over the past year, I have really made the effort to take care of myself physically.  Recently, I lost over 40 pounds by eating healthy and becoming more physically active.  I was able to accomplish this by joining with my wife in a weight loss program that helped us evaluate our eating habits and maintaining healthy lifestyles.  After accomplishing my weight loss goal, I started doing more vigorous exercises and, along with several church members, I competed in my first 5k run in Sherman. I plan to continue this type of exercise so I can do what I need to do in order to take care of myself physically.

Finally I vow to continue to attend upon the ordinances of God.  In order to maintain my spiritual and physical health, I must continue to live in relationship with the One who has created me.  By actively practicing the spiritual disciplines I am building on my commitment to allow my relationship with Jesus Christ to guide my ministry and my relationships.

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[1] 2 Timothy 3:16 NRSV

[2] ¶104 United Methodist Book of Discipline pg. 79

[3] Chesterton, G.K., Orthodoxy San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995 p. 13

[4] Jones, Scott J. United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002 p. 140

[5] Psalm 139:8-10 NRSV

[6] Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV

[7] Jones, Scott J. United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002 p. 202

[8] John 3:3-8

[9] 2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV

[10] Romans 12:2 NRSV

[11] BOD ¶101

[12] Romans 12:8 NRSV

[13] Romans 12:1-2 NRSV

[14] ¶103 United Methodist Book of Discipline

[15] 1 Corinthians 6:12 NRSV

[16] Matthew 22:39

Ordination Question 7

7. What is the meaning and significance of the sacraments?

 The sacraments are an “outward sign of inward grace.”[1] It is through these means of grace that we express the grace of God that is already at work in and around us.  Through the use of physical elements and the liturgy we share, we re-present the story of God’s unfailing love for us and the whole world. When I have the opportunity to officiate over a baptism or when I share Holy Communion with the body of Christ, I can feel how connected we are with God through the pouring of the water or the sharing of the bread and cup. The sacraments are not ways that we earn our salvation, because salvation is a gift we receive from God that cannot be earned by our works. However, the sacraments are gifts given to us so that we may live in and grow in divine grace.[2] When we participate in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, we are following the commands that Jesus gave in the Gospels.[3] By participating in the sacraments, we connect ourselves to the universal church throughout all of history.

“Baptism is the sacrament of initiation and incorporation into the body of Christ.”[4]  Through the sacrament of baptism, persons are brought into the covenant life with Jesus Christ.  The physical washing with water is a physical sign of our sins being washed away through Christ. Baptism is a sign of God working in and through us.  Even though we present ourselves or our loved ones for baptism, the action of baptism is God bestowing God’s grace in our lives. Presenting ourselves also incorporates our children as families bring infants and children for baptism.  It is a sign that we place ourselves into the covenant of baptism.  By baptizing children and infants we signify that God’s covenant is for all and as the infants and children grow, we are instructed to teach them about this covenant so they will be able to make their faithful response to what God is already doing in their lives.

Through baptism, we participate in a loving covenant with our Creator. This covenant connects God, the community of faith and the person being baptized.[5]  Each part of this covenant is vital to the sacrament.  God extends God’s love and grace to all creation. God’s love initiates all action in the covenant, as we say in the confession of sins, even though God’s love is faithful, we fall short.  The community of faith plays an important role because we help support one another in our journey of faith. It is through the community of faith that we hold each other accountable and provide love and support in our journey of faith. Finally the covenant is completed by the person being baptized. By submitting to the act of baptism, we say yes to the grace of God already active in our lives. It is a covenant made with God stating that we will continue in our growth and love of God and love of neighbor.

Because God’s grace permeates through the sacrament of baptism, we do not practice rebaptism. When I visited the Holy Land this past year, we visited the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism on the Jordan River. While we were traveling on the bus to that site, I had a conversation with a person on the trip about the possibility of being rebaptized where Jesus was baptized. While he was thinking about being rebaptized, he asked me what I thought about the opportunity.  I told him that while it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the Jordan River, our baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime expression of God’s love for us.  I encouraged him to join us in a rededication of our baptismal vows, affirming what God has already done in our lives.  We reaffirm our baptismal covenant to remember the grace that God has given to us so we’re reminded that God will never break God’s covenant with us.

Through the sacrament of Holy Communion, several activities are taking place. Holy Communion is an act of thanksgiving, fellowship, remembrance, sacrifice, action of the Holy Spirit and eschatology.[6] When we take from the bread and cup, we give thanks for all that God has done. We are especially thankful for the giving of grace and God’s son Jesus Christ so that our relationship with God may be restored.  It is an act of fellowship because the sacrament has been shared through the centuries all over the world connecting the body of Christ through Paul’s words in 1^st Corinthians: “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ..”[7] When we share in the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup, we understand that we share in communion with all of those who desire a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.[8]

Holy Communion is an act of remembrance, but it is much more than just recalling what Christ did.  It is anamnesis which connects us to Christ’s sacrifice, but it shows that Christ is risen, alive here and now.  When we remember Christ’s sacrifice, we then participate in the ongoing redemption, reconciliation and justice for all of God’s creation. We recognize that by partaking in Communion, we not only remember Christ’s sacrifice, but in the words of the ritual, “We offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us…”[9]

The work done through communion is made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit.  Within the communion ritual, we pray for God to, “Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine.”[10] We ask for the Holy Spirit to use the bread and cup to strengthen us, so that we may then go out to the world as the body of Christ.

Through Holy Communion, we remember that God will see us through to the end of history. We say in the ritual that “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”[11] While we partake of Communion as broken people, we proclaim that we will share in this meal with Christ at the end of history. Through Christ, all things are made new and Christ has victory over sin and death.

Finally, because of what Christ offers in Holy Communion, we celebrate an open table because the table belongs to Christ. The table is open so that all persons may respond to the grace and love that is poured out for us by Jesus Christ our Lord.

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[1] John Wesley Means of Grace Sermon

[2] This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, Nashville, TN: The General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church 2004 p. 7

[3] Luke 22:19b “Do this in remembrance of me.” Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[4] BOD ¶216.1

[5] By Water &The Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism, Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources 1996 p. 8

[6] This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, Nashville, TN: The General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church 2004 p. 8

[7] 1 Corinthians 10:17 NRSV

[8] UMH pg. 11

[9] UMH; page 10

[10] UMH; page 10

[11] UMH; page 10