Vote for my Daughter

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Purpose Driven Service

As of right now, I have tons of ideas flowing in my mind about Grace's new worship service. We have tons of wonderful questions that have emerged from our last meeting and I will hopefully have those questions up by the end of this week, or by Tuesday of next week.

As we start this new journey, I have a question about evaluation? How will we know if this service is what God is calling it to be? When I was in seminary, our evangelism class was assigned to read the book by Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Church". I have picked that book up again and am re-reading it in light of our new church service.

In this book Warren talk about the importance of developing a purpose for the church he writes, "Second Corinthians 13:5 says 'Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.' How does a church evaluate itself? Not by comparing itself to other churches, but by asking, 'Are we doing what God intends for us to do?' and 'How well are we doing it?"...These are the two most critical questions for evaluating your church. Your church's purpose statement must become the standard by which you measure your congregation (or in our situation service) health and growth."

Warren lays out four critical phases that I would like for us to look at over the next few months.

First, we must define our purpose for the service. If we do this service just because we want to have contemporary worship at Grace, it will not succeed. We must have a defined God given purpose in order to know who are are to reach and how God wants us to reach them.

Second, we must communicate those purposes to everyone in our church -- on a regular basis.

Third, we must organize the service around our purposes.

Fourth, we must apply our purpose to every aspect around the service. How we establish worship order, how we pick our musicians and singers, how we publicize the service, etc.

So that leads me to our first group of questions. What is the purpose of the contemporary worship at Grace UMC? Why are we creating this service? What is this service to be? How will this service advance God's kingdom on earth? How are we to do it?

These questions will be posted in our Google group feel free to comment here or there on them. Thank you for participating in this task force and I look forward to working with all of you as we get this service up and running.

I passed P & Q!!! Whoooo hoooo!!!

I passed P & Q today. I'm so excited!
June 8 I will be voted on by the clergy of the North Texas Conference to become a probationary member of the conference and then June 9 I will be commissioned!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support.

P & Q Paper work

All of my paperwork is due on Friday.
So... I'm going to post it all here for anyone to read.
Let me know if you have any comments.
There will be 11 post in all with two questions per post.

Questions 1 & 2

1. Describe your personal experience of God and the understanding of God you derive from biblical, theological, and historical sources.
God is a loving God who desires a relationship with all humanity. We see this in the biblical narrative where God created humankind and was in relationship with them in the Garden of Eden.[1] After they ate the forbidden fruit and were banned from the Garden of Eden, the Old Testament tells the story of how God continually called God’s people to come back and be in relationship with God.
Through the covenants of Abraham, Noah, and Moses, God continued to extend Godself to humanity by promising that their creator would never abandon humanity. These covenants repeatedly were broken by humanity, but in God’s steadfast love, Christ came to establish a new covenant, “so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,”[2]
In John Wesley’s sermon, Free Grace, Wesley speaks of God’s desire to be in relationship with and to save all humankind. It is through the actions of God through Christ that Wesley writes, “For it cannot be denied that he everywhere speaks as if he was willing that all men should be saved.”[3] Christ’s action on the cross is for all of humanity and is the ultimate sign of God’s desire to be in relationship with us.
God uses humanity to help bring all persons into relationship with God. We see this through the church reaching out to all of humanity being Christ’s hands and feet. When the church ministers to real needs with God’s love, God reaches out to reestablish relationships with all of humanity. Through acts of mercy like the “Nothing but Nets” campaign to Africa, local food pantries and mission trips, the church has historically worked to establish relationships in the name of Christ.
On my last trip to Mexico on a youth mission trip we had the opportunity to build a home for a family in Tierra Nueva. The home we worked on was for a family whose daughter was suffering from a major medical condition. They lost everything because of doctor bills and struggled to keep the land that we were building the house on.
The youth and parents on that mission trip made it their mission to show God’s love to this family by raising money to pay off the land where we were building the house. The girl’s mom and dad no longer had to worry about losing their home and could instead focus on getting the needed care for their daughter.
Finally, the way that I experienced God on this mission trip was the love and acceptance we received from the people in Tierra Nueva as they welcomed us into their homes, as they worked beside us on their homes, and as they continually gave to us through drawings, playing games and fellowship. This ultimately showed me that we are connected as one to the One who created us, when the body of Christ is working toward bringing restoration to God’s people either in the local church or outside the church walls.

2. What is your understanding of evil, as it exists in the world?
Evil is an active force that exists in the world that separates us from the will of God. This evil entices us to forsake the one who created us and act in ways that forsake God and place ourselves as most important. Evil entered the world in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were enticed by the serpent to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree.
The introduction of evil in the world has caused separation between God and God’s creation. This evil plants inside of us a lie that we are our own and in charge of our own destiny. However, as C.S. Lewis wrote, this evil desire to say we belong to only ourselves is a lie because, “for our souls are not, in fact, our own.”[4]
Because of the actions in the Garden, sin was the result of evil entering the world. Even if we try to fool ourselves in thinking that we are righteous, we are reminded, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”[5]
We sin when we succumb to temptations to place ourselves in a higher position or gain power in a particular situation. We are surrounded by a sin-sick world that exploits people, values or even the environment for profit’s sake. We also sin when we fail to act on injustices taking place throughout the entire world.
As the Son of Man is separating the nations, the reason for the separation is due to failed actions. He tells them, “for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”[6]
Evil is something that we can overcome. In fact, we are charged to overcome evil in our baptismal covenant when we answer the question, “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?”[7] Through this question, and through the support of the community of faith, the church stands together to battle the forces of evil together.
Wesley established the United Societies and the General Rules as a guide for those who wanted to “flee from the wrath to come.” In these General Rules the community gathered to do no harm, avoid evil of every kind, to do all the good they could and to attend to the ordnances of God.[8]
When we commit to follow a life in Christ, we join as our ancestors of the faith did to support each and everyone to resist evil, injustice, and oppression. During a phone call a year ago, a mother asked me to bring a youth home so the police could arrest him. Over the next several hours, it became clear that the entire story was not being presented to the police. While the youth’s actions were wrong, he was being forced into situations that led to the ensuing phone call.
Standing up for the youth was hard, especially when his mother and her friends were ready to lock him away for several years in order to “help” him. Through the course of those 24 hours, the youth was removed from the home and has started a new life where his grades have improved, he has a plan for his future and he is able to grow from the past that has haunted him.
We may not want to admit that evil exists in our world. However, when we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit through the help of our Christian community, God can redeem those acts that were meant for evil and restore our lives and world in the name of Jesus Christ.
[1] Genesis 1 – 3
[2] Hebrews 9:15a NRSV
[3] Wesley, John. Sermons: An Anthology, ed. Outler, Heitzenrater Nashville: Abington Press, 1991 pg. 56
[4] Lewis, C.S., The Problem of Pain, San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 p. 75
[5] 1 John 1:8 NRSV
[6] Mathew 25: 42 - 43
[7] United Methodist Hymnal, Nashville, Tennessee: United Methodist Publishing House, 1989 p 34
[8] The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tennessee: United Methodist Publishing House, 2004 p. 73 - 74

Question 3 & 4

3. What is your understanding of humanity, and the human need for divine grace?
Our lives are a gift from God. When God created the world, God created humanity to enjoy the creation around them. In doing this, God gave humanity free will so we could make our own decisions. It is through the creation of humankind that completed the wonderful creation of the world in Genesis 1 where God saw that his creation was “very good.”[1]
From the time that sin entered the world, humanity has taken the gift of free will and misused it to advance humanity’s own agenda. Fulfilling our own desires led to destruction and even more separation from our Creator. We have tried to bridge the gap between God and ourselves but have failed because of our sinful state, falling short no matter what we try to do.
Because we are not capable by ourselves to reconnect with God, God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to serve as the bridge between God and us. This divine grace from God justifies us as if we have never been separated from God’s presence. God’s grace allows us to stand before God even in our fallen nature and be acceptable to God. This divine grace is evident in the letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians where he writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…”[2]
This divine grace is not given because we are worthy of it, but the divine grace is given because of God’s love and mercy for humanity. Without this mercy from God, we would never be able to match up to God’s perfect standard.


4. How do you interpret the statement Jesus Christ is Lord?
In the book of Revelation Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”[3] With this declaration, we see that Christ has been an active part of creation. We experience Christ’s presence with us during the time he was on earth. We experience Christ’s power and forgiveness in our lives today. In addition, we look forward to the end of the earth when Christ will come to judge the world and usher in a new heaven and new earth.
When I think about the statement that Jesus Christ is Lord in my life, I am reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me. That sacrifice was not made in order for me to do whatever I please, but that sacrifice was made in order for me to have a closer relationship with God and to place my trust in God. The sacrifice is only possible because of Christ’s perfect state, “and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”[4]
Because of what Christ has done for me, He is the Lord of my life and I live my life to be in service to Christ. It is because of Christ’s example of serving others that I as a follower of Christ must take on the mantle of a servant and not boast in what I have done, but as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, “let my boast be in the Lord.”[5]
With Jesus Christ as my Lord, I release control of my life and place my life under Christ’s authority. There is a song that we sing at our church titled “Holiness.” In the chorus of this song the prayer is that Christ will “take my heart, and form it; take my mind, transform it; take my will, conform it; to yours, to yours, oh Lord.”[6]
For me, the ordination process is a continuing journey to allow Christ to be my Lord, even though life has presented several challenges where I could have given up on my call. Through all of the great ministry moments like mission trips, and watching people grow in their faith, as well as going through all of the struggles of ministry including conflict and lack of confidence, I know that Jesus has been with me. As I live my life with Jesus as my Lord, I have been able to move through life and ministry with perseverance, integrity and hope that Christ will always guide me in my journey of faith. It is my prayer that as a person who has submitted his life to Christ that every moment of my life I live fully surrendered to the authority of Christ and live in the ways that Christ has called me to live.
[1] Genesis 1:31 NRSV
[2] Ephesians 2: 4 – 5 NRSV
[3] Revelation 22:13 NRSV
[4] Hebrews 5:9 NRSV
[5] 2 Corinthians 10:17 NRSV
[6] “Holiness”, Scott Underwood, 1995 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

Questions 5 & 6

5. What is your conception of the activity of the Holy Spirit in personal faith, in the community of believers, and in responsible living in the world?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus talks with the disciples about how the Father will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to teach and to remind us of all that Christ taught while he was here on earth. When I look at my life, I depend on the Holy Spirit to guide me in all that I do. The Holy Spirit reminds me that I am a child of God and helps me to envision the purpose God has for me in my life. The Spirit gives me comfort, encouragement and challenges me in my daily walk as a Christian finding ways to teach me to live and love as Christ did.
The Holy Spirit is active in the life of the community of believers when they discover how God is calling that community to respond to the needs of the world around them. Currently at Grace UMC, we are in a period of discernment as we look at the possibility of purchasing adjacent land in order to expand our ministry in west Sherman. The congregation is currently seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit to see if this will help us fulfill the mission that God has for us. We are also depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we look toward new and exciting ministries in the church reaching out to young adults and college students providing a place in which they can come and develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Living in a sinful and broken world, the Holy Spirit also guides us as we look to see where we, as the church, need to stand for those who need a voice. It could be a call to help those who are in need of adequate health care, taking a stance about injustices in the far corners of the world, providing clean water, setting up mosquito netting to fight the spread of malaria, or even assistance when a natural disaster occurs in our own country or abroad.

6. What is your understanding of the kingdom of God; the Resurrection; eternal life?
The church is called to be the place where we see visible signs of God’s kingdom here on earth. As Christians, we are called to bring restoration and wholeness to a broken world. As the church interacts with our sinful and broken world, we are to work with each other under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to bring restoration to God’s world.
In the process of bringing God’s kingdom to our world, we must realize that we have been placed here on earth to be stewards of God’s creation and we are called to take care of God’s kingdom. There are ways that we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, can work to bring the kingdom of God to earth. We can do this by being attentive to the world around us listening and helping those who are in need. As we work to bring God’s kingdom closer here on earth, we know that God’s kingdom will not be complete until Christ returns in glory at the end of the age.
The Resurrection brings our salvation to completion. It is the work of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, and establishes the way for humankind to be connected to God. The Resurrection makes that which is shattered whole. The Resurrection is the event that Christians we should celebrate every day that we have breath. Paul writes in Romans that as we have died in Christ, we share in the resurrection of Christ. Therefore we should not live in our sin anymore, [1] but we need to live in celebration for what Christ has done for us and then share that Good News with the world so that all people will know Christ’s love for them.
We have moments where we experience Christ’s resurrection within us. We celebrate when we have resurrection from our sin that have driven us farther from God or our neighbors. We celebrate when we see broken relationships that have been resurrected and made whole.
In John 10:10 Jesus says that he comes to give life so that we may have life abundantly. Eternal life is the hope we have as Christians to live life abundantly in relationship with God. In Scripture, we find references to eternal life as Jesus says that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.”[2] When we decide to strive for this eternal life, we must die to ourselves daily and serve God, with all our heart, mind and soul. When we do this, we begin to experience eternal life and hold onto the promise that we will experience in fullness one day when we join Christ in eternity.
[1] Romans 6:1-11
[2] John 3:36 NRSV