Humor Sunday!

Okay, so the picture above is just...not right. I mean I think Jesus smiled and laughed -he was human and those are some of the best parts of being human! And he is also God - and I do believe that God has a deep sense of humor. BUT - Jesus was not a used car salesman or the Fonze either. (Hey! Pick up your cross and follow me! Eeeehhhhh!).

The above picture is not anything like what I intend for this upcoming Sunday - which we have announced as humor Sunday. Yes, I told the congregation to bring funny hats and clothes, noisemaker and yes...even whoopie cushions (i'm wondering if that was a good idea...)

But we are not going to turn Jesus into a joke. The point is to lift each other up with humor - to encourage one another with laughter - and to experience joy together as a church. After all we are in the season of Easter - what better time to experience joy.

I'm still not sure how I'm gonna pull this off...

Worship Updates

Seeing how it's been a while since I've posted - I'm just going to offer some refelctions on some of the worship that we've experienced at Faith UMC lately, highlighting parts that were particularly meaningful for me.

On Wednesday, March 31st - I preached at Shiloh UMC in Indian Head, MD. Faith is involved with a group of churches along the 210 Corridor and we join together during Lent for Wednesday night worship - we have different churches host on certain nights, and another church provides the worship experience on those nights. Any-hoo, what was neat for me was the chance to use a projector and screen (I want one! I want one!). The scripture was from Matthew, where a leper comes to Jesus asking to be cleansed. Jesus in his compassion, reaches out and TOUCHES the man (which was a no no in the ancient near east) and heals him. See the first chapter of Mark in your Bible for the whole story. We projected a picture (that I think i posted on this blog a year or two ago) of a person stricken with leprosy holding a flower. The sermon was meant to confront us with the fact that we are all spritual lepers - and in the need of Jesus healing touch - and that we, now bearers of this touch of Jesus, should withold it from no one. The downside? The podium I used wouldn't hold my manuscript - and I kept loosing my place and essentially had to make it up as I went along. God worked it out (thanks, Lord).

On Good Friday we had a small service at Faith in the early afternoon, after food pantry. We used a big wooden cross I built last year and went through the gospels - telling the story of the crucifiction. Meanwhile the cross was adorned with a crown of thorns, nails and finally a balck cloth draped over it to signify death. I made the mistake of not instructing the congregation effectively and I think they felt a little lost, and it distracted from the depth that the service could have had. But maybe I'm wrong...God judges hearts...not me (okay, I DO - but I'm not supposed to and when i do I'm often wrong.)

On Easter we had our sunrise service at 6:45 am. It was simple, we sang, read some scripture and "flowered the cross" covering the center of it with carnations and then draping in it a white sheet. This cross was then brought into the sanctuary as the choir processed in (which i thought was kinda cool). Honestly, I can't even remember what I preached! Sad, right? Really, I feel like the beauty of the day (it was gorgeous out!) contributed more to a sense and understanding of Christ's resurrection WAY more than anything we did inside the church.

A great letter to non-believers

Shaine Claiborne is the leader of a ministry called "the Simple Way". He advocated for a Christianity that is radical like Jesus in the way Christians love and live in this world. This letter is written to non-believers, specifically people who have come into comtact with so-called Christians who are more concerned with pushing a political viewpoint than being like Jesus. I just thought it was so awesome that I had to post it. Also - it's in Esquire Magazine of all places! HA!

http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209

enjoy!

Call to Worship Resource

I don't know if anyone who serves as a worship leader or pastor in their church even reads my blog... but if you do below I have posted a link to a file I uploaded to google docs. It is all the calls to worship that I wrote during my first year here at Faith UMC (from July to December, that is). Most are based of the lectionary scriptures. There are also a few opening prayers as well. I'm nearlyt postive that I wrote all of these - but I can't say beyond all doubt. Regardless - I hope this can be a resource for others. Follow the link below.

Call to Worship - Year A (July-December)

Passing By God's Word...

Driving to school today I passed by this huge truck. I glanced at it quickly and what I saw really excited me, because what I saw was the words 'TACO TRANSPORT".

HOLY MOLY! Think of all those tacos! I wonder if they are all beef...or all chicken. They wouldn't put them together I'm sure for fear of cross contamina...waitaminnut...oooooo...it says "TAC Transport".

How disappointing.
In my defense, I was tired and I it was only in that passing glance that I had the momentary hope that there would exist in this world a LARGE truck full of delicious tacos.

I think that reading the Bible, reflecting during the planning and experience of worship, prayer and pretty much any action of devotion towards God is much like this experience. We can't do it tired and we can't do it "at-a-glance". Something that has become super-apparent to me as a pastor is that I have no hope of adequately functioning in my ministry without two things: rest and time to reflect.
I wonder how much more I would get out of Scripture if I came to it with a rested mind, if I came to it unburdened by my anxieties and worries with a clear head and an enlivened heart. I also wonder how possible this is...

I suppose the fact that a "taco transport" is all it took for me to think all this reveals just how badly I need to really take time in scripture in such a way.

Worship Puzzle

Have you ever worked really hard on a puzzle - let's say an intricate one that requires alot of time? You've got a good deal done...and you need a Diet Dr. Pepper fix. You rise up from the coffee table you're working on and your leg bumps it, knocking all the pieces out of place. You say a toned down "christianized" form of some curse word ("well-golly-gosh-fudge- n'-fiddlesticks!"). That's how I feel about worship planning write now. I'm a wee-bit frustrated. I've been experimenting with moving a few things around here and there.

Should the offering go before or after the sermon?

Oh but if it goes there...then it's too close to another hymn and the songs aren't stretched out evenly over the entire worship service.

Hey! where did I put the prayers of the people? Oh yeah, it get's cut out because it's included in the Communion liturgy and I forgot to put it back in....

but I moved this other thing...so where do I put it now?

and so on.

Sometimes it does feel like I'm always finding pieces and trying to put them together. I struggle to make a single whole entity out of it.

So right now, I'm meditating on the "fourfold pattern of worship". This is the basic pattern that churches for millenia have held to. It originated from the two things that used to be a part of every Christian worship: Word and Table (Scripture and Sacrament, Bible teaching and communion). Later it was divided into these four catagories

1- The Gathering: Song and prayer that brings the worshipping community together and centers them on God. It is meant to prepare us for recieving what God has to give to us in His Word and at His table.

2- The Word: Scripture is read - always. And then there is a response. For the bulk of churches that means a sermon. But I wonder - what if we did something different? How about a dramatic telling of the scripture followed by a discussion in the congregation? Or what if the sermon was more of a teaching moment - where questions were asked and discussed in worship? Or how about testimonies? I really think that the sermon as we understand it (essentially a speech) is due for a facelift...

3- The Table: It used to be that all churches practiced Communion every Sunday. That is hardly the case in most protestant churches and I think that's a shame. Nevertheless, most churches enter into a "eucharist" anyways (the word means "thanksgiving"). That is what the offering is (it is also a response to the Word, I suppose). But I love the sacrament of communion. I love offering it and I love partaking of it. I love being fed by the body of blood of Jesus - I love the presence that I feel as we take communion. I love the sharing in the community. I love that we are together, gathered around one table like a family. I just love it. (Gee, ya' think I like communion?) I'm really thinking Faith will start sharing in communion every week...

4- Finally there is the sending out into the world. Ussually it includes singing victoriously and vigorously (not always an option given the songs in our hymnals...) with a benediction that encourages that the church goes out into the world in the power of God's Spirit.

Maybe one day our worship bulletins will be simpler and reflect this more. But this is what I'm mulling over in my head as I struggle with worship planning.

The peace of Jesus be with you!

Worship and All Saints Day

Ok – so I haven’t posted in a while. I guess I haven’t really figured out what I want to do with this blogging thing. I’ve tried using as a tool for sermons – that really didn’t fly (at least, not yet). And I’ve used it for general reflections as well, but I’d like to have a greater sense of purpose when writing; something more than yakking about my day. So I’ve just now decided that I will use this blog for the purposes of contemplating, planning and discussing worship. Worshipping God is one of my passions as a minister. I get excited about having churches encounter God’s word and to respond to God’s grace and to experience God in their midst in new ways and old. I want Faith UMC to be a church where worship is a genuine act of devotion that brings our community closer to God and changes lives.

So as this church strives for that goal, I am going to post about my experiences in planning, leading and participating worship. I try to be innovative and creative with worship, so I pray that perhaps my blogging may become a tool to help other church leaders (here at Faith and beyond) to plan and prepare worship in new ways. However, planning Sunday after Sunday of worship gets to be daunting and I know that I am really starting to see the effects of mental and spiritual exhaustion in my worship planning and the in the crafting of my sermons. I think the church sees the decline too. So to address that I’m also doing this as a conscious effort to reflect on worship theologically and hopefully others will join me. I pray that this might refresh me and encourage me as I continue to plan and lead worship.

I suppose I should start with this past Sunday then. At Faith UMC we celebrated All Saints day. One of the highlights of this Sunday’s worship for me was the candle-lit communion table (see pic below). I mean, its cool looking! It really spoke to me about how the light of Christ that shines from the lives of all of us really has a legacy. It spoke to me about our purpose; that we are the light of Jesus in this world, called to bring people into communion (relationship) with God.

I wish everybody could have felt what I did when I was doing the blessing over the bread and wine. We lit the candles first, calling out the names of loved ones lost in the past year and having their friends and family come up to light a candle for them. And as I was going over the great thanksgiving (being careful not to catch my robe on fire) I could feel the warmth of the candles on my hands and face. It was pretty cool. Pastor’s perk I suppose.

Thanks to Laurie Thorwart for the second picture!