A Grammar Lesson

AA grammar lesson? Ick! I confess that I never learned the myriad of carefully recited grammar rules at school. That is due to the fact that my parents spoke using correct grammar and expected their children to do the same. So when it came time to make the correct multiple choice selections on the grammar test at school, I just read the sentence and selected the word that I would naturally say. Now I did memorize “i before e except after c”, but that is Spelling, and a whole different story…(…she said after silently being thankful for the ever-present computer spell checker.) …but back to grammar.

The United Methodist Church is engaged in a new thought process of what it means to be Christ’s church. This “program”, for lack of a better word, is called Rethink Church and challenges us to re-evaluate how we think, what we do, and what we DON’T do as members of the United Methodist Church (UMC).

The word “church” was originally used to mean the people, the followers of Christ. These faithful Christians gathered together on Sundays to worship in homes and wherever they could. Eventually buildings were build specifically for that time of gathering and worship, and the buildings gained the designation “church”. The word “church” moved from a noun, describing people, to a noun, describing a building. This redefinition has been the focus of many sermons and Sunday school lessons that try to bring the people back around to the understanding that we are the “church”, the body of Christ who is to be in active ministry, together.

With the advent of Rethink Church, another redefinition comes forward. The UMC has put out a series of videos and materials to explain this in more detail. One of the main challenges made is rethinking “church”, and moving from is solely as a noun, and recreating it to be an ACTIVE verb. Church then becomes less about where you go, or a label to wear, and more about what you are actively doing. The runner runs. The cook cooks. The church churches, which means the “church” (Christ followers) “churches” (behaves like Christ).

If we the Christ followers are behaving like Christ, then our complete lifestyle is filled with thoughts, words, and deeds that come together to constantly show our love to God and to the others around us.

One video states, “What if we rethink church? What if church was less about Sunday, and more about the other days of the week? What if church wasn’t just a place we go but something we do?” Instead of taking the TV remote for its nightly spin tonight, perhaps you might consider going to the UMC’s YouTube channel to discover more about this concept. There are plenty of heart-grabbing and challenging mini-movies (each of them under 10 minutes and some just minutes long) that may spark something new within you. Watching some are so great that you want to share them with someone else… kinda like evangelism… but I’ll save that for another time.

Spending Time Together

“Mom, I’m kidnapping you, so clear you calendar for the whole day.” The invitation was made, and with that I was told to prepare for celebrating my birthday with her. My daughter wanted me to set aside the other things I might do that day, and spend time with her. I didn’t know her plan. I just knew that we would be in each other’s presence.

On “the day”, she brought me a beautiful card that told me we were about to embark on a journey of memories, and she told me how much she loved me. With that, we were off and down the road. That was basically our day. She took me places that were special in our lives and gave me more messages and gifts that spoke about how much she loved me. I was overwhelmed by it, and I knew she loved me. But just being in her presence that day, knowing that she really wanted to be there with me and tell me those things, touched my heart and gave me the opportunity to respond to her, telling her how much I loved and appreciated her. (Ahhh, what a lovefest.)

Let me tell you about another day- another lovefest. There is a day that I set aside each week, because I’ve been invited to just spend time with someone who loves me. I am given time to anticipate that day together and prepare for it. Then, when that day comes, there is a celebration. The Person who adores me comes to me and tells me how much He loves me and reminds me of the love and gifts that have been given to me that show me of His great love for me. The special time that we spend together is a time to listen to Him, and gives me the opportunity to respond to His great love by telling and showing Him how truly thankful I am that He is present in my life.

Of course, this goes way beyond a birthday celebration. This is what should happen as we celebrate and worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. God doesn’t demand that we worship Him just because He’s the greatest thing around (which He is). He is telling us that we are so important to Him that He wants to spend that special time together with us, AND, He wants us to want that also.

Too often we view “worship” as a block of time that we “have to do”, because we are afraid of wrath, or honor-bound to do our “duty” on that day, or simply out of habit- a habit that has lost site of the joyful anticipation of gathering with others to celebrate. Worship should be anticipated throughout the week and culminate in excitedly arriving at the church building where you enter the worship space ready to be in a communal response to God’s love. None of this arriving 10 minutes late every week because… (insert repeated excuse here). None of this half hearted singing and inward complaining about the music because… (insert gripe out too loud/ soft, too fast/slow, “we’ve done this song before”/”I’ve never heard this song before”). No quick exit afterwards to beat the church down the road to the nearest restaurant.

Instead, it is your primary concern to be there, connecting to God, connecting to one another, and preparing to go back out in the world to serve others with love. THAT… is worship… worship with a full heart of love, ready to give, ready to receive, and ready to give again. Thanks be to God.

Blue Like Jazz

I like to read. I really do. But as of late I’ve been eyeball and elbow deep in reading a number of books, studying, and writing a number of papers for a course I’m taking. It is time consuming, but I happen to enjoy the topic and digging deep into understanding more about faith, grace, being the church… very Wesleyan. But though I like to read, I have very little time… strike that… I make very little time for reading just for fun in the midst of the stack of books on my desk. So when my daughter began telling me about her latest book, I was interested in her thoughts about it and made a mental note that I would have to read that book… someday. Time passed but someday hadn’t made it to my door, and then I discovered you could download Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller, as an audio book. Bingo! One can’t read while you drive (or rather one shouldn’t), but these days the thought of being stuck in traffic doesn’t really bother me. But regardless whether you prefer to read or listen, the book is worth your time.

I’ve read many many Christian books. I’ve bought Christian books I’ve not read yet and they sit there in the waiting line, queuing up to enlighten me or teach me something. Christian writers talk about Christ of course, so there is a certain expectation I have when I begin said books. But when I first began this book, it was so unlike the standard stories and thoughts in other books, and caused me to hit “pause” while I mulled over things he just said. Very out-of-the-box and marvelous. He explains his title by saying:

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.”

Being a musician, I was intrigued. Miller then goes on to tell about his life and how he viewed God during different periods therein. Who is God? How do we react to God? Does ignoring God make Him go away? Does God love everyone? You have probably asked those or similar questions, and may have found yourself in an ebb and flow of faith. Miller allows the reader to join him on his journey and opens up a new perspective of what it means to have faith and live a Christian life. His themes and chapters weave his personal experiences into stories about faith and surprise you with little gems that arrive suddenly from around a corner.

I haven’t finished it yet, but I will. I’m reading, savoring, pondering, and enjoying the layer it adds to my daily devotions, scripture reading and prayer. You might just check it out…