Famous Last Words

My absolute favorite piece of scripture is the Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I don't know what really started my love for this passage, but I think it may have begun during a class I had with Laceye Warner at Duke.  We talked about this passage a lot, and what it means to be disciples in our current time.  This passage is the very last thing we hear in the Gospel of Matthew.  It is the final, parting words of Jesus that we are given, according to Matthew's account at least.

Why are these words so important?  These words are not just a simple request from Jesus, but they are perhaps some of the most important words he ever uttered.  "Go and make disciples of ALL nations." But do we take this seriously?  Do we really take this command to heart?

These are some of Jesus' famous last words.

Those of you who know me know that I really love John Wesley.  Wesleyan history is one of my favorite topics of conversation and it's where my nerd flag really flies high (almost as much as my love for Star Wars).  But as John Wesley died, he held the hands of all the people around them, told them how much he loved them, and as he took his final breath he said, "The best of all is, God is with us."   Every time I hear those words I get chills.  I only hope that I could be so profound, so prophetic, at any point in my life, let alone in my dying moments.

Famous.  Last. Words.

What message is so important to you that you would want it to be the words you left your family and friends with?  I think for me, I would want it to be something like, "Love one another".  Or maybe "If you want to be a disciple, you have to remember that it's not about you."

It's NOT about you.  It's not about me. It's not about any of us.  The best news is that God is with us.  The GOOD news is that Christ came to show us how to make disciples so that the world could see that God is with us.  I think this is a hard message in our consumerist society. 

 It's a hard message for those of us who are believers to realize that none of this is about us.  Yet we make it all about us.  What can the church do for me? What ministries can you offer for me?  How can you appeal to me and the needs of MY family?  And if the small church that has been begging for young families can't offer those things, we leave and go somewhere else that can.  And that's not to shame or say that those are inherently bad things to want, but do we want it to truly build up our faith?  Or is it a social need?  What if we stayed in those small churches and built ministries where we land and were a part of the community?

This past week we had our North Carolina Conference United Methodist Church Annual Conference in Greenville, NC.  And for the first time in my 32 years (preacher's kid, youth delegate, then preacher myself) of going to conferences I didn't leave feeling absolutely frustrated.  And that's a good thing.  We talked about climate change.  We talked about issues that matter. We lifted a resolution from our youth to tackle the poor road conditions in Johnston county.  We were taking social action on issues that MATTER, and it was a glorious thing to see.  (I feel like the youth are really a beacon that we should be looking to in the church for direction, but I digress...)

We talked about what mattered...

I mean sure, when you put several thousand church people in a room together, we're going to get side tracked, but we truly talked about issues that matter. One of my biggest sorrows about the church today is that we spend so much time getting caught up in minutiae that only tears us apart, and it kills me.  It makes me weary... and I know that I'm not alone.  Every time it happens I find myself going back to this Great Commission text:

  Is what we're doing helping to make disciples of ALL the nations?  Does what we're doing right now show that God is with us?

There's a lot of talk about split and division in the United Methodist Church, and I'll be honest it terrifies me.  I don't know where we'll end up.  I don't know what will happen.  I don't honestly know what the best decision is for the church.  We have this commission on A Way Forward (and as the bishop pointed out this week it's A way forward not necessarily THE way forward, because we know we are human and we know that there are many different options for how this can go) that is set to talk about where the church needs to go in the next few years.

I don't know what the answer is, but I do believe in resurrection.  I believe in renewal. I don't believe that the church has to die.  But I do believe that the church has to die to what it is.  We've done a lot of damage to our society by forgetting what our Great Commission is.  We've done a lot of damage by forgetting this call to create disciples.  It is not a call to show everyone that we're right.  It is not a call to affirm our politics.  It is not a call to divide.  It is not a call to cast aside some people as worthy while we pick and choose who we think God came for.  It is not a call to build walls and destroy communities.  It IS a call to love our neighbor, to love them so much that they see that God is with us.  It IS a call to bear evidence of God's love in this world.  It is a call to teach others who God IS, and not what we've made God to be in our own image.

It's not about us...

I wonder what the famous last words of the church would be.  It scares me to think what some of us might say.  If the church were to end RIGHT now, what would our last impression be on the world around us.  Would it be that we don't like LGBTQ people?  Would it be that we don't want our black neighbors showing up at church on Sunday?  Would it be that we don't want people asking for help because it scares us?  If it's anything other than LOVE, we're doing it wrong.

We need to decide what impression we would want to leave.  We need to decide what parting words we would want to share and we need to start living into it right now. 

I don't want to the church to die.  I don't want it to split.  Because in my heart, I know that the best news of all is that God is with us, and there's not a single person on this earth I don't want to share that with.  

Blessings <><

Pastor Laura

Pint Sized Pentecost

Last week we celebrated Pentecost in the life of the church, the day in which the Holy Spirit descends upon the people gathered.  People were speaking in their native languages but they could all understand one another.  It was like "tongues of fire" and even though it was only 9am in the morning people thought, "They must be drunk!  What's going on here is just TOO crazy to have any other explanation!!"

That, at least, is the super abridged, sweeping analysis of what happened that Pentecost day.  Today at Saint Paul we're continuing our new ministry "Pray and Play Cafe", a chance for kids to gather with their parents and have a time of prayer and play while learning a Bible lesson.  We had a huge crowd this morning:

Of course, all three of them belong to me, but eventually we'll have some other friends to join us ;) (at least that's my hope... otherwise we might have to re-invent ourselves and take this show on the road)

This morning we talked about Pentecost, about how the Spirit works within us to equip all of us for ministry, and how God's Kingdom is filled with people from all different backgrounds, and that even though we don't all look the same or speak the same way, we still are children of God.

Cameron is in the Spanish Immersion program at Martin Millennium Academy (now in FIRST GRADE, HOLY COW!!!) and he said that Pentecost is sort of like how he can understand his teachers when they speak Spanish at school, but he can also understand us when we speak English at home.  A pretty good analogy for a 5 year old, I think.  See, even though Spanish isn't his native language, when he listens carefully and he pays attention he can understand what is being said at school.  At Pentecost, the reason they could understand one another was because of the gift of the Holy Spirit, but in our every day interactions, sometimes all it takes is some intentionality to listen to one another and strive to understand.

Sometimes we break down barriers where there are divisions in language, race, culture, background, nationality, and we build walls instead of seeking to listen and understand one another.  Pentecost is a reminder that we are called to be united by the Spirit, united by Christ, united in our love of God and neighbor.  Sure, maybe people will think we're crazy.  Maybe they'll think we're drunk (see Acts 2).  Maybe they'll think it's a lost cause, but can it really hurt to try?

My (almost 6 year old) son understands this.  He gets it.  We should strive to love our neighbor, regardless of our differences.  What can you do to show your love of neighbor today?

~As a side story: a few weeks ago we were at Highway 55 in Tarboro and a complete stranger paid for our meal.  My kids had been yelling and acting crazy and I'm used to someone in those situations making comments about how I have my hands full or offering unwanted advice about how to calm everyone down.  However, this kind person didn't do that... he just paid for our meal (probably because he noticed our insanity) and said that because he had been blessed, he wanted us to feel blessed too.

I'm sure there were plenty of other people in that restaurant who needed it more than we did, but it sure meant a lot for someone to share that act of kindness with us.  This person probably had different political beliefs than us, probably didn't share our history, we might not even have the same religious beliefs, but none of that came up and it didn't matter.  What mattered in that moment was love of neighbor, and while it may seem small, to us it was huge, and it's exactly the way we should be loving one another in this world.  ~

The Lord is my (German) Shepherd

For as long as I can remember I've wanted a German Shepherd. I've spent so much time scouring websites and rescue groups and shelters looking for a German Shepherd in need of a good home.  Nathan would always roll his eyes at me as I'd send him pictures of dogs that would pop up.  I'd say, "What do you think of this one?" and he'd say, "It looks like a dog".  (He thinks he's funny)

I love dogs, I'm a dog person through and through, but I have never had exactly the dog I was looking for, until this sweet girl came into my life.

This is Princess Zelda, who come to us by crazy happenstance this week.  As always I was looking at websites and sending Nathan pictures of random dogs, but I fell upon a breeder in Bath, NC who had nothing less than 5 star reviews.  So I sent her a message just inquiring about what a puppy would cost.  I didn't really want a puppy, but thought I would get some more information anyway.  It turned out that she had a beautiful two year old, totally trained in German commands that she was wanting to find a home for. She had planned to breed her but was unable to and preferred that she be able to live with a family who could give her lots of attention.  We have three little boys and this girl has been playing fetch or "Brring" non-stop for the past two days.

How often do you stumble upon a dog that is totally trained, good with kids, friendly, socialized and patient?  It's as if all those times Nathan rolled his eyes at me (wink wink Nathan) kept me from missing this opportunity.  

It's funny watching her with the boys.  She LOVES them.  She'll kiss them, cuddle them, play fetch with them.  She gets really upset when Allen walks out of the room. She thinks we should all be sitting in the same room and nobody is allowed to leave.  So she'll sort of walk circles around him to lure him back into the living room.  It's hilarious.  He just laughs at her and she gets so excited once her "job" is complete.

She's only been with us for two days but she's always alert, always watching out for her family, standing guard.  I keep thinking of the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd..." Shepherds look out for their flock.  They don't let anyone go astray.  A German Shepherd, lives up to its name.  She causes us to pause to rest, she restores my soul. I know that sounds crazy, but I just look at her and I KNOW she was the dog I was supposed to have.  The lady who raised her and trained her said that she had several inquiries this past week for dogs and she didn't mention Zelda to anyone, but for some reason she just felt that we were the right fit for her, and I believe she was absolutely right.  

She's laying with me in the office now, standing guard, my big, scary, ferocious attack dog... 

...actually, she's just a REALLY big, 80 lb baby.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd.
    I lack nothing.
2 He lets me rest in grassy meadows;
    he leads me to restful waters;
3         he keeps me [a] alive.
He guides me in proper paths
    for the sake of his good name.

4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no danger because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—
    they protect me.

5 You set a table for me
    right in front of my enemies.
You bathe my head in oil;
    my cup is so full it spills over!
6 Yes, goodness and faithful love
    will pursue me all the days of my life,
    and I will live[b] in the Lord’s house
    as long as I live.