The Heart of Methodism

I’m reading Restoring the Wesleyan Class Meeting by Dr. James B Scott and Dr. Molly Davis Scott. It’s a wonderful study of the Methodist Class Meeting, wherein early Methodists were supported, uplifted and corrected in the context of a relational small group every week. The authors quote Gilbert Murray from his book, The Methodist Class Meeting:

The Reverend W.L. Watkinson, in the course of a speech delivered in the Great Queen Street Wesleyan Chapel, London, on Wednesday evening, July 17, 1907, declared that the Class Meeting is the primal organ of the Church, and, while the physiologist would tell them that in the course of generations an organ might be eliminated, he had never read yet that there had been an instant where a creature had survived after the heart had been taken away.

Sobering words!

Summertime…

I have been very remiss about blogging these past few months! It’s easy to make up excuses, citing how terribly busy I am, etc… Foooey! We have time for the things we make time for, and I’ve not been good about making time for this. I’ll try to do better. I’m also merging my church and personal blogs, somehow. Having two makes it that much easier to update neither of them! Peace…

A New Heart

This week’s Lectionary texts include Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Psalm 51:1-12, both of which speak of the people (Israel) receiving a new heart. This “heart translplant” would mean that knowledge of God would be built into us in a fundamental way. “No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord.”

These are glorious passages, but also depressing ones. The Jeremiah text is, frankly, an admission by God that we’re incapable of being obedient on our own. To makes us the people he would have us be, he has to “fix” us by replacing our hardened human heart with a new one. After generations of trying to do it the old fashioned way, God seems to be going for the quick fix. Rather, for example, than the hard work of exercise and diet, he’s going for the liposuction.

Should we desire such an intervention? Are we ready to throw in the towel?

Sunday Morning Musings…

Sunday morning before worship is one of my favorite times. Everything is full of promise and potential. There’s an electricity in the air; it’s great. This morning I’m thinking about simplicity, about how we (i.e. how I) make things more complicated than they need to be. I’ve been reading First Corinthians 1:18-25 and the Introduction to Ed Cyzewski’s Coffehouse Theology. Both are writing about stripping down to the essentials. The Jews demand signs and the Greeks desire wisdom. Feh! Neither is necessary to know Jesus. As Paul writes, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” How often to we make it more complicated than that?

Pastor Michael to be Commissioned!

I recently went before the Board of Ordained Ministry. After a grueling day of examinations by the Board, they decided to recommend to the Clergy Session of the Annual Conference that I be commissioned as a Provisional Elder in June. This is the next step on the long road to ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Pastor’s Report, January 2009

Pastor’s Report to the Administrative Council

January 21, 2009

Friends,

A new year has begun and new opportunities for ministry abound. What is key to any ministry is a person or people who are passionate about it. Without passionate people, ministries cannot thrive or reproduce.

Ministry and discipleship go hand-in-hand. “Minister” simply means someone who is in ministry. Every Christian is called to be in ministry. What we need to do, as leaders, is help people discover their own ministries, then encourage them to pursue them. We must give permission to try daring things and be prepared to catch people when they fall. We have to lovingly give people permission to fail. In my own ministry, I’ve tried and failed many times, confident that my sisters and brothers in Christ would hold me up. It was liberating.

Our job, as the leadership of the church, is not to be gatekeepers, deciding who gets to be in ministry and which ministries are allowed to proceed. Our job is to give permission wherever we see the Holy Spirit at work. We must keep an eye out for the movement of the Spirit. When we see it (or only think we see it), we must not stay silent. We must become radically permission-giving, and we must encourage others to be the same. That’s the path to self-replicating ministry.

I have great hopes for the coming year. I believe we are moving forward in ministry, but still have miles to go. As we get drawn further and further into God’s mission for the world, people may begin to feel uncomfortable, even threatened. Real ministry makes some people uncomfortable, this is a fact of ministry. We must not let timidity shackle the Holy Spirit.

Blessings…

Michael A. Smith

New Year, New Beginnings

The new year has begun and we’ve been busy at Arkport UMC. We had our annual Charge Conference last week and successfully voted on our budget, the pastor’s compensation package and the nominations of key church leaders. It was a good time of recognizing and celebrating the life of God in this place.

The weather’s been very icy and dangerous. We cancelled Saturday’s showing of A Simple Twist of Fate. We’ll show it later in the spring. The E&O Team didn’t want people risking their lives, and decided to pull the plug. It was a wise decision.

God is calling us out into the world! What that’s going to look like, I don’t know. I do feel the pull of the Holy Spirit and I hope others do, as well. Things Are Happening!

Blessings…

Pastor Michael

Looking Forward to Joshua

Our December movie at Arkport UMC is Joshua. It’s a story, based on the best-seller by Joseph Girzone, of a small town that’s turned upside-down by the arrival of a stranger. This man, Joshua is his name [note: "Jesus" is the greek version of the hebrew name "Joshua"], is a simple man who befriends many, and threatens others.

I’ve never seen the movie all the way through, just bits and pieces in church. I’m looking forward to seeing it. But, since I’m the impatient type at times, I’m reading the book. It’s great. I highly recommend it to anyone.

The movie Joshua will be shown at Arkport UMC on Saturday, December 6th, at 7:00pm. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

Pastor’s Report, November 2008

[Friends, here is the report of the pastor, submitted on November 19, 2008]

PASTOR’S REPORT TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL

The Advent/Christmas season is approaching quickly; it’s just weeks away. Advent is my favorite season of the church year. I like the quiet, reflective (penitential, even) seasons of Advent and Lent. I’m hoping that the upcoming season will be meaningful for us all.

I’ve got my hands full doing the required paperwork to become a provisional elder. There are papers to write and many, many forms to fill out. Please keep me in your prayers as I try to find the time I need to get it all completed (the final deadline for the most time-consuming parts is February 1, 2009). If I am successful, I’ll be part of the first class of provisional elders under the 2008 Book of Discipline. That will impact some of our scheduling in the years to come.

Over the past few months, our church—like much of the world—has been anxious. Yet in this crisis of confidence, I have kept my eyes open for signs of new life. Great things are happening, but we must remember that all things take time. Though some may view it as ancient history, we are still suffering from the wounds of the recent past. At the same time, healing has begun, but healing takes time as well.

What I try to remember is that all of these things are continually being lived out in every congregation. There are ups and downs, obvious successes and disasters, and quiet, unobserved moments of hurting and healing. In the midst of it all, we must keep our eyes on the Christ . We must remember who we are called to be as the family of God and be true to that calling.

I remain confident and hopeful about God’s family at Arkport United Methodist Church!

In Christ’s Service…

Michael A. Smith, Pastor

Worshipping with the Saints

We had a great All Saints’ Sunday service! It was one of our Combined Worship Services, where folks from our two services come together to worship as one. That it was on All Saints’ Sunday was even more meaningful, as we celebrate our fellowship not only with one another, but with all those who have come before. It was a packed service, with old friends and a few guests.

After worship, we went outside and gathered around our new church sign, which was officially dedicated to the memory of Terry Pritchard. Terry died in January and some of the money for the new sign came from the memorial funds given in her memory.

Then, we went back into the warm church and went downstairs for a time of fellowship and a delicious, hot breakfast served up by the men of the church. We had over seventy folks at breakfast!

All told, a wonderful day! Blessings…