Month: November 2019

The final value which I believe is important for effective ministry is inclusivity or acceptance. By inclusivity I mean the unconditional love extended to a person even before they believe in Jesus Christ.

I think this value has become even more importing with the recent shifts in culture. Years ago, people would first investigate and then adopt the beliefs of the organization. Church membership wasn’t just handed out arbitrarily. It was required that people attend classes before they were accepted into the community.

Today, most people don’t pick a church or small group because they agree with everything the group believes. Nowadays, people join a group because they feel accepted because they feel included. People even officially join a church at all, it is not because of what the church believes, but because the church makes them feel like they belong.

A couple years ago, I had our youth leadership team put together a set of values that they thought were important for the ministry. We brainstormed for about an hour and came up with four values: acceptance, trust, dedication, and honesty. These values were intentionally shaped around our small group ministry.

When I asked our students to put these values in order, acceptance was presented as number one. For teenagers, belonging is the first step in developing an identity. It is within a supportive community that a young person can safely “try-on” different identities and discovers the one that fits best.

Acceptance may be the defining value of the post-modern age. It is easy to see the push back against its advancement in the resurgence of racism, nationalism, and anti-immigration sentiments.

Inclusivity is exceptionally important for the people called Methodist. It is through the loving acceptance of a community of faith that new believers experience God’s prevenient grace.

Also, inclusivity itself is named is a critical virtue for The United Methodist Church in the Constitution which states that “all persons are of sacred worth.” Of course, this value is placed so highly because of the church’s history of segregation, exclusion, and even support slavery.

I believe we need to take our church’s commitment to an Open Table seriously and break down any barrier, whether intentional or unintentional so that people can experience the love of God.

What is Empowerment?

According to Dicionary.com, Empowerment is simply the “authority or power given to someone to do something.” This can mean power is transferred from one person to another or it can mean that previously untapped power is internally claimed by those who once felt powerless.

The push back to empowerment comes when we view power in the church as a zero-sum game. This means we view another person’s acquirement of power as threatening because it means we will lose power.

Sometimes it does mean that those in power must sacrifice some authority, and sometimes they get pretty upset. Rev. McAurhter recently made his feelings clear on this issue saying, “empowering women makes men weak.” He clearly views power as a finite resource, so that when women’s have some power, men have less power.

Honestly, this is not how my marriage works. My husband and I share power taking the lead in certain issues based on the situation. When we understand power as a shared and unlimited resource, any power one of us has, whether in our jobs or community, actually benefits us both as a couple.

For the church, Empowerment is particularly important in the areas of foreign and domestic missions. How many scores of well-intentioned missionaries have poured their money and time into helping their neighbor, only to make never the make any long-term difference? We try to help people in the short term by distributing clothes and offering feeding programs but hurt them in the long-term by not fighting for decent wages or fair treatment under the law, things that would give them more power.

Keeping powerless people powerless often makes us feel more powerful. This can even be true of the church’s discipline ministries. It is the church’s responsibility to nurture people into spiritual maturity, to be able to thoughtfully engage scripture and serve as the hands and feet of Jesus.

Overall, empowerment is a core value for me because it was a core value for Jesus.  In Acts 1:8 Jesus says to his disciples before he is taken up into heaven, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.“

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate empowering force in our lives as Christians. God has chosen people to be his actors in this world and to give them the power of the Holy Spirit through which to act.

I don’t know about you, but I believe the power of the Holy Spirit to be infinite, there’s more than enough empowerment to go around.

Currently, I try to foster empowerment through a Youth Leadership Team. Students must apply, attend training, and participate in meetings in order to be a part of this team.

It has borne fruit as our students are now taking leadership roles on church-wide committees. By empowering these students, there is an even greater chance that they will enter the next phase with a lifelong faith.

How do you see Empowerment working in your Faith walk? Who in your orbit could use some Empowerment?

Every few years it’s good to re-evaluate. I remember my first ministry internship at 20 years old sitting down to write a philosophy of ministry. Since then, a lot has changed.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection in preparation to go before the Board of Ordained Ministry. I’ve been asked in my paper work to identify three values which are I’m portent for me in ministry today.

So as of this season of life, I’d like to share with y’all what my top three values are for doing ministry.

Ministry Value #1 – Courage

Courage has not always been a big value for me. Honestly, I once thought of courage as the juvenile lesson superimposed on Bible stories make them more applicable to young children.

Daniel and The Lion’s Den, David and Goliath, all the most fanciful Bible stories seemed to be about courage. Also, these stories seemed very similar to the fairytales I learned as a kid. I think this made ‘Courage‘ difficult to differentiate as a Christian virtue.

Even as a kid I knew I would never been in danger from literal lions or giants, so I tended to dismiss the idea of courage as something I wouldn’t actually need.

But I have had to be courageous.

I’ve come to know crippling effect of fear on God’s ministry, and I have become frustrated by people too scared to step out in faith. A lot of times that timid person was actually me.

About a year ago, one of my students was responsible for delivering the weekly testimony. She shared her favorite Bible verse, 1 John 4:18 “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…”

During her testimony, I realized for the first time how much of our political and religious divisiveness was motivated by fear. Every wedge issue, every “us-verse-them” argument is designed to make us afraid, to make us fearful of the unknown and of our neighbor.

But courage is a value intimately close to God’s heart. By some counts, the Bible says to “fear not” more than 100 times. And in nearly every divine encounter the first words spoken by God or God’s messenger is “fear not.”

We are told ” fear not” because Courage, especially that sort of fearless love John talks about, is counter to our nature. We are predisposed to fear. We are all frail, finite mortals afraid of getting hurt, so we structure our societies with walls and boundaries to keep danger, whether real or imagined, at bay.

Courage is counter to our nature as humans, but it is indispensable if we are to be called children of God.

We need courage to be strong leaders, to follow God’s vision, to step out in faith, and event to admit when we’re wrong.

The best way I have found to nourish this value within myself is through being a part of a weekly table. In thoughtful conversations, I am able to emotionally strain out all the fear which heaped upon me by news outlets and through social media. I can breakdown the fearful rhetoric, and begin to faithfully love those who are ‘other.’ And I can quite the persistent voice on fear in my own heart.

There’s strength in numbers, and I best feel the reassurance of my calling to love fearlessly when engaged in a community of believers who actually loves fearlessly.  

What about you? How has fear and Courage played a role in how you love others? Do you feel like Courage is important to ministry?

Last week I was in a meeting discussing possible upcoming events for our church. A new, exciting ministry opportunity was being discussed but it would interfere with an established tradition with one of the existing ministries of the church.

I explained that I’d be willing to forgo the establish to traditional ministry (or find a way to work around it) in order to make the new opportunity happen.

“We can change what we’re doing that day,” I said. “I mean this thing is a tradition, but it’s ‘cruise ship.'” Heads nodded in understanding.

For those who don’t know, the phrase “cruise ship ministry,” it doesn’t actually mean you’re working on a cruise ship (although cruise ship chaplains do exist). It is a phrase commonly used to refer to ministry programs designed purely to entertain an established group. It’s a party or trip or event dressed up as ministry.

Let me be clear, I actually enjoy event planning. Not all people in ministry do. I’ve been doing large scale event planning since college, and I’ve even written before about the importance of events like overnight lock-ins. But we always have to be careful about planning ministry events.

Recently, at a training retreat for youth leaders, the retreat coordinator made an off-hand comment that a better job title for us might even be “youth event planners.” He said it with a bit of a joking tone, but it is something I really wrestle with.

I hesitate to think about all the day trips and block parties I’ve organized in which not even a prayer was said before the meal. I sometimes allow myself to slip back into the role of event planner because I actually find it easier. There’s less at stake in event planning than in real ministry.

Also, more honestly, I am afraid that Jesus might not be enough for some people.

And there is something to this in scripture, Jesus taught and healed but he also fed the 5,000, offering them the modern equivalent of free pizza. He attended banquets, weddings, and even suggests that heaven is one big party (Luke 15:7).

A few weeks ago, I sat down with my Youth Leadership Team and asked for input on our upcoming retreat. I did get the typical request to organize events like a basketball tournament and a late-night round of manhunt. But I also received requests for fireside worship and space for quiet time and a prayer service.

To believe that Jesus isn’t enough is a lie from straight from the pit. But, to belive that Jesus never enjoyed a good party is a lie as well.

Like a ship navigating rough waters, we must be careful not to steer too close to each extreme.