Church | The Journey

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Cheers to the Church

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” excerpts from Acts 2:37-47

I heard the strangest story that we, in the South, could never comprehend. It seems that in a northern city at one congregation this pastor, from the story, served covered-dish suppers at church did not attract many people, but she said that when we started having them in people’s homes, the attendance doubled. People loved seeing church members’ living spaces, after all those years of only seeing one another at church.

My question was that the only reason attendance doubled? Well, the truth of the matter was that some people also liked meeting in homes because you could serve beer and wine. But they were drinking wine in the book of Acts, too. From the beginning, the church knew that worship is central, but it’s also good to get people around the table, laughing, eating, having fun and praising God.

To learn about the earliest Christians, who might have known Jesus and the apostles, read the book of Acts, written by the author of Luke. Like the other gospels, Luke is about Jesus. Acts is the next chapter – what happened after Jesus ascended and left regular people to build the church.

Remember: the church has not always been a building on Main Street. Acts shows the church trying to form itself, long before newsletters, building use schedules, church covered-dish suppers and capital campaigns came upon the scene. And from the beginning, the church ate together, casually. They spent time worshipping at the temple. They also gathered in people’s homes, to share a good meal and a glass of wine. And that was church, too.

Cheers.

Dear Lord, help me and my church to delight in one another’s presence, whether we are in the pews or around the dinner table, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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Caring for Those Who Have Cared for You

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

Tuesday I had an appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Thomas Kelly. I have known Dr. Kelly for many years, you see he was on call when my regular cardiologist needed some time off. Dr. William Gamble was my cardiologist for many years. He was there to see me through my heart attack, heart failure and all the stuff afterwards. He saw me through several cardio-versions, medication changes, and a time of great stress and depression.

He was more than a doctor. He became my trusted friend.

What I have shared with many of you before is that Dr. Gamble, who is only 63, has been diagnosed with alzheimer’s, and a couple of years ago had to retire. I have tried to email him on several occasions to no avail. Tuesday, Dr. Kelly let me know that Dr. Gamble was now in assisted living. My heart was crushed as I thought about how this brilliant, compassionate, servant of the sick now cannot practice the art and science of healing.

When I returned home Tuesday I told Shirley about our conversation and then gave Dr. Gamble a telephone call. To my great surprise, he answered, he knew me, he still had the same upbeat tone in his voice. We talked for about a half hour. Anyone who knows me, knows that is a long conversation for me. We planned to talk next week and set up a time to eat lunch together at his place and spend some time looking over his photography. I am so deeply pleased and scared at the same time.

I remember Dr. Gamble who knew how afraid I was of going through my first cardio-version, reach down and hold my hand as I was being put to sleep for this procedure. He brought me great comfort and peace by holding my hand. I now have the opportunity to return some of that comfort and peace to him as we visit together over the next few years.

Please pray for him and for me: that I can say and do the right things, and that he will find peace and comfort in my care for him.

Dear Lord, help me to help this dear man – one of your called and equipped healers – as he makes his journey through this scary valley. Speak through my words. Touch him through my actions. Give him peace and comfort as he faces what each new day may bring, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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In The Master’s Hands

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

If you have been following my blogs, you know that I am starting back into sculpting. In my endeavor to get back into this I have been searching web sites and YouTube Videos about sculpting. One of particular interest to me is an artist named David Lemon, who sculpts mostly Native American Indian pieces. He does a marvellous job. (Give him a Google.)

As I was watching him sculpt and hearing his explanation of what he was doing, he revealed that he preferred to use Super Sculpey Grey Firm clay. I have used some sculpey before but not the grey firm. This stuff breaks off in your hand. In fact, you must cut this brick into small slabs and hold them in your hand to warm them up before they become suitable for anything.

Today I started just working with the clay – making it pliable enough to work with. It was crumbly, almost like a cracker. I would take a small piece and knead it over and over and over (for over an hour) before it became soft enough to use.

We in the Christian Faith know about being clay in the potters hands. Not until today did I really realize what that actually meant. You see, I have always used soft clay. It was already pliable. All the potter had to do was mold the clay into the right image. Today I learned that there is more to it than that.

Until we place ourselves in the Master’s hands to be made warm and pliable – ready to be used, we are of little good in becoming that which the Potter wants or needs to make of us. John Wesley was an educated man, priest of the church, with a method about his spiritual practices that would put us all to shame. He realized that the clay of his heart was strangely warmed as he joined a little group of people at a vespers service at Aldersgate Church and listened to Luther’s preface to Romans read out loud. It was then he knew for sure that he was saved by God’s grace alone – not his own works.

Forgive me for this wording, but I really believe that before Aldersgate Wesley walked with God. After Aldersgate Wesley walked in God. Before, he was striving to be obedient. After, he was striving to allow God to work through him. The clay was firmly in God’s loving and gracious hands.

Dear Lord, thank you for teaching an old dog some new insight into faith and grace. Take my life in the palm of your hand and warm me – knead me – until I can be more fully used to become what you have called me to be, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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“Stitch ‘N Bitch”

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

Today Shirley and I were making the rounds looking for some sculpting supplies and instructional books on sculpting that would help me do it better. After my heart attack back in 1995 I started sculpting and produced statues the district superintendents would purchase and give to those persons being ordained in their districts. The piece was entitled “Ordination” and pictured Jesus standing in front of this kneeling person (one for male and one for female) with one hand on their shoulder and the other on their head.

As we were on our hunt we went to Barnes and Nobles, asked where the sculpting books might be, and was told to look in the craft section. Guess what? In all of that store there is not one book on sculpting. But I did find one book whose title almost brought me to my knees laughing. It was titled: “Stitch ‘N Bitch.” It was about knitting… but we all know it was really about life.

When Shirley was young – say elementary to middle school, her mother would make some of her clothes… especially party clothes. Years ago she told the story of her mother working on this prom type dress, you know fancy and all that stuff. It was made of red velvet – which I am told is impossible to work with – it has a knap to it and shifts as you try to sew it. Margie would sew for a while, get ticked and throw it in the corner. She would settle down and come back to work on it at a later time. Needless to say it spent a lot of time in the corner. But, it was finished and Shirley did wear it.

When we served Triplett Church in Mooresville, Shirley tried to get me to crochet, saying that it will help to release the stress. Ha! All I could crochet was wads or tight balls of yarn. It made me even more tense. I have come to understand that we like to Stitch ‘N Bitch… stitch ‘n Lamatate (from Lamatations) when things don’t go exactly our way.

What ended my sculpting endeavor years ago was, after several months of working to get this statue perfect (which was really two statues that had to be put together after the finished resin product was produced), I went to pick up the statutes from the casting company in Sophia only to find that they had broken my original statue, and the finished product was so poorly done (big seams where the mold didn’t fit correctly, and pieces chipped away) that I could not accept them. I want to tell you I was in a “Stitch ‘N Lamatate” mood. All the ordinands would not receive this gift – a gift they knew others had received. I was disappointed for them. I was embarrassed that I let them down. I was MAD at this company for taking so little care of my product.

I remembered, after completing my first original, making an appointment with the person in charge of this at Cokesbury in Nashville. He set up the appointment and we made the ten-hour trip to Nashville, spent the night, and went to meet with him the next day. This man, I can’t remember his name, didn’t have the common courtesy to allow me to come up to his office and sit down and discuss this matter. No, he met me in the lobby and told me that I needed to sent this to China. I had ten hours all the way back to Asheboro to Stitch ‘N Lamatate.

When I saw this title I laughed. But the title really made me ask myself the question: “Are you ready for this again? The disappointment? The failure? Or will you be smarter this time and seek out people (professionals) who can give you advice on how to make it through the maze of stitches.”

My advice is, if your stitches are worthwhile, keep on stitching because they will bring encouragement to someone. Keep on bitching too. This helps you to express those negative feelings – get them out – and brings a release of that stress. Find someone who will listen to your complaints and keep them in Vegas. God has always been a good listener when someone wanted to bitch – look at the Psalms. God is big enough to hear that word and know that it is one of his children complaining about the unfairness of life. And guess what – He already knows, will listen to you day and night, and bring you peace – if you will listen.

Dear Lord, I gripe and complain and even lamatate at times. Help me through those times and give me peace in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

PS: Any of you who have one of my statues (the Ivory colored ones) would you post a picture or two to share with all our Facebook friends? I would like for them to know I really have done this????

Filed under: Church, Devotions, Faith, Gifts, Ordination | 2 Comments »

Handkerchiefs All Over the Place

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” – Hebrews 11:29-38

We Protestants need more saints.

In this context, I do not mean saint in the way the Apostle Paul used the term as inclusive of all of the people of God. Rather, I am referring to individuals of faith whom the church points to and says, in essence, “Pay attention to these lives. Take inspiration from them. Try, as you are able, to follow their example.” I am thinking of Frederick Buechner’s definition: “In God’s holy flirtation with the world, God occasionally drops a handkerchief. These handkerchiefs are called saints.”

Sometimes, when I listen to Protestant preachers (which, of course, includes me), it can seem as if we have concluded there are only a small handful of people whose lives reflect God’s glory. The Roman Catholics have over 10,000 canonized saints. By my count, we Protestants have as few as five: Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Dietrich Bonheoffer. Of course, these individuals are great examples of faith. They are saints, to be sure. But when their names are invoked so often, and other examples drawn upon so seldom, it does not help us envision the range of ways one’s life can reflect God.

So I envy the Roman Catholics their saints because they have many people of history to whom they can point. The sheer variety of saints in the Roman Catholic tradition stretches the imagination to encompass the multitude of ways a human life can manifest the Holy Spirit.

Who are some of the saints you have encountered recently? I think back over the churches I have served in the last forty years and I see handkerchiefs all over the place. These were people of grace, love, forgiveness, and encouragement. They touched and changed my life throughout my ministry, and quite frankly, I probably would have done lesser work for God without their touch upon my life. Some of those saints may be reading this blog tonight. Thank you for walking with God and making this journey of faith. You are still continuing to make a difference.

Dear God, give us more saints. We need all the inspiration, instruction, and encouragement we can get, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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Once The Door is Open… It is Open

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near.” – Ephesians 2:13

In one of the churches I served every once in a while I dropped in on one dear, sweet member without warning. As I stepped through their habitually unlocked door, she would always say: “Well, look what the cat dragged in!” Now, if you have an outdoor cat, you know the sorts of things real cats drag in—half-dead mice and string, wadded up balls of stinky moist things that appeal only to cats, but which they long to share with you.

Mostly you wish they wouldn’t. But here’s the thing—once a door is open, it’s open; whatever comes in, comes in. There’ll be all sorts of surprises, amazing gifts. There’ll also be some bloody little messes to clean up now and then. But you’ll learn a lot about what a cat thinks a treasure is, even if it would never have occurred to you to want it.

At some point, the Cat dragged each of us over the threshold into new life in Christ, and into the church, the trophy case for the cat’s eclectic finds. The Cat didn’t hunt us down and kill us, of course (which is where the metaphor breaks down), but scavenged us from lives half dead or all balled up to become the cat’s purred-over prizes. The cat lifted us by the nape and dropped us into each other’s laps for discovery, safekeeping, and delight.

Having been brought like this from the outside in, how ungrateful we would be to curl up smugly and dream our dreams, while out there so many weird and wonderful treasures wait to be discovered, to be cherished, to be carried proudly home.

Dear Lord, open up our lives and our churches. Let whatever comes in, come in. Teach us to purr over your prizes, to love our neighbors as treasures, and to scavenge the world from death to life, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

PS: To Become a Follower of my blog just go to the top left of the page and click on the word “follow.” Hope you will follow along… and enjoy the journey.

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Easy To Die

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

Jesus was the last person Sundar Singh was looking for as a late teenager in India at the turn of the 20th Century. After all, Jesus was the “foreign god” of the Christian teachers at his school. A zealous Sikh, Sundar had publicly torn up a portion of the Bible to protest its claims. One night as he prayed he became conscious of a light shining in the room. He looked outside to make sure it was not someone shining a light. Gradually the light took the form of a globe of fire and in it he saw the face of Jesus. Sundar threw himself on the ground and surrendered His life to Jesus.

The following months proved to be very difficult for Sundar and his family. Becoming a follower of Christ was not taken lightly by his family nor his community. He was excommunicated. He cut his hair, a gesture that did not make things any easier with his family who were convinced he had renounced his Sikh heritage.

A month after he was baptized in the year 1905, he took the vow of a sadhu. He gave away his meager possessions, put on a saffron robe and became a barefooted wandering man of God. Among Christians the world over, this barefoot Sadhu was later called the “apostle of the bleeding feet” because the soles of his feet were often covered in bloody blisters. The life of a sadhu is hard and entirely dependent on God. Sadhu Sundar Singh’s needs were met entirely through the kindness of people he met wherever he went.

Sundar Singh is credited as the first missionary to cross the Himalayan Mountains to take the gospel to Nepal and Tibet. At 36 years of age he made his last trip over the mountains. He never returned and is assumed to have been a martyr for Jesus.

In his diary left behind he had written, “It is easy to die for Christ. It is hard to live for Him. Dying takes only a few minutes—or at worst an hour or two—but to live for Christ means to die daily to myself.”

Dear Lord, help me to live worthy of the calling as your disciple. Show me the cross you want me to carry today, and to do the “hard” thing: die to myself and live for Jesus and others who need His love. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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“Just Do It!”

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” – I Corinthians 12:1

While at the beach last week we were doing one of those really FUN things… sitting in the old men chairs in Belk while the shoppers of the family were on a frenzy. My job was sitting in the lady’s shoe department on this sofa with Noah and Abby while Stephen, Joy and Shirley were off doing their needed thing.

As we were sitting there this young man (around 15) came up and sat down in the chair across from us, played on his phone and generally waited for permission to join his family… (like we were doing). One thing I noticed about him was he was a walking advertisement for Nike. From his hat, shirt, shorts, socks and flip-flops everything had a Nike emblem or saying on it. We couldn’t see is underwear, but I bet it was Nike also. After he left, Noah and I referred to him as the Nike guy.

Are you having second thoughts on spiritual gifts? I’ve been saying – that folks need to discern their particular gifts and be supported in exercising those gifts. We have done gift discernment inventories. We have offered gift discernment workshops over the years. And sometimes that’s been terrific. Some people have named a gift they hadn’t recognized and claimed a ministry that had their name written all over it. Hallelujah!

But sometimes, as things tend to do, this has gone sideways. Guess what, the dishes need to be washed. The trash wants taking out. The notes for the meeting need to be taken and distributed. Or someone has to ask people for a pledge for next year’s budget.

Sometimes there’s stuff that just needs to be done. Sometimes we need to walk the Nike boy into our midst and say “Just Do It!” Sometimes – well, really, all the time – there are mundane things that need to happen so the group, family, church, etc. can function. Someone has to show up to unlock the door. Someone has to take the food donations to the food bank. Someone has to count the offering.

Sometimes, in fact, it may even be good for us to do stuff – service – that has no glory in it, that isn’t really fulfilling for us. We do it because it needs to be done. We serve, whether the task at hand is exactly our thing or not. And maybe we even forget about ourselves while we’re doing it – which may, in the end, be at least part of the point of service in the first place.

Dear Lord, grant me grace so to lose myself in service to you that I may be truly found. Help me get on with the task at hand even if you have to send a Nike boy to sit in front of me as a reminder to just do it, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

PS: Put another cabinet together last night – same results. I told Shirley NEVER let me do this again. This one is even glued together in places where glue should not have to be. I am still amazed by people who can do this – I honor you!

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Wag More… Bark Less!

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

Today we pulled up behind a vehicle which had a sticker that read “Wag More… Bark Less!” I thought to myself “Self, that is a very true statement which we all need to be reminded of from time to time.”

Some of our members who lived down the street from us in Asheboro got a beagle. I don’t know if all beagles are like this or not, but this beagle seemed not to be able to control his barking. It appeared to be an involuntary response to something it smelled and liked or didn’t like. Either way, he would put that big old nose to the ground and take off barking at every step. Every once in a while you would hear him go by like a fire engine on the way to a huge fire.

(A funny sideline to this dog is that he would go around the neighborhood and steal clothes off clothes lines and bring them home. He was particularly interested in ladies bras… don’t know why… never asked, but they had quite a collection.)

In our world today there seems to be way too much barking and very little wagging. It, too, seems to be almost to the stage that we have done it so long with so little consideration to alternatives, that it is an involuntary bark that just automatically jumps out to defend, belittle, or set someone else straight about the matter before us. And it may not even be our matter we are barking about.

Have you ever noticed a couple of dogs standing toe to toe on different sides of a fence barking as hard as they can – each one trying to out alpha the other – to scare the other into submission? Many times if someone doesn’t break them up – bring one of them inside – they will keep on till they either lose their voice or fall over dead.

What makes you bark? Something must, because there is a lot of barking going on out there. Have you considered if your barking is appropriate… if it is needed… if it even matters… that you are doing more harm than good by barking your way through life.

What makes you wag? What makes you so happy that you can’t help but wiggle? I think that is why I love happy dogs. Saturday we returned from a week’s vacation at Myrtle Beach. Stephen and Joy boarded their Golden Retriever, Rascal, at the kennel. When Stephen went to get him they couldn’t get that tail to stop wagging, and Rascal stayed close to Stephen all day. He was glad to be celebrating his family being home together again.

Celebrate that which is important: love, life, family, faith, everything beautiful, peace, joy, hope, health, happiness, friends…. wag, wag, wag!!!!

Keep the barking to a minimum. It interferes with your wagging. Wag much more. Bark a lot less. Our dogs teach us to wag more, bark less, never stop playing, be loyal and faithful, be quick to forgive and love unconditionally.

Grace and Peace

Steve

Filed under: Church, Devotions, Faith, Families, Fathers, Friends | Tagged: Bark | 1 Comment »

An Open Letter To Dr. James Howell

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Dear Reverend Dr. Howell and the members of Myers Park United Methodist Church.

I retired as a UM pastor on July 1, 2013 (at annual conference). Someone asked my wife, Shirley, and me where we would be going to church? Jokingly, I said for the first month we will be attending the “Church of The Holy Comforter.” Some caught it – after 40 years of preparing for worship, liturgy, sermons, prayers, etc. for the first month in retirement we were going to pull the comforter up around our neck on Sunday morning.

Well, we didn’t do that. I have subscribed to your podcasts at Myers Park for over a year now, and participated in your worship every week. James, I love your intellect, creativity, cutting edge thinking, and your love for what you do… introduce us to Jesus and help us walk along side him. Shirley and I joked about going to the church of the holy comforter, but we ended up finding Holy Comfort, Godly Challenge, and Spiritual Inspiration as we participated in the worship every Sunday morning at Myers Park via my computer.

I want to take the time to thank the people of Myers Park, clergy and laity alike, for your vision to intentionally reach out to include people all over the world in your worship every Sunday morning. I hope you realize how powerful and far-reaching your worship service really is… it literally reaches around the world.

To all of my friends, Facebook, church, family or otherwise, I invite you to listen to the Reverend Doctor James Howell by podcast each week. Just google Myers Park UMC in Charlotte, NC and subscribe to the podcast of sermons. If not there, go on iTunes, do a search for Myers Park and sign up there. These will come to you on Tuesdays.

For all of my friends who oversee church websites, I invite you to examine the website at Myers Park UMC. All should include what they offer. I remember getting a call one day at church. The person on the other end of the line said: “I saw your web site and I will NOT be coming to your church. You have pictures of events on there from 2009 presented as if they are current (2012). Nothing is up to date – calendars, sermons, bulletins, newsletters.” I don’t know if this person was a website salesperson or not, but he did manage to make me feel bad about our site. It was not touching people like the website at Myers Park does.

Take a trip to Myers Park on the internet. Spend some time walking through their church and mission. Pay particular attention to Jesus speaking and working through that church. And finally, know this – that can be your church website if you will get caught up in intentionally drawing people to the love of Jesus (you proclaim each Sunday) through how you present your love of Jesus through the web-site.

You, too, can become the Church of The Holy Comforter – touching people with the Holy Comfort of God.

Thank you Myers Park. Thank you James.

Grace and Peace

Steve

PS: I am not saying stay home and watch James in your PJ’s. I am saying watch his podcast during the week. It will comfort, challenge and inspire you. As it does, bring that inspiration to your own website and mission.

Let me ask for you to respond to this blog by saying where you are as you read this blog or as you watch Dr. Howell’s podcast. Let’s see how far the reach is. Forward to people so that this travels around the world.