Church | The Journey

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Go Answer the Door!

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

When we were serving the church in Pleasant Garden, Shirley and Joy had a yard sale. As you know, I do not do yard sales. Nearing the end of this yard sale, a lady was browsing around the leftovers and asks this question; “Do you have anything left, perhaps inside the house?” My daughter-in-law quickly responds: “We have the lump inside.” Speaking in “womanise” this lady replied: “Oh no, I’ve got one of those. I don’t need another one.” I guess you know they were talking about me lying on the couch. And somehow without even mentioning that they were talking about a man lying on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, both of them knew exactly what they were talking about.

Today at lunch, after church, we ate at Red Lobster. Our waitress – I kid you not – was named “Krazia”. I could not believe it, but I think both parents need to be slapped. I know everyone must have nicknamed her or called her crazy.

As most of you know, the lectionary text for today was Luke teaching the disciples how to pray. Dr. Howell approached this from a very creative and meaningful way. In this text it not only talks about how to pray, but also about a neighbor coming to your door at midnight and knocking on the door asking for help. He flips this text around and places you and me, the church, on the inside of the door, and the world and its needs on the outside knocking… asking for help.

He tells the story about him and his associate walking into the sanctuary one weekday afternoon, and noticed a lady kneeling at the altar rail. She was praying, not silently but out loud. And the more she prayed the louder she got. Until she got to the end of her prayer, in which she is holding her fist up in the air, shouting at God: “God, I need some help down here”! James says we could have just knelt down and prayed with her and sent her on her way, but instead we listen to her story, we found her a place to stay, we helped her find a job, we put some friends in contact with her. In other words we answered her prayer.

Sometimes people ask if prayer works, really works. James Howell says: “It depends on if the church is listening”. He goes on to state what I have stated many, many times – that there is no reason whatsoever that there should be anyone hungry in the city of Charlotte, in the city of Winston, in the city of Greensboro, in any city in the United States of America. Because we know that the church has enough resources and enough power that hunger is a solvable problem. The problem is that the hungry, the needy, the lonely, the disenfranchised, the people who need the church are on the outside knocking, and we are on the inside sleeping – like that lump on a Saturday afternoon. We don’t hear them knocking. We don’t go to the door.

Isn’t it time we act a little Krazia and answer the door – and becom part of answering the prayers of the people of God!

Dear Lord, we thought we were the ones that were knocking and asking, but we are the church – we are on the inside. Help us to know that we are the church, and to become more like the church, get off our couch and answer the door, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

Go to iTunes and sign up for the podcast of Myers Park United Methodist Church. Usually by Tuesday afternoon you will be able to listen to Dr. Howell’s sermon.

Filed under: Church, Devotions, Faith, Prayer, Worship | Tagged: Prayer | 1 Comment »

Sing To The Lord

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Your solemn processions are seen, O God…the singers in front, the musicians last, between them girls playing tambourines.” from Psalm 68:24-3

Yesterday we were at St. Pius X Catholic Church for our granddaughter’s ending performance to this week’s camp on “Little Miss SPX Pageant.” All week long they practiced walking, talent and answering the “world peace” question. Yesterday was the two hour pageant. Abby won the prize for the “Most Courteous.” I thought that was a great award. She did a wonderful job and smiled her beautiful smile all the way through.

As we were waiting to go into the old gym, we were talking with some parents in the hallway. In jest, I asked one father if he were singing today? His very quick response was “Oh, you don’t want to hear that.”

A pastor friend of mine tells that when she was young, whenever she sang in church choirs, her father always felt obliged to tell her, “You know I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.” Then he would say, “When I was a little boy, I was invited out of the church choir. First they invited me in, and then they invited me out.” He would laugh, but he told me this story often enough for me to know it mattered to him. He would say that it freed him up to spend more time playing “kick the can,” but it had to have hurt at the time.

I think his church choir director confused worship with a concert. In her quest for perfection, she left in her wake a little boy who grew up to be a man afraid to open his mouth and sing.

In the psalms, we often hear about music. Sometimes the processions are solemn, sometimes they are joyful, but clearly, our music matters to God.

When the children’s choirs of four to six year olds sing at any of our churches, let me tell you, it is not a solemn procession. Amped up on donuts and the thrill of the moment, they wiggle and squirm on the steps in the chancel area of the church. They sing their little hearts out, many of them in tune. There seems to always be one little boy who sings real loud and very off key. They bring delight to everyone in worship, including God. They may not all be musical geniuses but they are learning that their voices matter to the one who created them.

Dear God, remind me that I do not have to be a concert musician to have my voice be beautiful to you. Thank you for allowing it to be pleasing to you, even when I make up my own notes. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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Worship Anywhere – Everywhere

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened.” – Acts 16:25

A friend tells about some years ago he was with a group from his church on a mission trip in Nicaragua. He said: “We were welcomed for dinner at the home of a member of the church we were visiting. After dinner our hosts got up and sang hymns – without hymnals or accompaniment – beautifully.”

He continues: “I was really enjoying this gift until it suddenly occurred to me what was coming next. They would, of course, invite us to stand and sing too. And what would that be, “Jesus Loves Me?” “Kum Ba Yah?” We weren’t very well prepared for such sharing because we had few hymns written on our hearts. We would look around and wonder if any of our group were choir members who could take over.”

Here, in today’s passage, Paul and Silas were singing and praying – worshipping – in, of all places, jail.

Sometimes I wonder if we’re too dependent on the idea that worship only takes place in a church building. That we have to have organs or pianos to worship. Or that we have to have hymnals to sing praise to God. Or (worst of all) that you can’t worship without a “bulletin.” (OMG!)

Suppose you had to do “take-out” worship? That you worshipped the living God wherever you were – in a jail cell, around a campfire, in a home, a hospital, or on the city street? Would you be ready? What hymns do you know by heart? What Scriptures are written upon your heart? Are you ready to pray? And, in the words of Peter, to “give an account of the hope that is in you?”

In truth, worship doesn’t happen because of a church building, instruments or bulletins (!). It happens because we trust God, because we want to seek God and need to praise God. It happens because our church has equipped us with the words and ways of worship to take with us wherever we go.

Do you have worship you can take anywhere?

Write your word across our hearts, O loving God, so that when our hearts break, your word will fall into our hearts and heal us, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

Filed under: Children, Church, Devotions, Faith, Families, Fathers, Friends, Worship | Tagged: Worship | 3 Comments »

Teach Me, Oh Lord

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…” – Hosea 4:6

At a social gathering two tables were set with a fountain of punch on each table. On one table, a sign read “NON-ALCOHOLIC.” On the other table the sign read “ALCOHOLIC.” The “ALCOHOLIC” sign was accidentally knocked off the table when someone noticed a conservative pastor go up to the table, fill his glass with the unmarked punch and begin to sip.

After drinking three glasses of the unmarked punch, the pastor made his way back to the table for another refill. The person who had been observing the pastor went up to him and asked: “Reverend, do you know what you’re drinking?” “No,” he responded, “And I don’t want anybody to tell me.”

Lack of knowledge is one thing. Resistance to learning is something else.

Many parents are attending Freshmen Orientation with their daughters and sons at many universities during the late days of July and early days of August. The president of a local university of great distinction told the incoming freshmen students that it did not matter what grades they had made prior to their matriculation at that university. “What matters most now is your openness to learning and your willingness to take advantage of every resource this university offers for your advancement.”

There is relevance here for everyone. The knowledge we reject is far more critical than the stuff we don’t know. Life itself is a laboratory, and life holds each of us responsible for everything vital that we refuse to learn.

Teach me thy way, oh Lord. I want an “A” in openness to all ways of learning in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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James and Paul’s Conversation

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” Excerpt from James 2:14-26

Often parts of the Bible seem to contradict one another. A Seminary professor suggested we think of them as being in conversation. Tonight I want to mention that the short book of James is always having a conversation with the letters of Paul.

Paul emphasized the importance of faith. He reassured us that we do not have to earn our own salvation by our own good works. We can receive God’s grace as an undeserved, unearned gift.

James shoots back in the conversation with a warning. Don’t use your faith as a “get out of jail free” card. You still have to do good things in the world, and faith alone won’t do it.

Which one of these guys is right? I think they both are, and together they make for a rich conversation.

Paul is right to remind us that we don’t have to earn God’s love. We really can quit trying to be perfect. Jesus came for the imperfect people. He can save us, even after we have done terrible things. Everybody gets to grow and change.

And James is right to remind us that how we behave really matters to God. We can’t just pray for the homeless to enjoy life in heaven. We also need to think about their shelter and food in the here and now. What kind of faith would ignore people’s suffering?

Paul gets more airtime in the Bible, with all his many letters. So today, let’s give James the last word and let his challenge fill our prayer.

Dear God, you are the giver of faith. So when my belief is unsteady, lead me to concrete work I can do on your behalf. I want my faith to be alive, so rather than fixating on that faith, let me do the practical work and service that will draw me closer to you, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

Filed under: Church, Devotions, Faith | 1 Comment »

The Royal Baby

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

As I begin this devotion today, Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, has arrived at the hospital, St. Mary’s, and is in labor. Soon there will be the event many people have been waiting for, the birth of the royal baby… the one who will be third in line to the throne of England. At this point we know not whether this baby will be Prince Noah or Princess Abby. But we do know that everyone is excited about this very special event.

You know what gets me is that this child has done nothing. It is just being born into a family, and that family happens to be royal. And that royalty makes this child special.

George W. Bush and I agreed with some things and disagreed with others. But, being the good Methodist he is, he cared about the children with his program called “No Child Left Behind.” Even though it didn’t work and was never funded, the concept was right on target. Every child should be special. No child should be left out or left behind.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the news reporters lined up outside the hospital when your child was born? When every child was born? Saying to every child “You Are Special! You Are Royalty! You Are A Child of The King!” And what if we treated each child as a child that would one day inherite the throne? Can you imagine how the world could be changed if we would treat each child as a prince and princess, and do all that we could to make sure that they were given all the advantages of being raised as a child of the King.

Guess what? Each child already is a child of the King of kings, and therefore each one should be treated as royalty.

Grace and Peace

Steve

Filed under: Children, Church, Devotions, Faith, Families, Friends | 1 Comment »

Good At Grieving

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation to wailing…” – Amos 5:16

“I’m getting good at this,” a parishioner said. “I don’t want to be good at this.” Someone shared with me that over the past year, two close family members and a friend had died unexpectedly, and we were planning yet another funeral. Funerals are not the kind of thing that most people, with the possible exception of morticians and ministers, want to get good at.

We may not have professional mourners for hire as they did in Amos’ day, but there are people who’ve been through so much grief that their amateur status is definitely in question. What I notice more often than not, at least in the church, is that the saints who have become skilled at lamentation also tend to have become skilled at other things: gentleness, generosity, commiseration, comforting. They’re the ones who have that special look in their eyes where they let you know they feel bad for you without pitying you. They’re the ones who can hug you without creeping you out, even if you normally dislike hugs from strangers. They’re the ones who can say things that would sound like platitudes coming from anybody else.

It’s not the kind of thing anybody wants to be good at, but thank God for the people who are.

Dear God who grieves every death and who mourns the fall of every sparrow, you knew this pain before any of us felt it. Don’t give us the opportunity to become TOO good at lamentation, but grant that every grief we bear might show us how to help others bear theirs, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

PS: We had a scheduled time with TWC for tomorrow morning to fix the DVR box. Guess what???? They came by a day early!!!!!!!!!!!

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

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’ But she said to her, ‘Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?’ Rachel said, ‘Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.'” Excerpt from Genesis 29:31—30:24

Have you ever noticed that what people really want is respect? The mandrake of respect. They can put up with poverty, but can’t live without respect. They can put up with not being recognized for their labor, but not live a minute without respect. When Rachel and Leah squabble about adultery, they are saying something more than they no longer like each other. One is saying to the other. Enough. “R E S P E C T, find out what it means to me,” as only Aretha Franklin can sing it.

Everybody has a breaking point. Your spouse can leave the towel on the floor 99 times and the 100th time you declare the most intimate of catastrophes. Your child can throw 15 tantrums on Wednesday only to be screamed at for the first one on Thursday. Everybody has a mandrake. The shrinks like to call these things triggers. Don’t you love gun metaphors?

War will stop if we learn how to give respect. Street crime will decrease if young men find someone who understands that they don’t really like school and that they need a little respect. And as St. Francis fully understood, you need to notice to be noticed, love to be loved – and respect to be respected. Respect is the avant-garde of issues, the early soldier on the field. It is not the rear guard of matters. Take my husband, but for God’s sake at least leave me a mandrake.

(mandrake: a Mediterranean plant of the nightshade family, with white or purple flowers and large yellow berries. It has a forked fleshy root that supposedly resembles the human form and was formerly widely used in medicine and magic, allegedly shrieking when pulled from the ground.)

Dear Lord, whatever happens between us and our friends and family, let it issue in respect, first given, and then received. We know you will take it from there, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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We Need the Freshness of God’s Breath

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

“After forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.” – Genesis 8:6

I can only imagine how exhilarating that moment must have been. Noah has been cooped up in a big boat with a lot of smelly animals (and people) for a very long time. It’s raining cats and dogs outside, while the camels and geese and mongooses et al. are assaulting Noah’s five senses in ways that only a pig farmer from the down east could appreciate.

Suddenly the rain stops and Noah bolts through the pens and roped-up animals, avoiding bites and scratches as best he can, and finds his way to a small portal (the first vehicle’s sun roof) where he sticks his head out, basks in the sunlight, eyes closed, chin raised, breathing deeply the fresh air. This is a moment that erases the boundaries between the physical and spiritual. God’s ruach, God’s breath, is present with Noah like never before.

As I write this I remember when Steve Tucker installed new windows in our Greensboro home. The old windows were either falling apart (in the attic) or stuck due to occasional paint jobs through the years. With my allergies, I am not one who loves to throw open the windows and breathe that fresh air. I use to be before I got all weird. Shirley loves to open those windows and let in all that yellow stuff, along with the fresh air. I like to breathe air that has already been “conditioned” by a large machine that resides in the back yard and is connected to the house by the large pipes called ducts.

Now, I would love to take that deep, deep breath of God if I were on or in a running mountain stream in early Spring or Fall, and reclaim my status as a child of nature and as a child of God. In that climate I would experience the freshness of God.

I am afraid that there are too many people like me in this world – people who allow the allergies of our lives keep the windows closed tightly on God’s freshness. I read the newspaper, listen to the never-ending new and opinion programs. In all of them the story is told of how stale the air in our world has grown. Look at how we see each other, treat each other, and push forward only our own agenda, whether it has anything to do with God or not.

It is time for all of us to open our windows today, both of home and soul. Take a long, deep breath. Look through the SON roof and see the Dry land is on your horizon. God can and will change this world through us if we breathe in God’s freshness and then share it with others we breathe out to the world around us.

Dear God of rain and dry land, may your wind lead us home, may your breath fill our lungs with pleasant odors, and may your spirit offer us a new and hopeful future, may your love make us know we are one, in and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Steve

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Walk A Mile in My Shoes

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Dr. Steve Martin

Steve & Shirley

I have fought in a war, spent four years in the Marine Corps, forty years in the ministry in the United Methodist Church, dealt with all sorts of people in all sorts of dire circumstances and situations. I was raised in the church by parents who were called by God to be in ministry and who believed I was called to ministry, as well. I have watched my parents and Shirley’s parents both die and took part in their memorial celebrations. I had two nephews drown in a farm pond when they were seven and nine.

My parents being in ministry we moved many times to all sorts of places. My dad had to leave the ministry because my mother was sick and he could not pay the bills. It even got so bad at one time the Salvation Army brought my brother and me Christmas presents (one each). In moving so much we had many friends but very few close friends. I spent twelve years in college, seminary and graduate school.

I am married with one son, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. I love my wife and am faithful to her. We keep our grandkids almost every weekday.

I am a recently retired United Methodist Minister. I love the Lord and believe we all should grow in the likeness of Christ, love everyone as we would a brother or sister, and treat each other as we would want to be treated.

I have mentioned this long litany of my life’s circumstances and relationships because all of this has gone into making me the person I am today. If one or more of these had been different I could be speaking from a different perspective.

With all my life’s experiences I still cannot truly walk in someone else’s shoes… I cannot experience their life. I can read about them, talk with them, see documentaries about their life and cultural situations, but I cannot really understand them fully until I live their life.

Eric Holder, the United States Attorney General, explained this in his recent speech to the NAACP, when he said that as a young black college student in Georgetown he was running because he was late for the start of a movie when he was stopped by a young police officer. I probably would not have been stopped… none of us white persons would have been stopped. All black people, however, understand why Eric was stopped, they might have been stopped, and they know why.

Tonight, please take the time to consider what made you who you are today. But more than that, let us get ready for a little more discussion tomorrow night about how some/many black people experience life in the U.S.

Grace and Peace

Steve