Author: pastorlynnmalone

Making a New Connection…

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It’s official now. 95 congregations disaffiliated from the Louisiana Annual Conference on May 27, 2023. That number is in addition to 67 congregations that disaffiliated at previous sessions of the Annual Conference. If my math is correct, that’s 162 congregations now separated from the UMC in Louisiana. According to the denominational website UMData.org, the Louisiana Annual Conference had 438 congregations is 2020. Again, if my math is correct, that means 36.98% of the congregations chose to disaffiliate. Honestly, that’s a whole lot more congregations than I ever anticipated would depart, but then again, what do I know? I left before the divorce, so…

Why am I writing about it if I left before it all started? I’m writing because there are now 162 congregations that have to chart a new future and I have something I want to say to them–JOIN ANOTHER DENOMINATION! That advice can’t be emphasized enough. I’ve already offered that advice in a previous blog, but I want to expand on the thought more broadly here.

Reasons for Joining a Denomination

It’s Biblical

I am thoroughly convinced the early leaders of the Christian Church foresaw the congregations connected to one another. Yes, the “house” churches and other groups that met were independent of one another with their own deacons and elders, but they were clearly overseen by bishops. Deacons, elders and bishops are the three offices mentioned in scripture as necessary for the functioning of the local church. The Apostle Paul, writing to his young protege Timothy, stipulates the requirements of two of the offices in 1 Timothy 3: 1 – 13, and the Apostle Peter writes concerning elders in the church in 1 Peter 5: 1 – 4. Overseers (or bishops) oversaw more than one local congregation as the church grew.

The Apostle Peter demonstrated this type of leadership very early in the church’s life. In Acts 15, we find the account of the Jerusalem Council where Peter addresses the church on the issue of Gentiles being allowed to join the church and what they must do before being allowed to join. The precedent is clear that the early church fathers and mothers demonstrated the connectional nature of the church. It is incumbent upon us, as we seek to be faithful, to join our local congregations to the larger body of Christ through a denomination.

It Promotes Accountability

Joining ourselves to a denomination promotes accountability in two primary ways. First, there is accountability to doctrine that is outside ourselves. Independent congregations are free to formulate their own doctrine and can sometimes go off the rail in its teachings unless there is considered doctrine developed over time and with the debate and input of centuries of theological reflection. Imagine for a moment, an independent local congregation whose theological foundations could change on the whims of a new pastor who was not sufficiently vetted (more on this later).

Secondly, joining a congregation lends accountability to clergy through credentialing, training, relationships and more. Almost all denomination have a vetting process for its ministerial candidates, and required continuing education for ordained and licensed clergy. Have those processes always worked out as desired? Of course not! People lie. People change. Systems break down. Loopholes develop. Leaders don’t do their work. There are many reasons bad clergy “slip through the crack,” but that doesn’t mean that a system in place is better than not having a means to hold clergy accountable and help them grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus.

Sure, an independent congregation can hold their pastor accountable by firing them, but it can too easily happen a second time or a third time without the broader process of clergy training and credentialing that most denominations offer. That system is firmly rooted in the doctrines and beliefs expressed in the denomination’s published catechism. It is the most beneficial way to insure that a local congregation is led by competent, trained clergy.

It’s Wesleyan

Every one of the disaffiliating congregations has a rich history in the Wesleyan tradition. John Wesley could never have imagined a time when his churches were not connected in some way. Don’t think for one moment that the United Methodist Church has the market cornered on Wesleyan connectionalism, though. There are a large number of denominations that find their roots in the Wesleyan movement. The Wesleyan Church, The Free Methodist Church, The Church of the Nazarene, The Salvation Army, the newly formed Global Methodist Church and my chosen home, The Evangelical Methodist Church, are among them. Each of these denominations are firmly rooted in Wesleyan-Arminian theology and operate with a “connectional” polity, much as the United Methodist Church does.

Additionally, there is the Congregational Methodist Church and the Association of Independent Methodists, although I find it a bit of an oxymoron to say “independent” Methodist or “congregational” Methodist. That just seems to be outside the vision John Wesley had for the movement from its infancy. That fact notwithstanding, it is important for a congregation to consider its rich history as it charts its path forward. How will that history be preserved in the best possible manner? By joining itself to another Wesleyan denomination.

For broader research on denominations rooted in the Wesleyan tradition, please take the time to check out the Global Wesleyan Alliance and also the World Methodist Council. Their lists of member denominations and associations will give any congregation a starting point in choosing a new place to connect like a true Wesleyan.

Pastoral Succession

As I’ve previously written, it’s not a matter of if a congregation will need a new pastor, but when will a congregation need a new pastor. Every congregation will go through a pastoral transition (some former UM congregations will do so sooner rather than later). When that transition occurs, being part of a denomination will provide a process and a network for new pastoral selection. A process and a network are what is important. Having a formal process in place will not guarantee a congregation a new pastor, but it certainly gives a congregation a tremendous advantage in identifying and calling competent and trained clergy.

Don’t Be a Loner

So, there are my four reasons for former UM congregations to join themselves to another denomination. There are others, for sure, but these are sufficient for consideration as a congregation moves forward into its new reality, and here’s the reality: Who you are is not who you were. The question is: Who will you be?

As each of the 162 disaffiliated congregations from the Louisiana Annual Conference went through an established discernment process to reach that point, a subsequent discernment process is necessary to determine how they will live in the future. I know some have already chosen their new home. Wonderful! For others, they are choosing to remain independent for now. Let me encourage those congregations to only let it be so for a season. It is not unwise to do so, but to do so for more than a year is to run the risk of losing the rich Wesleyan heritage of the local congregation. That would be a tragic result, indeed!

Questions or concerns? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’ll be happy to share about my experience with the Evangelical Methodist Church, and to help you discern if this might be where God is calling your congregation to connect. In a future post, I’ll be sharing the reasons I chose the Evangelical Methodist Church as my new home. Hope you’ll come back and read again.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Oh, I Want to Go to Church…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 2 Comments

Church. It is a changin’! So say the statistics published recently by the Gallup organization and reported on Churchtrac.com. According to Churchtrac, attendance at regular weekly religious services has fallen consistently in the 21st century, from 32% in 2000 to 20% in 2022 (view chart here). That’s a fairly precipitous decline in such a short period of time. Yes, I know, Covid-19 happened (and the pandemic may have accelerated the decline), but the decline started long before the pandemic, so let’s not blame it all on that.

And, we wonder why our culture is in decline! Yes, the culture is in decline. I invite you to change my mind. When I say the culture, I mean the American culture. Seriously, can any of us say we are better off than a generation ago? It has always been the desire of one generation to leave a better world for the next generation (you know, your children and grandchildren). I’m not so sure that we ( I mean my generation–I was born the last year of the “boomer” generation) will be leaving our progeny a better world. I think the decline in church attendance is one of the primary reasons why. What do I mean?

We haven’t passed on the faith to the next generation. We (I mean my generation) have lost our perspective when it comes to faith formation. According to Barna Research, Boomers had the highest drop off rate in returning to worship post-Covid at 22%. I don’t mean to bore you with numbers, but research shows our failure in passing on the faith. I can hear the words of Deuteronomy 6 in my ear:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The primary place of faith formation is in the home, but we need the church (and we need to go to church) to be reminded of who we are and Whose we are. We need to go to church to remind us that we are connected to something greater than ourselves, to remind us that we are not the center of the universe (and neither are our children or grandchildren). We need to go to church to experience the transcendent nature of the Almighty, to remind us that morality matters and why it matters. We need a church family (yes, I said need!) for connection and community.

I know the argument that community is found in so many other places nowadays, but too many of the places people are finding community are in places where connection and community can happen without any moral compass. Yes, people have ethics and each of those communities have boundaries that define them, but too often those boundaries are rooted in activities rather than in any type of moral foundation. The morals and ethics brought to those communities come from outside those communities (generally), and my point is that the more we move away from the place that we find a moral compass, the further we drift from a firm foundation. The church, with all its faults and failures, is STILL the place we will find a moral compass and a firm foundation.

But, the Church is a mess, right? Of course it is! Guess what? It always has been. There have been (and there will always be) times when Christians individually, and the Church corporately, have failed to live up the standards set by Jesus and the Apostles (man! Am I living proof of that fact!). The Church has sometimes failed to embody its own values. Here’s the thing, though: the values survive the failures! That’s why there’s hope, and that’s why I want to go to church.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew:

Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16: 18

I take this as Jesus’ promise that the Church will not go so far astray that it becomes something it was never meant to be. Though the Church may not be perfect does not mean that Jesus is not perfectly faithful in keeping His promises. Otherwise, hell would win, and well, that’s just not going to happen!

The Church is rooted not in the failures of individuals or institutions, but in its creeds, doctrines and sacraments. These give the Church anchor, and they give we who attend regularly anchor in our lives. When we miss church (and the more we miss church) we lose a little bit of our anchor…our foundation. The more un-moored we become from the church the more the culture will drift from any firm foundation holding it together.

I believe there is still time, though, to recover our foundations. How will it happen? Not by waiting on bishops or clergy to change the world. It will happen when we look in the mirror. You and I are the Church. You and I must to be connected to one another with a common thread of faith because whatever the Church is going to be or whatever the Church is going to do, it will be or do because you and I step up and participate. You and I, as imperfect as we are, are perfectly suited to be vessels the Holy Spirit can use to change the world. It won’t happen if we’re not connected to each other.

Maybe I had to write this today because I’ve been singing this song all week:

Let’s all go to church!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Let the Contract Negotiations Begin…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 2 Comments

Judging by the volume of phone calls I’m receiving, I’d say more than a few former United Methodist churches are in for a rude awakening.

For readers who may not know (and if you’re reading this blog, you probably know), the United Methodist Church has been in a season of “disaffiliation.” What is disaffiliation, you ask? The special session of General Conference in 2019 created a path (para. 2553) for a congregation to exit the denomination if the congregation was not in agreement with the Church’s position on the issues of gay marriage and the ordination of homosexuals, and that path is called disaffiliation.

By the time the disaffiliation process is complete (December 31, 2023), as many as 15% of the congregations could be disaffiliated across the denomination. That’s a lot of congregations by any stretch. In 2020, there were over 30,000 congregations in the United States alone. You can do the math.

It is not for me to say much about the process of disaffiliation. After all, I left the United Methodist Church in 2019, so I don’t have a dog in the hunt. But, as a person who was a life-long United Methodist, I have followed the process with curiosity and interest. What I will say is that I’ve seen some questionable integrity (there–I said it!) along the way.

First, the process has not been evenly applied from Annual Conference to Annual Conference. Some bishops and Conference Boards of Trustees have been fair in applying the provisions of para. 2553, and other bishops and Conference Boards of Trustees have been punitive in its application, but this isn’t a post about that.

Second, an overwhelming majority of the congregations who have or will be disaffiliating, are actually in agreement with the Church’s official position on the issue para. 2553 addresses, which means they had to fib (wink, wink) in order to utilize para. 2553 to depart the denomination, but this is not a post about that, either.

Suffice it to say, the process (as much as I agree with congregations wanting out) is giving the United Methodist Church, and by extension, the larger Body of Christ a black eye. Church can just be messy, can’t it? And please, don’t take my forgoing reflections as if I’m a “holier-than-thou” commentator. Let me say again, there’s a reason that I’m not the perfect pastor.

What this is a post about is the number of former UM congregations that will soon discover there was a great advantage to being UM, namely pastoral leadership. As a UM congregation, there were few congregations that ever had to worry about pastoral leadership (other than if they were going to get a “good” one). One Sunday the congregation had this pastor and the next Sunday they had that pastor. The congregation may have loved this pastor and simply tolerated that pastor, but they didn’t have to worry about whether they would spend a season searching for a pastor. The appointive process of the UMC generally took care of that problem for them. It worked well for a long time. As a former District Superintendent in the UMC, I can honestly say in more recent years, maybe not quite so well. There are a number of reasons for that, but this isn’t a post about that.

So, for all you former United Methodists out there, get ready. You’re about to embark on your first pastoral search, especially if your current pastor is remaining UMC. Some of you have chosen to affiliate with another denomination in the Wesleyan tradition. Good for you! After all, we Wesleyans are a connectional lot. Not only that, but other denominations at least have a process in place to aid in the pastoral search process. It won’t guarantee that you find a pastor, but at least you’re ahead of the game with a defined process.

If you’ve chosen to remain independent, well now, that’s another issue all together. I hope you find someone on Monster.com or Indeed.com. Of course, you can check out ChurchJobs.com, or one of the other Christian job websites. Based on my experience as a Senior pastor whose primary responsibility was looking for the “next” staff person, you’ll post on one of the sites for a pastor, you’ll receive 80 resumes or applications, weed it down to two or three that are actually legitimate, and pray (really pray) that at least one of those applicants becomes your next pastor. Probably not, but hey, prayer works, so you never know.

The most likely scenario is that a congregation will go for a period with no pastoral leadership when it comes time for that pastor change. Some smaller congregations, even in the UMC, have experienced that before, so it won’t be new to them. The vast majority, however, have never been without pastoral leadership (okay…define “leadership”). One great concern I have is that too many former UM congregations will settle for the first warm body they find (even if that warm body is me!), or will go outside the Wesleyan tradition to find their next pastor. Do that and you will lose your history, tradition and (dare I say?) your identity. Okay, I confess that leaving the UMC changes your identity, but again, you know what I mean.

Let an old man offer a little advice to all these disaffiliating congregations. First, don’t settle because you’re anxious about finding a new pastor. Anxiety causes us to make bad decisions. It’s not fair to your congregation and it’s not fair to a pastor to invite him/her to come to the congregation only to ask her/him to depart a year later. Develop a process for advertising and interviewing potential candidates. Develop a network with other congregations and share information and applicants. One person might not be right for one congregation, but he/she might be perfect for yours. Use the “search season” to develop leaders within the congregation for preaching and teaching. Perhaps you’ll discover your next pastor sitting in one of your pews (or chairs, as the case may be).

And pastors, if you’re leaving the UMC with your congregation, part of your primary responsibility in the process should be to help your congregation put a plan in place for identifying your replacement. It’s not a matter of if you’ll leave, but a matter of when you’ll leave. The average pastoral tenure across denominations is less than four years. You will leave, and when you do, if you haven’t prepared the congregation for it, you have failed as a leader. Get to it! Today! Yes, there is much to tackle as a disaffiliating congregation, but you chose it, so do the work. You owe it to the congregation.

Oh, and pastors…I’d go for the three-year guaranteed contract. If a congregation is going to ask you to move potentially across the country, they should be financially committed to making the appointment work. You are, more or less (depending on the region of the country) in the driver’s seat. I know, it’s not about money, but you do have to eat and live indoors.

One last bit of advice for congregations: There may be some wisdom in remaining independent for a season, but use that season to identify where the Lord is leading you to connect. There are more advantages than disadvantages to being affiliated with a denomination. Use the season of independence to discover those advantages.

One of the places I would invite you to consider is the Evangelical Methodist Church. This is where I’ve found my new home as a disciple in the Wesleyan tradition. I would be honored to share with your congregation about the Evangelical Methodist Church. If you’re within driving distance, I’d be happy to come to you. If there is distance involved, then Zoom offers a great way to connect to share information. I’m at your disposal! Comment below for more information, or find me on Facebook and send me a message.

There are other places you can consider, as well. Here are a few: The Global Methodist Church, The Free Methodist Church, The Wesleyan Church, The Association of Independent Methodists, The Congregational Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene. There are others, too. Do your homework, but connect somewhere.

So, let the negotiations begin. I’ll be praying for all of you…both pastors and congregations. You’re in a new season of life.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Where Have You Been So Long?

/ pastorlynnmalone / 5 Comments

It’s been nearly two years since I’ve written a blog post. There are several excuses I can make for that being the case. First, Vanessa and I bought a business and, believe it or not, it is time consuming. Second, the title of my webpage is “Not the Perfect Pastor,” and I’m not a pastor anymore, so there’s that. Third, leaving the United Methodist Church was painful. It would have been too easy to process my pain and grief by expressing anger and bitterness about the state of the United Methodist Church. I didn’t want that to happen, so I refrained from posting anything here.

So, you might be wondering (you might not) why are you posting now? Honestly? Because I got an email last week from WordPress that included an invoice for the webpage. I figured if I was going to pay for a website I might as well use it. That, and I need to reestablish writing as a discipline. I’ve developed other disciplines over the past couple of years, but writing is one that I actually enjoy, so I need to do more of it. I’m also not preaching as much so even writing sermon manuscripts has been lacking as a discipline. So, I’m paying for it. Might as well use it. I enjoy writing. Why not write more? Maybe when I do preach again, my sermons will be better because I wrote as a discipline. Anyway…

A New Beginning

Today is a new beginning in writing for me. I don’t know what this post (or this page, for that matter) is likely to become. I mean, really, Not the Perfect Pastor doesn’t really fit anymore. Though I’m still FAR from perfect, wearing the pastor title is no longer appropriate, but this is the webpage I’ve paid for, so I’ll use it anyway. Even though I’m no longer a pastor, I believe I still have a pastor’s heart. I see it everyday in the work I do with the general public and with my staff. And, though I’m no longer a pastor, I’m still called to ministry. The ministry I’m called to now is not vocational in nature. Actually, it’s quite freeing to not be dependent on the church for a living. It frees a person (or at least it’s freed me) to be less subtle in speaking to the body of Christ. The love for the body of Christ still runs as deep, but with God’s provision coming from outside the Church allows one to speak more prophetically, perhaps.

Speaking prophetically. I’m certain that is one of the great needs of the body of Christ in this day and age. I don’t fancy myself a prophet, but if I sense a word from the Lord to the Church, I’m bound to speak it. It might be the only gift I have to offer the Church at this point in life. Perhaps that is how the Lord is still “calling” me to ministry. My prayer is that if the Lord is calling me to a prophetic ministry, that He will give me grace to speak in helpful ways that grow the Kingdom. I know how some (all) of the Old Testament prophets were received. If it still works the same way, I’m not relishing the call.

Oh, I’m open to being a pastor if that’s where the Lord is still calling. I’ve been in conversations with a number of churches that have disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church about serving as their pastor. Vanessa and I haven’t yet sensed the need in answering that call, but we’re open and those kinds of conversations will continue, so I’ve learned to never say never where God is concerned.

I’ve also been blessed to serve my new tribe (the Evangelical Methodist Church) by preparing informational literature for the denomination to share with UM churches that have reached out to the denomination asking questions about their future. It’s a small thing, no doubt, but it has helped to affirm the Lord’s continuing call in my life. I pray it has been helpful to others, as well. I also have the privilege of serving the EMC as a member of the Mission Status Board for a small church in West Virginia. What is that, you ask? It is a board established by the denominational leadership to give guidance to a local congregation in determining its future. Yes, those kinds of things can be done via Zoom. We do live in a changing world.

So, ministry opportunities abound, but writing needs to be part and parcel of all of them. So, I start writing again. Forgive me when I vent. Be patient when I share what I believe to be a prophetic word from the Lord. Be kind in your rebukes and rebuttals. More than anything, be strong in the Lord. He is our Rock and our Salvation. Join me in this new journey, won’t you?

Until next time, keep looking up…

Some Hero I Turned Out to Be…

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David and Goliath. We all know the story, right? By my account, I’ve preached it six times in my years of vocational ministry. That’s a lot, too, but, hey, it’s a great story. I really shouldn’t even call it a story. Calling it a story reduces it to the level of legend or myth. Perhaps I should use the word “encounter,” or “episode.” Gives more credence to the reality of the occurrence.

Either way, it certainly is more than a “story,” especially when one considers that this story has been retold times too numerous to count in books and movies and television shows. Yes, we’ve seen the story retold as football teams, big business vs. small business, bully vs. the new kid, etc. Everyone has a giant to face, and whenever, or wherever someone has faced overwhelming odds or obstacles, the metaphor of “David vs. Goliath” shows up. Even non-Christians are aware of the reference. Now, that makes it a powerful “story.”

And, let’s not even talk about how much we love an underdog story. There is something hopeful to be found for all of us when we see the underdog prevail. It’s makes us want to believe we can overcome, too. It gives us encouragement and determination. It gives us grit and perseverance. Yes, indeed, we love to hear this story retold, and we always like to believe we can identify as David, that whenever we face a giant in our life, that we’ll have the faith of David to fight through the circumstances and overcome. Hey? It happened once, it can happen again, right? You just gotta’ believe!

Looking for a Hero

I’ve preached the encounter that way, too! Yes, David is a hero. He becomes the hero for the nation of Israel after his defeat of Goliath. I’ll not recount the entire story for you here (to read it click here), but I will set the stage for you. A rather talented young shepherd boy by the name of David (the youngest son of a farmer named Jesse), has been clandestinely anointed king of Israel by a prophet named Samuel because God has rejected Israel’s first king (a man named Saul).

David soon finds his way into King Saul’s court because of David’s musical ability–David’s ability to play music soothes the mental instability of the King, so he splits time between the palace and the pasture of his father, Jesse. On one of his trips to his Father’s pastures, dad asks him to go check on his three older brothers who are serving in King Saul’s army, which has gone out to battle against the Philistines.

David’s journey to check on his brothers brings us to the Valley of Elah where for 40 days the giant Goliath has taunted Saul and his army, challenging them to send out a single man to do battle with him. No sense in an entire army perishing, right? Send out one man and we’ll settle this thing. Of course, not a single Israelite answers the challenge, lest of all the King himself.

David arrives to discover the cowardly nature of the nation’s army. He’ll rectify the situation. He’ll face the giant. He’ll defend God’s honor. He’ll become the hero. Oh, and he’ll win a bounty, and beauty (the King’s daughter for a wife) and an eternal tax exemption along the way.

We know how the story goes. David takes five smooth stones and heads to the battlefield. He encounters Goliath, employs his slingshot, lands a rock to Goliath’s forehead to disable him, advances and retrieves the giants own sword, kills him and cuts off his head. He slayed the giant! He overcame the great obstacle. He became the hero of a nation.

Now, all that remains is for me to learn the lessons of David and I can overcome the giants in my own life. I, too, can become a hero…a hero for God, even…if I can just develop the faith of David. I just want to be like David.

If I can be like David, I can face the giant of fear in my life. If I can be like David, I can overcome the worry in my life, or the doubt, or yes, even the sin in my life. I’ve heard this encounter preached this way. I’ve even preached it this way. It makes for great sermon material, too.

Lessons from David

We can learn some great lessons from David’s encounter with Goliath that make for great encouragement when we face those giants in our lives. One of those lessons comes very early on in the encounter. David arrives, and once he’s assessed the situation and determines that he can take on the Philistine, he’s immediately attacked by his own brother, Eliab. But, David doesn’t take the bait, he doesn’t let others distract him. He knows who the real enemy is. When others say he can’t, he knows he can. He knows where the real battle lies.

Yes, that’s right! I can’t be distracted by others who tell me I can never overcome the giants of fear, doubt, worry or division. I must know where the real battle lies. I must know who the real enemy is. No distractions, but sheer determination will help me to have the faith of David, and I too, can become the hero.

Another great lesson I learn is to recall God’s faithfulness. That’s what David does. When he is challenged by his brother and even King Saul concerning his capacity of overcome the giant, David recalls how God was with him when he kept his father’s sheep against lions and bears. He slew them all with a club. God was with him then, he’ll be with him as he defeats this Philistine.

Yes, that’s right! I just have to stop and recall all the times in my past when God was with me and brought me through overwhelming circumstances. I know. It’s hard to see them in the moment, but we all know how it is to look back and wonder how we ever came through a challenging time. It’s only when we look back that we see God’s faithfulness. Simply recall the positive, the victories and the challenges, and I’ll have the faith of David. I’ll face every giant with confidence, and I’ll become the hero!

Those are not the only lessons I learn, either. I can be encouraged in learning that I am called and gifted by God to do great things. All of us are, right? Certainly, David understood that he had to be himself, to use his gifts for God’s glory. King Saul tried to give David Saul’s own armor to go to the battle. David put it on, and it only took him a few steps to realize that he couldn’t wear another’s armor. He had to fight with the weapons he know. He knew rocks and slingshots. That’s what he would use.

It is such an encouragement to know that God has made each of us as unique individuals, and that He gives us permission to be ourselves. As a matter of fact, He takes all our gifts and past experiences to mold us for every battle that lies ahead of us. If I can simply master my gifts and employ them in God’s service, if I can find my “sweet spot,” then I can develop the faith of David and slay the giants in my path. I’ll be a hero on the battlefield!

Missing the Point

Those are all lies, though. At least they have been in my life. Yup! I still fight fear and worry and doubt, and every time I do, I seem to lose, no matter how much I remember these lessons from David. I can never seem to have his faith in the times I need it most. Some hero I turn out to be. Yet, I still believe the lies the preachers told me when they preached that I needed David’s faith. I believed it so much that I preached it myself…more than once!

Though I believed the lies of my own preaching, I have come to realize that David actually points me to the truth I need to discover–that the battle belongs to the Lord. That’s what David tells the Israelites, and thus he points to the real hero of the encounter. The only problem is that the Israelites miss the point. They still make David the hero. And, we still do, too.

We think if we can just be like David, if we can just have enough faith, we won’t be intimidated by the giants we face in life. Oh, yes we will! That’s because there will always be a bigger giant to face. If we were to read back further in 1 Samuel, we’d discover the nation wanted a king. Every other nation around had a king, why couldn’t Israel have a king, too? The nation rejected the Lord in favor of the tallest and best looking guy around (Saul). Saul, as their king, would fight their battles for them. He was great…until he wasn’t. He was the best of the best, until Goliath. There will always be a bigger something to face.

David pointed to that which was beyond himself–and, we know he was pointing us to Jesus Christ, who was the Lord’s anointed. David pointed out the fact that it would be God who was glorified in the victory. For the disciple of Jesus Christ, our lives are lived for His glory. Our lives are not about us overcoming our giants. That makes us the hero. It’s not about me overcoming my giants. If I overcome them, that makes me the hero, and I’m no hero. On my best day, I’m a cowering, sniveling sinner. I need Jesus!

Finding Our Hero

We are not David in the story, and our fear, worry, doubts, etc., are not our giants. They might be our idols, but not our giants. The giant in my life is SIN, and I simply cannot defeat it. Yes, David slew Goliath, but David was pointing Israel (and us) to Jesus. See, David couldn’t slay the giant of his own sin. Bathsheba lay in his future (no pun intended). David, giant slayer that he was, needed Jesus, too.

The whole episode was a foreshadowing of the greatest battle ever fought–the battle between Jesus and Satan on the cross of Calvary. It was the final battle between good and evil, between life and death, and Jesus defeated Satan once and for all. Jesus is the hero. He’s my hero. He’s our hero. What do you think he meant when he uttered the words, “It is finished” with his dying breath (John 19:30)?

Without Jesus, the battle we fight with our sin is a battle we will always lose. With Jesus, it is a battle we can never lose.

How do we win the battle? Surrender! Surrender to Jesus. That is the paradox of our faith–we win through surrender. Jesus won by the surrender of Himself to the Father’s will…to the cross. How do I slay my giants? Surrender them to Jesus. Surrender myself to Jesus.

My fear? Surrender it to Jesus. My worry? Surrender it to Jesus. My doubt? Surrender it to Jesus. My guilt? My shame? My sin? Myself? Surrender all to Jesus. He’s the hero! He’s my hero! Is He yours?

Until next time, keep looking up…

Reflections from a Windshield…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 2 Comments
My odometer after a 13-hour segment of my trip.

I recently spent 27 hours alone looking through a windshield. When you’re alone for 27 hours, it gives you a lot of time to think.

First, though, I should clarify that I didn’t drive 27 hours straight! I made a trip to North Carolina for a “Journey” session of the Evangelical Methodist Church, so the drive was broken up into three segments. On the way up, I drove a nine hour session the first day and finished the trip with a five hour trip the second day. The final day, it was thirteen hours of hard driving. I was ready to get home! Here are a few of my random reflections after those 27 hours:

1. Amazon moves a lot of merchandise!

Amazon Prime trucks outnumbered any other trucking company 3 to 1. I lost count after the first four hours on the road. No wonder Amazon is putting Mom and Pop out of business. Jeff Bezos figured out how to capitalize on our desire (need?) for convenience. Convenience is great, but Amazon won’t be reinvesting much in our local communities. We need Mom and Pop shops in the worst kind of way!

2. Buc-ee’s is a destination convenience store.

Buc-ee’s Drink Counter

If you haven’t been to Buc-ee’s, you just have to go! It’s called a convenience store, but it’s really a mall disguised as a convenience store. Or, it’s an amusement park disguised as a convenience store. I’m not sure which. Anyway, I stopped twice in Leeds, Alabama. I can’t NOT stop when I pass one. You have to try the Beaver Nuggets, and the BBQ turkey sandwich ain’t bad, either.

3. Why is there an automobile shortage?

After Amazon Prime trucks, I noticed that auto transport trucks were everywhere, and they were full of automobiles going somewhere. Someone smarter than me who understands the automobile industry would have to explain why there are so few cars on our car lots here in the south. As I made my way further east and north, it appeared as though car dealers along the east coast had greater inventories than those nearer me. Of course, I saw a good number of those transports with “Carvana” written on them. Is Carvana buying up all the used cars?

4. A person can only listen to so much Dave Ramsey.

Or any podcast, for that matter. Yes, I listen to Dave Ramsey. Yes, I live a debt free life (all except my mortgage). Yes, I think generally he gives good advice, but six straight hours of listening to Dave Ramsey gets old! And yes, he can come across as arrogant. Honestly, though, sometimes, so can I, so I give him grace. I really do need to find some other podcasts to listen to!

5. I would have made a great classic rocker!

Pandora Radio is a gift from God! Type in the artist or genre you want to listen to and “voila,” you can listen to your heart’s content. Such was the case for me and Classic Rock Radio. I’m sure there were more than a few folks who looked at me funny as they passed by with me singing along with CCR, The Eagles, The Stones and The Allman Brothers. It would have been great to be a part of one of those bands. Not sure I could rock the hair, though.

I am, however, confused as to what constitutes “classic rock.” In all the hours I listened, I didn’t hear Elvis or the Beatles. I didn’t hear Queen or Aerosmith. I didn’t hear Fleetwood Mac. Who is the arbiter of what qualifies as “classic rock”? Apparently, if I want to hear these folks, I have to tune to “Yacht Rock Radio,” and even that one didn’t play Elvis. But, then again, there’s always “Elvis Radio!”

6. Jackson, Mississippi’s roads are the most fun.

Driving through Jackson, Mississippi is like riding a roller coaster. Up and down and all around. Those roads will take you for a ride!

7. Louisiana roads are still the worst.

Jackson, Mississippi notwithstanding, Louisiana, by far has the worst interstate of any of the six states I traversed over the past week. I don’t know where our tax dollars are going, but they aren’t going to fix the interstate. I also noticed that Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are all charging in their metro areas for using their express lanes. They built express lanes and posted signage to alert motorists to what it will cost if they choose to utilize it. What a novel idea. C’mon, Louisiana. We can do better. We should demand better.

8. I have a greater appreciation for truck drivers.

I couldn’t, for the life of me, imagine being a truck driver. That’s got to be a hard life, and I’m not simply talking about being gone from home so much. I’m talking about after nine straight hours of driving through rain, heavy traffic and Jackson, Mississippi, I was TIRED! Imagine doing that day after day after day. Yup! You get to see a lot of the country, but it takes a toll on your body. And, let’s face it, driving a truck is not conducive to good health. Sitting on your duff all day and eating in greasy spoon truck stops will take a toll on you, too.

I’ll just say a big “thank you” to all those in the trucking industry who keep our economy humming. You’re the best!

9. Love’s Travel Stop coffee is better than McDonald’s coffee.

I challenge you to change my mind! I drank a lot of both over the four days I was out of town. I tend to get sleepy when I’m driving long distances (say like from Ruston to Minden, haha!), so when I’m driving alone I tend to stop and get coffee. No, it’s not the caffeine. It’s the fact that I have to DO something, and the activity of drinking and picking up and putting down the cup keep me awake. Of course, the way I see it, there’s good coffee, better coffee and the best coffee. McDonald’s coffee is good coffee, Love’s Travel Stop coffee is better coffee and free coffee is the best coffee. I challenge you to change my mind!

10. I have an absolutely amazing wife!

Our new living room after three days.

We’ve moved. Now, here’s the rub. We moved on Monday and I left town on Wednesday. That should have meant a divorce, but my absolutely amazing wife put her head down and did the work of unpacking boxes and arranging furniture and fixing a home, so that when I got back, it was like we’d lived here for months. Yes, there’s still a lot to do, but it’s just incredible the effort and love she puts into making a house our home. And, all without a single complaint (well, at least not to me).

11. Covid is basically over.

Okay, I know Covid is not over. Just typing that it is over may get me banned from WordPress or Facebook. I suppose it depends on which fact-checker is on duty the day I post this blog. Seriously, though, I was in six states over four days, and everywhere I went, from restaurants to convenience stores to churches to hotels, 90% of the people were not wearing masks, nor were they observing six foot of distance. Though, the pandemic may not be over, most people are acting like it is. That’s not a political statement. It’s a simple observation.

12. I discovered my new tribe.

Okay, so I don’t like to use the word “tribe.” I do so only because it seems to be in vogue, but I did discover that I am at home in the Evangelical Methodist Church. It was my first in-person event with the denomination since joining, and I felt completely at home. The folks welcomed me as if I’d been a part of them forever. I felt like an outsider for about ten minutes. After that, I felt as though I belonged. I’m grateful to the Lord for leading me down this path, and I’m grateful for the new friends I’ve met along the way, and I’m grateful for the beautiful hand-made stole that was gifted to every elder from the EMC in Myanmar. What a gift!

I also discovered I missed going to seminars and conferences. It was fulfilling to hear great Holy Spirit-led preaching. It was encouraging to hear what the Lord is doing in local congregations around the world, and to be led in seminars that were designed to strengthen pastors and local congregations. I confess that I was grieved when the time together came to an end.

13. I’M OLD!

I’m too dad-gum old to drive thirteen hours straight. My butt hurts! I moved more slowly each time I stepped out of my truck, and I was beat when I arrived in Ruston on Saturday. In my mind, I’m still a teenager running around Chatham, LA, but my body tells me another story, and it’s not a story I want to hear. My driving tells me another story, too, and it affirms the one my body tells me. I don’t drive as fast as I once did (that’s probably a good thing). I’m more anxious driving than I once was, and I notice that I seem to be just a tick slower in responding to other drivers than I used to be. It’s bothersome, but it’s real. I promise I won’t talk about old people’s driving again!

So, there you have my reflections after 27 hours of windshield time. There’s not a single profound reflection among them, but they do reflect how my mind works, or doesn’t work (since I’m old). I’m just passing them along as food for thought. Maybe you’ll get something out of them. Then again, maybe not.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Be Careful What You Pray for (and other random thoughts)…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

I haven’t blogged in a while. My “blogging” had become little more than a regurgitation of sermons I was preaching, and well, honestly, that seemed like a waste of time, so I let it go. Maintaining margin in life demands that we must let go of some things. Posting an edited sermon (though it didn’t take a lot of time) was one of those things I could let go without affecting too much else. But…

Since I haven’t “blogged” in a while, a lot of random thoughts have just sort of piled up, so anyone reading this will get my thought vomit as I use today’s blog for what blogging was supposed to be in the beginning–a journal. Speaking of journaling, I used to be an avid journaler. Not so much anymore. Since I started a job in the “real world,” I find it difficult to find the time to journal like I once did. It makes me appreciate in a much deeper way those persons who do live in the rhythm of a regular spiritual discipline. Cudo’s to you, I say!

Okay, so random thought number one is to confess that I found it easier to establish a pattern of spiritual discipline when I was serving in vocational ministry. I’m not sure if that is because I had more time (I seriously doubt it), or I made more time (out of guilt or a sense of duty), or if I was simply more in-tune to the Spirit and that brought intentionality. Whatever the motivation then, I am challenged more to find and/or make the time to practice the spiritual disciplines.

One spiritual discipline that I haven’t relinquished is prayer. I still pray…a lot. One thing I’m praying for even in this moment is for my friends and former colleagues in Southwest Louisiana. They have been hit hard over the past several hours with rain and tornadoes. Of course, that rain and those tornadoes is on top of the hurricanes from last year from which people are still recovering. I pray for strength and hope to fill their hearts and lives, and for the merciless insurance companies to discover some amount of mercy as flood waters recede and recovery begins.

Speaking of prayer. Yesterday, I prayed what I thought to be a bold prayer–“I’m broken…Lord, break me more.” I suppose this is confession number two, but I’ve been a bit spiritually broken lately. I won’t bore you with details, but there has been a bit of unsettledness in our lives as of late, and that unsettledness has caused me to question the Lord on not a few occasions. I have dealt with some anger. I have dealt with some doubt. I have dealt with some confusion, and if I’m being totally honest, I’ve dealt with some fear, too. I just sort of laid that out before the Lord and said, “I’m broken.” Immediately, I knew my prayer had to be, “Lord, break me more.”

Well, be careful what you pray for!

Here’s what I heard in reply:

“You know, Lynn, one of your problems is that you are confusing your wants and your needs. What you want is for Me to be an add-on to your self-centered life, but what you need is for Me to totally eradicate your self-centeredness. You also know that if I give you what you need, it’s going to be painful, and I know you really don’t like pain that much. So, as long as you waver between what you want and what you need, you’re going to continue to be unsettled. When you’re ready, I’ll give you what you need. That, too, may be unsettling, but you’ll have peace, and that’s really what you’re lacking right now.”

“What you want is for Me to be an add-on to your self-centered life, but what you need is for Me to totally eradicate your self-centeredness.”

So, as is always the case, one prayer leads to another, and today my prayer has become, “Lord, give me peace.” Confession number three, I’m a little afraid of how He will answer that prayer, too. In some ways, I feel a little like Sonny (played by Robert Duvall) from the film “The Apostle.” I said in some ways I feel like Sonny…not all ways, but I do want to shout out “Give me peace! Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me!” If you want to see what I mean, you can watch it here.

So, I’m going to just leave it there for now. It might give you pause for contemplation. And besides, that’s about all the random thoughts I can handle for now.

Until next time, keep looking up…

When the Honeymoon is Over…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

You know my friend, Boudreaux? I think I’ve told you about him before. Well, Boudreaux and his wife, Clotile, go down to St. Peter’s Catholic Church, and down there at St. Peter’s, they hold weekly husband’s marriage seminars.

At the session one week, the priest asked Boudreaux, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary to Clotile, to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

Boudreaux replied to the assembled husbands: “Well, I’ve tried to treat her nice, spend the money on her, but best of all is, I took her to Italy for the 25th anniversary!”

The priest responded: “Boudreaux, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary?”

Boudreaux proudly replied: “I’m gonna’ go pick her up.”

A METAPHOR FOR GRACE

Oh, that life were that easy, right? We all know it’s not. Those of us who have been married any length of time know that marriage is hard work. As we continue resetting our understanding of God’s grace and how we experience our relationship with God, I remind us that our relationship with God can somewhat be compared to a relationship of a husband and wife in marriage. There is the courtship stage of the relationship, where one partner “woos” the other, inviting them into a relationship. That courtship stage, when God is wooing us into a relationship with Himself, we experience God’s prevenient grace.

Then, there is the moment we say “I do” to God, when we are, by grace, able to acknowledge that God desires to have a relationship with us…we hear His voice…and we say “Yes” to Him. That moment, that part of the relationship, we experience the justifying grace of God. We experience the forgiveness of our sins, and we are given new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. As a husband and wife stand before the altar and publicly proclaim their love and say “I do” to each other, so we proclaim our love and commitment to Christ.

Something happens after the wedding ceremony, though. Yes, I know we like to think it’s called the honeymoon, and there is that honeymoon phase of marriage that everything seems to be wonderful. Of course, I can say I’ve been on an almost 40-year honeymoon, but that’s for another day. Seriously, though, we know what happens…and it’s called life. It is God’s sanctifying grace that sustains us over the long haul of life. It is His grace made real in the challenging times, in the everyday times…when life happens.

A CALL TO HOLINESS

Sanctifying grace is God at work in us through the Holy Spirit to transform us. Our journey, our spiritual journey, is a journey toward transformation. When we come to Jesus Christ and he forgives our sin and gives us a new start, that’s not the end of the journey. In that moment, Jesus does something for us. If justifying grace is God doing something for us, sanctifying grace is God doing something in us. The something He desires to do is make us holy. We hear that word “holy,” and we think, “Who me? Holy? No way.” Yet, that is the life Christ call us to.

Let me pause here and insert that living a holy life is not living a holier-than-thou life. None of us will likely ever live a sinless life, at least that’s been my experience—but that could just be me. Certainly, John Wesley taught that not only does Christ deliver us from the consequence and penalty of sin, but he also delivers us from the power of sin.

As we journey through this life, there will always be temptations to sin. There will be challenges to our faith. There will be crises that cause us to doubt. We will deal with death. We will deal with disease. We will deal with difficult people. We will be angry. We will be frustrated. That’s life! In those times, we need grace, and God gives us grace so that we need not surrender to the baser instincts of our fallen nature. Christ gives us new life. Christ gives us new hope. It is Christ who sustains us through the journey.

The holiness Christ call us to is different than sinlessness. As Wesley taught it, and we understand it, holiness is nothing more…but also nothing less…than love for God and love for neighbor. It is to love as God loves. Jesus gave us two great commandments. We find them in Mark 12: 29 – 31: “The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Holiness is about growing up in love. It is growth, and as I anticipate the coming of summer and that first ripe tomato of the season, I’m reminded that growth is a process. We don’t miraculously love as God loves. Oh, that it would be so simple. Growth is a process, and holiness is a process. Yes, there is, in one sense, where we are made holy by the work of Christ on the cross, but holiness that is lived out occurs over time. Don’t be surprised if you didn’t wake up the day after you accepted Christ living a holy life. But also, don’t be surprised if he begins a work in you, too.

C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis, perhaps the greatest theologian of the 20th century, explains it this way. When he was a child, he often had a toothache, and he knew that if he went to his mother, she would give him something which would deaden the pain for that night and let him get to sleep. But, Lewis said, he did not go to his mother–at least not till the pain became very bad. And the reason he did not go was this: He did not doubt she would give him the aspirin; but he knew she would also do something else. He knew she would take him to the dentist the next morning. He could not get what he wanted out of her without getting something more, which he didn’t want. He wanted relief from his pain; but he couldn’t get it without having his teeth set permanently right. And he knew those dentists; he knew they would start fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. Our Lord, says Lewis, is like the dentists. Lots of people go to him to be cured of some particular sin. Well, he will cure it all right, but he will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if you once call him in, he will give you the full treatment.

God’s sanctifying grace works on those problematic places…those sinful places in our lives. Conviction is part of His sanctifying work. Sure, most of us don’t wrestle with big sins…even the day after accepting Christ. You know, like murder and stealing and lying. No, what we deal with are much more subtle sins…like selfishness, jealousy, greed and envy. Those sins need transforming, too, and when we struggle with those along our journey, when they sap us of our energy and capacity to love, it’s then we need grace, and the promise of Scripture is that God gives us His grace—His sanctifying grace—to give us strength, to give us energy, to give us hope in the face of the struggle so that we move closer to the place…closer to the destination… closer to holiness

THE HARD WORK OF HOLINESS

Any relationship takes work. Whether it’s the relationship between a husband and wife, or between parents and children, friends or co-workers. If we don’t do the work to sustain relationships, they will break down and there will be distance between the persons in the relationship. In our relationship with God, it is God’s desire to make us holy. I think I’ve written before that God is not nearly as concerned about our happiness as he is about our holiness.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12: 1-2 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Roman Church, says “be transformed” (Romans 12: 2). That’s passive, my friends. Transformation is something that happens to us and in us. We can’t say, “I’m going to transform myself, I’m going to change.” We may give it the old college try, but we’ll most probably fail because it is God and His grace that does the work.

I hear you asking, “How?” What makes us holy? I remind us of the disciplines of the spiritual life—prayer, solitude, fasting, accountability.

Accountability? Let’s not blow by that one. Yes, accountability is a spiritual discipline. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must hold each other accountable to living the “holy” life-the Christian life. We are meant to do life together. We can’t simply watch a brother or sister in Christ who struggles with sin and not offer encouragement, correction and hope. Jesus didn’t mind challenging his disciples when their faith waned, and he certainly never backed down from challenging the Pharisees. That’s accountability at work, and it is a means of experiencing God’s sanctifying grace.

We know about bible study, too. There is another one without which no transformation will occur. It is the spiritual discipline of submission.

Submission is the spiritual discipline that frees us from the burden of always needing to get our own way. In submission we learn to hold things loosely. We also learn to diligently watch over the spirit in which we hold others— honoring them, preferring them, loving them.

Submission is not age or gender specific. We learn to follow the wise counsel of the apostle Paul to ​“be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21). In Ephesians 5, Paul is introducing the “household code” for the Christian, and he uses the analogy of husband and wife in speaking of the idea of mutual submission, but this submission is not limited to that relationship alone. Each of us is to engage in mutual submission out of reverence for Christ. 

The touchstone for the Christian understanding of submission is Jesus’s statement, ​“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Mark 8:34).” This call of Jesus to ​“self-denial” is simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have to have our own way. It has nothing to do with self-contempt or self-hatred. It does not mean the loss of our identity or our individuality. It means quite simply the freedom to give way to others. It means to hold the interests of others above our own. It means freedom from self-pity and self-absorption. 

Indeed, to save our life is to lose it; to lose our life for Christ’s sake is to save it (see Mark 8:35). The cross is the ultimate symbol of submission. ​Again, the Apostle Paul writes, “And being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross” (Phil 2:7 – 8).

Jesus didn’t just die a “cross death.” He lived a “cross life” of daily submission to God the Father. We, too are called to this constant, everyday ​“cross life” of submission. It is as we submit to the Holy Spirit that He does His transforming work in us and we grow in holiness by His sanctifying grace. 

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other, except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day, the little old woman got very sick, and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. “When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

“Honey,” he said, “that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”

“Oh,” she said. “That’s the money I made from selling the dolls.” 

Day after day, year after year, life happens and we make the daily choice to submit to the other, and we wake up forty, fifty years later and the love has grown deeper and more meaningful, and we discover our life in the other. Ultimately, the other for the disciple of Jesus, is Jesus Himself. We love Him and we love like Him. That is holiness. That is God’s sanctifying grace at work.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Click here for the video version of today’s blog…

Just Trying to Make a Point…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Last Sunday was Easter Sunday. I thought I had a pretty good sermon. I had three points (which some folks argue is two too many!), and I thought I was well prepared to make all three points. I was wrong. I did a terrible job making my third point (judge for yourself by clicking here), so I figured I’d use this space to make the point I wanted to make Sunday.

I should have known it was not going to be a good day for preaching when I mysteriously turned a six foot white rabbit into a six foot white monkey in my opening illustration. It was pretty much down hill from there. Oh, the rabbit that mysteriously became a monkey was the pooka from the movie Harvey, starring Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd. The premise of the sermon was a play off one line in the film–“the evening wore on” (See the clip here). Mark in his gospel uses a turn of phrase that is (to me) equally compelling–“just at sunrise” (Mark 16: 1-8).

The point? The sunrise (the resurrection) overcomes the darkness…of sin with the promise of forgiveness, of death with the promise of our resurrection, and of fear with the promise of eternal life. It was the last point where I failed to make my point (not counting the whole rabbit/monkey affair).

Here is what I said:

As the evening wore on, the darkness of death would also shadow the promise of eternal life, but just at sunrise the joy comes. The 24-hour news cycle is killing us. We hear the news, see the Facebook feeds and watch in amazement as the culture continues its steep decline. The evening appears to go on endlessly. We long for the sunrise. We wonder when will the night be over.

Are you looking for a sunrise? Turn off CNN and Fox News. Take a break from scrolling your Facebook feed, and pick up a bible. Open its pages and pray. There you’ll meet the risen Jesus, and you’ll experience the sunrise, and you’ll know a hope that never disappoints.

James Moore tells the story when The Saturday Evening Post ran a cartoon showing a man about to be rescued after he had spent a long time ship-wrecked on a tiny deserted island. The sailor in charge of the rescue team stepped onto the beach and handed the man a stack of newspapers.

“Compliments of the Captain,” the sailor said. “He would like you to glance at the headlines to see if you’d still like to be rescued!”     

Sometimes the headlines do scare us. There are times we feel evil is winning, but then along comes Easter, to remind us that there is no grave deep enough, no seal imposing enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough to keep Christ in the grave. God keeps his promises. We can’t always see it until the sunrise.

Maybe it wasn’t a bad point, but the point I really wanted to make is that the darkness of fear has overshadowed our deep theology surrounding death itself. If nothing else, the past year has shown that the church’s theology of death doesn’t extend much past the point of dying. I do have to be careful how I say this. It could too easily be politicized, and that is not my intention, at all.

It’s just that I’ve watched with some amazement over the past year as many “followers of Christ” acted as though death was absolutely the worst thing that could happen. Death, for a believer, is not the end. This life…this earthly life…isn’t all there is. The resurrection (Easter) is our reminder of the promise of eternal life.

We say in the Apostle’s Creed that we believe “…in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” The doctrine of eternal life is historic, orthodox Christian theology. Because of Easter we do not face death with fear, but with peace and with an assurance that Christ waits for us just beyond the veil that separates this life from the next one. Or, so the Apostle Paul taught the Corinthian church that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

It was also the Apostle Paul who shared his own inner conflict with the church at Philippi:

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 

Philippians 1: 20 – 25

Yes, I know that “eternal life” is more quality of life than quantity of life. I know eternal life is living a Christ-centered life now, but even acknowledging that fact should never diminish our understanding of the glory we shall one day share with Jesus Christ, Himself.

Embracing a broader theology of death doesn’t compel us to seek to become martyrs, nor does it cause us to take foolish chances with the gift that is this life, but it should free us from cowering in fear of death’s approach. The reality is that the death rate is 100%. If we live long enough everyone of us will die. And, we all know there are times when death does, in fact, come as a friend. The question becomes will we face death with confidence, hope and faith, or will we do so in the darkness of fear?

If we live long enough everyone of us will die.

Me? I’m going to chose to live in the confident expectation of eternal life because “just at sunrise,” hope dawned. Yes, I’m going to live today for Jesus. I’m going to love Him, and I’m going to love my neighbor, and by God’s grace, I’m going to love my enemy. I’m not going to hasten death (at least not intentionally), but I’m not going to live in fear of it, either.

It was April Fool’s Day 2007 and Vanessa and I had just dropped our daughters off for youth group at the church. We decided we needed our favorite indulgence, so we headed to the local Dairy Queen for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard. We had made our turn onto the Main Street of our town and as we slowed to turn into the parking lot of the Dairy Queen, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a car quickly approaching. I shouted to Vanessa, “Hold on, they’re going to hit us!”

Hit us, they did. I’m told by folks who witnessed the event that my truck flipped four times into the parking lot of the Dairy Queen. Thankfully, Vanessa and I escaped relatively unscathed with the exception of a few scrapes and bruises, but I told Vanessa later that as we were making those flips the only thought I had was, “Death ain’t no big deal.” I’ve since thought, “That’s the most expensive ice cream I never had!”

I share that story not arrogantly, but confidently…confident in the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in whom I believe. That’s the point I was trying to make. I’ll not say it’s the whole point of Easter, but it is certainly one of the main points of it. And, it’s not to say that death is not a big deal. It is a big deal, but for the believer, it’s not the only deal, nor is it necessarily the worst deal.

I’m still not sure why I didn’t make the point better on Sunday. Maybe it was the rabbit that threw me off my game…or the monkey. Hopefully, I’ve made the point better here, but if not, there’s always next Easter.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Thinking Out Loud…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

In the midst of Holy Week, with Lent winding down, I’m contemplating the season in which I consciously chose not to “give up” anything for Lent. No, the season didn’t begin with me receiving ashes. I didn’t chose to fast, or refrain from eating meat on Friday. I gotta’ confess…I don’t feel like I’ve missed that much in opting out of any particular Lenten observance. You may argue, therein lies the problem.

The observance of Lent hasn’t historically been a Protestant thing. I never knew of Lent in the church where I grew up. It wasn’t until I entered seminary that I was challenged to “observe a holy Lent,” as the United Methodist Book of Worship extended the invitation. I sought desperately to learn what this “holy Lent” was all about. It was more pronounced by the fact that in Junction City, KY, where I served as pastor during seminary that the Roman Catholic Church was literally next door. Yet, it was all still new to me.

I suppose it’s a good thing that seminary opened to door to all things Lenten because my first post-seminary appointment was in Morgan City, LA. Does anyone know where Morgan City, LA is located? That’s right. Deep in the heart of cajun, heavily Roman Catholic south Louisiana. There, almost everyone observed Lent. Sit down restaurants in Morgan City? During Lent you wouldn’t find meat on the menu on Friday. Catholic churches would have fish-fry fund-raisers every Friday. Lent was a real thing. I’ve sought to observe a “holy Lent” ever since.

Honestly, as I anticipate the coming of Easter Sunday, I think more about Christ’s call to new life, and not just to new life, but to a holy life. Too often, in my observances of the Lenten season, my anticipation for Easter was that I could have coffee once again, or re-engage with social media, or have a big, old juicy steak on Friday evening. It was about getting through Lent to celebrate what I could do once again. It was about going back to the old life, not living into the fullness of the new life.

I suppose it is for me that the Lord hasn’t called me to observe a “holy Lent,” but rather to observe a “holy life.” I rather believe the Lord has been calling me to instill the practices that constitute a holy Lent into my life throughout the year, not just for a season. It might just be that practicing fasting regularly (which John Wesley did, by the way) will take me deeper into the life of a disciple.

Perhaps I’m just over-thinking things here. Perhaps I’m convicted that I didn’t observe Lent this year. Maybe that’s what really has me thinking out loud. Perhaps it’s just that it’s Tuesday and I should be writing a blog and I couldn’t think of anything else to write about. I’m not sure what it is, but I am sure that if a “holy Lent” doesn’t lead to a “holy life,” then it’s been a wasted Lent, and I hope none of us have a wasted Lent.

Maybe I shouldn’t think out loud so much. Maybe I should just focus more on Easter. Yeah, that’s probably what I should do.

Until next time, keep looking up…