Freedom

On July 2, 1776, the 2nd Continental Congress meeting in the city of Philadelphia voted on a resolution that had been brought from the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, Virginia. Within that resolution was the sentiment that the "United Colonies" were in actuality "free and independent states." Presented to Congress on June 7, there was debate of the resolution and also the writing of a document which would state the causes for the separation from Great Britain.

That vote created the country of the United States of America and, on July 4th, the Congress adopted what had been written by a committee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson- the Declaration of Independence. And while the American Revolution was not yet accomplished (Washington lost New York not long after this time) the statements made clear to the rest of the world the rightness of the American cause.

233 years later we still struggle to achieve many of the the goals stated in that document; "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In this time of economic downturn we often wonder how we can even consider pursuing happiness. Yet as followers of Jesus Christ we don't need to worry about such things, for we are promised in Scripture that once we accept Him and follow all these things will come to us in God's time.

True freedom is found with those who have nothing left to lose. If we are honest with ourselves we withhold something from God in Christ, something that we are unwilling to part with. And because of this we can never truly be free. It isn't until we have given all, sacrificed everything to Him, that we can be free people.

So this Independence Day let me challenge you- give it all, everything, to God.

And be set free...

Maranatha.

Virginia Annual Conference Votes

Constitutional Amendments Ballot Results:

Total Ballots 1515
Blank Ballots 7
Ballots with Votes 1508

YES NO
Amendment 1 715 785
Amendment 2 982 520
Amendment 3 537 967
Amendment 4 537 966
Amendment 5 547 956
Amendment 6 763 730
Amendment 7 548 955
Amendment 8 1040 455
Amendment 9 911 584
Amendment 10 530 971
Amendment 11 541 961
Amendment 12 544 959
Amendment 13 536 964
Amendment 14 551 951
Amendment 15 523 977
Amendment 16 544 955
Amendment 17 757 737
Amendment 18 542 955
Amendment 19 920 584
Amendment 20 547 953
Amendment 21 556 943
Amendment 22 1091 398
Amendment 23 544 954
Amendment 24 537 965
Amendment 25 539 960
Amendment 26 545 957
Amendment 27 544 954
Amendment 28 550 952
Amendment 29 547 954
Amendment 30 553 948
Amendment 31 546 953
Amendment 32 548 948

Annual Conference Time!

Well, it's that time of year once more. The Virginia Annual Conference is meeting in Norfolk this week, matter of fact they started last night (Sunday). Things really get going today though, and the big debate and vote on the amendments that has the church in a bit of an uproar will happen tomorrow (Tuesday). From what I've been able to glean thus far the vast majority of the amendments are going down to defeat throughout the various Annual Conferences in the U.S.A., with only a couple actually having approved some of them. The month of June will help to "tell the tale" as there's something like 51 conferences meeting.

As I hear (and maybe see, I'm going to try and get down there for some of it) what's happening I'll try and post what progress is being made. But, to quote my Sr. Pastor, "like a turtle moves the church of God." Sometimes I feel that we as Methodists are closer to the tail of that turtle rather than the head.

Wasn't always that way...

Maranatha.

What Church Are We?

The Book of Revelation starts as a series of letters to 1st Century churches from John the Revelator. Each has it's own problems which he mentions, or strengths which he encourages. There are folks out there who study Biblical prophecy who use these letters to pronounce that they also reflect the different "ages" of the church. And they proclaim we are now in the "final age" of the church.

It's interesting, but if one looks at the current state of denominationalism, where even the Baptists are losing members, you might think that it was true. But still there is growth within the church (the Body of Christ) albeit not in the denominational structure. There are a large number of independent churches that are seeing astronomical numbers attending their worship services, and then the people getting involved with the various ministries they offer.

What is it that these independent, often mega-church in size, ministries are offering the folks who walk through their doors. And how can we, as people familiar with the Methodist Church, adopt those things that would allow us to reach some of the unchurched in our local communities?

It's a different age. Folks aren't looking for the same things our parents were when finding a church. Have any of you found new ways to reach people for Christ?

Maranatha.

15 Months in... Where are you?

According to the government we began this journey into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in December 2007. That means we're currently 15 months into it, and it looks like things may have begun to bottom out. With that in mind I have to ask the question, "Where are you?"

Where are you personally, where is your faith community, where are your friends and neighbors? How badly has this affected all these various people in your life?

Where I'm currently serving the church council and finance committee seem to be in denial. They haven't acknowledged there's a problem yet with the church's financial picture, and have continued on as if nothing has happened. The most current information I've been able to acquire thus far dates to the end of February (check back from time to time, I'll update as I get new info). Our church leadership approved a budget for 2009 in the amount of $1,117,308 even though they knew that the pledges that had been received weren't even 90% of that amount. This made the budget line through February come to $186,218, with actual expenses at $170,135 and revenue at $151,211. Expenses were below the budget line as the staff has withheld their spending and are trying to do ministry with as little cost as possible. Even with this we aren't meeting expenses, and the congregation is being kept in the dark by the council.

Needless to say, this can't continue for very long.

The Sr. Pastor has tried to make church leadership realize they need to make adjustments and bring the congregation into the know, but to date they have refused to listen to him. So he's now worried that the church may be facing bankruptcy by the summer.

I'm curious about the rest of you out there. Are you dealing with a similar situation, or are your lay leaders taking the time to be frugal and working with your pastor(s) to help weather this storm?

Maranatha.

How Are You Dealing?

With this economic downturn. You know, the one that started in December 2007 but the administration then in power refused to acknowledge until almost a year later. How has it impacted your local church, district, or conference?

If you're like us here in Virginia there have been a few changes. Budgets are being slashed, staff positions are being cut. Even big, successful churches are feeling the pinch. People (and churches/conferences) who relied on investing in the stock market to make a buck are finding out that they've trusted in mammon. And true to form, mammon has let them down once more.

People in the pews are hurting. Jobs have been lost. Donations and tithes are down. Ironically so is attendance. In a time when people have traditionally turned to the church for comfort and solace they're staying away in droves.

Why? Why in this time of economic uncertainty are people not turning to God and humbly kneeling before Him and asking forgiveness? Is the church so out of touch with the postmodern times that folks today aren't even considering it as an option? Or is it just that the church has forgotten how to reach out to people in need? That the church is so concerned with maintaining the "institution" it doesn't have a clue how to be "The Church" Jesus wants us to be?

Questions, I know... but important ones that we'd better answer quickly. For if we don't we'll be only a memory within a generation.

Or perhaps the Revelation According to John is true...

Maranatha.

The More things Change...

The more they stay the same. Have you ever noticed that when a local church makes "changes" it tries to keep as much of what was the old in what is the new?

Case in point, the church where I'm currently serving.

The Trustees of the church decided to replace the original carpet in the sanctuary (in use since 1984) along with the pews. The carpet was starting to look a bit thread bare, and the pews were not in good shape either.

First problem- the older members of the church (that senior crowd I've talked about before) were up in arms as they felt the Trustees didn't have the authority to make this decision. There are still charter members (though not many) from when this congregation was founded in 1952, and there's still people ticked off from the construction of the current sanctuary which meant that "their church" (the original sanctuary) was not only no longer going to be used, but was actually torn down for the building of the new social hall and office wing in 2002. Add to that the crowd that had contributed for the original carpet and pews in the "new" sanctuary and, well, you can imagine the mess right now.

Second problem- the trustees have acquired carpet that they're trying to match to the same color as what was on the floor. Rather than going with a new color or pattern they want to put down what was there before. But we found out today that the company trying to do this is having trouble matching the color, etc. So we're now looking at a hold up on the carpet being installed. And the pews are coming Monday whether we're ready to put them in or not, which brings us to...

The third problem- the pews themselves. When the Trustees were looking at pew designs they had several examples brought into the building for consideration. Each was a very nice design, with varied colored wood (light to dark) on the ends. The pews that are being replaced were all painted white on the ends, giving a monochromatic color to the worship space (white and off white walls and wood work). Many of us were looking forward to a little color to break up the monotony. We found out this morning that the "new" pews will also be white in color, with the same squared off end pieces, just like the old ones. The examples that had been sent didn't look like that, but had rounded end pieces with "arm rests." Once more, trying to replace them with what they had before.

Change in the church? There is no such thing based on what I see happening here. Something as simple as carpet and pew replacement is but one example of what's wrong with the mindset of the people in charge. They don't want to change anything, with the result that the numbers of people in worship continue to drop, that there are fewer and fewer visitors because they're not being invited, and the Sunday School classes look more like private clubs than a place to learn about the loving grace of Jesus.

If we don't get our act together and learn that change isn't a bad word then we won't be here in the next 25 years.

Maranatha.