Summer Movie Tour: Star Trek

As part of my new weekly routine, and in large part thanks to Katie's new work schedule, I think I'm going to be spending Wednesdays in Indy. I'll use it as a time to finish up some work, meet with some friends in ministry and visit people that are in the hospital. What will not be a regular part of my upcoming Wednesday routine is seeing a movie; however, the last couple of weeks have been ridiculously busy and haven't been able to relax hardly at all. So, I took a couple hours this afternoon to go see one of the first blockbuster movies of the summer, which surprisingly was still in the theater.

Star Trek is the much-anticipated reboot of a series brought to us by J.J. Abrams. It certainly did not disappoint. I was talking with Katie a couple days ago about my top 3 movies for the summer, and Star Trek just booted one of those out of that lofty position. Star Trek tells the story of James Tiberius Kirk and the first voyage of the Enterprise. You do not have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy this movie, and that is probably the best aspect about it.

My assessment: Star Trek is full of action, adventure, and humor, as well as engaging the brain a little bit as well. It certainly deserved to be one of the first blockbusters of the summer. It's only real disservice is that it may have come out at a bad time. The movies that came out right after it quickly drew our attention away. The acting is not bad, the storyline is good and the special effects are incredible.

My recommendation: If this is still in a theater near you, go see it. It's worth the full evening price if you can't make it out during the daytime. One of the best movies of the summer. See it in the theater, and buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Summer Movie Tour: Year One

Katie and I were out in Indy on Monday evening to have dinner with her family. As we were getting ready to head home, Katie asked, "Do you want to go see a movie?" Given the facts: 1) I wasn't tired (in spite of it being 9 p.m.), and 2) I want to see as many movies as possible this summer, I said, "Sure!" We ended up seeing Year One. Year One is a comedy about two guys who leave their tribe in the forest (or, more correctly, are forced to leave their tribe), and end up running into a few characters along the way: Cain and Abel, Adam and Abraham to name a few. It is an irreverent romp through the book of Genesis that winds up in Sodom with all the sodomy jokes to go along with it.

My assessment: It is filled with sexual humor - anything from circumcision, to sex with the opposite sex, to sodomy appear to be fair game. However, it wasn't so abrasive that it made me walk away shaking my head at the inappropriateness of it all. It certainly was inappropriate, and I'm not sure if this is one that I would buy down the road. But Jack Black and Michael Cera are absolutely hilarious. Their delivery of some of the sex-related jokes certainly eases the abrasive nature of them in the first place. In spite of all the sex humor, there is no nudity in the movie, which also makes it a bit more bearable as well.

My recommendation: I'm not too sure what to say here. I really did think it was funny, in spite of the inappropriate sexual humor. Black and Cera were certainly cast well in these roles, and I think if it hadn't be them, I wouldn't have laughed nearly as much. If you can put your waders on and get through the muck, it's worth seeing, but I would wait until it came out on DVD to see it.

Strength in Weakness

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, July 5, 2009. The text for this week's sermon is 2 Corinthians 12:2-10.

How many of you have had somebody in your life that just rubs you the wrong way? The kind of people that you try to avoid when you see them at the grocery store, or you always cringe when you see their name on the caller ID? The ones where more often than not you hit “Ignore” rather than “Answer” on your cell phone? I’m not looking for any names, especially if they are sitting in the sanctuary this morning. But you know who I’m talking about. Of course, nobody knows when he/she is “that person” because if they did, they would probably be more intentional about not being “that person.” When I was in seminary, we had a special term for people who just rubbed us the wrong way – “spiritual sandpaper.”

Sadly, after selling tools for five years, I know more about sandpaper than I would like. In fact, by the grace of God, I’ve probably forgotten more about sandpaper than a lot of people would ever want to know. There are hundreds of different types of sandpaper. There’s the full page, half page, one-third page; there’s paper for belt sanders, orbital sanders, pad sanders, drum sanders, 3-D sanders, corner sanders. Then, within all that, there are different grits. I’ve seen anything from 36 to 500 grit. You name it, and there is probably sandpaper for it.

There is sandpaper that is so rough that it will take the skin off your arm in one swipe; trust me, some of the people I worked with were jerks sometimes. There is sandpaper so smooth that will take paint off of something without leaving a scratch. And there is everything in between. Are you following me here? There are people like that in our lives. There are some that rub us so raw that we are hurt, and there are scars in our lives that remain for quite some time. Have any of those in your life? There are some who have such a gentle way of talking with us that it doesn’t hurt a bit, even if what they are saying is difficult to hear.

In any case, these people serve as a type of spiritual sandpaper in our lives. They work on us, rubbing away the rough edges in our lives. Sometimes it hurts more than it does other times. But it’s necessary. Scripture talks about the refiner’s fire. Isaiah 48 talks about the people being refined, being tried in a furnace of affliction. God’s motive in exiling the people to Babylon wasn’t simply to punish them, but to refine them in the fires of affliction.

I did some reading on refining metal this week. I know, I know, sounds incredibly exciting. But I wanted to understand what this process looked like. There are a lot of different ways to refine metals, but in all of these processes, the common denominator is that they are attempting to get rid of all the impurities in the metal. There are chemical processes, and some that use electricity, but the most common way of refining metal, even today is by fire. The metal is heated up and the impurities are separated from the metal. This is certainly the process that was used in Old Testament times, and it is a good metaphor for our spiritual lives as well.

As we read through 2 Corinthians, we find out that Paul had a similar experience in his life. In verse 7, he talks about there being a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan in his life. Scholars debate as to whether this was some kind of physical ailment or opponents to his ministry or psychological problems that Paul was dealing with. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that there was something in Paul’s life that was serving as a type of spiritual sandpaper. It was there, he says, to keep him from being conceited about these revelations that he received from God.

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is addressing some of the deceivers who had followed him into Corinth. These people were troublemakers in the early church who taught a different doctrine than Paul and the other apostles. They were spreading rumors about Paul and really just giving him a hard time as he was trying to do ministry throughout the Roman Empire. He points, not to the successes that he has had in ministry around the empire, but to the struggles that he has faced so that the gospel would be shared. He shares this list of all he has gone through for the sake of the gospel.

In the Roman world boasting was not seen as a bad thing. If someone did something good, and they wanted everyone to know about it, they would boast about it. People would listen and be in awe of their accomplishments. However, Paul didn’t see things that way. Everything that Paul did was for the sake of the gospel. All of the good things that happened were not because of Paul directly, but because of God working through Paul. Paul knew this, and accepted it. He knew that the message of the gospel was counter-cultural and that there would be repercussions for sharing this message, and it is these repercussions that he shares with the reader in chapter 11, not the successes. And this discussion spills over into chapter 12.

Paul recognizes that his true strength is not in the amazing deeds that he accomplished by himself, but what God did through him in his weakness. He isn’t boasting about sharing the gospel all over the Roman Empire. He’s not boasting about starting churches throughout the region. He’s not boasting about bringing a young man back from the dead. (In Acts 20, a guy goes to sleep while Paul is teaching, falls out of the window and dies. All the more reason not to fall asleep during the sermon on Sunday morning.) No, he’s not boasting about any of this. He is boasting in the fact that God has worked through him, in spite of his limitations.

Anybody ever feel limited? Anybody ever feel like God can’t work through you? Ever feel too young, too old, too uneducated, too inadequate for God to work through you? So did Paul. Remember, Paul persecuted the early Christians before encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he was going to persecute more Christians. Paul may have been well educated, but one of the accusations that the false prophets had against him is that he wasn’t a very good speaker. Paul doesn’t deny this accusation. He may not have been a great speaker, but he didn’t have to be because God was working through him.

You don’t have to feel inadequate when it comes to sharing the gospel because God is working through you as well. And don’t say, “God can’t [fill in the blank].” Excuse my poor English here, but God can’t nothin’. Anytime you hear yourself say, “God can’t…” I want you to do me a favor. Take your right hand, hold it up, and put it over your mouth before you finish that sentence. God can’t nothin’. The simple truth is that we are inadequate when left on our own, but God is working through us. And God can’t nothin’.

Paul pleaded and pleaded and pleaded with God to take away whatever it was that was bothering him, but God never did. Because God can work in us and through us despite whatever limitations we may have. But we have to let Him. What was God’s reply to Paul’s pleas? “My grace is sufficient for you.” We have to rely on God’s grace to get us through the difficult times in our lives. We have to rely on God’s grace to deal with those who are the 36 grit spiritual sandpaper in our lives. We have to rely on God’s grace to work through our inadequacies. God’s grace is sufficient for you. Where you think you are at your weakest is where God can work the most.

Anybody know that the #1 fear in America is? Public speaking. Did you know that I hate public speaking? My heart starts racing. I’m worried that I’m going to stumble over my words or unintentionally say something embarrassing. Or even forget what I was going to say in the first place. But I love to preach. I love to study the Word and share what it is that I think I’m hearing from God on a given week. Trust me, on the weeks when you hear a good sermon, it’s not because I’m a great public speaker; it’s because God is working in spite of my weaknesses.

So, I want to close with a few questions for you this morning. Who has God placed in your life that is serving as a type of spiritual sandpaper? I don’t want any names out loud here, just think about it. What is it that God is trying to do in your life? Where are your weaknesses, and how is God working in spite of them? What affliction is helping to purify you through the refiner’s fire right now? Think about it this week, and then spend some time praying with God. Listen for what it is that He would have you do. Pray about how God’s power is made perfect in your weakness, and then maybe get together with a couple of friends and talk about it over some coffee or tea or soda. God can work through you, no matter what your weaknesses are. His power is made perfect in our weakness. Will you let God shape you, refine you and work through you? Paul did, and I’d say it turned out pretty well. What can He do through you?

One Journey Ends, Another Begins

I haven't said a lot over the last couple of years about the frustrations and heartaches that Katie and I have had when it has come to starting a family. I guess a part of me didn't really know how to put it into words, and maybe another part of me didn't want to admit that we were having a hard time getting pregnant.

On our way up to annual conference, Katie had an appointment to see the OB to talk about girl stuff that I don't fully understand (nor do I really want to!). Basically, we weren't sure if she was ovulating at all, and quite frankly, no ovulation = no pregnancy. It is something that we struggled with while we were still in Wilmore. A part of me always figured that we would someday, whenever God would choose to bless us.

The last couple of years have been filled with disappointment every time "that time" of the month rolled around. I think a part of each one of us was trying to come to terms with the idea that we never would get to have children of our own. We would discuss adoption from time to time, but it never went very far. I think we just didn't want to admit that it may be the only option we would have.

The conversation at the OB before annual conference ended with the doctor basically saying that she didn't want to waste our time trying something that didn't work in the past, and she was referring us to a fertility specialist. We were planning on giving them a call this past week.

At annual conference, Katie was pretty tired most of the time. She had been have some trouble breathing, and felt like her heart was beating harder than normal. This scared us a little, so she set up an appointment to meet with our doctor (who is still in Fishers because we haven't found a doctor in Veedersburg yet), and told him what was going on. They decided to give Katie a pregnancy test because it fit all the symptoms. In her words, she said, "I never pass those." (So funny, isn't she? She learned it from me.)

However, five minutes later, the doctor came in and asked how she felt about being a mom. As she was leaving the doctor's office, she called me. I had been in Veedersburg working on a funeral message for one of our church members when she called, and said two simple words, "I'm pregnant." I'm not a very emotional person, but I cried. It was a mixture of relief, joy and shock all at once. For once in my life, I was speechless. I don't usually say a lot anyway, but that's usually because I choose not to do so. I literally didn't have any words, apart from, "Really?"

We have had to trust in God so much during this journey. Somehow, through it all, I always believed that God would bless us in some way. It's amazing how something we've been trying so hard to do caught us totally off guard. God is good. The trying, difficult period is over. We are going to have a baby. Now, a new journey starts. It's another one that is certainly going to try our faith, but we know that God is faithful, and we can trust in Him.

Thoughts on the Indiana Annual Conference

Day 1 - Thursday

Thursday, June 25 marked the beginning of the first ever meeting of the Indiana Annual Conference. In previous years, North Indiana and South Indiana existed as different conferences, but on October 4th of last year, they officially became one conference. This was a pretty exciting time, and a time that is challenging all of us to rethink how we do ministry.

The conference opened with three teaching sessions led by Adam Hamilton, the pastor of Church of the Resurrection near Kansas City, Kansas. I'll go into more detail about the teaching sessions on a later post, but suffice to say, it was some good stuff. I do consider myself to be conservative theologically; however, I understand the importance of being a moderate when it comes to theological discussions. I'm not one to condemn those with whom I don't agree. I think responsible, respectful and logical dialogue is crucial. There will always be differences between people. That is how we grow. I respect Hamilton for leading the way in opening up the conversations between "both sides of the aisle," and taking the best from both points of view.

Afterwards, we had our initial plenary session. Nothing terribly exciting to talk about there. This did set the tone, however, for what would end up being the majority of the discussions during conference - namely, the budget initial report. The most contentious discussions during the course of Annual Conference revolved around insurance, specifically for retired clergy and spouses, and connectional ministries, primarily campus ministries. Following a mildly entertaining laity report, we had a limited amount of time to get dinner and head over to Union Chapel UMC for the clergy session.

Clergy session was all right. There were a number of people presented for commissioning and ordination, as well as the retirees for this annual conference. Someone wondered aloud in my direction, "Why are we ordaining people in their 60's?" And as I looked at the crowd of people, there were very few that were under the age of 40. One of the things that we need to do a better job with, as clergy, is helping people answer their call to ministry at a young age. So many times, I've heard of second-career people entering into ministry much later in life because they ignored their call to ministry at a younger age.

Clergy session wasn't terribly exciting for me, apart from knowing a few of the people being commissioned or ordained, because as a provisional member, I am not allowed to vote (although, by this point, it's pretty much a rubber stamp on what has already been decided). It also dawned on me as I was sitting in the session that had I gotten through certification on time and had I finished seminary in 3 years instead of 4, I would be a part of this year's ordination class. Interesting how it all works out sometimes, isn't it? Thus ended Day 1.

Day 2 - Friday

Friday began with a Bible study led by David Bell. The focus was on stewardship, and it was pretty good. I may put up the highlights in a later post. We then had our second plenary (business) session, focusing primarily on the Transition Team report (which went 35 minutes over its alloted time) and discussion revolving around Connectional Ministries.

Here's the big deal with Connectional Ministries. Apparently, about a month ago, those representing connectional ministries throughout the state were told that the majority of the money that they received from the conference would be drastically reduced. At the Pre-conference briefing, we were told that this is in part due to budgetary concerns, but also because the local church gives at a rate 10 times more than the conference. The short notice, alongside the massive cuts, has caused quite a bit of consternation around the conference - understandably so.

However, here are my thoughts on the issue. Local churches need to take on the responsibility of maintaining these ministries. If it isn't something that the local churches support, why should the conference? Hear me out on this. I care about campus ministry. I think it is incredibly important as a follow-up to what local churches are doing in their ministry to youth. However, we cannot simply throw some money at campus ministries and wash our hands of young Christians.

The local churches need to support it. With the new conference, there is a lot of talk about grassroots and doing ministry from the "bottom" of the system up. It has to start with the local churches. If we are trying to do ministry from the bottom up, then why are we trying to mandate funding from the top down? It doesn't make any sense. And here's the kicker - Indiana is on a tithing model for conference giving, not apportionments. We give 10% of what is given on Sunday morning to the conference. If every church in the conference paid 100% of their 10% tithe, we would have $3 million more in the budget for 2010. All of the arguments and discussions that have occurred in the past month and a half would be a moot point because the money is there.

Okay, back to the review. I attended the Asbury Seminary lunch out at Union Chapel. It was great. In the past years, the Asbury lunch has always been a deli sandwich box lunch. This time, a local Italian restaurant catered, and it was delicious. Dr. Arnold was the speaker, and he updated us on the many things that are going on at Asbury, and it seems like things are going great there right now.

I spent the afternoon session watching the webcast because we got back from the Asbury lunch a little late, and I needed to rest a little. Most of the time was spent discussing insurance for retired clergy and spouses. There was a brief break in that discussion to talk about the 32 proposed Constitutional Amendments. I thought that this was going to be a long, drawn-out discussion as well, but I think the whole thing lasted maybe half an hour. The results were not released, so I don't have much to report on those. All in all, it seemed like a pretty tame discussion compared to the previous discussions on the day.

I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with dinner. I went to the Confessing Movement dinner. The food itself was wonderful; however, I had to eat and rush out of there pretty quick. I was supposed to help serve communion at the memorial service, and for some inexplicable reason, they started the dinner about half an hour late. By the time I made it through the buffet line (as my table was the last to go), I had all of 7 minutes to eat and get back to the auditorium. It was pretty frustrating to pay $16.50 for a dinner that I didn't even have time to enjoy.

Following the memorial service, there was a young clergy gathering at Scotty's Brewhouse. It was a good time. Katie and I got to meet a few people and just hang out with some other young clergy in our conference. I think, all in all, about 30 people came by for this gathering.

Day 3 & 4 - Saturday and Sunday

Saturday morning started off with another Bible study by David Bell. We had our final vote on the budget, which brought up more discussion on connectional ministries and insurance. The nominating committee reported on those who are geared up to serve in the new conference, and then we were dismissed for an afternoon of ministry and outreach.

Sunday was the closing of annual conference with the Celebration of Ministry service, during which a whole new class was commissioned, another one was ordained, and another one was seen off to retirement.

I know this has been a rather long post. But that is the basic summary of the first ever meeting of the Indiana Annual Conference, with a bit of commentary along the way. All in all, it was a good conference.

Summer Movie Tour: Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen

I managed to make it out to see one of the summer's most anticipated films - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The movie picks up a couple years following the end of the first Transformers movie. The Autobots have increased in number and have joined together with an elite and covert team know as NEST. The Decepticons have been scattered all over the world searching for a piece of the Allspark that remained following the first movie. Without giving too much away, they find it and use it to revive Megatron, who then continues to bring about his own special brand of havoc in searching for something known as the Leadership Matrix.

My assessment: While I enjoyed the movie, it wasn't as good as the original. There is a lot of action all throughout, and you certainly never get bored. The relationship between Sam and Mikayla is still going on, and there are some parts that focus specifically on their relationship, which provide about the only break from the action throughout the movie. Sam's parents are, once again, hilarious; providing great comedic relief alongside John Turturro's Agent Simmons. There were a couple of twin Autobots who were also supposed to provide some comedic relief, but aren't terribly funny.

My recommendation: I'll buy it, and I'll watch it again, but as I said above, it's not as good as the original. Obviously this is not one that is going to revolve around the acting, which is good because the acting isn't all that great. The action makes it worth seeing, but I wouldn't pay full price at the theater to see it again. Wait for a matinee or for it to arrive at the local dollar theater.

Stepping Up

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, June 21, 2009. The text for this week's passage is 1 Samuel 17:32-40, 48-50.

Last week we looked at the story of the anointing of David. What I hope you walked out of here with last week is knowing that what society thinks about bigger being better doesn't apply to what God is doing in our community and all around the world. We don't have to be a huge church to obey the will of God and make a huge difference in our community. We need to be exactly who we are, and we need to make the decision that the message with which we have been entrusted is important enough to share with those around us. Ultimately, that is a decision that each one of us has to make in our own hearts, and it's a decision that will affect our future as a congregation. And that brings us to today's passage.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but familiar passages can present a problem for us. To be fair, it's not the passages themselves, but what happens when we come across them. We have a tendency to put our brains on autopilot when it comes to a passage that we've heard time and time again. We've heard them so often that we think we've heard everything there is about them. The problem with familiarity is that it breeds apathy. I don't think it's intentional, but we tend to just shut off when it comes to something that we've heard time and time again. All that to say that the story of David and Goliath is one of the more familiar passages in all of Scripture. Even those who don't profess to be Christians and have never stepped foot in a church have heard something being called a "David and Goliath story" and they have a vague idea of what that means.

We come to the story right in the middle of the action. The Israelite army is on the western end of their territory in the hill country. The Vally of Elah, as this place was called, was an important point of entry into Judah. Whoever controlled this valley controlled the hill country. The Philistine army was camped on one side of the valley, while the Israelites were camped on the other. Every day a Philistine warrior by the name of Goliath would come out and taunt the Israelite army. It wasn't uncommon for some battles in this time to be settled between one person from each side. The problem is that all of the Israelites were afraid.

We are told that Goliath's height was "six cubits and a span," which is roughly 9 feet, 9 inches. Do you remember when Moses originally sent the spies to the Promised Land and they came back petrified because the people that were already there were huge? Joshua and Caleb were the only two that said they could take the land, and the rest were all so scared that they disobeyed God and ended up wandering in the desert for another 40 years. The Israelite army apparently forgot that story, because they were scared by the size of Goliath. The point in that story is that the people needed to trust in God to lead them, and they didn't. Yet, here we are again, a few centuries later, facing similar circumstances. Now, it was actually Saul's responsibility, as king of Israel, to answer the challenge of Goliath, but he was also very scared. So, everyday, Goliath would come down from the Philistine lines and taunt the Israelites, but they were all too scared to do anything about it. But then comes David.

David actually wasn't a part of the army. David is on the scene because he is delivering food to his brothers, and he is supposed to bring back some indication that his brothers are still doing well. While he's there, Goliath comes down for his daily taunt. David can't believe what he is hearing when Goliath taunts the Israelite army. For David, Goliath isn't just taunting the Israelites, but God as well. David can't believe that nobody has done anything about it. And he steps up and says, "I'll take care of him." And the first reaction that he gets is, "You've got to be kidding me." Word gets back to Saul, and Saul asks that David come before him. And David stands his ground. He tells Saul that he'll take care of Goliath.

And what is the first thing that Saul says? "You are not able to go against this Philistine because you are too young." Isn't that always the first comment made by the critics? "You can't do that because" fill in the blank. There will always be critics, people who look for all the reasons why we can't do something. The world doesn't need more critics, it needs more people that will look for solutions to the problems, and not reasons why the problem can't be solved. Once we get a feel for what God is wanting to do in our midst, we should be looking for ways to accomplish our task, not excuses as to why it should be somebody else's problem.

Think about this for a minute - is your first reaction to a problem looking for reasons why somebody else should take care of it, or is it to look for solutions? When somebody comes up with an idea for ministry in the community around us, are you more likely to join in and look for ways to make it happen, or are you more likely to sit on the sidelines and talk about why we can't do it? That's an important decision that has to be made. Are you going to be an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to ministry opportunities? And don't tell me that you're a realist, because, realistically, that means you're a pessimist in denial. Now, does this mean that we should do every single thing that comes up? No. It doesn't. We have to be discerning about what we do. Some things may ultimately get turned down, but not until there has been a good deal of prayer and discussion on where it fits with who we are as a congregation.

David was not dissuaded by the reasons Saul gave him. He had his eyes fixed squarely on what was important. And what was important was the fact that God would be the one who did the fighting. God had been preparing him for this moment. He wasn't scared of Goliath because he spent his youth fighting and killing lions and bears. Yeah, Goliath was an awfully big obstacle, but he wasn't worse than anything that David had seen before. And David was still there, which tells me that he had a pretty good track record in those other battles.

God prepares those He sends. God has been preparing you for something. And because God is the one that has been doing the work in you, I'd say that you are in pretty good shape. It is important for us to keep our eyes fixed on what is truly important, and to rely on the preparation that God has put us through. Most importantly, we have to remember that God is working through us. We can accomplish any task that God has set before us because He is the one who has prepared us and is working through us. David wasn’t prepared to fight Goliath because he thought he could beat the giant. He was prepared to fight Goliath because he knew that God would do the fighting through him.

When Saul finally gives in and lets David fight Goliath, he does something that many of us often do. He tried to make David fight Goliath in the way that he is familiar with fighting. Saul puts his armor on David, and gives David his sword. Now, remember last week when I mentioned that Saul was a head taller than all of the rest of the Israelites? Something tells me that Saul didn't get any shorter. Can you imagine David wearing Saul's armor, when Saul was so much taller than David in the first place? David was used to fighting in whatever he was wearing, not in a heavy suit of armor. David was also used to fighting with his sling and bare hands, not with a sword. He told Saul that he couldn't go into battle with this equipment because he had never used it before. Given time and training, David would eventually fight with a sword and armor, but in this moment, he couldn't. He had to fight in a way with which he was familiar. He had to be true to who he was.

You can probably see where I'm going with this one. When it comes to doing ministry in our context, we have to be true to who we are. We can't make ourselves be something that we are not. We have to approach ministry using the gifts and graces that God has given us. We can't put on the armor and carry the sword that other churches are using because we aren't familiar with them. What works in one context may not work in another. Once we start trying to be somebody else, we will find ourselves with a severe identity crisis on our hands, or, worse yet, we will fall flat on our faces. And nothing can lead to inactivity faster than failure.

Now, the flip side to all of this is that we can, and must, learn new and adapt our current ministry approaches. I had the honor of being a teaching assistant for a United Methodist polity class while I was in seminary that was co-taught by the seminary president and the president of the United Methodist Judicial Council. One of the things that President Greenway said in that class that really stuck with me is, "The church that got us to where we are is not the church that will take us where we need to go." He was talking about the United Methodist Church as a denomination, but I think it is very true for all churches.

The things that we did fifteen years ago will not help us reach out to our community today. The world is changing. We have to be able to adapt in order to minister to a changing world. I say this full well knowing that some people see "change" as a curse word. I'm not saying that we change things for the sake of making a change, but we do it to reach out to a broken world and bring glory to God. I want to ease your heart palpatations right now by saying that this is not an indication that we are suddenly going to switch our style of worship. I'm young, not stupid. Having said that, though, we may do some different things during worship from time to time. David didn't always go into battle with a sling and some stones. He learned, he adapted and he was victorious as long as he listened to God.

We all know the rest of the story. David confronts Goliath, and kills him. The Philistines scatter and David's fame spreads all over the land. David's story is written. It is well-known. Our story, not so much. We have before us a blank sheet of paper. We are a modern-day David, sitting at an important crossroad. The question is - will we continue to move forward, towards what God has set before us, or will we sit back and let life happen? I have to tell you, I'm not willing to just sit back. I like to sit back and relax on my own time, but when it comes to what God is doing, I'm not willing to miss out.

I came across a quote this week that I want to leave you with. "When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near." What are your dreams? Where has God been speaking to your heart? What is it that God has been preparing you for? Where has God been leading you? Do the dreams that you have for this congregation exceed your memories?