Do the Right Thing

We are beginning a new sermon series this Sunday. It is "Here I Stand: Living Lives That Mean Something." I think the purpose of the sermon is probably reflected in the title. I read an article in Sports Illustrated this week that pretty much says it all. And, wouldn't you know it, it involves my beloved Detroit Tigers. Mike Ilitch, the Tigers' owner has done something crazy this year. He has raised the Tigers payroll and lowered ticket prices. Detroit has been hit harder than most cities by the recession and Mr. Ilitch believes that the city needs a break. He says in the article that he wants a World Series championship for the Tigers (from his lips to God's ears), and he wants to help turn the town around. Those are wonderful ideas. But, Ilitch puts his money where his mouth is. He does the right thing. It seems so rare in our day and age that I just wanted to recognize it. Enjoy the article.

"G day"

We had some fun in worship today. We are in the middle of a sermon series called "Into the Wild: Living in the (Wild) Kingdom of God." Today, the theme was "Never Hike Alone." I filmed this little clip last week while hiking in Laguna. We opened worship with this clip. To see how, I used it in the sermon, follow this link. Each week during this series, we are exploring a component of our vision of "connect, grow, serve" in the context of living in the kingdom of God. It is a wild life.

"Being Right is Not Enough - Part 2"

Today, in worship, we read John 13:31-35. Jesus tells the disciples to "love one another, just as I have loved you." He then says something amazing. "By this everyone will now that you are my disciples, that you love one another." How will people recognize Christianity when they see it? Not by correct doctrine or dogma. Not my the people that we exclude or judge. But, but by how well we love one another. Love. It is the perfect cure for the saucy mouth. Love. When we think that we can say whatever we want because we are sure God is on our side, we should shut up and let our love do the talking. A wise person once asked me a profound question. Would you rather be right, or would you rather be loving. I think Jesus is telling us that being loving is more important. In fact, I think he is saying that being loving is right - it is certainly more right than being right (if you know what I'm saying).

Being Right Is Not Enough, part 1

Being right is not enough, especially if you are actually wrong. In the past week, we have seen South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson shout "you lie" at President Barack Obama during his speech to congress; we have seen Serena Williams get mean with a U.S. Open line judge after disagreeing with her call. And we have seen Kanye West interrupt Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in order to complain that Beyonce did not win the award. The one saving grace in all of these events is how Taylor Swift kept her composure, and how Beyonce demonstrated incredible class and grace later in the awards show. If you would like the details of these events, do a google search. It occurs to me that these outbursts, and countless others are symptomatic of a culture that believes that being right is enough. It justifies any behavior. What saddens me the most is that, while many Christians will look at these examples of extreme rudeness and say that Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, and Kanye West all behaved wrongly, very few Christians will acknowledge how WE contribute to this culture of rudeness. Christians have a long history of cruelty to others who choose a different path. And we are no more right in our behavior than anyone else. Being right is not enough. Civility is important because it keeps our natural tendency to arrogance in check. Civility is important because it keeps us humble. Civility is important because what we believe is not nearly as relevant as how we live. Jesus was right - in word and deed. Was that cause for him to berate people? Absolutely not! What did Jesus do? (a much more compelling question than what would Jesus do?). Jesus, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross."(Philippians 2:6-8).

Covenant Prayer

Into the world of faith creeds and dogma, I submit John Wesley's Covenant Prayer. This says it all about what it means (or should mean) to be a Christian. I know that there are Christian leaders that encourage their people to pray for something that they want (a new car, new house, etc.) every day for a certain period of time and, if they are faithful, God will "bless" the with that thing. I think that this is a shallow and twisted view of God's blessings (and it is not very biblical, either). John Wesley's unselfish prayer is a model for all Christians. When I am frustrated with the "corporation" of the United Methodist Church, I remember this prayer, and I remember this is who we are...or, at least, who we are called to be. (Note, by the way, Wesley's use of the plural pronoun.

"O Lord God, holy Father, who has called us through Christ to join in this gracious covenant, we take upon ourselves with joy the yoke of obedience, and engage ourselves, for love of You, to seek and do Your perfect will. We are no longer our own, but Yours. Put us to what you will, rank us with who you will; put us to doing, put us to suffering; let us be employed for You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low for You; let us be full, let us be empty; let us have all things, let us have nothing. We freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are ours, and we are Yours. So be it. And the covenant which we have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen."

"Into the Wild"

One of the strange paradoxes of Christianity is that, almost since the beginning, there has been an effort on behalf of the church to "inspire" conformity. Despite that, the church has produced some of the greatest rebels of all time. We are going to explore this a little bit in the new sermon series beginning September 13. It is entitled "Into the Wild: Living in the (Wild) Kingdom of God."