Letter to the Editor: Clarion Ledger Style..

So, The Clarion Ledger, the newspaper for Jackson, Mississippi, and the state i think(?) had an article about Mississippi Annual Conference and the testimony of a Lesbian couple who had found a welcoming and affirming church in Madison. It sparked all sorts of controversy and now people are calling for Bishop Ward to leave. I call BULLCRAP! They are saying she went against the Discipline when she asked this couple to give their testimony, which she did not. So, to thank her for her radical hospitality, I decided to write a letter to the editor... It will probably not get published, but here it is and the link to the story...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906250347

Thank You Bishop Ward!
As a divinity student at Duke University, and as a certifitied candidate of the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, I would like to thank Bishop Ward for allowing Connie Campbell and Renee Sappington to share their story at Mississippi Annual Conference. I hear many people saying that Bishop Ward was going against our discipline, but in the way I interpret the discipline, she did not. If there would have been a same sex union or "god-forbid" and open and practicing homosexual being commissioned or ordained in our conference, then yes, that would be going against our discipline. Furthermore, I feel like opposition to these women's beautiful testimony of a their church's radical hospitality, comes from a deep fear of including those who are not like us into the church. It has always amazed me that we Christians hide behind scripture to cast out those who are not like us. Who needs forgiveness here? In a state that is the hospitality state, I feel like we as Mississippians and as Christians (Methodists included) fall short when it comes to issues surrounding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer persons. God, through the work of Christ, extends radical hospitality to us all, no matter what our status is. All means All. We, are to offer radical hospitality to others, even if they do not look like us, worship like us, love like us. This is radical hospitality. I know what scripture says about "homosexuality" but I also know what Jesus says about love and about neighbor. Jesus didn't qualify neighbor. Love your neighbor unless he or she is gay. That’s not how it works. Love means love and neighbor means neighbor. As Billy Graham once said, “It is the Holy Spirits job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.” If we could all have this attitude! Again, Thank you Bishop Ward for extending radical hospitality and love to a couple that often gets rocks thrown at them. Hopefully we United Methodists will follow your example, and open up our doors to the many we exclude!Grace and Peace, Justin White

Children's Prayers for Others

So this week at camp, the worship leader for Elementary asked all the campers to write a prayer down and ask God for something. He also told them that this prayer had to be for someone else, therefore, they were praying to God on behalf of others. The campers' prayers are beautiful and I would like to share them with you...


- Dear Lord, I hope everyone here has a friend because I don’t want anyone to be lonely. I also want you to watch over my family and everyone here for the next couple of days. I hope everyone in the world is safe, and if they’re not please just watch over them. Amen.
- I hope my great grandma in heaven is with you Lord. Amen.
- I pray for my cousins D…, K…, and R…. Their parents are divorced and it is hard for them.
- I pray for my cat snickerdoodle because she is really old and she doesn’t like any of the food we give her. She also misses my cat notails who died. I don’t want her to die too.
- I pray for G…. to go to church because I think she doesn’t want to go because her mom died and dad went to jail, so I want her to try once so she’ll love God and Jesus the way we do. Love, K…..
- I pray for my mom. I am going to tell my brother about my day.
- I want to pray for my family to be safe and have a great life.
- I want to pray for the homeless that they would be safe.
- Dear God, I pray for my Grandmother because her back is very hurt and I am worried so please. From J.B.
- Dear Lord, can you bless everyone in this place so we can have a good time at camp and help the homeless people so they can all have a home.
- Please watch over my mom and dad while I am away.
- Dear God, take care of Uncle T. and Aunt S. with the twins.
- Lord, I pray for my dog swag because he is blind and he is very old. Please give him more life, God. Amen.
- Dear God, please heal my dog’s leg so he be more flexible. Amen.
- My brother to get safely out of the army. L.O.
- I pray for my grandfather to feel better. D. Amen.
- I hope every body in my cabin has fun and get some sleep.
- God, Please help J. have a great week at camp.
- I hope my friend J. has a great time at camp this week.
- Dear God, I hope my BFF KK has everything she needs.
- Dear God, I pray for my friend B. to feel better.
- God, Please help my grandma get well and that she get through the hard times and get the test back that she does not have cancer.
- Help the people that don’t have shelter or food.
- Dear God and heaven I want my Grandpa T. to have a better life because he’s very sick and acts sad.
- I pray for my Dad in Iraq.
- I pray for my grandma so she is okay! Thank you God. Amen.
- Hope and pray for a child who’s in a orphanage!
- For a lady named M. to have enough money for food.
- God please give my sister someone to play with while I’m at camp.
- I pray for K. because she moved and for my mom when she comes to pick me up so she doesn’t crash.
- Good healthcare so the poor can be …….
- I pray that my dog lives and that my great grandma who died about 3 months ago is happy in heaven.
- Please help M.L. survive and recover from her surgery. Amen.
- Dear God. I wish no war, no death. All I wish for is peace.
- Dear God. It will be awesome if you can help the needy.
- For the people who don’t have a home and food and clothes.
- Please help my grandmother get through her accident.
- God please help my great grandma’s health and keep her safe and help her through any obstacles and trouble in her life. Amen.
- Please make sure my family is okay without me right now. Plus sure the homeless get what they need.
- For my grandpa.
- My parents. I hope they are doing ok and I hope they aren’t getting to sad or they aren’t missing me too much.
- Dear God. Let my grandma not get sick like she has.
- I pray for my sister M. She is at a sleep away camp for two weeks and that’s the longest I ever been away from her. I miss her. Make sure she comes home safe. Amen.
- My dying great grandma with memory loss.
- My grandma who is in Michigan in a hospital. She is very sick.
- My grandpa, because he’s been very sick ever since I was 5 and now I’m 9.
- Dear God. please help my uncle with his scabies and scars.
- Lord. Please let my great oma have more health and have better hearing and be safe. Amen.
- Please help my grandparents get home safely and every one have a great time at camp. M.
- Dear Lord. I like you to give my step dad K. some more money. He only has about 20 bucks left. S.
- Dear God. I pray for my mom and dad in these hard times.
- My grandma is lonely because her husband just died.
- For my grandma because she is feeling bad.
- For you to help C. friend and C..
- Dear Father. I heard a very good friend of mine was set up for adoption and I just hope she finds a mom as good as her old one. Amen.
- Dear God. I hope that you make my grandma feel better.
- Please help my dog Pudgey. He is getting weaker and weaker every day.
- Pray for D. He has brain cancer. He is 1 year old.
- Shelter, food, water, and your love for a homeless family.
- God. I pray for my dad and his pre-cancer.
- I pray for my dad because he rides his motorcycle to work. K.
- Lord. Please pray 4 my grandmother and 2 make sure my Pop Pop is okay in heaven.

Elementary Camp Week 2!!!

So, this week I get the awesome privilege of being worship leader for elementary camp. The theme of camp this summer is Pray. My unofficial theme for camp this week is Story Time with Justin: Using children's story books to talk about prayer! Last night was Listening to God. I read the book, Old Turtle, (which is amazing!!!) and talked about how God is in nature and we can hear God in nature. We watched a video clip from the Amazon Rain Forest, which had all sorts of sounds (my favorite was the monkey noise!) After we watched the video clip, I asked the campers what they heard. I got so many great answers. "I heard the monkeys!" "I heard the whippoorwill!" "I heard the water rushing!" "I heard the sound of God's creation!" These were all amazing answers, but there was one more answer that got me. One girl raised her hand and said she heard the trees. THE TREES! I asked her, "How did you hear the trees?" She went on to say that she could hear the wind rustling through the trees and she could hear the insects and animals crawling in the trees and she could hear the trees creak and groan. It was beautiful and it was a valid point, especially when it comes to listening to God. God is ever talking through creation. Even the trees, which have no voice, speak to us, and let us know we are God's beloved. The trees clap their hands in praise of the Creator! God's voice is like the voice of the tree. Sometimes we can not hear the voice of God directly, but that does not mean that God is not speaking to us. We just need to be silent and listen! Kids not only say the darnedest things, kid's often times say the deepest and richest things. 

Anyway, the rest of the week has daily themes. Today is Asking. I'm reading The Giving Tree. Tomorrow is Forgiveness and I'm reading Runaway Bunny. Thursday is Perseverance and I'm reading The Little Engine that Could. Friday is Praise and Thanksgiving and it is a two part talk where we will dance a little and praise God in movement, and then go into a time of Communion, where I will read The Rainbow Fish and talk about how the fish gives away his scales and how Christ gave us his body. So, it might be a stretch, but I'm excited about what is in store for each night. 

Anyway, I need to get back to work. I'm currently listening to the Psalters! If you don't know who they are, google them! Youtube them! I love them! 

Peace!

All means All... Florida Annual Conference and Constitutional Amendment 1

So, as part of my field education experience here at the Warren W. Willis Camp in Florida, I got to attend Annual Conference in Florida. I just went for the day and for the most part it was tiring and I left a bit discouraged. Why? Constitutional Amendment 1.

This Amendment seeks to make the church more inclusive. If passed, this is what the Constitution would say.

Inclusiveness of the Church — The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth and that we are in ministry to all. All persons shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, and upon baptism be admitted as baptized members. All persons, upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith and relationship in Jesus Christ, shall be eligible to become professing members in any local church in the connection. In the United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body.

This is what the Constitution currently states.

Inclusiveness of the Church – The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ.  Therefore all persons, without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, to participate in its programs, and, when they take the appropriate vows, to be admitted into its membership in any local church in the connection.  In The United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition.

I believe that the constitutional amendment is a step forward for an all inclusive church, as it seeks to include all persons in the Body of Christ. When something states that ALL PERSONS are included in the Body, ALL PERSONS should be included, with none excluded. By qualifying ALL PERSONS with race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, the constitution is excluding many people who find themselves on the margins. This is not the Body of Christ. I believe the Body of Christ is the body that takes account all who find themselves excluded, incorporating them to an even higher status within the body (1 Cor. 12). In arguments I heard today, in opposition to the ammendment, the issue came down to homosexuality. If the church were to pass this amendment, then GOD forbid, the homosexuals would be let into the church... They would be allowed to enter into the Body of Christ... Then, the church would be corrupted because, the Gays would be on the prowl... Okay, so it wasn't THAT dramatic, but it was close. At one point, a man said, if we allow this amendment to pass, we might as well affirm Satan Worshippers. So, we can't let this pass or affirm those things that are clearly against scripture (was his point...)

I am not sure if this constitutional amendment affirms anything or anyone (as much as I would love our church and constitution to affirm ALL PEOPLE).. It just states that ALL are welcome into Christ's body and ALL are welcome to come into the church... ALL MEANS ALL! If we are to show the love of Christ and if we are called to be a transforming presence in the world, shouldn't we seek to be an inclusive church; that means we might even embrace (god forbid) Satan Worshippers into our churches so that they can maybe experience the Triune's God transformative love???? I'm being over exagerrative (is that a word?) but still. My point is, who are we to keep anyone out of the church???? Who are we to keep anyone out of the Body of Christ???? We are not God and we do not get to judge. Billy Graham (yes, Billy Graham) once said, "It is not my job to judge. It is my job to love. It is God's job to judge. It is the Holy Spirit's job to Convict." We are called to love. We are called to love all. We are called to love all in a way that is radical. We are called to believe in our Baptisms enough to love those that society, the world, and (sometimes) even the church, tells we can't love. So, again.. All means All. Love God. Love All. LOVE... 

The Rage-A-Saurus, Baptism, and a sweet music video...

So, 

Last night was crazy awesome! I wish I had pictures to show you all the amazingness, but alas, I do not... But, I'm not sure how many of you have ever seen a big blown up visqueen tube (called bubble tube or bobo tube), but we made one yesterday, with all black visqueen, hung black lights in it, and had paint wars for all the team members. We also had a huge slip and slide because only around 30 people could be in the Bobo Tube (aka RAGE-A-SAURUS). So, needless to say, there were team members, and myself, covered from head to toe with non toxic, washable, glow in the dark paint, soap, etc... It was flippin amazing! Like, I wish I could describe to you the magnitude of the amazingness, but I can't... I guess it is like all camp things, you just had to be there...

Anyway, tonight is the last night of orientation and campers get here TOMORROW! Wow, this O-Week has flown by! it's been crazy, but before the campers get here we are having a worship service tonight entitled, preparing yourself for ministry: Baptism... I am talking, and I'm actually not using notes (except for like a Marilynne Robinson quote and a Barbara Brown Taylor quote - go figure), so i'm pretty nervous, but Carley assures me that if I can not have notes for a subject it would be Baptism, since it's my most favorite sacrament (not that I don't like Eucharist, because I love Eucharist!) I'm definately talking about three things tonight. 1. Team members Baptismal identity as being Children of the Triune God. 2. These campers Baptismal identities as children of the Triune God, and 3. This baptismal identity is these team members call to ministry. It is their ordination as ministers in the priesthood of all believers... So, pray that I allow God to use me in the way in which God can only use me.. Baptism is important in my life, because no matter what else, it my baptism that allows me to remember that I am made in the image of God, and that I am a child of God, and that my calling is rooted in my baptism! 

And finally, I am going to try to embed a video of a song called King Of Glory that Jesus Culture does. I'm not a big fan of Christian Music these days, but this song is Awesome... Hope you are all doing well. Today is Trinity sunday, so remember that we worship a Triune God who is Divine Parent, Jesus, God incarnate, and Holy Spirit...

Re-creation

Wow. I can't believe I have been here almost three weeks. Orientation week started a week ago and it has flown by. I can only imagine how fast the summer is going to go by. 

Last night the team had an opportunity to go bowling (this was after Jon Tschanz and I talked all about diversity), and the theme was dress up in costumes. Sooooooooooo, we dressed up in costumes! You had people wearing togas, redneck gear, people were dressed up like the old people who live in the retirement villages (The Villages) by the camp, you had Indians, Boy Scouts, that one Crazy Camper, etc. etc. etc. It reminded me of a date party and Duke undergrad tailgating put together, minus the alcohol of course.. It was just a super fun time to get away from the training and sitting and curriculum and blahness that can sometimes happen during Orientation week. 

I was reminded that playing and hanging out with those in your community is refreshing, and worshipful. They don't call recreation, "re-creation" for nothing. Recreation is a time to remind us that we sometimes need to be re-created so that we can serve the Triune God. Recreation allows us to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ doing something fun, playful, that will help us be renewed. Last nights bowling trip was a time for us to let our guards down, to dress up and be silly, and love each other as bowled, congregated, communed over cheese fries, hung out, got to know each other, etc.... It was a great night... and it helped me to realize that we need to be preparing ourselves physically and spiritually and mentally and emotionally for the summer that is ahead of us. 

Tonight we will worship and we will partake in Holy Communion. Tonight's worship theme is actually about preparing yourself physically for the task that is set before us this summer. This physical preparedness manifests itself in healthy dietary choices, getting exercise, resting, and gaining nourishment.. I think it is great we are doing communion, because we are nourished spiritually around the table. It is the table where we receive God's Grace and it is in the table that we are called to be the broken body of our Lord to the world. It is in the table where we can again, find "re-creation" and regeneration, receiving the Grace of God so we can extend the Grace of God. 

I am not talking tonight, but I am leading Holy Communion (with and ordained elder of course) and I am looking forward to the first time we will come to the Table of the Lord as a team.

Lift up your hearts and give thanks to the Lord our God!

J.