A Reflection on Frederick Douglass

A Mississippi Boy’s Reflection on Frederick Douglass on Christians in "The slaveholding religion and the Christianity of Christ.”

I find, since reading over the foregoing Narrative, that I have, in several instances, spoken in such a tone and manner, respecting religion, as may possibly lead those unacquainted with my religious views to suppose me an opponent of all religion. To remove the liability of such misapprehension, I deem it proper to append the following brief explanation. What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the "slave holding religion" of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference--so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slave holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed.

I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of "stealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in." I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members.

The man who wields the blood clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus. The man who robs me of my earnings at the end of each week meets me as a class-leader on Sunday morning, to show me the way of life, and the path of salvation. He who sells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth as the pious advocate of purity. He who proclaims it a religious duty to read the Bible denies me the right of learning to read the name of the God who made me. He who is the religious advocate of marriage robs whole millions of its sacred influence, and leaves them to the ravages of wholesale pollution. The warm defender of the sacredness of the family relation is the same that scatters whole families,--sundering husbands and wives, parents and children, sisters and brothers,--leaving the hut vacant, and the hearth desolate. We see the thief preaching against theft, and the adulterer against adultery.

We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the POOR HEATHEN! ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE GOOD OF SOULS! The slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand together. The slave prison and the church stand near each other. The clanking of fetters and the rattling of chains in the prison, and the pious psalm and solemn prayer in the church, may be heard at the same time. The dealers in the bodies and souls of men erect their stand in the presence of the pulpit, and they mutually help each other. The dealer gives his blood-stained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity. Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other --devils dressed in angels' robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise.

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Institutional Racism is real! The reality that Frederick Douglass so tragically reflects upon makes me want to cry. It leaves me feeling hopeless. Yes, he was pointing to a reality that happened over 100 years ago, but it is still a reality that is the foundation of Christianity in the West. What he points too still happens and we need not ignore the modern day slavery and racism that is inherent in the church and in our society. How do we recognize it when most of us want to deny the fact that racism still happens? How do we recognize it when we are so deeply entrenched in a system that only accepts people of color (those who are not "white" - which is a messy concept in itself) when they act "white"? I am convicted. White guilt? Yes! And I don't think in this instance that white guilt is wrong, because I need to feel guilty. We all need to feel guilty, because we are all guilty of wanting to tame dark bodies into white bodies. Isn't that what Christianity and America was founded upon: White men, creating a nation on the backs of others who just happen to have dark bodies? Why is being white the only way to God? Last time I checked, Christ was the way to the Father! That is what I was “taught” in word, but that was not always what was portrayed by people’s actions. I may piss people off by this statement, but hey, I’m used to pissing people off.

Growing up I worshipped in a White church, went to a White school, and learned about a White Jesus and salvation was bound up in this White Jesus. Being black was a disease. The N word was one that I heard often (albeit, not in my family), in church, in social circles, and in my school. Salvation was bound up in being acting “white”, for God was portrayed as the White Master who was overlooking his slaves and striking us down every time we did something wrong. It’s taken me a long time to readjust my vision and look at God as the Compassionate God who is revealed to us as a servant in the person of Christ. Yes, it’s in the past, and I’ve tried to move on, and I don’t want to beat a dead horse. However, I’m confused, and I’m worried about future generations and the church.

In general, why are we afraid of those who are not like us? Us being white Christians. That seems to be the norm. Why do we fear the other? Why do we fear those who have black skin? It happened in the 60’s when integration was forced in the public schools. People were fundamentally opposed and downright “un-Christian” in their reaction to integration. Why? What were we afraid of?

In my school and church, I’ve heard people talk about the “N*****S”. Why do we even say that word? Why do we think it is wrong for black people to act out? Hell, we suppressed and oppressed them for over 5 centuries in the west (actually longer if you look at Christianity and conquest and consumption of black bodies)!

Why do we think that black people are less than us? not as smart as us? not as beautiful as us? not marriageable? Not as “Christian” as us? not as “right” as us?

So, I guess my point is this. Why do we, as Christians and as the church, not see in “the other” the inherent humanness that we are all people and creatures of God? We are all connected to each other because we were all made in the image of GOD! Whether you like it or not, anyone who is not like you is made in the same image as you, and that image is the Imago Dei. Get used to it! Notice it! Live in it! Love it! Respect It! Because in reality, when you disrespect another person, when you hate another person, when you offend another person, you not only offend them, but you offend yourself, and ultimately you offend God. This fact does not just apply to those who are black. It applies to anyone in society who is on the margin and who is outside of the norm, and Christianity has struck out.

We need to repent. We need to voice that we got it wrong. We need to voice that the church got it wrong. We need to fall on our knees and ask Jesus that we take the form of a servant and that we serve those, who in the past and present, were expected to serve us. We need to recognize that the Triune God dwells in the midst of all of God’s creatures. We need to love with a non-judgmental love and not ask of other’s what we would not do ourselves. We need to have compassion and view others through the lens and eyes of Christ, and if we do this, maybe, then maybe the world will be transformed. Yes I’m venting, and yes I’m not even sure what the solution is, but I do know that we are called to Love those who we do not want to love and that we need to come to the Table with them. We need to eat with those who do not look like us. We need to disrupts systems and act out and shake up the norm. We need to keep our eyes on the crucified Christ that was killed because he spoke out against the norm, he crossed boundaries, he ate with those who were the social outcasts, and he himself, was one who would have been one who could have not gotten into my “Christian” school. He could not have gotten into my “church”. He would have, in fact, probably been called and labeled a, “n….r.”

The Canaanite Woman: A Reflection on Matthew 15:21-28

**Disclaimer** I do use derogatory language to make my point, not to offend anyone...

Before I talk about What Jesus is doing in the story of the Canaanite woman, or what Jesus is doing for me in this story, I want to start with the Canaanite woman herself. She is one of my heroes! Let us for a second let her take center stage in this narrative. Here SHE is, a gentile, “the other”, who, out of unabandoned love for her own daughter, approaches the Jewish Rabbi. She comes up to this Rabbi and she asks for him to have mercy on her and to rid her daughter of this evil spirit that has taken over her. He does not answer her. He does not even acknowledge her presence. Not only is this man a Jewish Rabbi, he is surrounded by his Jewish disciples, who quite frankly, are being assholes about her presence. “She can’t be here! Get this crazy woman away from us! Why is a Canaanite woman approaching us? Jesus, do something! Anything! She is yelling crazy things. We don’t need her here! We don’t want her here!” And for some reason, the Rabbi says, “woman, I am not here for you. I am here for Israel.” But she presses forward. She does not relent. She recognizes something in the Rabbi, and in a worshipful act, she kneels before him and pleads, “Lord, I need your help.” I can hear the desperation in her voice. She is helpless and the Rabbi is the only place she has left to go. Desperation leads her to do the unthinkable. Desperation leads her to break traditional racial and gendered boundaries and to insert herself into the midst of these Jewish men. The Rabbi, who I would think should be moved by compassion, looks upon the kneeling woman and tells her that that what he has is for his own. It is not for her, the pagan, the gentile, the Canaanite, the “other.” She is nothing but a Bitch and she is not even deserving of his children’s food. This is when I think I would have run away. This is when I think I would have been like, “you know what? I am done with this Rabbi. This is not even worth it!” Yet, to her, it was completely worth it! She was here not for herself, but for her daughter. This is why she is my hero. She looks at the Rabbi and gives it back to him. “I may be a Bitch, but bitches like me have eaten crumbs that have come from the children’s tables.”

What just happened?

Did this woman, this outsider, this unwelcome one in the midst of Jewish men, just talk back to the Rabbi? In a move that could have proved costly and gotten her killed in some circles, this woman busted through boundaries that existed to keep her out. This woman looked into the Rabbi’s eyes and said, you may not want me here, but I am here, and I need you, and I will not give up! The Rabbi finally gives in. The Rabbi even does the unthinkable as he grants this beautiful, unrelenting, passionate, woman her wish. He heals her daughter and acknowledges the fact that she had great faith. This woman is my hero because she, an outsider, was moved by LOVE, to help her daughter, a possessed girl, and she did not hesitate to break boundaries to seek wholeness and healing from this Rabbi who had been known to perform miracles before. This Canaanite woman, who herself was a marginalized person, acted on behalf of another marginalized person, and busted through boundaries to seek healing. She was not deterred when the disciples made it known that her presence was a nuisance. She did not deter when the Rabbi called her a derogatory name. She pushed forward and she persisted! She broke down racial and gendered barriers in the name of love. She persisted in the midst of seeming hate, and in the end, the Rabbi granted her the request she had brought before him.

She is my hero because I want to be her. In our churches we have seen so many people marked as “other” because of their race, their economic status, their gender, their sexuality, their ethnicity, and we have seen religious leaders and their followers be downright hateful and call them names such as, “Nigger, Bitch, Wetback, Faggot, Poor white trash” and many of us have backed down. Why? It is hard to face these realities in the church. People who are called to wholeness and healing calling us these names? It is easier to run away then to try to break down barriers. But the Canaanite woman did not back down. She did not run away. She kept on pressing this Rabbi and his followers until the Rabbi saw in her the sacred worth that comes along with being created by the Divine Creator. It was her courage that won the day. It was her courage that should move us. Yes the Rabbi declared that her daughter was healed, but it was only because of her persistence, love, and desperate abandon. Yes the Rabbi would eventually break all the powers of evil in the world, and he would claim final victory over sin and death, but right now, I am appealing to the Canaanite woman. Why? Because she is my hero in this story.

Stories.....

This semester I am taking a class on sexuality and the focus in the class is on homosexuality. Yesterday we had our first class and I was nervous about being in there. The issue is one that is so volatile and I wasn’t sure what people’s thought processes on the class were going to be and I went in not sure how the professors were going to approach the class. After the professors went over the syllabus and explained the class, Dean Wells explained that all 40 or so of us in the room were going to “bring a person into the room” that we were thinking about at that moment. The rationale was that we are all in this class for a reason, and there had to be someone we were thinking of. In order to protect those in the class who identify as LGBTQ, and those who might be questioning their own sexuality, the story could be in third person (if someone was taking the class for themselves). But Dean Wells really stressed that the person to bring into the room was someone who dealt with the issue of sexuality (particularly homosexuality). It was an amazing experience. Each person told a minute long story about someone they knew that was either lesbian, gay, affirming, non-affirming, and all the stories were powerful. Some people wanted to bring someone into the room that reacted out of fear and hate to people who had come out to them. Some people wanted to bring into the room those they had shunned because of their sexual orientation. Others wanted to bring those into the room that had died of aids. Others wanted to bring into the room those who had been shunned and cast out of the church. It was a powerful 40 minutes.

In thinking about the whole sharing time, I am reminded of the young man I brought into the room. He is a friend of mine and I have seen him grow up. He loves God and is committed to his faith in a way that is rarely seen. Last year he “came out” to me after a pastor had spat out hate speech from a pulpit. The anguish, hurt, and pain in his eyes tore my heart apart. I literally could not sleep that night. The pain he shared with me was deep, but it was this pain that often times led him closer to Christ. No, it wasn’t always easy, and yes he’d questioned a lot of things, but instead of running away from God, he ran into God’s loving arms, even when some in the Christian circle had told him that he could change. So, I wanted to bring him into the room. I wanted him to know that there were faithful people who would love him and cherish him for who he is.

The other story that stuck out to me was that of one of my friends. In the midst of her tears, she told a story about her cousin. The earliest memory she had of him was at his funeral. He wasn’t someone that her family talked about that much. She had seen pictures of him growing up and asked her mom who he was and her mom told her that it was her cousin. It wasn’t until later in life that she was told that her cousin had died of aids. It wasn’t something the family talked about. At the end of her story she said, “I wish I would have known him, because I would have loved him.” This is my friend’s reflection on why she brought her cousin into the room. “I thought about the question and thought about who I could 'bring into the room.' Who was I there for? Sure there were a lot of people that had influenced my decision on the course. But it was when I realized that I was there for the person that I knew the least, knew less than my friends, less than my sisters, it was when I realized that it was for Ronnie, that I cried."

She wasn’t the only person who was moved by tears in class. Many of us were. As we brought all of these people into the room, there was an overwhelming sense that the Holy Spirit was present with us. We were listening to people’s stories. We were listening to stories of joys and pains and insecurities and fears. We were listening to each other. It reminded me of a story by Sandy Sasso entitled, “God in Between”. In this story, Sasso talks about how God dwells in the midst of people as they listen to each other’s stories. It is a beautiful book and it is a beautiful sentiment. The Triune God dwells in the midst of narrative. God dwells between each of us as we tell our stories. In class, I felt the incarnational God that radically dwells in the world as the stories were told. I knew that God was present. What if this is what we did in our churches? What if we actually took time to listen to each other? What if we truly listened to people’s stories before we got defensive? What if we invoked those into our worship spaces that are excluded? What if we not only invoked them in stories, but actually allowed them to come into our churches to share their stories? Some are not ready to hear the stories of God’s beautiful children, but some are. I pray that we would become a people, a church, a community that took the time to listen to stories of not only LGBTQ persons, but to all those people that we exclude from our midst. I pray that we become a church that allows our radically incarnational God to manifest herself in our presence. If we did, the church would be different and our communities would be different. So let us listen to each other’s stories. Let us listen to the stories of those who are excluded. Let us encounter the radically incarnational God that calls us to live lives that are radically incarnational in a broken and hurting world, and hopefully we will be transformed by her radical and abundant grace.

Ruth or Orpah

As I was reading the story of Ruth and Naomi I was trying to think of who I identified with the most. This was hard for me because I am a male and there is a theme of patriarchy that is explicit in the story of Ruth and Naomi, as there needs to be a kinsmen redeemer in order for Ruth and Naomi to be taken care of. But, as I was pondering the reactions of Orpah and Ruth, I felt like I most identified with Ruth. This is because she left everything she knew, to go with Naomi, even when she did not have too. Maybe I identify with this, because I often want to be her. I want to be able to forsake everything that I have been in order to go to new places. I have done this before. Well, sort of. After I graduated from college, I left everything I had known and moved to New Jersey. I knew no one up there. I had little money and resources available to me, and yet, I moved. I did not really forsake anyone back home, because my family and close friends supported me and my decision through financial support and prayer. However, I move to unknown lands, to do unknown things. It was an experience that changed my life in ways I will never understand. For the first time in my life, I was away from everything I had known, and I encountered the Triune God in ways I never thought possible. I encountered God in the people who I would have never had conversations with if I would have still been in my middle class Mississippi setting. I encountered God because for the first time in my life, I was the minority. I encountered God because for the first time in my life, I hung out with drug dealers who were not rich, white, suburban kids selling their parents prescription drugs. It was wonderful and a time in my life that I never want to forget. But yet, I did not dedicate my whole life to this. I wish I could have forsaken everything and moved permanently, just as Ruth forsook all she had known and moved into an entirely different land with entirely different people then her own.

So, I identify with Ruth somewhat, but not entirely. I think she challenges me to be a person who is willing to give up everything to go to other people. So many times, we expect people to come to us and to assimilate to our cultures and our ways of live. This is antithetical to the gospel and antithetical to the incarnation. If we are truly Incarnational people, I believe that we are to go to others in love, to live with them, know them, love them, walk with them, no matter where they find themselves. We are often times called to forsake the things we have known, so that we can serve the Triune God by loving others. So, I want to identify with Ruth more in this aspect. There was no question that she was going to follow Naomi, no matter where that took her, and that is a scary, yet beautiful thing.

classes have started

So. I don't blog that much anymore... I wish I did. but I will be blogging for RMNBLOG.ORG and also I will be blogging for a class (three posts a week).. I will upload my blog posts from these other blogs when they are written.. should be interesting. Rmn blog is on sexuality, the blog for class is on racial identity... So....... woohoo...

I wonder if people still read this...

Justin.

It's so hard to say goodbye...

So. It is the last Saturday of camp. This means that there will be much cleaning going on. Tonight we will also have our last time to meet as team small groups and we will have our last sharing time. Tomorrow we will pack up, take communion, and then head out. It's bittersweet. I am ready to be back in North Carolina, yet I am going to miss this place. I am going to miss these people. Even when I feel as if I have not done my job effectively, or the fact that I feel like some of the relationships I have formed here are shallow and only touch the surface, I know that God has blessed me tremendously. I know that I have grown. I know that I have loved, and that I have been loved through these team members and through the staff of Warren W. Willis. I will write a longer post later about camp and what i've learned and so forth and so on. but let's just say, for the kid who doesn't say goodbye, tomorrow is going to be a sad day of goodbyes.

so warren willis.

Goodbye

So long.

Farewell.

Au revoir.

how to say goodbye -p tiernan
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Compassion

Frederick Beuchner once said, "Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it's like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too."

I really wish that some in the Christian tradition would get this. Why do we choose judgment and hate over compassion, mercy, and grace. I've been thinking alot about God's Justice and God's Compassion. If God is all merciful and loving, I'm not sure how God can hate, or exclude anyone in God's Kingdom. Okay. I know God is wrathful and that God is to be feared, and that God judges, but at what point is God's Justice more restorative than retributive. If God's Justice is restorative, doesn't God's mercy and compassion win the day? If God is the God of Creation, and if God is the God who says that NOTHING (not even hell) can separate us from God's love, then why do we hold back our love from others? If God is compassionate, then doesn't God want to reach out to those who hurt, to those who are scorned, to those whom are excluded?

Again, we are called to be compassionate! We are called to enter into the skin of people who are hurting. We are called to listen to people's stories, to value their stories, to love them unconditionally, and to have compassion on them.

So God, grant that we have compassion to those on the outside. Grant that we can be at peace with one another, and that we can love one another. Grant that we would have the fatal capacity to know what it is like to be in the skin of those who suffer. Let us listen to the stories of those who are excluded, and who find themselves on the outside. Grant us peace. Grant us love. Grant us compassion.

What is Family? Sermon for Family Weekend at Warren W. Willis Camp

He was a senator from Nevada. He was married and he was a member of a secret Christian Club in Washington D.C. that advocated for traditional family values. He was very outspoken about keeping the traditional family together. He had power, he had influence, yet he fell into temptation. He saw her and he needed her. He wanted her. His power wasn’t enough to satisfy him. His family wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

There was another politician, a senator from Mississippi, who served over 12 years in Congress. He was married, had a beautiful family, had power in Washington, yet he wasn’t satisfied. He found comfort and solace not in his job, or in his family, but in his mistress, who he kept for almost his entire career. Even though he was involved in the same secret, Christian, Washington club that advocated for keeping the traditional family together, he was being unfaithful to his wife. This senator recently said he would not seek reelection, because he wanted to focus on his family. And now, the truth is out and the senator’s estranged wife is suing the mistress, and making a national spectacle of the whole situation. His power wasn’t enough to satisfy him. His family wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

And then there was a governor who had an international affair. He had a beautiful family, and power. He was and still is a huge voice in the circle that promotes “traditional family values” above all else. He was a Godly man who served his state and his family and he tried to uphold biblical principles. He was also a member of the secret, Christian club in Washington. But he fell into the grip of lust and passion. His power wasn’t enough to satisfy him. His family wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

All three of these stories are ones that might be familiar to us. Infidelity does not happen only in political circles, nor is it a modern phenomenon. Men and women have for ages fallen to the temptation that is cheating. One of the most well known stories of infidelity comes to us in scripture. That brings me to today’s text, which is found in 2 Samuel 11.

Hear these words.

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then ^[a] she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.

10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"

11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth ^[b] ? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' "

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."

25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."

26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

In this story we see a King who has all the power in the world. He has his wives, he has his children, he has an army, he seemingly has it all, and then one day he notices her. She is bathing on the rooftop, and she is beautiful. He shouldn’t even be at the Palace at this time, as his people are fighting a war, but he is. Instead of turning away he stares. He gazes upon her beauty and he wants her. He knows she is married to one of his warriors but that does not deter him. So what does he do? He sends his messenger to her and has her come to the palace. Well, you know what happens next. After the deed is done, she leaves and goes back home. A while later she sends a messenger back to David saying that she has conceived his child. Instead of admitting his fault, he tries to cover up the affair by bringing her husband home from war. He fills him with wine and spirits and then tries to get him to sleep with his wife. The husband, who is a dedicated soldier, refuses to sleep with his own wife, therefore, preventing the cover up the king had in mind. In a last effort to cover his behind, the King sends the warrior back to war and puts him on the front line, knowing that death will be inevitable. The warrior does indeed die, and the King brings the woman into his house as his wife. She bears a son, the prince, and they live happily ever after! Okay, so they don’t live happily ever after at all. It is one big mess. It is a mess that displeases God. It becomes a family that is built on deceptions and lies. And it is a decision that will haunt the king for the rest of his life. But, there would come redemption.

What does this sobering account of a family have to do with us here at family weekend? Well I’m not exactly sure. I was fighting against preaching on this text today, but I just could not run away from the lectionary. The text kept drawing me back. So, I will attempt to make some points from this story.

This story of King David is like the many stories that we hear these days. Like the three politicians I talked about earlier, David loses focus of his calling and falls into the hands of lust and infidelity. King David: he was the High King of Israel. He was God’s anointed one that was called to lead. He was a man after God’s own heart. If David can fall, then it is no wonder that these Politicians, and numerous others can fall. I chose these three politicians to start off with because they all three are men of Faith who are outspoken about what family is and how important family is in our society. It is their common membership in this secret Washington DC Christian club, called “the Fellowship” or “The Family” that has gained them even more attention than is probably necessary. “The Fellowship” is secretive fraternity of sorts, in Washington D.C., that makes core family values the heart of their organization. It is only men, it is only one political party involved, and it has now come under much scrutiny, as three of their most revered members have fallen from “grace”. I am not here to bash this organization or these men. Yes, what these politicians did was wrong. But we are not called to cast stones, we are called to love. We are called to hold these men accountable, yes, but we are also called to extend not only justice, but mercy and grace. I do not want to glorify them either, because what they did was wrong, but I want to use them as an example to say that family can sometimes be ugly. Family is not always pretty. Here are these three men who advocate for the perfect family. One man. One woman. 3 Kids. Perfect house. Etc. And yet, we see that this “perfect family” often times is imperfect. There is no such thing as perfect family. However, that does not mean that God cannot work in the imperfect family through the power of God’s own son, Jesus Christ. For you see, King David’s family wasn’t perfect. David stole Bathsheba, had her husband killed and then brought her into his house where he already had many wives of his own. Yet, Jesus Christ came out of David’s line. When you look at the genealogy of Jesus, you notice that Jesus’ lineage includes Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba. So God took this situation, where at least 3 of the 10 commandments were broken, and used it in bringing Jesus Christ into this world. God took this Ancient Soap Opera and brought about the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting one, The Redeeming one!

So what does the perfect family look like? Well, I’m not sure if we will ever know, but I know that at camp this summer, I have gotten a glimpse of a beautiful family. This family is the team. Is it perfect? NO! Is it always easy? NO! Is it always fun? NO! But because the team is all here, living in community, serving Christ by serving these campers, a family has been born. This family worships together. This family eats together. This family plays together. This family prays together. This family cries together. This family gets mad at each other, and sometimes fights together. This family has even gotten sick together. This family is a true family and I would argue that the bonds that are formed in the midst of serving Christ can sometimes be stronger than the bonds that we have with our own families. There are those who have no family at all, and there are those who do not have healthy families. There are those that do have a family, but they do not see their family as their own. That is why I say that family is so much more than blood. In Mark, Jesus is talking with the disciples when his mother and siblings come to him. Someone in the crowd tells Jesus that his mother, brothers, and sisters are outside and they are looking for him. Jesus responds, “Who are my brothers and sisters and mother?” As he looked at the crowd of disciples around him, those whom served with him, sojourned with him, healed with him, loved with him, he said, “Here are my brothers and sisters and my mother. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” This summer as we have all worked together. As we have all served together, we have realized our brotherhood and sisterhood that can only come in Christ, and in our shared humanity as children of the Triune God.

Personally, there are many people in my life who I consider to be family. They come from all phases of my life and very few of them are related to me. As an only child, I do not have any siblings who are related to me by blood. But yet, I do have a sister. In fact, she’s here today and her name is Melanie. She’s here with my mom, her husband, and her two beautiful daughters. See, when I was much younger, and when she was much younger, my parents opened up our house and our lives to her. She lived with us for a while and she has always been in my life. Are we related by blood? No. Does that mean she is not my sister? No. She is my sister, and we have a closer relationship than many of my friends have with their siblings. To even share a bit more about family, Melanie also has opened up her house and her home to two beautiful girls by the wonderful gift of adoption. Maci and Riley may not have been conceived by Brent and Melanie, but that does not make them any less their children. They are their beautiful, wonderful daughters, and they are my beautiful and wonderful nieces. They are my family. Is it sometimes messy? Yes. Is it hard to explain? Yes. But it is family. They are my family. As are so many in my life.

Like I said, family can be messy and family can often times be just plain confusing. Just look at the story of David and Bathsheba. David’s family was insane! In Slam by Nick Hornby there is a picture of a family that is, well, it is strange to say the least. You see, this family is one where a son gets his girlfriend pregnant and then he finds out that his mom is pregnant as well. Sam is the son, and he and his girlfriend have a baby named Roof. Roof is born one month before Sam’s mom has her daughter. When Sam’s mom gives birth to her daughter, Sam and his son, Roof, go to the hospital to see his mom. Mark, the mom’s boyfriend is also there. Picture the hospital scene as I read Sam’s narration,

“Mum’s baby Emily was born in the same hospital as Roof, but in the room next door. Mark was there, of course, and I took Roof in on the bus a couple of hours later. ‘Here’s grandma,’ I said when we went in. ‘And here’s your auntie.’ Mum was used to being Grandma by then, but not so many people get called Grandma while they are nursing a baby. And not many people get called Auntie when they’re two hours old. ‘Bloody,’ said Mark. ‘What a mess.’ He was laughing, but Mum wasn’t having it.’ ‘Why is it a mess?’ she said. ‘She’s been alive for five minutes, and she’s got a nephew who’s older than her, and two half brothers with different mothers, and a mum who’s a grandmother, and God knows what else.’ ‘What else?’ asks mum. ‘Well. Nothing else.’ Says Mark, ‘But that is a lot.’ ‘It’s just a family, isn’t it?’ asks mum. ‘A family where everyone’s the wrong age,’ replies Mark. “Oh don’t be so stuffy. There is no such thing as a right age’.”

I think Sam’s mom is onto something. There is no such thing as a right age, but I would also say there is no such thing as a right family. We see that this family is quite abnormal when compared to what we think of as normal family. All the children were born out of wedlock, one set of parents was 17, the other set was much older, and so forth and so on; but the Mom knew that even though it was different, it was still beautiful. Family in whatever form that comes in, albeit messed up, is beautiful. Families that bring Christ to the center of their lives are beautiful.

As Christians, who are seeking to live lives like Christ, we need to remember that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ because of our common humanity as children of the Triune God. We cannot pick and chose who are family members are, because God already did that. God created us all, and God calls us all God’s own beloved children. The waters of baptism transcend the blood that flows through our veins. The waters of baptism hold stronger than the blood that runs through our veins. For all of us, family looks different. Some of us come from the traditional family with two parents and siblings. Some of us come from a family where our parents are no longer together. Some of us are only children. Some of us have lost our moms, our dads, or both. Family looks different for all of us, but we still are one family, who are joined together by the bond of Jesus Christ. That goes for all! Not just for those of us who are in here. But those in our lives we scorn. Those in our lives we cast out. Those in our lives we try to push to the “other side.” Those in our lives whom we label as “outsider” because, well, they can never be a true “Christian” because of the way they live their life. Those who are different colors than us. Those who are richer than us. Those who are poorer than us. Those who are bigger than us. Those who are smaller than us. Those who are smarter than us. Those who don’t walk like us. Those who don’t talk like us. Those who don’t worship like us. Those who don’t live like us. Those who don’t love like us. Those who don’t have the same sexuality as us. Those who don’t agree with us. Those who don’t even love us. They are all our brothers and sisters in our common humanity, and we can not be the judges of whether they are in or out. All we can do is love them, and include them into our family, so they become part of us, and us part of them. It is the beauty of family, it is the beautiful mess of family. Because, let’s be honest, if Jesus can be born out of a line that includes adultery, prostitution, and other beautiful messes, then Jesus can come into our own families and recreate and redeem them. We just have to allow Christ to come in and transform us, and our families. The way we are able to do that is by becoming families that offer hospitality to the outsider. We have to become families that are open to serving the world. We also have to remember that family does not always manifest itself in likely ways. We have to be willing to change, and let the Spirit guide us. Family is so much more than we can understand. The bonds that hold us together as brothers and sisters of the Triune God are so much more than we can understand. But that is part of the overwhelming beauty that is family.

Again, Christ came out of David’s line. Christ came out of Bathsheba’s line. Christ came into this world to recreate us, redeem us, and make all things new. Chist is available to the politicians, Christ is available to us. Christ is an ever present reality, we just need to ask for eyes to see Christ, hearts to feel Christ, and we need to seek out Christ in our families, because, Christ is there. So remember, on this family weekend, we are all one big family! We may not understand it, we may not want to be part of it, but we are all one family! In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Life According to Sufjan Stevens

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 12 (or a million) people you like. Do not repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "My Life According to (BAND NAME)"

1. Are you a male or female? “The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders”

2. How do you feel? “Get Behind Me, Santa!”

3. Describe where you currently live? “No Man’s Land”

4. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? “Chicago”

5. Your favorite form of transportation? “All the King’s Horses”

6. Your best friend? “SuperSexyWoman”

7. What's the weather like? “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands”

8. Favorite time of day? “A Sun Came”

9. If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? “A Loverless Bed (Without Remission)”

10. What is life to you? “The Incarnation”

11. Your fear? “In the Devil’s Territory”

12. What is the best advice you have to give? “All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace”

13. Thought for the day: “Oh God, Where are you Now?”

14. How I would like to die: “In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for whom He Saved the Earth”

15. My soul's present condition: “To be Alone with You”

16. My motto: “Come Thou Fount”

Week 7 Update!

Week 7 is here, which means that we only have Week 8 and Week 9 left. That's crazy! I only have about 20 more days here. The past week I've been plagued by a sinus infection. I think it might have been somewhat caused by my air conditioners which I had not cleaned all summer. When maintenance looked at them, they said there was a jelly fish like substance of mold built up in them. Soooo... The air conditioners are now cleaned and have new filters in them. I hope that works, because this Sinus Infection has gotten the best of me. Ugh.

Anyway, like I said, Week 7 is here! I'm excited for the week as my family is coming to visit me, (minus dad). This weekend is family weekend and they will get to see what camp is like! I will preach on sunday (David and Bathsheba and how family is not perfect), and so forth and so on... it will be interesting. maybe i can bring some controversy to the pulpit. not that I like controversy or anything, but yeah. Anyway.

Camp really is great, even in the sickness and the blahness and the tiredness, etc. The team members are absolutely awesome and they all have a heart for God. They are serving hard and loving hard. I know they are tired, and I can see weariness in some of their eyes, but they are pushing on, and loving these campers.

For those of you who actually read this blog, Pray that God would reveal God's self these next three weeks. Pray that the Holy Spirit would show up and show out in the campers and the team members' lives. Pray that the team would feel the presence of Christ in their lives as they serve these campers, and help them know that the love of God is always enveloping them. Pray for me that I would get better and that I can be the Team Pastor that I need to be for these team members. (all of them, not just some). Anyway. I hope you all are doing well.

Grace and Peace

Justin

Week 6

Hey. I figured I would update the old blog here. I'm actually going to talk about camp in this post, and nothing else (even though I could write a long essay about various other things.)

But camp is Awesome! I am loving it. The past couple of days I have been preoccupied by other things in other places, but I am trying to not lose focus of why I am here at camp. I am here to serve Christ by serving these team members at Warren W. Willis.

This past weekend was Midsummer retreat. I feel that it went well. It was a time where the team members got alot of rest, we had worship both nights, and we had a party on saturday night. The party on saturday night was the one thing I was worried about the most, as we had it at a team member's house. The house is nice and has a pool and big backyard, but I was worried about 120 people being there. However, it worked out nicely! we had a slip and slide in the side yard, a volleyball court set up in the back. People sat on the canal and ate and fellowshipped, and of course the pool and the hot tub were both used. It was a great time and I really enjoyed it, and I think most of the team members did as well.

The spiritual aspect of the weekend was great as well. My good friend, Ryan Frack, spoke and shared about God's rest, and finding true rest in Christ. He also talked about how the team members need to be genuine, authentic, and not play the role that people want them to play. Basically for them to be themselves. It was really, really, good and meaningful for us all.

This week is Week 6 which means, after this week is over, we will only have 3 more weeks. The summer has flown by so much, but I am hopeful that these last weeks will be amazing and filled with God's love and spirit. This week, I am also filling in for the EC worship leader has she has come down with Laryngitis and can not speak at all. So that is fun! Anyway, that is camp. I love it. It's awesome. I will miss it when I have to leave.

Grace and Peace,

Justin

A random blogpost from me to you...

So it has been a while since I have updated the old blog here. It is not because I have nothing to talk about, nor is it because I have not had time to sit down and write. I'm not sure why I haven't written. Maybe it is because my last post caused me a little grief (none I haven't gotten over). Maybe it's the fact that I am to a point where I am completely overwhelmed with the future. Maybe it is the fact that I am getting lost in the camp culture and blogging means that there is a real world, where people read the stuff I write. 

The past two weeks have been eventful, as we have had a lot of stuff happen at camp, and as I was able to leave for two days and go observe three different camps around south Florida. But I am not going to blog about that. I am going to blog about nothing in particular. Maybe I will just write down what I am thinking and what is on my mind..

1. I miss my friends from Durham. I wish we could all be together by the pool, doing what we do best. I miss the firepit and the guitar sessions that happen so frequently...

2. Field ed has been great! I have loved it here. My passion for camping ministry has been fueled, and my passion to reach out to college students has been fueled. 

3. I feel like the upcoming year is going to be hell. Commissioning. Finding a job. Being Justin. Being honest and all sorts of fun stuff like that. But just like the sermon i preached on hell, Christ is in our midst, even when we are walking through the fires that are hell on earth. These fires don't consume us, they just purify us and make us new! That is what I'm hoping for anyway.

4. I have a new book called creative cursing. It's awesome! When I am in blah moods (much like the one I'm in today) I look at the book and it makes me giggle. You are such a scum slammer! I can't stand to look at you, you jerk jockey! I can't believe you went out with that fanny blower! Wow, I feel like such a snot monkey!

5. I'm ready to be in New York for the U.S. Open. Also, I'm ready to be in California for spring break.

6. I'm sick and tired of hearing about Michael Jackson.

7. People have disappointed me lately with their hatred and their attitude towards God's children.

8. Maybe I will let my hair grow out like really long.

9. Jorts are not that bad. they are actually comfortable, and just because you wear them does not mean that you are a redneck or a Florida Gator.

10. I love watching the rain. Today a buddy of mine pointed out a rainbow ring around the sun after it rained. it was frickin awesome.

That is all. Random I know!

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.

Prepare for something that is Bigger than You! A sermon for O Week

Prepare for Something that is Bigger than You!

Text - Ephesians 2:1-11

 

Philippians 2:1-11
 ¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 
 ⁶Who, being in very nature^[a] God, 
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
 ⁷but made himself nothing, 
      taking the very nature^[b] of a servant, 
      being made in human likeness. 
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, 
      he humbled himself 
      and became obedient to death— 
         even death on a cross! 
 ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place 
      and gave him the name that is above every name, 
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
      to the glory of God the Father.

Watch Movie Clip: Like first 2 minutes.. so, Pier scene, and then dancing, and praying, with awesome music in the background…

 

Let us pray:

Creating, Redeeming, and Sustaining God, Hide me behind the Cross of Christ, your son, so that I can fall into the shadows so he can emerge. Let the words that I speak tonight, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be good, pleasing, and acceptable to your will, O God, our Rock, and our Redeemer.

Amen.

 

 

Every acre of camp is sacred ground.

Ira Barnett.

 

This summer you are entering into something that is bigger than you are. You are entering into the story of Warren W. Willis United Methodist Camp, and this story is a rich and wonderful story of God’s love. You are called here by God and you are supposed to be here! In Philippians, Chapter 2, we hear Paul saying that we need to be like Christ. We need to have one mind with Christ Jesus! At camp you have the opportunity to enter into a story where team members, for the past 61 years, have sought to be one in mind, with Christ Jesus. They were able to do this because they were able to serve. They were able to look at the interests of other team members and the interests of campers over themselves. In order to be like Christ, and in order to serve Christ in this place, you must not serve yourself. You are not here for yourself.

This summer is not about you! This summer is about being a Servant. This summer is about being a part of something that is so much bigger than you are! What is it about the story and history of Warren W. Willis camp that allows you to be a servant?

 

Team Leadership

This summer you have the opportunity to serve on an awesome leadership team. You may some find of your best friends on team, you may not. But this summer you are all together, living in community. It is your job to serve another. It is your job to love another as Christ loved you. Friendship is only true and authentic friendship if Christ is at the center of the friendship. This goes with any relationship. If Christ is not at the center, and if you are in the relationship to only gain benefit, then it is not a true, authentic relationship. This summer other team members will feel left out, let down, tired, overwhelmed, sad, fed up, you get what I’m saying. You yourself will feel this way. During Orientation Week and on the weekends when you get time off site, if you see a fellow team member down and out, go to that team member and love them with the love of Christ. Later this week, we will work on a covenant that is the basis of our community, but know that you are here to serve each other, especially at the times when the campers are not here. So, the relationships you form here, can allow you to be a servant of Christ as you look out for the interests of others on team.

 

Radical History of Inclusion and Love

You also enter into a story that is radical. You are able to serve Christ when you love with a love that is radical. I am not sure how many of you have seen the camp history video celebrating 60 years of ministry here at Warren Willis but if you have seen it, you will have heard the story I’m  about to tell.

Back in the 50s and 60s when segregation was still alive and thriving, it was against Methodist policy for African American pastors and campers to come to a “white” camp. This thought was so unpopular that when Reverend Warren Willis invited members from the Central Jurisdiction (this was the African American part of the Methodist Church, yes there was a separate jurisdiction for African Americans) a prominent public figure, sheriff McCall, said that if the camp voluntarily allowed black people onto camp property, he would come himself and lock everyone in the camp. Warren Willis, a man of radical love, did not listen and invited churches in the central jurisdiction to come to camp. He invited African American pastors to come and talk and share the love of Christ. He did this even though it was illegal and he did this knowing that it was unpopular.

This summer you are entering into this history of radical love and inclusion. The body of Christ is diverse, and yet we are all one body, and we are called to love each other. There are team members that are different and will feel excluded, there will be campers that are different and will feel excluded. The sad thing is that this exclusion happens because of their skin color, how rich or poor they are, their sexuality, their gender, whether they have a disability or not, their awkwardness, I could go on. But you have the chance to serve those who are not like you. You have the chance to love those who are excluded because that is what being in the Body of Christ is all about. If we are all one body, then why should anyone be excluded from the body of Christ??? In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about the Body of Christ, and how even though the body is diverse, it is still one body, yet each member has a part in the body. Furthermore, the weak, the excluded, the vulnerable, these members of the body serve a greater function, and often times bring the strong, the mighty, the powerful, the popular, back to the ground. Therefore to serve as Christ served and to live as Christ lived means you are to serve those who are not like you. You are to serve and love those who other people might cast off. Warren Willis UM camp has sought to include those who are different in the past, it is your job to include and serve those who are different in the present. So love and serve those who are different.

 

You are first and foremost here to serve the campers!!!!

Finally, you are not here for yourself, you are first and foremost here for the campers. You are here so that they can know the love of Christ. You are here so they can know that Christ is real and that Christ is an ever present reality in their lives. In the Video of camp history, Professor Wait Willis says this about his dad, Warren Willis,

 

“My Father made clear what our job was at camp, of course we were here to have a good time, but we were here as servants. We were here to serve the campers, and we were to serve them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

You are preparing yourself this summer for something that is so much bigger than YOU! You are here this summer to serve these campers! You are here to love them with the love of Christ.

Many of these campers will have never heard of Jesus Christ, or the love and salvation that he has to offer them. Many of these campers will have come from broken homes and they may never experience love at home. Many of these campers come from environments that some of us would never ever step foot in, and yet they are here this summer, and we are called to serve them. Some of these campers are awkward, some will smell, some will get on your nerves, some will be loud and obnoxious, some will hate you, some will love you, some will cling to you, but what you need to remember is that all of these campers are beloved children of the Triune God and they need to be treated as such.

 

This camp is a place where campers will be transformed for the first time because the coolest camp counselor in the world shared with them what it means to have Christ in their lives.

 

This camp is a place where campers come and they realize that they are children of God, but they have not been living as a children of God. In a moment of clarity and because of the service of you all, campers realize that they are called to be a disciples of Jesus Christ in a world where being a disciple of Jesus Christ is unpopular.

 

This camp is a place where a girl may be sitting in chapel and she realizes her call to ordained ministry. This is a calling God has placed on her but she realizes it because she has recognized what it means to be in ministry when she sees all of the awesome team members in ministry.  

 

This camp is a place where a camper might come from a life where he is all alone. No one knows his name, no one knows his story, no one cares enough about him to ask him how he is doing. He feels unloved, uncared for, and he is bitter. But he comes to camp, and he meets the coolest counselors ever and they make him feel like he is loved. They listen to his story, they ask him how he is doing, and they know his name. He feels love, he feels cared for, and he finds a bit of healing in his life, which is totally broken.

 

This is what camp is about. It is about you being servants to these kids! It is about you being servants for each other. It is about you loving the unlovealbes, and including those who feel left out. Camp is about you becoming a servant of all, so that you can be in one mind with Christ Jesus. This servant hood is foolish. This servant hood is not easy all the time, but this servant hood brings Joy! This servant hood brings the Joy of Christ. When you experience the camper who “get’s it” for the first time; when you hear the camper say, “you’ve loved me and I’ve never known what love is”; when you hear the camper say, “I want to start living my life like Christ”; When you hear the camper say, “ I think God is calling me to be a full time minister”: When you hear the camper say, “You have helped me to realize that God loves me no matter what I do, no matter who I am, no matter what people tell me I am, I know that God loves me because you loved me and Christ loves me.” That is what it is all about. It is soooooooooo much bigger than you. You just have to step into the role of servant and start serving the God that created you. You have to become like Christ. And I promise, you will find Joy!

 

Amen.