Seriously? Condemning Rob Bell Before His Book Comes Out?

The social media world has been abuzz over Rob Bell's upcoming book on salvation called Love Wins. The book isn't even out yet and all anyone has to go by is a brief video clip where Rob Bell discusses some of the big questions about salvation - he doesn't actually make any statement at all - he just frames a variety of questions about the issue. Check out Christianity Today for the video.

Some guy named Justin Taylor, who most people I've talked to have never heard of, wrote in his blog that Rob Bell is a universalist and basically condemned the guy without knowing anything about the upcoming book at all. His blog is here. His first blog entry was so condemning, that he actually had to come back and soften some of his statements a little, which he admits in his updated blog. He still seems to be convinced of the content and teaching of Rob Bell's upcoming book and basically calls him a heretic and false teacher.

Really? Seriously? There are two really big problems here:

First, it really shouldn't amaze any of us anymore that Christians seem to be ready to criticize and condemn more quickly than most people. The anger in conversations between Christians (which I intentionally do not call Christian conversation) is disturbing. We still fail to understand that the WAY we talk to each other is as much a witness and WHAT we talk about. I go back to Thomas Merton. In No Man Is An Island, he wrote:

The arguments of religious men are so often insincere, and their insincerity is proportionate to their anger. Why do we get angry about what we believe? Because we do not really believe it. Or else what we pretend to be defending as the "truth" is really our own self-esteem. A man of sincerity is less interested in defending the truth than in stating it clearly, for he thinks that if the truth be clearly seen it can very well take care of itself.

(I realize there will be a large segment of Christians who will condemn me for quoting Thomas Merton - helping to reinforce my point.)

With all of the illustrations of Jesus' patience and grace in dealing with those who were 'different' it amazes me that our Christian leaders more quickly reflect the anger of the Apostle Paul in Galatians, rather than compassion and patience of Jesus Christ to sinners, Pharisess, and Priests. Jesus should be the first and only model of how we live and act. Last I checked, Paul didn't die on the cross for our sins. Paul was not God incarnate. I wish more Christians, especially leaders, would exhibit the faith, mercy, grace, and patient understanding of Jesus when dealing with others they don't agree with.

Second, I am glad that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, prized education so highly. With the advent of the internet, every Christian leader with a pulse has a platform. Many Christian leaders on the internet have no understanding of the history of our faith. They read and interpret scripture only in light of their immediate context - their current reality - which is all they really care about. An appreciation for 2,000 years of Christian teaching doesn't require an advanced degree - just pull up Wikipedia.

As they assail Rob Bell, who I won't comment on until I actually read his book, they ignorantly (yes, I said it) proclaim that universalism is not orthodox teaching. While I am personally not a universalist, it doesn't take but just a little research of the early Church Fathers like Origen (one of the most profound 2nd century Christian leaders who actually helped put together the New Testament) to find out that 'restorationism' was taught by several of the Church Fathers. Restorationism, whether you agree with the position or not, claims orthodoxy in that it; characterizes sin as rebellion against God, requires grace as necessary for salvation, and teaches that Jesus Christ is the highest expression of that grace. it also teaches that God, in God's sovereignty, will ultimately restore all things - bringing all creation under His reign. Orthodoxy and universalism. (Origen viewed hell as temporary.)

As I hear all this back and forth about a book that hasn't even been published, I am once again troubled by how Christians engage in dialogue. The world is watching us, my friends. How we disagree is just as important as the truth we proclaim.

Our Mission: Plain and Simple

Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I’ve always been amazed by organizations that know what they exist to do, do it well, and evaluate everything they do by their stated mission. Effective businesses and churches should share this trait.

One of the companies I love to watch as they continue to examine what they do and why they do it is the Coca-Cola company. Just take a look at the first part of their mission statement. Look at how clearly, compellingly, and succinctly they put together their mission:

From The Coca-Cola Company: The Introduction

The world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next ten years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand the trends and forces that will shape our business in the future and move swiftly to prepare for what's to come. We must get ready for tomorrow today. That's what our 2020 Vision is all about. It creates a long-term destination for our business and provides us with a "Roadmap" for winning together with our bottling partners. Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. Our Mission To refresh the world... To inspire moments of optimism and happiness... To create value and make a difference.

They have a clear mission. They have a clear understanding of their identity. They know who they are and what they do and they do it excellently. What is the church’s mission? This is actually a powerful question to wrestle with among the leadership of our church. There is a lot to accomplish, and we can’t do it all today, so let’s just begin with mission. Why we exist – our purpose for all we do. Here's the easy part for the church: our mission has already been given to us! We don’t have to form study committees or listening posts or neighborhood chat groups. We don’t have to form a team to craft the words and put them together. Our mission is clear: We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That’s it, that’s the list. You know the funny thing? So many churches have gone through hours, days, months, and some even years to craft elegant mission statements. I can't imagine how many hours we've wasted trying to craft mission statements that now hang in the church library somewhere. If you can find the mission statement behind portraits of former pastors, you can see that the leadership of the church took great care and time to form a beautifully written mission statement. The problem is - no one in the church has any idea what it is. As I search the internet for church mission statements, here are a few I found...

Mission Statement of Riverside Community in Eagle River, Alaska

At Riverside Community Church we're not about "having it all together" or even pretending we do. We're just a family trying to grow together toward a God who knows us and can help us put all the pieces of this sometimes bizzare world into perspective. We may not have all the answers but we know someone who does. In fact He not only knows the answers...He made up the questions.

I'm not really sure this is a mission statement, but I love the line, "We're just a family trying to grow together..." Sounds like my 13-year old making another excuse about why she didn't finish her homework. Here's another...

Mission Statement of Friendship Church in Pittsburgh, PA.

The mission of Friendship Seeds of Hope is to sow "the Seed of Hope," Jesus Christ, in the hearts of many in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, and to the ends of the earth. Our context is the emerging post-modern culture. Post-moderns have rejected the "trinity" of modernism: reason, nature and progress-and the church that is built on it. Lacking a metanarrative, post-moderns turn to a sort of primitive tribalism, or bury their pain in technology or consumerism. Our mission involves creating a Church that can be a safe gathering place for post-modern people to come experience the grace and forgiveness of God; a family of believers where they can find healing for the things that have hurt and wounded their souls; where they can "belong to believe"-that is, where they can be nurtured and discipled into faith in the one true God and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

This one befuddles me. The first sentence is a mission statement, but I'm not sure how the rest of the thing ever becomes anything more than, "blah, blah, blah." Now, this last one I really like. It is simple, clear, compelling, and best of all - biblical...

Mission Statement of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville, FL

Make Disciples

St. Peter’s Catholic Church gets it and our churches need to get it. If we don’t know our mission, then we have no hope of accomplishing it. We must do a better job of proclaiming a clear and compelling mission to ourselves to help us stay focused and guided along the path of our ministry. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Everything we do in the church should be evaluated in light of our mission. If we don't know why we exist, then how can we know if we are devoting our time and resources correctly?

If you want to hear more on this, then visit www.wesleyssi.org/listen and check out my February 20th sermon "Making Disciples for the Transformation of the World"

Stewardship of the Leader: Modeling

Leading organizations is a great responsibility. The essence of leadership hearkens us back to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Jesus tells of a master who leaves three servants (stewards) in charge - the scripture says, “entrusting all of his property to them.” The significance of that one line cannot be understated. When the master entrusts all of his property to these stewards, they literally become the regents of all the master owns. They become significant leaders. We tend to forget that they have responsibility for everything.

Leaders must understand their level of responsibility within organizations. When we are called and set apart to lead, we are entrusted with shaping the culture of the organization – including tending lives of those we lead. This is no small task. Leaders must be willing to grow, learn, and model out of core values of faith and morality.

Let me focus on one aspect of leadership stewarding that is critical – modeling. Modeling is the most important shaping force of the leader. Leaders who don’t understand modeling and the power it has in shaping the culture of organizations do a disservice to those they lead. These leaders also violate the basic principles of biblical stewardship because they do not understand the great ‘talent’ they are called to invest.

I use the term modeling, but it has broad meaning. Edgar Shein in Organizational Culture and Leadership uses the term “primary embedding mechanisms” and he lists the following: what leaders pay attention to, measure, and control regularly; how leaders respond to critical incidents; how leaders allocate resources; how they teach and coach; how they allocate rewards and status; and how they recruit, promote, and excommunicate. I see all of these mechanism connected. Effective leadership must understand the shaping forces and how important they are. The leader models through these mechanisms and communicates significant information that defines who the organization is and how it goes about its work.

All leaders model all the time. They must be aware of this and they must be conscious of the messages they send. Leaders must also be adept enough to recognize the defensive routines at work in their organization. All organizations (congregations are organizations) have defensive routines. Defensive routines are behaviors and attitudes that inhibit learning and growth. Defensive routines may be violations of formal policies, but usually they are more subtle. Defensive routines are subtly found rooted in any mismatch between what the leader proclaims is important and how the leader actually engages in action (espoused value vs. theory in use, Shein). This type of disconnected modeling actually works against the formation of the very culture the leader is attempting to craft. When the leader’s actions of promotion, rewards, coaching, and excommunication don’t line up with what they have told us are core values, increased stress is introduced in the organization as people try to make sense of the mixed messages. Learning is stifled and natural defensive postures appear.

What is required to confront defensive routines? Two things must occur for the leader.

First, the leader must be push to become more self-aware in understanding why they do what they do. They must understand it, but understanding it alone is not enough. The leader must also be able to articulate their understanding. Without the communication component, they once again fail to model learning and positive change in the culture. The articulation of self-awareness and growth is modeling. Think for a moment how powerful it is when a leader fails, reflects on the failure to understand their role in it, and then has the ability to articulate their learning to their team. There is a sense of confidence that the leader has the capacity to learn and grow and they model this for their team.

Second, the leader must allow his/her managerial team to give feedback regarding their modeling. We are unable to see our modeling objectively. Without a willingness to hear from those who help guide the organization, the leader may not realize the mixed messages that are sent. By allowing the managerial team to assist with the leader’s self-discovery, the leader not only learns, but the leader once again models organizational learning.

If they leader is not willing to hear critique because of embarrassment or threat, then once again there is a mismatch in modeling. These issues and events become ‘undiscussable’. As the level of undiscussable items grows, the inconsistent messages grow. The managerial team is not allowed to discuss freely this disconnect with the leader. The organizational culture begins to reflect this distortion of mixed messages. Ineffective decisions of mismatch become covered up and obfuscated as the leader and managerial team attempt to make sense of the mixed messages to others in the organization. The rest of the managerial team begins to model like the leader, teaching the values yet acting differently. As this process grows and reinforces itself, cover-ups begin to be covered-up even though one of the core values may be openness. Next, the undiscussable previous actions now cannot be discussed. Chris Argyris calls this the “undiscussability of the undiscussable.” The managerial team begins to collude to keep the mixed messages covered-up. The managerial team now expects others to distort and manipulate as well. A new sub-culture is born.

Finally, the leader who sincerely believes he/she is utilizing their gift of stewardship for the good of the organization will find a deep and disturbing set of defensive routines in place that promote ineffectiveness, rather than effectiveness. Dysfunctional managerial teams are created. The leader becomes frustrated with outcomes without realizing why the outcomes are there. The leader fails to see and accept that the organization is learning to function in the same way as the leader and managerial team. The leader is subconsciously reinforcing the defensive routines through rewarding/promoting a managerial team that respect the “undiscussability of the undiscussable”. All the while, the leader doesn’t see he/she is rewarding such behavior. If we return to the parable in Matthew 25, we find now a leader who truly believes he/she is investing their five talents for the master’s return, while in reality they have buried the true talent and are doing the work of the Kingdom with monopoly money – nothing of value, nothing that lasts.

How does all this change? Unfortunately, it is difficult to change. Since defensive actions are so highly skilled, they are executed without hesitation and they are automatic. The defensive routines are enacted without any reflection. Chris Argyris states that at our core, our defensive actions come from our early life and are ingrained in us. It is how the leader learned to deal with embarrassment or threat. When the leader uses these defensive routines, they model this behavior in the organizations they lead. The organizational culture then begins to follow the model of the leader and adopt these defensive routines. Then, once the leader sees the ineffectiveness of the organization, the blame goes to the organization itself as the leader assails all the organization’s defensive routines. It becomes, as Argyris concludes, a “circular, self-reinforcing process, from the individual to the larger unit and back to the individual.”

The only remedy I can point to is the importance of “ruthlessly, compassionate truth-tellers”. If the leader has the capability for self-reflection and learning (or even if they do not), the repeated lifting up and naming of the defensive routines can be helpful in changing the culture. Think of how Jesus consistently shed light on the inconsistencies of his day. The difficulty is in the character of the leader who may decide it is too difficult to listen to how their modeling contributes to the problems they are attempting to overcome. If the leader can trust the managerial team to assist them, change can occur. This also requires self-awareness and maturity of the managerial team, which is another issue altogether.

So let us pray for all our leaders. Let us pray that they may be self-aware. Let us pray that they would receive feedback from us all and listen carefully. Let us pray for their spirituality. Let us pray for their talents – that what they invest in the Kingdom may be valuable and eternal.

Murky Water and the Means of Grace

There is an ancient story told by the Desert Fathers, early Christians who lived in the desert of Egypt that goes something like this: There were three friends, serious men, who became monks. One of them chose to make peace between men who were at odds, as it is written, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matt. 5:9). The second chose to visit the sick. The third chose to go away to be quiet in solitude. Now the first, toiling among contentions, was not able to settle all quarrels and, overcome with weariness, he went to him who tended the sick, and found him also failing in spirit and unable to carry out his purpose. So the two went away to see him who had withdrawn into the desert, and they told him their troubles. They asked him to tell them how he himself had fared. He was silent for a while, and then poured water into a vessel and said, ‘Look at the water,’ and it was murky. After a little while he said again, ‘See now, how clear the water has become.’ As they looked into the water they saw their own faces, as in a mirror. Then he said to them, ‘So it is with anyone who lives in the turbulence, he does not see his sins: but when he has been quiet, above all in solitude, then he recognizes his own faults.’

Means of grace are "signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed for the purpose of conveying to humanity preparing, accepting, and sustaining grace". Any expression or action that makes clear God’s grace is an act of the means of grace.

There are interior means of grace. John Wesley called them Works of Piety and they are simply spiritual disciplines. Interior means of grace communicate God’s preparing, accepting and sustaining grace to US. Prayer, searching scripture, fasting, the sacrament of Holy Communion are the primary means by which God’s grace clearer. Prayer clears the murky waters by bringing us close to God’s heart. Scripture gives us a clarity of who God is. Fasting causes us to separate from our selfishness through self-denial and gives greater clarity to who we are and our need of God. Holy Communion is the means by which God’s grace is actually communicated in the bread and wine. These personal means of interior devotion are important in helping us to continue toward holiness and sanctification.

I love this quote of Thomas Merton. It helps me to understand why the interior means are so important. He wrote, “Every man becomes the image of the God he adores. He whose worship is directed to a dead thing becomes a dead thing. He who loves corruption rots. He who loves a shadow becomes, himself, a shadow. He who loves things that must perish lives in dread of their perishing. The contemplative also, who seeks to keep God prisoner in his heart, becomes a prisoner within the narrow limits of his own heart, so that the Lord evades him and leaves him in his imprisonment, his confinement, and his dead recollection. The man who leaves the Lord the freedom of the Lord adores the Lord in His freedom and receives the liberty of the sons of God. This man loves like God and is carried away, the captive of the Lord's invisible freedom. A god who remains immobile within the focus of my own vision is hardly even a trace of the True God's passing.”

There are also exterior means of grace. John Wesley called these Works of Mercy. They are works of service and action that communicate God’s preparing, accepting, and sustaining grace to OTHERS. When we help those in need, work to feed, clothe, and support the poor and needy, when we actually take physical and tangible steps to help those around us and show God’s grace - we engage in exterior means of grace.

In Acts 2, we see exterior practices of the disciples of the early church that not only helped those in need, but communicated God’s grace to those around them. So much so that everyone else spoke well of them and others were added to their numbers -“they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

As we live our lives of faith, let us utilize the means of grace to help make God's grace clearer to ourselves and to a world in need.

Reflections from the National Gathering of the Orders of Elders

On February 1-3, 2011, the Rev. Karen Kilhefner (South Georgia’s Chair of Deacons) and I journeyed to Orlando, Florida for the National Gathering of the Orders of Elders, Deacons, and Local Pastors. Approximately 80 gathered to discuss three major study reports from General Conference and engage in a time of visioning. There is agreement at every level that the United Methodist Church must recapture its core mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. On the first night, we discussed three current major General Conference reports.

The Call to Action Report (www.umc.org/calltoaction) – This ambitious report calls for challenge and change at every level of the church. It includes a radical confession: we have not taken upon ourselves the yoke of obedience and we have not done all we can to make disciples. We have pursued self-interest. We allow institutional inertia to bind us. A few key recommendations of the Call to Action report are: 1) We need to focus on lay and clergy leadership development to train strong, courageous, and collaborative leaders. If the church is to be transformed, it starts with each one of us – making a difference where we are every day. 2) We must have vital congregations. What are vital congregations? The Towers Watson Report, sponsored by the commission, detailed characteristics that vital congregations all share; effective pastoral leadership, multiple small groups for all ages, mix of traditional and contemporary worship styles, a high percentage of spiritually engaged laity who assume leadership in the local church and beyond, topical preaching, and longer pastoral appointments. 3) We must have measurable goals and meet them. What should we measure? The top measurables are; growth in worship attendance and small groups (including children and youth), cultivating increases in stewardship, growing spirituality and leadership of laity, longer tenure for pastors, and more dedication to missional tasks.

The Ministry Study Commission Report (www.gbhem.org/ministrystudy) While this study looks at many aspects of ministry, the two issues that led to the most discussion at our gathering were in the areas of ordination and guaranteed appointments. 1) Ordination - The Study calls for the church to once again change our ordination process. They recommend doing away with ‘commissioning’. They want ordination as ‘elder’ to occur earlier, taking the place of what we now call ‘commissioning’. Once ordained an elder, there are still two years of evaluation. After two years, there is an interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry. If approved, the already ordained elder would then become a ‘full member’ of the conference. There were many questions and concerns about this at the national gathering. Is membership in an annual conference of greater importance than ordination? A large reason for our concern and confusion was the commission’s rationale for making the change. The commission believes our current system of ‘commissioning’ is confusing to our members and to other denominations. Many of us felt this was not a well grounded rationale to make this change; especially since their theological statement for the report is extremely sparse and gives no understanding of our Methodist understanding of ordination. We wanted to see more work on the theology of ordination, or else another group may come and recommend change again in four years! 2) Guaranteed Appointments – The Ministry Study Commission is calling for the General Church and conferences to define effectiveness and use measurable outcomes to determine if clergy should be transitioned out – basically, the church will do away with guaranteed appointments. In our discussions, we raised the issue that the Discipline currently has a process for exiting ineffective clergy – we just never use it. The commission calls it cumbersome and long. But, instead of refining the current process and keeping guaranteed appointments, the report recommendation is to create and craft a new exiting program and remove the guarantee of appointment altogether.

The Church Systems Task Force (found at www.gbophb.org)is primarily focused on how church systems affect clergy health and well-being. It lists many negative health factors in our church such as; stress of the appointive process, job satisfaction, personal finances, lack of friends, and (my favorite) poor eating habits due to work in churches. I can assure that I did not vote against pot-luck dinners or fried chicken!

Idea sharing and visioning were also a large part of our gathering. Some conferences are attempting to push for ‘renewal leaves’ in their conferences – mandated leaves in the year that a pastor moves to a new church or every six years if they are not moving. Another idea some conferences are pursuing is a 360 degree review process for ordained elders. This evaluation process would take place every five years and include: church feedback, peer feedback, supervisory feedback, psychological feedback and even a credit check (financial feedback). As conferences work to set standards for effectiveness, these types of reviews may be more common.

The South Georgia Order of Elders - I am proud to tell you that South Georgia is one of the leaders along with several other conferences in establishing new, supportive connections for elders. During the clergy session of the 2011 Annual Conference, I will update you on our S3 program and discuss several new South Georgia initiatives for clergy. Here’s a peek:

S3 - The S3 program started last year by the Order of Elders is building new groups for deep, authentic connection rooted in accountability and support. Two new groups were formed in 2010 and two more groups will be selected to begin in the summer of 2011. South Georgia currently has six S3 groups totaling 40 elders and deacons – that is about 18% of our actively serving ordained clergy!

Covenant Care for Clergy – A Covenant Care Team is being formed as I write this article. This team will be fellow clergy who give leadership and intentionality as Care Guides. They will connect and create small groups for clergy. We will also utilize retired elders as spiritual mentors/guides to support active clergy through encouragement and prayer. All this will be directed by our Covenant Care Team, a part of the Order of Elders.

Leadership Cultivation Project– We are working on a new project for elders in South Georgia that will help cultivate leadership skills for effectiveness in the local church – particularly as it relates to revitalizing mid-life, mature, and declining congregations. The focus will be on two categories of leaders – new elders (1-5 years) and elders in mid-ministry (approximately 15-20 years). This year-long group will include teaching, mentoring, and engagement in an actual learning project in their local church that the participant designs. Effective leadership can be learned!

Annual Gathering of the Order of Elders– I am also working to make the dream of an annual elders gathering a reality. In addition to special speakers, there will be time for idea-sharing, community building and Sabbath together. You will hear more about this soon.

I believe strongly that if our denomination is to become all God wants us to be, we must act. We cannot wait on General Boards, Bishops, or Superintendents to do this work for us. It is time for the clergy to lead in South Georgia and beyond. Lord, enable us to start a movement and change the world!

I'm Not Who I've Always Been

Romans 8:9-17

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I am not the same person I have always been. I was confirmed in the church in the 6^th grade and said yes to God’s accepting grace, I cannot ever remember a time living outside of God’s grace and love, but I have not always been who I am now. And I hope and pray that I will not stay the person I am.

I am not the boy I was at 14 when the PA system in my middle school called me out of class only to find out I was going with my mother to try and find my father in the parking lot of his workplace with 'the other woman'. I remember conflicted feelings as a 14 year old Christian feeling emotions of hatred and fear.

I am not the boy I was at 18 when I hear God’s call to the ministry. I thought I had it all together and all figured out. I thought I was the smartest and the best (my mother still says I think that). I was arrogant and not very open to learning new things. I have grown a lot.

I am not the man I was in 1993 when I was appointed as an associate pastor in Dublin, Georgia. I was getting up four days a week at 4 a.m. to meet a friend and drive to seminary at Emory in Atlanta – four days a week for two years to be in class at 8 a.m. returning back to Dublin around 9 p.m. at night except on Wednesdays - all while trying to live with a new wife.

I am not the man I was when I served as associate pastor at St. Luke UMC and for the first time on my own, as a pastor had to journey to make the call to the bedside of a dying man and his family. Trying the best I could to recite the litany of what I learned in seminary only to realize that they just wanted me to shut up. I am not that man.

I am not the man who was appointed to St. Andrew in 1998 in Columbus. 40 people on Sunday morning and I thought – what did I do to be appointed here? I thought that my career path would be four years here and there. Thank God I’m not still that man.

I am not even the man who worked with those wonderful people at St. Andrew and St. John to help them merge together to form St. Peter. As wonderful a learning experience as it was and as much as I tried to do it right, there were people who were hurt and disappointed. I don’t have regrets, but I am not that person. I am someone different.

I am not even the same person who was appointed to Wesley in June 2009.

I am not the same person I have always been – but that is the point of Sustaining Grace – once we are justified and regenerated, born anew, we are not supposed to remain the same. God’s sustaining grace is working in us every moment of every day – assisting us to identify and die to the flesh and live the Spirit more and more every moment of every day. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Scripture teaches, and John Wesley helped explain, that after we say yes to God's accepting grace, we are then to continually say yes and grow in God's sustaining grace toward perfection. Yes – you heard me correctly - toward perfection. We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God's salvation and then do nothing. Please keep in mind that sustaining grace is God's work moving us toward perfection. But when we Methodists say "perfection", we are not talking about moral perfection or keeping the law of God. For Methodists, perfection is embracing fully the love of God. Perfect love of God and neighbor - embracing love fully so that the desires and motives of our hearts are filled with love.

We open our hearts and lives to God's sustaining grace so that we might love more perfectly; so that God's image in us might be re-created and restored.

Do you notice if you are dying to flesh and living more to the Spirit? Is God changing you? Or ------ are you the same person you’ve always been?