What Does It Mean to Be a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. However, that begs the question, “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?”

At our church we illustrate the discipleship process to help us grow in our Christian faith by connecting with God, connecting with each other, connecting in ministry, and connecting with the world.

The foundation of that cycle is Connecting with God. How do we do that? Through prayer and worship. Prayer is talking to God. Is it that simple? Well, yes and no. Many people are familiar with The Lord's Prayer or the Our Father. While many memorize this prayer, what it is most useful for is as a guide of how to pray to God. It is a way to connection with God, and there are many other acceptable forms including just talking to him like you would your best friend.

The other vital aspect of connecting with God is through worship. Why is worship important? Why is it important to participate in it regularly? It gives us a chance to show our adoration to the Lord to express our thankfulness for creation, for our very lives, and for the forgiveness God provides through Jesus. We do it in song, in prayer, and as a group. There is a power in raising our voices together in praise of our God, a power that we can feel in the connection.

Worship is also a chance to hear back from God. As we get beaten down during the week, we can be refilled with the Holy Spirit. We can be inspired and reinvigorated. As forgiven children of God, we have a chance to feel the light of Christ within us to grow brighter.

In this Easter Season (which continues into May), I encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities to connect with God through worship, not as a duty but as a joy! It is an important step in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Peace be with you!

Serving Promises Unseen

Following is a sermon that I delivered on August 12, 2012 at Pocatello First United Methodist Church.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

How many of you have been watching the Olympics?  Okay … I admit.  I get really excited when the United States does well, but what I find fascinating is how much I support the other athletes too.  Take a Bulgarian gymnast, Yourdan Youchev, 39 years old and at his sixth Olympics!  Who could help but root for the man, regardless of how he finished.  There was a diver who never expected to make the semi-finals. He was just happy to be there, thrilled to be a part of something bigger than himself, and the Olympics are filled with these stories.  Then, we, as we watch them from thousands of miles away, also become a part of this world wide experience.

In a way, this was what the audience of the book of Hebrews felt.  They were a part of a world changing movement, but … it wasn’t going as expected.  When Jesus ascended into heaven, they thought that he was going to return very soon. Paul in his earliest letters discourages people to marry because he thinks that the time would be so short (1 Cor 7:25-31).  But, there was a problem. The first generation of Christians were dying, and Jesus hadn’t returned yet. The author of Hebrews reminds them that our time is not God’s time.  He talks about their ancestors and how they were patient and had faith that God would fulfill his promises.

The word “faith” plays a prominent role in today’s Scripture passage. “By faith, Abraham obeyed … By faith, he lived … By faith, Sarah received …”

But Wait, There's More ...

Families Called to Hope

Following is a sermon that I delivered on May 13, 2012 at Pocatello First United Methodist Church.

John 15:9-17

How many of you read the newspaper today?  Watched the morning news?  Looked at headlines online? It seems that we are inundated with bad news.  The world looks hopeless. Every day there is a new crisis. A new reason to panic.

Was it always like this? Is there really more bad news than there used to be, or are we victims of a 24 news cycle, where everything is an emergency … but it will wait until the top of the hour or until after “a few words from our sponsor.”

If there is good news, it usually gets tagged onto the end, almost as an afterthought.  And yet, there are terrible things that are going on in our world every day: Financial markets just reported a 2b dollar loss at J.P. Morgan. Who can tell what will happen in Greece? Or Spain?  But that’s only money right?  What about war?  There are new reports of increasing violence in the Middle East. Unfortunately, there’s nothing surprising about that.  But, just a few weeks ago, there was a rocket test in North Korea. The good news is that it was unsuccessful, but does anyone think that they’re quitting?

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Puncturing Our Presumptions

Following is a short presentation that I gave at Pocatello First United Methodist Church's Leadership Summit today.

A day or two ago, when Pastor Craig was asking me what the title of this talk should be, I told him that I had many talents, but coming up with titles was not one of them. But when I saw Puncturing our Presumptions, I knew that it was perfect. Because that is the main thing that gets in our way when we try to connect with people who don’t have experience being in the church.

As you have already heard and seen in our program and guide for today, the Methodist Church’s main purpose is “the formation of disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

One aspect of that is training the people who are here.  As Paul calls it in Eph 4, “Equipping the Saints.”  And when Paul talks about “saints” throughout his letters, he is not only talking about people like Mother Theresa or Francis of Assisi (though they would certainly qualify).  He is talking about all of us, those people who are a part of the church.

But in Matthew 28, Jesus calls us to make disciples of ALL nations.  That can mean going out to show new people about Jesus.  The church has both bad and good example of that in our history.  But it can also mean those people who find their way to us.  It might be a person who crosses our path at work, school, or even the grocery store.  Or, it may be someone or a family who wanders into our church on a Sunday morning.

But Wait, There's More ...