Power Play

Power Play

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Lk.9.1,2

Hockey players are a rough and tumble bunch who understand the “power play” – when your team has more players on the ice than the opponent you have the power and are more likely to score. Whether Christians play hockey or not, we ought to understand the power play as well. God is with us (Mtw:1.23), and assuming we are with him (united in faith and purpose through Jesus Christ), every day is a power play. Frederick Douglass, the great African-American abolitionist declared boldly, “One and God make a majority.” That’s the ultimate power play.
 

Paul writes “I pray that you know…His incomparably great power for us who believe which … is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Eph.1:19;3:20). We often neglect to tap into God’s power, or may even – despite having the label “believers” – not actually believe in God’s power. Yet, Jesus empowered his disciples to drive out demons, heal the sick and preach the kingdom of God, especially to the poor. Jesus declared that any gate hell erects around a heart or a community will crumble when faced with the power of God’s kingdom expressed through the church (Mtw.16:18).
 
John Wesley, an eminently rational man, an Oxford educator, practitioner of medicine and inventor, was used of God to reconnect the church to the Spirit’s power and launch the Methodist movement. He recounts many stories of apparent miraculous healing, exorcism and overcoming impossible obstacles. Methodism was birthed by the Holy Spirit and God’s power play. Free Methodists have sometimes struggled with embracing powerful expressions of the Holy Spirit – perhaps fearing being “too charismatic” or appearing just plain silly to believe outdated things like miracles in our day.
 
I think we should fear instead considering Jesus as his Nazarene brethren did, a prophet without honor, and through our disbelief limit the miraculous outpouring of kingdom power (Mk.6:4,5) which Jesus actually commissioned us to grasp and deploy (Lk.9:1,2).
 
What if in 2016 we purposed to rely more readily upon God’s power through the Holy Spirit? What if we prayed for miracles, healing, conversions, and more leaders to enter the spiritual harvest? What if we sought God sized-vision and God-imbued power to overcome the obstacles that we face? What if we took Jesus at his word? What if we really believed?
 
I think we’d see a real power-play. Hell’s gates would crumble. The good news would be preached to the poor. Prisoners would be set free. The blind would see. The oppressed would be liberated. The Lord’s favor would be experienced (Lk.4.18-21).
 
So stop right now and pray! Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief! Fill me Holy Spirit! Let’s get more players on the ice! "God and one are a majority!”

From a Grateful Fellow Pastor

This is a season of Thanksgiving, and my heart is full of abundant joy because of you, pastor.

Most people in your congregation will never really know that depths of longing you have for each one to draw nearer still to Jesus, how you have wept in prayer over the suffering and sometimes confusion of your members, the too many times you were required to miss meals and special moments with your family because you tended to the crises and needs of your flock.  Few will understand the decisions you have made to take less in order to serve more, to give sacrificially not only to set an example but because you love God and care for those suffering in the world.  You have chosen a simple lifestyle to honor the King who had no place to lay his head so that the gospel may be proclaimed without hindrance.

I know that this Thanksgiving there are lonely elderly in your community who will have companionship, confused teens who will know they are loved, hungry men who will have a meal, homeless women who will not be on the street, stressed marriages that will find points of agreeable joy, refugees and immigrants who will find friends in a hostile world – BECAUSE OF YOU and how you have led.

And only God truly knows, but I am sure the number is larger than you suspect, all of the people who have crossed from death to eternal life and will join you in angel song before the throne of the King of Kings when the mortal coil is shed - because of your witness and ministry.

This world is a better place because you said yes to Jesus Christ, and to the divine call to shepherd or prophesy or teach or evangelize or break new ground in a hard community – or all of this.  

I am so thankful for you. 

Refugee Jesus, A Christmas Story

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt… for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” Matthew 2:13

Mary and Joseph fled nearly certain death in Bethlehem for the insecurity of Egypt and a chance to live. How long did young Jesus and his refugee parents live in Africa? Tatian puts a seven year span on the event, Baronius says eight, Athanasius thought four and Josephus believed it to be one year. There are plenty of ancient, apocryphal tales of young Jesus in Egypt, celebrated yet today by the Egyptian Coptic believers.

No one knows how long Jesus was a refugee before being gathered by Joseph, daring to return to obscure Nazareth. No one really knows what Christ’s earthly parents or even young Jesus himself did while separated from family, friends, occupation and home. We simply know that core to the Christmas story is the bleak and bloody tale of terror, shed blood, and fleeing with the hope of life and little but the promise of God.

Was Joseph hungry and harassed? Mary afraid? Did her baby cry? Most refugees are hungry, afraid, harassed and weep over deep losses.  

From the depths of this agonizing portion of the Christmas tale emerges a carpenter’s son whose entire life and legacy can be summarized by the action verb -- LOVE. Pressed by terror the diamond of hope emerged. Surrounded by death, the Prince of Peace smashed the mortal coil and prepared the path toward eternal life. The tragedy ends well. But the story continues to be written anew today.

I imagine Christ, at the side of His Father in heaven, is heartbroken over the weeping, harassed, hungry streams of refugees that flee from today’s Herods and seek some help from today’s wise men and hope for some place to lay their heads in today’s Egypts. What a wonderful Christmas gift it would be if Christ’s people, children of the Refugee King, might supply the warmth of prayers, assistance of financial support, and not without applying the wisdom of security, nonetheless offer a place for the least of these to lay their weary heads.

Pastors Love. Love Pastors.

Pastors love.

That is all that really explains their existence, perhaps at any time, but certainly in the modern world. Pastors proclaim a message of hope in the resurrected Jesus and an eternal truth discovered in an ancient text and through hearing from the Holy Spirit. This pastor’s message is often mocked, this text is often viewed as a relic, and being thought of as eccentric at best or pathological at worse if she actually admits to hearing from God. Because there are too many pastors who have not lived according to the profession of their faith, creating dark news sensations, a shadow has been cast upon all who seek to servant-lead congregations and merit in the general public a trustworthiness rating below that of used-car-salesmen.

Nationally, only teachers and pastors are paid less for their level of education and training as professionals. The average teacher with a bachelor’s degree earns about $42,000; the average pastor with a bachelor’s degree earns $28,000. Most pastors have expensive Master’s Degrees, with extensive training in languages, theology, counseling, administration, communications, community development and leadership. At least one of five pastors must work an additional job outside of the church in order to support their family. In the NCC, over 60% of our lead pastors are bi-vocational (including 3 Assistant Superintendents). The stress this places on a family over time – working between two jobs often 70 hours per week with very few days off despite the biblical admonition to Sabbath – takes a toll. Pastors are rarely compensated adequately and find it difficult to provide the basics for their families, including health care.

Guaranteed: your pastor does what she does out of deep commitment to a call from God and an abiding love for you and the community of service.

Love your pastor. The reason they are with you is love for God and you.

Keep your eye on the NCC Facebook page (fb/nccfmc) for daily reminders of ways you can show appreciation to your pastor during October – Pastor Appreciation Month.  

General Conference Update

The Spirit of Christ spoke to and through the Free Methodist Church at General Conference 2015. Organized around nine priorities which in fact flowed from the work of the Holy Spirit through the church at GC2011. At least one of your NCC elected delegates participated in being resourced and contributing to each of the nine FMC priorities. These priorities are:

Embrace All ● Disciple Deeply ● Cultivate Health

Develop Leaders ● Multiply Ministries ● Honor Fruitfulness

Engage Urban ● Partner Strong ● Go Global

Your delegates (pictured) say….

General Conference was a wonderful time of inspiration – through worship music, messages from our bishops and leaders, strategic priorities training, fellowship with 2,000 of our Free Methodist family from across the nation and around the world, and the confirmation of our denominational stand on the Biblical definition of marriage. I came away from the conference being spiritually renewed and refreshed, and have returned to the Fillmore Church with a greater passion to multiply the church through making disciples for Christ. (Mike Hopper)

I was so moved when Bishop Roller said, “Love your neighbor as yourself… I would just be glad if we would love our neighbor as much as we love our pets." Likewise, I resonated with Bishop Thomas when he referenced how all through the Old Testament God is the maker. Then Jesus invites us to be a partner with him as we "make" disciples. What a privilege, honor and responsibility we have to share in God’s work of re-creation. (Shawn Morrison)

I was impacted by the general feeling of action that transpired through every activity, more than ruling and dictating, a strong spirit of support and partnership with very defined strategies is what I got from GC15. (Alma Jasinksi)

Walk the Discipleship Circle

Walking the Discipleship Circle

The gathered delegates, pastors and attenders of the North Central Conference Annual Conference 2015 made a radical commitment. 

We all committed to weekly and intentionally “Walk the Discipleship Circle” with at least one other person. The Discipleship Circle is a simple way of living out daily devotion to Jesus and grow as His followers. 

We will encourage each other to daily BE with God, in His holy and loving presence through intentional prayer and searching the Scriptures.  Consequently, we have faith that as we spend more time with our Lord we will SEE more clearly his will for our lives – how to treat others, how to bless our communities, how to treat ourselves, how to bless the church, how to honor God. We believe that in so being with Christ and seeing the Spirit’s direction, with community encouragement and spiritual empowerment, we can actually do what God desires. Jesus said, “Those who love me, obey me” (John 14:23, 24, & Ps.119:167, 1Peter.1:22, 1John.2:5, etc.). 

As a conference, we have identified together a startling definition of “disciple.” 

A disciple is a radical follower of Jesus living out self-sacrificial love for God and others, and helping others do the same.

Radical means at the root, an event or change that affects the fundamental nature of something, thorough and comprehensive. The concept of being a radical follower of Jesus flows directly from a principle distinctive of the Free Methodist Movement – entire sanctification. Entire sanctification is simply the hope, possibility and reality that God can and does answer the scriptural prayer (1Thessalonians 5:23) “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through” and that as a gift of the Holy Spirit, nurtured through our being, seeing and doing, we really can “Love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.” 

It’s radical – not complicated. With whom are you going to walk the discipleship circle?    

Call to PRAY

The clarion call from the Spirit to the superintendent over the past few years has been PRAY.  We seek to fulfill the Great Commission and be a Great Commandment people.  We develop plans regularly to win souls and build projects and impact our communities.  And sometimes we pray.  Usually we pray.  But rarely without ceasing, and often not as a first order priority.  The primal spiritual act is communion with God, conversation with our maker, even as in the garden Adam is not seen writing laws or laying out strategic gardening plans, but rather conversing with God.  The act of willful transgression against the Creator warped the relationship so that clear conversational communion no longer defined the human-divine interaction.  But that is brokenness, not optimal existence. Christ came to reverse the curse and through the Spirit with us, above us and in us, we have amazing open access to our Abba once again. 

In my annual dialogues with pastors I have found that almost half of us do not pray daily in much more than a perfunctory fashion.  Seasons of fasting and seeking after God’s face for our souls, the souls of others and the spirit-led direction of our churches is the exception, not the rule. We are, many say, too busy to pray. Fasting, say others, is just not “my thing.”  Yet God has called us into a synergistic relationship with Him so that we can accomplish more together than alone. God, in Divine wisdom has chosen to accomplish His work on earth through the spirit-led hands and feet of human beings called into relationship with Him.  There is no other way revealed in Scripture. 

We must pray. Pray first. Pray together. Pray daily. Praise God for abundant and manifold blessings – even those which arise through suffering.  Repent of lackadaisical attitudes, outright sins of commission, silence toward injustices in our midst and sometimes perpetuated by our own attitudes.  Ask in order to receive – spiritual power, provision for ministry, clarity of direction, miracles of healing and empowered gifting from on high.  Yield to the promptings of the Spirit either made clear in Scripture, through the counsel of Spirit-led partners and even (WE PRAY!) through the direct witness of the Spirit to our innermost selves.

We will reverse no bad trend and build on sinking sand if we are not a praying people.  As a praying people, there is no obstacle too large for God and fruitful power shall descend upon us.