2013 Lenten Devotional Guide

 

Lent is a time of reflection, repentance and refocus on the life of Christ. Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our 40 day time of preparation. I would like to invite you to join me in reconnecting with our foundational spiritual disciplines of reading the scriptures, praying, fasting, giving and journaling. The Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church has produced an online devotional to engage the journey. Join us daily : http://www.instantflipbook.com/flipbooks/9ec6e33dd9/

 

Invitation to Christmas Eve Worship in Baltimore Maryland

 

Spiritual Leadership Skills Poll

 

Hope for the City Symposium

 

Grace to Transform

The heartbeat story

The human heart beats—- per minute pumping blood, nutrients and cleansing the body of toxins

The heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces and is a little larger than the size of your fist. By the end of a long life, a person’s heart may have beat more than 3.5 billion times. In fact, each day, the average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood.

When your heartbeat it is an indication that your body is strong all things are well with your entire body.  When the heartbeat is weak that is an indication that there is something wrong.  Cities and organization also have a heartbeat.  When the organization is functioning well there are certain key systems that are functioning effectively so that the organization can achieve the mission and vision that they have embraced. I believe that even cities have a heartbeat figuratively speaking

As I have been meeting, business leaders, city, and state politicians, pastors, school principals, laity and those who live in the neighborhoods of the churches that I have visited, I have been asking “What is the heartbeat of Baltimore”

Instead of hearing about the wonderful things going in the city I have seen people mentally leave the conversation and begin reminiscing. The favorite phrase that I hear them begin their reflections with is  Back in the Day

Back in the Day  the Orioles were great when Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Cal Ripkin were on the team

Back in the day the Colts were the Baltimore football team. The Real Quarterbacks of Baltimore were Greg Landry, Johnny Unitas, Bert Jones and John Elway.

Back in the day our economy was strong when the B& O railroad was running products from the great factories like Bethlehem Steel, Glenn Martin, aircraft, were hiring people and fulfilling their promise of healthcare and a pension

Back in the Day Peabody Conservatory of music produced the best organists in the country and Morgan State produced teachers for most of the urban public schools in the nation along with the one of the finest music departments in the world

When I have asked laity and clergy about the heartbeat of the United Methodist Church in Baltimore I hear phrases like

Back in the day the United Methodist Church was not hurting for members.

Back in the day anybody who was somebody was a member of the Methodist Church

Back in the day pews were full and programs naturally multiplied

Back in the day Methodists had megachurches before megachurches were a trend

I started to believe that everyone was exaggerating so I asked our historian  Robert Shindle was there credible evidence of

1. Metropolitan, Lafayette Square (2,025 members active in worship in 1950) largest church in the Washington Conference

1. Lovely Lane, Baltimore City Station (1,915 members active in worship in 1950) largest church in the Baltimore Conference
2. Towson (1,400 members in First and Second Churches combined  in 1950)
   First and Second Churches merged, 1952 and were able to build the current church building in 1956.  Second Church had been a Methodist Protestant Church and the merger was a delayed result of the 1939 reunion of Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Protestant Churches.

1. Govans (1,194 members in 1950)was still in operation in 1980 and absorbed the former Boundary Avenue Church in 1983 to become Govans-Boundary UMC.
2. Harlem Park  (1,064 members in 1950)
   merged with Grove Chapel, in 1953 to form Wesley Memorial, Westview which closed earlier this year. The former Harlem Park Church was sold and is now Union Memorial UMC, an example of a church changing conference hands (from Baltimore to Washington) before the merger of the Conferences in 1965.  Change in the racial make-up of the Harlem Park area resulted in the “white flight” of the Harlem Park congregation, while suburbanization resulted in the Grove Chapel site, once part of a rural circuit, being developed as the Westview community, complete with a shopping mall.

1. Otterbein Memorial, Hampden (777 members in 1950)
   An EUB Church in 1950, this became one of many United Methodist churches in the Hampden area after the 1968 union. Otterbein Memorial was still in existence in 1980. In 1999 the church became Good Shepherd UMC through the merger of Woodberry and Roland Avenue-Evergreen, (itself the result of a 1973 merger). After a fire at Mt. Vernon UMC ten years later, that church merged into Good Shepherd UMC as well.

There is sometimes so much nostalgia about back in the day when churches were full and ministry was vibrant that we overlook the awesome things that God is doing today.

I celebrate our legacy as Methodist in America

I celebrate being the people of God who embrace scriptural holiness and social holiness

I celebrate that Methodism in America began here in Baltimore in 1784 - Christmas Conference at Lovely Lane

I celebrate the rich heritage of vital, growing congregations what have been a part of our history but I do not want to stare into the rear view mirror as we are trying to move forward.  There are vibrant congregations now that are keeping the heartbeat of the United Methodists strong in Baltimore

Halethorpe Relay

Provides and serves lunch at Christ Deaf Church monthly, as well as support Deaf/Blind Camp and deaf ministries.

Leads worship monthly for the residents of Glynn Taff Assisted Living and has been doing this 10 years

Loch Raven UMC

is actively involved in Habitat for Humanity from houses to gardens.

Sharp Street

Opens Lydia’s House Food Pantry at Sharp Street Memorial is Wednesdays and Fridays, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Hot meals and Hot messages from our pastor are served to individuals and families from our community.  Our guests are also invited to visit our Clothes Closet during these hours.

Patapsco UMC

Helping Hands Ministry serves a hot meal to 100-150 guests every Friday . During that time, if there are clothes, etc. available, guests are welcome to take what they need.

Good Shepherd UMC

Provides a free afterschool program that is busting out of the seams with young people who are doing their homework, receiving a snack and are highly engaged in structured activities in the Hampden area

Water’s Edge Partnership – Our new church start in the Baltimore Harbor

A Discipleship Process – we are implementing life discipleship which is an intentional process of leading people to Christ, growing people in faith and strength, and training them to become leaders who can disciple others.

Yes there are quite a few churches that are on life support and their vital signs are weak

Yes there are churches with huge deferred maintenance expenses

Yes there are predictions of church closings and destruction of the denomination

I am here to declare today that the predictors of doom and gloom must not know what I know

I serve a risen Saviour,
He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living,
Whatever men or women may say;
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and He talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He live, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

We are not living in a season of defeat

but we are living in season of victory,

We are not living in a season of rigidity

We are living in a season of adaptation

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not driven to despair;

persecuted, but not forsaken;

struck down, but not destroyed;

 

My Hope is Built on Nothing less than Jesus Blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame but Holy lean on Jesus name, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand All other Ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand

The Baltimore United Methodist Churches have a great legacy of men and women whose lives have been transformed lives by the grace. There is a great legacy of men and women in the Baltimore Metropolitan District whose lives have been transformed by grace. Yes there are some challenges in the District but because we are people whose lives have been transformed by the Grace of God we can do something about many of these conditions

I know that in this District we among one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS populations in the nation –  As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I know that in this District It is estimated that there are 4,088 men, women, and children who are homeless in Baltimore on any given night.   As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I know that 1 out of every 4 people in our District are living at or below the poverty level in areas that includes As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I know that the conditions of urban living have expanded beyond the inner city to Dundalk, Essex, Middle River, Overllea and Catonsville As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I know that Baltimore City Public Schools are excited about 66% of their student’s graduate but that means 44% are not graduating.  As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I know that there are 327,000 that do not claim to be a part of a church, mosque or synagogue   As the people transformed by the grace of God, we can do something about that

I would like to suggest that we are being set up to be the agents of transformation and grace in the Baltimore Metropolitan District.  We are uniquely positioned and gifted to face the difficult challenges facing this city, county and our churches.

My vision is simple

Transform                    Impact                               Excel

Our mission will fall follow the mission of the United Methodist church

Address Health Issues – Engage ministry with the poor – develop leaders  – develop new faith communities and revitalize existing communities for new people. I can hear the question that you are asking ….How are we going to do something about all of these huge, seemingly overwhelming challenges.

Be Transformed

2 Chronicles 7:14

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I consulted with the exegetical and hermeneutical Hebrew scholar Bruce Birch on this text and his insight on the text illuminated my understanding of the transformational power of prayer.

This periscope is set in a larger context. God is responding to Solomon’s prayer to bless the temple. Solomon had offered up sacrifices to God to bless and consecrate the temple and as God spoke he basically said – If there is trouble in the land – If there is destruction of your land-If things look hopeless, chaotic and out of control  – I the Lord God almighty have some help for you.

If you Humble yourself

Pray

And seek my face

And repent

Then I, the Lord God almighty will show up and answer your prayer.

When I go to GNC they always want to recommend vitamin packets that cover a wide spectrum of possible outcomes, from weight loss, to weight gain, to lowering cholesterol to lowing your blood pressure to protein for body builders to how to go bald in a week.  The key is they always say you need this vitamin packet because one pill reacts with the other pill and this is how you achieve the results that are promised by those vitamins.  This text is like a multi pack of vitamins.  If you want the results that God has promised you have.  If we want to experience God’s transformation we need to embrace the entire teaching from the text.

The text seems to be self explanatory if you read it quickly but on closer examination we notice that God said “humble yourselves and pray”.  This is an indication that attitude is important before prayer the Hebrew word translated humble relates to “emptying oneself.” We come to God open, ready to receive God’s word to us as to express our needs to God.”

That means our prayers should not be God grant me what I think the answer should be.

God our church is in trouble so if you send us a young pastor, who is married with kids and their spouse will lead our Sunday School and they can preach, evangelize, lead bible study, visit all of the sick and shut in, lead the stewardship campaign and if they can sing that will be a bonus, that will work.

Our prayers are to be open and ready to receive from God also.  That means there can be no drive by prayers. Prayer is an investment of our time in speaking and listening to God.  If we are seeking to be transformed by God our prayers cannot be a monologue but must become a dialogue.

“Prayer is the connector between God, your heart and the elements of change going on around you.”  Howard Thurman

 

Release Self interest and Serve for Impact

Galatians 2:19-20

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul is in the middle of a church fight.  People were fighting over whether the Jewish Christians were better than the Gentile Christians.  They were fighting over whether it the long time church members should have more privileges than the new church members.

I am crucified with Christ and I live no longer— Self has to die

Self importance

Self direction

Self interests

Self centered worldview

Self determined significance

We have to give up phrases like this is my pew, this is my committee, this is my church

Totally giving up our sense of entitlement and privilege.

But Christ liveth in me — Is a fountain of life in my inmost soul, from which all my tempers, words, and actions flow.

When Christ is living in you, then you can serve others with no agenda

When Christ is living in you, you are willing to follow the call of God in your life even when it disrupts your life

When Christ is living in you, you are able to love unconditionally

When Christ is living in you have joy unspeakable in the midst of chaos

When Christ is living in you, you have a swagger as you walk this Christian journey

When you serve at the direction of God we no longer talk in terms of mission for mission sake but we begin talking about serving others as a game changer

Start talking about Ending homelessness in Baltimore  – That is a game changer

Start talking about 100% graduation rate in Baltimore City – That is a game changer

Start talking about providing access to health care to the poorest of the poor in Baltimore – That is a game changer

 

1 Corinthians 2:9

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him”

Paul was quoting Isaiah 64 as he was speaking a word of encouragement to a fledgling church about what they can expect when the Spirit moves in their midst and the grace of God abides with them.

When you look at the text and place it on the backdrop of the Baltimore Metropolitan District, I clearly see a translation that not everyone can see nor handle.  I see and hear the text saying “The Best is Yet to Come in Baltimore”

There has been a great legacy

And a great history but now as a called servant in the kingdom of God

1. A charge to keep I have,
   A God to glorify,
   A never-dying soul to save,
   And fit it for the sky.
2. To serve the present age,
   My calling to fulfill:
   Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage
   To do my Master’s will!

I still believe that we should expect great things when the Spirit moves in their midst and the grace of God abides with them

When the Spirit of God is moving and  the grace of God pours down on you like a warm summer rain – The power of God contained in these blessings will

Apprehend your Apathy

Belay your Boredom

Clean up your Catastrophes

Delete your Depression

Empower your Enthusiasm

Fragment your frustration

Give you gusto

Help you overcome Hindrances

Identify your Issues

Jumpstart your Joy

Kickstart your Kindness

Lift you out of loneliness

Move your mountains

Nurture your neglected

Order your Obstinance

Overcome your Oppression

Position for God’s Providence

Quell your Quarrels

Reverse your Rigidness

Secure your Success

Transform your Troubles

Uncover your Uniqueness

Verify your Victory

Witness to your Weakness

Exceed your Expectations

Yes to your Yielding and

Zip to Your Zing

As Martin Luther King Jr and Rev. Dr. Evan Young I have a dream

That when other conferences are looking for models of how to do congregation transforming urban ministry they look at what is happening in Baltimore Metropolitan District

I have a dream that, When publishing houses are looking for authors to write articles about how to transform churches in communities where the economy has devastated the neighbor because of a major industry moving out like in Sparrows Point, Dundalk and Essex, they look to the Baltimore Metropolitan District

I have a dream that, When our jurisdictional annual conferences look for models of church vitality where the churches are growing, thriving and paying 100% of their apportionments, they look at what is going on in the Baltimore Metropolitan District

I have a dream that, when it comes time for Camp Hope and Camp Life we model radical hospitality and be the presence of God’s grace in the lives of children and youth and that the people serving in these camps are servant leaders from the Baltimore Metropolitan District

I have a dream that we become the go to people for Celebrate Recovery Ministries in the Baltimore Metropolitan District

I have a dream that we initiate and support 5 health clinics in our poorest neighborhoods in the city and the county

I have a dream that 100% of the congregations in the Baltimore Metropolitan district will be vital, thriving congregations.

I have a dream that we will have vital congregations everywhere that become the new heartbeat of Baltimore.

I believe that we can do this because of the grace of God working in us and through us to usher in the reign of God here in Baltimore

I still have peace
I still believe
I can conquer anything
And it still by the grace of God

Still have hope
I’ve come through worse before
I have never walked alone
I’ve been kept by the grace of God

 

My Prayer for Today – Baltimore

Yesterday Andy Lunt (Director of Congregational Development), Paul Nixon (Path One Consultant) and I drove through the City of Baltimore.  We were loaded down with maps, demographic reports and news clips about about the various communities, that comprise the Charm City.  Our goal was simple, to identify places where a UMC community of faith was missing.

We drove through Franklin Square, Lafayette Square, Bolton Hill, Fells Point, Canton. Paterson Park, John Hopkins Hospital and then straight out Belair Road to Overlea and back across the city to Catonsville, through PIkesville and Mt. Washington.  As we drove through and talked to people, observed the community differences and the obvious challenges I was most disturbed and shaken by the extreme poverty that exists in several neighborhoods where there is no UMC.  I know that the rule of thumb in starting a new church is go to where there is community growth.  I get that but we need a new strategy for our urban communities and for city centers.

I am praying that God will send ministry servants who care and will participate in a ministry to directly address the plight of the poor, the working poor and those living in communities where the social problems including food insecurity, access to healthcare, drugs being sold on the streets and addictions of every kind outweigh and overshadow the hope that there is a better life and the realization of God’s love in their lives.

My prayer is that we develop a team to change one neighborhood in a major way to reflect the Reign of God’s kingdom here on earth. If you will join me in this prayer, please leave a comment.

 

YAC: Shift Magazine | Baltimore-Washington Conference

The Lenten devotions have truly been a blessing. During this season if realignment and renewal, this is an excellent resource.

http://www.bwcumc.org/shift

 

Prodigal Worship 2012 Workshop Highlight

Patrick Clayborn has been a professor at Drew Theological School in 2011. He is ordained as an Itinerant Elder in the Ohio Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Patrick previously served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and as a pulpit associate at St. James AME Church in Newark, NJ. Dr. Clayborn is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Academy of Homiletics.

Designing Worship that Connects with the Unchurched: 

How can we make our worship services say “whosoever will let them come”? How do we create an environment that is inviting to those who have little or no connection to church? How do we take our worship to those who have no desire to come to our churches? How can such liturgies be sustained, particularly by churches with few resources? These are the questions that this workshop seeks to address. The aim will be to explore methods for planning, enriching, and maintaining worship services so that seekers find them welcoming.

Preaching and Spirituality: 

This workshop focuses on the essentials of Christian spirituality within the preaching vocation. The history and theology of the connection between spirituality and preaching; how biblical exegesis for preaching impacts and is impacted by spirituality; and ways in which spirituality shapes and is shaped by homiletical style, design, form and diversity are components that will be introduced. These concepts will be explored through various interactive activities.

 

It’s Time to Move from Worship to Service

BY KATE THOMAS

Sundays have typically been the day of rest. Truthfully, most Christians today no longer take the day to give back to God. It’s about time we reclaimed this sacred day, not just for God, but in the spirit of Jesus’ teachings – to love unconditionally and spend time with those who are impoverished.  

Sunday is the perfect day to do a churchwide mission day at least once or twice a year for a few reasons:

1. People who attend church are already available.
2. It sets the tone for “church” to take place outside the church walls.
3. It provides connectedness with the entire church community in a way that could never be as widespread as Sunday morning.

How do we make this transition, you ask? It’s really quite simple once you realize your church probably already has the infrastructure to pull off a mission Sunday. You can harness some of the already existing groups (UMM, UMW, youth, Sunday School, small groups, mission team, church council, etc.) to each find a local mission project that church members can attend. Make sure to be specific about how many people you think might participate in each project, timing, directions, and choosing a team leader. Or this might be a time for anyone passionate about mission to shine. Either way, it’s helpful to have a team of people, each coordinating the details for the different projects.

Some other things to keep in mind:

1. Have a signup sheet for each project; two or three Sundays prior will help you predict your numbers.
2. Make sure to accommodate additional church members who will show up without signing up. Have projects that can take additional people or come up with additional projects that can have unlimited numbers.
3. Have a variety of projects for different ages, physical capabilities and interests.
4. Consider a gathering time before going out to serve. This could include a few upbeat songs and a prayer as well as a time for offering. The “sermon” will be your service to God.
5. Following the mission activities, it could be a great time for a church potluck, with some sharing time about the projects.
6. Set up for easy traffic flow at church. Make sure to have a meeting space for each of the projects before touching base for instructions and to carpool, and make sure to have details for those who haven’t signed up. This could be a bunch of tables in the fellowship hall with signs and descriptions as well as a handout at the door with all the projects. The short worship time before serving could take place in the same space.
7. Consider how your church can uniquely serve and Change the World in a meaningful way. Make this project your own.

Kate Thomas is senior productions coordinator for ACDI-VOCA and former graphic designer for the Baltimore Washington Conference

 

Developing a Great Staff

(The fifth in a series of posts by Dr. Merritt on pastoral leadership) 

It is without question one of, if not the most, difficult and yet important job of any leader. You will make mistakes in hiring staff. Over the years, I’ve tried to remember three principles in bringing people on to serve with me.

1. Find people who can do what you cannot do and can do it better than anybody else can do it.

2. Let them do their job. Delegate with feedback and accountability, and then trust them to get the job done.

3. Don’t be afraid to let others shine and get credit for a job well done.

This is a great article by Dr. Merritt.  You can read the entire blog at http://pastorsedge.myshopify.com/blogs/edgeblog/4087572-keys-to-building-staff-leadership