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Offering

Yesterday we bid farewell to our very talented organist, Clayton Stoker. Clayton had been with us for three years, and in that time, we were blessed by his many talents and his person.

Before he played his final song, I asked the congregation to sit while Clayton played “for God and we get to listen in.”

Knowing Clayton, I believe that he saw his music, especially in the worship services, as an offering to God – and we got to listen in. I don’t think he saw it as a performance as much as an offering.

In worship, everything we do is an offering to God.

The songs we sing

The prayers we pray

The gifts we bring

Listening to the message

There are all offerings to God

The offering of our time, our gifts, our resources.

These are our response to God’s greatness and God great love in our lives.

I wonder what might change in us if we saw our lives as an offering to God?

How would we do our work differently if we saw our daily work as an offering to God?

How would we live in relationship with our family differently if we saw our work in our relationships as an offering to God?

How would we shop differently, save differently, give differently if we saw our financial management as an offering to God?

How would we use our free-time, our or time in general, differently if we saw the use of our time as an offering to God?

I believe that is was the 17th century monk, Brother Lawrence, in his book, Practicing the Presence of God, that recommended that, no matter what we do, washing the dishes, gardening, reading the Bible, or anything else, we do it as if we are doing for God. I believe that he was echoing the advice of the Apostle Paul, when Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23, NIV)

The wonderful thing about living our lives as an offering to God is that we bless others; we reveal God’s love, compassion, and holiness to others. And through our lives, we become a signpost to Christ.

There is meaning in following Christ; and pointing others to Him is, ultimately, what it is all about.

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Faith and the Little Blue Line

A few days ago, I learned a hard lesson about faith; well, MY faith at least.

My wife and I were heading to her parents in the Detroit area for a family get-together. I was driving my wife’s car because, as anyone in my family will tell you, I am a terrible passenger.

My smart phone is not connected to my wife’s car, so the Google map didn’t display on her screen.

Now, normally, I know how to get from our home to my in-law’s home with no problem. Except that there is a LOT of construction on I-75 between here and there. So, I needed Google maps to get me from our home to I-75 avoiding construction. So, I Google mapped our route, but I had to set my phone down in a little cubby where I couldn’t see the map. All I had was the voice telling me where to turn next, and how far to go on this road. I didn’t have the little blue line to see where I was going to turn next. I just had the voice.

I couldn’t do it, man. I needed that little blue line. The voice wasn’t enough. I needed to SEE where I would be turning next. My wife found a way to prop the phone up in a place where I could at least glimpse at it from time to time, and I felt a lot better.

That taught me something about faith in general and my faith in particular.

Unlike Google Maps, in the life of faith, we don’t get a little blue line telling us where we will turn next, or how far to go down this road or that. We rarely even get a voice. Faith means learning to move forward without the little blue line or the voice giving you directions.

I know, I know, many folks believe that the Bible is “the voice,” or prayer. And I would agree for the most part. But it has not been my day-to-day experience that God tells me through any medium where to turn or how far to go.

That’s where faith comes in, or trust.

I have found it more fruitful to move forward in faith rather than to wait for instructions and directions and be certain of where I am going and how to get there. I think faith requires a measure of uncertainty, at least of our own certainty. It is in places of uncertainty that we learn to trust God in our circumstances, and we are reminded once again that God is always faithful to walk with us on the way.

I am not sure that I always need the little blue line when I walk with God. It would be nice sometimes, but I think I am needing it less and less. But I REALLY want it when I am driving through the backroads of Oakland County.

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Loaves and Fishes

Perhaps the most tragic nickname in the Bible is given to a Pharoah named Hophra. In Jeremiah 46:17, God tells the Egyptians to call Hophra, “Braggart who missed his chance.” (NRSV), or “King Bombast, the man who missed his moment.” (NEB)

In other words, Hophra was all talk and no action. All promises and none of them kept. He thumped his chest a lot, but he didn’t deliver. He missed his moment to make a difference. He missed his chance to make life for the Egyptians better.

What an awful nickname to live with.

I want to share a story of a person who seized the opportunity: a little boy in Judea.

In his Gospel, John records the feeding of the five thousand. It is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. But John adds a detail no one else does: the little boy.

Jesus and His disciples are sitting on a mountainside, when they look up and see a whole crowd of people coming toward them. Jesus immediately decides that they are going to feed this crowd. And, when He makes His decision known, some of the disciples go into panic mode; others go looking for food; others are doing the math in their head.

Andrew is one who goes looking for food, and he finds a young boy who has graciously and generously offered to share his meal with the disciples.

Let’s be clear about the loaves and fishes. They were likely this boy’s only meal. The fish were the size of sardines and the loaves were the size of dinner rolls. They were made of barley, which was the cheapest grain you could buy. So, this boy came from a very poor family.

I wonder if this child thought that his little meal could indeed feed five thousand people? Kids really don’t have an idea of what they have.

When our daughter was four years old, we were on a family vacation and my wife gave our daughter two five-dollar bills. She held one bill in each hand and gleefully said, “I have two monies!” She had no idea she had ten bucks, but to her, “two monies” meant she was rich!

So, Andrew comes back to Jesus with the boy and a question. “What are they (the loaves and fishes) among so many?”

In other words, “This is all we have and it’s not going to even make a dent in the need.”

Some scholars believe that what happened is that the people saw the little boy offering up his meal and they were shamed into giving what they had hidden in their pockets and purses. And so, in the sharing of resources, everyone had enough

But I don’t think that’s what happened. Mainly because John was there and he called it a miracle.

Some scholars believe that the loaves and fishes were miraculously multiplied by God.

And that makes a lot more sense to me as miracles go. But then I have to ask, why did John include the child? Why did he have to tell us about the little boy?

And, maybe that’s the lesson we need to learn today?

Maybe this miracle is about the Divine and the human joining in a miracle? God and humanity doing something together that humanity thought was impossible?

Maybe, if we team up with God anything is possible?

Like feeding five thousand hungry people far away from their home?

Or ending gang violence in Guayaquil?

Or finding a cure for cancer?

Or diabetes?

Or dementia?

Or maybe even ending wars?

We tend to look at the challenges of the day and we look at what we think is the pittance

of our own resources, and we tell ourselves, “What are they among so much suffering and injustice?”

But I think the lesson today is that, even the smallest thing offered to God to heal and reconcile the world is a big deal. Because the truth of the matter is, like the little boy, we really don’t have a concept of the value of what we give to God. It is WAY more than we think.

And we really don’t have a concept of what can happen when we give to God. The impact of our giving is nothing less than miraculous.

This Lent we are examining our faith. And part of that examination needs to be to ask ourselves, “Do I believe that if I give to God, it will make a difference?

It will heal brokenness?

It will alleviate suffering?

It will bring hope and comfort?

Do I believe that I can participate with God in the many and wonderful miracles that God is doing every day, with and among everyone who says,

“Yes, Lord. Here are my loaves and fish.”

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The Unintended Gift

For me, it was interesting that the Supreme Court’s decision to give broad immunity to the President of the United States while Keri and I were in Alexandria, Virginia – George Washington’s hometown.

One of the things I re-learned about George Washington was that, in a time when national leaders held tightly on to power, George Washington declined to run a third term in office so that the great democracy experiment could grow. Washington was so popular at the time; he could have been president for as long as he wished. But, stressing the importance of the country over a single person, Washington gave up power.

As I read on why Washington declined an invitation to a third term in office, I came across his words in a letter to a man named Jonathon Trumball, then the Governor of Connecticut. Washington wrote, “The line between Parties is so clearly drawn that politicians would regard neither truth nor decency; attacking every character, without respect to persons – Public or Private, – who happen to differ from themselves in Politics."

Those words, written in 1799, are hauntingly familiar.

But I digress.

I don’t know if the ruling by the Supreme Court was legally the correct decision. I don’t know enough about Constitutional law to comment on that. But morally, I think it was the wrong decision. In a nation of laws, the majority of justices have not only lifted the office of the President above the law and made a mockery of the fundamental principle that no one is above the law, but they have also left it for future courts to decide on a case-by-case situation if a President’s actions while in office were “official” or “unofficial” and if they are covered by presidential “presumed immunity.” (Chief Justice John Roberts words.)

I never imagined a United States of America where anyone is above the law. It is a sobering thought that any President of the United States – Republican, Democratic, Independent – could commit imaginable and unimaginable crimes while in office and not be held accountable for them.

As I reflected on the Supreme Court’s decision, I have decided that they have given the American people an unintended gift.

In a time when participation in the great democracy experiment is low, and for many futile, when we have relied on institutions like the three branches of government to be the moral compass of democracy, the justices have handed the greatest responsibility back to the people.

From now on, the American people must elect a president with professional ethics and a strong moral compass. WE must elect a president with professional ethics and a strong moral compass. If the government of the United States is a government BY the PEOPLE, OF the PEOPLE and FOR the PEOPLE, then the people MUST look deep into not only the candidate, but also deep into themselves and ask if the person who wants their vote is of character, ethics and morality. Otherwise, we have given a four-year-long pass to a president who can see what she or he can get away with.

When Donald Trump first ran for president, a relative of mine said that we are not electing a pastor, we are electing a president. She was right, of course. But, implicit in her words were that policy came before ethics, morality and character. Now, we MUST look at the person as well as the policies.

Let me be clear, this is not about Donald Trump, though I believe that he has clearly shown us who he is. This is about ANY future President of the United States committing acts that, for any other person, in any other position, in any other place, would be considered a crime. The guardrail of accountability has been removed.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must always be asking ourselves, “Where is God in this moment?” In my most recent reflections on this issue, I believe that God is waiting to see how we will handle this greater responsibility. Will we put policy before the person’s character? Will we put our own preferences above that which will benefit all people of the United States – especially the least and marginalized? Will we vote in avarice or in a way that reflects the values of God’s kingdom? If the government is to be of the people, by the people and for the people, the people now have, more than ever, the choice to move this country in a direction that honors or rejects the values of the kingdom of the God in Whom we say we trust.

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Contempt For the Other

In 2016, Bishop William Willimon published a book entitled, Fear of the Other. It was a commentary and warning about the sectarian, tribal and racial violence and vitriolic rhetoric used by political, social, and religious leaders only seven short years ago.

Sunday morning, I pulled his book off my shelf. Immediately I thought how outdated that title seems. Almost as immediately I thought of an updated title: Contempt for the Other.

That is where I think we have come since 2016. The seeds of fear that were sown just a decade or so ago, have grown into contempt.

We hear it, see it and read it every day in the contempt that some Republicans have for Democrats. We hear it, see it and read it in the contempt that some Democrats have for Republicans.

We see it and hear it in the contempt that some who have joined the Global Methodist Church have for the United Methodist Church in general, and United Methodists in particular. We see it and hear it in the contempt for some who have remained United Methodist have for the Global Methodist Church and members of the Global Methodist Church.

We see it between and among religions and denominations. We see in acts of racial, political, social, homophobic and religious violence. We have seen contempt for the other is almost every facet of American life today.

We are seeing it now between Palestinians and Jews both in the Middle East and here in America.

Let’s not pretend for a minute that the issues of the current war between Israel and Hamas are simple. They are as complex as they are old and deeply-rooted. Neither side can claim any kind of innocence.

The seeds of fear reap a harvest of contempt.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted two verses from the Torah – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

So, I ask, how does the current war between the Israelis and Palestinians reflect God’s commandment to love our neighbor? How do the violence of our actions and words – the ones we say and the ones we write on social media – reflect love for our neighbor?

How does bickering, fighting, oppressing, bullying, demanding your own way, and other forms of violence against each other reflect the love that God commanded us to give to our neighbor?

The Apostle Paul gave a great definition of the love that God gives to us, and that God has commanded us to give to our neighbor. You will find it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I read that passage just last weekend at the wedding of a young woman who was in our youth group at another church. I read that passage at most weddings. It is a good passage for weddings, but it was not meant to be read at a wedding. It was meant to define and clarify what mature, Godly, love looks like to those who follow Jesus Christ.

What strikes me is that the contempt we are showing to our neighbor is the exact opposite of love as described by Paul in this passage.

John, in his first letter in the New Testament, indicts all who show contempt to their neighbor: “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20)

If fear are the seeds that lead us to practice contempt for our neighbor, then the answer to fear is found in only one thing – love. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

I am not asking you to have warm, fuzzy feelings for your neighbor. I am not asking you to agree with your neighbor. I am asking you to cultivate an attitude of wishing your neighbor what you wish for yourself. That is, at least, a start to loving our neighbor.

Our love is certainly not perfect – not by a long shot. But, perhaps just practicing a little bit of love at a time, we can stop the growth of contempt?

With you on the journey,

Jeffrey L Jaggers

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Disagreeing and The Spirit

When I went to seminary in the mid-to-late 1980’s, there was no class in conflict management. I am surprised because it is no secret that congregations have conflicts. Any time you have two breathing people in the same room for some period of time there will eventually be conflict. I truly hope that conflict management is part of the seminary curriculum today.

Conflicts in churches are nothing new. The early church, as described by Luke in his book we call “Acts”, describes several conflicts in the early church. This really shouldn’t be a surprise either; the infant church was on a learning curve that has lasted two millennia. The interesting thing about how the early church resolved their conflicts is that no two conflicts were settled in the exact same way. There was no one-formula-fits-all way of settling the disputes. What the early church DID try to do was discern what God was doing. And, after the dust had settled, sometimes everyone agreed and sometimes they did not.

There was one conflict, seemingly minor, that happens in Acts upon which I want to invite us to reflect. It happens in Acts 21:1-6. Paul is one his way to Jerusalem, convinced that the Holy Spirit is sending him there to further his mission – though he knows this will likely lead to his death. His boat docks in Tyre, a large city on the coast of the Mediterranean. While he is there, he meets with the church there. They know what Paul is doing and they urge him to not go to Jerusalem. Luke writes, “Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go.” (Acts 21:4, italics mine)

Through the Spirit – the same Holy Spirit Paul was convinced told him to go to Jerusalem. Is someone not hearing the Spirit? Are they both hearing the Spirit? Can both be right?

I don’t want to make too much of this, except to say that both parties were trying to listen to and obey the same Holy Spirit. Though they come at it from different perspective and different interpretations of the Spirit’s guidance, both parties arrived at their conclusions in good faith. There is no name-calling. No demonizing the other. No one accusing the other of heresy or disobedience. What they do is, when Paul’s ship is ready to set sail, there are hugs and they “knelt down on the beach and prayed.” (Acts 21:6)

Fenton United Methodist Church will soon come to a crossroads where we will decide our future to either remain United Methodist or disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and join the Global Methodist Church. I am glad that our conversations have been respectful and gracious even as we disagree with each other. I believe that each of us has come to our convictions in good faith, even though it is the same God and the same Scripture that has guided us. We have asked ourselves, “Who are we as a church and who do we believe God wants us to be?” I am glad that we have been more interested in kneeling in prayer with and for one another on the beach rather than trying to dominate one another with vitriol and vilification. May we be an inspiration to the churches around us on how to love one another in the midst of disagreement.

We are in our forty days of prayer in regards to our decision. Let us pray for God’s guidance. For wisdom and discernment. Let us pray for a spirit of love, peace and respect. And, when we have made our decision, let us kneel with one another and pray.

And as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeffrey L Jaggers

Pastor

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A Catholic Spirit

In 1750, John Wesley published his sermon, “A Catholic Spirit” after he and his Methodist preachers were being persecuted by leaders of the Church of England. This famous sermon has wisdom and guidance for us today in the United Methodist Church as we navigate through a separation. While there are several catalysts for this separation, one issue seems to rise to the top: convictions regarding the degree of inclusion of persons who identify as LGBTQ in the life of the church. The theological issue argued by many who choose separation is the authority of scripture; that those who embrace the full inclusion of persons who identity as LGBTQ do not hold the scriptures as supreme authority.

I find this not only personally offensive, but an untrue broad brushstroke. For myself, I believe in the authority and Divine inspiration of the Bible. Like faithful people of God throughout the history of the church, I wrestle with the Scripture. I come to the Scripture with questions – difficult questions – seeking guidance and truth. I look at the Hebrew and Greek words used. I look at the historical context.

I have great respect for those who translate the Bible into English. It is difficult work to translate a word or phrase from one language into another while retaining the intended meaning of the original author. However, I don’t always agree with the translator that their translation is the best or only translation of a word, phrase or concept.

With respect to the debate about homosexuality and the teachings of the Bible, I will gladly concede that a face-value reading of the English translation of the Bible would indicate that the practice of homosexuality is forbidden by God as sin. However, after much study and prayer, I have come to believe that there are other interpretations of the relevant verses of Scripture that make me believe that the issue is not as black-and-white as I once thought it was. I believe that there are reasonable alternative translations and contextual issues that cause me to think that the traditional translation of the relevant verses are not the only faithful interpretations; and if I am going to err, I would rather err on the side of love and grace than dogma.

It is, therefore, for me, not a question of the authority of the Bible, but interpretation of the Bible.

It is because I understand where each side is coming from, that I have tried to practice what John Wesley called, a catholic spirit. By “catholic spirit,” Wesley meant a love and respect for all people and their opinions and convictions. (catholic here meaning universal – not the Christian denomination)

Let me outline and quote from Wesley’s sermon, A Catholic Spirit.

He begins by reminding his listeners that love for God, neighbor and fellow Christian is the foundational practice of every Christian. And then Wesley acknowledges that we don’t often practice loving each other as Christ loved us. He concedes that we don’t all think alike, and so we don’t all live out our faith alike. These, Wesley says, we have allowed to come between us and loving our fellow Christian.

Wesley then goes on to say, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without doubt, we may. In this all the children of God may unite, even though they retain these smaller differences. These remaining as they are, they may help one another increase in love and in good works.”

Wesley reminds us that as smart as we are, humanity is still flawed in our thinking and our living. “And it is certain, so long as we know but in part, that all men will not see all things alike. It is an unavoidable consequence of the present weakness and shortness of human understanding, that several men will be of several minds in religion as well as in common life.”

He then goes on to consider a question from his Scripture lesson (2 Kings 10:15): “If your heart is right as mine is right…”

The first thing implied is this: Is your heart right with God? Do you believe his being and his perfections, his eternity, immensity, wisdom, power, his justice, mercy, and truth? Do you believe that he now "upholds all things by the word of his power," and that he governs even the most minute, even the most noxious, to his own glory and the good of them that love him? Have you a divine evidence, a supernatural conviction, of the things of God? Do you "walk by faith not by sight," looking not at temporal things but things eternal?

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, "God over all, blessed for ever?" Is he revealed in your soul? Do you know Jesus Christ and him crucified? Does he dwell in you and you in him? Is he formed in your heart by faith? Having absolutely renounced all your own works, your own righteousness, have you "submitted yourself unto the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Christ Jesus? Are you "found in him, not having your own righteousness, but the righteousness which is by faith?" And are you, through him, "fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold of eternal life?"

Is your faith filled with the energy of love? Do you love God (I do not say "above all things," for it is both an unscriptural and an ambiguous expression, but) "with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength?" Do you seek all your happiness in him alone? And do you find what you seek? Does your soul continually "magnify the Lord, and your spirit rejoice in God your Savior?" Having learned "in everything to give thanks, do you find "it is a joyful and a pleasant thing to be thankful?" Is God the center of your soul, the sum of all your desires? Are you accordingly laying up your treasure in heaven and counting all other things dung and dross? Has the love of God cast the love of the world out of your soul? Then you are "crucified to the world," you are dead to all below, and your "life is hidden with Christ in God."

Are you employed in doing, "not your own will, but the will of him that sent you," of him that sent you down to sojourn here awhile, to spend a few days in a strange land, until, having finished the work he has given you to do, you return to your Father's house? Is it your meat and drink "to do the will of your Father which is in heaven?" Is your eye single in all things, always fixed on him, always looking unto Jesus? Do you point at him in whatever you do, in all your labor, your business, your conversation, aiming only at the glory of God in all, "whatever you do, either in word or deed, doing it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God, even the Father, through him?"

Is your heart right toward your neighbor? Do you love as yourself, all mankind without exception? "If you love those only that love you, what reward do you have?" Do you "love your enemies?" Is your soul full of good-will, of tender affection toward them? Do you love even the enemies of God, the unthankful and unholy? Does your heart yearn over them? Could you "wish yourself" temporally "accursed" for their sake? And do you show this by "blessing them that curse you, and praying for those that despitefully use you, and persecute you?"

Do you show your love by your works? As you have time and opportunity, do you in fact "do good to all men," neighbors or strangers, friends or enemies, good or bad? Do you do them all the good you can, endeavoring to supply all their needs, assisting them both in body and soul, to the uttermost of your power? If you are thus minded (may every Christian say, yes), if you are but sincerely desirous of it, and following on until you attain, then "your heart is right, as my heart is with your heart."

All of these are serious and challenging questions, and I suspect that very, very few of us can say “yes” to all of them with a great degree of confidence. I am so glad that Wesley added the words, “if you are but sincerely desirous of it,” towards the end of his survey. If I cannot already say yes, I can at least say I desire to say yes.

Wesley continues, “If it be, give me your hand." I do not mean, "Be of my opinion." You need not. I do not expect or desire it. Neither do I mean, "I will be of your opinion." I cannot, it does not depend on my choice. I can no more think, than I can see or hear, as I will. Keep your opinion and I will keep mine, and that as steadily as ever. You need not even endeavor to come over to me, or bring me over to you. I do not desire you to dispute those points, or to hear or speak one word concerning them. Leave all opinions alone on one side and the other: only "give me your hand."

By, “give me your hand,” Wesley meant:

“First, love me. If your heart is right, as mine with your heart," then love me with a very tender affection, as a friend that is closer than a brother, as a brother in Christ, a fellow citizen of the New Jerusalem, a fellow soldier engaged in the same warfare, under the same Captain of our salvation. Love me as a companion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, and a joint heir of his glory.”

“I mean, Secondly, commend me to God in all your prayers.”

“I mean, Thirdly, provoke me to love and to good works.”

“I mean, Lastly, love me not in word only, but in deed and in truth. So far as in conscience you can (retaining still your own opinions), join with me in the work of God, and let us go on hand in hand.”

Then Wesley turns that same instruction to himself, covenanting that he will love, pray for, encourage and work with those with whom he disagrees.

Wesley then seeks to clarify what the catholic spirit is not – it is not moral or theological relativism or indifference. Wesley assumes that those who disagree with him have thought out their opinions and convictions, and reasons why they embrace them, just as he has thought out his opinions and convictions and the reasons he embraces his.

In the middle of his sermon, Wesley says this: “Hold fast to that which you believe is most acceptable to God, and I will do the same.” I hope what I am telling people is similar: “hold on to your convictions, but do so with grace, humility and love.”

This, I believe is the catholic spirit for which John Wesley appealed for all Christians, and more specifically for the people called Methodist.

I would have loved to have seen this kind of spirit incarnated in the current situation in the United Methodist Church. Unfortunately, this has not happened to a great degree, though I believe it IS happening in pockets here and there. It is my prayer that this catholic spirit can be lived among us here at Fenton United Methodist Church as we wrestle with our discernment of God’s will for us.

As always, I am still glad to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeffrey L Jaggers

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The Bulb in Winter

I love the changing of the seasons in Michigan. The changes are so vivid. I love the changing of the seasons – what I love a lot less are the seasons themselves. While I like the warmth of the summer; I am not a big fan of the humidity that comes with the heat in Michigan. I love the colors of the changing leaves; but when the leaves drop from the branches I am done with fall. Snow is beautiful at its first fall; but by the end of January its time for spring to come.

As I reflect over the last few years, I have decided to reframe what we experienced. What I once saw as frustrating and challenging (to be tactful), I now see in a different way.

Winter is a time of dormancy for us in Michigan. Not much happens between January second and early May (except Easter, of course). We kind of go about our daily lives waiting for the snow to melt, the temperature to warm up, and the robins to come and announce that spring is near.

During winter flower bulbs lay dormant waiting for the ground to thaw and the opportunity to grow and bloom again.

That’s how I am framing the last few years; we had to wait until things thawed out and warmed up so that we could grow and bloom again. And, while we were waiting, we learned a lot. We learned how to adapt, and we learned that we can adapt. We learned about ourselves in the process.

Now, as the COVID crisis is either becoming manageable, or we are learning how to live with it, it is time for us to emerge and grow once again.

Methodists are resurrection people. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise of our own resurrection to eternal life in Christ. But it is also a promise that resurrection is possible for other things – like a church. We may have been unable to do much moving and growing buried deep in the stuff of the COVID crisis, but in the grace and power of God we will rise to a new life in this new world and new way of doing things. God has not given up on us, and it is time we rise to do the work God has given us to do – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The winter of COVID is over. The spring of new life is upon us. Let us rejoice in God’s grace that has sustained us, and once again become a part of the great things God is doing in our communities and in the world!

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The Empty Space

When they were much younger, I taught my children a little about the art of sculpture. The main lesson I told them was not just to look at the shape and structure of the material of the sculpture, but to look at what was going on in the empty space; because if we only look at the material of the sculpture, we are only seeing half of it.

The sculpture in the picture is a great example, and most fitting for many at this time of year. The name of the sculpture is “Melancholie.” It was created by a Romanian-born Swiss artist named Albert Gyorgy. This work depicts his grief after losing his first wife. The empty space in the person represents, of course, the massive hole that we all feel when we grieve.

Grief hits us when we lose something dear and precious; it could be the loss of a loved one, or the loss of an ability, the loss of a job, or the loss of a relationship, the loss of a home, or the loss of the familiar.

This year, we have all experienced loss – to one measure or another. Some grieve the loss of personal freedoms. Some grieve the loss of hugging parents or grand-children. Some grieve the loss of income or job. Some are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID or another disease or tragedy. In short, many of us can relate to the sculpture. We know what it is to have that gapping void in our in-most being.

Albert Gyorgy talked about a tremendous sense of isolation when his first wife died. Many people have felt a tremendous sense of isolation this year as well.

Gyorgy says that he found healing while he was working in this very sculpture. The grief became a gift; the sculpture became a salve.

I think this is the key to our grief – cooperate with it, and create something from it.

My therapist used a phrase that helped me; and as I have given it to others, they tell me they have found it helpful as well. The phrase is, “Cooperate with your grief.” In my case it was all about feeling the feelings and letting them guide me towards healing. That is the key to cooperating with your grief – to let the grief be your guide towards healing. To let grief keep you immobilized is to let grief have control of your life, to thrust a different identity on you, and to rob you of healing. Cooperating with your grief is to acknowledge that who/what you lost was a significant and precious part of your life. Let the tears roll, and when they are done, move forward. And, when the tears come again, let the tears roll; and, when they are done, move forward again. Movement towards healing our grief is measured more in centimeters than in miles.

The second key to healing our grief is to do something creative with it. Albert Gyorgy turned to his creative work of sculpting. I turned to writing, and playing the guitar. Others turn toward a new habit or a new hobby. Others to poetry. Still others turn toward serving through volunteering. What can you do that can be a creative expression of either your grief, or your step towards a new life?

I am not going to tell you that you will stop missing your loved one, or the ability you lost, or the relationship that is gone; there will always be a hole in your heart that was once occupied by someone or something. However, what I can tell you is that cooperating with your grief, and creating something from it, can be the doorway to entering into the healing grace of God.

I know that these days are difficult, and this year has been hard. Unlike the person in the sculpture, we don’t have to always stare into the void that we are feeling. We CAN do something – something that will lead to comfort and healing.

One last thing –

If all you see in the middle of that sculpture is empty space – look again.

God is in there as well.

Peace be upon you.

Jeff

[fumcpastor]

Mea Culpa

I am late to the table…I know.

But, I wanted to wait until I had given this some thought.

I am a recovering racist.

I can’t say that I hate another race, but I have certainly had more than my share of times when I have mocked other races, cultures, and people of those races and cultures. I thought it was funny. It wasn’t for them. It was humiliating.

I am a recovering racist because I have been so steeped in white privilege, I didn’t even know white privilege was a thing; kind of like a fish doesn’t know that water is a thing. I have internalized the message of white privilege so deeply that I didn’t know I was participating in it, even perpetuating it.

It took me the better part of my adulthood to get to this place, and I have a LOT to learn, a LOT of growing to do. One of the MOST eye-opening, transformative experience in my life regarding racism was a tour through the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. It includes the Lorraine Motel where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I am ashamed and embarrassed that the kinds of brutal, racist, and ugly things went on in this country – perpetrated by white people against blacks. I am ashamed and embarrassed that it took the sadistic murder of a black man in a street in Minneapolis to get me fired up enough to write about it.

This is not simply about police brutality – that, I think, is just the tip of the iceberg. It is the massive thing beneath the surface that we need to address: racism in America.

I am a recovering racist, and so it makes me both laugh and weep when people say that they don’t have a racist bone in their body. I think what they are really saying is that they haven’t dug down too deep – to hear the cries of injustice, to see the discrimination, and to own their part in perpetuating white privilege – to see that they too, are recovering racists. (I have met enough white supremacists to know that even they will tell you they are racist.)

So…do all lives matter? Yes!

Do Blacks in America see any reason to think that, in this country, Black lives matter?

Do you really think so?

So, we need to name that.

Do Hispanics in this country have any reason to believe that, in this country, Hispanic lives matter?

Do you really think so?

We can continue the list of minorities in this country who are oppressed by white privilege.

So, what do we do about this.

We begin, I think, by confessing to ourselves – if no one else – that we are recovering racists. That we have not listened. That we have ignored the problem far too long in our own lives and in this country.

Then, we listen and hear the stories of the experiences of people of color.

Then, we reflect on the mea culpa of those experiences.

Then, we act.

We correct ourselves. We correct others.

We don’t stand for this

With this

Or by this

Any longer.

And, maybe one day, this country will live up to the ideals we say we espouse when we say that we believe that “All men (people) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”

 On the journey,

Jeffrey L Jaggers

[fumcpastor]

Becoming Prayer

There is a story from the early Christian monks who lived in the desert.

The story goes that one particular monk went on a very long journey – obviously by foot. And, as he walked, he prayed the “Jesus Prayer.” (“Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”) The story continues that, at the end of his journey, the monk became the prayer.

I told that story many years ago to a congregation and asked if they understood. Everyone shook their head, “no.”

I probably didn’t know what it meant, either. But, I think I am beginning to understand a little bit.

I think that, by “becoming the prayer”, the monk:

1.    Understood in his heart and mind that God did indeed have mercy on him, and that he lived in God’s mercy.

2.    He himself became the embodiment of mercy as one who has been given mercy

3.    He learned what it meant to “pray without ceasing” so much that every moment, every step, every breath, became prayer. He lived prayer. It wasn’t something he did – it became part of him, and he became part of it.

 I lay this story before you today because, as you have time, I invite you to sit somewhere quiet in your home, and simply pray a breath prayer for a half hour to an hour. I know, that seems like a long time, but I promise you it will be worth it. You will feel less anxious. You will feel close to God. You will commune with God in an intimate way that perhaps you may have never before experienced. And, if you practice it often enough, who knows, you may become prayer yourself?

The Jesus Prayer is just one example of a breath prayer.

Another is: “Lord, have mercy.”

Or, “I love you, Lord.”

“Praise you, God.”

Or simply a word like: “peace,” or “love.”

I hope that you will make time for breath prayer a part of your daily routine as we wait together for the time when we shall return together for worship.

I am looking forward to it!

And, as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeffrey L Jaggers

[fumcpastor]

MAC Special Conference

As you may have heard, last Saturday, March 7th, the Michigan Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church met in a special session to vote on a document called, the “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation.” (or simply, “The Protocol.”) This document is one of several plans that have been put forth for consideration at the General Conference in May of this year. However, since The Protocol was completed after the deadline for submitting legislation to General Conference, it needed to be backed by an Annual Conference to be considered at General Conference. The Michigan Annual Conference was asked to meet to consider sending The Protocol to General Conference.

 After a time of worship and conversation regarding The Protocol, the Michigan Annual Conference voted to send the document to General Conference by a 91% majority.

 Please allow me now to clear up some matters regarding the future of The United Methodist Church.

 First, it is quite likely that there will be a split in the denomination. This is not the first time there has been a split between The People Called Methodist. It has occurred several times in our more than two-hundred and thirty-year history. This time the issue is the inclusion of persons who identify as homosexual or transgendered in the life of the church – meaning more specifically weddings and ordination.

 Currently our stance is to not perform same sex weddings, or allow persons who identify as LGBTQ to be ordained. There are some people whose beliefs align with those rules, and some people whose beliefs do not align with those rules. There are some folks on both sides who have said that they cannot worship together with people who believe the opposite, and some folks who have said that they can worship alongside people who believe the opposite. All of these folks are faithful, God-loving people who are simply trying to live out their understanding of the teachings of the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, and their understanding of the character of God.

 The Protocol document is one of MANY plans that may be considered at General Conference in May as we, the people of God called The United Methodist Church, try to be faithful to God and to our discernment of the leading of the Holy Spirit. Most of the plans to be considered at General Conference are plans to provide a “gracious exit” for churches that do not wish to remain a part of The United Methodist Church because of this issue.

 Second, many of the plans for separation, including The Protocol, allow for churches who wish to separate from The United Methodist Church to keep their property and assets. In just about any other time, a church that wished to separate from The UMC would not be allowed to keep their assets or property. But, I believe that we all agree that this is a different setting than the denomination had envisioned when that policy was set.

 Third, most plans do not force a local congregation to vote to choose which side they will take when a separation occurs. Most plans call for an annual conference to decide, and then local churches who do not wish to abide by the decision of their annual conference can vote to leave and unite with another expression of Methodism.

 When the time comes – very likely in June – I will call us together for a time of prayer and conversation regarding our future in a post-separation world. We will navigate this together with love, respect, faithfulness, prayer and an openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

 For now, let’s remain in prayer for The United Methodist Church, the General Conference, and for all who are being hurt by this controversy. Let’s not get ahead of the process. Let’s believe that the Holy Spirit is actively involved in this process; and let’s not get ahead of the Holy Spirit or in the way of the Holy Spirit.

 As always, I look forward to being…

With you on the journey,

Rev. Jeffrey L Jaggers

[fumcpastor]

The Protocol Document

The United Methodist Church has been in the news over the last several days. The story has been about a proposed plan for separation that has been negotiated among many of the representative organizations around our debate about ministry to and with persons who identify as LGBTQ+, and inclusion in the life of the church for these persons. Some news outlets have reported that the United Methodist Church is splitting in the very near future. This has, understandably, caused some anxiety among our membership – as if something significant has happened behind closed doors.

Let me share with you what I know.

First, this is simply another iteration of the conversation that has been going on in the United Methodist Church for the several years around ministry and inclusion of persons who identify as LGBTQ+. Especially since the Special General Conference of 2019, there has been conversations in the United Methodist Church on how best for those who have very deep and passionate convictions regarding these issues to either live together at the United Methodist table, or separate. For many months – even a few years – it seems as if separation was/is inevitable. This new proposed plan, called “The Protocol,” is one plan out of many for a proposed separation.

What is unique about “The Protocol” document is that it is a plan negotiated among many of the representative parties around the LGBTQ+ issues. It is the first, and only time, that thee representatives have been brought together to discuss an amicable separation. Previously, many of the representative parties came together in a group called “The Committee on a Way Forward” to propose plans for a new unity among the various expressions of the United Methodist Church in regards to the issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion and ministry. “The Protocol” document is the first to be signed off on by groups representative of the many sides – including those on the traditionalist, progressive, and centrist sides.

“The Protocol” document is one of many plans for the amicable separation of the United Methodist Church to be considered and possibly acted upon by the General Conference in May of this year. No matter what plan is finally selected, it will take a few years to work out in reality.

So, take a deep breath. And, together, let’s…

Pray for the United Methodist Church

Pray for the process

Pray for our sisters and brothers who have been harmed in and by all of this

Believe that the Holy Spirit is active in the process

Not get ahead of the process

Not get ahead of the Holy Spirit

Not get in the way of the Holy Spirit

Much has happened since last February’s General Conference. Much is yet to come. When there is something to discuss as a congregation, I will call us together.

The good news is that God is in the process, and we are in this together.

And, as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeffrey L. Jaggers

Lead Pastor

[fumcpastor]

One

I think my colleague and friend, Dr. Matt Hook imaged it best for me. At a recent meeting of United Methodist Clergy, Matt said something like this:

We are all multi-dimensional people. We are not just sons or daughter, fathers or mothers. We are not just what we do from nine to five. We are more than our diplomas. We are more than our hobbies and our interests and our passions. We are more than the color of our skin or the number of candles on our birthday cake.

Our churches are multi-dimensional. We are more than our committees. We are more than our traditional or contemporary worship services, or how many services we have. We are more than our choirs or our pastors. We are more than our budgets. We are more than what we do in mission and evangelism. We are more than our programs and ministries.

The United Methodist Church is a multi-dimensional denomination. We are more than the sum of our churches. We are more than the locations of our churches throughout the world. We are more than our missionaries, or our disaster relief or our justice ministries. We are more than our pastors or bishops or conferences. We are more than our Book of Discipline.

So, we do a disservice to people, to our churches and to our denomination when we squeeze them down to one dimension.

Yet, somehow, we have squeezed people, our churches and our denomination down to one dimension – homosexuality; or perhaps to be a bit broader – inclusiveness specifically in regards to people who identify as LGBTQIA. That one dimension has become, not just the dividing line, but the label, the identity we have assigned to ourselves, to others and to our churches.

I can tell you that, as long as I am the lead pastor, Fenton United Methodist Church will welcome all people who seek God to fully participate in the life of this congregation. I am bound by my covenant as an ordained elder to not perform same-sex weddings, or allow them to be performed at this church. But, I cannot, in good and faithful conscience, turn anyone who seeks God away from the life of this congregation.

But, that’s not my point. 

My point is that, Fenton United Methodist Church is not, has it ever been, nor can I imagine it will ever become, a single dimension church. We are engaged in more mission and ministry than you can shake a stick at. We have terrific music. We have fantastic fellowship groups like our United Methodist Women, United Methodist Men, Youth Group, Children’s Ministry, Asbury Fellowship, Four Seasons Fellowship, Scouts and much more. We still have work to do in other areas, but we are not a one dimensional church. I think we do ourselves and our community a disservice to be otherwise. I think we do ourselves and our community a disservice if we see ourselves as a single dimension church.

We are more than one dimension. I think it is time we claim that and rejoice.

And, as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeff Jaggers

 03.14.2019

[fumcpastor]

Adventure

“The safest place for a ship is in the harbor. But, that is not what ships were built for.” John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic

I am not a fan of being lost.

It used to be that when I got lost, when I wandered off the map, when I took a wrong turn, when I was in unfamiliar territory, it would bring out the worst in me. Anxiety would take charge, and that always made for poor decisions.

That was before I met my wife.

She had a way of reframing it when we got lost.

“We’re on an adventure.” She would say.

And that was enough of a re-framing to keep my anxiety in check and use the skills and strengths I employ when I am in familiar territory to navigate the unfamiliar territory.

I like John Shedd’s quote above. It reminds me that I was not created to live in the alleged safety of the routine and familiar. I was not meant to live my life in the comfort zone. I was created to have an adventure. I was created adventurous.

Neither is the church.

In fact, it is perhaps during those times when we have chosen to dwell in the safety of the harbor – the comfort zone, the rut – that we have been a dying organism. It is when we have forgotten the thrill of the winds and the waves that we have lost our not just our excitement but our purpose.

The purpose of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That doesn’t happen effectively in the harbor. It happens when we get out into the open water to be with all of the other ships.

Do you know what command Jesus gave more than any other? It wasn’t to love one another. It wasn’t to have faith. It was to “go.”

“Going” often means getting out of the known and safe waters of the harbor and into the unfamiliar open waters. Going means getting out of our rut; getting out of our comfort zones and go on an adventure.

Fenton and Linden United Methodist Church have been called to go out into some unfamiliar waters. Soon we will be embarking on a parish partnership where we can have a greater impact on our area than either of us could do alone. To be honest, I only have a hazy vision of what that might look like. But, I am excited to be on an adventure in open waters – where we can explore new places and new ways of reaching out and doing ministry with each other. Along the way we will learn and grow. We will learn something about ourselves, and, more importantly, we will learn something about God.

Who knows what God will do in us, among us, and through us in the coming years? But, isn’t that part of the adventure?

I don’t know exactly where we are going. I don’t know exactly how we are going to get there. But, I know the One who has called us and will be with us.

Funny, that sounds to me an awful lot like something Abraham or Moses might have said. Perhaps we are in good company out in that open water? Let’s weigh anchor and raise the sails!

And, as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

 Jeff Jaggers

[fumcpastor]

Clutter

It happens to all of us.

We are quick to judge and criticize.

We get jealous and envious.

We find fault in just about everyone or everything.

We smell the faint aroma of bitterness in our hearts and minds.

 Sometime we are simply having a bad day.

That happens.

 But, when fault-finding and criticism

Bitterness, jealousy and envy

Become chronic

They are symptoms of something deeper

Perhaps something spiritual

 They may be symptoms of an existing disconnect between a person and God

Bitterness, jealousy, envy, judgmentalism and criticism

Are not the fruit of a soul at peace with God

Or at peace inside their own skin

It is much easier to point to someone else

Rather than deal with the stuff we carry inside ourselves

The stuff that makes us cranky, or jealous, or critical, or acrimonious.

 The roots of those things come from pride and selfishness

They come when we pursue our own wants, desires and agendas first

And God’s kingdom last

 The Apostle Paul wrote about the fruit of the Spirit

Signs by which we know the Holy Spirit is dwelling

And Christ is being formed

In us

The fruit of the Spirit are:

Love, joy, peace, patience

Kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Definitely not things like envy, jealousy and bitterness

Judgementalism and criticism

Which, by the way, Paul calls “the works of the flesh.”

 In other words, the only person standing in the way between us

And Christ being formed in us

Is us

 Over the next few weeks

We are exploring the Pathway to Pentecost

The way that leads to a renewal and revival in our lives

And that way consists mainly of getting out of God’s way

It means taking a good, hard and honest looks at our inner life

In order to see and name those things in us

That stand between God and the life God desires to impart in each of us

 The symptoms are easy to spot

Hard to accept

And even harder to address

Because to address them we have to name them

And admit we own them

And then let them go

 Think of it as spring cleaning for the soul

We declutter our stuff

In order to receive more of the life God wants to give us

 We clear the pathway

So that God can come to us

With a Pentecost moment

And breath into us a new life once again

 And, as always, I am proud to be…

With you on the journey,

Jeff Jaggers

[fumcpastor]

Engagement

Turning Point: a time at which a decisive change in a situation occurs, especially one with beneficial results. 

Repentance: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. 

If frequency breeds familiarity, we should be used to and desensitized to fatal shootings in our elementary, middle and senior high schools and college campuses. It has happened often enough. Twenty-five times since April 20, 1999 when two students shot and bombed their way through Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Depending on who did the research and what criteria they used, there have been three hundred school shootings just since 2013. There have been seventeen in the first forty-five days of 2018!

Again, depending on who you read, one hundred and forty-one students have lost their lives in school shootings since Columbine. 

Somehow it feels like the response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida could be a turning point in this country – fueled mostly by the determination of fourteen through seventeen year-olds who are frustrated and angry with the current situation specifically in regards to gun control legislation and enforcement. 

While I have my own thoughts and feelings on the matter of gun control and guns in general, and I have my own modest proposals regarding each, gun control is not what I want to address. 

I do hope that this is the beginning of a turning point in our country – a repentance from putting policy above people. But, we don’t just put policy above people: we put privacy above people. I think that somewhere along the line, we have built privacy fences around ourselves and our neighbors. For many and various reasons, some good and some debatable, we have made the decision to disengage from our neighbors. We haven’t necessarily given up on watching them, we just don’t engage in their lives any more. We don’t come alongside of them when we notice a change in their demeanor. We don’t go near them when their marriage is in trouble, when they act out, when they seem troubled, or when they isolate themselves from the community. 

We have decided to put privacy, our own and others, above engagement, and children are paying the price. I am not just thinking of Parkland, Florida. I am also thinking of the thirteen children of the couple in Perris, California who were held captive for years in their own home. Neighbors had seen the strange behavior, but failed to engage the family. 

I know, I know…there were reports made regarding the shooter in Parkland to the police and the FBI, and the ball was dropped and this incident might have been prevented. And, I know that Nikolas Cruz’s foster parents claim that they didn’t see any behavior that would cause them to think his actions were possible. That’s not what I am talking about – though I encourage the “see something say something” slogan. 

What I am talking about is engagement with the troubled person. Care enough to inquire. Care enough to listen. Care enough to put people above privacy. 

Non-engagement with our neighbors is no longer an option. It never should have been with Christ-followers. Perhaps rather than posting on Facebook about gun control legislation, or tweeting about prayer in schools, we should be getting involved in the lives of the children and young people down the street, or across town? Maybe one day, when Christians put people above privacy, we won’t need to talk about bringing prayer back to school because we will have shown people the importance of connecting our lives with God. And, maybe one day, when Christians put people above privacy, we won’t need gun control legislation because we will have melted guns and bullets into bells because we will have shown people how to respect the dignity of each person as a child of God created in God’s image. 

Maybe this is the turning point; our time to repent and turn towards our neighbor?

Until then, we seem willing to let the children pay the price. 

With you on the journey,

Jeff Jaggers