Run the Race!

Well, here it is, just an hour before I leave to compete in my first Triathlon. I am leaving with family in tow for New Brighton, PA for their Memorial Day Triathlon. Over twelve weeks of preparation has led me to this place. I am trying to keep my mind focused on finishing the race. That has been the goal from the very beginning: to finish this first triathlon with a smile on my face! As a friend recenlty said, my second goal is to Beat everyone else! I will compete, but my main focus is finishing.

I have been strenghtened by so many prayers and I thank you for each of them. My family has been so supportive, and the youngest is even making up her own words to "Triathlon." It has an tune that is quite similar to "Lamb of God" I think.

Well, after this morning, I will be heading off to Titusville for a little picnic and Memorial Day service tomorrow. I will post results soon.

"let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith." Hebrews 12.

Flavor of the Day

This is a difficult time of the year for me. It’s Ice Cream Season! I know, “how hard can it really be?” It’s hard, because I love Ice Cream and it would be very easy for me to be at an ice cream stand every day for the next several months.

My all time favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip. I could order that every time I go to the ice cream stand. I especially love certain varieties of Mint Chip. The brands with the slivers of chips rather than the entire chips, that would be the top.

When we lived in North Carolina, we were introduced to a store that actually sold Frozen Custard. That place was awesome! They had the standards everyday, vanilla, chocolate and a special for the day. But everyday, you could make your own creation called a “Concrete.” You would simply add ingredients to the custard to be blended together. I always loved a mint chocolate concrete. Big surprise, huh! It was even better if the special for the day was Sweet Cream.

Sometimes, though, I like to get out of my comfort zone and get something different. I don’t like to go there a lot, just enough to get my taste buds working again and to remind me of what I like.

I thought about that, not only because I had a big bowl of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream last night, but because of what I read this morning. Let me explain.

When I want to do some reading in scripture, I tend to go where I am comfortable, I read what I know, read what I like. Often times that means that I am reading the New Testament, and probably reading a Gospel or one of Paul’s Letters. I particularly like the Gospel of Luke and I enjoy reading from Paul’s letter to the people of Rome. In these readings, I hear a lot about God’s grace, I hear about the love of Christ, and I like that. It’s comfortable, reassuring and easy on my spiritual walk.

But this morning as I began, I wanted something a little different. I wanted a different flavor, if you will. So I turned to the Old Testament and to the Book of Hosea. Don’t ask me why this book. It was more about being different and choosing a different flavor.

If you’ve never looked at or tasted this book, I’d challenge you to open it up. It will hopefully cause you to think a little bit. It is not comfortable and reassuring and easy on your spiritual walk. It will give you a spiritual brain freeze, cause you to squinch up your forehead and make you think a little bit. Go ahead – take a sample.

Hosea is a minor prophet. It is named this by scholars, not because it is any less significant in the message, but mostly because it is not as long as the Major prophets that you may know like Isaiah and Jeremiah. It may not be as long, but the message is just as important for us to hear.

I didn’t get very far, just a few chapters. Maybe it’s like a new flavor, with which you have to take a test run. But the taste that I had makes me want to come back for more. It caused me to think about what message God has for us and what God is calling us to be.
Hosea is making a charge against the people of God. The charges are not nice either. Hosea says, “There is unfaithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the Land, and there is only cursing, lying, and murder.”

We don’t like to eat that flavor do we? We don’t like to admit that there are times that we are not the people that God is calling us to be. Quite frankly, we are unfaithful at times. Hosea is reminding me of that.

So this e-pistle is not the warm fuzzy that it usually is today. I thought we should ask some tough questions of ourselves and take a taste of something out of our comfort zone. Ask yourself – if you were judged today – would you be found unfaithful, lacking love, and having no acknowledgement of God? If you answered yes to any or maybe all of those questions – what do you need to do to change that?

I invite you to taste something different this week. Take some time to go to Hosea . . . Keep looking, you’ll find it!

This week, Hengust Robinson will be preaching. I will be taking some time off and doing something really outside my comfort zone. I am competing in my very first Triathlon in New Brighton. My goal is quite simple – cross the finish line with a smile on my face. Along the way, I am going to be praying for strength, not only personal, but God’s strength to be with me. I will be praying for you along the way as well.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

Are You Ready?

Why do we do what we do?

Many of you know that my mornings are unlike most clergy who get to walk across the street to their offices, or drive a block or two. My office is 26 miles away. In this economy of rising gas prices, I guess I could choose to run two marathons a day, but I choose to drive. Good choice.

Most mornings I fill my long commute with the sounds of Mike and Mike in the Morning. I'm a big sports fan and so this gets my juices flowing as I drive, drink my coffee, and prepare for my day. I love their interviews, their guests, and their way of providing entertainment. I also listen, because more than making me think about sports, it makes me think about much, much more.

This morning, they were interviewing Bonnie Bernstein. She is noted for her sideline reporting during sporting events. I've never thought that those reporters had the easiest job and it was confirmed during the interview.

One of the questions that was asked dealt with the interviews with coaches either at half-time, or immediately following a game. The guys were asking her about how awkward that moment must be. Basically, they were asking, "Why do you do that? Why do we insist on aking coaches questions when we know how hard it is? Why is that a part of a broadcast?"

Her answer was simple. She acknowledged how difficult it is to get a sound bite or an answer out of a coach during those moments of frustration, but that there is always a chance that you are going to get something. There is always a chance that you are going to get that one good answer, ask that one good question, get that one nugget.

That made me think about what we do every day and even ask the question, Why do we do what we do?

On this Pentecost weekend, I think its about getting that one chance to make a difference in someone's life, making a difference in such a way that we continue to press on toward the goal line in hopes of making a kingdom difference. It isn't always easy, we don't always get confirmation or the right answer - but there is always that one little moment . . .

And it all makes sense, God makes a difference. And before we know it, more and more lives are influenced, more and more lives are saved.

Is God done with the Church?

Relevant, alive, growing, vital, faithful, fruitful, Spirit Filled: these are words that describe a church that not only listens to the breath of God, but is making impact in the world.

Irrelevant, dying, stagnant, unimportant, irreverent, rotting, and self-centered: these words describe a church that is listening to its own self interests, not making an impact, and will be soon a vision of the past.

What kind of church do you want to be? Where would you choose to worship? Does either church exist? Further, will the church exist?

I bombastically and probably flippantly expressed recently that the church may not exist in a few years if we don’t follow the leading of God. I wasn’t referring to any particular church, but maybe referring to denominations and even to the church that exists today in our society. I suspect that the person had thought about that recently and had a firm reply. It was so firm that my bombastic and flippant statement was revealed as rather shallow and myopic.

The response made me think a little more than my initial rant. The person said rather eloquently, “God may be done with certain churches or denominations, but God will never abandon the church. The church will always exist.”

Maybe I was giving into the pessimism that exists within society or a news report about declining membership trends. Maybe I was thinking about an upcoming denominational gathering and the lack of movement forward. But what I was not thinking about was how God relates to his creation and how God’s foundation for the church is Jesus Christ, and not me or anyone else.

I think that can be confirmed this week, as we anticipate Pentecost. Pentecost is a season, or a Sunday when we can be reminded and affirm the notion that God sent the Holy Spirit to teach us, inspire us, move us, fire us, temper us, and even move us to be the church that God is calling us to be. The Holy Spirit was sent not only to begin the church, but so that it might thrive.

C.S. Lewis writes in The Weight of Glory, “That structural position in the church which the humblest Christian occupies is the eternal and even cosmic. The church will outlive the universe; in it the individual will outlive the universe. Everything that is joined to the immoral head will share his immortality. We hear little of this from the Christian pulpit today. What has come of addressing the forces on this subject, I found that one of my audiences regarded this doctrine as “theosophical.” If we do not believe it let us be honest and relegate the Christian faith to museums. If we do, let us give up the pretense that it makes no difference.”

On Sunday, we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit that has the power to make us Relevant, alive, growing, vital, faithful, fruitful, Spirit Filled. We must seek what God is sending to us. Let us pray that we might seek that this day and eternally.

This week, we are confirming our hope that God is not through with us yet. We are celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism for two of God’s perfect miracles. I hope that you come and fill yourself with the Spirit that is promised. We will also have an opportunity to thank God for the love that makes Mother’s possible. I look forward to welcoming the Spirit together.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

What is God doing? And are we seeking it?

This week, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church is meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. General Conference convenes once every four years. It is the legislative body of the church and is the only body that can officially speak for the church. Delegates from around the world gather for a period of discerning where God is leading the United Methodist church over the next four years. By Discipline, there are no more than 1000 delegates, 500 clergy and 500 lay. College Hill United Methodist Church is fortunate to be a church with a delegate from amongst our peers.

It is quite interesting to reflect on General Conference from afar. There are opportunities to read reports, digest some legislative petitions, read some blog posts, and even find some reports on the events through media outlets. Interesting, and yet quite difficult at the same time.

There is always a part of me that worries about this time every four years about what the United Methodist Church will look like following this global gathering. That comes from the part of me that worries about change and at the same time covets change that is positive. And yet there is always the part of me that finds the event rather frustrating for its lack of movement forward.

I tried to look up some legislative proposals. You can do that on the UMC website. You can check it any number of ways – I’d hate to be the person that has to keep that updated. But, maybe because I was looking at the wrong passages, or maybe I just clicked on the wrong proposal – but it seemed like most of the petitions were editorializing the Book of Discipline rather than providing any real ministry focus. For example I found one petition that actually proposed changing one word, “pastor” to “pastor-in-charge.” My first thought there was – are you kidding me? Where’s the ministry?

I read a pastor’s blog entry for the other day. He jokingly asked for someone to remind him if this was all still about Jesus? Sometimes in the ways that we do things, we major in the minors, get caught up in the minutia, and lose focus. That is probably not only an indictment against a quadrennial meeting, but also in our own ministry.

This coming Sunday, I think we will have an opportunity to regain some focus. We are coming to the end of the season of Easter, and entering into the season of Pentecost. But before that, we must move through Ascension Sunday. It is the day that we remember that Jesus Ascended into heaven, as the Creeds remind us, and are instructed to wait on the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that reminds us and teaches us everything that Jesus told us to do.

But there is a word from the Gospel of Luke that is very important for me as I reflect not only on our General Conference, but also on the tasks that lay before us. Jesus said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” Luke 24:46-47.

And that leads me to one question for us this day. Are we doing it? Are we making an impact? Are we seeking the things that God is doing? Are we as a church proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins? Are we proclaiming Jesus?

Not that you asked, but that’s what I’ve been thinking about today. Now I am going to seek ways of living that out! We’ll also have to see whether or not our General Conference seeks it as well.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you. And while you’re at it, throw one up for our General Conference and the international delegation that is seeking to make this all about Jesus.

Greg

Vote Early and Often!

So! Who did you vote for?

I really don’t want you to answer that question. It was rhetorical. In fact, it was so rhetorical because it’s not the point of this E-pistle. Maybe the more appropriate question would be, “So, Did you vote!”

I’m glad you asked. Yes, I voted this morning. I was on the way home from swimming very early in the morning when KDKA announced that the Polls were expected to open in 60 seconds. I looked at the clock and thought that it would be a good time to go and vote. Get it done, out of the way!

I won the bronze, came in third. Quite a disappointing finish! Although it was the best finish that I’ve ever had. I’ve never voted that early. My usual question of voter turnout is quite moot at that hour in the morning. But I digress.

After voting, I had been reading a book entitled, “Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry” by Gregory Jones and Kevin Armstrong. I didn’t get far today because I got stuck thinking about one statement. That made me think about how I live, how I think, and it even made me think about how I voted.

They were talking about a theology of Christian Excellence and how it is that we should be seeking it in our lives. They argued that the book of Philippians has a significance for us that should shape our lives and ministries. They write, “we are called to develop a common life that strives “side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27).” Moreover, they argue that we should have the “mind of Christ.”

This may not be earth shattering journalism or new doctrine, but what made me really start to think was something that was said a paragraph later. “First it is important to note that seeking insight into Christ’s mind is not simply a matter of cognitive reasoning . . . but is better construed as a form of practical reasoning that involves our whole lives: feeling, thinking, and perceiving, as well as acting and living” (Excellence, p. 18). With that said, they go on to say that you could rightly translate that text as, “Let this be your pattern of thinking, acting, and feeling which was also displayed in Christ Jesus.”

So in other words, I began to think, this thought process, this mind of Christ should invade and influence every facet of my life? As I shake my head and confirm that yes, indeed it should. It should influence everything. But then I ask myself the larger question.

Does it?

Do we allow the mind of Christ to be one with out own in everything that we do? Do we allow the mind of Christ to be a part of ourselves in the thinking, the acting, the feeling, and for that matter, the speaking? Is Christ that much a part of your life?

And then I guess this is why I got stuck. Then I thought to myself – did I allow that same mind to be a part of my time standing behind an electronic voting machine this morning?

What about you? Did you vote? How did you vote? And maybe more importantly, if you didn’t vote with the “mind of Christ,” will you in November?

Just some food for thought, and something to chew on when you go to the poll today.

I do not take PAC money from Duke University, Gregory Jones or Eerdman Publishing.

I am Gregory Cox, and I approved this message.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg