Reflect and Renew

Entitlement

On April 26, 2014

In Church Life, Leadership, Navarre UMC, Observations

I have recently been thing about the whole concept of entitlement because of some reading I have been doing about the millennial generation. Having an entitlement mentality is believing that I should have certain privileges or options just because of who I am, or sometimes just because I exist in this place or time. Often times in our American culture the “privileges” become “rights.”

As much research has shown Millennials (those born between 1981 and 2004) a very entitled generation. They grew up in the era where everyone got a trophy just for showing up. But one of the things I have notices is that all of us have some level of entitlement.

People have entitlements based on a number of things:

Status in life
Income
Age (young or old)
Longevity in an organization
Amount given to an organization

This happens at many levels in church life. I have heard in 29 years of church life and they all revolve around the statement, “You should follow my advice and do things my way because I:

Have been a faithful member for X years.
Give a great deal of money to the church.
Am a charter member.
Sit on the board.
Am a member.
Am elderly
Am a future leader of the church
Am a business owner, military officer
Have an advanced degree

I could go on and on.

The problem with all of these statements is that they go completely counter to the spirit of Jesus who,

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

– Philippians 2:6–8 (NLT)

The focus of an entitlement attitude is what I want to happen rather than the mission God has sent us to accomplish. That kind of entitlement is found in us all.

As an individual, I have certain preferences myself. But those preferences must be subservient to the mission of the church and the methods it will take to accomplish that mission in our current cultural context. It is a sad idea but often the perceived privilege of membership trumps the mission every time.

But what if, as leaders, we could cultivate that opposite attitude. What if we were to say, “Whatever it takes for the mission”?

Honestly, there would be a lot of negative consequences, but a lot of positive ones as well. I think the world has not seen this kind of attitude in the church in a long time. But, what if it began with you and m

Hello world!

By admin

On April 16, 2014

In Uncategorized

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

2013 Christmas Letter

By admin

On December 25, 2013

In Uncategorized

This year has been a remarkable year full of blessings of many kinds: health, enough, love, laughter, family, friends. Penny and I have continued our ministry in Navarre, Florida: preaching, teaching, singing, praying, enduring and loving.

Penny continues to work from home and on the road (providing Alan some alone time, then he really likes it when Penny comes home!).

On April 15th Alan went into the hospital to have an aneurism repaired on his ascending aorta. It was a very complicated surgery and a longer recovery than Alan wanted, but he is back to full strength and working hard again.

This year also marks the five years for Penny being cancer free. After two surgeries, and 3 rounds of chemotherapy, her ovarian cancer has disappeared; praise God!

This spring we welcomed another grandchild to our family. Callie Paige Hart was born to Charity and JD on June 22. This brings our total to 6 and one on the way. That’s right; Jared was married in September. He and Asheia are expecting their first child later in the spring. Jared has re-enlisted in the Air Force and is looking forward to new opportunities. Penny’s son, Ron, married Amelia, April 1st in Navarre (they live in KY). They have 2 kids. Penny’s daughter, Rose is working night shift at a nursing home and loves it.

The ministry highlight on the year was our mission trip to South Africa. Penny and I traveled with about 13 others from our church to Orange Farm, South Africa, about an hour south of Johannesburg. On this trip, Alan preached a six night revival and did some devotions and a motivational talk at some of the primary schools in the area. Souls were saved-24 people that we know. We provided a “vacation bible school” after school. One day we had about 800-1000 kids! We visited a Rhino and Lion Preserve and petted lion cubs.

We pray that you have a blessed new year.

Alan and Penny

South Africa 4

By admin

On October 30, 2013

In Church Life, Missions, Navarre UMC

A typical day for our team begins with breakfast around 6:30 or 7:00 am depending on the schedule. We then travel to the church to divide up into teams for service projects.

We then work on the projects until noon and head to the church for lunch. The ladies of the church cook lunch and supper for us, and we have had some wonderful meals!

After lunch we either head back to the service projects or to a school for an afternoon motivational talk. We also spend time getting ready for other events or learning about other ministries.

3:00 pm means children’s ministry in the stadium – actually just a walled field where the kids and young adults of the community gather to play soccer. The first day we had about 300 kids show up. The number increased until it was too many to count but estimates went from 500 to 800. By the way, we planned for 250.

Our team did a wonderful job of telling Bible stories, helping with crafts and playing games with the kids. As you could imagine, there was a lot of improvisation going on because of the sheer numbers of the kids.

On other days we would do service projects of visit the orphanage and do activities with the kids there.

At 5 pm the kids are sent home and we walk back to the church for supper. After supper we change clothes and prepare for the evangelism services that evening. At first we were to do four services, but just prior to our leaving, Pastor Josiah asked if we could do six. I agreed and so for six straight nights we worshiped with the people of the community and preached the Word.

The services usually lasted about two hours and were full of singing, dancing and excitement. We held the services in a large tent that the pastor borrowed from another local pastor. It was set up in the “stadium” and was also used for the Children’s ministry in the afternoon.

After the services (around 8:30 or 9) we would travel back to the guesthouse and have a debriefing meeting so we could get to bed by 10:00 pm.

Boy am I tired!

South Africa 3

By admin

On October 29, 2013

In Missions, Navarre UMC

My first full day in South Africa, I sat down in Pastor Josiah’s office and talked with him about the community and his ministry here. He has served in the ministry for about 30 years, most of the time in this church. He is actually the founding pastor of Christian Revival Ministries.

One of the challenges he faces here is the high unemployment rate in South Africa. While he could not give me a figure, I later found out it was around 25%. One of the homes we painted was for a man who had been out of work for four years. He would gather plastic and other recyclable materials to sell for enough to live on and send his children to school. Pastor Josiah told me that University graduates even had a hard time finding work and sometimes had to settle for jobs cleaning floors in factories.

He said that many in his church are very poor and so it is the poor ministering to the poor. “Prayer,” he said, “is what the church offers and often all we have.”

He told me that often what he preaches in the church is completely counter to what the people learn in the culture. The church preaches honesty and godly living, but often people tempted to steal or prostitute themselves just to survive. As a church they can offer support to those who choose not to go the way of the culture.

One of the biggest challenges he faces is Satanism. Worship of Satan is alive and well in South Africa. Satanism here even includes human sacrifice and many are drawn to it. I asked him what was the attraction for people? He said, money, power and status. Satanism, as it is practiced here, promises people that if they will do the sacrifices and following their teaching and rituals that they will become rich and be able to control their own destiny.

If you want to add something to your prayer list, pray that the people of South Africa would have their eyes opened to the true power of the gospel in Jesus Christ. This is one of the places in the world where spiritual warfare is real.

South Africa 2

By admin

On October 29, 2013

In Uncategorized

During the Sunday morning worship service, we gathered with the people of Christian Revival Ministries. We had been working in their community for four days and had come to appreciate all that God was doing through them in the community.

But during the service, I got a tremendous shock. The pastor told the congregation that our coming to this community was, “a direct intervention of God.” Later Pastor Josiah’s wife Mary welcomed us and told the congregation that one day she was praying and she said, God what have we done to deserve this team coming to us?” She then told us, “We do not want you to feel at home, but to be at home!”

I just sat there in the congregation in a kind of stunned, humble silence. How could we be a direct intervention of God? How could we measure up to being the kind of blessing they saw us to be?

I have prayed many times, “Lord if I can be the answer to someone else’s prayer I willing give my self to you.” And now it was happening! All I can tell you is that at that moment I wanted to do everything I could to serve and preach the best I could for these people. If I, and the rest of the team, were a direct intervention of God, I wanted to measure up to that billing.

I often remember hearing people say things like, “Well we don’t have to try real hard to make sure things are done well, because after all it is only the church.” I heard people say that about music in worship, Christmas performances and even outreach events – and it makes me cringe. If we are doing things for God, shouldn’t we give it our best effort? Shouldn’t we strive for excellence instead of just slopping through?

These days in South Africa have reminded me that no matter what I do, I am part of God’s answer to someone’s prayer – and that deserves my best, today and every day.

South Africa 1

By admin

On October 28, 2013

In Church Life, Missions, Navarre UMC

It is now Monday afternoon on our trip to South Africa. It is hard to believe that so much has happened so far. I had expected to write an update every other day or so but this is our sixth day in country and the first chance I have had to write anything.

The days have been long, but the work is very rewarding. So far we have done a motivational talk and a devotional at one of the primary schools and begun painting three houses. We have met wonderful people and shared in great meals. We have visited a small orphanage and done Bible school lessons and activities with up to 700 kinds at one time.

We have shared in worship with the congregation of Christian Revival Ministries and Pastor Josiah. Their expressive, heart-felt worship has touched and challenged all of us. We have also experienced their worship in the evangelism services the past four nights. This was my third experience of preaching through an interpreter and the best by far. Although most people understand English, an interpreter helps them understand better by translating the message into their mother tongue.

He have had the opportunity to begin building relationships with Pastor Josiah and his wife Mary, James our driver and Brighton, a pastor and evangelist who has partnered with the Praying Pelican Mission group. We have also begun to build relationships with many of the children and adults of the church and community.

The African church is a vibrant and growing church. They are not sitting back and waiting for missionaries to come and help them out, they are doing the work of ministry and sending missionaries of their own. By the way, I discovered that there are more African missionaries in America, than there are American missionaries in Africa.

One particular ministry that I have been impressed with is a part of the Global prayer network. They have developed an easy and practical method of evangelism based on Jesus sending out the 72 disciples in Luke 10. Brighton and one of his coworkers shared the program with us during two sessions and It is a simple amazing and natural way to introduce people to Jesus Christ.

I will share more later.

The Blueprint Myth

By admin

On May 13, 2013

In Navarre UMC, Theoloical Thoughts

Blueprint

Several years ago I noticed a tendency among many in the church to mix elements of American idealism, home-spun wisdom and biblical phrases in a concoction I called “folk religion.” Years later, I ran across a book by Dr. Roger Olson entitled Questions for all Your Answers, in which identified a similar tendency.

One of the hallmarks of this folk religion is the old cliche, “Everything happen for a reason,” or God has a plan for everyone’s life.” Recently Dr. Olson took this adage to task as he address a group of young people. Follow the link below to read his address and insights.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2013/04/what-is-gods-will-and-how-can-one-find-it/

The Other Side of God

By admin

On April 9, 2013

In Navarre UMC, Observations, Theoloical Thoughts

A few weeks ago I have the privilege of meeting with several people seeking ordination in our denomination. My team’s responsibility was to review their doctrinal statements and ask questions around doctrine and theology.

For the most part, they did well in expressing the core Wesleyan doctrines of grace, salvation and other topics. However, one issue that was evident in almost all of them was as lack of understanding of certain aspects of God’s nature and attributes – theology proper.

We asked them to describe what God was like to a curious seeker who had no knowledge of God, they did a good job of talking about God’s grace, love, mercy and forgiveness, but that was where it stopped.

I asked, “What about God’s other attributes, what attributes make God’s mercy and grace necessary?” They were stumped. It seemed that the attributes of God they could relate to were on God’s “good side.” When pressed and coached, one candidate said, “Oh you mean God’s vengeance.”

The first class I took in seminary was a class on Systematic Theology and one of the first books we read was the devotional classic by A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy.

This book, along with the other textbooks in the class introduced us to the attributes of God, among many other things. The class taught us about God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, but also about God’s holiness, justice, righteousness, eternity, omnipotence and omnipresence and others.

Many people pit these attributes against one another as if God were one or the other―that is not the case. God is all of these at the same time. H. Ray Dunning sums up many of God’s attributes in the term holy love. God is holy and loving, God is just and merciful. God is transcendent and imminent. God is omnipotent and compassionate; and all of these at the same time.

What is most disturbing is the characterization of God’s righteousness, holiness and justice as vengeance. Let’s draw some analogies: Are parents vengeful when they do not allow one of their children to play in the street and physically stop them from doing so? Is a civic club vengeful when it establishes a code of conduct and then holds its accountable for it? Is a teacher vengeful when she catches a student cheating and gives her/him a zero for the test? Is a judge being vengeful when he sentences a defendant to life in prison for killing someone?

I think we as pastors and “theologians in residence” have an obligation to help people understand the nature of God and not divide God up so that we can pick and choose the parts we want. We must teach and preach a God who is whole, holy and loving.

Deep Change

By admin

On March 9, 2013

In Leadership, Lent, Observations

"Deep change… is a spiritual process". that is a quote not from a popular Christian author or preacher, but a business consultant. Robert Quinn is a professor in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. I don’t know anything about his religious life, but he has hit on a core life truth here. Change at the fundamental level of our lives (and our organizations) is indeed a spiritual process. Real change involves a fundamental realignment of our core values and outlook (worldview).

Many of us struggle with breaking bad habits such as over eating or over spending or addictions, because we try changing surface behaviors without changing the underlying emotional and psychological realities of our lives. The same is true of our walk with Christ. Often we come to Christ and have a sincere desire to change and become more like Jesus, but we never allow the Gospel in all its fullness to penetrate the deep places of our hearts. We become content with superficial or ornamental changes and always wonder why we keep falling into the same sins or poor choices.

For change to take place, we must allow the message of Christ to sink so deeply in our lives that our basic and fundamental assumptions about ourselves, the world and others is radically transformed, but that takes time and effort. It takes time to soak in the Word of God, build relationships with other Christians and reflect on the implications of Gospel for our lives. but, as we do everything about us will begin the change, slowly but steadily. That is the kind of change I want.