The Call
About ten days ago I received the
phone call from DS Rev. Jackie Brannen. She asked me to see if Joyce and I
could help lead Mars Hill UMC. Recently, the group of people in Grant Memorial
UMC (Presque Isle) broke away and started a new church, which became the first
Global Methodist Church (GMC) in the Northeast Jurisdiction. Pastor Choi, who
was serving Grant Memorial and Mars Hill UMCs, withdrew his membership from the
UMC and became the pastor for those who broke away. So all of sudden, the
people of Mars Hill and those who remained in Grant Memorial became sheep
without a shepherd. It was devastating and heart wrenching.
After much thought and prayers, Joyce and I said yes to the call. You may wonder, “What does it look like serving three churches – Hodgdon, Houlton, and Mars Hill UMCs?” A general idea of the ministry plan is something like this: As a ministry team, Joyce and I will take turns, leading Sunday worship service at Hodgdon and Mars Hill, and I will continue to lead the service at Houlton every Sunday. For instance, Joyce will lead the service at Hodgdon on the first and third Sunday, and at Mars Hill on the second and fourth. And I will do the opposite – at Mars Hill on the first and third Sunday, and at Hodgdon on the second and fourth.
Personal Discernment
Now let me share with you my
discernment process in terms of personal and communal aspects of how I got to the
point where I could say yes to this challenging call. First, personal discernment. Two weeks ago I
briefly shared my experience at the spiritual formation conference in Tucson,
AZ. Around that time I felt stuck. There were several things I was praying for,
including the next vision for the church, and the next step for Joyce’s and my
journey. But I saw nothing, I heard nothing. I just felt like I was stuck in
the middle. On the day I was leaving to Arizona, the word came to me during my
morning devotion time. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should
go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you… Rejoice in the Lord and be
glad, you righteous; sing, all who are upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:8, 11).
That moment I felt assured that God would teach me the way, even though I
didn’t see coming yet.
While I was in the conference, 12 hours of silence were given each day. One day while I was doing listening prayer in silence, all of sudden the Spirit put it into my heart to pray for Joyce. The Spirit gave me a strong desire to support Joyce – her continuing education and ministry. So after this, I bought a beautiful card at the gift shop and wrote her a letter, saying, “Just as you became my wing, I promise I will be your wing as well. I will help you thrive and live up to your calling.” Since then, I began to pray how I might support her. Then, five days later I got the phone call from Jackie concerning the possibility of team ministry between Joyce and me. That’s how God prepared me and guided me along the pathway.
Communal Discernment
Now discernment process in a community context. Two particular
passages came to my mind – one was 1 Corinthians 12, “the church as one body,”
and the other Philippians 2, “having the mind of Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 12
Paul uses a human body metaphor to
explain what the church is. He says, “Just as a body, though one, has many
parts, but all its many parts form one
body, so it is with Christ” (v. 12). “As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (v. 20). “If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with
it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (vv.
26-27). The church is a living organism.
Each of us is a part of the body of Christ. Every part is connected with and dependent
on every other part. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the
hurt, and in the healing. When the people of Mars Hill and Grant Memorial
suffer, we too suffer with them. We are Christ’s body – interconnected,
interdependent – that’s who we are!
In today’s passage, Philippians 2, Paul exhorts the church how to live a life in a community of the Spirit this way: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (vv. 3-4). In his book I Am a Church Member Thom Rainer and his research team conducted a survey of churches that were inwardly focused. In their survey they found ten dominant behavior patterns of members in these churches[1]:
1. Worship wars (traditional vs. contemporary, music styles, etc.)
2. Prolonged minutia meetings
3. Facility focus
4. Program driven
5. Inwardly focused budget
6. Inordinate demands for pastoral care
7. Attitudes of entitlement
8. Greater concern about change than the gospel
9. Anger and hostility
10. Evangelistic apathy
We get the picture of the inwardly focused church. These church members were looking for their own needs and preferences. I want the music my way. I want the building my way. I am upset because the pastor didn’t visit me. I don’t want to change anything in my church. I. Me. Myself. But Paul by the Spirit teaches us that church membership is all about serving, giving, putting others first.
The Mind of Christ
It’s going to be a stretch. We’ll
need to make some adjustments and sacrifices as of October 16, 2022. For instance,
all seven members of the Hans are no longer able to be present all at the same
time at Hodgdon every Sunday. Hodgdon church will see Joyce and me every other
Sunday. There will be some adjustments in Sunday school. For Mars Hill church,
they need to give up their favorite service time and change it from 10 to 9 am.
They don’t have their own pastor any longer, but a shared pastor. For Houlton
church, they too need to change service time to 11 am. Perhaps, you might have
some questions. There will be listening sessions – right after service today,
and also during the week (Houlton: Wed, Oct 12 at 6 pm, Hodgdon: Tue, Oct 18 at
4:30 pm). These changes might not be easy and convenient. When we are tempted
to insist on “my way,” when we think we’ve had it with making sacrifices for
others, let us remember the cross. Jesus emptied himself, humbled himself,
became obedient to the most humiliating kind of death – a crucifixion.
For me personally, I continue to examine myself and ask,
“Why am I doing what I am doing?”
“Am I doing this out of selfish ambition, or out of compassion and
Christian love?”
“Am I doing this out of a sense of duty, or out of the love for Christ
and others?”
“Am I doing this to make much of me,
or to make much of Christ?”
I want to invite you to join me in asking these questions.
“Why are we doing what we are
doing?”
“Are we doing this out of selfish ambition, or out of compassion and
Christian love?”
“Are we doing this out of a sense of duty, or out of the love for Christ
and others?”
“Are we doing this to make much of ourselves,
or to make much of Christ?”
Joy
When Christ Jesus humbled himself
and made much of his Father, God exalted him to the highest place and made much
of him greatly. Today’s passage, Philippians 2:1-11, can be summarized into one
sentence found in Hebrews 12:2: “Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him. And now he is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.” In the same way, when we make much of Christ and put
others first, God will make much of us. We will be rewarded in joy. Our reward will be to enter into
the joy of our master. My prayer is
that as a church we will be dancing not juggling, rejoicing not despairing,
unifying not dividing. “God will instruct us
and teach us in the way we should go; God will counsel us with his loving eye on us. So let us rejoice in the Lord and be glad always!” Amen.
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