Prairie Methodist

Here is my unedited BOOM answer.  Again, its unedited.  Typos, bad punctuation, and terrible referencing is allowed.

The United Methodist Church holds that Scripture, tradition, experience and reason are sources and norms for belief and practice, but that the Bible is primary among them.  What is your theological position of the church?

Living out our calling as Christians requires consistent engagement with our theological heritage.  As we experience God’s gracious activity in us and the world we utilize a theological framework for interpretation.  As United Methodists we affirm the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as the source for our theological position.  “Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason.” (BoD Par 104 p. 77)  Scripture is the foundation of our own understanding of God’s redemptive activity in the world.  Recognizing scripture as the source of authority is acknowledging it as a revelation of the Word of God.  As United Methodists we understand scripture to reveal all that is necessary for salvation.  The Bible reveals to human beings the truth of the Triune God.  We are witness to God the Father and Creator acting in history.  We witness the living Son of God, Jesus Christ, walking among us and conquering death so that all may experience eternal life.  We experience the Holy Spirit, the foundation of the Church, empowering God’s people.  Within the quadrilateral Scripture is primary; our tradition, experience, and use of reason are informed by the biblical witness.  That is why it is crucial we as ministers offer the Word in a variety of settings: in bible study, Disciple classes, in worship, etc.

The use of tradition, though, helps guide our understanding of scripture.  The church is the bearer of traditions which help shape the specific contexts of different times as well as spurs continued engagement within our own setting.  God continues to be present in each age, informing and transforming new generations.  By affirming the traditions of the church we maintain connection with an ever-growing cloud of witnesses who came before us.  As we recall the history of our church we can respond to those elements which offered fresh visions of God’s work in the world.  We can also discard those elements that hindered a faithful transmission of the Gospel.  For instance, when considering a new or different element for worship I like to ask myself, how is this transmitting God’s Word?  Are we being consistent with the past?  Is this new element simply a gimmick or does it carry on the tradition of the church in a new and accessible way?  When considering the validity of a tradition, again we weigh it against scripture, asking ourselves is it consistent with the biblical witness.  Maintaining a connection with tradition can also help us maintain a healthy connection with our cultural surroundings.  We can practice more faithful engagement in our cultural surrounding without becoming enslaved by it when we have a firmer grasp on how our use of tradition in our theological is consistent with God’s divine grace.

Our experiences shape who we are.  In some sense, we are the sum total of our experiences in life.  We respond to certain situations based on what we know.  When we engage scripture, “we read Scripture in light of the conditions and events that help shape who we are, and we interpret our experience in terms of Scripture.”  (p. 81) Our response to God’s grace, for instance, can be made valid for us by our understanding of the truth of scripture.  Through self-examination we are made more aware of how our experiences shape who we are as people of faith.  When responding to God’s love, those experiences can “inform our appropriation of scriptural truths and sharpen our appreciation of the good news of the kingdom of God.  At the church level, the collective experiences of the body of Christ help forge a corporate identity.  As a minister it is crucial I understand the experiences of the congregation.  Have their experiences in the previous months or years been positive or negative?  What are the conditions that are helping or hindering the church’s relationship to God?  How do my experiences help me respond to the needs of the church?  How can our experiences together make us more effective witnesses of Christ to the world?

In discerning the Word of God and applying it to our traditions through our experiences we utilize our capacity for reason.  Our reasoning skills help us read and interpret scripture.  We discern God’s call in our hearts and ask the critical questions of our faith in order to better understand how to follow Christ.  When we offer Christ to others we use reason to provide a clear understanding of who Christ is and what he calls us to do in mission and ministry.  The truth of the Gospel is made clear by our use of reason to respond.  When I prepare a sermon I am utilizing my own intellect and training to better communicate the Word to the people.  If I am not clear in my preparation, then I risk dilution and irrelevance.  I must use my reasoning abilities when faithfully interpreting God’s action, recognizing my own limitations in knowing the full truth about God.

As we faithfully consider and respond to God’s grace we have been equipped with a theological framework for better understanding who we are called to be as Christians.  The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a means for exploring more fully our calling as ministers.  It helps guide us in making the appropriate choices as we continue on the journey of discipleship.

Question #3  What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the “Lordship of Jesus Christ” and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?

The practice of ministry has enhanced my understanding of “the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”  As a disciple of Jesus Christ I believe Him to be the Incarnate Word of God, author of our salvation.  God became flesh, walked with us, breathed our air, was born and died, yet conquered evil and death.  In the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His authority over all creation.  We celebrate the sovereignty of Christ in worship, in prayer, in mission, ever mindful of His coming kingdom where the fullness of God’s peace and justice will be experienced by all creation.  He is the restorer of our relationship with God.  Through Christ as the head of our holy church we are called to be active participants in God’s divine initiative for renewing creation.  When we respond to Christ as our Lord we reject the selfish in favor of the selfless witness of becoming and making disciples for the transformation of the world.

Currently, much of my focus in ministry is based on the love of Christ.  In my preaching and teaching I seek to demonstrate how our missional identity is shaped by God’s love for us.  The authority of Christ is rooted in love, not power.  I believe it is a powerful witness when I as a minister am able to offer Christ as a gift of God’s love.  Despite ourselves, God loves us and desires to be in relationship.  God has initiated restoration and reconciliation through the faith of Jesus Christ.  Christ commanded us to love God and neighbor.  “We love because he first loved us,” (1 John 4:19).  It is through the love of Christ we are able to be in mission and ministry to God’s creation.

As a community of believers we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, the very person of God.  Christ promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit will always be present.  “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you,” (John 4:26).  The Spirit was present at Pentecost, enabling disparate people separated by language to hear and understand one another.  The Spirit continues to guide us in the church, opening our hearts to God’s gracious activity in the world.  As reflected in Our Doctrinal Heritage, the “Spirit has brought [the church] into existence for the healing of the nations.”  The Spirit sustains us in times of joy and in moments of despair.  I experienced joy with the birth of our daughter Willa, knowing the Spirit was present with all who helped deliver her.  I have also been witness to the Spirit at the bedside of one who was dying.  In our conversation she expressed an inner calm and peace, knowing her pain would soon end and new phase of her journey would begin.  The Spirit is always working at every moment of our lives, within and beyond the walls of the church as we strive to be faithful Christians seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.  The Spirit convinces us of our sin through grace and sustains us as we walk in the way of Christ.

What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and need for divine grace?

Ministry is practiced in a broken world.  Everyone encountered in ministry, myself included, is a sinner sought by God to be renewed in relationship.  All peoples have been created in the image of God, and God desires to be in relationship with God’s creation.  Humanity has been bestowed with the gift of freedom to make choices, to utilize free will.  Unfortunately, instead of choosing to remain in a loving relationship with God and one another, people choose to break the loving connection with God, as illustrated in the third chapter of Genesis.  We have a proclivity to choose selfishness and conceit in our daily actions, incapable of renewing our relationship with God on our own.  However, God has not given up pursuing us.  Divine grace is a free gift from God.  We are incapable of earning God’s grace, but rather because God loves us it is freely given.  Through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to be restored in the image of God.  Grace is present our whole life, even before we are aware, awakening us to God’s love and calling us to turn away from sin and continuing to be with us as we become perfected in God’s love.

Through God’s grace I am able to practice ministry.  On a daily basis I encounter people who may be caught in the grip of sin yet are striving to lead a life worthy of the gospel.  God’s grace is a powerful reminder that even in those moments when people feel most isolated from God or one another, God continues to reach out.  We, as sinners, need God to awaken us to Christ’s redemptive action on our behalf.  Many times in worship we offer a Prayer of Confession, followed by Words of Assurance.  For some in our congregation this has been a challenge as they have come to the ministerial staff complaining of our focus on our sinful nature.  My response is usually one of listening to their concern and offering a framework of understanding the prayer as an acknowledgement of our sin followed with the joy of God’s grace working in our lives.  Others have been appreciative of our including the prayer and the assurance that their sin can and is forgiven, even in the midst of a broken world.  God’s grace is boundless.

Well, it’s only been a year since my last blog post.  Isn’t that great?  Anyway, I’m in the process of completing the written portion of my exam for Full Membership and Elder’s Orders in The United Methodist Church.  To make sure I’m on the right track I’m posting portions of my answers throughout the next couple of weeks.  Feel free to comment!

1) How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?

1.  As I grow as a minister I am continually reminded of God’s continued activity in the world.  God is at work every moment of our lives, always seeking reconciliation and transformation.  During worship, during office hours, in hospital rooms, in the midst of our daily (and sometimes mundane) tasks, etc., God is present. Whether it is presiding over the baptism of an infant or preparing words of comfort for a bereaved family, God is in the midst of all our joys and sufferings.  We are called to be in covenantal relationship with God and to be faithful stewards of God’s creation.  As pastor I value the covenantal response to God’s grace in our lives, ever mindful of God’s creative activity on our behalf.  Recently I gave a children’s sermon in which I described God as the source of our creativity.  A few days later I received a drawing from one of the children who was thankful to God for giving the gift of creativity.  Even at ten she recognizes God as the giver of all our gifts.  For me, the moment was a time of joy at being able to faithfully convey God’s Word that was understandable.

With those joys also come sorrows.  In my first year of ministry as a commissioned elder I was involved with the community foodbank, which was located in the church.  During the day many different people from all walks of life would come requesting assistance.  Over time I listened to many personal stories.  People would talk about the effects of the economic downturn in their daily lives, or how their own personal choices, such as the abuse of drugs and alcohol, have affected them and their families, or how they simply couldn’t make ends meet and weren’t sure where their next meal would come from.  In those moments the Incarnational reality of God would be heightened.  As I listened to the stories, I recognized the eternal presence of the Son of God who understood the sufferings of humanity.  He was willing to walk with the marginalized, to setting them free from the transgressions of the world.  At times people coming to the food bank would ask for forgiveness and I understood that because Jesus is the embodiment of God’s redemptive activity and the source of humanity’s salvation, no one is beyond the reach of God’s love.

I am continued to be surprised by God through the activity of the Holy Spirit.  I have come to recognize that my own expectations often fall short of what God is doing in the world.  The Spirit transcends our own limitations, guiding us to a better relationship with God and helping us along our discipleship journey.  I am currently leading a Disciple III class.  Before each class I outline a plan for discussion.  Usually that plan becomes discarded because the other members have such wonderful insights into the particular texts.  And from those various insights the class is motivated to seeking ways to living out beyond the class what they are experiencing.  The Spirit is guiding them to grow in their faith, to really take seriously the call to making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  This is the Spirit at work, not anything I have done.

I know I will never fully know and understand the mystery of God in this world.  However I trust I will continue to grow as a minister through the experiences God will place before me.  God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit is always present.

The Senior Pastor at church started a three-week sermon series on Reuben P. Job’s book du jour Three Simple Rules.  With his sermon on Feb. 1, he challenged us to DO NO HARM for the coming week.  Here are the guidelines:

In the coming week, avoid doing harm.  Make a commitment not to say anything negative about any other person.  That means no insults and no snide remaks about anyone or to anyone.  It means no jokes at another person’s expense and no spreading embarrassing rumors.  If you do slip up and say something negative, make a note of it.

I was at a conference this past weekend so didn’t get the memo until Monday, so I have a lot of notes to make.

What the world needs now is another blog!