Financial: Risking Your Money

Weekly Devotion – February 26, 2012 – 1st Sunday of Lent - Resources for Mission: Financial: Risking Your Money

Theme/Title:   Show Me the Money. 

Scripture:       Deuteronomy 12: 5-6; Matthew 6: 24-33; Mark 12: 41-44 & 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8

Media:  

YouTube video - poverty and wealth by KavanaghInfo

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZGaR0mUE-A&feature=related

Reflection:

As we wind down our conversation about resources for accomplishing our mission we have to take a look at the subject most of us don’t like to talk about, money.  The key resource we have to fulfill our mission (besides faithful people willing to make God’s dream real) is money.  Money pays the bills, frees us to explore new directions and funds our efforts to boldly shape partners of God for the transformation of the world.

In case you don’t know, our Bible is chock full of references to money and wealth and instructions on how faithful people are to employ this gift from God.  Deuteronomy 12 is concerned with the rituals of worship and lays out the expectation of offerings of your wealth as a major part of worship.  Matthew 6: 24-33 is part of the Sermon on the Mount and focuses upon Jesus’ teachings about practical piety and contains that famous phrase “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and wealth.” Mark 12 has Jesus in the Temple teaching as the end nears and has within it the story of the widow and her offering known as the “Widow’s Mite.”  2 Corinthians 9 is the conclusion of the section of this letter from Paul about the relief collection for Jerusalem and reminds us all that “God loves a cheerful giver.”  This is just a sampling of what the Bible has to say about wealth.  But it can be safely said that there is a constant theme running through them all, those who have are to give, not because it’s required but because we want to respond to the generous gifts of God we have received by sharing them and it is one way to participate in the bringing about the Kingdom of God.

Giving is a spiritual matter.  It is listed among the fruits of the spirits and spiritual gifts.  Generosity is a mark of faithful living and a hoped for way of faithfully responding to the gifts of God one receives.  How you utilize the wealth you have is a visible indicator of your values and shows what you truly believe in.  We are amazingly generous in this church and because of that generosity we are doing a lot to bring about the Kingdom of God.  But if we are to have an even more dramatic and significant impact on the world, transforming it and doing so as partners with God, then we need to create and find projects and programs to fund that will emphasize inclusion, bring hope, protect and preserve the environment and make a sizable dent in the causes and the results of poverty.  We need to sow abundantly so that we can reap abundantly.

Meditation:                

Look over your checkbook and bill pay printout.  What do you spend your money on?  When you have funds not committed to the fixed expenses of life what do you do with them?  How have you seen generous giving making a difference in the world?  What stops you from giving more to programs and projects that are making a difference in our world?

Prayer:           

Thank God for the wealth you have and the opportunity God gives you to steward that wealth.  Ask God to give you wisdom and courage to use your wealth in ways that make a difference in our world.  Seek God’s advice on how our church can best use the wealth we have to bring God’s dream to fruition.

Can I Get a Witness

Weekly Devotion – February 19, 2012 – Resources for Mission

Witnessing: Risking Your Reputation

Theme/Title: “Can I Get a Witness?”

Scripture:  Luke 24: 44-49; Acts 1: 6-8 & Acts 4: 1-4

Media:  

 YouTube “Practice what you preach” by cooltonetheman1

Reflection:

“Can you practice what you preach?” the Black Eyed Peas sing.  Are you willing to risk your reputation, your good name, your comfort?  You see we have to share the story of God’s grace and love if we truly want to boldly shape partners of God for the transformation of the world.  There isn’t any other way to accomplish our mission and reach our goals.  We are God’s witnesses to Hayhurst, Portland, the United States and the entire world.  Christ commissions us to this work.  And we are either witnesses in the legal sense – sharing what we know as truth to a world with God on trial – or in the evangelism sense – showing God to the world through what we say and do and how we live out our faith in our daily lives.  Either way we are sharing the story of our faith and our relationship with God so that others can come to know God too.  Either way we are risking ourselves.

In the past couple of decades I have been embarrassed to be known as a Christian because of the bad images and connotations associated with that word.  Think about it… televangelists stealing money, predominate pastors having drug induced orgies, Catholic priests sexually abusing children, right to life people bombing clinics and killing doctors, creationists pushing Intelligent Design as a reasonable theory for creation, and advocates for war in the Middle East who say it is what needs to happen to bring about the Second Coming of Christ.  I have hid my faith from public awareness because I didn’t want to be lumped in with these abuses of Christianity.  But in hiding I have abdicated the meaning of faithful living to the radical fringe and left people believing that this is what it means to be a faithful child of God.

I have sinned because I have done this.  I have allowed a false teaching to perpetuate.  I now confess my sin and know that speaking my story, sharing what I believe and why are critical to the realization of God’s dream for creation.  People need to know God and they can only begin to know God through my introducing them to God.  I must boldly stand before the world and proclaim the grace and love of God for all people.  I must offer others the space, time, experiences and opportunities to encounter God and I must help them as they too begin to practice what they preach.  When faithful people like you and me share what we know of God’s grace and love we begin to transform this world.

Meditation:

Reread the above paragraph.  Can you see yourself as the “I” in what it says?  When has someone shared God’s grace and love with you?  Have you ever shared your story of your relationship with God with anyone else?  How have you helped the world to know God?

Prayer:

Offer a pray of thanksgiving for those who have the strength and will to share God with others.  Thank God for those who have shared their faith with you.  Ask God to empower you so that you can share your experience of God with others.  Seek God’s guidance for yourself and for our church as we move ahead in our efforts to boldly shape partners of God for the transformation of the world.

Prayers and Presences – Risking Your Time

Week of February 12, 2012

Resources for Mission: Prayers and Presences – Risking Your Time

Theme/Title: Prayer Power and Being Present

Scripture:  Mark 11: 22-25; James 5: 13-16 & Acts 2: 43-47

Media:  YouTube “God help the outcasts” 

                                                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVAexpA1Wc

Reflection:

Jesus in Mark’s gospel and James in his letter both are trying to tell us something about prayer.  It is critical to our lives of faith and it is indispensable as a community.  How can we achieve our mission objective of boldly shaping partners of God for the transformation of the world? By employing all the tools and resources we have and among these is prayer.  Esmeralda in Disney’s “Hunchback” finds herself in the cathedral of Notre Dame and she is moved to speak to God.  She prays a prayer that picks up so much of what prayer is about.  A conversation with God about what’s most important in life. An important aspect of this prayer is its focus on the needs of others.

Prayer is central to our life of faith and our life as a community of faith.  James attests to this in our passage this week.  Prayer is one of the most powerful and effective tools we have in our effort to be all God wants and needs us to be.  We pray for strength to do what needs doing, for guidance to know what we are to do, for inspiration to keep ourselves going, for forgiveness when we miss the mark, and offer thanks for all that we are blessed with.  We pray for others that they may find their way, that they may be healed and comforted, that their needs might be met, and that they might experience a deeper relationship with God.  Through prayer we call God’s attention to what we feel is vital and important in our lives and the lives of others and seek God’s insight and inspiration for living out our faith and accomplishing our mission.

Because we believe in God, because we are part of the Christian faith, because we know God’s heart and the values of our faith tradition we understand the critical nature of being present.  But this presence is so much more than just being physically in a place.  When we are present as people of faith we are present physically, mentally, spiritually and psychologically and we are involved in this holistic way in the events, programs, ministries and worship experiences of our community.  But presence also means being present wherever we are as God’s representatives.  Living the life of faith you cannot “take off” your faithfulness, you’re partnering with God, when you don’t feel like being a partner it doesn’t work like that.  Being God’s partner is 24/7.  The world needs us to be present so that God can be present so that the world may be transformed.   Risk your time – God and the world need it!

Meditation:

Have you experienced the power of prayer in your life?  Have you known of a time when your prayers made a difference for someone else?  When do you feel most connected to God?  How do you understand prayer and how do you use prayer?  Has there been a time in your life when being with other faithful people helped you?  Has anyone ever shared that having your presence with them made a difference?

Prayer:   

Sit in silence for a few minutes and listen to what God might be saying.  Pray for those who need your prayers.  Pray for yourself.  Ask God to give you strength to be the presence needed in your family, work place, school and world.  Commit to being present whenever you can in all the ways you can.

Resources for Mission: Talents & Skills Risking Who You Are

Weekly Devotion – February 5, 2012 – Resources for Mission: Talents & Skills Risking Who You Are

Theme/Title:   B.Y.O.T. S. – Bring Your Own Talents and Skills

Scripture:       Exodus 35: 10-19 & 36: 2-3a; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-21; John 6: 1-14;

Media:             YouTube video EDS "Airplane" by AFallGuy4u

Reflection:

All my life I wished that I were more talented, more gifted, and more skilled.  I am not very good at a lot of things.  I am not a good singer, I never played the guitar.  I can’t paint a picture or rebuild a car.  I don’t play piano and I sure can’t dance.  My grades were so-so and reading came hard.  I have always been overweight and my athletic ability is mediocre at best.  All in all I feel somewhat inadequate and wonder how what I have to offer matters.

I don’t write this to get your sympathy nor to get you to shower me with praise.  I’m trying to show that we often don’t see our own gifts.  The truth is we all have gifts and talents and abilities some have more than others, some are extremely gifted but no matter the level we all have something unique to bring to our role as partners of God.  A master builder cannot build a cathedral by him or herself.  The master builder need stone masons and laborers and carpenters and blacksmiths and a host of others to complete the task.  Each one must bring their talents and skills and abilities to the job in order to see it through.

Our mission is to build a better world, to transform it into the creation of God’s dream.  We are pooling our skills, talents, resources and abilities together as we partner with God to shape others and ourselves into the bold people God needs for things to get better.   Whatever I am and whatever I can do and whatever I can access is what God needs me to bring to the build.  God is asking me to risk what I am and what I have and who I know so that my meager resources can be pooled with those of others and soon we will have more than we can use to build the tabernacle.  But first I must be willing to risk who I am, offering myself without pause or reservation, willing to put all my trust in God. 

We have to be like that man in Tiananmen Square who stood in front of the tanks holding his shopping bags and stopping them in their tracks.  He didn’t raise an army.  He wasn’t a charismatic leader.  He didn’t offer motivating oration.  He simply did what he could with what he had.  He risked himself and did more to affect the world then all the speeches and marches.  This is what God asks of us as we work to boldly shape partners of God for the transformation of the world.

Meditation:

Think about a time when you worked with others to accomplish a task that you could not have done alone.  What did it feel like?  Remember a time when you were trying to accomplish something but you didn’t have what was needed to finish the job.  What did that feel like?  How did you complete the task?  Have you ever had to risk yourself in order to do what was right?

Prayer:

Pray for those who risk themselves.  Ask God to give you the strength and courage to risk yourself.  Pray that when the time comes you will offer your skills, talents and abilities in order partner with God and transform the world.

Resources for Mission: Goals and Benchmarks

Weekly Devotion – January 29, 2012 – Resources for Mission: Goals and Benchmarks 

Theme/Title:    The Finish Line is Where?

Scripture:  Luke 14: 25-30; Luke 6: 46-49 & Luke 8: 1-3;

Media:   Vulture scene from Disney’s “Jungle Book”

Reflection:

I am a bit of a handyman or at least I can do small projects and remodeling around my house.  Before I begin a job I assemble the tools and materials I have that will help me complete the project.  In fact, the tools and materials help me determine if the project is one I can accomplish because if I don’t have the right tools or materials I cannot do the job.

Among the tools and materials we need to accomplish our mission of boldly shaping partners of God for the transformation of the world are money, talents, prayers, presence, witness and goals.  Goals and their accompanying benchmarks are key to the completion of our task as they give us landmarks on our journey to achieving God’s dream.

 As I have already said, I believe that VHUMC and its people are uniquely positioned to address four key issues of our community and world: inclusion, poverty, the environmental crisis, and the need for hope.  We have strengths in these areas.  We have a proven track record in these efforts.  We have people committed to addressing these concerns both locally and globally.  With strengths and passion we have a step up in determining goals and setting benchmarks.  Our goals for realizing our mission must grow out of what we do well and what we are passionate about if we have any hope of success.

Think about yourself.  What do you already do, support, and advocate for, that addresses the four areas mentioned?  What do you already have a passion for, commitment to and desire to achieve that is included in the four areas listed?  What do you bring to the table as we begin the process of setting goals and deciding benchmarks that will guide us in our effort to achieve God’s mission for our lives and community?  We cannot carry out our mission if we don’t have your work, your passion, your resources and your commitment to realizing the goals that will guide us in boldly shaping partners of God for the transformation of the world.

Any chance of success for any effort takes some vision, some planning, some idea of what will be needed and the resources necessary to complete the task.  We have the vision in our mission from God.  We have the idea of what we need to do. Now we must pull together the resources so that we don’t get a half laid foundation or wage a battle without troops enough to win.  We want to build our effort on the rock so that nothing can sweep it away.  And we need people to step up and provide out of their resources for the accomplishment of the work.

Meditation:

What do you do and do well?  What are you passionate about that addresses God’s mission?  What tools and resources do you bring that will help in setting goals and creating benchmarks for our task?  What goals should we set?  How will we measure our efforts at meeting them?

Prayer:

Thank God for the passion you have.  Praise God for the things you do and do well.  Ask God to help you discern how you can apply your resources and passions to our mission.  Ask God to reveal the goals and benchmarks needed for our community to realize God’s mission.

Goals to help us do the “How”

Weekly Devotion – January 22, 2012 – Goals to help us do the “How”

Theme/Title:   Keep Your Eyes on the Prize! 

Scripture:   Philippians 3: 12-16 & Mark 12: 28-31

Media:  YouTube video David Summerford “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” 

 

Reflection:

I have a hard time with goals.  Not with setting them or seeing their value and importance.  The problem I have with goals is that I do such a poor job of achieving them.  I allow myself to get distracted or I don’t keep the ultimate goal in mind. 

Often my struggle with goals is twofold:  I either do not have a clear end result identified or I haven’t recognized the benchmarks along the way.  Goals are fine, but if the ultimate prize isn’t very well defined or understood then no matter the goals they will not be achieved in any meaningful way.  If the end result is clear and goals are set I still can’t accomplish my mission if I don’t have clear, specific and reasonable benchmarks to measure my progress. 

A goal is the purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective.  A benchmark is a standard by which something can be measured or judged and is used to determine if a goal is being reached. 

In setting goals and benchmarks you have to keep a couple things in mind.  One is that playing to your strengths and your preferences will help and the other is being clear about the what and the how of reaching the goal.  In addition you have to be willing to compromise all else in your effort to complete the mission, subjugating other wants, needs and desires to the ultimate achievement of benchmarks and goals.  Add to this a clear understanding of what your resources are and the passions that drive you and allowing them to influence the goals and benchmarks you set. 

Loving God with all you are and loving your neighbor are goals for the mission God has given us.  But what are the benchmarks?  In the Gospel of Luke the Great Commandments section is followed by the Parable of the Good Samaritan which is Jesus’ answer to the question “who is my neighbor?” which is the setting of a benchmark for the goal of loving your neighbor.  Our benchmarks might be different.  But they will all serve as a standard by which our loving can be measured or judged and used to determine if the goal is being reached.

What do you think the goals and accompanying benchmarks should be for our church?  What are the areas or ministries we have a passion for?  Where can our skills, talents and resources best be used to complete God’s mission?

Meditation:

What is the one issue you are most passionate about?  What are your strengths, passions, skills, talents and resources?  What ministries would they be most useful in? 

Prayer:

Thank God for your skills, talents, resources and passions.  Ask God to reveal to you the places you should be in ministry.  Ask God to reveal to you or someone else the ministries our church should be about.

How? Ending Poverty

Weekly Devotion – January 15, 2012 – How? Ending Poverty

Theme/Title:    The Simple Fix – Eliminate Poverty 

Scripture:      Psalm 10; Isaiah 58: 6-8 and Luke 1: 46-55

Media:    YouTube video “Sermon @ the 51st Annual Prayer Breakfast” by WildxFlower,

Reflection:

So now we get to the final area that the church can really have an impact on, poverty.  We have been working at this for centuries. In fact, the very first churches struggled with how to feed the widows and poor and Paul even took up a collection among the Gentile churches for this need in Jerusalem.

The United Methodist Church has programs to feed the hungry in countries all over the world.  We have programs to teach farming techniques, sustainable practices, irrigation programs, animal husbandry; we offer programs in food storage and preparation.  We also do things to address poverty like micro loans and house businesses.  We try to take donated funds and spend them in country to help with local economies.  We are providing health care, vaccines and nets to fight malaria.  We really are invested in addressing poverty as a denomination.

As a local church we collect food and household items for FISH.  We collect money and food stuff for Neighborhood House’s Emergency Food Box Program.  We drive Meals on Wheels and serve Loaves and Fishes.  We volunteer at the Oregon Food Bank and on Habitat builds.  We support the SW Health Clinic and many of our people volunteer there.  We really do a lot to address poverty.

But still it is a problem.  The 2010 US Census found that more people than ever are poor in this country.  Famine is raging over parts of Africa.  Floods have wiped out crops in Pakistan and the poor are bearing the brunt of the loss.  The statistics prove the adage that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer and those of us in between are getting to be a smaller and smaller number.  But hope is not lost.  People still give.  People still care.  And with celebrities like Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Bono and billionaires like Bill and Malinda Gates and Warren Buffet stepping up there is some traction being gained.  But until the richest nations invest substantial dollars, time and resources into addressing the root cause of poverty the problem will persist. 

And for people of faith who are boldly shaping partners of God for the transformation of the world we must see addressing poverty and its root causes as a spiritual matter and not just a political or humanitarian one.  Poverty is a symptom of spiritual anemia as John Wesley knew and pointed out.  His challenge to faithful people is famous: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, as long as ever you can.”  What more needs to be said?

Meditation:

Remember a time you helped address poverty by helping with a program or project.  Call to mind a time when you found yourself judging someone less fortunate for their choices.  Identify something you feel passionate about that will address poverty and its root causes.

Prayer:           

Pray for the poor and those who work tirelessly to help the poor and address poverty’s root causes.  Offer thanksgiving for people of wealth, fame and status who give and work to make poverty history.  Pray for strength and wisdom to invest yourself in the fight to end poverty.  Ask God to help you live simply so that other can simply live.

How? Cleaning up and Caring for God’s Creation

Weekly Devotion – January 8, 2012 – How? Cleaning up and Caring for God’s Creation

Scripture:   Genesis 1:1 – 2:4 & Mark 13: 32-37;

Media:  YouTube video “The Crying Indian – Keep America Beautiful” 

Reflection:

I remember seeing the commercial of a Native American paddling a canoe and finding pollution everywhere.  The commercial ends with a bag of garbage landing at his feet and a tear running down his cheek.  Powerful!  It is one of the iconic images of my youth and still causes me to pause and reflection on what it is we are doing to planet earth. 

There is a saying, “Live simply so that others can simply live.”  And it is a statement of truth, justice and challenge for us all.  Gone are the days when we could just pretend that what we did to the environment didn’t impact us or others.  We all know how something we buy here is a product of manufacturing and mining and transportation and how all these steps contribute to the health or lack of it for our environment.  We know that the metaphor of the butterfly flapping its wings is true – the cutting of a tree in Brazil does affect the air quality and temperature in Texas. 

Recycling is an act of faith.  Community Supported Agriculture is a spiritual discipline.  Buying less and reusing more is a witness.  Energy efficiency is a testament of your beliefs.  What you buy shows what you believe.  Caring for this creation is an act of everyday justice it brings hope to others and shows acceptance of the basic fact that we all are in the same boat, we all are equal because the sun shines on us all, water is life to us all and what we do to the air and water we do to ourselves. 

To boldly shape partners of God for the transformation of the world we must do all we can to protect, restore and revitalize creation.  Our actions show others the way and bold actions are seen more clearly.  By partnering with God as co-creators we take our task of stewarding creation to heart and it deepens our relationship with God, ourselves and others.  When we practice what we preach and are a community that shows its care for creation we take steps to transform the world.

Meditation:

How do you participate in caring for creation?  How do you see yourself in the web, the circle of life?  When have you been a restorer of creation and how did it feel?  When have you witnessed the destruction of creation?  When have you participated in it?  Who has helped you claim your role as steward of God’s creation and how did they do that?

Prayer:

Thank God for the wonders of this creation.  Praise God for all that creations gives to you.  Hold up to God those who work to make this earth healthy and whole.  Ask God to help you be the steward, the partner, God needs to insure the health and vitality of earth.  Seek God’s forgiveness for those times and ways you have not cared for creation as you ought. Thank God for letting you be a witness to living simply.

Our Commitment to the Mission

Week of January 1, 2012 – New Year Renewed Commitment

Theme/Title:  Our Commitment to the Mission

Scripture:   Genesis 22: 15-18; 2 Kings 23: 1-3; Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Matthew 25: 31-40

 Media:        YouTube video “Bono Prayer Speech” by Jborn4christ

Reflections:

Happy New Year!  Once again we begin a new year, a new opportunity to do things differently and to be different.  We make resolutions and seriously expect that we will work at keeping them.  All is positive expectations about what is to come.  We do have our nagging thoughts about all that bothered us in the old year.  We know that most of what was will continue to be.  And we aren’t naive enough to believe that all changes just because it is 2012.  We also take it with a grain of salt what the doomsayers and predictors of the coming end are saying.  But still it is a new year and an opportunity to try and get it right.

One thing we in the church have is a way to move beyond the past and into a future that is better, we have confession and forgiveness; we have grace.  As those who know God and God’s grace we know that tomorrow can be better than today and that today can be better than yesterday.  And because of this knowledge and belief we make a promise to God and the universe.  We enter into a covenant, a pledge, a promise that this day and this year will be better for all God’s children and all God’s creation, that we will do what we can to make this so and that we will move beyond our own selfish wants and needs toward meeting the wants and needs of God’s children throughout the world.

We say, like St Francis and John Wesley and so many others, “Not my will but thine be done.”  We ask God to help us be whatever it is God needs us to be and then to help us move beyond ourselves so that we can be what it is God needs us to be; what the world needs us to be.  We covenant and our strong conviction is that we will fulfill that covenant knowing that God always fulfills God’s part – to grant us grace, to accept and love us and to be with us no matter what we face.

May we all say with honest conviction and wholehearted enthusiasm “O glorious and blessed God…thou art mine, and I am thine.  So be it.  And the covenant which I make on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.”

Meditation:       

Standing before God, perhaps at night under the stars, reflect on the year past.  Remember all the times you knew God’s grace.  Call to mind the times when you helped to make the world a better place.  Celebrate those times.  Dredge up those times when you gave in to your own wants and needs, when you didn’t care about the world and making it better.  Bear in mind that God has already forgiven you, now forgive yourself.

Prayer:

Thank God for the year past.  Praise God for the moments of grace you experienced.  Thank God for the good you did and the blessings you gave others.  Claim the forgiveness God has already granted you for those failures and missteps of the year past.  Ask God to give you strength and focus in the year ahead so that you can honestly fulfill your covenant to follow and do God’s will.