If this is the season in which we celebrate that God comes to us, then we must take some time to reflect upon the nature of such a revelation. Who is this one then that comes with the ultimate purpose to save? What was it like for Him to become one of us in order to redeem us?

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! -Philippians 2: 5 -8

The omnipotent became fragile; the omniscient one didn’t even know the “day or the hour;” the omnipresent one became a temporal being in history, time, space, and in a human body. This is living and stepping into mystery.

Dietrich Bonheoffer says, “The child in the manger is none other than God himself. Nothing greater can be said: God became a child. In the Jesus child of Mary lives the almighty God. Wait a minute! Don’t speak; stop thinking! Stand still before this statement! God became a child! Here he is, poor like us, miserable and helpless like us, a person of flesh and blood like us, our brother. And yet he is God; he is might. Where is the divinity, where is the might of the child? In the divine love in which he became like us.”

Indeed, God knows what it is like to go through struggle, pain, separation, and hurt. He feels our joys and sorrows for He became one of us in order to save us. There is no greater story of hope for us than this. Live in this reality, that God decided to save us by entering our world. Tell God what you feel and what you are thinking, for He not only knows, He understands. This is the message of Christmas.

Michael Smith is a camp alum who has worked on staff and served on the board at camp. He is the pastor of Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Erma.

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 
“Where is your God?” -Psalm 42: 2-3

One of the classic old school joints for praise and worship comes from Psalm 42. I am sure that most of us have sung “As the deer” for so many years that it has been filed away in the “songs to never ever sing again file.” (Other songs could also included “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” and “Every Move I Make” – the motions also banned).

There are even some of you that when the song is sung, you shout BANG – after you repeat the first line about a deer. Classic. I love the things we do to Scripture in worship for the sake of our entertainment… but I digress. My point here is that with the familiarity of the song we can fall into the trap of losing the beauty of the message. The familiar fades the truth away, and when it is too familiar it is no longer relevant. The word of God, however, is that which desires to communicate to us the very grace and life of God.

Take a look at the following verses. Are there any songs that talk about eating ones tears or food all day and night? How can one set that in the key of G with an acoustic guitar to rock it out? With the hungering and thirsting for God comes often a physical response. Jesus promised that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness would be filled. The psalmist here is not after that; they are after the living God. Did you know that you can meet with God? For instance – I know that many of you may have a special place in your heart for Delanco Camp. But not just for Delanco Camp… there is probably a place at the camp, a special place where you have met with God. Perhaps it is on the bridge in the quiet of the morning, or in the chapel of the pines, or in the Tabernacle?

Often we hear of the altar stories from camp where the evangelist can point to the place at the altar and say it was HERE that they met God. One night for me, I couldn’t even make it to the altar because of the paralysis that came from my tears. I stayed in the pew eating and drinking my tears because God met with me and I surrendered my life to Him. It seems that even now as I walk by the tears are stained into the dusty floor. During this season of Lent, we are meant to take time to pray, reflect, and sacrifice. This is a time to eat our tears. Would you create some space in your life to meet with God? Do you thirst after the living God? He will meet with you. You do not have to worry or fear, He is not hiding from you. Seek Him out during this time of Lent and you will find Him.

Bon appétit on your tears during this season of Lent.

Below are my responses, in no particular order…

What would be your response to the same question?

Discern your call. Let it be confirmed and affirmed by those inside and outside your church. A hired hand will run away.

Have people in your life who you trust and can turn to when you have questions. Let them be wise counselors, not friends your age or dopes you go to school with. Find someone a few years ahead of you who has been down the road a bit.

Discover what you are best at. Focus on that. Get away from being a ‘jack of all trades.’ Learn how to streamline ministry to focus on what the church does best. Don’t do everything. “If everything is important, then nothing is important.”

There is a time to speak and a time to listen. I think most of us struggle with distinguishing when to do which one, and at the appropriate time. In John 3 we see a man named Nicodemus come to Jesus at night. He was a member of the ‘ruling council’ and he had a very interesting conversation with Jesus. It is in this context where we are told about being ‘born again.’ It is from this text that we also draw probably the most familiar verse of Scripture in the world today – John 3:16. Do you remember Nicodemus? There was another member of such council that is described as being a secret follower of Jesus. His name was Joseph of Arimathea. He is most familiar to us as being the one who asked for the body of Jesus because he had a tomb in which Jesus could be buried in. What is interesting is that both of these men are thought of as being members of the same ruling council that condemned Jesus to death. Where were they this particular evening? Were they not present, or if they were, did they remain silent?

When were we ever silent in defending Christ?

The video project is the result of this question:

“If you had just nine minutes to share with church leaders, what would you say?”

This might not be something you do every day, but I encourage you as part of your spiritual discipline and devotions to take time (it is only nine minutes) to watch these leaders share their hearts with you. Maybe you do this for a season after Lent, or maybe you pick one day a week to watch a video, but no matter how you choose to do this, being exposed to this teaching will only encourage and benefit your ministry and leadership. And the great part about it – there is no reading required!

Reading all of these books on leadership can take a lot of time and is often tough to accomplish. Here you get the best teaching from these leaders in only a matter of minutes. That’s enough talking from me – start viewing these videos. You will find leaders like Rick Warren, Brad Powell, but for those who are United Methodist, I encourage you to also check out Jorge Acevado and Bill Easum. These are just two great UM leaders.

Jesus talked more about money than he did about love or grace. Jesus talked more about money than he did heaven. But when we think of Christ’s message to us, these are often the themes we tend to think of first. The kingdom of God was the only other topic that Jesus talked more about than money. For Jesus it was the kingdom of God, then money, in terms of what he wanted to convey in his teaching. Often we find Jesus talking about both of these subjects at the same time. This is because the two are closely linked.

Dave Ramsey, a New York Times best-selling author, is very helpful in lending a humorous definition and understanding of stewardship. He says that, ‘In church language, stewardship is code for building a building.” As funny as it may be, sadly it is also very true. The only time we really begin to get serious about financial matters in the church or other nonprofit organizations are when they need money. Unfortunately, these are all misuses of the word and overall concept of giving.

Steward or stewardship isn’t in my language today. I can’t remember ever using it as part of my daily conversations. When was the last time you mentioned stewardship? “Honey, make sure you put your money in your piggy bank so you use it later in your stewardship.” Stewardship needs to be redefined for us.

“Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.’” (Luke 22: 24-26)

“The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”  (John 13: 2-5)

From an early age we discover how to distinguish between the popular and the unpopular, the normal and the different, the leaders and the followers. For those who know me, it is not a shock that I was not one of the popular kids in school. But what is most fascinating as I reflect is that even in the realms of ‘nerddom,’ there are still distinguishing marks that separates u. First chair, section leader, president of the Thespian Society, drum major, Dungeon Master- Okay, that last one was for the really geeky kids out there.

We, like the disciples, want to know our place in the pecking order of life. Just imagine the disciples as they are arguing about which of them was considered to be the greatest around the ‘Last Supper’ table. In the midst of them arguing like little middle school boys, Jesus – the Lord of all – gets up from the table and shows them what greatness truly is; Service. John shows us how he takes a towel and wraps it around his waist. Jesus pours water into a basin and washes the disciple’s feet. “The one who rules should be like the one who serves.”

“Direction, not intention, determines destination.”
-Andy Stanley, author and pastor of Northpoint Community Church

This is the principle of the path.

Do you remember Dorothy and her little dog, Toto? She wanted to get home, and there was this guy in Oz who was a Wizard – hence the name of the movie – who would help her get home. In order to get there she had to do something…. “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.” If she would follow this road it would lead her to Oz. In fact, if you or I wanted to get to Oz, then guess what… we have to follow the yellow brick road. The reason Dorothy got there is because she followed this road. The direction determines destination.

There was nothing special about Dorothy. She didn’t have to be brilliant – she was traveling with a guy with no brain. It had nothing to do with her character – one guy didn’t have a heart. She didn’t need to be particularly brave- in fact, one guy didn’t have any courage at all. She got to Oz because that is where the yellow brick road led. This is the principle of the path. She could have intended to get there or wished or dreamed with all of her heart, but unless she started out skipping down this road (as munchkins sing her out), she would never have gotten there.