September 21, 2008

Yesterday my son and I, along with several of his non-Boy Scout friends, started working on his Eagle Scout Service Project. Before the troop shows up next Saturday for a day of work, there was some preliminary work that needed to be done.

As we all worked away under the direction of a future Eagle Scout, we didn't seem to mind so much that it was hot, sweaty, disgusting work. We all just seemed to enjoy working together and sharing stories. The entire experience reminded me of other Eagle Scout Service Projects that I have been a part of: creating a walking trail, creating a fire ring and erecting a flagpole at state park, overhauling bleachers at a middle school, erecting benches at a park, overhauling a playscape at a church, setting up mile markers on the trail around Lake Georgetown, etc. This made me wonder how many of these there are in the area that I am NOT aware of and how many of them may bless our own town of Bruceville-Eddy.

Practically none of the parents who use the bleachers that we started constructing today will know that it was a part of a young man's trail to Eagle. Likewise, those working on this project may never see anyone enjoying the benefits of our labor. This is exactly like much of the work that we do in the world out of our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We may never know the lives touched by our response to his command to “love our neighbor as ourself.” We may never know, but that does not change the fact that that the world is a little bit brighter than it was before.

I'm reminded of the many times I watched my father notice a car in a parking lot with the headlights on. This was before the days when people locked their car doors and before automatic headlight off switches. He would always go over and turn the lights off. Once I remarked, “They won't even know that you turned the lights off and prevented them from having a dead battery. The will probably just think that they turned their lights off themselves.”

He answered, “I will know.”

God bless,

Pastor Brad

September 14, 2008

So here I am, driving down I-35 right by the old Mueller Airport in Austin, TX. . Traffic is starting to back up from the upper and lower deck split of the highway. I've got the radio blaring. The window is rolled down enjoying the coolness of the morning as compared with the weather that we've been having. Suddenly the radio announcer breaks in with a sketchy report of an airplane that seems to have crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. No one knows for sure what is happening. Is it some type of horrible accident? Was it a bizarre suicide? Was it a bomb on the plane that made it crash? No one knows.

We each have a story of where we were and what we were doing when, as Alan Jackson puts it, “the world stopped turning”. We found out shortly that it was a terrorist attack and that there were 3 more airplanes. What could we think? How did we feel? Could we feel anything at all or were we just numb?

September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday, the day of my son's' Scout meeting. All the parents quickly decided that we would have our Scout meeting. The boys were asking the same questions that the adults were asking: “What happened? Do you think there will be more? What happens now? Why did this happen?”

The biggest question I heard was,”Where is God?” Where is God when people suffer? Where is God when there are senseless acts of violence? Where is God when we can't see Him? I searched and found my answer: God is where he always is, whether we can see Him or not. He was with all the people who were spared in the tragedy. He was with those who gave their lives that others might live. He was with the people who were able to make a phone call to their loved ones prior to the end. He was with those who died and welcomed His children into His eternal presence. And He was with all of us who stayed behind. I believe that God felt more pain than any of us are capable of on 9/11.

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe wrote in an article called “The Silence of God, “It was not God who failed during the Holocaust or in the Gulag, or on 9/11, or in Bosnia. It is not God who fails when human beings do barbaric things to other human beings. Auschwitz is not what happens when the God who says ``Thou shalt not murder" and ``Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" is silent. It is what happens when men and women refuse to listen.”

But whether we listen or not, God is God, eternal, loving comforting us as we go “through the valley of the shadow of death.”

God bless,
Pastor Brad

September 7, 2008

Seminary classes finally started on Tuesday of this week. At my secular job we used the expression, “drinking from the fire hose.” Somehow that seems appropriate for my journey back into the area of higher education. Many of you have expressed an interest in what my course load looks like and what I will be studying this semester. I am taking the standard 4 courses recommended to all Junior Seminarians (Cool term, eh? Persons in their first year of seminary are called juniors rather than freshmen). I am taking Introduction to Old Testament, Systematic Theology I, Church History I and The Church as a Worshiping Community (in other words, Old Testament, Church History, Theology and Worship).

From time to time I will bring some of what I have learned home to our church. None of this is new, but like a pre-owned vehicle, it's new to me. One such item of interest from my first week of study is something that I must remember along with all the other students as we complete our homework. Matthew 22:37 “He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'”

It appears that some teachers read unbelievably fast and assume that everyone has this same ability. Having been a student of computer science for 20+ years, I grew accustomed to reading technical manuals. Of all the things that the Bible is (poetry, history, drama, prophecy), I have never heard it referred to as a technical manual. Therefore, I am re-learning how to read. At times when I become frustrated with my reading speed that convinces me that I am truly NOT smarter than a 5^th grader, the words of Jesus come back to me.

Heart and soul is where I have focused most. But to love the Lord God with all my mind? This is an area of growth for me. To truly allow God to dwell in my homework as I am memorizing dates or reading material that I barely understand is not what I think of first when I hear, “Love the Lord your God.” However, along with heart and soul, we must truly love God with our intellect in order to fully surrender all of who we are, to all of who He is.

God bless,
Pastor Brad

August 31, 2008

I had originally written a “Back Of The Bulletin” discussing the work of the United Methodist Church in relation to unfair labor practices and living conditions. Although that is an important topic, I cannot ignore the fact that our small community is in mourning.

As many of us gathered at BEHS to cheer our Eagles in their opening game, out on Floyd Rd., a young life ended. At about 7:15 pm, Reyna Mendez's son was fatally struck by a car. We began to get sketchy reports of the event near the end of the game and I to this time do not have all the facts. What I do know is that the Mendez family is mourning the loss of their young son and the whole of our community is mourning with that family.

Any unexpected loss of life is difficult. The death of one so young and with so much potential is even more so. We question how could such a horrible thing could happen. We even ask how could God allow such a horrible thing to happen. Nowhere in the deepest part of our being could something like this ever make sense. So we sit in shocked bewilderment and cry out, “Why?”

This is one of those times when I do not have an answer that I can just casually explain and everyone will say, “Oh. Now I understand.” I cannot offer an answer because I do not have one. I sit with you and cry out, “Why?” And in my puzzlement, I realize that we may never fully understand this event. I am convinced that whenever one of his children suffers, God's suffers even more so right along with him or her. Although I believe this young child to now be in the presence of God Almighty, I cannot say that God took him from his family. Rather God welcomed this young one into God's own presence at the end of his earthly life.

Throughout history smarter persons than me have asked, “Where is God in a time like this?” Among them are Job, Elijah, David, ... We don't doubt God's love, but we don't always see Him. So now we remain in our grief with this young family. This is the time we are called to be the hands and feet of God. To mirror His love when we don't understand. To meet the needs of the hurting and to always know God is there even when I don't see Him.

God bless,

Pastor Brad

August 24, 2008

The time has come. We have been pretending that the time would never come, knowing in the back of our minds it was unavoidable. So horrible was the thought that we dare not speak of it. Merely the mention of it by someone else would send shivers down our spine and bring a chill to the room. Yet buried away in some dark corner of our soul, a part of us longs for its coming. What is it? The first day of school of course.

Perhaps the previous description is just for a small subset of our students. Parents almost certainly don't look with dread at this time of year. Some even celebrate the return of a normal schedule and a sense of order. And if the truth were told, most students look forward to being with their friends, athletic events and a host of other things that accompany school.

This year is a unique one for me personally. After twenty-something years, I will be going back to school as a student. Orientation for Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary starts on Wednesday, August 27, and classes start September 2!!!! Part of me feels like the hesitant student that could use another 52 weeks of summer. The other part of me is excited about beginning the next step in the ordination process. This semester I will be in Austin Monday through Friday at least part of the day. If I don't pick up immediately when you call, there's a good chance that I am in class.

So as this school year starts for ALL students of ALL ages, let's remember to pray for them and for their teachers (and coaches and bus drivers and cooks and custodians and ...). Let's have great expectations of our students. Let's remember to watch for those large yellow school buses that will be out and about carrying its precious cargo to school.

So remember, only 173 more days to go until Summer break (assuming I counted right).

God bless,

Pastor Brad

August 17, 2008

It's ready. We are ready to move into the parsonage. You have no idea how excited we are to finally be in the community (and how excited Amanda and the kids are to not get up at 4:30 am to get to practice on time). Probably the most exciting part of the entire experience was watching the church come together in a united effort to make this happen.

My dad told a story about a person watching two men laying bricks. It was a sweltering hot summer day like we have been having here in Central Texas. One man was carrying bricks and mortar up a ladder to a scaffolding where another man was carefully placing them into the wall that they were building. One of the two whistled and smiled while he worked, the other frowned, grumbled and cursed the heat. The observer decided to chat for a moment with the two, so he climbed up the ladder to the mason on the scaffolding and asked him how things were going.

“Are you kidding?” came the reply. “It's 102 degrees out here, I'm trapped on this scaffolding laying these stupid bricks. How do you think it's going?”

Unscathed, the observer climbed down to the other man stacking his next load of bricks. The same question met a different response this time. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “Oh, today is a beautiful day! I'm building this cathedral. Won't it be beautiful!”

The people who worked on the parsonage were not just laying bricks—they were building a cathedral far grander than just a place for me and my family to reside. How about the rest of us? Are we showing up for our obligatory hour on Sunday morning? Or are we part of something bigger? Something that has the ability to transform our community and our world? Something bigger than Bruceville-Eddy United Methodist Church?

The mission statement adopted by the General Conference is “…to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” The Council of Bishops has advocated this change for quite some time, and the addition of “for the transformation of the world” serves to make clear our commitment to “the transformation of the world” as an end of Christian discipleship. Bruceville-Eddy United Methodist Church won't be satisfied with the transformation of our community. In the words of John Wesley, “I look upon all the world as my parish”.

So how will we transform the world? By making disciples of Jesus Christ, starting right here at home. By practicing the means of grace: “chief of these means are prayer ..., searching the Scriptures ..., receiving the Lord's Supper” and by looking beyond the bricks to the cathedral.

God bless,

Pastor Brad

August 10, 2008

So where were you again last week, Brad? I was at Local Pastor Licensing School in Ft. Wort at Texas Wesleyan University. I thought, “Great! I will get a chance to see some people in Ft. Worth this week.” NOT! We went from breakfast at 7:30 am every morning until 10:00 pm or after every day with a two or three 15 minute breaks. I will never complain, because it was an amazing experience.

If the path to ordination and the distinction among those of us who serve in our church's pulpits every Sunday is confusing, you are definitely not alone. The General Board of Discipleship describes some of the servant leadership of the United Methodist Church (to explain, not compare) as follows:

An Elder is a clergy member of the annual conference ordained for Word, Order, and Sacrament. Under the guaranteed appointment (placement) of a bishop, an elder has usually completed seminary training. His or her sole livelihood comes from a church.

A Licensed Local Pastor is a clergy member of the annual conference who provides pastoral leadership in a local congregation. He or she is appointed (placed) by the bishop for nonitinerant ministry in a local congregation. His or her training includes attending a conference licensing (or pastors') school and completing the course of study program available from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

A Certified Lay Speaker:A certified lay speaker is a layperson who has completed the basic course in lay speaking ministries and an additional advanced course. His or her certification is renewed every three years upon completing another course.

Although lay speakers are intended to serve in the ministry and mission within the local congregation where they are members in good standing, certified lay speakers may serve beyond the local church. They may provide temporary pulpit supply for pastors who are away from the church due to vacation, a mission project, or a family crisis. Traditionally, lay speakers also speak on Laity Sunday.

I am currently a Certified Lay Speaker, am in process to become an ordained Elder and have completed training and am awaiting appointment as a Licensed Local Pastor here at BEUMC. So what does all this mean? For the time being, expect to see Dennis (an ordained elder) with me during Holy Communion. For more complex answers, I'm going to need some coffee.

God bless,

Pastor Brad

August 3, 2008

What is a church? First let's discuss what it is NOT. It is not a lifeless building made of brick, mortar, shingles and stained glass thrown in for good measure. Often times we say something about “meeting at the church” when what we really mean is that we will meet at the church building.

So what is the church? The church is the people. It is a living, growing, active being within the community. You may remember the children's song, “I am the church. You are the church. We are the church together.” We are the church together. Everyone one of us defines who Bruceville-Eddy United Methodist Church is. We are not the same without all of us.

So what is the church? It is a support group for sinners. It is a group where all are welcome and all are accepted. It is a gathering of this bizarre type of people known as Christians. People who give of themselves without expecting anything in return. It is people who volunteer their time to work on a home next door to the church building, not so that they can live there, but so that someone else can. They are people who donate desserts to a Senior Citizen Barbeque. They are people who pray for one another. Who trim trees who don't belong to them because they need it. They are people who give up their Wednesday evening to discuss the exciting topic of non-profit liability insurance.

So what is the church? In short it is a group of people who through the wonderful grace of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, do everything they can to go and make disciples of all nations by their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service and their witness. THAT is what the church is.

God bless,

Pastor Brad

July 27, 2008

So here's the scene: you are at the shopping mall, walking from one store to another. In the breezeway are more “mall rats” than you knew were in this time-zone. As the first group approaches, you hear language that would embarrass a sailor. As you go past them to another group you encounter more language that would have made your mother wash your mouth out with soap. You frown and hurry toward your destination.

On your way you encounter teenagers and young adults, at least you assume they are by their appearance. You can't tell by their language because it is no more refined than their younger counterparts. Again, you frown and hurry toward your destination.

Next it's a middle aged person at the customer service desk. Apparently they are trying to look sound younger. They drop a few “F-bombs” and generally foul the auditory air as you pass. It's no wonder the younger population's vocabulary averages 4 letters per word. That is what they have been taught. You even detect a stench from the language of a few of our senior citizens before you run screaming to the sanctuary of your automobile with your purchases.

Several cities and businesses have instituted no-smoking policies. What about no-cursing policies? I would like the air that I hear to be as clean as the air that I breathe. It's not okay. Now I'm not promoting a return to scarlet letters and Puritan dress codes. I just want a little bit of freedom. I would like to have the freedom not to hear language that I find crude and vulgar.

Great Brad, how are we going to do that? If I knew that I would have written a book and my tithe would more than cover our electricity bill for the year. I know that acting like “the Church Lady” on Saturday Night Live (a “holier than thou” character) does nothing but harm the credibility of Christians. Reporting offensive behavior to security or business management or the occasional confrontation (e.g. “Can we clean up the language a bit?”) may be in order. My dad used to say, “Your right to swing your fist stops at my nose.” Does your right to curse stop at my eardrums?

God bless,

Pastor Brad

July 20, 2008

You are probably aware that Amanda, the offspring and I spent the week at Disney World. I have this habit of talking with just about everyone that I encounter (e.g. wait staff, custodians, ticket takers, photographers, etc.). I hear a lot of stories from some fascinating people. While waiting in line at Disney World (I know you are all surprised that we actually had to wait in line occasionally ☺), I struck up a conversation with a photographer.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that later, we hit upon the fact that being a Disney photographer was not his first job after retiring. His first job was as a cameraman for a local TV station. His assessment of that station was that only bad news was newsworthy. He felt that he spent his entire day looking for and recording the bad things in our world for a film at 11:00.

He decided a change was in order and took the photographer position at Disney taking pictures of mainly children and Disney characters. He shared with me that there is a special place in his heart for all the “Make A Wish” children that he sees with terminal illnesses. He recalled one special little girl. He said that he took over 60 pictures of her, mainly with Ariel the Little Mermaid. He said that normally, photographers only take about 6 pictures of any given child. So he expected a reprimand from his manager—it never came. Two weeks later the little girl died. Those pictures that he took were the last taken of her.

If you are curious about what I mean by an “extra crispy life” in today's message, this retired photographer at Disney World who wanted more out of life than just looking for bad things summed it up much better than I ever could. .

God bless,

Pastor Brad

July 6, 2008

As I progress through the ordination process, I study a lot of things that truthfully I would just rather sweep under the carpet. This past week one of the discussion topics with my mentor Rev. Debra Crumpton was, “Discerning Your Fruit through Successes and Failures” (see Galatians 5:22-23). The successes we all like to discuss, the failures, maybe not so much. However unless we have achieved perfection, failure is as much a part of life as eating and drinking.

Some of the things that we discussed included:

1. What is the definition of success?

2. What is the definition of failure?

3. How do I react to successes? To failures?

4. What do the successes and failures tell me about the fruits of the Spirit in my life?

None of us like to fail; we all like to win. None of us like to lose; we all like to win. None of us like to strike out; we all like to hit the home run. We all think of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as a winner, but did you know that he is also the all-time strikeout king, having struck out 2,597 times in his career? The question isn't if you will strike out. It is how will you allow God to work in you and others through your failure? What will you learn through your failures?

If you are sitting on the bench, you are not going to strike out. You're also never going to get a hit. God calls us to get in the game. He knows what our strengths and weaknesses are (he gave them to us). So if he calls you from the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs and the tying run on first, do your best and leave the rest up to God (he's pretty good at managing the game).

God bless,

Pastor Brad

June 29, 2008

I cannot imagine a better welcome than Amanda, Katie and I received this past week at Bruceville-Eddy. Not only was everyone friendly and appeared genuinely happy to meet us, many persons checked on us throughout the week. Amanda and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

As we move forward in our journey here at Bruceville-Eddy, I would like to meet with as many of you as possible to understand your hopes and dreams for our church. How can our church best reach out to our community? Where is there a need that is crying out for us to meet? How can we better meet the needs (physical and spiritual) of our members? What can we do to enhance our worship, our study, our prayer time, ... so that we are closer to God tomorrow than we were today? These just a sample of the many areas that I would like us to explore. Last week in the message, I quoted Lewis Carroll who said, “If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” I have yet to meet anyone at Bruceville-Eddy who would be satisfied with just “any road”. Send me an email. Give me a call. Let's do coffee or lunch.

An additional part of our journey will be finding the center of God's will for each of us and collectively as a church. God has uniquely gifted each of us with abilities commonly known as “spiritual gifts”. In the weeks to come, we will examine these and in the process learn how to say, “No” when needed so we can say, “Yes” to those areas where God has equipped us.

Finally as we celebrate Independence Day later this week, let's remember the sacrifice of those who gave us (and are giving us) our freedom. Thank a veteran. Say a prayer for those currently serving in the armed services, especially those in harms way. Thank God for allowing us to live in a country where we can live and worship as we choose and give Him all the glory.

God bless,

Pastor Brad

June 22, 2008

You may or may not have noticed that I wasn't here last week. You also may or may not have noticed that Nicholas and Victoria aren't here today. Months ago before I ever dreamed of not being reappointed to Rogers First United Methodist Church, Amanda and I signed on as cooks on a Central Texas Conference Youth in Mission (CTCYM) mission trip to Springfield, MO. Last week as Dennis was bringing the message here, I was somewhere between Ardmore, OK, and Springfield, MO, driving a 15 passenger van towing a 16 ft cargo trailer loaded with tools and luggage.

During the week Amanda and I cooked for youth and adults from three Central Texas United Methodist Churches who repaired roofs, fixed bathrooms, cleared overgrown yards, repaired and painted walls, built wheelchair ramps and built steps to an inaccessible back door. They also showed many people, including themselves, a glimpse of what it means to live their faith.

I would like to thank each of you here at Bruceville-Eddy for allowing me to participate in this wonderful experience. If you have a few minutes sometime, ask us about it. It spoke volumes to me that when I mentioned the conflict with my first Sunday with you, the Staff Parish Relations Committee instantly said, "Go be with the youth. Honor your commitment." Again I thank you.

Now my commitment shifts to Bruceville-Eddy United Methodist Church. Amanda and I are very excited to be a part of this church. It will take us some time to get to know each of you, so please be patient with us. I will be sharing some insights into the ways that I see God working in our church, our community and in my life in the time to come. Please pray for our church and me and my family as we all make this wonderful transition.

God bless,

Pastor Brad