Fleming Rutledge, in her extraordinary book, The Crucifixion, makes a persuasive claim about a Christian’s perspective toward life.  She makes her assertion relative to the two most well-known seasons of the liturgical calendar: Advent and Lent.  As we recently experienced, Advent locates a Christian’s life during “in between” times, namely between the birth of Jesus Christ and his second coming.  That’s where Advent invites us to imagine the story of God’s salvation, and that’s where we live throughout the year.  No matter what the date is on the calendar, whether its January or July, we still live in the Advent mode.  Rutledge observes, however, that we are drawn to the cross of Christ, not thanks to its beauty, but because the mystery of God’s love is on full display.

The season of Lent creates space for us to ponder deeply this mystery.  We live in anticipation of Christ’s second coming, yet we cannot shake loose the horror and ugliness of the Cross.  The beginning words in Jürgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God startle us: “The cross is not and cannot be loved.”  What was originally the Roman Empire’s means for public humiliation and execution has now become the world’s most universally recognized religious symbol. 

Think about how frequently you see the cross: in home décor, advertisements, and of course jewelry.  Do these public appearances in any way soften or even romanticize the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?

Jesus’ crucifixion – his brutal suffering and death upon the cross – is the central defining act in God’s story of salvation.  And what a scandalous act it is!  “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,” says the Apostle Paul, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).”  At the core of Christian theology is the unwavering conviction that Jesus’ death on the cross somehow provides people access to God’s forgiveness, reconciliation with God, the opportunity for new life, and the gift of eternal life in heaven.  But HOW is this power at work? 

During Lent, let us reflect more deeply upon “the power of God” in the cross.  This may be a difficult task for at least three reasons.  First, as mentioned earlier, we may be too familiar with the cross that its harsh reality is lost.  Second, we are too easily satisfied with a surface level understanding, and we move on to the next captivating idea.  Third, and most importantly, the cross names what we are afraid to face: how our sin demands confession, and our lives need saving. 

May the saving power of God work within you.
​
Grace and peace,
Pastor Mark

Taking a vacation from work, chores, and running errands is wonderful.

Taking a vacation from prayer, serving others, and going to church is troublesome.
​
During this time of year, people across the country set out on summer vacations. We check out the beach. We hike the mountains. We visit historic sites and theme parks. And we might even visit with distant family members!

When careful planning is met with smooth logistics, these vacations energize us! We anticipate our vacations, and then we reflect back with fond memories, smiling at the photographs and home movies that captured our time away. Vacations are terrific – I hope you are able to take them! Be careful, however, about taking a vacation from your faith.

Our personal faith in Jesus Christ is experienced most fully and joyfully within the
community of faith. The church’s worship, education, fellowship, outreach, and caring is
altogether more coherent and robust when we are together, not alone. This is why, quite
frankly, we take so seriously our Christian discipleship within First United Methodist
Church. When “going to church” gets treated like one of many optional activities, we
seem to devalue our faith experience.

Let’s not allow this to happen to us and our families, especially in light of our vacation
plans. Here are some thoughts to further guide you:
• When family and friends visit you in Salisbury, invite them to First United Methodist Church with you.
• If you vacation out-of-town on a Sunday morning, worship someplace else. I will gladly help you locate an excellent church in your vacation destination, and even contact that church’s pastor so that he or she will be ready to welcome you! Bring me back a worship bulletin, if you don’t mind; consider this a souvenir for your pastor.
• Let Sunday worship at First United Methodist Church help frame your vacation. Worship just prior to your vacation lets you pray, “Lord, let this time away be safe, restful, and renewing.” Worship after your vacation invites you to pray, “Lord, thank you for this time away. Now let me be faithful in the calling you have on my life.”
​
Let’s not take a vacation from prayer, serving others, and going to church. God is faithful
to us. So let us endeavor to be faithful in return.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mark

Every four years, our denomination sends clergy and laity from around the globe to General Conference for worship, prayer, discussion and eventual voting on petitions and resolutions.  These actions result in a revision of the Book of Discipline (our denomination's book of law) and the Book of Resolutions (denominational policies on social issues).

The single most significant matter facing General Conference was and continues to be: how can The United Methodist Church be united throughout the world while still honoring different local, regional, and national perspectives?  This time around, General Conference met at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, whose colossal building interestingly has two spires.  Have you ever seen a church sanctuary with two steeples?  Perhaps the meeting place innocently bespeaks the fractures already existing within The United Methodist Church.  Florida Bishop Ken Carter recently wrote about General Conference: “It is clearly not a conversation between two parties; there are at least five points of view. Some are public, others are more private. Some are more confrontative, others more conciliar. Some have deep experience of exclusion, others do not.”

We continue to pray along with our Lord Jesus, that we all “may be one (John 17:21).” 

So what happened?  General Conference participants experienced inspiring worship in multiple languages, celebrated the incredible impact of “Imagine No Malaria,” established a $604 million budget, commissioned missionaries, and even set forward plans for a new hymnal!  Regarding social principles, General Conference took steps toward supporting child adoption, battling racism, and caring for the environment.  But of course, going into General Conference, so much deliberation centered on human sexuality.  The conversations continued, including public demonstrations on behalf of the LGBTQI community and even private rumors about a possible schism. 

General Conference eventually affirmed the Council of Bishops’ plea to defer all votes on matters related to human sexuality.  Moving forward, the Council of Bishops will name a special commission to examine completely and possibly recommend revisions of every paragraph in the Book of Discipline related to human sexuality.  The commission will represent different geographic regions as well as the varied perspectives of the church.  A called General Conference may take place in two or three years to consider and vote upon the commission’s plan. 

Some of our cynical friends may howl, “The UMC has simply kicked the can down the road.”  Based upon what I have observed and read about General Conference 2016, that is not true.  Instead, the Bishops have advocated for the unity of the church, and General Conference has affirmed the importance of finding a hope-filled future. 

As you have heard me say before, First United Methodist Church of Salisbury needs to have “holy conversations” regarding all aspects of church ministry, including the matters we are reluctant to name.  This includes human sexuality, gender identity, and marriage.  Simply having these holy conversations is important; to have them lovingly is essential. 
​
To guide our personal reflections, let me recommend some resources for you:
 

1. Our Western North Carolina Conference website has many insightful web links.
   I especially encourage you to read “Day 10- Random Reflections on My Experience at General Conference” by The Rev. Kim Ingram.  For a thorough daily synopsis, read the editions of the “Daily Christian Advocate.”
   
   
2. A video featuring The Rev. Adam Hamilton addressing seminary students at General Conference.  Hamilton offers insight into the church’s current reality and possible future relating to human sexuality.  
   
   
3. “The Divided Methodist Church,” by Emma Green.  Green’s article is well-researched and offers her interesting take on the church.
   
   
4. “Americans are more polarized than ever. We United Methodists don’t want to be." by Tom Berlin and Mike McCurry.  Berlin is a leading United Methodist pastor, and McCurry is a former White House staff member.  Their op-ed piece captures well many intellectual concepts relating to church life and public life. 
   
   
5. “African Methodists Worry About The Church That Brought Them Christianity,” by Emily McFarlan Miller.  Miller’s article helps American Methodists understand better what many African Methodists are feeling. 

​The joy of Easter brings what the human heart has always needed: new life! God does not merely offer an upgrade if we trade in the old model. Instead, God takes the shambles of our lives – the pain, the disappointment, the regrets, and even the mistakes – and brings
restoration! This is the power of resurrection.

When we began the Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday, February 10, I had no idea what I would encounter. We frequently talk of  "giving up something” for Lent. Although this is done with seemingly holy intentions, “giving up something” typically becomes another
self-affirming exercise in our illusion of control. Whatever we give up (e.g. chocolate, soft drinks, or even attitudes), we choose it. We make the decision. In this way, what starts off as a spiritual discipline ends up as a confidence booster. “Good for me,” we say to ourselves. “I did it for forty days!”

During this Lent, I gave up being with my father. I did not choose it. My dad did not choose
it. And neither did God. Our bodies, created in God’s glory for God’s purposes in this
world, are subject to aging, illness, and frailty. This Lent, in an entirely new way, I am forced
to encounter this reality: “from dust we came, and to dust we will return (Genesis 3:19).”
In her book, Gospel Medicine, Barbara Brown Taylor writes:
Sometimes I think absence is underrated. It is not nothing, after all. It is something:
a heightened awareness, a sharpened appetite, a finer perception. When someone
important to me is absent from me, I become clearer than ever what that person
means to me. Details that got lost in our togetherness are recalled in our apartness,
and their sudden clarity has the power to pry my heart right open. I see the virtues I
have overlooked, the opportunities I have missed. The quirks that drove me crazy at
close range become endearing at a distance… If the relationship is strong and true,
the absent one has a way of becoming present – if not in body, then in mind and spirit.
My dad and I shared an absolutely strong and true relationship. And now, in mind and
spirit, he remains present with me. I, along with my father’s incredibly large network
of family and friends, gave up being with him during Lent. In Easter glory, he has gained
eternity in paradise with our Lord. Together with all of the saints, we await that day when
we are resurrected in the body.

God’s Easter promises are impacting me in an entirely different way than in previous years.
I am trusting that God will continue His work of restoration in me, taking my prayers, memories, and heartache, and bringing about new life. This is the power of Easter at work within me, indeed in all of us!

With resurrection hope,
Pastor Mark

The joy of Easter brings what the human heart has always needed: new life!  God does not merely offer an upgrade if we trade in the old model.  Instead, God takes the shambles of our lives – the pain, the disappointment, the regrets, and even the mistakes – and brings restoration!  This is the power of resurrection. 

When we began the Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday, February 10, I had no idea what I would encounter.  We frequently talk of “giving up something” for Lent.  Although this is done with seemingly holy intentions, “giving up something” typically becomes another self-affirming exercise in our illusion of control.  Whatever we give up (e.g. chocolate, soft drinks, or even attitudes), we choose it.  We make the decision.  In this way, what starts off as a spiritual discipline ends up as a confidence booster.  “Good for me,” we say to ourselves.  “I did it for forty days!”

During this Lent, I gave up being with my father.  I did not choose it.  My dad did not choose it.  And neither did God.  Our bodies, created in God’s glory for God’s purposes in this world, are subject to aging, illness, and frailty.  This Lent, in an entirely new way, I am forced to encounter this reality: “from dust we came, and to dust we will return (Genesis 3:19).” 

In her book, Gospel Medicine, Barbara Brown Taylor writes:
     Sometimes I think absence is underrated.  It is not nothing, after all.  It is something:
     a heightened awareness, a sharpened appetite, a finer perception.  When someone
     important to me is absent from me, I become clearer than ever what that person
     means to me.  Details that got lost in our togetherness are recalled in our apartness,
     and their sudden clarity has the power to pry my heart right open.  I see the virtues I
     have overlooked, the opportunities I have missed.  The quirks that drove me crazy at
     close range become endearing at a distance…  If the relationship is strong and true,
     the absent one has a way of becoming present – if not in body, then in mind and spirit.

My dad and I shared an absolutely strong and true relationship.  And now, in mind and spirit, he remains present with me.  I, along with my father’s incredibly large network of family and friends, gave up being with him during Lent.  In Easter glory, he has gained eternity in paradise with our Lord.  Together with all of the saints, we await that day when we are resurrected in the body.

God’s Easter promises are impacting me in an entirely different way than in previous years.  I am trusting that God will continue His work of restoration in me, taking my prayers, memories, and heartache, and bringing about new life.  This is the power of Easter at work within me, indeed in all of us!

With resurrection hope,

 Pastor Mark

Have you ever noticed the kinds of situations that compel you to pray? 
 
For many people, the high moments prompt shouts of “hallelujah” and “thank you, Lord!”  It happens when we are made aware of exciting news, or even relief to a distressing circumstance.  We are right to pray during such times!

For many others, the low moments bring us to our knees.  When the wheels fall off the wagon, and despair arrives like an unwanted houseguest, we ask God for help, for strength, and even for intercession.  We are right to pray during these times as well.
 
But what about life “in between,” those moments when we neither sing the blues nor dance a jig?   If we pray to God during the highs and lows of life, then we ought to examine our prayers during the seemingly tranquil times linking them all together.  A sampling of these prayers may be tissue-thin, because an ordinary, ho-hum day too often drives us toward more entertainment, more consumption, or more work. 
 
What if an ordinary Sabbath day led you to more prayer?
 
Our ministry theme, “RESToration,” invites us to take seriously God’s gift of holy rest.  During January, we have reflected on the value and purpose of Sabbath – a weekly “Stop Day” – for the sake of living within the rhythm of God’s love.  Our fast-paced lives long for peace and balance, and we move closer to experiencing this when we remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
 
In the season of Lent, “RESToration” will emphasize prayer.  A life of prayer, firmly grounded in connection with God, stabilizes our otherwise chaotic life.  How beautiful is a prayer emanating from a place of quiet Sabbath rest! 
 
To help foster prayer and holy rest during Lent, I invite to consider becoming a “Lenten Prayer Partner.”  If so, you will commit to two things: 1) praying daily for your Lenten Prayer Partner and 2) asking weekly if he/she has kept the Sabbath.  The purpose is to promote more intentional patterns of prayer while also holding each other accountable for remembering the Sabbath.  It’s simple: contact the church office by Monday, February 8 at Noon to sign up; the church office will match you with another FUMC member and then notify you about who your Lenten Prayer Partner will be. 
 
I looking forward to discovering how God will bring about ongoing restoration in our lives through prayer and holy rest. 
 
 Lenten Blessings,
 Pastor Mark

The peculiar bright light in the sky prompted Magi to search for a new king. This happened over two thousand years ago. And people today are still seeking to understand this bright light, and even more importantly, this king!

In Matthew chapter two, we read about the Magi (“Wise Men”) asking King Herod for directions. They had already traveled a far distance from the east, and they wanted clarification about locating the one “who has been born king of the Jews (verse 2).” They had noticed the king’s star when it rose in the east. But just what did they see?

Modern day astronomers have opined on the matter. Looking at historic planetary movement, particularly during the reign of King Herod, no obvious answers appear. From an astronomer’s perspective, perhaps the Magi mistook another phenomenon for the star. Could it have been an unusually bright meteor streaking across the sky? Likely not, because those meteors disappear in a matter of seconds, not long enough to lead the Magi from the east to Bethlehem. Could it have been a bright comet, with its bright front a long tail? Or maybe a supernova, or even bright planets aligning just right?

Astronomer Michael Molnar might have the most intriguing proposition. In his book, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, Molnar claims that the biblical Greek phrase for “in the east” was a technical term used in ancient mathematical astronomy. Molnar pieces together clues from astrology symbols he found on an ancient coin: the image of Aries looking back at a star. Aries, it seems, was an ancient symbol for Judea, and that ancient astrologers believed that a new king would be born when the moon passed in front of Jupiter. That technical astrology term (yielding “in the east”) described a planet rising above the eastern horizon just before the sun’s appearance. Keeping in mind the story of Matthew chapter two, Molnar was able to connect his findings to chart an eclipse of Jupiter in Aries on April 17, 6 B.C., a day when Jupiter was precisely “in the east.”

Whatever the cosmic sight was, however science wants to describe, here is what we claim to be true: God used an amazing light to lead wise & powerful men half way around the world to discover the Light of the World!

During the season of Advent, we will “Follow the Star.” Everything during Advent – from our worship opportunities, adult seminars, activities for children & youth, to our music concerts and mission opportunities – prompts us to follow the star. Look for these opportunities to grow in discipleship!

May we humbly follow all the way to Bethlehem.

Advent Blessings,

​Pastor Mark

My earliest memories of Christian worship are emblazoned in my memory. During my childhood, my family brought me to worship every Sunday morning at Hollywood Hills United Methodist Church, whether I wanted to be there or not. The Sanctuary. Stained glass. Choir. Pipe organ. Learning classic hymns of the faith. Praying the Lord’s Prayer for the first time. I remember it all…

Best of all, I remember the people!

Although I was too young to understand, I could sense how the adults approached worship. They entered with a sense of purpose and devotion. They departed with joy. But what did they do during the “in between” time? That part was always a mystery to me. In many ways, it’s still a mystery to me. In other words, just what is it that we DO during corporate Christian worship?

If you are like me, and worship is a mystery to you, please do not fret! After all, when worship truly happens, we are ushered into experiencing the mystery of God’s presence. Stepping closer to the mystery prompts us to seek and to find, yet ultimately remain dependent upon God’s self-revelation. God refuses to become domesticated into our human-made categories and handles. Worship that seeks to simplify the Creator of the universe will always fall short.

During the month of November, we will focus upon WORSHIP. This will conclude a five month emphasis (CARING in March, FELLOWSHIP in July, EDUCATION in August, & OUTREACH in September) connecting the vision of First United Methodist Church to our church’s ongoing ministries and to our discipleship. If we are called to make and nurture Christian disciples through the presence and power of God, then each one of us should be engaged in the church’s worship, education, fellowship, outreach, and caring. The question always comes back to us for self-reflection: how am I growing and serving in these five dimensions of discipleship?

• November’s emphasis on WORSHIP will feature special worship gatherings, namely:
• All Saints Sunday (11:00 a.m., on November 1) 
• Dr. Randy Maddox preaching and providing leadership for “Wonder, Love, and Praise,” a festival of hymns (8:30 & 11:00 a.m., and 4:00 p.m. on November 15) 
• Christ the King Sunday (8:30 & 11:00 a.m., on November 22) 
• The First Sunday of Advent (8:30 & 11:00 a.m., on November 29)

In addition to these Sunday offerings, we will continue to encounter the mystery of God’s presence in Midweek Meditation, featuring contemplative acoustic music.

Every week, I am excited to worship with you! Coming up in November, we have even more reasons than usual to celebrate and be thankful. As Psalms 133:1 declares: “How good it is when God’s people gather together in unity.”

Grace and peace,

Pastor Mark