The following message was shared at Centerville UMC in Centerville, IN on Sunday, May 3, 2015. The Scripture for the morning was John 15:1-8.

In this morning’s passage of Scripture Jesus paints a glorious picture that his Jewish audience would have been able to fully understand. Jesus proclaims to be the true vine, God is the vine-grower, and we are the branches.

Speaking about vineyards, vines, and branches had a deeper meaning for the Jewish people than we might realize. The idea of vines, branches, and vineyards were woven into the religious heritage of the Jewish people. A quick walk through the Hebrew Scriptures reveals that Israel is often referred to as the vine or vineyard of God. Isaiah 5 refers to Israel as the vineyard of the Lord. Jeremiah 2 says that God planted Israel as a choice vine. Ezekiel 15 & 19 makes references to Israel being the vine. Hosea 10 calls Israel a luxuriant vine. Psalm 80 also refers to Israel as a vine. These references actually led to the vine becoming one of the symbols of the nation of Israel. In this passage, Jesus calls himself the true vine. In the Old Testament, many of the references to the vine have to do with the vine running wild. When Jesus refers to himself as the true vine, he is proclaiming to be the perfect image of the perfect vine. Also, in this passage, he makes it clear that it is not their Jewish heritage that will save them, but their faith in Jesus. The Jews of Jesus day were heavily leaning on their bloodline to save them. Jesus indicates that only faith in Him and remaining in Him has the power to save.

So, Jesus talks about caring for the branches:

• We should prune branches producing fruit so they will flourish and bear more fruit.
• The branches not producing fruit are drastically cut back so that they will not drain away any of the plant’s strength.
• What about from a personal account? Where do you need to be pruned? What needs cut off?

Those branches that need to be cut off and thrown into the fire, remember at one time they were fruitful. However, they have run their course and it’s time for new branches to emerge.

We have to be careful not to confuse a young branch that has yet to produce fruit and an old branch that has run its course. A young vine is generally not allowed to fruit for the first three years and each year is cut drastically back to develop and conserve its life and energy. It has to be given time to mature.

That’s why we don’t just try something new one time and determine whether or not it’s fruitful. We have to give it some time to mature. Of course, some things in the church and our personal lives have been given more than enough time to mature and just need to be cut off!

There are times when the pruning process is about finding new ways to do old things. When we talk about this process in the church, we often say “the message stays the same, but the methods change.” (think about technological advances that have changed how we communicate; think about how aging bodies & aging facilities have caused us to find new ways to communicate)

This summer, we’re going to be doing VBS in a new way. Summer Camp Saturdays is an exciting new program to reach young people and families in our community. It will take every single one of us doing our part to help this ministry succeed. We need you to pray, to give your time, talents, and treasures to support the ministry, and we’ll need your presence to lend a helping hand. Everyone can help because, at the very least, everyone can pray! Last week, Melinda gave us a quick overview and an opportunity to start prayerfully considering how you can help. She asked for 40 people. I’m asking for every single person who calls this their church home to step up to the plate.

After the summer, we’ll review the program. We’ll do some pruning so that next summer it will bear even more fruit. Melinda’s goal for this summer is that we have the opportunity to interact and share Jesus with 100 students. Maybe we should be planning for 200 next year! Even if we only have 20 kids, that will be a success because last year we didn’t have VBS. Even if we only have 20 kids, we will still need every single person to get behind this ministry.

How many of you are familiar with the story of Medway, Ohio UMC. (You can learn more about Medway at: http://www.medwaychurch.org/)

Now, in churches, we have the tendency to attempt to prune branches that need to be cut off and thrown in the fire. Some of you might be asking, “why did they throw them into the fire?” The branches aren’t good for anything else…not strong enough to build with, so fuel the fire.

Let’s be honest, there are times when we are too attached to old branches. There are times our attachment to old branches is unhealthy. It’s difficult because we remember these old vines in their glory days. They used to be fruitful, but no longer bear fruit. Deep down, we know pruning will end up being a waste of time. Cutting them off and throwing them into the fire is the only option.

If a branch has not produced fruit for 5, 10, 15, 30, 50 years…cut it off!  When something has run its course, we need to give it an appropriate send off! Celebrate what it accomplished when it was bearing fruit. But do the hard work of making the cut!

It’s like my hair. That hair cut had run its course and it was time for some pruning. Let’s all pray that the pruning process will lead to more fruit!

How many of us would be willing to honestly admit that we are often all too excited to point out where others need to be pruned, but not so willing to prune ourselves?

Some of us are afraid to take the risk of pruning. We are fearful to take the risk of giving up what is for what could be. So, we’ll hold onto things that aren’t working because we don’t want to face the uncertainty of the unknown.

Jesus gives us the path towards fruitfulness. In this passage, He tells us the secret to bearing fruit is abiding in Him. To abide = to keep contact with; constant communion with Christ. We do this through:

• Intentional faith development (SS, BS, devotions, small groups, etc)
• Wesley’s Three Simple Rules:
  • Do good
  • Do no harm
  • Stay in love with God (or as Wesley put it “attending upon all the ordinances of God”)

Abiding in Christ isn’t just about getting closer to Jesus. Sure, that’s part of it. But, here, Jesus tells us the practice of abiding in Him will develop us into healthy, fruit-bearing branches. So, where’s our fruit?

John Wesley encouraged a number of practices that would help us abide or “attend upon all the ordinances of God”. Sometimes, we refer to these as spiritual disciplines.

1. The public worship of God;
2. The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded;
3. Communion: The Supper of the Lord;
4. Family and private prayer;
5. Searching the Scriptures;
6. Fasting or abstinence.

The public worship of God refers to worship in your local congregation. The ministry of the Word refers to the Word being read and expounded upon through preaching. The Supper of the Lord refers to Holy Communion. Wesley encouraged regular participation in Communion. Pastor Mark Gough – Every time you eat or drink, give thanks and remember. Family and private prayer is the time you commit to praying when you are not at church. Searching the Scriptures might happen at home, in Sunday school, or other small group studies. . And fasting or abstinence was a personal practice of refraining from certain practices in order to focus more fully on God.

In reference to Wesley’s ordinances, Bishop Rueben Job wrote that, “We may name our spiritual disciplines differently, but we too must find our way of living and practicing those disciplines that will keep us in love with God – practices that will help keep us positioned in a way that we may hear and be responsive to God’s slightest whisper of direction and receive God’s promised presence and power every day and in every situation.” (Job, “Three Simple Rules”, page 55)

In the UMC, our members make a commitment to uphold the church through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. By attending to these ordinances, these spiritual disciplines and practices, we find the strength, courage, and direction to faithfully follow Jesus. The result will be fruit! (Do numbers matter? Absolutely! They are evidence of our fruit! What we measure matters!)

Maybe we have made previous attempts to attend to these ordinances. Maybe we have attempted to make good on our commitment to Jesus and His church and have failed. The good news is that we call have the opportunity to start again. No matter how many times we fail, we can get back up and start all over again. Our past failures can be forgiven. God’s love never fails and never gives up! God loves you, no matter what!

Biblical scholar William Barclay, in his reflections on John 15:1-8 wrote that, “The secret of the life of Jesus was his contact with God; again and again he withdrew into a solitary place to meet him. We must keep constant contact with Jesus. We cannot do that unless we deliberately take steps to do it.” (Barclay, “Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of John: Volume 2”, page 176)

At CUMC, our mission is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world”. We believe that a disciple is a follower of Jesus who is committed to grow, give, and go together. The steps we take to grow, give, and go are the keys to abiding in Christ. We grow through intentional faith development and passionate worship. We give through radical hospitality and extravagant generosity. We go through risk-taking mission and service.

As we take deliberate and proactive steps to grow, give, and go, we will abide in Christ and bear fruit. We take these steps in order to grow in our love for God and for one another. By abiding in Him, we will develop the strength and courage necessary to share God’s love with the world around us and “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

As we abide in Christ, we will view our church as a mission station, view ourselves as missionaries, and view our surrounding community as our mission field. May we be fruit-bearing missionaries!

Disclaimer/Warning: If you are prone to take things personally and get defensive, this blog is probably not the place for you! When I write, I am simply sharing my thoughts and ideas. I do not write with certain people or congregations in mind. This site is simply an outlet for reflection. Okay, you’ve been warned!

Earlier this year, Carey Nieuwhof blogged about “5 Signs of Spiritual Maturity…That Actually Show You Lack It.“After reading the article, I found myself thinking about the various ways I discern whether or not a person truly is a spiritual giant.

As a pastor, I’m often told who the “spiritual giants” are in a given congregation or community. At every church I have served (as lay staff and under pastoral appointment), I have been told as soon as I get my feet on the ground, “You should meet ______. He/she is a real ‘spiritual giant’.” Referring to one as a “spiritual giant” is another way of talking about spiritual maturity.

Too often, I believe we define “spiritual giants” as those who have a great deal of Biblical knowledge. These are folks who study the Scriptures, read books about the Bible, attend multiple Bible studies throughout the week, pray before every meal, and probably lead a small group of some sort.

Sometimes we define a “spiritual giant” as the person who gives a great deal of time to a particular ministry or mission of the church or within the community. This person doesn’t necessarily attend a lot of church events or small groups. He/she doesn’t necessarily have a lot of Biblical knowledge, but they are actively involved in missional service.

I’m not necessarily opposed to these definitions of “spiritual giants”. I think each contain glimpses of what it means to be a “spiritual giant”.

Throughout my years in ministry, I have found a few ways to discover whether an individual is spiritually mature. Here is my three-step process:

1. Do they live out their commitment to the church? In the United Methodist church, our members commit to upholding our church through their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. So, a “spiritual giant” will be committed to these practices.

2. For a quick discovery of whether or not one is a “spiritual giant”, one can examine the persons financial giving. I know, I know…pastors are all about the money, aren’t they? But, let’s be honest…how we use our finances says a lot about our commitment to Jesus and the church. I’m pretty sure Jesus said something about our hearts and our treasures, but I could be wrong.

There are many times I’ve encountered “spiritual giants” who know a lot about the Bible. However, their giving habits would indicate that they don’t really understand much about the Bible. Sometimes our giving habits indicated that we are not as committed to the church as we believe ourselves to be.

3. Do they practice Biblical conflict resolution? In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus gives us a pretty solid example of how to practice Biblical conflict resolution.  So, when it comes to “spiritual giants”, do they talk to the person they disagree with or do they talk about the person they disagree with? Do they follow Jesus’ pattern for handling conflict?

In previous appointments, I served as an associate pastor. Associate pastors, much like pastors spouses, are often “used” to “get at” the senior pastor. People lobby their complaints about or suggestions for the pastor to the associate pastor (or pastors spouse) in hopes that the associate (or pastors spouse) will relay the message.

When people would come to me with complaints or “constructive criticism” for the senior pastor, I would stop them and ask this simple question, “Have you talked about this with the senior pastor?”

9 times out of ten the answer was “no”. When they would answer “no”, I would tell them that before I would entertain any more of their conversation, they would need to talk with the senior pastor. More often than not, the person would not go talk to the senior pastor and stopped coming to me with their “helpful insights”.

Unfortunately, they would often find another person to entertain their complaints and criticism.

If the person had talked with the senior pastor and the issue had not been resolved, I would invite them to set up an appointment for the three of us to meet together. In all of my years as an associate pastor, I think it actually made it this point one time.

Many times, if the person had talked with the senior pastor, the issue truly had been resolved. They just didn’t like the outcome. So, they would come to the associate pastor in hopes to sway the pastor to see things their way. If a resolution had been reached, I would take the simple step of supporting the senior pastor!

So, an easy way for you to determine whether or not you are a “spiritual giant” is to ask this question: When someone begins to complain about another, do I entertain the conversation or do I stop them and ask them if they have talked with the offending party?

That’s a great way to find out if someone truly is a “spiritual giant”. If a person is unwilling to practice Biblical conflict resolution, they probably aren’t the spiritual giant we believe them to be (or that they desire us to believe). If we start, spread, or entertain gossip, we probably aren’t “spiritual giants”.

My guess is that a “spiritual giant” probably doesn’t have much time to gossip or entertain gossip because they are too busy getting the plank out of their own eye!

Now, I want to warn those who desire to be spiritually mature (spiritual giants)! When you begin to practice Biblical conflict resolution, there is a good chance you will be referred to as a troublemaker.

When I think about spiritual giants, I think back to a gentleman who was often labeled as a troublemaker. He drove people crazy! And, I think it’s because he took the Bible and the words of Jesus seriously. If he had a problem, a suggestion, or a question, he actually went directly to the other person. Crazy, right? He didn’t beat around the bush. He didn’t gossip. He didn’t get others worked up. He just addressed issues head on. And, I loved him for it!

The real troublemakers are those “spiritual giants” who start, entertain, and spread gossip. The real troublemakers are those who fail to practice Biblical conflict resolution.

So, where are you? Are you spiritually mature? Are you giving the impression of being spiritually mature? Are you striving towards spiritual maturity?

*Disclaimer- When I refer to “just friendly” churches, I do not have any particular churches in mind. I am simply sharing my thoughts spurred on by a random conversation.

This morning, I stopped off at a coffee shop on my way to a district meeting. I had some extra time, so I decided to sit down to enjoy my coffee and do some reading. While I was reading, a gentleman about my age started up a conversation. In our small talk, I learned that he was only in the area for a few days. He is in the area helping his parents move.

He said, “My parents are moving to Indianapolis in an effort to find their place in a community. They moved to this area in retirement hoping to connect with others and get actively involved. When they were searching places to retire, this seemed like a friendly area. They’ve been here for just over five years. They continually talk about how people are friendly, but they have yet to make any friends. It’s been difficult for them to find their place and make friends in this tightly knit, well-established community. They are moving in the hopes that in a larger and more transient community, people will be more inviting and welcoming.”

As I drove to my meeting, I found myself wondering if the Church is “just friendly” or a place where people develop lasting friendships and community? Is the Church “just friendly” or are we actively seeking to help others find their place in our community while they develop meaningful relationships with God and others? Is the Church a “just friendly” place that people can exist in for a number of years and still not feel as if they have developed meaningful relationships?

It simply isn’t enough for the Church to be “just friendly”.

This is why the practice of radical hospitality is crucial. The Church should be a place where all people, regardless of age, race, gender, socio-economic status, sexual preference, education level, political affiliation are openly invited, welcomed, accepted, wanted, connected, cared for, supported, encouraged, and have a clear path for involvement. Again, it simply isn’t enough for a church to be “just friendly.”

If a church is “just friendly”, new people who happen to visit the church will have a “nice” experience. However, they will not necessarily feel warmly welcomed, accepted, wanted or find connections with caring, supportive, encouraging friends that desire to involve all people in the life and ministry of the church. People will stick around “just friendly” churches for a while. However, if they don’t get connected to the church community in meaningful ways, they will move on in search of something “more”.

So, tell me about your church…Is it a church that practices radical hospitality and is developing Christian community? Or is it “just friendly”?

This message was shared at Centerville United Methodist Church in Centerville, IN on Sunday, April 19, 2015. 1 John 3:16-24 served as the launching pad for this message. 

1 John 3:18- “Let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth.”

The passage of Scripture we heard from 1 John 3 is a powerful reminder of Jesus’ love and our call to now embody and live out that same kind of love. The kind of love Jesus demonstrated was sacrificial and unconditional.

John encourages us not to get so caught up with words or speech, but to be more consumed with demonstrating our love by our actions. In some ways, John is revealing to us that our knowledge and relationship with Christ is best proved by the way we live. In other words, it doesn’t really matter how much Scripture people can quote from heart. If it doesn’t translate into action…well, in the words of Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, “it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

There is a difference between Scripture memorization, Scriptural knowledge, and Scriptural understanding. I know people who can quote Scripture right and left, but they don’t bother to share their time, talents, or treasures…which would indicate that their head knowledge has not transformed into heart knowledge. If we truly understand Scripture, it will transform our entire lives.

Some of us are so convinced that we are “right” when it comes to our understanding of God, Jesus, and the Bible, that we never pause to humbly consider the fact that “we could be wrong.” And, a quick examination of some of the stereotypes non-Church folk have about church folk would reveal that not only could we be wrong, often times we are…Too often, we confuse our political agendas with our religious traditions and doctrine. Many times, our attitudes and actions communicate conflicting messages. For example, if you look at what we rally against and protest, we often present messages like:

• Drinking is wrong, but gluttony is okay
• Abortion is wrong, but war and capital punishment are okay
• Gay marriage is wrong, but divorce and adultery are okay
• Working on Sunday is wrong, but we love going out to eat after church
• Swearing is wrong, but gossip is okay
• Being overly involved in sports is wrong, but slothfulness/laziness is okay

Now, most of us know better and would protest “that’s not what we believe.” Many of us understand the reality that, within the church, within this church, there are several people with different thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs on all of those issues. And, guess what? That’s okay! Because sometimes our debates about these issues are really just adventures in missing the point! Too often we spend more time trying to be “right” and convince others we are “right” than we do trying to love one another in action and truth!

Therefore, when someone offers up an alternative understanding to what we believe to be “right”, we often get defensive.  Many times, when we get defensive we also become judgmental of those with different viewpoints. When we get defensive and judgmental, we often begin to gossip. Then, we justify our defensiveness, judgment, and gossip by saying we’re just trying to love people into a right relationship with God. And by right, we mean what we are convinced is “right”. If we are going to love God and love others, we need to spend less time being defensive and judgmental and more time humbly listening and faithfully serving.

So, as Christians, our call is to follow in the way of Christ. Submitting to the authority of Christ by obeying his commandments leads us to love in truth and actions, laying down our lives for one another.

What is it that Jesus commands? (Read Matthew 22:34-40). Love God and love one another. If we can do these two things, the rest of the law and prophets, the rest of the Scripture naturally takes care of itself.

Jesus gives us some insight as to what it looks like to love God and love one another.  (Read Matthew 25:31-40). Meeting the basic needs of those around us is the evidence of our faith. It’s the tangible proof of love in action. It’s the effect of head knowledge transforming into heart knowledge.

1 John 3:17 says that if we have the means to help a brother and sister in need and fail to help, it is difficult for the love of God to remain in us. In other words, we can say that we believe the right things, but if we don’t do the right things, do we truly believe the right things?

The love of Jesus is unconditional and sacrificial. So, what about our love? Is it unconditional and sacrificial? Or do we set certain criteria people have to meet in order to deserve and receive our love.

One of the biggest pieces of evidence that our head knowledge has transformed into heart knowledge is the sharing of our faith. (Read Matthew 28:18-20) In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus tells us to get the word out! We are called to spread his love to everyone, everywhere. Sharing our faith, telling others about Jesus, inviting people to join us on this journey is tangible proof that God’s love is within us! Many times, we best share our faith when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

There is great power in love. And, as our friends, The Beatles put it, “All You Need is Love”

Love, God’s love can unite what is currently divided.

Love, God’s love provides the motivation to serve God by serving others.

Love, God’s love is what makes it possible to love and serve our neighbors.

Love, God’s love is what makes it possible to love and serve, even our enemies.

Love, God’s love is demonstrated in how we love and serve one another.

Love, God’s love  has the power to overcome our sins and failure.

Love, God’s love has the power to defeat evil and even death.

How many of you have ever heard of the Starbucks Love Project? Now, I’m going to be totally honest, I’m about to say something nice about Starbucks. And, that’s a pretty incredible thing because I can’t stand Starbucks. Starbucks, to me, is the corporate representation of the devil. Starbucks represents everything that is wrong and evil in the coffee industry. They have made their mark by removing the artistry of coffee. They make coffee for people who don’t really like coffee. A person who really likes coffee would never drink a Caramel Macchiato or a Frappuccino. And, what they call a caramel macchiato isn’t a macchiato, it’s a latte! They over-roast their beans, but with their advertising, they convince you that is what good coffee is supposed to taste like. However, Starbucks pulled off an amazingly awesome project that demonstrates love in action. In December of 2009, Starbucks pulled off an amazing feat to raise awareness (and funds) of AIDS in Africa. Here is the result. This is a great reminder that love can unite us…check this out…

In the United Methodist Church, when we become members, we make vows to put our love into action by making a commitment to uphold our church through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We put our love into action when we pray,(for our church, community, nation, world), when we are present (being at church, showing up when our brothers and sisters are in need), when we share our gifts (sharing our time, talents, treasures and practicing extravagant generosity), when we serve (1 John 3:17; John Wesley “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, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”), and when we witness (proclaiming the love of Jesus in word and deed).

Some of us are at different stages in life and what it looks like to uphold our church through prayer, presence, gifts, service, and witness will look different at various stages. However, each of us has a vitally important role to fill.

We have opportunities to put our love into action through the ministries of our church…We all can be involved in all of these:

• VBS- reaching families in our community (pray, give, go)
• Bulldog Buddies & Crossing Guards – reaching into our schools (pray, give, go)
• Mission Guatemala- reaching into our world (pray, give, go)
• Faith promises- supporting ministries that are reaching our locally, nationally, internationally (pray, give, go)
• Fellowship Friends (visiting nursing homes & shut-ins)- pray, give, go
• Hospital Visitation (when we have folks in for extended stays/surgery)- pray, give, go
• Ministry teams (pray, give, go)
• Sunday school – reaching inwardly and growing so we will be inspired and encouraged to put our love into action. (pray, give, go)

Is there something on your heart? Just do it.

Want to know more? Come see me, drop me an email or text or call

Romans 14:19 calls on us to “strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up.” All we need to bring peace and build each other up is love…for God and one another.

What will you do this week to demonstrate your love for God and love for others?

While working on the message for Sunday mornings worship gathering at Centerville UMC, this song keeps popping into my head!

The text that will serve as the launching pad for the message comes from 1 John 3:16-24. Verse 18 really stands out to me…”Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” This verse has inspired the connection to the Ellington/Mills chart.

“It don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that swing.”

Our love, for God and others, should be more than words…it should inspire and result in tangible action.

However, too often, it does not…It’s like those who can quote every verse in the Bible, but the “head knowledge” has never translated into “heart knowledge”. In other words, we know a lot about the Bible, we know a lot about God, but it has not resulted in a transformed life. Our knowledge of God has not translated into loving service of/for God. We know a lot of Scripture, but it has not changed the way we live out our faith.

John challenges his audience and poses the question, “How can we say we love God and ignore the needs of our brothers and sisters?”

“It don’t mean a thing, if you ain’t got that swing.”