This week I have been reading a short compilation of John Cassian’s writings entitled Making Life A Prayer. Writing fifteen centuries ago, Cassian shares thoughts of spiritual growth and the complexities of living in Christ that are relevant to our spiritual journey today. His main emphasis is on prayer, which is the means by which we come into constant communion with Jesus. Cassian describes the variety of ways God may speak to us…
“Often through some inexpressible delight and keenness of spirit the fruit of conviction arises so that it actually breaks forth into shouts owing to the greatness of its uncontrollable joy. The delight of the heart and greatness of exultation make themselves heard. But sometimes the mind hides itself in complete silence within the secrets of a profound quiet so that the amazement of a sudden illumination chokes all sounds of words, and the overawed spirit either keeps all its feelings to itself or loses them and pours forth its desires to God with sighs too deep for words. And sometimes it is filled with such overwhelming conviction and grief that it cannot express it except by floods of tears.”
Uncontrollable joy. Profound silence. Overwhelming grief. These are the responses we sometimes have when God shares with us the power of his Grace, the revealing of his Word. Though these are variegated and seem contradictory, I think they accurately reflect the many-faceted ways God works in us, speaks to us, and draws us to his side. We come with the totality and complexity of our emotions and thoughts, because God wants all of us—smiles, tears and uncertainties—to be found in Him.
This month, as we experience the new life of Spring budding forth all around us, let us also consider how God’s Easter promise of new life in the soul may come to us.
Blessings,
JON
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Our Interfering God
Connie Williams, editor of Discipleship Journal, shares this about her life…
“Someone watching me go off to work in the morning, sit in my cubicle all day, and then head home in the evening—maybe with a stop at the library or grocery store—would never believe I’m living a life of adventure. Here in Colorado, adventurers tend toward the extreme. Skiers take on backcountry slopes and flirt with avalanches. Hikers conquer mountain peaks. Bears and mountain lions sniff around our back doors (no kidding). So how can a cubicle life punctuated by grocery runs possibly be adventurous?
“Easy, when I’m abiding with God. When Jesus promises that He and the Father will come and make their home with me (Jn. 14:23), He neglects to mention that’s about as comfortable as having a case of dynamite delivered to my living room.”
I love that description, because I feel at times that’s how God is with me. Amidst the routines of life—which at times feel like a monotonous humdrum of fun-less busyness—there is an adventure happening. God is moving. God is encouraging and leading. God is prodding and convicting. God is lifting and setting straight. God is making his home in me. Yes, God is an interfering God! And agreeing with Connie Williams, I don’t find it very comfortable.
But I do find it good. It is good, because I learn to rely on God. I learn to trust him, lean on him, depend on him, so that before long I see like him, hear like him, speak like him. As he becomes more, I become less. And that is where the adventure happens, a place where predictability vanishes and the world looks different. In the midst of the roaring of the river rapids I hear the very voice of God. When turbulent times come upon me, I feel his steadfast love coming my way. When I am sleeping and cease to be cognizant, I know he is singing a song of prayer over me.
Oh, thank you, Lord, for your abiding presence. May I be more of yours today!
JON
“Someone watching me go off to work in the morning, sit in my cubicle all day, and then head home in the evening—maybe with a stop at the library or grocery store—would never believe I’m living a life of adventure. Here in Colorado, adventurers tend toward the extreme. Skiers take on backcountry slopes and flirt with avalanches. Hikers conquer mountain peaks. Bears and mountain lions sniff around our back doors (no kidding). So how can a cubicle life punctuated by grocery runs possibly be adventurous?
“Easy, when I’m abiding with God. When Jesus promises that He and the Father will come and make their home with me (Jn. 14:23), He neglects to mention that’s about as comfortable as having a case of dynamite delivered to my living room.”
I love that description, because I feel at times that’s how God is with me. Amidst the routines of life—which at times feel like a monotonous humdrum of fun-less busyness—there is an adventure happening. God is moving. God is encouraging and leading. God is prodding and convicting. God is lifting and setting straight. God is making his home in me. Yes, God is an interfering God! And agreeing with Connie Williams, I don’t find it very comfortable.
But I do find it good. It is good, because I learn to rely on God. I learn to trust him, lean on him, depend on him, so that before long I see like him, hear like him, speak like him. As he becomes more, I become less. And that is where the adventure happens, a place where predictability vanishes and the world looks different. In the midst of the roaring of the river rapids I hear the very voice of God. When turbulent times come upon me, I feel his steadfast love coming my way. When I am sleeping and cease to be cognizant, I know he is singing a song of prayer over me.
Oh, thank you, Lord, for your abiding presence. May I be more of yours today!
JON
Friday, February 1, 2008
A Prayer for Clothes
As we continue this month with our sermon series, may this prayer encourage us into further pursuit of Life in Full, Life in Christ.
"The Lord is king;
he is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed;
he is girded in strength."
-Psalm 93
I know your majesty and strength only insofar as I know you, O Lord. How I long to see the benefits of your character, yet so often without the substance of your relationship. I try to put on the clothes of godliness, and yet they fall away with little effort or they drape carelessly like tattered, filthy rags. the clothes I choose--however nice, however trendy--are but vague representations of the garments you desire for me. They are incomplete and amatuer attempts to be what I am not, the gentle facade of a godliness I cannot maintain apart from the radiance and goodness of your transforming Grace.
Help me, O Lord, to know the pleasure of your strength and majesty. As I rest in your arms, I become aware that your robe covers me. It clothes my nakedness. It warms my heart. It comforts my soul. Therein lies my strength. Therein lies any glory I may claim. Therein lies the purest rest and joy. O, thank you, Living Jesus, for your loving embrace.
Longing for more of His embrace,
JON
"The Lord is king;
he is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed;
he is girded in strength."
-Psalm 93
I know your majesty and strength only insofar as I know you, O Lord. How I long to see the benefits of your character, yet so often without the substance of your relationship. I try to put on the clothes of godliness, and yet they fall away with little effort or they drape carelessly like tattered, filthy rags. the clothes I choose--however nice, however trendy--are but vague representations of the garments you desire for me. They are incomplete and amatuer attempts to be what I am not, the gentle facade of a godliness I cannot maintain apart from the radiance and goodness of your transforming Grace.
Help me, O Lord, to know the pleasure of your strength and majesty. As I rest in your arms, I become aware that your robe covers me. It clothes my nakedness. It warms my heart. It comforts my soul. Therein lies my strength. Therein lies any glory I may claim. Therein lies the purest rest and joy. O, thank you, Living Jesus, for your loving embrace.
Longing for more of His embrace,
JON
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Letter to the Bishop in the Wake of Tragedy
January 10, 2008
Dear Bishop Whitfield,
I am writing to inform you of recent events and brag on our connectional ministry.
In the early morning of Sunday, December 23 our former youth director Michael Beckworth shot and killed his wife’s boyfriend, then turned the gun on himself, killing himself as well. This news was a severe blow to many in our church who knew, loved, and were blessed by Michael. They were reeling, cast into a swelter of emotions—sad, angry, despaired, exhausted, confused, frustrated—and needed care. The media quickly sprang on the tragedy, conveying Michael as current youth pastor of Westover Fellowship because our website had not been updated. Then the Associated Press wrongly promulgated his earlier termination as a ‘firing.’ It was quickly piling up to be a huge mess!
In the immediate wake of this tragedy, Doris Stevens called to ask permission to arrange for a professional counselor to visit with our youth and church. Dr. Shara Atkinson of Lubbock facilitated one session with a large number of our youth on Wednesday then another open session for the church as a whole on Sunday. As a result of Doris Stevens’ welcomed intervention, we offered our people opportunities to heal and learn from this tragedy through forums for mutual expression, critical paradigms for better understanding, and practical handles for more healthy living. Though these were not meant to provide the totality of healing we may all need, they ensured our taking first steps toward healing in positive, constructive directions.
In addition, upon hearing Westover’s link to Michael published by the Associated Press, Eddie Allsup offered the services of Shane Skeens of IndigoSpin in Lubbock. By the time our Christmas Eve service began at 6 pm—the same day the story ran over the AP—Shane constructed an official statement for press release and amended our cantankerous website to convey apologies and explanation of our errors. He also coached me on speaking to the press and preparing our leaders should occasion arise. Because of Eddie Allsup’s initiative, we avoided a major public spectacle.
There are others who took an active role, including Rosemary Prumer and Todd Dyess.
Though I had ministered in the midst of tragic circumstances previously, this sort of heinous event was unique and the ramifications in our congregation and community much larger than I was prepared to handle on my own (and this amidst Christmas church events and a looming out-of-country family vacation). In the end, our congregation and its pastor were protected and cared for as a result of the immediate response of our conference leaders and the resources available by virtue of our connectional ministry. It is a proud moment for us as a conference and one that can never be overstated.
Many Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Jonathan Sims
Dear Bishop Whitfield,
I am writing to inform you of recent events and brag on our connectional ministry.
In the early morning of Sunday, December 23 our former youth director Michael Beckworth shot and killed his wife’s boyfriend, then turned the gun on himself, killing himself as well. This news was a severe blow to many in our church who knew, loved, and were blessed by Michael. They were reeling, cast into a swelter of emotions—sad, angry, despaired, exhausted, confused, frustrated—and needed care. The media quickly sprang on the tragedy, conveying Michael as current youth pastor of Westover Fellowship because our website had not been updated. Then the Associated Press wrongly promulgated his earlier termination as a ‘firing.’ It was quickly piling up to be a huge mess!
In the immediate wake of this tragedy, Doris Stevens called to ask permission to arrange for a professional counselor to visit with our youth and church. Dr. Shara Atkinson of Lubbock facilitated one session with a large number of our youth on Wednesday then another open session for the church as a whole on Sunday. As a result of Doris Stevens’ welcomed intervention, we offered our people opportunities to heal and learn from this tragedy through forums for mutual expression, critical paradigms for better understanding, and practical handles for more healthy living. Though these were not meant to provide the totality of healing we may all need, they ensured our taking first steps toward healing in positive, constructive directions.
In addition, upon hearing Westover’s link to Michael published by the Associated Press, Eddie Allsup offered the services of Shane Skeens of IndigoSpin in Lubbock. By the time our Christmas Eve service began at 6 pm—the same day the story ran over the AP—Shane constructed an official statement for press release and amended our cantankerous website to convey apologies and explanation of our errors. He also coached me on speaking to the press and preparing our leaders should occasion arise. Because of Eddie Allsup’s initiative, we avoided a major public spectacle.
There are others who took an active role, including Rosemary Prumer and Todd Dyess.
Though I had ministered in the midst of tragic circumstances previously, this sort of heinous event was unique and the ramifications in our congregation and community much larger than I was prepared to handle on my own (and this amidst Christmas church events and a looming out-of-country family vacation). In the end, our congregation and its pastor were protected and cared for as a result of the immediate response of our conference leaders and the resources available by virtue of our connectional ministry. It is a proud moment for us as a conference and one that can never be overstated.
Many Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Jonathan Sims
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Costly Grace
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned for speaking out against Hitler’s Third Reich, discussed the meaning of a disciplined Christian life. He wrote about the difference between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” Cheap grace merely accepts the gifts of God without any real depth of commitment:
“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. Cheap grace means grace sold at the market. Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipline, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Contrasted with this cheap grace is what Bonhoeffer called costly grace:
“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our life, and it is grace because it gives the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son, and what has cost God so much cannot be cheap for us.”
As we journey through our November sermon series, How Can I Help?, we will be reflecting on our commitments to Christ and his church. As we do, let us ask God how we can be more faithful, how we might experience more “costly grace,” how we may appropriately respond to a loving God who paid for our life in full, on Calvary.
Blessings,
JON
“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. Cheap grace means grace sold at the market. Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipline, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Contrasted with this cheap grace is what Bonhoeffer called costly grace:
“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our life, and it is grace because it gives the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son, and what has cost God so much cannot be cheap for us.”
As we journey through our November sermon series, How Can I Help?, we will be reflecting on our commitments to Christ and his church. As we do, let us ask God how we can be more faithful, how we might experience more “costly grace,” how we may appropriately respond to a loving God who paid for our life in full, on Calvary.
Blessings,
JON
Monday, October 1, 2007
Worship?
This week in my devotional time, I happened across an excerpt from William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life…
“One who makes it a rule to be content in every part and accident of life because it comes from God praises God in a much higher manner than one who has some set time for the singing of the psalms.”
“The person who dares not say an ill-natured word or do an unreasonable thing because he or she considers God as everywhere present performs a better devotion than the person who dares not miss church.”
“To live in the world as a stranger and a pilgrim, using all its enjoyments as if we used them not, making all our actions as so many steps toward a better life, is offering a better sacrifice to God than any forms of holy and heavenly prayers.”
William Law is striking a cord at the heart of Christian worship… It’s not about style. It’s not about a religious checklist. It’s not about hearing a good sermon or singing good songs. It’s not about feeling good or feeling convicted. It’s about minute by minute living for Jesus Christ. Worship happens on Sunday morning, but it is at the same time much bigger than Sunday morning. Or as one preacher said—the validity of our worship depends on what happens when we leave the church. Praying ceaselessly, giving thanks continuously, seeking the purer life of love and peace… these bring us to greater and better living and more effective witness to the world. “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads un in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Cor. 2.14)
Let us give thanks to God for the worship that happens in our lives, every part of it.
God bless,
JON
“One who makes it a rule to be content in every part and accident of life because it comes from God praises God in a much higher manner than one who has some set time for the singing of the psalms.”
“The person who dares not say an ill-natured word or do an unreasonable thing because he or she considers God as everywhere present performs a better devotion than the person who dares not miss church.”
“To live in the world as a stranger and a pilgrim, using all its enjoyments as if we used them not, making all our actions as so many steps toward a better life, is offering a better sacrifice to God than any forms of holy and heavenly prayers.”
William Law is striking a cord at the heart of Christian worship… It’s not about style. It’s not about a religious checklist. It’s not about hearing a good sermon or singing good songs. It’s not about feeling good or feeling convicted. It’s about minute by minute living for Jesus Christ. Worship happens on Sunday morning, but it is at the same time much bigger than Sunday morning. Or as one preacher said—the validity of our worship depends on what happens when we leave the church. Praying ceaselessly, giving thanks continuously, seeking the purer life of love and peace… these bring us to greater and better living and more effective witness to the world. “Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads un in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Cor. 2.14)
Let us give thanks to God for the worship that happens in our lives, every part of it.
God bless,
JON
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Report 7--Remeber Your Call
(Report from School of Congregational Development at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS)
Last night's worship service was amazing. The celebrative music, the prayer time and communion, and most especially this service the message!! Bishop Jung of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference was preaching. He is a Korean by birth, child of God by adoption, United Methodist by profession, and proclaimer of God's word by calling. Though it was challenging to follow his broken English, the message was outstanding--all of it.
He described his struggle with the recent appointment as Bishop. He felt a vision to evangelize the Northern Illinois conference through church planting, but everyone kept telling him it wouldn't work. He prayed and prayed, and God still gave him the same vision. And still leaders in the church and conference said it couldn't be done. They gave him advice--just lay low for a while, get to know the people of the conference, and you'll see how our conference is.
It tore him up inside. And at one point he found himself in prayerful consternation, writhing in the pains of his heart, torn between two options. He fell down on his knees in prayer, sobbing in desperation for God's still small voice, a word of encouragement and hope. His prayerful posture eventually brought him to grasping for life the leg of his conference table. Had anyone walked in they would have assumed him an idiot. A bishop of the United Methodist Church weeping on the floor like a baby, holding on to a table leg in desperation? What came of it?
God gave him a vision for church planting! He set some goals he thought might be reached by 2020, and set out to accomplish them. At the present rate these goals will be met by 2010. God is good!
Bishop Jung's message echoed what I have heard from other bishops and leaders at this conference--Quit playing church!! Get out and MAKE DISCIPLES. Every one of our speakers possess a 'self-critical' stance toward the church (e.g. the loyalty to rigid and inhibiting structures of the UMC) matched by an amazing confidence in the power of God to use the UMC for making disciples of Jesus Christ. Have we lost confidence in the Holy Spirit?
I personally find this refreshing. Ten or fifteen years ago it would have been unheard of for a bishop to criticize his own organization. At the same time, ten or fifteen years ago there was not a great deal of confidence in the Lord. Sure, confidence in the UMC to become a great organization, but not confidence in God and his imperative to make disciples. There is a difference. And what a joy it is to see our denominational leaders negotiating the higher things for the sake of the kingdom.
Remember your call! It's not just a good sermon title. It is an invitation for all of us to grasp hold of the Lord's imperative to make disciples, to be on our knees in desperation, and to seek the fulfillment of God's promises!
Blessings in Christ,
JON
Last night's worship service was amazing. The celebrative music, the prayer time and communion, and most especially this service the message!! Bishop Jung of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference was preaching. He is a Korean by birth, child of God by adoption, United Methodist by profession, and proclaimer of God's word by calling. Though it was challenging to follow his broken English, the message was outstanding--all of it.
He described his struggle with the recent appointment as Bishop. He felt a vision to evangelize the Northern Illinois conference through church planting, but everyone kept telling him it wouldn't work. He prayed and prayed, and God still gave him the same vision. And still leaders in the church and conference said it couldn't be done. They gave him advice--just lay low for a while, get to know the people of the conference, and you'll see how our conference is.
It tore him up inside. And at one point he found himself in prayerful consternation, writhing in the pains of his heart, torn between two options. He fell down on his knees in prayer, sobbing in desperation for God's still small voice, a word of encouragement and hope. His prayerful posture eventually brought him to grasping for life the leg of his conference table. Had anyone walked in they would have assumed him an idiot. A bishop of the United Methodist Church weeping on the floor like a baby, holding on to a table leg in desperation? What came of it?
God gave him a vision for church planting! He set some goals he thought might be reached by 2020, and set out to accomplish them. At the present rate these goals will be met by 2010. God is good!
Bishop Jung's message echoed what I have heard from other bishops and leaders at this conference--Quit playing church!! Get out and MAKE DISCIPLES. Every one of our speakers possess a 'self-critical' stance toward the church (e.g. the loyalty to rigid and inhibiting structures of the UMC) matched by an amazing confidence in the power of God to use the UMC for making disciples of Jesus Christ. Have we lost confidence in the Holy Spirit?
I personally find this refreshing. Ten or fifteen years ago it would have been unheard of for a bishop to criticize his own organization. At the same time, ten or fifteen years ago there was not a great deal of confidence in the Lord. Sure, confidence in the UMC to become a great organization, but not confidence in God and his imperative to make disciples. There is a difference. And what a joy it is to see our denominational leaders negotiating the higher things for the sake of the kingdom.
Remember your call! It's not just a good sermon title. It is an invitation for all of us to grasp hold of the Lord's imperative to make disciples, to be on our knees in desperation, and to seek the fulfillment of God's promises!
Blessings in Christ,
JON
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