I am continuing to examine the 7-step discipleship process that was originally published in 1934 by Forward Movement, and today we arrive at Step 6. As a reminder, the first five steps in this process were Turn, Follow, Learn, Pray and Serve.
Today we examine Worship.
In our baptismal covenant, we are asked, “Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?”
This question has to do with worship. More importantly, only one of those things can be done alone – prayers. All the rest – teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread – all happen corporately. We learn together, we live together, we break bread together. And while those things can be done in a variety of contexts (bible studies are not necessarily worship, neither are potlucks), there is a clear implication that worship is at the core of these activities.
I’ve heard many people tell me that they don't need church; they can, in fact, worship God just as well, or better, when they are up on a mountain, or by a river, or at the beach, or anywhere other than church. I would argue that that really isn't worship. What that is is more likely adoration of God, appreciation of God, thankfulness to God, idolization (in the best sense) of God, or even prayers to God, but it isn't worship.
Worship certainly involves all of those things, but worship is also more than those things. Worship takes us on a journey of prayer and praise, meditation and vocalization, repentance to forgiveness, hunger to satiation. And worship is done in community. Visions of heavenly worship involve angels, archangels, cherubim, and Seraphim. Our worship joins us with that heavenly chorus, as well as with prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and those in every generation in our unending hymn. Worship is something we do together.
Together we sing. Together we hear God speak to us. Together we pray. Together we acknowledge our sins. Together we reiterate our beliefs. Together we share the peace of God. Together we share a meal. Together we are sent out into the world to love and serve the Lord. Worship is something no other social service agency or advocacy group does.
Our worship of God should be joyful. I'm not saying we need to always be like those screaming Beatles fans you see in old clips, but we should certainly act like we want to be there. In our worship, we should offer our best, our first fruits of our being, to our God and creator. In our worship, we should see ourselves as actively participating with the whole host of heaven in that great mystery we call Holy Eucharist.
There's a reason that we worship in the morning on the first day of the week. Our worship should reflect our desire to reflect the primacy of God in our lives. Our worship should reflect our desire to come together in community to celebrate our relationship with God. Our worship is important.
How do you see worship?
Amen.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
May 18, 2016
I am continuing to examine the 7-step discipleship process that was originally published in 1934 by Forward Movement, and today we arrive at Step 5. As a reminder, the first four steps in this process were Turn, Follow, Learn, and Pray.
Today we examine Serve.
This seems like a natural progression from the first four. We have turned back to Christ, and we have committed to following Christ. In that following we learn about discipleship and our relationship with God. As we learn about those things, we pray daily (which also may develop over time as we may first pray for an easing of our circumstances, we begin to develop prayers for personal strength).
As we choose to Turn and Follow Christ, Learning to become better disciples, never forget that daily Prayer will help keep us grounded in our relationship with God. And as we develop in our relationship with God, we (hopefully) will come to an understanding that that relationship is not just a quiet, spiritual experience between ourselves and God, but that that relationship is meant to actively involve God and others; which is one way of saying that our relationship with God requires us to Serve.
This thing we call discipleship is not a passive, indifferent, or uninvolved undertaking. Discipleship calls us into some kind of action. It calls us to be responsive. It calls us to be involved. It calls us to be those things in response to, or on behalf of, both God and those around us.
Discipleship in response to God is found in answering a call. What is God calling you to do and be in the life of the Church? How is God calling you to serve in the life of the Church? Sometimes that's answering a call to ordained ministry, but we fall short if that's the only way we see to serve. And we fall short if we only see the process of discernment as the process to ordained ministry. Are you good with plants? Maybe God is calling you to work with the Gardening Angels? Are you good with numbers? Myrna has hinted that it might be time for her to retire as treasurer, so a time of discernment to explore how your skills could serve the Church in that capacity would be helpful. Singing, reading, quilting, and so many others are ways that you can serve God and the Church with the gifts you have been given.
Another way of serving is in relation to others. This could be done in a myriad of ways – volunteering at the library, helping to serve lunches at St. Vincent de Paul's, running errands for parishioners who are confined to home, or helping your Senior Warden organize activities in the parish hall for the senior citizens of our town. One of our biggest and longest running service projects has been our connection to FVES in providing snack packs and clothing. When was the last time you helped fill up the food basket, or dropped off clothes in either the “New” or “Used” bin?
When we Turn back to God, when we Follow the ways and examples of Christ, when we Learn what Christ has to say about God and others, when we deepen our relationship with God through Daily Prayer, then it should come as no surprise that you are being called by God to Serve.
The question is this: How are you answering that call?
Amen.
Today we examine Serve.
This seems like a natural progression from the first four. We have turned back to Christ, and we have committed to following Christ. In that following we learn about discipleship and our relationship with God. As we learn about those things, we pray daily (which also may develop over time as we may first pray for an easing of our circumstances, we begin to develop prayers for personal strength).
As we choose to Turn and Follow Christ, Learning to become better disciples, never forget that daily Prayer will help keep us grounded in our relationship with God. And as we develop in our relationship with God, we (hopefully) will come to an understanding that that relationship is not just a quiet, spiritual experience between ourselves and God, but that that relationship is meant to actively involve God and others; which is one way of saying that our relationship with God requires us to Serve.
This thing we call discipleship is not a passive, indifferent, or uninvolved undertaking. Discipleship calls us into some kind of action. It calls us to be responsive. It calls us to be involved. It calls us to be those things in response to, or on behalf of, both God and those around us.
Discipleship in response to God is found in answering a call. What is God calling you to do and be in the life of the Church? How is God calling you to serve in the life of the Church? Sometimes that's answering a call to ordained ministry, but we fall short if that's the only way we see to serve. And we fall short if we only see the process of discernment as the process to ordained ministry. Are you good with plants? Maybe God is calling you to work with the Gardening Angels? Are you good with numbers? Myrna has hinted that it might be time for her to retire as treasurer, so a time of discernment to explore how your skills could serve the Church in that capacity would be helpful. Singing, reading, quilting, and so many others are ways that you can serve God and the Church with the gifts you have been given.
Another way of serving is in relation to others. This could be done in a myriad of ways – volunteering at the library, helping to serve lunches at St. Vincent de Paul's, running errands for parishioners who are confined to home, or helping your Senior Warden organize activities in the parish hall for the senior citizens of our town. One of our biggest and longest running service projects has been our connection to FVES in providing snack packs and clothing. When was the last time you helped fill up the food basket, or dropped off clothes in either the “New” or “Used” bin?
When we Turn back to God, when we Follow the ways and examples of Christ, when we Learn what Christ has to say about God and others, when we deepen our relationship with God through Daily Prayer, then it should come as no surprise that you are being called by God to Serve.
The question is this: How are you answering that call?
Amen.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
May 11, 2016
Continuing in the series of the 7-step discipleship process that was originally published in 1934 by Forward Movement, we come to step four. As a reminder, the first three steps were to Turn, Follow, and Learn.
The next step in this discipleship process is Pray.
Prayer is a funny thing. It's something that we are mandated to do (“Pray then in this way;” “Persevere in prayer;” “Pray in the Spirit at all times;” “Devote yourselves to prayer” as a few examples) in Scripture. It is something that takes discipline. It is something people are uncomfortable with. It is something people feel they need to be taught how to do (“Teach us to pray”).
Prayer, in its most broad sense, is any raising of the heart to God. It involves petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. It involves a lot of listening. It makes use of a variety of physical positions such as standing, upraised arms, kneeling, folded hands, and prostration (notice the position of the priest's hands and arms during the Eucharist prayer, for instance). It can be spoken or silent.
Because of all that, I think people are reluctant to pray outside of church because they “might be doing it wrong.” Of course, I could be wrong in that assessment, but I've had enough people ask me for help and strategies that I tend to think I'm correct. Regardless, prayer seems to be one of those things that we all know we should do but either never have the time or are too unsure of how that it slips through the cracks of our busy lives.
Here are a few tips on praying:
Read the Psalms daily (the BCP groups the Psalms into “First Day: Morning Prayer,” “Fourteenth Day: Evening Prayer,” etc. through the thirty days of the month). Daily Morning Prayer is offered Monday through Friday at 7:15 a.m. in the Chapel. Read through the Noonday service on page 103 of the BCP. Read through the Daily Devotions beginning on page 136 of the BCP. Read the Order for Compline before bed (BCP 127). Take a copy of the Prayers of the People home and pray daily for the people on our intercession list. Pick up a copy of the Day-by-Day in the narthex. Ask God every day, “What would you have me do?” and then sit in silence listening. There are five sentences in the Lord's Prayer or, depending on how you do it, seven clauses: spend one day of the week focusing on each sentence or clause.
There are many ways, forms, and styles to prayer. If you look through that short list I just provided you will notice one thing they all have in common – daily. There is no “wrong way” to pray; but prayer, like exercise, works best if done daily. To borrow a popular advertising slogan – Prayer: Just Do It.
As we choose to Turn and Follow Christ, Learning to become better disciples, never forget that daily Prayer will help keep us grounded in our relationship with God.
Amen.
The next step in this discipleship process is Pray.
Prayer is a funny thing. It's something that we are mandated to do (“Pray then in this way;” “Persevere in prayer;” “Pray in the Spirit at all times;” “Devote yourselves to prayer” as a few examples) in Scripture. It is something that takes discipline. It is something people are uncomfortable with. It is something people feel they need to be taught how to do (“Teach us to pray”).
Prayer, in its most broad sense, is any raising of the heart to God. It involves petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. It involves a lot of listening. It makes use of a variety of physical positions such as standing, upraised arms, kneeling, folded hands, and prostration (notice the position of the priest's hands and arms during the Eucharist prayer, for instance). It can be spoken or silent.
Because of all that, I think people are reluctant to pray outside of church because they “might be doing it wrong.” Of course, I could be wrong in that assessment, but I've had enough people ask me for help and strategies that I tend to think I'm correct. Regardless, prayer seems to be one of those things that we all know we should do but either never have the time or are too unsure of how that it slips through the cracks of our busy lives.
Here are a few tips on praying:
Read the Psalms daily (the BCP groups the Psalms into “First Day: Morning Prayer,” “Fourteenth Day: Evening Prayer,” etc. through the thirty days of the month). Daily Morning Prayer is offered Monday through Friday at 7:15 a.m. in the Chapel. Read through the Noonday service on page 103 of the BCP. Read through the Daily Devotions beginning on page 136 of the BCP. Read the Order for Compline before bed (BCP 127). Take a copy of the Prayers of the People home and pray daily for the people on our intercession list. Pick up a copy of the Day-by-Day in the narthex. Ask God every day, “What would you have me do?” and then sit in silence listening. There are five sentences in the Lord's Prayer or, depending on how you do it, seven clauses: spend one day of the week focusing on each sentence or clause.
There are many ways, forms, and styles to prayer. If you look through that short list I just provided you will notice one thing they all have in common – daily. There is no “wrong way” to pray; but prayer, like exercise, works best if done daily. To borrow a popular advertising slogan – Prayer: Just Do It.
As we choose to Turn and Follow Christ, Learning to become better disciples, never forget that daily Prayer will help keep us grounded in our relationship with God.
Amen.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
May 4, 2016
Continuing in the series of the 7-step discipleship process that was originally published in 1934 by Forward Movement, we come to step three. As a reminder, the first two steps were to Turn and Follow. Which, by the way, makes complete sense if you think about it.
The third step in this discipleship process is Learn.
At the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus commissions his followers to go and make disciples, to baptize and teach. In other words, Jesus is commissioning his disciples to make more disciples.
A disciple is one who both follows and learns. We are all followers of Christ by virtue of our baptism. It was at our baptism that we, or people on our behalf, were asked, “Do you promise to follow and obey [Jesus] as your Lord?” And we, or our sponsors, answered, “I do.” So through our baptism, through our participation in the life of the church, and through our attempts to live as Jesus lived, we are followers of Christ.
But a disciple is also one who learns. We begin learning at an early age, first by watching the world around us, then by imitating what we are seeing and hearing, and then by learning skills and concepts far beyond where we started. Hopefully learning is a life-long endeavor. How many of us, though, basically ended our religious education after fifth grade, or after our parents no longer forced us to attend Sunday school? How many of us do not feel the need to learn anything new when it comes to our faith because, “That's the way we've always done it and God never changes?”
For us to become a disciple in the truest sense of the word, we need to spend time learning. Christianity is like the ocean: if all you know of the ocean are the waves crashing onto the beach, you're missing out on more diversity and wonder than you can imagine. There is more diversity and wonder in Christianity than you can possibly imagine, but you won't know about any of it unless you take the time to learn about it.
Take time to read the Bible regularly. Delve into the Church Fathers and Mothers. Read a commentary on your favorite biblical book. Discover a new prayer practice. Expand your knowledge of Christian music. Attend Bible study between services. Join the book group. Submit an idea for an after-service forum, and then attend. Order something from Forward Movement. Become familiar with more than pages 355-365 of the BCP. Learn about icons. The list is endless and only limited by your imagination.
Discipleship is more than simply tagging along for the ride. It takes effort and intentionality. It requires us to not only follow, but to learn. It can challenge us and make us uncomfortable, as well as reassure us and comfort us. You are a disciple of Christ; what have you learned about your faith this week that you didn't know about last week?
Amen.
The third step in this discipleship process is Learn.
At the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus commissions his followers to go and make disciples, to baptize and teach. In other words, Jesus is commissioning his disciples to make more disciples.
A disciple is one who both follows and learns. We are all followers of Christ by virtue of our baptism. It was at our baptism that we, or people on our behalf, were asked, “Do you promise to follow and obey [Jesus] as your Lord?” And we, or our sponsors, answered, “I do.” So through our baptism, through our participation in the life of the church, and through our attempts to live as Jesus lived, we are followers of Christ.
But a disciple is also one who learns. We begin learning at an early age, first by watching the world around us, then by imitating what we are seeing and hearing, and then by learning skills and concepts far beyond where we started. Hopefully learning is a life-long endeavor. How many of us, though, basically ended our religious education after fifth grade, or after our parents no longer forced us to attend Sunday school? How many of us do not feel the need to learn anything new when it comes to our faith because, “That's the way we've always done it and God never changes?”
For us to become a disciple in the truest sense of the word, we need to spend time learning. Christianity is like the ocean: if all you know of the ocean are the waves crashing onto the beach, you're missing out on more diversity and wonder than you can imagine. There is more diversity and wonder in Christianity than you can possibly imagine, but you won't know about any of it unless you take the time to learn about it.
Take time to read the Bible regularly. Delve into the Church Fathers and Mothers. Read a commentary on your favorite biblical book. Discover a new prayer practice. Expand your knowledge of Christian music. Attend Bible study between services. Join the book group. Submit an idea for an after-service forum, and then attend. Order something from Forward Movement. Become familiar with more than pages 355-365 of the BCP. Learn about icons. The list is endless and only limited by your imagination.
Discipleship is more than simply tagging along for the ride. It takes effort and intentionality. It requires us to not only follow, but to learn. It can challenge us and make us uncomfortable, as well as reassure us and comfort us. You are a disciple of Christ; what have you learned about your faith this week that you didn't know about last week?
Amen.
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