This past weekend I was able to spend some time with our confirmation class as they gathered for their final retreat. They have spent the past nine months learning about the Christian faith and the United Methodist Church; they have participated in missions together; they have learned about the Scriptures; and they have shared their lives, their questions and their faith with each other. Throughout these nine months, each confirmand has been guided by a mentor, a member of the congregation who accompanied them and loved them through this journey.

I heard from one of the mentors recently, who had some amazing things to say about the confirmation experience. She and her confirmand talked “about how becoming a member [of the church] is a great choice, but it’s how we live our lives, how and what we believe and how we treat/help others that it most important. I have renewed my own spirituality through this class. I have never been to a Temple! I learned more about John Wesley!” Her enthusiasm was overflowing as she recounted how much serving as a mentor has strengthened her own faith.

As I reflected on her words, I began to wonder how many mentors have grown in their faith as they walked with a young person through the journey of confirmation. I began to think about how many people have been confirmed and have committed their lives to Christ through this congregation.

Then I began to think about how many lives have been changed by the love of Christ that is moving in and through this congregation. How many meals have been served? How many Habitat houses have been built? How many homeless friends have been welcomed here? How many children have learned to sing “Jesus Loves Me?” How many adults have heard God speak to them in Bible study together? How many broken hearts have been comforted by the love and care of others in this congregation?

There’s no way to count or measure all of the ways that people’s lives have been touched and changed by the Holy Spirit’s work in this congregation. What we do know is that it is all God’s work. As we gather on Sunday to celebrate our past, our present and our future as a congregation, we know that all of the praise and gratitude goes to God. Thanks be to God, who was, and is and is to come!

For those who are interested, I will set up a time in the next few weeks to share with you some of what was discussed and decided (or not decided) at the Conference. For now, though, I at least wanted to give you a summary of some of the highlights. I will share with you what happened without much editorial comment on my part. I’ll be happy to share with you my feelings on any of these issues in person, but wanted simply in this article to inform you about some of the major decisions.

Going into the General Conference (GC), there was a great deal of conversation around restructuring our boards and agencies. Many of our boards have worked independently of each other, and there has been a call for greater efficiency and shared vision. Two plans were proposed before the GC but neither was approved. A third, compromise plan was offered during the conference itself and was actually passed. For better or worse, though, it was rejected by the Judicial Council as unconstitutional. So, we’re back to square one, although the boards are committed to reducing their size and improving their communication.

The General Conference also voted to abolish the “guaranteed appointment” that pastors receive. Up until now, anyone ordained as an elder in the UMC was guaranteed a job. Some felt that the guarantee tied the hands of bishops, who had to pastors even if they had become ineffective. Others felt that the lack of a guarantee would hurt women and minorities, whom many churches resist as pastors. In the end the guarantee was removed.

There was a lot of emotion and energy around the question of homosexuality. Currently, our Book of Discipline states that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching,” and it prohibits people who are gay from being ordained. Many would like to see this language removed. Others, especially many of our brothers and sisters from Africa, are afraid that removing the language would alienate Christians in their countries. Several people presented a proposal that would acknowledge that we as United Methodists are not of one mind on this question. People of faith disagree, but we are committed to continuing the conversation and to loving each other. Sadly, this proposal failed. (That was an editorial comment on my part. I do believe acknowledging our differences would have been a prophetic step in the right direction.)

One of the things I realized at this meeting was that many are trying to “save our church.” We are looking to young adults or better budgets or “stronger leadership” to save us. A telling moment for me was during worship one evening. The man at the piano had us sing, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” But I wanted to shout, “No! It’s not up to me! It’s not up to you or any of us! It’s up to God!” The church is the body of Christ, and we don’t have to save it. We can’t. Christ is alive, without our help. We just need to be listening and following where he is in the world. That’s not an easy answer to our struggles. It is nearly impossible to get one family to agree on anything, much less 1000 Christians from all over the world. But Christ is our leader, and because of who he is, I have every hope in the world for “the people called Methodists.” God is not finished with us yet!

Our adult choir, the Celebration Singers, sang this song at the Talent Show at Christ UMC on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

Our children led us in worship on Sunday. The children’s choirs presented a musical on the fruit of the Spirit. They reminded us that our relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit is evident in the fruit we bear – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and they shared it with all of the enthusiasm that only children can convey. It was a holy worship experience, and I thank all of the adults and youth who helped them to lead us – Heather O’Dell, Jo High, Lindy Thompson, Meg Manning, Elizabeth Wanczak, Mary Anne Beshears, Tom Beadles, Nick Wanczak, Jon Calvin, Cade Beadles, Jacob Thompson, and of course, Nancy Speas Hill.

Saturday evening, our youth choir presented our first annual talent show to raise money for choir tour. Our youth, as well as some children and adults, showcased their many gifts – including singing, playing the piano, sax, guitar, ukulele, flute, and drum; also, baking, painting, emceeing, organizing and promoting (thank you, Gary Minor and Stacey Hagewood!) We raised enough to help pay for our trip to North Carolina, where we will sing for (and sometimes with) at-risk children, youth in recovery, and gifted people with developmental disabilities. (If you missed the event, you can still help by sending a donation to the church, with “youth choir tour” in the memo line).

At the end of the evening, the Celebration Singers and Joyful Noise Youth Choir joined forces to sing one of our favorites, Mark Miller’s setting of Charles Wesley’s hymn “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.” Even if you haven’t heard the name Mark Miller, you’ve certainly heard his music. Mark led us in worship the weekend we dedicated our sanctuary organ and composed an anthem to celebrate that event. The dedication on “Creation of Peace” reads: “to the Choirs of Christ United Methodist Church, and their director and my friend, Anne Hook.” (The original dedication said my “good” friend – I made the choirs pencil that in for the sake of accuracy). I am not exaggerating when I say that Mark singlehandedly saved youth choir for me and many other church musicians.

A little more about Mark: he is the son of a United Methodist bishop. He is a husband and a father. He is creative and funny and humble and cute and so Spirit-filled that you know you’ve been in the presence of God when you hear him sing or lead. He is a lay delegate to the General Conference from New Jersey. And he’s gay.

Once again our General Conference is poised to discuss our stance on human sexuality, in particular, whether those who are not heterosexual may be ordained. Last quadrennium the conference discussed adding a statement that people of good faith disagree on this issue, but ended up maintaining our past position. I have an opinion about this issue, as I’m sure many of you do. However, I am not a delegate to General Conference and I cannot vote to change or retain the current policy. What you and I can do is:

• Pray – for our church, especially the delegates at General Conference, that we might focus on Christ’s call love God and neighbor and discuss divisive issues with grace and humility
• Thank God – for the Holy Spirit, who continues to work within us and our church through and sometimes in spite of our brokenness
• Celebrate – the gifts made evident in our children and youth, in patient and tireless workers with children and choirs, in courageous people like Mark who continue to proclaim God’s message of love through music even when wounded by the system
• Worship – our God who is bigger and stronger and more powerful than anything that ever threatens to separate us.

I believe that the Spirit of God will ultimately prevail. I believe, because I’ve seen it happen.

That was twenty-five years ago. It’s hard to believe how much this congregation has grown in faith, in ministry and in numbers since that first Sunday in 1987. We have so much to be grateful for and so much to celebrate! God has done great things through this congregation, and God has many more plans for our future together.

On Sunday, May 20, we will be celebrating our past, present and future as a congregation. We will have a “Twenty-fifth Anniversary Party” at 9:45 on that Sunday. We’ll gather in the Fellowship Hall for food and fun, so plan to bring a brunch dish to share. We might even have a birthday cake to share. All of our former pastors have been invited to come and celebrate with us, and we’ll have a chance to hear some of their stories and memories.

In worship on that day our current District Superintendent, Dr. John Collett, will be preaching and will help us to confirm a group of young people who have been studying, praying and serving together all year in our confirmation class. Rumor has it that we might even welcome our 1000th member on that day! I hope you plan to be there and be part of this great moment in our history as a congregation.

Now, here’s another piece of the story—my own personal piece. It was the summer of 1988, and I had just finished my sophomore year of college. In the winter of that year I had felt God calling me into ministry—or at least as far as seminary. I talked with my parents about it, and my father encouraged me to talk with Rev. Buddy Benedict, whom my dad had known for many years. When I called Buddy, he told me he was part of a “new church start,” and he invited me to meet with him at his office. He gave me the address, and when I arrived I found myself at a construction site. It was an open field, and Buddy’s office was a “portable” on site. The address was 508 Franklin Road.

I had no idea that twenty-five years later I would be part of this congregation, that I would be one of the pastors called to serve in this very church. I had no idea the loving, generous, open and faith-filled congregation you would become. How amazing God is! In what beautiful ways does God weave our stories together! As we prepare to celebrate all that God has done in and through Christ UMC, I have to express my gratitude and wonder at being given the privilege of serving alongside you. Thanks be to God for Christ UMC! Now let’s get ready to party on May 20!

The note made me wonder how many in our congregation know our practice for planning worship, including hymns and other music. We sometimes get comments from people who act surprised (genuinely or tongue in cheek) that the parts of the service flow together and present a united theme. Believe me, we work at that!

Each week, most of the worship staff gathers for prayer and conversation about the upcoming worship service. Usually the preacher for the week takes the lead by naming the scriptures for the week and describing how God is leading in sermon preparation so far. Then we all participate, talking about our thoughts about the scripture as well as our own personal experiences. Almost everything we plan grows out of our conversation about the scripture passages for that day – the music and prayers and sometimes even the sermon itself. We choose hymns as a group, not just because they’re our favorites (although we do a fair amount of joking about certain staff members’ least favorite hymns), but because they express the message we hope to convey. Then we trust the Holy Spirit to take our plans and to do with them what we could never do alone – speak of the grace of the living Christ in the midst of our daily lives and how best we can respond to that grace.

We sometimes try new songs with the hope that they will speak to us in a fresh way. Often we sing old familiar hymns because they have an important place in our worship tradition. My prayer is that everyone who gathers for worship will experience God through all of the worship service, whether they always like the elements in worship or not.

So, thank you for the note. I’m happy to hear from anyone who would like to share a favorite hymn or song with me. I’ll do my best to keep those in mind as we plan.

I have never been to General Conference before, but for the last several months our delegation from Middle Tennessee has been meeting and praying and preparing together. Through that preparation, I’ve learned a lot about our denomination, and I’m excited to see us in action in a couple of weeks.

Before I go, I want to share a few things with you so that you can be in prayer for the church. The General Conference will actually begin on Tuesday, April 24, so please begin praying with me on that day. For that first week, the delegates will gather in legislative committees to discuss all the petitions and proposals that have been submitted from all over the world. Some of the most controversial legislation will revolve around how the UMC is structured. There are proposals that would reduce the number of UMC global boards and agencies and change how they are governed. There are proposals to change the UMC’s current policies on ordaining gay and lesbian pastors. There are proposals that would remove the guarantee of an appointment for pastors. The list is long and the work is hard, so please pray for those legislative committees to be open and listening to the Holy Spirit as they do their work.

After a week of working in these legislative committees, the General Conference will convene on Sunday, April 29, for our communal work. As the second alternate from the Tennessee Conference, I will probably not have many opportunities to vote, but I will be listening and praying and supporting the other delegates as best I can. And when I come back, I’ll be anxious to share with you what I learned and what our denomination is doing to spread God’s love and forgiveness in the world.

One of the things I’m most excited about is worshiping at General Conference. I can’t wait to see the beauty and diversity of the church. Did you know that 40% of United Methodists now live outside the United States? The UMC is growing like wildfire in Africa. We’re growing in Latin America and the Philippines. All of this growth and diversity will shape our worship together and will change how we go about our work, and I think it’s wonderful! I can’t wait to see the global UMC in action and in worship!

There’s been a lot of talk in the UMC about “our decline.” The number of United Methodists has gone down in the U.S., as it has in every “mainline” denomination. We do need to examine that decline and listen for how God might be leading us into the future. But there is no need for fear. The church is alive and well. We’re actually growing in many places around the world. Yes, the UMC here in the United States needs to be in prayer about how we can speak, teach and live the Gospel in our American culture. The teachings of John Wesley do have a lot to offer our world, and we should be excited about our Methodist heritage. But we don’t need to be anxious about saving ourselves or our institution.

The church is the body of Christ, and whatever form it takes, it belongs to God. We belong to God. We are God’s church. Of course, we have decisions to make and plans to consider, but please be in prayer that the delegates to General Conference will be governed by God’s grace and not by fear. Please pray for unity and not division. Please pray for God to do whatever God wants to do with us so that all people can see in us the love and grace of Christ.

As we begin this new season in the church and look ahead toward the weeks to come, I would like to ask for your prayers and for your participation in something. A spiritual journey of sorts. For me and for all of us, I hope. Let me start at the end and work backwards. In the fall of 2013 (that’s 17 months away), I would like to take a three-month renewal leave.

Several months ago I began to think and pray about what a renewal leave might mean for me. I knew it was encouraged by the United Methodist Church and it has been a policy in our congregation as well. But, was it right for me? If so, when? And what would I do with those three months? Then in February I preached a sermon about Jesus’ going to “a deserted place all by himself to pray.” In that sermon I talked about cell phones and noise and busy-ness that so often keep us from paying attention to God. I talked about stepping away from “doing” in order to simply “be” with God.

Well, that sermon did a number on me. It helped me see that one of the best things I could do for myself, my ministry and for our congregation would be to take some time to devote myself to prayer, silence and listening. My desire to take three months for prayer and renewal does not come from exhaustion (even though I’m writing this on the day after Easter!) or from burn-out. I am nowhere near either of those things. It comes out of a deep desire to be with God in quiet, unhurried ways. To step away from doing and spend some time being with God.

As all of this was coming together in my heart, a colleague of mine reminded me that the Lilly Foundation offers grants to pastors wishing to take renewal leave. After meeting with Staff-Parish and receiving their blessing, I called together a handful of people to help me pray, discern and design a program of renewal. The grant application is long and involved, and it is all due on May 11. It’s exciting to see how God is working in all of this, as the plans begin to take shape. As part of this process, I want to invite you into this journey with me. I want to share with you my dreams for this special time away, and I want to hear your feedback and how this time might help the congregation as well.

So, I would like to invite you into conversation. I’ll be in the Sanctuary on Sunday, April 22, at 9:45 to share more with you and listen to your thoughts. I’ll also be available on Wednesday, April 25, at 6:00 in the Commons. Please join me on this journey. I believe God has some wonderful work to do in us, and I’d like to see what you think. Grace and peace and, once again, Happy Easter!