The Urgency of the Mission

Read Matthew 5: 1-14.

If you keep up with the daily news in our community it can sometimes seem like there is more Bad News than there is Good News.  In truth many of the big problems of our community have a spiritual root.  Too many lives are derailed and broken as some of us chase after addictions.  There is too much violence in too many homes and neighborhoods.  Too many of our neighbors seem to have lost their salt, to have lost their light.  This can easily happen to any of us.  This doesn’t call for condemnation or judgment, but for a missional lifestyle as expressed in the Beatitudes which helps reestablish reconciliation with God and with our neighbors.    

In many respects being in mission for God puts us directly at that intersection of the nature, purpose, and action of God AND the great needs and dreams of the crowd of humanity.  We join Christ in teaching and healing giving all the honor and glory to God who we seek to reflect.   

This is a call to tough work which demands consistency and requires we join God’s work in the community.  It’s a call to take some risks, give our time and energy, and jump into the work “in the trenches.”  It’s a call for some to roof houses and rebuild lives.  It’s a call for some to mentor children or adults living in neighborhoods you might not normally frequent.  It’s a call for us to re-prioritize our lives, our spending, our calendars, our goals.  It’s a call to feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and go to the imprisoned (read Matthew 25:31-46).  It’s a call to take the church to these children of God, and for us to bring these brothers and sisters into the church.  This mission is urgent!  It may mean life or death for some in our community.  It requires us to take up the cross of Jesus and follow the way of Christ.   

This won’t come as any surprise to you, but there are two ends to a bridge!  In terms of mission, one end of the bridge might be our outreach relationships and activity in the community, and the other vital, necessary end should be invitation, inclusion, and involvement in the church.  What better way to love God and love neighbor than to express the way of Christ in community and in the family of faith we call Trinity on the Hill?!  

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" — Jim Elliot, missionary martyr who lost his life in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador

Sing if you know these old Methodist hymns.  If you don’t enjoy the powerful words that still cry out for our action today. 

“Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast”

Words: Charles Wesley, 1747 (Luke 14:16-24)

1. Come, sinners, to the gospel feast; let every soul be Jesus' guest.

Ye need not one be left behind, for God hath bid all humankind.

2. Sent by my Lord, on you I call; the invitation is to all.

Come, all the world! Come, sinner, thou!

All things in Christ are ready now.

3. Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed, ye restless wanderers after rest;

ye poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind, in Christ a hearty welcome find.

4. My message as from God receive; ye all may come to Christ and live.

O let his love your hearts constrain, nor suffer him to die in vain.

5. This is the time, no more delay!  This is the Lord's accepted day.

Come thou, this moment, at his call and live for him who died for all.

Ask yourself:  What urgent needs in the community do I need to respond to as I follow Christ and respond to the prayers of my neighbors?  What bold steps do I need to take this year to act on the call of the Matthew 25 passage?  How might our church become a “mission outpost” this year due to my efforts?  What steps should we take to make sure both ends of the “mission bridge” are strong?

Pray for:  the “home grown” missions of our church as members have taken this call of God to heart—FROGs (our retired members who do construction for local, nonprofit ministries), community service days, Super Saturday (monthly program and meal for over 200 special needs adults), JOY Club (weekly independent special needs adults who gather for Wednesday Night Supper and a devotion), the regional and national teams that assist in reconstruction after disasters and all the church servants who respond to special appeals in the community and with our mission partners.      

Learn more: Keep up with ongoing opportunities in the Sunday bulletin, weekly e-news, or contact me in the mission office.  In addition to maintaining the historic missions we’re always curious about new “home grown” missions out of our congregation as we respond to God and the needs in our community.

Meet the presenter:  Dr. Winston Worrell.

A Different Way Through Town… and Life

Read Luke 10: 25-37.

Most of us get locked into familiar patterns as part of our routine.  We travel the same streets.  We do the same activities day after day, and week after week.  We get accustomed to spending time with our “regular” group of people.  We also become adept at learning not to cause trouble and not to break any social taboos. 

We can easily pass through some parts of town with another destination in mind.  So, as we think about the next meeting, or enjoy our music in the safety of our vehicle, we may never lock eyes or spend time with people in Harrisburg… or south Augusta… or Olde Town… or Bethlehem.  Matter of fact, we may not even drive through some parts of “our” town unless we get lost.

Christ seemed to take delight in crossing the street, crossing the railroad tracks, crossing the barriers.  More than get “off the beaten path,” he’d strike up conversations and relationships with the folk everyone else would look past.  Of course, he had his critics due to such behavior.  Yet the kingdom of God was reaching out to touch the physically broken, the soldiers and tax collectors, the rich and the poor, the women with questionable backgrounds, the Gentiles and people from distant countries, and even people such as ourselves.        

The religious folk in the passage didn’t respond like their theology, their sermons, and their worship songs suggested they should.  The hero in the story told by Jesus turns out to be a Samaritan- one from the country next to Israel that didn’t worship or live correctly from a traditional Jewish viewpoint.  The tough sermon is that our true faith about God is revealed in how we treat our neighbors, even those that we might think of as lifelong enemies.  This is the way of Christ and it is the way of his disciples.     

Ask yourself:  How can I love God and love my neighbor as myself?  Where am I in the Samaritan story?  How will I give like the Samaritan to show God’s mercy?  Who do I need to see as my neighbor that in the past I would have overlooked?

Pray for Red Bird Mission.  Methodists have worked in rural Appalachia since the 1920’s sharing Good News and addressing the variety of needs that are found in the mountains.    

Learn more:  http://www.rbmission.org/

Meet a presenter:  Rev. Patrick Friday will help us learn stronger ways of being a good mission partner.  His sessions will help us chart more powerful partnerships that generate effective mission and ministry.

Following the Way of Christ

Read Isaiah 6:1-8.

Who will God send?  As I've heard numbers of preachers say over the years, "You are the who!"

Dr. Philip Potter wrote, “The God of the Bible is a missionary God, a God who sends.  God sent Abraham and Sarah.  God sent Moses and Miriam.  God sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  God sent the Apostles through the power of the Son and the Spirit.  God so loved the world he sent his only Son…  It is always someone who is sent, someone who goes!”  Faithful Witnesses, p. 37-38. 

In recent years many of us have continued to sing a favorite church hymn, but change one crucial word in it.  If you listen closely you’ll see that some Sundays as we conclude worship with the old favorite as some have picked up on the adjustment while others have not noticed the change.  The song “Here I Am Lord” is a wonderful tune with powerful words, yet one small word was theologically incorrect.  The conditional “if” is all wrong.  We are the ones who make mission, and outreach, and evangelism a conditional—if we feel like it, if it fits our plans, if it isn’t too uncomfortable, if we can maintain the lifestyle that is our preference, if God makes it so that we don’t have any other options.  Substitute “when” and “where” and you get a much stronger song that is consistent with Scripture and with the Christian faith.

“Here I am, Lord.  Is it I, Lord?  I have heard you calling in the night.  I will go, Lord, where you lead me.  I will hold your people in my heart.”

God is still sending people to work in the Kingdom today.  Who will go?

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God" — William Carey, (17 August 1761 – 9 June 1834) English Baptist missionary often called the father of modern missions.

Ask yourself:  Have I heard God’s call to our city and world?  Where is God sending me today?  Who is God calling me to this year? 

Pray for the missionaries we can’t name who are serving in difficult circumstances, in hostile countries or regions, with obstacles and lacking resources which we often take for granted.  Pray for the missionaries- short term and long term, lay people and career- who will come out of our congregation in response to God’s call.  Who are the adults, children, and youth we are nurturing in faith that will respond to God to serve locally, nationally, or internationally as workers in God’s Kingdom?

If you want to know more contact me to discuss how you might best respond to God and be in mission. 

Meet the presenters:  Rev. Mike Selleck.  Mike will help us see the potential in partnership with other Methodist conferences around the world found in the Bridges Initiative.

 

God's Mission as a Way of Life

Read Ephesians 2:8-10.

It is a useful exercise, on Martin Luther King Day, to read one of the preacher's sermons and consider what that call of God might look like today.   "The Drum Major Instinct" is famous as his last sermon and includes the often remembered:  "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."  It was based on a sermon by a Methodist preacher and encouraged the congregation to seek greatness through service and love.  The sermon was based on Mark 10:35-45 where the disciples are all trying to be higher ranking.  Jesus says they, and we, are to show a different way of life modeled on the Kingdom of God and shown in the life of Christ.

Jesus shows us a life of service, expects us to follow that way of being servants to others, and shows how the salvation lifestyle is tied up in the redemptive life connecting the present and the future.  Sometimes in our thinking and our living we forget that "now" has eternal connection to "later." 

Holiness and sanctification are treasured old Methodist ideas that still seek our experimentation today. Such thoughts aren’t intended to guide us into a holier than thou self righteousness, but instead lead us into an abundant fullness of life that is found in Christ. This gift of God- that grace that comes through Christ and which saves us- is not taken for granted. It’s more like the gift that so transforms, renews, inspires, and re-creates us that we can’t help but be a gift giver ourselves!

Yet, like a child on Christmas Day, it’s oh so easy for us to get hung up on a narcissistic reveling in our own gift. We can get so absorbed in our own world that we don’t see beyond our own fulfillment. The temptation is that we abuse the gift of God and use such blessing for our own gain, our own fame, our own fulfillment (read Matthew 4:1-11 if you aren’t aware of this danger).

The Messiah, the Suffering Servant, the lamb of God shows us another way of life that exhibits the power of God through a compassion and humility and servanthood that we are to take on for our own lives. This model of life is consistent throughout the Gospels and in Paul’s writings. The hymn fragment in Philippians 2:1-11 recalls the power of such service and such obedience and reminds us of our calling to imitate the Son of God in our own lives.

Ask yourself: What is my obligation to the orphan, the widow, the prisoner? What is my responsibility to the poor? How might I be a humble servant to those who are so different than me? How might I become part of the solution to the problems of our neighborhood and community?

Pray for the North Georgia Housing and Homeless Council. This agency of the North GA UMC was created to help churches and other non-profit organizations in ministering to very poor and homeless persons.

Learn more: Housing and Homeless Council

Meet one of our presenters:  Kim Torres

Register for the TOC at http://trinityonthehill.net/common/content.asp?PAGE=576.

What Can We Do in the Mission of God?

A Bible passage that first got my attention, when I wasn't a church-goer I might add, is found in Revleation 3:15-22.  Back then I took some small pleasure in these verses when I applied them to others.  What a challenge though as I applied the expectation to myself!

My personal story is that of growing up outside of the Church. I did not read the Bible, or pray, or attend church, or think anything about a Christian way of life. While in my late teens, and attending college, I found myself struggling with the meaning of life, my purpose here, and if there was a God. I did not have any background in religion of any type, but knew I needed something more than what I had. This went on for a year, and during that time I eventually found a deepening of relationships with some friends who attended a nearby church. These folk weren’t clergy, and they had their strengths and weaknesses as we all do, but they made real what I had not experienced and couldn’t imagine. They were honest, real, “flesh and blood” people that loved God. They spent time with me, invited me to meals, and invested themselves in my life. They didn’t push me about church, though when they did eventually offer that invitation it was an easy next step. It was through the personal relationships that I eventually grew into a Christian and a church member.


In retrospect, I see more clearly how they had to go “out of their way” to spend time with me. They let go of their agenda, added another risky relationship in addition to all their current friendships, and adjusted their calendars and expectations in all sorts of ways to add me to their lives. They went out of the way to be friends with me. And it has forever changed my life.

There are children and teenagers and families in every neighborhood of Augusta, Columbia County, and North Augusta that are just like I was. They have no faith, lots of questions, and only need a little time and our friendship. What is required of us in mission? We are called to build relationships of reconciliation as we love God and love our neighbor.

Here's another Charles Wesley hymn  though you may not know this 1749 verse. 

“Forth in Thy Name, O Lord”

1. Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go, my daily labor to pursue; thee, only thee, resolved to know in all I think or speak or do.

2. The task thy wisdom hath assigned, O let me cheerfully fulfill; in all my works thy presence find, and prove thy good and perfect will.

3. For thee delightfully employ what e'er thy bounteous grace hath given; and run my course with even joy, and closely walk with thee to heaven.

Ask yourself: Who do I know among family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others in the community that God has placed in my life as part of my work in the Kingdom? Continue to be in prayer as you build relationships and work in God’s Kingdom.

Pray for Heritage Academy, an inner city Christian school, and the impact these efforts have in Olde Town and for the families and churches involved in this effort.

Learn more: Heritage Academy

Meet the Preachers for the Mission Event

In November 2011, when I read an article that said The United Methodist Church General Board of Global Ministries and The Mission Society were on speaking terms I knew I had to put them to the test.  The article talked about the personal friendship between the two leaders which was leading to a working relationship and more open conversations between the two organizations.  So, I sent the executive officers of GBGM & TMS an e-mail and asked if they would be willing to join us in a church active in mission as we celebrate outreach.

And they said yes!

We have an exciting, perhaps historic (in the biggest sense of the word), annual mission event coming up February 2-3.  Dr. Thomas Kemper, General Secretary of The United Methodists Church General Board of Global Ministries, and Rev. Dick McClain, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Mission Society, will be our featured preachers.  They will preach Saturday, February 2 and Sunday, February 3 at Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta, Georgia.  I'm not sure my congregation understands what a big deal this is, but we are finding United Methodists from throughout Georgia and South Carolina who will be joining us as we celebrate missions and focus on a theme of "Building Bridges" .

Dr. Thomas Kemper is the top executive of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). From 1986-1994, he served as a missionary in Brazil before returning to his native Germany to lead ecumenical learning at the Lippische Landeskirche, a regional church of the Association of Protestant Churches. From 1998-2010 he served as mission leader for the United Methodist German Central Conference. Prior to his current role as General Secretary Kemper was a member of the GBGM Board of Directors. The GBGM connects the 13 million member United Methodist Church in mission in 136 countries.  There are currently 324 GBGM missionaries serving around the world with almost 50% of current missionaries coming from countries outside the United States.  Kemper is married to Barbara Hüfner-Kemper and the father of three children: Ana, 20, Lena, 19, and Joshua, 15. Thomas enjoys preaching and is becoming known here at GBGM for his good sense of humor.  We are honored to welcome Dr. Kemper to Augusta and to our congregation.

Rev. Dick McClain is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Mission Society. Rev. McClain took on that role in September 2009 after many years with the organization.  The longest-tenured member of the staff, Dick came to The Mission Society as its first director of missionary personnel in 1986 and has served in many capacities since then.  Today The Mission Society has over 200 missionaries who serve in 35 countries, as well as collaborative efforts with numerous churches and Christian organizations around the world.  The son and grandson of missionaries, Dick was born in China and grew up in India and Hong Kong.  An ordained United Methodist minister, he served pastorates in West Michigan for 11 years.  Dick married his college sweetheart, Pam, and the couple has three married children: Josh (and Amita), Heather McClain Wilson (and Steve), and Joey (and Ashley).  They also have five grandchildren (Ian, Tyler, Matthew, Eden, and William).  Rev. McClain has preached at Trinity on the Hill on other occasions and we are pleased to welcome him back to Augusta.


We are in for a treat as these international mission leaders lead our conversations February 2-3.  Don't get left out of this historic meeting and the celebration of Good News that will be taking place in Augusta!

How Are We in Mission?

Read John 20:19-23.


As the Church we are to be the Body of Christ. During the Great Thanksgiving, in our communion liturgy, we often proclaim of the elements: “Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly Banquet.”

So, we- as a Church and as individuals- are to take up the model of the life of Christ in our everyday life as we seek to love God and love all humanity. This allows the mission of God to pervade every area of our life, to inform our every decision and action, to become our value system and way of life. “Mission is no longer thought of as the Chruch’s activity overseas or in another culture. The mission frontier is not primarily a geographic one, but one of belief, conviction, and commitment” “Faithful Witnesses”, p. 30.

Karl Muller points to “5 elements of a missional theology:

1) being based upon a Trinitarian understanding of the nature of God

2) concerning itself with God’s salvation

3) from within a faith community

4) while moving into the whole world

5) among those who have not heard nor heeded the Gospel.”

See Faithful Witnesses, by John Edward Nuessle, page 48, for more information.

We are not alone in this calling or this task. The disciples had each other, and we have each other in the church. Yet the high and holy call remains so that we can not merely be content with those who are already in the room, in the church building, in the family.

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”

Ask yourself: How am I being sent by Christ to share the Gospel? Who can Christ send me to in my every day life? Is there a neighbor or someone Christ desires to send me to?

Pray for Kirk and Nicole Sims and their sons as Kirk completes PhD studies related to west African missions and as Nicole serves as pastor at Hamburg International United Methodist Church (Germany).

Learn more: Sims

Our Responsibility in Mission

Read John 1:14.

At its best mission might be a work of mercy, but not of pity. Mission is not meant to be a hand out from upper class to lower class. It is certainly not to be a demeaning act that cultivates an unnecessary dependency similar to a toxic charity. Rather, this is a way of life that, in both word and deed, seeks to love God and love neighbor with our whole heart, mind, and life.

Nor is mission just a calling of a select few in the church who have the time, talent, or disposition. Instead, missional living is a way of following the incarnational model of Christ which emphasizes a life following God the Father and dependent upon the Spirit. Such a life expresses habits of worship, prayer, study, fellowship, evangelism, and mission as reflections of the glory of God made known in practical ways today.

Darrell Gruder says:

“We have come to see that mission is not merely an activity of the church. Rather mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purposes to restore and heal creation. Mission means ‘sending,’ and it is the central biblical theme describing the purposes of God’s action in human history. God’s mission began with the calling of Israel to receive God’s blessings in order to be a blessing to the nations. God’s mission unfolded in the history of God’s people across the centuries recorded in Scripture, and it reached its revelatory climax in the incarnation of God’s work of salvation in Jesus ministering, crucified, and resurrected… It continues today in the worldwide witness of churches in every culture to the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Quoted in The Forgotten Ways, by Alan Hirsch, pl. 129.

"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" — Keith Green, Christian musician of the 1970's-early 80's.

Charles Wesley often penned the words of Methodist theology in ways that had power for worship and discipleship.  He wrote “A Charge to Keep I Have” in 1762 with basis in Leviticus 8:35.

1.  A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify, a never-dying soul to save, and fit it for the sky.

2.  To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill; O may it all my powers engage to do my Master's will!

Ask yourself: How have I misunderstood mission in the past? Do I need to further develop my understanding or gifts to be more effective for God? How can I practically reach our community and world, with the gifts God has given me, as God sends me to work?

Pray for those who are served and those who serve at GAP Ministries. This was previously a Presbyterian effort, but it’s now become an ecumenical effort to meet needs, express compassion, and create community in our Augusta inner city.

Learn more: GAP

Don't miss out!  Claim your place in the work day or in a mission seminar at  http://trinityonthehill.net/common/content.asp?PAGE=576

A Present Salvation

Read Luke 4:18-19


One of the first sermons that John Wesley preached out “in the field,” as opposed to in the church, was from this passage. Though initially skeptical of the approach, Wesley soon realized the opportunity and benefits of sharing the Gospel beyond the walls of the church where everyday people might come into contact with the present salvation of God. The Kingdom of God and the Spirit of the Lord has freeing, Good News impact for every day people that is far beyond our wildest dreams of grace.

Have you ever wondered what it means, in appearance and action, to be a “church in the field?” Often on international mission trips our teams experience the work of the church in the sanctuary and out in the streets. It is often liberating in a culture foreign to us, usually with a different language and customs, for us to see how God is at work and how our work in the church and community has an impact. It takes a lot of teamwork and self denial. It takes consistent focus on God. It demands a flexibility and adaptation because so many people are involved, God is doing so much more than we imagine, and change, innovation, and transformation are the norm. We often talk about why we don’t live this way everyday back home.

As we follow Christ today we will find many opportunities to work in the Kingdom and to help others experience the salvation of God.

Ask yourself: What would it mean for our church to break down the walls of separation between us and our community by initiating ministry in the city and neighborhoods? Who would we reach out to? Who is God calling us to reach out to?

Pray for Rhonda Jackson and Destino del Reino. Destino is located just north of Siguatepeque, Honduras and offers a comprehensive ministry including a home for children, a school for kindergarten through 8th grade, and related ministries.

Learn more: Destino del Reino.

Our Life of Holiness

Read Malachi 3:7.

In 1746, John Wesley based his sermon, “The Means of Grace,” on this passage about the ordinances of God. He taught that such ordinances were not intended to create cold, lifeless religion, but instead, had inward and outward impact upon a soul renewed in the image of God. The ultimate aim is “love out of a pure heart with faith unfeigned.”

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed that the "means of grace," included both "works of piety" and "works of mercy." He preached that Christians must do both works of piety and works of mercy in order to move on toward Christian perfection. Note that this isn’t a justification built on work, but a way of following the life of Christ which takes seriously that “faith without works is dead.” Works of piety include prayer, “searching the Scriptures; (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him.”

“Wesley taught that people must be Christians in both word and deed, which were to express the love of God. He believed that Christians must grow in God's grace, which first prepares us for belief, then accepts us when we respond to God in faith, and sustains us as we do good works and participate in God's mission. John Wesley not only preached about works of mercy, he "practiced" what he preached. Wesley:

• lived modestly and gave all he could to help people who were poor

• visited people in prison and provided spiritual guidance, food, and clothing to them

• spoke out against slavery and forbade it in Methodism

• founded schools at the Foundery in London, Bristol, and Newcastle

• published books, pamphlets, and magazines for the education and spiritual edification of people

• taught and wrote about good health practices and even dispensed medicine from his chapels

Wesley believed that Christians could not have authentic personal holiness without social holiness.” (I found this at Wesley on mission. To learn more read Part II of the Book of Discipline or read John Wesley’s sermons or a history on the founder of Methodism.)

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" — David Livingstone, 19th Century medical missionary in Africa

Ask yourself: How should I grow in piety and mercy this year as I grow in following Christ? What practical steps might I take to establish habits of mercy?

Pray for the Choctaw Methodist Mission in Philadelphia, MS and General Board of Global Ministries church and community development workers Robin and Steve Claris.

Learn more: Choctaw Methodists