Gleanings…

I have a guitar sitting on a stand in my living room and most nights that is all that can be said for it.  It looks nice, but it does little to add any joy to either Lyndie’s or my life.  I guess just having it sit there is pleasing to the eye, but that is not the gift of its construction.  It is made to be played.  It is meant to produce sound.  When played with skilled hands, it can be very pleasing to the ear and that makes for a peaceful heart.

The fact that I do not play my guitar regularly means that it cannot fulfill the purpose for its creation.  No one else who can play a guitar has access to it, so it gathers a bit of dust and waits for me to pick it up, adjust the tuning, and play one of the songs that I have learned over the years.  When I do, I am pleased at being able to use the gift of music-making God gave me.  Playing and singing makes me smile and my heartrate and blood pressure improve.  There are many gifts connected with that guitar, but they remain unrealized when I do not play it.

Seeing the guitar sitting there on its stand reminds me that there are many gifts that largely go under-used.  Being a bit of an introvert, I am naturally hesitant to reach out to people.  I have learned to override my hesitancy, but when I am alone I can easily justify my silence.

Does the fact that I feel introverted mean that I should not reach out to others?  I don’t believe that is true.  I believe that we are meant to be connected beings.  We each have gifts that can benefit the lives of others.  When we use our gifts to help others, we use our community/relationships for the purpose for which they were created.  Living in community, caring for one another, and sharing our gifts enables us to make beautiful music together.  That, in turn, lowers our anxiety, our blood pressure, and our heartrate.  It is truly a win/win for all.

I expect that you are like me in some ways.  I expect that you also have gifts lying around that don’t get used enough.  What would it take to get you to take the step of picking one up, adjusting the tuning, and making beautiful music?  No, I am not talking about you taking up playing a guitar, just using a gift or talent that gathers more dust than it gets used.  Our communities and relationships thrive when we practice using our gifts.  When they thrive, we reap the benefits.  Burdens are shared, sorrows are consoled, joys are celebrated, and our lives are freed from feelings of separation.

At the same time, we bless and benefit those in our communities with whom we do not have strong relationships.  When they see how we benefit from using our gifts to bless all, they are drawn to explore just what it is that drives our caring.  At that point, they can experience the love of God for themselves, and that is why we are here—to share God’s love in all that we say and do.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Braxton ><>

Saturday, August 25, — 5:00 p.m.

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Homemade Ice Cream and lots of goodies.  Games, Fellowship, and Fun!  Bring your instruments and enjoy a casual Jam session together!

Community Invited!  Come Join the Fun!

3901 Hamill Rd, Hixson, TN 37343

Gleanings…

Based solely upon observation and without statistical research and reports to bolster my claim, I believe that the one thing most people want to do before they die is to leave behind something that will cause them to be remembered.  While some work to accomplish a specific goal and others go about it haphazardly, in the end their hope is that people will remember them even if for just one thing.  How about you?

Great tales of heroic adventures, biographies and autobiographies, and even superhero comic books (to name but a few) feed the imaginations of young and old alike.  Every tale of great courage, the overcoming of tremendous odds, or tireless efforts in pursuit of a goal leaves us holding on to the possibility that the story could be about us one day.

As followers of Christ Jesus, though, we are presented with a different set of values and goals.  While the Bible is filled with tales of great heroics there are as many, if not more, stories of failure.  For every person of strong faith there are people who get it wrong.  What is the message here?  As we read the teachings presented throughout the Bible, we see so many guidelines that seemingly conflict that it’s no wonder so many treat it as little more than a story book.

There is, of course, more to the Bible than stories.  Woven into every book is the witness of a love so great that it will not give up or let go.  Modeled in every act of restoration and displayed in every gift of renewal is love.  Love is behind the account of creation and the ending account of re-creation.  Love tempered with justice and mercy is the single most identifying characteristic of God.  That is why we have the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.  That is why we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us in our everyday lives.  That is why Jesus—God’s gift of love—identified love of God and our neighbor as the greatest teaching.

Why do I talk about love so much and stress the need to be loving toward all? One reason is that all of us, me included, can do better at loving God and my neighbor.  It is sooo easy to fall into the trap of believing that we have that part of our lives down pat.  And yet, how often are we surprised with a wakeup call when we come face-to-face with the evidence that we have acted without love?

The second reason is that if we are truly serious about leaving behind something that will cause people to remember us, we could do no better than to have them share the stories of how we loved others.  Love is never out of style.  It is, instead, the greatest hallmark of a life well lived.  No one ever confesses a wish to have worked more, accumulated more possessions, or achieved greater standing over others as they lie on their death bed.

So, I ask you today to look around you.  Who are the people that need to experience the love of God through you?  Who have you found difficult to love?  How might God be calling you to expand your witness of love?  And finally, what is it that you truly want people to remember you for?

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>

Gleanings…

Have you ever been afraid to do something new?  While it may seem like a crazy question, the truth is that we are presented with opportunities to do something new every day.  What is not new is how often we fail to see the opportunities that are right in front of us.

What am I talking about?  Well, look around you.  Who do you see?  Now, if you say “same old, same old” then, in truth, you missed it again.  Sure, we’re surrounded by items and people that we have looked at more times than we can count, but it is the very things that we see every day that give us the chance to do something new.

Now, I am not talking about trading in the old for something new especially when we are talking about a member of the family.  And I am certainly not talking about taking on debt to “refresh” the old.  No, I am talking about using what you have always had in a new way.  What am I talking about?  Your eyes.

Yes, your eyes are the key to doing something new every day.  What you see, physically or spiritually, calls for a response.  That response can be a patterned reaction that has always gotten you by.  But, when we fall back on old patterns of response, we close ourselves off to the possibility that there just might be a better way to respond to what we see.  This can be especially true with people.

Have you ever thought about how much you change every day?  While your physical self may look essentially the same, what you have learned from reexamination or another way of thinking about something/someone can make significant changes in you.  That is an on-going process.  What needs to happen at that point is to make a conscious decision to not treat anyone or anything the same old way.

What will this do for you?  It will fill you with expectancy.  What new understanding will I have today?  What new responses can I have to the same people, places, and things that are a regular part of my life?  When these questions arise regularly and naturally, our attitudes can change and we begin to live in the present again.

When God created all that is, God did not say that there will never be any deviations from the original.  This tells me that we must always be open to changes in ourselves and others.  Every person and every thing is always being acted upon by other people and things.  The only constant in creation is that everything changes.

Here is the invitation: Join me in deciding to look for what has changed in the people we see every day.  Join me in expecting that God has had an impact on every person’s life and that they are no longer who they were.  Join me in allowing God to show us new ways of relating and responding that works for peace among us.  And join me in showing God’s love through everything we do.

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>

We had a wonderful Freedom program celebrating our rights as Americans to pray, worship, read God’s word, and witness to others according to our beliefs.

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated!

We collected 80 home kit buckets for our Hands on Mission Project this year. This will go to aid people in Zimbabwe.

Fairview UMC is having a special evening program  and  ice cream social to celebrate our American religious freedoms. Our “Free to Worship” short program will be held on Sunday, July 1 at 6 p.m at Fairview United Methodist Church. Everyone is welcome to come enjoy an evening of songs, celebrating our rights as Americans to pray, worship, read God’s word, and witness to others according to our beliefs. Afterward, there will be a homemade ice cream social in the fellowship hall. 

3901 Hamill Rd, Hixson, TN 37343

Gleanings…

Are you happy with how your life has turned out?  Satisfied?  Content?  Or do you, like so many others, feel there is something missing?  Marketers and manufacturers would have you to believe that, indeed, you are dissatisfied with your life as you are currently living it.  Furthermore, they also want to convince you that they have just the thing to relieve your dissatisfaction and give you joy.  Any guesses as to what it might be? 

Our society is able to sustain a growing economy by constantly telling us that we cannot be happy with anything less than the newest version of anything.  Fashion, electronics, transportation, and home style are a few of the areas where the best is always the next model or style.  Manufacturers and service providers also want us to believe that our happiness hinges on being the first to possess the newest and best whatever.  The minute anyone else purchases a newer model, our happiness comes to an end.  This can lead to a sense of frustration that can grow into depression.

A few years ago, I watched a movie titled, City Slickers, staring Jack Palance (Curly) and Billy Crystal (Mitch), and others, who played the parts of a grizzled trail boss and a New Yorker who has lost his joy in life.  Curly could see that Mitch had lost his joy and sense of meaning for his life.  Curly tells Mitch that he needs to find “the one thing” that is most important in his life.  When Mitch asks what “the one thing” is, Curly responds that he will have to discover it for himself.  This leads us back to the opening question: Are you happy with how your life has turned out?

One factor that is essential for creating new/stronger disciples of Jesus is a holy discontent with how one’s life is turning out.  When actions seem pointless and any improvement in the circumstances of one’s life seems unlikely, one begins to ask questions and seek alternative answers.  At that point in time, a nudge from God can provide just enough motivation to seek new answers.

I will be preaching a summer series this year drawing upon a book by Lois Tverberg titled, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.  As we go through the summer (14 weeks) we will look at Jesus’ teachings from the perspective of a 1st century Jew.  We will learn new ways of understanding what Jesus’ words meant to those around him and how that understanding impacted their lives.  We will also see what impact their understanding can have on our lives today.  And maybe, just maybe, we will discover something that adds a new zest for living as a disciple of Jesus.  Please share your thoughts with me about what the material teaches as we journey through these weeks.

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>

Gleanings…

As I write this article, I am completing my sixth week of forced, limited movement.  It has been quite the experience and not one I would wish on anyone else.

If this accident has taught me anything, it is how much we need each other.  You know what I am talking about.  Times when we are broken physically or spiritually are overcome only by the grace and mercy of God, often through others.  Helping hands, comforting and assuring hands are what enable us to have the necessities of life.  Without others, we lose the ability to overcome the adversities to providing what is necessary for life.  We need one another.

Jesus speaks of our need for connection.  Using the image of a grape vine, he says we need to be connected to him.  He is the vine and we are the branches.  He supplies the nourishment and we produce fruit.  Every vine must have roots and Jesus speaks of his connection to his Father and how our fruit-bearing glorifies God.  It is one great system for feeding the world with fruit that lasts, that nourishes and sustains life in all of us.

We are each branches of the vine.  Collectively we are responsible for bearing fruit that nourishes the people in our communities and beyond.  Whether we know the people who live around us or not, we offer a source of fruit that is nourishing for their lives.  That fruit can be helping, caring, feeding, sharing, understanding, and loving to name but a few.  These are the things that people need whether they will admit it or not—whether they will receive it or not.

Those most familiar with grape production say that vines need great care.  Vines must be lifted up out of the dirt to prevent rot and enable growth.  Vines must be pruned to promote the production of fruit.  There is more to this than I can speak of, but I can see by what I do know that we are each part of the process of caring for the vine.

Our expressions of care and concern for one another serve to keep the vine lifted out of the dirt.  Sharing what God is doing in our lives serves to promote growth which leads to fruit-bearing.  It is this fruit that we then take with us to feed others.  We feed others in conversations and acts of kindness and mercy.  Our fruit is evident in the ways we respond to adversity and challenge.  It is evident in the ways we care for brokenness.  It is evident in the ways that we share our love and enable healing.  Everything we do shares the fruit that we produce through our connection to Jesus.

In the end, if it were not for Jesus and how he is present in all of us, we would not be able to bear much fruit.  The daily reminders of God’s provision for our lives—God’s gifts of healing, help, and hope—enable us to work for the best future for all.  We serve to assure others that God cares for them in their situations.  When others, who may not know God, experience mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and consolation, they taste the fruit that God so richly provides to all of God’s children.

And so, it comes down to this: I need you, you need me, and you need each other.  Together we provide nurture and care to one another.  Together we care for the vine that we might produce much fruit—fruit that will last.  Together we are responsible for carrying that fruit into the world to feed those who hunger and thirst for justice.  Together we enable this world to be the expression of God’s love realized.  Together we proclaim peace.  May it be so.

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>