The State of Alabama has become deeply polarized over the issue of illegal immigration. The Work Area on Church and Society has determined to create opportunities and events that will help the culture learn from the church how to disagree on difficult issues in a Christian manner.
Because so much is at stake in the conversation about HB 56, each side has explained the contents of the law from a particular point of view. Lawyers and Work Area members Will Parker and Craig Baab have worked together to develop a presentation on what the law actually says. Will and Craig are on opposite sides of the legal fight in their professional lives. Will works for the Attorney General's office on the case to defend the law. Craig works for the Appleseed Foundation, which has participated in the suit against the law. Will will offer the presentation, but as a member of the Work Area and not representing the views or perspectives of Attorney General's office. This may be the only opportunity you will have to hear what the law actually says from a truly fair and balanced perspective.
I will talk about the Social Principles and General Conference Resolutions related to illegal immigration. I will also share some thoughts on the very public opposition to the law that came from our bishops (particularly the one from North Alabama). I will share something about the religious issues related to the law.
Martha Rovira, Director of Hispanic Ministries for the Alabama West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, will share her experience of the impact of HB 56 on the ministries of the United Methodist Church.
With so much noise in the culture on such a contentious topic, the church has become one of the few places that a conversation can be held with open heart and open mind. Please consider joining us.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
There is only today
I meet weekly with our interns to talk about ministry and what we're learning together, and to support each other and pray together. The interns at the church are really remarkable ministers of the Gospel and they will be making a difference for the Kingdom for a long time. I'm privileged to work with them.
Today, we were talking about how some people think about youth ministry as a stepping stone to pastoral ministry. We talked about how important it is that really gifted people see any type of ministry as a life long calling.
That prompted a conversation about the impact interns make. I asked them if they remembered all the interns who had worked in their youth groups and children's ministries when they were growing up. Of course they did. I remember the young people I grew up with, too. I remember my dear friend David Farley who taught me so much about music ministry and the joy of arts and creativity in ministry. I remember my dear friend Robert Brown who taught me so much about pastoral care and what kind of a person a ministry ought to be. Both of those guys impacted my life deeply and shaped the kind of Christian and the kind of minister I am. There were lots of others, many of them volunteers or college kids.
So, even if you're an intern and even if you are a volunteer, and even if you are a teenager helping out with Bible School: Your ministry is not something that happens someday in the future. Someone is being shaped by your ministry right now. And lots of people will remember you and what you invested in their lives forever.
This is important, and I think we all need to keep it in mind. So many times, especially when we are young and starting out, we get the idea that we are really just learning and helping out and preparing for the real thing that comes later. It's just not true--whatever you do matters more than you know and someone will remember it forever. The danger in this thinking is that we might never shake it. We might get to thinking that the church we serve while we are in seminary is just a student appointment, or think that we're getting ready to "get our own church" when we work as an associate pastor, or suppose that our time as a pastor in a small church is preparing us for when we get to the big church.
It's true that each thing we do teaches us things that help us later on. But that doesn't diminish anything in the meantime. Whatever we are doing is the now of our call, and God uses it for eternity. There is only today.
Today, we were talking about how some people think about youth ministry as a stepping stone to pastoral ministry. We talked about how important it is that really gifted people see any type of ministry as a life long calling.
That prompted a conversation about the impact interns make. I asked them if they remembered all the interns who had worked in their youth groups and children's ministries when they were growing up. Of course they did. I remember the young people I grew up with, too. I remember my dear friend David Farley who taught me so much about music ministry and the joy of arts and creativity in ministry. I remember my dear friend Robert Brown who taught me so much about pastoral care and what kind of a person a ministry ought to be. Both of those guys impacted my life deeply and shaped the kind of Christian and the kind of minister I am. There were lots of others, many of them volunteers or college kids.
So, even if you're an intern and even if you are a volunteer, and even if you are a teenager helping out with Bible School: Your ministry is not something that happens someday in the future. Someone is being shaped by your ministry right now. And lots of people will remember you and what you invested in their lives forever.
This is important, and I think we all need to keep it in mind. So many times, especially when we are young and starting out, we get the idea that we are really just learning and helping out and preparing for the real thing that comes later. It's just not true--whatever you do matters more than you know and someone will remember it forever. The danger in this thinking is that we might never shake it. We might get to thinking that the church we serve while we are in seminary is just a student appointment, or think that we're getting ready to "get our own church" when we work as an associate pastor, or suppose that our time as a pastor in a small church is preparing us for when we get to the big church.
It's true that each thing we do teaches us things that help us later on. But that doesn't diminish anything in the meantime. Whatever we are doing is the now of our call, and God uses it for eternity. There is only today.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Invocation for Emerge Torchbearer Young Professional of the Year Award Luncheon
Gracious God:
We give thanks and praise on this day in which we celebrate young professionals committed to excellence and committed to community.
We thank you for those who have passion and a sense of vocation that transcends ambition.
We thank you for creative leaders who refuse to wait their turn to fulfill the dreams you've placed in their hearts.
We thank you for those who commit not only to improve the lives of their own families, but also the lives of all Montgomerians.
Bless those we celebrate today, and let their work inspire us all to fulfill your larger dream of a community that approximates your righteous Kingdom, a beloved community that blesses all its citizens.
In Your Name we pray, Amen.
We give thanks and praise on this day in which we celebrate young professionals committed to excellence and committed to community.
We thank you for those who have passion and a sense of vocation that transcends ambition.
We thank you for creative leaders who refuse to wait their turn to fulfill the dreams you've placed in their hearts.
We thank you for those who commit not only to improve the lives of their own families, but also the lives of all Montgomerians.
Bless those we celebrate today, and let their work inspire us all to fulfill your larger dream of a community that approximates your righteous Kingdom, a beloved community that blesses all its citizens.
In Your Name we pray, Amen.
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