Gambling

This Sunday, I will be talking, in part, about the role that small groups played in the early Methodist Church. Wesley saw it as extremely important that these groups met often and "watched over one another in love" so that they might foster their relationship with God. They abided by three general rules: (1) Doing no harm and avoiding evil, (2) Doing good and (3) Utilizing the means of grace (bible study, prayer, Communion, etc.).

As I was doing more research about what to avoid I noticed that gambling was one of them. This didn't surprise me, as I know Methodists took a pretty strong stance on gambling. But, if you check paragraph 163, section G of the Book of Discipline, it says the following:

Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice...The Church's prophetic call is to promote standards of justice and advocacy that would make it unnecessary and undesirable to resort to commercial gambling--including public lotteries, casinos, raffles, Internet gambling, gambling with an emerging wireless technology and other games of chance--as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or fund for support of charities or government.

Wow...there's really no room for argument there. I can admit that, in my five years as a United Methodist before I was a minister, I definitely gambled. I've played bingo, fantasy football and partook in a few slot machines on our honeymoon when we were in Las Vegas. I would say that I was in control in all of this and never left compelled to spend beyond my means. In fact, it was fun.

I can see from that the above perspective looks at what happens when one does something in excess. I certainly do not want anyone getting addicted to gambling. I suppose the only way to guarantee that is to refrain from everything. Sometimes be disciplined isn't always fun. It also means that you need to give up things that can be fun, even in moderation. But there is a purpose behind what we do.

As a clergy member, I know that I must abstain from all gambling. As a United Methodist, how do you feel about it?

A Busy Weekend

It goes without saying the the beginning of my ministry in the Oakfield and Tabor churches would involve quite a few firsts. This weekend, however, could be described as my first extremely busy weekend of ministry. I will be presiding over a wedding this weekend, and we will also be having a service of celebration for the Byron Center on Sunday. To break things down a little bit:

Friday

• Work all day, then drive to Oshkosh.
• Wedding rehearsal
• Rehearsal dinner

Saturday

• Wedding
• Wedding reception

Sunday

• Tabor church service
• Oakfield church service
• Byron Center celebration
• Packer game

It should be quite the fun weekend, but also very busy.

90 Minutes in Heaven

I know that this book has been around for a few years. I had heard folks talk about it. I was at the Oakfield Public Library during the Village-Wide Rummage Sale and found a copy of the book for $1.00. How could I go wrong? I added it to my reading list.

The book is an account of Don Piper's being dead for 90 minutes and during that time experiencing heaven. When he comes back to life, he talks about his long recovery process from a devastating accident.

I hate to begin my review by arguing semantics, but 90 Minutes in Heaven was not an appropriate title for this book. His actual account of experiencing heaven was but two chapters of the book. The rest of the book details his slow recovery and all the accompanying misery that goes with it. Later, he does talk about ho0w his experience has affected the lives of others. I was disappointed, because I expected the book to provide more details about his experience in heaven. That was the title.

That being said, his description of his recovery does give an amazing story of determination and the power of prayer. I was also amazed about how a community of believers came to rally around this one individual's recovery. We could all stand to learn from that.

I suppose the biggest struggle I have is with his account of heaven. I can't imagine why the author would lie about his experiences, and I'm sure that was his experience. But, was that heaven or a hallucination? I just don't know. And to think that he speaks at funerals saying he can speak with authority about what heaven is like is slightly disturbing to me.

I would recommend you read the book, if but for its story about the power of prayer and love for hope of recovery.

Eagle Eye

Last night Christa and I watched the movie Eagle Eye. It came out last year, and with Netflix we have been making our way through recent major movies.

If I've noticed one habit that I have developed as a pastor, it is that I can encapsulate any book or movie that I read into one statement that opens itself up to dialogue. Eagle Eye was no different.

Watching this movie makes you wonder about the role that computers play in our lives. The movie itself combines plots similar to movies like WarGames and 2001. It brings up the following discussion points:

1. How much are we going to allow computers to in our lives?
2. Computers can be more efficient, but what are the drawbacks?
3. What is the potential gains and risks in Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Whenever I watch a movie like this, I think about these questions. Although computers have made our lives easier in many ways, I feel as though our lives continually get more complicated and stressful. Plus, you deal with computer breakdowns and server outages which can also be very frustrating.

Christa and I gave the movie a: ****. It has good action and keeps you moving, given that the plot line is completely improbable. In all movies, there is a message. I encourage you to reflect on the ones I listed above.

Prevenient Grace

This Sunday will be the first in a series of sermons that talk about grace. I will be starting with a look at prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is available to all of the world's people. It is a gift from God that we received through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether one is a believer or non-believer, God's grace works in us and all good works are as a result of his grace working in us.

I appreciate this part of our Methodist heritage. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at Wesley's thoughts on the road to salvation. I do appreciate that everyone has the potential to be saved. This should be wonderful news as we think to reaching out into the community.

See you in church!

Too Small to Ignore Reviewed

I finished Too Small to Ignore. It was one of those books that was so good, you had a hard time putting it down. I finished it in a week. As busy as I am and being the slow reader that I am, I thought that was incredible that I finished it so quickly.

Wess Stafford shares his childhood experiences from two perspectives. He shares many wonderful stories from his childhood living in an African village as the son of a missionary. He learned the true meaning of love and the meaning of a simple life. He counters this with some truly gruesome stories of time in a boarding school for missionary children. It's horrible and painful to read. Both of these experiences lay the groundwork for his passion for helping children in poverty.

He ends his book by providing many thoughts about how we can put children at a higher priority in our lives. It was a wake up call to me and I highly recommend that you check this book out. It will change your thinking about who we should be ministering to!

Next on my list is Ninety Minutes in Heaven.

What a Puppy Taught Me...

I have not blogged as consistently as I would like over the last week or so. Much of this has to do with the newest member of our family: Weaver. Weaver is a Shelty/Australian Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix. She is now 10 weeks old, but was 8 weeks old when we got her. Needless to say, the last few weeks have been a little crazy.

Having a puppy around has been a humbling experience. Unfortunately, the dog brings out my temper in ways that I have not seen in a long time. She gets the best of me when she constantly bites my ankles or manages to pee in the kitchen for the third time that day. *sigh*

I also get apprehensive when I am home alone with her. She'll sleep for one to two hours and I can get some work done. When she gets up, it's a game of figuring out what she wants to keep her occupied until she takes another nap ;).

Puppy maintenance has helped me to work on some of my hang-ups that I have in my relationship with God as well. I worry way too much about stuff. The minute I stop worrying and let things happen, the better things go. It's the same with Weaver. When I am stressed about taking care of her, things go bad. When I relax, things go well. It has also helped me with my temper.

So...the puppy has been a blessing for our lives, and also a blessing for my relationship with God.