Onward and Upward Archives - Page 5 of 5

A Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Control

Posted on Oct 7, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Dear Servants,

This reading from 2 Timothy was our New Testament reading on Sunday. I have been preaching through some of the hard parables in Luke chapters 16 and 17 over last few weeks, so I didn’t spend a lot of time studying this passage. However, a few minutes into the sermon, God brought the truth of this passage to mind. If you weren’t there, let me tell you we had a fire alarm go off (false alarm), and I attempted for a while to preach through it. After stopping to pray in frustration with a room full of believers desperately trying to push through this ordeal, the alarm went to a constant buzz, and we evacuated. The alarm was eventually turned off, and we returned to worship the Lord through Communion. If you walked in at the end, you would have never known what had occurred 30 minutes prior. I thank God for the spirit of self-control because before considering Paul’s words, I wanted to run out screaming.

Despite that interruption, I know that ministry happened and God worked in the lives of those who endured the sound attack. I also have video-recorded my sermon and it is now uploaded to our Facebook page. I do believe it is a sermon that needs to be shared and I have no doubt our enemy wanted to keep it from happening. The attack was unsuccessful, and Jesus gets all the glory. As I said to the congregation after the alarm was turned off: sometimes we are called to suffer. In those times, we witness to the goodness of God and victory of Jesus, not by how we are prospering but how we struggle. Now Paul suffered in greater ways than most of us will ever know, but that doesn’t mean the truth of Paul’s word is not for us. It is a privilege to suffer for the Gospel.

Please keep the Vestry in your prayers this week as we continue to seek the Lord about His future for our congregation. We too have a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His purpose and grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +

How do we prepare our hearts for worship?

Posted on Sep 29, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Dear Servants,

Over the next few weeks, I invite you to reflect with me on how we understand and enter into worship. I begin this week with the question above. I pray that we will all allow Scripture and the Holy Spirit to challenge our understanding of worship as is appropriate.

Why do you come on Sundays? In our culture, increasingly many people don’t, even if they consider themselves Christians. For those who do regularly come, their motivations can vary greatly. For some, it is time with friends. For others, it is the habit of their lives, long instilled by parents or grandparents. For others, it is an act of obedience. If I’m honest all three of these reasons have motivated me at different times in my life. Clearly, God calls us to worship and the act of sacrificing time and attention to God is an act of obedience. The simple answer to the question of why gather with other Christians on Sunday is to worship God.

The next question then is what do we mean by worship? You may not know, but the phrase ‘worship service’ actually never occurs in Scripture. Perhaps that’s one reason so many people are fuzzy on just what worship means. This may also be why what we call ‘worship’ varies so greatly from congregation to congregation and denomination to denomination. While we don’t see ‘worship service’ in Scripture what we do see over and over again is the concept of worship as service. In the passage above, St. Paul famously says the offering of ourselves (our life – time, talent, finances, attention, etc.) to God is our spiritual act of worship. This means that we gather for worship not primarily for what we get out of Church but for what God gets out of it. Are we coming to Church offering ourselves in service to God?

Now of course, whenever we give of our time, talent, and attention to God, we receive rich blessings back, no question. But the temptation of worship will always be to focus on the reward, asking“what am I getting out of this?” before asking, “what am I offering to God?”

In order to aid in the preparation of ourselves to enter into true worship (service to God), I am going to begin introducing a five minute rule before our service. At 7:55 and 9:25 the Celebrant will welcome the congregation and invite each of us to quiet our conversations and prepare ourselves to offer worship to God. The clergy, chalice bearers, and acolytes will lead in this preparation, so we would ask you to refrain from talking with them during this five minutes. My hope is that our intentional actions will aid in our entering into worship. After all, isn’t that what we come for?

In Christ,

Alex +

We Are Of Those Who Have Faith

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

but-we-are-not-of-those-who-shrink-back-and-are-destroyed-but-of-those-who-have-faith-and-preserve-their-souls

Dear Servants of Christ,

Years ago when we started Servants of Christ, we adopted the phrase Semper Gumby, which means “Always Flexible.” As a community we value and have certainly tested the limits of this phrase with the changes in music, furniture, service times, landlord, capital campaign, etc. The latest challenge, and for some the most formidable, has been the loss of air conditioning which we experienced over the last two weeks. Our landlord worked proactively to get our air conditioning fixed. I assure you it was working this morning, praise God! The fact that I had to come to staff meeting Tuesday to really know how bad it was at the service September 11th is a testament to this congregation’s ability to be long-suffering. You never cease to amaze me.

While away that Sunday, Jody and I were participating in our good friend Jim Hobby’s consecration in Pittsburgh. Appropriately, the preacher at the service spoke about the witness of St. Cyprian, who was martyred! He didn’t suggest that Jim would have a similar fate thankfully, but was quick to add that all who take the office of Bishop in our day must be prepared to suffer. His Biblical text was Genesis 39:21, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Sobering thoughts, but if you know Fr. Jim Hobby, this was a sermon he might preach himself. One of Jim’s famous sayings is, “we will either send our children to the nations as missionaries, or our grandchildren will go as slaves.” Please pray for Bishop Jim as he begins his episcopal ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.

In our Vestry meeting Tuesday night, it was suggested that these obstacles/difficulties are only to be expected given the fact that we know God’s people always have an enemy seeking to discourage or if possible defeat the people of God. I share this with you so you may rejoice in the godly leadership the Lord has given us on Vestry and to know that we are about seeking God’s purposes in all our efforts as a parish. Hebrews 10:39 above encourages me as I write this article because I’m reminded that the call of Christ is to endure by faith, knowing that God will strengthen us in the time of trial. We as your leadership are determined to remain in the city and to reflect the love of Christ as best we can. This has been reaffirmed year after year in our Vestry.

At our parish meeting back in August I shared what we are seeking for permanent home:

Property in the City of Gainesville
A minimum of 3 acres (willing to consider undeveloped) and 10,000 sq. ft.
A purchase price of $1 million ($100 per sq. ft.)

As the phrase goes, “if you see something, say something.” Each of you should be in prayer and actively looking for our permanent facility. In the meantime, we are thankful for the temporary quarters we have with Newberry Community Christian School and we recommit ourselves to persevere in the face of trials.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +

Meeting Together

Posted on Sep 7, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Dear Servants,

Let me try and recap the last week and a half. August 28th we had an excellent parish meeting following our combined 9:00am service where the congregation heard updates on our facility search and the financial strength of our parish, and we shared about the experience of a summer combined service. I will say this was probably one of the best congregation discussions I think we have ever attempted. Thanks to all of you who sought to “understand before you were understood.” Mid-week we all began preparing for the hurricane winds and rain projected for Thursday night and Friday morning. Many households lost power but are now restored. The power outage didn’t prevent our Vestry from having a day retreat at the Nancarrow farm on Saturday (thanks Rob and Glenn), which proved very productive. Then we all gathered once again as a congregation on Sunday morning for a joint Ordination/Baptism service. Dr. James Manley was ordained to the priesthood, and six young men ranging in age from thirty-three years to seven weeks were baptized. Did I miss anything? Of course, we have to add all the craziness of our individual and family lives during that same period.

Adding to this already busy time, Jody and I will travel to Pittsburgh for the Consecration of Jim Hobby as the new Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh this Saturday, September 10th. Please keep Jim and Shari and the entire diocese in your prayers as they prepare for this important moment. Please support our new priest, James Manley, as he preaches and celebrates at both our 8:00am and 9:30am services. Yes, you read that correctly, 8:00am and 9:30am services.

I know that some probably suspected that we would continue the one combined service. After hearing from you at the parish meeting, discussing with the staff and Vestry, along with much prayer, I believe this is the best course of action. We will offer both a quiet, spoken service at 8:00am, and then encourage as many as can to participate in our main service at 9:30am. It is my belief that we would all benefit from engaging in a combined service where we are truly multi-generational and learn to worship together. However, I realize that for some of our congregation, offering just this one service a week would be a real hardship. Christian charity demands that we not forget those few for the majority. I’m hoping that with an early option which will need to be shorter and without music, and the main service now adjusted to 9:30am, we will meet almost everyone’s spiritual need. Here is how our morning will look starting this week:

8:00-8:45 Spoken Service

8:30-9:15 Music Team Practice (starting in B-3)

8:45-9:15 Fellowship time

9:20-9:30 Quiet Prelude to Worship

9:30-11:00 Main Service with Music

There are plans to add back our Adult Sunday School once we have the services fine-tuned. There will also be the opportunity for Q&A with the preacher or other conversation after the 9:30am service. But you will hear more about that later this fall.

I apologize for the short notice of these changes, but to hear from the congregation and leadership, this decision was delayed. As always, please feel free to contact me directly if you have concerns.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +

4 Things to Consider For Sunday

Posted on Aug 26, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it, many become defiled.” Hebrews 12:15

“Let brotherly love continue.” Hebrews 13:1

Dear Servants,

On Sunday, we will gather as a Church family for our fall Parish Update Meeting. This gathering six months from the annual meeting began years ago in an attempt to increase communication in the parish and to give the congregation a time to voice hopes and concerns to the leadership of the parish. As always, with the sharing of our different options and perspectives, there is the danger that someone will take offense. If we cannot be honest with one another, we are not truly in a loving relationship. The writer of Hebrews, which has been our New Testament reading for the last few weeks, reminds us to seek peace and holiness and to emphasize the grace of God so that a root of bitterness does not spring up. I have complete confidence that we will once again come together, seeking the Lord’s guidance in our life as a congregation.

In preparation for this meeting, I would ask you to think about a couple of issues facing our parish:

The Vestry continues to explore possible facilities for the congregation. One property that has come to our attention formerly housed Highlands Presbyterian Church on the northeast side of town. As you pray about where Servants is to make its permanent home, what excites or concerns you about us pursuing the purchase of those buildings?

What concerns or excites you about the congregation pursuing the purchase of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church’s property?

What have been the benefits of our combined 9:00am service this summer? And what have been some of the costs and sacrifices of this combined service?

As you think about the next three years in the life of Servants of Christ (beyond a facility) what do you see as the needed ministry priority of this congregation?

If you would be more comfortable, please feel free to write down answers to any or all of the above and email to me personally: alex@servantsanglican.org.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +

Thanks for your prayers

Posted on Aug 17, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Eugene Peterson, the author of the Message Bible translation, says in one of his books that he loves how a gathering of the Church calls us to prayer, whether we want to or not. Recall from our liturgy how often we hear, ‘Let us pray.’ It is not a question but a call to prayer – regardless of our feelings or disposition. Last Sunday at Servants was, for me, a day of living out the power of this truth. I had just come off my week of vacation in Saint Augustine Beach. The only thing negative about a week at the beach is that you always wish you had another week, right? And yet, we are called to gather and pray. I’m so glad I was there.

What did God want to say to us? Remember, prayer is not just our talking to God, but listening, in order to hear from Him. Jason Dampier preached God’s word, we acknowledged the growth of our children in our Bible presentations to four rising 4th through 6th graders, and Samantha Farmer shared with the congregation about her time on the World Race. Our liturgy and music provided a context for the sharing, ending in the Eucharist. But the power of all these elements was in the context of the Church.

Who “we” are in Christ is far greater than you or me individually as Christians. As Paul expresses in Colossians above, I am abounding in thanksgiving for the ways I see the Body of Christ at work. Led by the Holy Spirit, ministry teams, Community Groups, and men and women’s study groups minister to one another and newcomers. The Body of Christ is called to minister to one another, and that is happening all over our community at Servants. But even beyond our community, many of us from Servants saw Camp Araminta function powerfully as the Body of Christ. The Camp once again grew by 22% and God provided caring adults to lead a team of 41 high schoolers ministering to 141 campers! We have so much to be thankful for this summer.

My prayer is that we continue to “walk in Christ” as Paul calls us to do, rooted and built up. I shared these verses on Sunday before the Bible presentation to our kids. Walking in Christ is both following in Jesus’ teachings (walking with Christ), but also involves seeking the mind of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (being in Christ). How do we do this? It starts by gathering together on and away from Sundays. Who are you gathering with this week? Hope to see you Sunday as we celebrate our Lord Jesus and strengthen our ministry partnership in Christ.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +

Prayer Requests for Upcoming Parish Events:

Parish Meeting August 28th, where we will discuss our future
September 3rd Vestry Retreat for strategic planning
September 4th Ordination of James Manley and Baptisms
September 10th Consecration of Jim Hobby as Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh

Rest & Reflection

Posted on Jul 7, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

I hope all of you are finding ways to stay out of the heat during this heatwave. I know you have been blessed by the preaching of James Manley during my time of vacation. James is the feature of this blog, so I’ve included one of my favorite James pictures. I trust you have also been encouraged by our sermon series in Galatians. I was reminded just last week on my vacation how important it is to read an entire book of the Bible in context so as not to misinterpret a particular verse of Scripture. I also appreciation your warm welcome for The Rev. Gordon Green a few weeks back. Gordon is the InterVarsity Graduate worker at UF as well as an Anglican priest. I was grateful for Gordon’s willingness to preach during my visit to Christ Fellowship. I bring you greetings from our mission congregation who recently raised enough funds to pay off their small facility north of High Springs. Praise God! Finally, big thanks to all the volunteer workers who made our Vacation Bible School such a success this year with a total of forty six children participating.

For most of us, summer is a time to rest and enjoy recreation, in addition to spending time with family and friends. It can also be a time of reflection over the year. I realize it’s only July, but for many of us, we tend to think in terms of an academic year: September through May. It is with this thought of reflection and review that we as a Church have agreed to participate in the online survey from Remissioning. Thanks to all those who have already responded to this online survey. If you haven’t yet but intended to, there is still time and it takes only 20 minutes to complete. Check your email for a message titled “Servants Parish Survey” (one email was sent to each household, so don’t worry if you don’t see it). The responses to that survey will be helpful for our Vestry Retreat Scheduled for September 3rd.

If you haven’t heard, Sunday, September 4th will be a great celebration for the parish as Deacon James, our bearded monk from North Marion County, will be ordained to the priesthood, finally! I know you rejoice with me in this ordination as we have all been blessed through the years by James’ sermons, teachings, and theological reflections. Some have asked if his ordination will mean that James is leaving the parish. Let me say clearly: no. James is our theologian in residence, and there are no plans to change that. He will continue his vocation as a professor at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, as well as this new vocation to the priesthood. Please be in prayer for James and Leann at the time of this ordination.

As you continue to enjoy the summer months traveling and on vacation, please lift up our Church leadership as we seek a permanent facility and our whole congregation committed to serving Christ faithfully in Gainesville. It’s essential that we all remember our tithes and capital campaign commitments through the summer months. For convenience when out of town, remember our you can give online through the website here or through Facebook here – or even download our app and select Give from the menu.

For those who are in town, I look forward to being with you on Sunday as we worship the Lord in Word and Sacrament for our combined 9am Service.

Laboring For The Common Good

Posted on Jul 1, 2016 in Blog, Guest Blogger, Onward and Upward |

In our Prayers of the People, what does it mean to “labor for the common good,” and how would that “reflect the Kingdom of God”? Here is only a short blog-length partial answer to the question, but it may get us started. Follow a couple of lines of thought here and see if we don’t spiral upward into understanding at least part of the answer to the question. SM-Confirmation2015-9285

Imagine going to the doctor’s office with an illness. The doctor sees you, writes a prescription, and you feel well in a couple of days. Clearly, this was one person laboring for one person’s good (the doctor worked to make you better).

You can see how, patient after patient and day after day, the doctor labors for the good of others, for the “common good.” (That was easy.)

But now imagine going to the doctor’s office. Cabinets on the wall keep the things the doctor needs organized. Someone worked to install those cabinets. They were made of wood from someone’s timber lot somewhere. Some logging crew came in and took those trees out. They used trucks manufactured somewhere by someone to carry the logs to a sawmill. Oil – maybe from a well in Kazakhstan, worked by those in our least-reached people group – keeps the chainsaws and trucks and sawmill works moving smoothly. Those cabinets are covered with a synthetic veneer to make disinfecting them easier and limit infecting already sick people. Who worked in the plant making that veneer? Who made the adhesive to hold it to the wood of the cabinets? What chemist ensures that the disinfecting fluid is properly manufactured so that it kills the germs it is supposed to? Who wipes down the cabinets with the disinfectant? Who made the sponges used to wipe them down? Who drove the truck carrying the sponges to the place where they were purchased? Who was the cashier that rang up the order? The doctor writes the prescription on a paper pad (we are imaging back in the old days, OK?). Who made the pencil? (Read here for that story – it may amaze you!) The doctor said, “I want you to take three pills every day for a week” and wrote a prescription for 21 pills. Who was the third grade teacher that made that little 8-year-old future doctor learn the “3 times table”? Do you see how all those people labored to create a situation where patients can find a cure? They labored for the common good. (That was pretty easy, too.)

Now, what is reflecting the coming Kingdom of God about all of that? (Those of us who grew up with an Evangelical background may be dismayed that no one so far has gotten saved!) Well, think about what the prophets said about the coming Kingdom of God. Among so many other things, it will be a place of prosperity where people and communities flourish.

Do you notice that at each of the stages of production or service where different parts of the doctor’s office came together, everyone made a little bit of money? Politicians can argue about what policies have what effect on the process, but it is very basic economic wisdom that families and communities flourish when goods and services are produced and move rapidly through society. All those people were employed productively, not only providing goods or services that ended up creating a healing environment for patients but also providing support for their own families and the dignity that comes from working to support themselves and those they love.

Perhaps thinking about this makes you wonder if each of the workers was treated fairly. Were any treated unjustly? What could we do to remedy that injustice?

And maybe thinking even briefly about people creating a more flourishing community where they are treated with justice makes us think about – and yearn for – the coming Kingdom of God.

And all we have dealt with have been the two issues of economic productivity and economic justice – we barely made a dent in answering the question! There is so much more to be said – maybe later.

Be blessed in your daily work this week,

James

James Manley is a deacon at Servants of Christ. James holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Florida and is a professor of the humanities at the College of Central Florida in Ocala. He has taught at 6 colleges and seminaries in the United States and East Africa. Along the way he worked as a janitor, a grocery store clerk, a warehouse packer, a shipping inspector, a print shop assistant, a library periodicals technician, an acoustic ceiling tile scrubber, a shepherd, a goatherd, a swineherd, a recruitment specialist for an international development firm, a tomato harvester, a mechanic’s assistant, a vicar of a tiny Anglican parish, and a pine tree farmer. He works evenings and weekends as grill cook and bartender at Leann’s Place in beautiful Fairfield, Florida.

VBS: So Much More Than Fun

Posted on Jun 22, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward |

Vacation Bible School is finally here! Please be praying for Kim Harris and her team as they minister to all the children God will bring to VBS this week starting Sunday evening, June 26. The reason we do VBS is that we take seriously Jesus’ call to children to be his disciples, just as Jesus commands us in the verse adjacent.

How do we disciple children? First, we share with them the truth of God’s word. Second, we communicate what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus through the witness of adult Christians that work with them. Third, we share with them a community of Jesus followers, who enjoy God and one another. It was in a VBS in Atlanta when I was eight years old that I learned the verse John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” I’m forever grateful to the folks that put on that VBS so I could learn this life-changing truth.

Discipling our children is a daunting challenge in our culture today. We are committed to walking alongside parents and saying, “this is your God-given responsibility, but you need not face the challenge alone.” This year we are trying out a one-week long format: Sunday through Thursday evening. We will then have a big VBS Celebration at Westside pool on Friday afternoon from 4pm to 7pm.

So what about you? Are you serious about seeing children grow in discipleship? What family do you need to invite to Vacation Bible School Sunday evening? See you there.

Alex +

P.S. Remember, the Joint 9 am Service starts this Sunday!

Back to Gainesville

Posted on Jun 16, 2016 in Blog, Onward and Upward | Tags: Appalachian Trail, AT, bulletin, combined service, Gainesville, James, James Manley, joint service, mourn, Orlando, pew bibles, staff, vestry

I’ve just returned from my yearly hike along the Appalachian Trail. There’s nothing like climbing mountains all day, searching for water and hoping you have enough food to make it all week to realize how blessed my life is here in good old Gainesville! We covered 75 miles in five days including our conclusion over Roan Mountain State Park in Tennessee. Thanks for your prayers.

Upon my return to the outside world, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic shooting in Orlando. We mourn with those who mourn and pray God’s peace to be with the survivors and families who lost loved ones. Next week I will be in Orlando with a good friend and Church leader. I will find out if there is anything we can do as a congregation to support our brothers and sisters in Orlando.

Despite that tragic news, I’m back refreshed and ready to serve the Lord through another summer of ministry. Vacation Bible School is just around the corner (June 26 – 31st) and then in July (July 18 – 23) we will have the eleventh year of Camp Araminta. Many of you enjoy supporting campers who otherwise could not attend this diocesan camp for discipleship and Christian community. In early July, there will be an opportunity to give once again to this worthy cause.

Before I conclude, I do want to say a word about the changes coming over the next few weeks in our service. As most of you know by now, our leadership (Staff and Vestry) have decided to go to a joint 9 AM service from June 26th through August 14th. There were a lot of compelling reasons to try a combined service over the summer; low attendance, the possible need for one service if we acquire a new space, conservation of human resources during the summer, interest within the congregation to try a combined service. Ultimately, I made the decision to give it a try because I felt both our 8 AM and 10:30 AM services would benefit spiritually from the interaction of the two congregations. Only a few of us travel between the two services and know the quality of folks in each service. I think each of us will have an opportunity for growth in discipleship as the two congregations share in corporate worship this summer. I realize that for a few this is a huge inconvenience and I have attempted to talk to those persons individually. Also, I’m excited to tell you some changes are coming to our bulletin, which will enhance worship in invite guests to participate more fully. James Manley has added some historical context to our liturgical elements to instruct the congregation. Last, we will also be adding new ESV Bibles in the pews and encouraging the Church to read the Scriptures of our service from those Bibles or their own. I am thrilled that we will all get to know the Bible and our liturgy in more depth.

I realize that all these changes may not be exciting to everyone. I promise that we have made these decisions prayerfully, and in hope that all we do supports our core purpose of making disciples, learning to do all that Jesus said. Join us on Sunday as we continue this journey together.

Onward and Upward,

Alex +