Plymouth First United Methodist Church

Dean’s Musings . . . “Good to the last . . .”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:03:30 +0000

Some of us remember when Maxwell House Coffee used “Good to the last drop” as their tag line on their cans of coffee. I never drank coffee (and still don’t), and yet I remember this line. It seems to me that another way to express it is to say “Good to the end.” There are a lot of products that are good to the end . . . there are a lot of people that are the same way—good to the end.

Paul put it this way in II Timothy 4:7:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. “

This should be what we all strive for; unfortunately, too many miss the mark . . . they come up short. The worst part is that they give up and quit trying because they fail in some way. Our Lord is the one who perfects us—not we ourselves. We will never be perfect by our own accord; therefore, we should not get discouraged by our shortcomings. We need to pick ourselves up emotionally and spiritually, allow the Lord to transform us, and go at it again.

We, too, will be able to echo the words of II Timothy 4:7 when we reach the end of our days knowing that it is not us but Christ Jesus in us who makes us worthy of finishing the course of life [Galatians 2:20: “and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”]. Run as though your life depended on it, because it does!

Dean’s Musings . . . “Being Good Followers”

Pastor Dean — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:13:03 +0000

George Barna, in his book entitled Seven Faith Tribes, describes the crisis our country is in at the present time and why. He points out that one of the problems we face today is the loss of civility. We categorize and vilify those with whom we disagree. We also tend to be a nation of leaders (in one of his surverys, six out of every ten Americans consider themselves leaders) . . . but not necessarily good followers. George Barna says the following on pages 130 and 131 of his book:

“If there is a paucity, of effective leadership, as I suggest we suffer from today, it is not because the nation lacks men and women sufficiently gifted as leaders but because the followers who empower individuals to lead have made bad choices. . . . America’s restoration depends largely on the quality of followership that you and I and our fellow citizens provide.”

Barna, then, lists what he considers to be the “twelve commitments of great followers.” These are as follows:

1. Know what you’re looking for in a leader

2. Live and die for the vision

3. Refuse to settle for anything but the best

4. Provide constructive feedback

5. Hold leaders to the highest reasonable standards—and expect them to do the same with you

6. Always place community interest above self-interest

7. Be proud of your leaders

8. Become a great team player

9. Perform your duties with excellence

10. Add value all the time

11. Focus on the future

12. Keep growing personally

Just as our nation needs great followers, so does our church. Be a great follower!

Dean’s Musings . . . “The Lifesaving Station”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:13:58 +0000

Here is a great parable that I received several years ago. I do not know who wrote it, but it expresses what happens to many churches who forget what their purpose is. It should be a reminder to all of us regarding our calling.

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for their safety they went out day and night, tirelessly rescuing the lost. Many lives were saved, so the station became famous.

Some of those who were saved, along with others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station. They gave of their time, money and effort for the support of the work. New boats where bought, new crews were trained, and the lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided, so they replaced the emergency cots and beds and put better furniture in a new, larger building.

Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do the work.

The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club’s decorations, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the lifesaving activity because they thought it was a hindrance and unpleasant to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted on lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out they were still a lifesaving station after all. They were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of various kinds of people shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast, which they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that coast today, you’ll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent, but most of the people drown.

Dean’s Musings . . . “What We Believe . . .”

Pastor Dean — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:18:16 +0000

We United Methodists have a lot of things going for us—not the least of which is name recognition. Garrison Keillor put the following humorous description together.

You will know you are Methodist when:

It’s 100 degrees, with 90% humidity, and you still have coffee after the service.
You hear something funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can.
Donuts are a line item in the church budget just like coffee.
When you watch a Star Wars movie and they say, “May the Force be with you,” and you respond, “and also with you.”
And lastly, you’ll know you’ve been in the presence of Methodists if it takes ten minutes to say good-bye!

This is truer than we would probably like to admit. It reminds us that we are a relational church rather than a doctrinal church (relationships are more important than strict adherence to rules) . . . but, the fact is, we are a church of beliefs. We United Methodists inherited the Articles of Religion (from the former Methodist Church) and the Confession of Faith (from the former Evangelical United Brethren Church). These, together, form the historic doctrines by which we live.

Article VII of the Confession of Faith says the following:

“We believe man is fallen from righteousness and apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. In his own strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.”

Christianity is not a “do-it-yourself” faith. We are helpless without the grace of Jesus Christ. It is not what we do, but what he does in us and through us that matters.

Dean’s Musings . . . “The World is a Nasty Place”

Pastor Dean — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:23:23 +0000

I am aware of the generosity of so many people—people who step forward when disasters strike. I am also aware of the dark side of humanity. A new term has entered my vocabulary this morning: “internet trolls.” If you are not familiar with the term, it refers to persons who scan the internet looking for stories concerning death and pain in families’ lives. The person then sends anonymous e-mails or posts nasty comments on socially interactive sites that are meant to cause the grieving loved ones more pain. A social psychologist says that these “internet trolls” want to get a reaction from their victims. Often these people have no connection to the person who has died whatsoever; in fact, they may be half way around the world. The fact that they can do this using the internet means that they will.

I am reminded of the cruel words hurled at Jesus as he hung on the cross. The Gospel of Matthew records the cruelty from several sources:

(1) the soldiers mocked and tortured him (27:27-31)

(2) the bandits who were killed with him made fun of him (27:38-40, & 44)

(3) the chief priest and his group taunted him (27:41-43)

All of this had to hurt Jesus emotionally. Few people are immune to hateful, nasty words. The old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me” is not true. Jesus, however, did not reply in kind; he offered them forgiveness (he asked God to forgive them—but they had to accept that forgiveness).

If something terrible happened to a family member and I began to receive hateful nasty comments about my loved one, I don’t know if I could be as forgiving as Jesus . . . I only pray that I could. May God help us to rise above the evil of this world to reflect the glory of the world to come.

HAPPY EASTER!

Dean’s Musings . . . “It’s That Season . . .”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:44:02 +0000

“¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . .” so begins the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. We understand seasons—right now we are in the season of “March Madness.” I am looking forward to Friday which is my day off because there will be “wall-to-wall” college basketball games. I only worry that I, as a college basketball junkie, might get an overload. It is so much fun picking a team to root for each game (most of whom I have either never heard of or simply know nothing about).

Within a couple days we will enter another season: spring. When we reach the vernal equinox, we start feeling safe from winter weather; oh, there can still be snow storms now-and-then, but they are few and far between. There is hope—actually confidence—that good weather has finally arrived for good (until fall arrives).

There is yet another season we are in: the season of “in between.” Lent is such a season. It recognizes that we are on our way, but we have not arrived yet. The victory’s just around the corner, but can’t be marked up just yet. It is the day between Good Friday and Easter; there is a work in progress, but it has not been completed yet.

Many of us know the feeling as it relates to our personal lives. We are in transition . . . haven’t quite left the old, but haven’t arrived at the new yet. This can mean many things: it can refer to changes in our health; in can refer to our employment; it can refer to our relationships. Obviously, for me it refers to the change of appointments from Plymouth to Logansport. As the wallpaper of my computer I have chosen a picture of Logansport First United Methodist Church to remind me of my next destination . . . but I haven’t finished my work here in Plymouth.

Isaiah 43:19 says this:

¹⁹ I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

God is doing a new thing . . . it’s in process; we simply must trust that it is wonderful, for indeed, it is!

Dean’s Musings . . . “Let There Be Light . . .”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:58:16 +0000

“¹In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” [Genesis 1:1-5]

Light is such an essential ingredient for life as we know it. Yes, there are forms of life that need total darkness, but these are exceptions not the rule. Light is so crucial to life that God created light as the very first act.

I don’t know about you, but I was thrilled when the calendar turned from February to March . . . and the sun came out . . . and the temperature warmed up. I found my attitude improving and my spirit to be far more optimistic. The psalmist compared God to the sun in terms of life-giving properties.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the LORD withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

¹² O LORD of hosts,

happy is everyone who trusts in you. [Psalm 84:11 & 12]

Jesus is called “son” which, when spoken, could be spelled “s-u-n”. He too has essential life-giving properties. Without the “Son” there is no spiritual life; it comes through him.

As you rejoice in the increasing sunshine and warm temperatures, rejoice even more in the life you have possible because Jesus is the “S-o-n.”

Dean’s Musings . . . “He Who Laughs . . .”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:40:01 +0000

“He who laughs last, laughs best” is an old saying that many of us have heard. Here’s what I found out about that proverb:

Meaning:
The winner is the one who is ahead at the end of the game

Background:
Like so many, this proverb has been traced to John Heywood’s 1546 book of proverbs, the second collection he edited on the subject. Many variations exist including ‘a last laugh is the best laugh’, he who laughs last, laughs longest, he who weeps least, weeps best, and so on.

This comes from Bookbrowse.com after a google search. I couldn’t help but think of the USA-Canada gold medal finals in men’s hockey. The jubilation of each goal was thunderous. In the end, however, it was the celebration by the Canadians in overtime that mattered because it came with the victory.

Jesus said, “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” [Mark 10:31]. Our state or condition in this life does not tell the final story . . . it is how things turn out in eternity that truly matters. When we trust in Jesus Christ as our savior, then we are declared winners—nothing can take that away from us.

During this time of uncertainty, we who have placed our trust in Jesus can be certain of this: we are heaven-bound . . . we are gold medal winners in the race of life!

Dean’s Musings . . . “the Tiger Woods Syndrome”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:48:26 +0000

The tabloids are full of “Tiger Woods” stories these days—of course, so are the mainstream newspapers and television news programs. The jury is still out as to whether or not the public will accept his apology issued during his tightly controlled press conference. The word that stuck out in my mind as I listened to excerpts of the broadcast was that of “entitled.” Tiger Woods felt that his hard work and fame as a golfer had entitled him to all the pleasures that he desired. The reason this word stood out for me in the broadcast is because people who would never think of cheating on their spouses, nor commit other major moral lapses, view themselves as “entitled.”

Television commercials scream “entitlement” every time use such phrases as “you’ve earned it.” This has become the new sales pitch for most of the last decade because psychologists have discovered that Americans want to feel like they deserve the “good life” . . . but have we? To what are we entitled?

Jesus had a number of sayings regarding this issue:

“But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” [Matthew 19:30]

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.^” [Matthew 6:24]

“whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; ²⁸just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20:26b-28]

I could go on with yet other passages because Jesus proclaimed a counter-culture Gospel (“good news”). He paid attention to the least, the last, and the lost, and at points, heaped scorn on the “top dogs” of his society.

You and I must work to root out the notion of entitlement that has been subtly instilled in us by our culture. If we do not, then our ruin will be just as sure as that of Tiger Woods. I pray that his confession and contrition were genuine . . . for so ours must be.

Dean’s Musings . . . “Ashes . . .”

Pastor Dean — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:12:38 +0000

The nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie” has some interesting lines in it. They read like this:

Ring around the rosey,
A pocketful of posies.
ashes, ashes.
We all fall down.

“Many have associated the poem with the Great Plague of London in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this; by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in the United Kingdom. Peter and Iona Opie remark: “The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final fatal symptom , and ‘all fall down’ was exactly what happened.” The line Ashes, Ashes in alternative versions of the rhyme is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims’ houses, or blackening of their skin, and the theory has been adapted to be applied to other versions of the rhyme, or other plagues. In its various forms, the interpretation has entered into popular culture and has been used elsewhere to make oblique reference to the plague.” [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, “Ring a Ring o’ Roses”]

No matter what its origin, the idea of using ashes cannot be positive. Ashes are what remain after something—or someone—is burned. It symbolizes the return of something complex back into its basic state. It is part of the traditional committal service at the graveside. “. . . we therefore commit his/her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust . . .”

The purpose of Ash Wednesday is to bring home the reality of our mortality. We live in a culture that wants to deny death (the goal of funeral preparation is to make the person look life-like). We glorify youth and staying young. This is not, however reality; for, all will die. The sooner we confront this fact, the sooner we can be comforted by the love of Jesus Christ that will restore our life through our resurrection. Jesus said this, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” [John 14:27]