In Spirit and Truth

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." —3 John 1:4 The Fourth of July is quickly approaching. It is one of my very favorite times of the year. Although for me the fourth doesn't evoke pictures of grand fireworks displays or patriotic concerts (though I greatly enjoy both), rather, when I think of the fourth I am transported in my mind to a place hundreds of feet below the surface of the "caprock" in north west Texas. Here, on this week, in a small branch of the Palo Duro Canyon, some three hundred 4th & 5th graders assemble to meet with God. This camp, not unlike our own district camps, is a ministry of the United Methodist Church which reaches out not only to kids in conference churches, but also to those for whom camp is their first exposure to church or God. In my 32 brief years of life, I have spent 27 of them attending this camp. In that time, I have witnessed countless children (many of them now adults) receive

"Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." —Acts 11:25-26 The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. But those who coined the phrase weren't being complimentary. It was something akin to "Goody-two-shoes." Strictly translated, Christian means "Little-Christ." What the people of Antioch meant as a jab, the disciples adopted as a motto. Paul spent a good portion of his writings dealing with the concept of being the body of Christ; on submitting our hands and feet to the will of Christ. I have heard lots of discussion recently on what it means to be a good Christian. The answer is quite simple. Be a little Christ. In everything you do, strive to look like Christ. Love. Love the Lord your God will all… and Love your neighbor as yourself. That&

The sound is deafening. Metal against stone; earth against earth. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. Chisel wins the battle and a hunk of rock flies off the stone and skitters across the floor. The stonemason stops for a moment to examine his work. Any flaw left in the stone will not only effect the aesthetics of the building, but will effect every stone placed after it, and could effect the strength of the building. This stone must fit with the angles of the cornerstone, or it is of no use in the building. The strong, calloused hands of the stonemason brush away the grit left over from the last few blows of the chisel, revealing a few more jagged edges and bumps that must be smoothed away. And so the stonemason picks up his hammer and chisel and continues to work. He will work on this stone until it is smooth; until it fits into the plans he has for the building. When he is finished, he will lift the stone into place, and there it will support the weight of the roof, and protec

"Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised." —Psalm 113:1-3 I had the great honor this past week to attend a day of Annual Conference. It was such a privilege to interact with clergy and laity from all over the state. There was a strong sense of oneness as people from different walks of life, and different geographies came together and declared their unity of purpose—to make disciples. The most exciting aspects of Annual Conference, from my perspective, were time times we gathered together in worship. Each time we joined our voices in song, or creed, or responsive reading, I was amazed at the sheer volume of it. Those "servants of the Lord" who had gathered together, were praising God with every bit of volume they could muster. In the front of our United Methodist Hymnal (for