Dirt & Discipleship

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'” 

~Matthew 28:16-20~

"Though few and small and weak your bands, strong in your Captain's strength, go to the conquest of all lands; all must be his at length."
~James Montgomery ("Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Gates of Brass")~

There are a few words that cause shivers to run down the spines of Non-Christians and Christians alike. One of those words is evangelism.  Once heard, these five syllables often evoke an array of negative feelings. This word has become, what some might call, "dirty." Because of certain actions and groups attached to it, many have chosen to simply remove it from their vocabulary. 

But, what is Christianity without evangelism? How are we to live out the Great Commission, if not by being evangelists? Jesus told us to "make disciples of all nations," how can we do this without preaching, declaring, and proclaiming the Gospel (the very definition of evangelism)?

When we think about what keeps us from evangelizing, one thing comes to mind: fear. We fear that we'll be rejected, that we'll say the wrong thing, and that we won't have all of the answers. We can reduce this fear by examining Christ's words and discerning what we've truly been commissioned to do.

William Barclay points out that, in speaking these last words (Matthew 28:16-20), Jesus did three things: 1)He assured His disciples of His power, 2)He gave them a commission (to spread the Word), and 3)He promised them a presence (the Holy Spirit). 

Too often we forget the third thing and try to take the Holy Spirit's work into our own hands. We are called to be Christ's hands and feet, however, this means that we are to care for His people, share His message, and live righteously. This does not mean that we are responsible for converting people; we provide the tools, it's God who does the sculpting and changing.


Last Thursday a small group from UUMC made our way to Juarez to work with Proyecto Abrigo. We were on a mission: we were going to help build a house for a family, and more importantly, we were there to form relationships and serve as a catalyst to relationship with God. We returned Sunday evening with hearts fulfilled, spirits renewed, and understanding increased.

The nine of us showed up ready to work. We were anxious to get our hands dirty doing things like sifting sand, mixing cement and mortar, and laying bricks. We certainly had ample opportunity to do all of these things, but on the first day we were met with something most of us did not expect: waiting. Due to a sand truck's delayed arrival, we spent the first few hours of our work day, not working. 

God had a great plan for us. Instead of using this time to dwell on how useless we felt, we seized the opportunity to spark conversations, play some games, and improve our Spanish-speaking skills. 

Break time selfie with three of the sweetest kids in the world.

Pastor Randall practicing for the real thing.

Coming from our monochronic, constantly moving way of life, it would have been simple to get frustrated, but God's Spirit was with us, keeping us on mission--on His mission. Not to say that we didn't try to rush/strain ourselves sometimes, we most certainly did, but in those moments, God would speak to us in the easy-going voice of one of our maestro's, Jesus ("Chuy"), saying "take it easy." 

Jesus ("Chuy") showing us how it's done.

A few hard-working men.

Chuy gave sound advice, not just for mixing concrete, but for living the Great Commission as well.  The Kingdom is imminent, but not rushed. Having a proper understanding of our role in it all helps to be able to settle into this concept. We are witness, we are hands, we are not saviors and redeemers.   

Often our actions better serve to proclaim Christ than do our words (in Juarez, that's the only way many of us could communicate). Being an evangelist doesn't require us to convert people; we don't have to stand on street corners and hand out tracts; being an evangelist means living our lives in such a way that makes "nonbelievers question their disbelief in God" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

So, what do you think? Are you an evangelist? Do people look to you and say, "wow! who is this God that brings such joy?"

Small is the New Big

...if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. ~Isaiah 58:10-11

The Christian walk is a walk that follows in the steps of our Lord, Jesus. We follow Jesus, not just because He is our God and Savior, but because He was a man as well--a man "who in every respect has been tempted as we are" (Hebrews 4:15). This means He understands us in such a profound way: as one who has lived like us and who is our God and Creator. 

Jesus is perfect humanity. This is why we strive to be like Him.

Following the practices that Jesus followed is one way to grow closer to Him and to become more like Him. One of those practices, which often gets overlooked in contemporary church society, is fasting. This practice has been neglected mainly because many believe it to be irrelevant. But the truth is not that it no longer applies to us, rather that its heart, its core purpose, has been lost to us. 

Fasting can be tricky. When we notice it mentioned in the Bible it's usually because it's being done incorrectly. Too often, when we fast we do it for the wrong reasons. For example, some fast for the sake of ritual, but this is narrow and often makes it empty and meaningless. Others do it for the sake of deprivation with the goal of discipline, but this view is limiting as well. 

The heart of fasting is much deeper and more complex than we care to realize.

There are many reasons to fast: to seek out God's voice, to humble ourselves, or to tame our temptations. Another reason to fast, that is present throughout Scripture, is to appeal to God--not just on one's own behalf, but on the behalf of others--for social justice.

Isaiah 58 tells us about the proper way to fast. This scripture also makes it abundantly clear that God calls those who have to care for those who have not. Where we live, most of us fall into the "those who have" category. Even when strapped for cash or without work completely, few of us know what it's like to really be without.

This weekend the Youth of University United Methodist Church joined the fight to feed the hungry by participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. Nine middle school and high school kids (plus a few brave adults) stayed at the church for one day and two nights, fasting, praying, learning, playing, and serving together for the sake of those less fortunate than themselves.

The youth serving the residents of Tent City during their fast.

While fasting, they set aside their feelings of hunger and focused on feeding others. They helped prepare bags of food for God's Pantry, they served a spaghetti dinner to the residents at Tent City, they played a game (called TRIBE) that helped them experience an impoverished life, and they participated in a candlelight vigil on behalf of the children around the world who die (one every ten seconds) due to hunger-related diseases. 

Helping with God's Pantry, or building a fort?

The youth worked together to survive the struggles of poverty during the game of TRIBE.

The theme of this year's 30 Hour Famine was "Make Hunger Your Fight." The message was centered around the story of David and Goliath and focused on the idea that even those who appear small and weak can take on problems that look big and fierce.

Too often we ignore those hurting around us. We hear about their serious struggles and assume that we are too small to make a difference. We forget that our God is bigger than all of the evil and injustice in the world. 

Also, too often we underestimate the passion and power of the youth in our churches. They are indeed our future, and this small group of adolescents and teenagers at UUMC have shown us that our future is in caring and capable hands. The youth have proven to have hearts that are willing to follow Christ's call. 

Our youth, like David, revealed to us this weekend that small is the new big.

So, let's take a page out of our youth's playbook and challenge each other during this Lenten season to serve with hands wide open, fast with hearts seeking justice, and feast with humble appreciation of all that our Lord has freely given. 

Wholly Living a Holy Life

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." 

~James 5:16~

"... encourage one another and build one another up..." 

~1 Thessalonians 5:11~

Accountability. This is not a word many of us like to hear. We become squeamish when it reaches our ears because we have been conditioned to believe it to mean something other than what it truly means. For many, the word evokes feelings of being judged or demeaned in some way. However, accountability is meant to be a positive accomplice to righteous living.

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).

Many Theologians, including John Wesley, held that community is essential to Christian growth and that in order to fully experience a relationship with Christ, one must be in relationship with others. As an extension of this belief, early Methodists were committed to weekly out-of-church meetings, called "Class Meetings." These meetings were a source of growth through self-examination, confession, loving support, encouragement, and mutual accountability.

University United Methodist Church is building off of the former Wesleyan practice with our new "Life Groups" ministry. Life Groups are weekly in-home gatherings meant to facilitate community, fellowship, and discussion. They offer a chance for people to share their strengths, their weaknesses, and stories of how God is moving in their lives.

This new ministry aims to be a venue for accountability--a way of working as one body toward wholly living a holy life.

Life Groups are about doing life together, or as John Wesley would say, "watching over one another in love." They are about achieving transformation rather than merely collecting information. They are a way of moving beyond learning about how to live the Christian life into actually living the Christian life. For, it is impossible to be a partially devoted Christian; being a truly  devoted Christian requires more than having a mind in Christ (Philippians 2:5), it also requires walking as Christ walked (1 John 2:6).

UUMC's first round of Life Groups will run during the six weeks of Lent, beginning the week of February 22nd and concluding the week of March 29th.  Our hopes are that all who commit to this exciting new opportunity will grow through the practice of actively exploring what it means to live as Christ has called us to live.

If you would like more information on the different group options, visit the church office or contact me at chrisann@uumclascruces.org.