Monday, Matt called me from the church to see if I were available on Sunday to give a short testimony. The subject was inclusiveness. Here is what I had to say.
When Matt called me about the opportunity to share my witness of G-d's grace in my life, I was glad to say yes. I am thankful and humbled to be asked. You see I have not always been a United Methodist. I did not even get here as fast as I could. Looking over my shoulder, I can see myself in the pews of almost a dozen different flavors of churches growing up in the American Baptist Church and ranging from the Episcopal Church to the Assemblies of God, before I finally came home to the United Methodist church four or five years ago. Over the years, sometimes the change was due to moving from one city to another. Sometimes the change was due to moving from one place in my heart to another. Like a set of clothes that looked great on the mannequin but just did not fit well over the long haul, I needed to set some ideas aside to find ones that fit me better.
Even before I settled in the United Methodist Church, her ministries profoundly had touched my life. I took my Walk to Emmaus in 2003 with the Grace Emmaus community in Tyler on Men's Walk #26 and sat at the table of Stephen. I took my walk while I was attending a nondenominational church in Tyler and my sponsor was attending one of the Baptist denominations. No one asked me at the door if I were one of them, the United Methodists. They opened the door of G-d's love for me and reminded me of His abiding grace.
You can ask my wife, Suzanne, I can be intense at times. If you need two or three witnesses, you can ask anyone in the various small groups and Sunday School classes I have enjoyed since coming to FUMC. I feel strongly about those things I am sure about, and as a young man I had many things I was sure about. The big change over the years, is that the number of things I am sure about has shrunk to very few. I used to be willing and ready to argue many points of theology and the Bible for the purpose of winning another convert for my side. As life got more complicated, I found I was moving toward the same words of early church thinkers that attracted John Wesley, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." What freedom I have found in these simple words. Now I can discuss my relationship with my Lord and the record of His reaching out to His people with the same joy I talk about my best friend. The spirit of contention was swallowed up by the spirit of celebration. This freedom is central to what draws me to this community of faith where I can bring joy to G-d's heart with my prayers, my presence, my gifts, my service, and my witness.
In necessariis unitas,
In dubiis libertas,
In omnibus autem caritas,
In essentials unity,
In doubtful things liberty,
But in all things love
When Matt called me about the opportunity to share my witness of G-d's grace in my life, I was glad to say yes. I am thankful and humbled to be asked. You see I have not always been a United Methodist. I did not even get here as fast as I could. Looking over my shoulder, I can see myself in the pews of almost a dozen different flavors of churches growing up in the American Baptist Church and ranging from the Episcopal Church to the Assemblies of God, before I finally came home to the United Methodist church four or five years ago. Over the years, sometimes the change was due to moving from one city to another. Sometimes the change was due to moving from one place in my heart to another. Like a set of clothes that looked great on the mannequin but just did not fit well over the long haul, I needed to set some ideas aside to find ones that fit me better.
Even before I settled in the United Methodist Church, her ministries profoundly had touched my life. I took my Walk to Emmaus in 2003 with the Grace Emmaus community in Tyler on Men's Walk #26 and sat at the table of Stephen. I took my walk while I was attending a nondenominational church in Tyler and my sponsor was attending one of the Baptist denominations. No one asked me at the door if I were one of them, the United Methodists. They opened the door of G-d's love for me and reminded me of His abiding grace.
You can ask my wife, Suzanne, I can be intense at times. If you need two or three witnesses, you can ask anyone in the various small groups and Sunday School classes I have enjoyed since coming to FUMC. I feel strongly about those things I am sure about, and as a young man I had many things I was sure about. The big change over the years, is that the number of things I am sure about has shrunk to very few. I used to be willing and ready to argue many points of theology and the Bible for the purpose of winning another convert for my side. As life got more complicated, I found I was moving toward the same words of early church thinkers that attracted John Wesley, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." What freedom I have found in these simple words. Now I can discuss my relationship with my Lord and the record of His reaching out to His people with the same joy I talk about my best friend. The spirit of contention was swallowed up by the spirit of celebration. This freedom is central to what draws me to this community of faith where I can bring joy to G-d's heart with my prayers, my presence, my gifts, my service, and my witness.
In necessariis unitas,
In dubiis libertas,
In omnibus autem caritas,
In essentials unity,
In doubtful things liberty,
But in all things love
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