I want to invite you to take a journey with me during this Lenten season. It is a Journey to Hope and we will embark each Sunday during Lent in a sermon series called ReThink Church.  We will journey with
Jesus to the cross and find that hope can be found even while encountering some of life’s most difficult circumstances.  It is important that we understand that faith is relevant and can order our lives as we face challenges and setbacks. On this journey our hope is to learn that our church experience can lead us into an intimate relationship with Jesus and with others who walk with us each day. By addressing real life circumstances along the way (i.e., relationships, self-esteem, work, temptation, money problems, suffering and death), those on the journey learn how faith in Christ is relevant to everyday life and how
having a faith community can make all the difference.

Each Sunday we will raise some probing questions such as;  

Who is on this journey with you? How can people encourage or discourage you when the going gets tough? This segment tackles the importance of being involved in faith friendships and learning to lean on Christ as the ultimate Friend. 
 
 Identity and self-esteem can make or break the journey. Do you base your identity on who people say you are, or who you know God created you to be? Finding a firm foundation in who you are called to be will help you overcome obstacles. 

We all rely on work to meet the financial needs incurred in our journey, but how can work  itself be realized as a joyful destination? The disciples gave up all of their things to live out their passion for Christ. Many of us give up all of our passions to have things. How can we find a balance? 

When we get tired along the way, it is tempting to stop or turn around. To go the distance, we must learn to refuel. Prayer (personal and communal) is one means to build strength as Christ  illustrates even in His most difficult times. 
 
Money is a means of exchange for something that we want. Any journey requires purchases along the     way.  Do you have a healthy relationship with money? In other words, do you have money, or does money have you? We will encounter scriptures that illustrate both (The Rich Young Ruler & The Widow’s Mite) and focus on Christ’s response. 
                 
The Journey begins on February 26th at Antioch United Methodist Church in Gainesville, Georgia. Services at Antioch UMC begin at 11 a.m. ea I hope you will plan to join us for each adventure.

See you Sunday,
Randy

I have been going to church all my life. Growing up in the South in the 1960’s, we went to church for many reasons. Not the least of which was social. I met my first steady girl friend at church. When Evelyn and I first met
we were at church and on our first date we went to a Baptist revival service. I have also had an ecumenical experience in worship. The Strickland side of my family mostly attended the Congregational Holiness Church while my mother’s folks all went to Baptist churches of one sort or another. As a result, I grew up with an appreciation for Southern Gospel music and Sacred Harp singing. I experienced people being “slain” in the Spirit and I have watched those long altar calls and stood fidgeting around while sinners “prayed through” to receive God’s salvation. Some of those folk must have been powerful bad sinners because those old time altar calls could sometimes last an hour or more.

As a young adult I was introduced to the United Methodist Church and to the hymns and liturgy of the Methodist tradition. It is in that style of worship that I encounter God most intimately. The creeds of the Church have
become very important to me. Every Sunday I get to say just what I believe and I hear my brothers and sister in the faith declare emphatically, “I believe in God. . .”

In worship the atmosphere is filled with reminders of the Holy and divine. The sights and sounds are different from any other place. Banners, the cross, the table of Holy Communion, candles glowing reminding me of the
presence of God. At Antioch United Methodist Church the sanctuary is adorned with emblems of the sacred. Our altar is an altar and does not double as steps. The chancel is a place where Scripture is read, prayers are offered, and sermons are preached. It is not a stage where anyone performs.

Recently, while away from Antioch UMC, I visited in a church to worship. What I expected to be the Narthex looked very much like a theater lobby complete with a concession bar with coffee and food. If the sign out front had not boldly declared this was a church I would have thought I was in a concert hall or some arena. When the show (can’t call it worship) started a band that could have headlined in any pub played tunes I have never heard before. No hymns were sung, no creeds or any opportunity for us to declare what we believe.  The sermon sounded like a self help talk with a little standup comic material thrown in for laughter.

The place was packed, so obviously this style seemed to be meeting some felt needs of many people. I am not against these good folk and I don’t have any argument against them. I do have a difficult time trying to worship in this setting.

I believe that the Church should be counter cultural. The sacred is different from the profane. Personally, I think worship should not look or sound like anything else. The sanctuary should be different from a theater and
there should never, never be performers but worship leaders. Our worship can be relevant and can help to order the lives of believers without becoming so secular one has to look at the sign to know if it is church or the Apollo.


That’s what I think.


Randy

Randy’s Ramblings


November 2011


I was asked the other day to give one thing that excited me about
being a Christian Believer. Of all the things I could have said, I responded
with the first thought that hit me; “The fun you get to have going to church,” I
said. And then I thought how trivial that sounded when I could have talked about
the joy of forgiveness, the hope of everlasting life, the blessings of answered
prayer, or any number of other deeper and more thoughtful things I could have
said about the exciting life we have as Christian believers.


I suppose I responded in the way I did because I really do have
fun going to church, especially at Antioch. We just hosted two of the most laugh
filled and truly fun events in the Fifth Quarter Party and our Trunk O Treat
night. I laughed so much and enjoyed the company of my Antioch family in such a
wonderful way at those events. Then there are Family Night Suppers and playing
kick ball with the Acolytes after our devotional and training time. Soon Donna
will pull out the hand bells and even though I’m all full of nerves when we play
in worship, I get such a kick out of learning how to play. I get to stand
between Joe and Ella and I’m chuckling inside as Joe counts the beat in my left
ear while Ella nudges my right side when it’s time for me to
ring.


Sunday morning in worship at Antioch has and always will be the
highlight of my week but there are so many other times that we have to be
  together. Times we can laugh and eat and share in conversation and just be
together in one place. These are the times that we really become church to one
another. As we enter these last two months of 2011 there are so many times
planned for us to gather and I hope you will not miss any of them. Please plan
to join us for the Veteran’s Day covered dish lunch to honor those who have and
those who are currently serving our nation. The Craft Show and Sale is coming up
soon. This is an event you will not want to miss. Of course, as Advent and
Christmas approach there will be many opportunities for gathering, for worship,
and for serving our community. It will be fun.


Reflecting on my quick response that the fun of going to church
is what excites me about being a Christian believer, I am now convinced it is
the right response for me. I look forward to every opportunity to be with each
of you. Hope to see you on more than Sundays.


 


Randy

 Randy's Ramblings

I have enjoyed the summer and our Campmeeting days immensely. Now I am ready

to move back to our “normal” routine of worship. We begin our fall season by

welcoming Bryce and Elena Behnke to our church for the coming school year. Bryce

is a student at Candler School of Theology and is in second year there. I have the

honor of serving as Bryce’s mentor through his process toward ordination. We have

been developing that relationship for several months now. At Bryce’s request,

Candler has assigned him to serve at Antioch to help meet his requirements for

Contextual Education.

Bryce will observe our administrative process by sitting in on Council and some

committee meetings. He will participate with us in worship taking on

responsibilities for reading, offer prayers, and some preaching along the way. He

will also accompany me on some pastoral visits when appropriate.

As an added bonus for Antioch we will enjoy having Elena with us in Sunday School

and in worship. Elena is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and works in the poultry

industry. Bryce and Elena live in the Talmo community in South Hall County. I

know you will join me in welcoming these two wonderfully energetic young people to

our fellowship for these next several months.

As I ramble on, our Evangelism Team has been very busy making plans for the fall.

You can read about hose plans elsewhere in the Journey. I just want to challenge all

of us to get on board. We need willing and enthusiastic volunteers to come forward

to help with Family Night Suppers, Youth Activities, and other events as they are

planned. Please step forward and tell Bo, Rita, or myself what you would like to do

to help us with theses new projects.

Finally, I appreciate so much those who have stepped forward to help create a new

website for Antioch. We have engaged the services of Lisa Bisson, a website designer

to help us put together a very professional and easy to use website. Please check us

out at http://www.antiochunitedmethodistchurch.com. Please be patient with us as

we work out the glitches. It is and will always be a work in progress.

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Randy

Randy's Blog