(A telephone rings)

“Hello, Welcome to GUILT TRIP INC. Our goal is to make you as uncomfortable as we can while you live in the lap of luxury.”

“You say you’re interested in going on a cruise? Have you checked with your mother? The poor ol’ thing might have a stroke while you’re gone.”

“Do you want the “DELUXE PACKAGE which means you get all the meals included and a window overlooking the ocean?”

“Sounds good to you. Well that’s what we will give you if you can look at yourself in the mirror knowing that all those kids in India are going hungry.”

“How many will be going?  Just you and your husband. I see. And what about your kids? Don’t you think that they could use a little trip?”

“Say, while I’m it, you do tithe to your church, don’t you? No? Oh I see, well good luck with that one.”

You sound like you have a pretty good income and you’ve done well in life….I see, pretty comfortable but not like Bill Gates rich. So, did you get your wealth by gouging your customers and over charges? I’ll bet you’ll will even take this trip off as a business trip, won’t you? There goes the tax debt.”

“What do you mean you are beginning to feel guilty? Heavens we haven’t even begun yet. We are very good at what we do. The GUILT TRIP hasn’t even started yet. Just wait until you meet the crew of sweat shop laborers we have working on the ship. Be sure to go into the ballast area where the temperatures will make you think of purgatory.”

“So to sum this up: You want the DELUXE PACKAGE without thinking about your dear mother or children. You want to spend without regarding the poor or those who serve you. You want to pay with ill gotten gains and even cheating the government. It that right?… Good.”

Now just one last thing, we offer for a small surcharge a stretch 12 cylinder limo that will pick you up at your home and drive you and you husband. Oh and by the way, it hasn’t been tuned in 12 years. That baby really belches out the diesel.”

“O.K. then. See you on the 13th. And on a final note, I hope you break a leg and thank you for choosing GUILT TRIP INC.”

Did I push the right buttons? Here’s one more.  Mark 8:34 “When He called the people to Himself with His disciples and said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Gotta go. The limo just pulled up.

Reace and grace. Reed.

Our annual Salad Luncheon  this past April (April 22nd) was a huge hit!  We served over 300 guests yesterday and had a very successful day.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2010 Salad Luncheon by selling tickets, posting flyers and advertisements, making salads, serving guests and cleaning up afterwards,  or by purchasing tickets and making monetary donations. It couldn’t have happened without all of your help and we hope you enjoyed all the wonderful salads.  There were over 100 selections to choose from at this year’s luncheon.

Special thanks go to our talented musical guests for their wonderful program. We truly enjoyed it.

After attending the recent Large Church Initiative conference in San Antonio there were a lot of things that I will share over time. There was one that I thought might be interesting to share. It was during a presentation by a church consultant named Reggie McNeal. He asked the following question: WHAT IS TH FASTEST GROWING CHURCH IN AMERICA? What would you answer? The Mormons? The Methodists? The Baptists? Muslims? The answer is…

None of the above.

 The fastest growing church in America is “THE UNCHURCHED.”

Only 1 out of  6 in America attend church regularly.

Only 1 out of 5 men.

Only 1 out of 4  20 to 40 year olds attend.

In the meantime, the church of Jesus is growing like wild fire in places like India where only 1o or so years ago only 2% were Christian and today 10% or China where they can’t count them since the government would attack them but estimates are in excess of 100 million. In Africa something like 83 percent have become a Christian in the most recent generation.

The church is growing like wildfire everywhere but here and Europe. Oh, and we look positively religious compared to the only 2%  that attend there.

I know, I tend to talk about reaching out and making disciples a bit too much. But it is that important.

What we need to do is to change our vocabulary. For us, the church is a noun. It is a building, place to belong to. It is a thing. We need a fundamental change. We need to make the church not a noun but a verb. It needs to stop being a place to belong to and make it something we do.

If we don’t, it won’t be long before a bunch of missionaries from Bangladesh comes over and starts going door to door. After all, we are about to become the biggest mission field left.

Peace and Grace. Reed.

The newly renovated sanctuary was rededicated Sunday morning during a single worship service which included features from both the contemporary and traditional services. Great music from the Living Proof, the Chancel Choir, and the Glory Bells combined with a special dedication liturgy, a challenging message, and the infant baptism of Tripp Auvenshine to make this a special event indeed. 

This week members of Faith Builders assisted local residents in repairing their home by replacing a door, building a front entrance step, and making a few cosmetic improvements. This two-day project included six field laborers (craftsmen?) and two others for refreshments and pictures.  Thanks to Warren, Delbert, Jim, Drew, Glen, Tom, Nora Jean, and Henry. See pictures:

Faith Builders is a ministry organized by the First United Methodist Church to provide assistance to people in the community who need help in maintaining their homes. While the the United Methodist Men at First Methodist is the sponsoring organization, anyone interested in assisting their neighbors is invited to participate. Call the church office at 254-582-2342 to volunteer. 

The Sunday Scholars class begins a study of Second Corinthians on Sunday, April 11, 2010.  Having just completed an in-depth study of First Corinthians, the class will continue their Bible study, usually covering one chapter each Sunday morning.  Bible Commentaries are helpful but not necessary.  Bring only your enthusiasm, willingness to discuss, and a Bible and join the group in the classroom just north of the sanctuary.  For the first Sunday only, the class will meet at 9 a.m. prior to the single service of dedication for the newly remodeled sanctuary.  Most other Sundays, the class meets at 10 a.m. between the two worship services of 9 and 11 a.m. 

I love the story about Jesus at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. If you don’t remember it, here it is with some liberty in telling the story. Jesus and Mother have gone to a wedding. While there, they were about to run out of wine. Mary says to her Son, “Do something.” She knew he had the power to do miracles. Jesus says, “It’s not time, Mother.” (Reading between the lines, Mary in essence says, I’m your Mother and don’t argue with me.” She then tells the servants to do as He says. Pots of water are drawn and when served it’s not only wine but but the best wine.

Here are some lessons to be learned.

First and foremost, never ever argue with your mother, especially if she is Jewish. After all, mother knows best.

Second, God gives us all the ability to do great things. While we might not be able to turn water into wine, we can perform miracles with the power of God.

Third, There is no time like the present to do God’s will. Why wait? I know, Jesus was talking about something much deeper but you and I are called to serve a soon as possible.

Fourth, with God, the best is yet to come.

Fifth, celebrate. This was after all a wedding and a feast. We are called to come to the party and to feast and yes to celebrate.

Sixth, God will provide and God will empower. We jsut have to be available to God’s working through us.

Finally, as Christians, we should always be ready for the great to happen.

You see in the simplest of stories, there is always more to meet the eye.

Peace and Grace. Reed.