2024 State of the Communion Address

Introduction
As is our tradition each year at this time of the year, I want to review highlights and achievements of our church over the past year and also look forward to what I think should be our priorities for the coming year.  But, this is also a sermon.  It is a chance for me to share the Word of God in Holy Scripture and encourage you in your personal faith.  So I want to begin with the Scripture God placed on my heart today, something I believe should always guide Christians, and something I believe we should pay particular attention to this 2,024^th year of our Lord.

John 1:1-5
¹ “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! ² But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Listening to God’s Voice
I have been listening to God’s voice extra careful over the last month.  I always do this time of year as I consider what God want me to do and what God wants our church to do in the coming year.  And especially, since we have just completely the hard work to disaffiliate from the UMC and begin a new chapter in our the life of our church, I have been especially attentive to God’s voice asking: “Lord, what do you want for Your church at Pleasant Grove this year?”  And I have taken time to be alone, to be quiet, and to pray.  And I have been listening for God’s voice to answer and lead us. 
But how do I know if the voice that answers is God’s?  How can any of us know?

Jesus uses an illustration to remind people how to listen to God’s voice and ignore all the others.
The people who lived in Jesus’ day had one of the same problems we have today: there were so many voices claiming to speak for God.  The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealot religious radicals, the hippy Essenes who wanted to abandon society all together.  Then there were the politicians, the Greek philosophers, and the Romans occupiers.  Everyone had an opinion to share.  And all these voices swirling around were so confusing.  Do you ever feel like that?  Do you ever wonder how you can really know what God wants you to do?  How do you cut through all the clutter to get to the Truth?

Jesus says, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”  This should be our main priority this year:  to know and listen to our Shephard’s voice.

And I want to suggest some ways you can tune in to hear God’s voice among all the distractions.

Prayer
You have to get near God to hear God.  And prayer is one of the chief ways you know you spend time with God.  Prayer is talking to God—and you don’t have to be all fancy.  Just talk.  Sometimes, prayer isn’t saying anything at all, but maybe just intentionally sitting quietly with God.  Prayer is essential for Christians.  It is our simplest way to connect with God.

I’m going down today after church to visit my Mom.  I try to call my mom every week.  By talking to her regularly, I stay in touch and know what’s going on with her.  But, my mom lives with my sister.  She’s there with her every day.  Katie knows what’s really going on with Mom way better than I do, because I only talk to her once a week.

If you want to know God voice, you’ve got to spend time with Him in prayer. If you only pray when you have a problem, you will not be very accustomed to God's presence.  But if you talked to Him all the time in prayer, you will be much more in tune with His voice.  You will know all about what He is up to and will more easily be able to tune in to His guidance.

Scripture
Scripture is another way we get near God to hear God.  Scripture is the primary way God speaks to His people.  Whereas prayer can often feel fuzzy and intangible, Scripture is solid and unchangeable.  Scripture is the foundation of all true Christian belied and practice.  The Bible tells you who God is and what He expects from you—how you are live and what you are to do.

Scripture and prayer go together.  We speak to God through prayer.  God speaks to us through the Bible.  The more you read Scripture, the easier it is to know the difference between random thoughts and insights and the true voice of God trying to lead you.

Plug in with God’s People
Another essential way we get near God to hear God is by plugging in with God’s people.  Being a Christian who follows Jesus is never something we do all by ourselves.  Jesus called 12 disciples to follow Him.  They did it in a group setting.  And that’s how we follow Jesus too.  Trying to follow Jesus all by yourself without a being part of a church community can be downright dangerous.  But when we plug in with God’s people, God speaks to us and leads us.

Hear at Pleasant Grove, there are a number of ways to plug in.  There is public worship.  But you must go deeper.  You need to be part of a small group.  We offer ways to get plugged in:  Wednesday night dinner, Thursday morning bible study, Sunday school, youth, children, Elizabeth Circle, sack lunch… 

I want to implore you to get accustomed to hearing God’s voice this year through Prayer, Scripture, and by plugging in with God’s people at church.

Review of 2023
2023 was a hard year, but God was good.  The whole year, it felt to me like we were the Israelites trying to escape from slavery Egypt.  The United Methodist denominational leadership didn’t want to let us go, even though we heard God’s voice clearly telling us it was time to leave that denomination.  And when the Bishop “paused” disaffiliation.  It seemed it would be impossible to get out of Egypt.  But God was our deliverer.  He “parted the Red Sea” so we could leave.  And God was with us as we “walked through the wilderness” of raising money to pay the disaffiliation fees and doing all the legal work required to change.  In may ways it was weary and tiresome work—but all done with great hopes for a new Promised future.

We also saw the Hand of God moving in many ways.  Even in the desert, I saw water flowing and flowers blooming.

We started out the year with a positive--with the infant baptism of Robin Starling.  It was a sign of things to come.  Through the year we had seven people publicly profess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  And we added ten new people to our membership rolls--the largest increase since 2019 (pre-COVID).

Outreach to Kids
Our sack lunch program continued to flourish—sharing blessings with the children of our community through PGE and White’s Pediatrics.  We also helped with other needs like school supplies and improvements to the playground at PGE.  We also packed over 100 boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  Thanks to Susan Cooksey, Tom and Sherry, And Becky Haley, and all our faithful, dedicated volunteers!  (We could use a few more!)

Children’s Ministry
Our children’s ministry has flourished under the capable leadership of Melissa Starling.  One year ago, before Melissa took over leadership of the program, our children's ministry was floundering.  We needed volunteers. We needed new leadership.  We needed excitement.  Melissa has helped bring all of that since she started at the end of January last year.  Last Sunday we had 9 children at the altar for the children’s moment.  And the kids have been active and growing all year long.  Consistent

weekly classes, Sunday school, children’s church, nursery, Easter Egg hunt, VBS, Trunk or Treat.  And they even did a Christmas program and went Christmas caroling to shit-ins in December.  And I don’t want to pass up the opportunity to thank Melissa, and also Sydney Harris who we hired to teach kids on Wednesday nights.  This frees up Melissa to focus on teaching on Sunday mornings and to coordinating all the children's activities.  And the kids love Sydney on Wednesday night. 

Youth Ministry
We are blessed to have Amy Harris leading our youth ministry. We are all blessed to hear her brief, inspirational messages “to the youth” each Sunday morning, but she loves, leads, and inspires the youth each week on Wednesday nights and also helps teach youth Sunday school classes with Debra Sloan, and McKenzie Marlow.

Some of the special events Amy coordinaed for out youth were volunteering with special needs kids at the Miracle League, handing out free hot chocolate at the Dalton Christmas parade, and taking our youth to Fields of Faith.  She took the youth on a beach trip this summer, coordinated 2 yard sales, one of which was use to fund a o Christmas outreach t help families in need.  What were you doing Christmas Eve and Christmas day?  Amy was delivering assistance to families on both days.  And Amy is always the biggest helper with anything that needs to be done--even with things not associated with the youth.  And I would also be remiss if I didn't talk about some people who have been volunteering on Wednesday nights to help shepherd the youth as Amy teaches--Ricky Stack, Mike Wilson, Scott Denson, and DJ Seifert

 

Music Ministry
Another thing that I am particularly proud of is our music program at Pleasant Grove. David is humble and he doesn’t like to be pointed out, but I would be remiss if I didn’t share what a great job David does to help us have a great music program.  He makes sure we have great music throughout the year – including original music, horn and instruments, solos, and special guests musicians. 

And one thing David really focused on in 2024 was getting people involved, even people who don't sing.  David found was to include non-musicians in our Easter and Christmas cantatas.  Plus, we had a Contemporary Christmas Program, choir music at the Christmas Eve service, and contemporary music from the praise band throughout the year.  David has helped Pleasant Grove do something that many churches in our area are moving away from--having a great choir and choral music.  So many people stereotypically say, "The younger generation only wants contemporary music."  But that's not true.  If you ask many in the younger generations (like my own daughter), they will tell you they prefer hymns and choral music in worship.  So, David has helped us have both great contemporary music and great choral music and hymns.

Operation Mercy Drops

Our innovative outreach program, Operation Mercy Drops,  was a blessing to our community, helping so many.  We gave away 12 grants to people our church members sponsored in 2023.  These helped with a variety of needs like hardships--helping families with medical emergencies our when a house burned as will as honoring people who are doing great work in the community or helping charitable organizations continue to do good work to help people.  The funding for OMD was originally intended to last for 12 months.  However, generous donations extended the program out for three years.  Unfortunately, funding for OMD is now depleted (unless you decide you want to continue to program with your new funding).

Look Forward to 2024
As I said in the beginning, we need to focus on following God’s voice.  And we will know God’s voice through prayer, Scripture, and by plugging in with God’s people at church.  As I’ve heard God’s voice, He’s shared that we can be excited about what’s coming this year.  The hard work of the past year is paying off and we will see more blessings in 2024.

I also want to share some specific things we are working on or that I want to see this year.

New Hymn
The old United Methodist Hymnals were given back to the UMC as part of our disaffilation agreement.  However, that hymnal was over 40 years old and out of date.  We are getting a new hymnal in 2024.  We've already ordered 20 for the choir, and we will give our members a chance to order one in memory or in honor of someone soon.  Our sanctuary will be filled with hymnals.  And the one we've chosen, "Our Great Redeemers Praise", is a great hymnal.  It may be one of the most comprehensive hymnals published in decades and it will be an upgrade from the hymnal we were using before.  While many churches are moving away from hymnals, Pleasant Grove is going to upgrade and show our commitment to this ancient but still greatly relevant form of worship.  How exciting!

New Church Directory
We will publish a new church pictorial directory in 2024.  Our current directory is way out of date.  In fact, we were preparing to update the directory in 2020 when the pandemic hit.  This year, we are committed to finally publishing and new one so all the members of our church are properly listed so we can keep in touch and know all our church family.

Clean Up Membership Roll
We are going to clean up our church membership roll in 2024.  We have already done a great amount of work to convert our old handwritten membership books into an electronic database  This was invaluable as we went through the disaffiliation process with the UMC.  Volunteers were essential in this work.  Walker England and Matthew Head helped enter some of the names.  But the chief worker in this process was Donna Phillips, who entered 95% of the names.  Thank you Donna Phillips! 

Now that the membership roll is in electronic format, it will be much easier to audit the rolls and remove persons who have moved away, joined other churches, or who have passed away and are no longer living members of congregation.  We will do this work in 2024. 

Get Excited for 2024!
I want to encourage you to be excited about what’s happening.  We are part of a new Global Methodism Movement.  God is moving in Methodism—not just in our church, but all around the world!  That’s exciting!  We get to be part of something great!  Let’s get motivated!  Let’s get involved and be part of what God is doing!

Get excited about our church! Invite people to come and be part of the great things we are doing! 
Get excited about our music!  (We do praise music and choir and we’re getting a new hymnal!)  
Get excited about our children’s ministry!  Our youth ministry!
Get excited about our ministry with adults!  Our fellowship! 
Get Our incredible outreach to help our community! (And even the world – Pakistan!)
Get excited about how we stand upon the Truth of God’s Word
        and yet also love and accept everyone!

In 2024, we are following the voice of the Great Shepherd
        and we can be a place for others to follow Him too. 

 

Don't Worry. Seek the Kingdom.

Introduction
On the last day of 2023, it's a good idea to reflect on where we've been and consider where we are going.  What a crazy year it’s been! Do you remember what you were doing this time last year?  I do.  I was still in shock from a terrible and unfair decision by the North Georgia UMC bishop's decision to cancel the disaffiliations of nearly 200 churches in our conference.  We didn't know what to do or if their was anything we could do.  But here we are one year later and God is good.  He has opened doors we thought couldn't be opened.  And December 31st, 2023 is the last day my church and I belong to the UMC.  On January 1st, we will be free and will be Global Methodist!  Praise be to God! 

Can I just be honest with you for a minute?  I need to confess something this morning.  You see, I thought I had really done something 23 years ago when I answered the call to ministry.  I thought I was really trusting God with BIG faith.  I walked away from a promising career as an engineer to follow Jesus.  I graduated from college when I was 23.  I started a career as a textile engineer.  But then God called me to be a preacher.  And so after only 3 years into my career, I stepped out in faith and became a United Methodist minister.  I thought my wife might leave me, because me going into the ministry had never been part of our plans.  She chose to marry a straight-laced, dependable man with great career prospects.  Leaving all that took a lot of faith for me and Kelly.  

But as scary as it was, there’s acyually a lot of security for ministers in the United Methodist Church.  We had health insurance, a pension, a decent salary, and a guaranteed appointment.  Yes, we had to go wherever they sent us and they moved us away from family and friends frequently.  But we also had job security.  

Now, I never took anything for granted.  Ephesians 6:7 says, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”  So, I’ve always tried to do my best, because I realized I didn't really work for the United Methodist Church.  I work for the Lord.  The UMC was an ally, for a time, that helped me fulfill my calling to help people grow closer to Jesus.  But I’ve always said if the UMC ever departed from traditional Scriptural Christianity, I would depart from the UMC.  And that time has come. 

And so, I’m walking away from a second career.  As of January 1st, 2024, I will no longer be a United Methodist minister.  I will be a Global Methodist minister.  And I’ve had to trust the Lord in this.  Because I am walking away from something I’ve known very well for the past 2 decades into an unknown future and an unproven denomination with less job security than the UMC. 

But I know this is where God is leading me.  And I trust Him!  He has never failed me yet.  He won’t fail me now.  I am His servant.  It is a privilege to serve Him and god wherever He leads! 

I want to read to you one of my favorite passages from God’s Holy Word–something that has encouraged me my whole life as a Disciple of Jesus Christ.  It’s right in the middle of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:25-33
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God…
I’ve tried to make that verse 33 the theme of my whole life and ministry.  In the old King James Version it goes, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

If you think about it, that’s the whole theme of the Bible.  Isn’t it?  Go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis.  What do you find?  There’s Adam and Eve living in paradise.  God has given them everything they need.  They have food.  They have peace.  They have protection.  They’re naked and don’t even care.  They aren’t ashamed.  They don’t feel vulnerable and exposed.  (Now you think about that.  They are wild animals roaming all around–lions, tigers, and bears–and Adam and Eve are totally naked.  No knife. No bear spray.  No gun.  No weapons.  Not even a scrap of clothing.  But they weren’t “naked and afraid”.  Why?  Because God provided everything they needed.) 

That is the way we were all meant to live.  It’s a life where God provides everything we need–just like He cares for the birds of the sky and the flowers of the field.  Oh that we could go back to that Garden in Eden and live without a care in the world.  Where we can walk in harmony with each other and with God!

Sin Wrecked It All!
Ah but sin!  Sin came in and wrecked it all!  It wrecked you!  It wrecked me!  And the curse of sin is that we must scrape a living from the dust of the ground.  And try as we might, it’s constantly producing thorns and thistles!  Do you have any thorns and thistles in your life–in your family, in your work?

And so the curse of sin has always meant, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat.”  I always thought that sweat meant the sweat that comes from the hard work of farming.  But it’s not.  There’s nothing wrong with working hard and sweating.  That’s a good thing. A cleansing thing.  SOme people (like me) actually enjoy doing hard work with there hands.

No, “sweat of your brow” means the sweat that comes from the deep, overwhelming anxiety we have when we think, “Oh no! It’s all up to me!  The fate of my family and the people I love rest on my shoulders.  Whether I live or die will be a result of my own hands.”  Have you ever been so stressed out and worried drops of sweat literally broke out on your forehead?  THAT is the sweaty, anxious curse God proclaimed in Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made.  For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

Jesus Breaks the Curse!
But praise God!  Hallelujah!  Jesus came to break the curse!  That’s what it’s all about!  Jesus is our redeemer!  He redeems us from our sin.  He heals our whole lives.  His life, death, and resurrection mean we know longer have to drown in the anxious sweaty drops of worrying whether we will have food to eat and clothes to wear.  In the words of one of my favorite Christmas songs:  “No more let sins and sorrows grow!  Nor thorns infest the ground!  He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found!  Far as the curse is found!”  We don’t have to feel ashamed and naked because of our sin.  We don’t have to fear death, because Jesus gives us new life–new life now and for all eternity!  

And so Jesus invites us all in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Jesus is leading us back to Eden–back to life in Paradise where we don’t have to worry where our next meal will come from or if we will have a job in the morning or if our church property will get seized by a corrupt denomination. 

It is Eternal Life, and it starts the moment we put all our faith in Jesus and follow Him.

Walking Through the Wilderness
We still have some wilderness to walk through. We’re not in the Paradise Garden yet.  But we will get there. In the meantime, God leads us like He led the Israelites through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.  And He will provide manna from heaven to feed us and water from a rock to quench our thirst.  You don’t have to understand it all; but you must have faith.  You must trust Jesus when He says, “Don’t worry about all these things.  You’re Heavenly Father already knows all your needs and He will take care of you.”

And so we come to my favorite verse–the theme verse of my ministry–that tells us the secret of living as Christians who follow Christ.  Matthew 6:33 – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else. 
When my middle child was still a toddler, we were shopping in JC Penny.  In a moment of lapsed attention, she wandered away from me and my wife.  We dropped everything and frantically searched for her.  It only took a few minutes to find her hiding behind some clothes hanging on a rack, but the anxiety of those moments were palpable.  (Talk about the sweat of anxiety breaking out on your brow!)  

That story about searching for a lost child is a great illustration of seeking the Kingdom of God.  That’s how we should seek the Kingdom of God above all else.  We drop every thing else and make the Kingdom our number one priority.  And that’s what I want to do with my life.  And that’s what I want to challenge our church to do in 2024.  And that’s what I want to challenge you to do with your family and with your own life.

Closing
I want you reflect for just a minute.  I want you to think about the one thing in your life that’s really important to you right now.  (I’m not talking about Jesus, OK.  Everyone knows in church the answer’s supposed to be Jesus.  But let’s be real right now, OK?)  What’s something that’s really important thing to you? 

Think about it.  If this person or thing (whatever it is) is so important if it we lost, you’d drop everything to go look for it.  What would that thing be for you? Maybe it’s your kids.  Maybe it’s your spouse or your mom or dad. Maybe it’s your phone; let’s be real.  If you went on a trip and left your phone at home, how many of us wouldn’t turn the car around and back track an hour to go get our phone?

Now, I want you to make a mental image of whatever you're thinking of right now.  And I want you to think about how you’d feel if this thing was lost.  Think about the lengths you would go to find it.

From now on, every time you see that thing or even think of it, here’s what I want you to do:  I want it to remind you that Jesus told you to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and all these other things will be added to you as well.