Friday, May 13, 2016
Dear Resurrection Family,
I’m writing from Portland, Oregon where Pastor Cheryl Bell and I are serving as two of the 850 delegates from around the world elected to discern God’s will for the United Methodist Church for the next four years, including our mission, program, budget and policies. Our days begin at 8 am with worship and then include plenary sessions with all of the delegates and hours in legislative committees made up of 80 to 150 delegates. Evenings are often spent in meetings until late at night, or opportunities for informal conversation with old friends or with delegates from around the world.
It has been a joy to connect with pastors and leaders from Russia, Honduras, Malawi, Zimbabwe, the Congo, Liberia and many other places where our congregation has been a partner in ministry. Over and over I’ve heard stories of ways that you as a congregation have impacted people around the world.
By the time you read this, I will be in a legislative sub-committee with 15 other people considering petitions submitted by churches and individuals across the denomination for changes to the United Methodist Church’s position on same-gender marriage. This group will make recommendations to the entire 85-person Legislative Committee on Higher Education and Ministry. That group, of which I’m also a part, will then make recommendations to the entire 850 delegates of the General Conference next week.
The dozens of petitions around homosexuality remind me of how broad a tent the United Methodist Church is. There are some petitions that ask the General Conference to allow pastors to officiate at same-gender weddings if they choose. There are others that call for pastors to be suspended and ultimately defrocked if they officiate at same-gender weddings. Both sides profess their faith in Christ and they embrace of both the evangelical, personal gospel and the justice seeking social gospel. Both read the same Bible, believe God speaks through it, and seek to live according to its words, but they interpret the scriptures on homosexuality differently.
What we see across the denomination is what we see at the Church of the Resurrection. We have conservatives, moderates and liberals yet we are all bound together by our desire to follow Jesus and to build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians. We don’t all see eye to eye on homosexuality or many other issues, but we do see eye to eye on our desire to know Christ, to follow him and to be used by him to change the world. As I’ve told all of you at Coffee with the Pastors, when people ask me whether Methodists are liberal or conservative my answer is always, “Yes!” We have both of these impulses.
Homosexuality is of course only one of many issues the General Conference will take up and about which conservatives, moderates and progressives in the church do not all see eye to eye. I’ll keep you posted over the next few days. Meanwhile here’s the website for General Conference, http://www.umc.org/topics/general-conference-2016, where you can check updates and even livestream certain events. I’ll post daily on Facebook here, https://www.facebook.com/PastorAdamHamilton/ (sign up now by clicking the “like” button on this page).
This weekend, back in Kansas City, you’ll be concluding our sermon series on “Second Chances” by looking at the Apostle Peter who, the night Jesus was arrested, denied knowing him. I’m grateful for this gospel story because every Christian has denied Jesus at some point. And we’ll all do it again at some point. The second chance for Peter came a few days after Jesus’ resurrection, when Christ offered him grace and called him to “feed my sheep.” Pastor Scott Chrostek will be sharing the message at Leawood and Downtown, Pastor Jason Gant at West and Pastor Penny Ellwood at Blue Spring. I’ll be worshipping with you online from Portland.
This weekend we’ll be honoring our high school and college graduates at each of our campuses. Please plan to be in worship to be recognized and then stop by the Connection Point to pick up a small gift from your church. Congratulations on this milestone in your lives! I always see our services on graduation weekend as a kind of baccalaureate service for seniors.
By the way, did you know this weekend is Pentecost? Pentecost is the Greek name for the Hebrew Festival of Shavuot. Pentecost literally means “50” and was the spring harvest festival of the Jewish people occurring 50 days after Passover. It was on the Day of Pentecost, the year that Jesus died and rose again, that the disciples (120 of them) were gathered in prayer when the Holy Spirit descended upon them with the sound of a rushing, violent wind. Flames of fire appeared throughout the Upper Room, they were filled with power and they began to speak in languages they had not known before.
On a number of occasions in the last couple of months I’ve stood in the new Leawood sanctuary praying and the tarps at the openings for the windows have begun to blow in the wind. I’ve just stood listening to the sound of the wind and prayed for the Holy Spirit to sanctify and fill the room, and ready it to be a place where lives will be changed. One thing you may not know – the railing in front of the balcony in the new sanctuary, will be made of stainless steel with an image in it of flames of fire.
Click on the image to enlarge the mock up. This railing is a subtle reminder of the Day of Pentecost and the hope that the Holy Spirit will continue to fill all who gather for worship in the new sanctuary.
Congratulations to Pastor Scott who recently had his second book published. Misfit Mission: How to Change the World with Surprises, Interruptions and All the Wrong People is available in The Well bookstore, and Scott has agreed to sign copies after worship services at Leawood. In this book Pastor Scott shares inspiring stories from all sorts of people, and often funny, poignant tales from his ministry at Resurrection Downtown.
I’ve had many of you ask me when the next Holy Land trip will be. This fall Pastor Jeff Kirby and Pastor Steve Langhofer will be leading a 10-day trip to the Holy Land November 14 – 23. I believe every Christian ought to visit the Holy Land at least once in your life, walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Ask anyone who has been with our church and you’ll hear what an amazing trip this is. Space for this trip is limited, so check out the brochure online and sign up today. If you have questions, please call Janice Updike at 913-544-0735.
I know many of you were big Prince fans. At 57, Prince died far too early. From the stories that has been in the news in the last couple of weeks is that he appears to have died without a will (a story released yesterday said that he may have had a will after all but that no one can find it). According to one study, 64% of all adults in America do not have a will or estate plan including 51% of those 55 to 64. LaVon and I have an estate plan, but we haven’t revised it in years and the conditions we set it up for have changed (both kids are out of college, one is married, and we now have a granddaughter). I mention this both to encourage you to develop a will and estate plan, and to encourage you to remember the church in your will.
LaVon and I have named the church in our will – as have nearly 800 other Resurrection members who are a part of our John Wesley Society. They and we have done this to help continue the ministry of this church long after we are gone. We’re building a building to help us be a multi-century church – a church that has an impact well beyond 100 years. Part of that is made possible by members leaving a legacy gift that will continue to have an impact long after they are gone. Our Resurrection Foundation was formed ten years ago to help members make legacy gifts. You can learn more about the Foundation in the 2015 Annual Report available at the Foundation Information Table and the Connection Point this weekend, or download a copy from our website. If you are interested in legacy giving, please contact Rev. Dr. Clayton Smith, our executive pastor of Generosity and Stewardship, at 913-544-0242.
All right, I’ve got to get back to reading legislative petitions! I look forward to joining you in worship from Portland, this weekend! Please continue to pray for me, Pastor Cheryl, and all of the delegates here at General Conference.
In Christ’s love,
Adam
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
913.897.0120
www.cor.org
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