Dear Resurrection Family,
This weekend our Resurrection West campus is in the midst of their campaign that will make it possible for them to build additional children’s space and a new narthex, allowing them to expand their worship space into the current narthex space. I’d like to ask you to pause and pray for our Resurrection West members as they are preparing to make their commitments to Christ and to the children of their community. They are busting at the seams in their children’s wing, and this expansion is critical. This is a very exciting time for those at West!
My sermon this weekend will continue our Why? series by looking at Illness, God and Unanswered Prayer. I’ve met many people whose faith was lost when someone they loved became ill and their prayers for healing were not answered. Why is there illness in the world? Why does the televangelist claim God answered his prayer for a front row parking space at the mall, while the prayers of a parent for a child with cancer go unanswered? We’re going to wrestle with these questions this weekend. Join us, and if you know someone who has struggled with these questions, please invite them to join you for worship. Resurrection West members who want to hear the message – please check it out online – we post the sermons every Tuesday.
The Church of the Resurrection Golf Classic and Auction is coming up Monday, May 4, at the Brookridge Golf Course. This is the 20th anniversary of our tournament. It is going to be a great day of fun, fellowship, food and golf with all proceeds benefitting the Joyce Eacock Seminary Tuition Grant Memorial Fund. This fund provides scholarships for Resurrection members who are pursuing ordained ministry. Did you know that of the 16,000 ordained pastors in the United Methodist Church in the US only 950 are under aged 35? The average price of seminary tuition and books at United Methodist seminaries is over $50,000 plus housing. Our aim is to see over 200 Resurrection young adults answer God’s call to be pastors in our congregation over the next 20 years. You can invest in these future pastors by coming out to play golf or bidding in the silent auction. So join me, invite a friend if you can, and be a part of changing the world by playing golf! The tournament is from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. To sign up click here. If you’d like to volunteer, click here.
Last weekend I preached on the good and the evil human beings do to one another. I challenged us to overcome evil with good. We each have dominion, and evil can only thrive if we good people do nothing. We looked at the evil that occurred in Rwanda in the 1994 genocide, and we heard from a survivor of the genocide. If you missed last week's message, you can view it online in our sermon archive. If you’d like to know more about what happened in Rwanda, I’d encourage you to rent the movie, Hotel Rwanda. It is an excellent movie, staring Don Cheadle and can be streamed from Google or Amazon.
Several of you have written over the last few months about a Christian response to ISIS. I’m not an expert on ISIS, but have tried to read about and understand it and other Islamic extremist groups in order consider how one opposes it. The answer is complicated, which is why both Republican and Democratic administrations have struggled with what to do, and how to respond.
There are two main branches of Islam, Shia and Sunni. Shia represent perhaps 15% of the Islamic world, Sunni 85% or more. Within these two divisions (a bit like Protestant and Catholic in Western Christianity) there are further divisions or branches much as there is in Protestantism. Also within these, and at times mirroring these branches, Sunni and Shia may be divided between liberal, moderate, conservative and extremists. The Taliban, ISIS, Al Quada, Al Shabab and Boko Haram are all extremist Sunnis. Many of our allies are conservative, moderate or liberal Sunni.
For most of these extremist groups, the primary enemy is not the US, though we are an enemy. It is not Christians, though they are considered infidels. The primary enemy seems to be their fellow Muslims - moderate Sunnis who they believe have compromised the faith, or Shia who are considered heretics. This is largely an intra-Islamic conflict. I’m not sure the right strategy to address these groups – currently both Shia and most Sunni oppose them and we are supporting their military efforts.
My hope is to plan an event where we can learn more about the divisions in Islam, what is motivating the extremists groups, and the best strategies for combating extremism. If you have any suggestions for experts in this field, I’d love to hear from you. If you have books that you consider excellent resources, include these as well. Please e-mail my assistant, Sue, at sue.thompson@cor.org.
Blessings!
Adam
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
913.897.0120
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