PASTOR ADAM'S ENOTE

Harvests in our own lives

Friday, 16 November 2018

Dear Resurrection Family,
We’ve had an exciting week at Resurrection. I’ll tell you about it below, and we have some amazing things coming up in the next couple of weeks (more on that below too!), but first I want to tell you about what I believe will be a very meaningful weekend in worship this weekend.
We’ve been studying passages related to vineyards, vines and wines the last couple of weeks as part of our The Fruitful Life sermon series. Having spoken of the importance of pruning last weekend, this weekend we’ll focus on "The Joy of the Harvest." One of the things that hit me this last week is that, as people move away from agrarian societies, part of what has been lost is the joy that comes with harvest. Three of the great Jewish festivals were tied to harvest – I’ll teach you about one of them this week: Sukkot (also known as the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles). This was the fall feast celebrating the grape, olive and other fall crop harvests. It is the most joyful of all Jewish feasts and is celebrated with seven days of dancing and music and joy.
We’ll look at the “harvests” in our own lives, the importance of celebrating and of generosity in bringing us joy. This is also commitment weekend when we invite you to return your commitment cards for 2019. (We’ll be providing commitment cards in worship. Please prayerfully look at the Guide to Giving you received this week.) We’ll give out the 2019 coffee mug as a small thank you for returning your cards (one per family, but every child and teen returning a card gets their own mug!). You’ll remember that Thanksgiving is a national holiday that follows fall harvest in America – and my hope is this weekend’s message prepares you to have an even more meaningful Thanksgiving!
By the way, many have asked about how you can tour Aubrey Vineyards, the vineyard where I filmed segments for the sermons. This Sunday from noon until 5 pm, Aubrey Vineyard will be open for Resurrection members to tour and to ask questions. Their vineyard staff will be there and there will be free tastings. You can walk through the vineyards and take pictures. Aubrey Vineyards is located at 16350 Kenneth Road, Overland Park, KS 66085. Please park on the grass.
At the end of today’s enote I want to offer a few words about wine and alcohol use in the Bible and in the Christian life, but first a bit of other news from around the church.
Join us on Thanksgiving Day for a meal
Once again Pastor Cheryl and other members of our staff and lay leadership will host a Thanksgiving fellowship meal at the church. We will gather in the Foundry at 11:30 am and begin eating at 12 pm. The meal is for singles, couples, families that don’t have others to be with for Thanksgiving. Enjoy a family atmosphere and share a Thanksgiving meal with your friends from Resurrection – all campuses are welcome. Space is limited, so register today by clicking here.
Interested in joining the Church of the Resurrection?
Come to Coffee with the Pastors on Tuesday, November 27, at 6:30 pm in The Foundry Hall, Building B, at the Leawood campus. Coffee with the Pastors is an inspiring event at which we share the church’s story, what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be a member of the church. You’ll meet others who are thinking about joining the church, as well as our pastors and some of our staff. At the conclusion you’ll have a chance to formally join the church if you choose to do so. I hope to see you at Coffee! Sign up by clicking here.
Celebrating ministry at Resurrection
I mentioned that this has been a terrific week at Resurrection. Last weekend we gave away over 300 Third Grade Bibles across our campuses. We’re challenging all of our third graders and their parents to read the Gospel of Luke together.
I had the joy of speaking at Resurrection West last Saturday, and Resurrection Downtown on Wednesday night, about Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope – thanks to all who came out for these events. I plan to offer this at Blue Springs after the first of the year.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week we had our latest Blood Drive with over 50 volunteers and 702 donors! We collected 695 pints of blood which will be used to benefit 2,100 people (the blood is separated into component parts). Donors who missed the Leawood drive may donate at Resurrection West on Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 1 to 7 pm.
On Tuesday night, 1,100 people gathered at the Leawood sanctuary to hear from a Jewish rabbi and a Palestinian activist sharing their stories of conflict and the work they are doing for peace in one of the most difficult conflicts in the world. It was a truly remarkable evening. If you are interested in watching, it's uploading this evening, click here after 7 pm. We co-sponsored this with Congregation Beth Shalom and is one more way in which you seek to build bridges in our community and city.
Recent radio interviews
I wanted to mention a couple of radio interviews I did recently with NPR affiliates or programs, in part because these may be a great way to start a conversation with your friends who may not go to church.
The first was a national program called “1a” – it does not air in Kansas City, but does air across the nation. The 25-minute interview, which ran a couple of weeks ago, covered a wide range of issues and I think you might enjoy it, and that it would speak to many of your unchurched friends. Click here to listen to my interview on 1a.
This week I was on Minnesota Public Radio’s “This American Moment” for a live interview. It might also be of interest to you or your friends – we spoke about a wide-ranging set of topics including the political divide in our country. Click here to hear the interview. I enjoy these kinds of interviews, as the audience includes a large number of nominally religious or non-religious people and my hope is to represent Christ, the United Methodist Church and our church well as a positive witness for Christ and the Christian faith.
Journey to Oberammergau to experience the famous Passion of the Christ performance
Join Resurrection staff and fellow members from across campuses for an incredible journey to experience the famous Passion of the Christ in Oberammergau, Germany. This amazing dramatization of the final week of Jesus’ life is only held once every ten years. The trip begins on July 28, 2020, when you depart Kansas City for a 10-day experience of visiting Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Innsbruck, Prague, and of course, Oberammergau, the site of the Performance.
It is believed that the Passion Play has been held every 10 years since 1634 following the sweeping of the Black Plague through Europe. The villagers of Oberammergau vowed that if their town was spared, they would perform the Passion of Christ every 10 years. The town was spared, and they have honored this pledge from generation to generation with a performance that follows Christ from His triumphant entry into Jerusalem through His Trial, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. Resurrection staff Kevin Bogan, Leawood Director of Traditional Worship, and Leawood Pastor Steve Langhofer will lead the trip.
The Passion Play sells out early and will not be experienced again for another 10 years, so register early to secure tickets. To get information and register click here.
Thankful Day of Prayer Vigil this coming Tuesday
I want to invite you to join me in participating in the Thankful Day of Prayer Vigil, which will be held on Tuesday, November 20, from 6 am to 10 pm in the Wesley Covenant Chapel. We will also have guides for the prayer walk that day from 7 am – 7 pm. The prayer vigil always readies me for having a truly grateful heart as I celebrate Thanksgiving.
Service of Hope and Healing
Please join the Congregational Care team for a Service of Hope and Healing on Thursday, November 29, at 6:30 pm in the Leawood Foundry as we seek to offer you support and encouragement during this holiday season.
We will have special speaker and author of, Am I Loved, Shawn Petree, sharing his personal story of how Christ’s love offers him strength and courage during a very challenging season of life in a message entitled, "Do you believe I am able to do this?" Please know that we are praying for you and hope you will join us as we seek renewal, courage and strength.
Dinner will be served in the Building B Commons at 5:30 pm prior to the service. You are encouraged to eat in your regular Care Night classrooms to make room for first-timers at the tables in the Commons. If you’ve lost a loved one in the last year or are facing a difficult holiday season for any reason, I’d like to encourage you to be a part of this special service.
The Bible and the Christian Life
Finally, a word about alcohol, the Bible and the Christian life. Preparing a sermon series on vines, vineyards and wines is a bit of a challenge for pastors. I am painfully aware that there are people who struggle with alcoholism – in my own family I’ve known the pain of this, growing up with a step-father who was a terrific guy except when he was drinking. I also know that we have a number of people in our congregation who have lived through this pain, or who are themselves struggling with alcoholism and seeking to break free of this addiction. This is why we don’t serve alcohol at church functions and ask that when our small groups meet for study, they abstain from alcohol for the benefit of those who struggle with alcohol.
We also recognize the pain that alcohol causes in our broader society. 30% of all vehicular deaths involve alcohol. 50% of all sexual assaults involve alcohol. Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death (after 1. Tobacco and 2. Poor diet/lack of exercise). For this reason, the United Methodist Church encourages abstinence from alcohol.
At the same time, it is clear that the Biblical authors did drink wine. Noah was the first person to have planted a vineyard (and the first record of someone drinking too much!). God commanded the people to bring wine offerings to him. Wine was considered a good part of life, a blessing. What was condemned was drunkenness.
Jesus, too, drank wine. His first miracle in John’s gospel was transforming water into wine. He told multiple parables involving vines and vineyards, even, as we learned last weekend, likening himself to a vine and his followers to branches, who are commanded to bear much fruit. Jesus likened the gospel to “new wine” (which was not unfermented wine as some suggest, but wine in process of fermenting). Jesus even used wine to signify his blood at the Last Supper.
St. Paul, like other biblical authors, condemns drunkenness, but in moderation drinking wine was not considered a sin. He does tell those who drink, that if their drinking might cause others to stumble, they were to refrain from drinking at the home of the brother or sister who might stumble. Paul famously tells Timothy to drink a little wine for his health.
Many Methodists, going back to John Wesley, have partaken of wine. Wesley’s mother, Susanna, served her children beer at breakfast believing it had health benefits. John Wesley enjoyed wine, though he clearly condemned drunkenness. While wine was acceptable, Wesley spoke against “spiritous liquors” – particularly gin and whiskey – because of the impact it had on so many in his society.
In the late 1800’s some Methodists, observing the increasing impact of alcoholism, began to advocate for total abstinence from all alcohol including wine. By 1919 they and others in the temperance movement gained enough support to pass the 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the production, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages. This “noble experiment” didn’t work out as they planned, and by 1933 the American public passed the 21st Amendment, repealing the Prohibition instituted by the 18th Amendment.
It was during the first part of the twentieth century that Methodist pastors were forbidden from drinking wine or other alcohol – it became, if I remember correctly, a “chargeable offense.” In the 1800’s Methodist dentist, Thomas Welch, perfected the pasteurization of grape juice to keep it from fermenting, and thus beginning the practice of Methodists using Welch’s grape juice in communion.
In 1968 the United Methodist Church removed the requirement of total abstinence for their clergy, but continued to advocate for both moderation in drink, and to encourage, though not require, total abstinence for all Methodists.
All of which is a way of saying that I don’t believe drinking wine or beer is a sin when done in moderation, but for many, their genetic, physiological or psychological wiring means that even one drink can cause harm or lead to the need for another and this brings pain. Hence, our policies of not serving alcohol at the church and asking that at Bible studies and meetings of small groups for the purpose of study, we refrain from serving alcohol, and that even at fellowship events I ask you to be mindful of those in your group who may struggle with alcohol.
If you don’t drink, I encourage you to continue in a path of abstinence. If you do drink, I encourage moderation and self-control. Like anything, we can misuse what God intended for good and it can bring harm, and that is when it becomes sin.
I’ve enjoyed learning about vines, vineyards and wine in preparing this sermon series and have found the way the biblical authors speak about these to be powerful in illustrating the fruitful spiritual life. And I’m grateful for Aubrey Vineyards inviting us to learn from them this last year, and opening the vineyards for a visit this weekend. If you drink, drink in moderation and if you abstain, do so without judging those who do, and you’ll have found the balance I think Jesus and the apostles sought to capture in the New Testament.
In Christ’s Love,
Adam

ADAM HAMILTON

Reverend Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of Church of the Resurrection and the author of 22 books. He has been married to LaVon since 1982, and she has been a critical partner in every dimension of Adam’s work. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
Adam's writings are known for helping readers make sense of challenging theological questions, exploring the significance of the biblical stories, and equipping Christian leaders to be more effective in their work. He earned his MDiv from Perkins School of Theology and graduated with honors from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Pastoral Ministry.
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