sad people

I was in a restaurant the other day and I was watching a server fill up a bunch of water glasses.  You could tell that the person was sad.

Maybe something bad happened that day.  Maybe something so tragic that they could not shake it and put on their happy face for work.

It is hard to hide sadness.  It just comes out.  In the lack of a smile, in the droop of the shoulders, and in sad eyes.

Sad happens to all of us, but don't let it hang around.  Don't let it hang around.  Keep working on seeing the good.  Keep working on getting to the other side of the mountain.

Whatever it is, it feels like forever, but it is not.  You can rise from the ashes of this moment and regain your joy.  Life is good.  Find your smile.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Sermon Audio from Sunday

The sermon is on Mt 25 what ever you did for the least of these you did it unto me.

click here to listen

Losing Your Voice

If you cheer really loud at a sporting event, you can lose your voice.

There is another way to lose one's voice.  If you yell at a child long enough, they will stop listening.  If you nag a spouse long enough, you can talk, but they won't hear you.

People and organizations lose their voice, their ability to be heard, in a number of ways.  Sometimes they are mean, and they lose their voice.  Sometimes they can't admit that they are wrong, and they lose their voice.  Sometimes people and organizations are so conflicted, so dysfunctional, so irrelevant that they lose their voice.  People stop listening.

The church in general has been losing it's voice for decades.  A young person in their twenties told me the other day that the church is on the verge of becoming completely irrelevant.  One of my friends wrote to tell me that in their opinion, the church is currently behaving immorally.

How do we counter this trend? 

Be nice.  Be kind.  Put people before ideas.  Apologize when we are wrong.  Our behavior will either draw people towards us or push them away.  We either endear ourselves to people or we become irrelevant and lose our voice.

Kindness, grace, love, joy, peace, patience....

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Is this helpful?

How is this helpful?

This little church is 3/4 of a mile from our house.  I am sure that they think that they are doing the Lord's work.  However, this is the message that I think signs and statements like this give off.

1.  We are in and you are out.
2.  We are right and you are wrong.
3.  We get it... come in here and we will teach you the right way.
4.  If you don't you are going to burn in hell

I would like to say that I personally find such messages to be arrogant, not helpful, and just plain wrong.  They are driving away the very people that they had hoped to win.  Today's society does not respond positively to shame.  It is no wonder that so many churches are having trouble keeping their doors open.  There are so many painful messages going out from so many churches.

I hope that you and I can do everything that we can to love others and counter messages such as this.  Life is short.  Love is needed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

an amazing story

This wonderful story is from my friend Jennifer.

When I was a little girl (10-12) years old, my friend Sheila came to my house to hang out. We played "school" in my room.
After Sheila went home that night I noticed that the hidden box where I kept my birthday money was empty. EMPTY! Earlier that day my birthday money was in the box! The box didn't have a hole in the bottom. The birthday money was no where. I told my mom and we looked high and low in my room. My mom yelled at me for being irresponsible with my money. I told her that I thought Sheila might have stolen my money.

The next day I remember going with my mom and dad to Sheila's house to talk to her and her parents. I was nervous about blaming her for something she may or may not have done. I remember her dad saying firmly, "My kids don't steel".

I remember walking out of Sheila's house feeling sad that I blamed her and sad that I would't have any birthday money that year. I'm sure I had my eye on the latest toy or gadget from 1984 and was probably planning to use my birthday money to make the purchase but not that year. My birthday money was gone.

Last week I received a letter in the mail from my friend Sheila. There was a note and a $50 bill. The note stated off with this, "I need to apologize and return something that was yours, it has been on my heart for 30+ years."

My jaw hit the floor! I don't remember how much birthday money was taken and it doesn't matter. What matters is that my friend reached out after thirty-something years to apologize and return something she took from me. She asked in the note if I would please accept her apology. Of course! Of course I accept it! How could you have carried this with you for so long? Please free your heart of this guilt and never let it weigh on you another day.

Friends, it's never to late too apologize and it's never too late to make amends. Lay it out, be truthful and be thankful for friends.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

selfishness

We have many definitions of selfishness:  a taking to ourselves, the practice of putting my own interest first, keeping more than I need, on and on we can go...

I recently reread Anthony deMello's definition of selfishness:
"Selfishness is demanding that others live the way that you insist."
                              Walking on Water pg 128

There are countless ways that we insist that others live the way that we think that they should.
1.  My adult children should go to church.
2.  That couple should spend more time together.
3.  That person should save money.
4.  That person should stop taking drugs.
5.  My kid should call me more often.
6.  That person should....

We can make laws and hold people accountable.  We can fire employees that don't meet our standards.  We can de-friend people who we don't want to be friends with.  But beyond that, much of what other people do in this life is none of our business.

Selfishness is demanding that others live the way that I insist.  Something to think about.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Why is this my lot?

A 61 year old man sits alone on a bench.  He is hot, he needs a haircut, he has body odor, he is homeless.  He lives under a bridge and pushes his belongings around town in a shopping cart.  He is estranged from his family.  He has some sort of small mental deficiency.  His family does not want him around.  That hurts.  He is homeless.  While sitting on the bench, reflecting on his life, he thought, "why is this my lot in life?"

A 61 year old man sits in the doctor's office.  He has just been told that he has terminal cancer.  3-6 months to live.  His wife of 40 years sits in the chair next to him and begins to sob. He has three children and five grandchildren.  He is close to them all.  He can't bear the thought of leaving them or telling them goodbye.    While sitting in the chair, he thinks to himself, "why is this my lot in life?"

A 61 year old man floats in his swimming pool.  His body is cradled and supported by a pool noodle.  A screened in lanai insures that he is not bothered by the insects.  In his hand he holds a bourbon and diet.  The sun is kept off of his head by a shade sail overhead.  The all 70's station from Amazon Music is playing by blue-tooth through his portable sound system.  He has everything that he could possibly need.  And he has this thought, "why is this my lot in life?"

Dear friends, we who are not homeless and we who are not sick, we who have pretty charmed lives need to remind ourselves from time to time of a few things.

1.  Always be thankful.  Our problems are boring.
2.  No matter how hard or how long we worked for this, we don't deserve it.  It is a gift from God.
3.  May our hearts be filled with compassion, may our wallets be open to those in need.
4.  We all need each other, we all matter.

What is your lot in life?  Why is that your lot in life?

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Don't do that to me

This is an embellishment of an actual event.  I am changing the story a bit to make a point.  Here goes:

A teenage girls was swimming in a lake.  Her mother is in a lawn chair on shore.  A gator approaches the girl in the water.  She is fortunate enough to get out of the water, but the gator follows.  The girl climbs a tree.  The gator camps out at the base of the tree, waiting for his meal  to come back down.

The girl's mother calls 911 and is hysterical.  Sobbing, she is beside herself.  The police arrive and dispatch the gator.  The girl comes down.  All safe and sound.

Then the mother goes off on the daughter.   Slapping her on the arm, she says repeatedly, "DON'T DO THAT TO ME!  DON'T DO THAT TO ME!"

Don't do that to me?  What did the girl do to the mother?  The girl was the one in peril.  The mother made a situation that was about her daughter, about her.  She made it about her.

How often to we take over a situation that is really about someone else and make it about us?
As Christians we are invited to live outside of ourselves, but it is not easy.
There are 10,000 roads back into selfishness.  We find them far too often.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

to judge or to love?

I love the email exchanges that I have with you guys.  My friend Georgia shared this quote attributed to Mother Teresa, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

I would expand on this by saying that we humans talk about multitasking but we can really only focus on one thing at a time.  You can't hate someone and truly pray for them.  We certainly can't judge someone and love them.

Since we have limited time in this life, let's spend our moments and our days engaged in loving.


It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

retired but not done

A lovely friend of mine was bothered by my post about being retired.  They were worried that I was hanging it all up and just going to sit around and do nothing.

Let me clarify.  My relationship with the United Methodist Church is "retired."  However, I am serving a church part time in Ft. Pierce, Florida and I am loving it.  This assignment only goes through November 2018.  At that time, I may be offered another church, and maybe not.

Even if I am not serving a church, I will still write the blogs, I will still answer emails, and I will still love every person that I can.  I am not quitting.  We may retire from a job, but Christians never retire from sharing God's love.  I will be looking for every way possible for me to do that.

One thing that I plan on doing in November if I do not take another church is to hang my hat out there as a consultant to local churches.  Churches are going through difficulty right now anyway, but after February with the special called General Conference and the issues surrounding "The Way Forward," there may be churches that could use the advice of a 61 year old guy who has been around the block.  My plan would be to keep the cost of that to a bare minimum.

Anyway, you get my point, I am not quitting.  If I don't have a church after November, I may record a sermon from time to time if I think I have something to say.

That's all.  Hope that clears it up!  Love you all.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Sermon audio from this morning

click here to listen to the sermon on the parable of the prodigal son

shaming is never acceptable

It is a beautiful shame free day in God's world, or at least it should be.

I received an email, yesterday July 21st from a dear friend who reminded me that when we call other people sinners, it hurts them.  We humans are funny.  We want to point out smoking or such as a sin, but over eating?  Never.  Not if it is my sin.  Think about that for a minute.  We have no room to point a finger at anyone.

Oh.  I so agree, when we call someone a sinner, it hurts them.  I did not mean in any of my posts to declare who the sinners are.  I think we are all sinners but I do not believe that it is our place to tell others that they are sinning.  They have God for that. 

Some people have been so shamed by the church and well meaning Christians that they have taken their own lives.  How tragic. Tragic. TRAGIC!

People are here to be loved, not judged.  It is not our job to call others sinners.  It is our job to love them.  If your church taught you to point the finger at others, then your church taught you wrong.  We are to love and embrace everyone, just as Jesus did.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

We keep trying to clean him up

Jesus that is. We keep trying to clean him up. Clean white robes, nicely cropped beard, pearly white teeth, you get the idea. Oh, and he doesn't like sinners.

Really? Stop. Over and over again, Jesus is found running with sinners. In Luke 7:34 he says, The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

Jesus reputation was that he was a friend of sinners. He ran with sinners. Not repentant sinners, sinners. Jesus didn't insist that people clean up before he loved them.  We should not either.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Soul Awareness

One of my friends asked me to write something about soul awareness.

Yes.  There is this 6th sense.  There is this knowing that cannot be explained.  There are these experiences where we meet someone that we have never met, yet there is some connection.  There are those in this life to which we feel an other worldly bond.

My friend Paul Dodds used to tell  me that when you have those feelings for someone, that you were neighbors or cousins in heaven before you were born.  Maybe so, I don't know.

I do believe that the spiritual world, though unseen, is just as real as the physical world.  From time to time, I sense the presence of loved ones who have died.  I have a feeling for a person that is so special, it goes so far beyond what I would normally expect.  Love is deeply spiritual and deeply soulful.

It is all around us, yet so many people live life as if the most important things are whether or not I can get my car in front of yours.  Or who has the most or biggest toys.

When we are stuck in the world of stuff, it is easy to forget that we are all souls on this journey.  Not that we have souls, we are souls.  How would today look differently if you and I saw everyone that we met, not as a random human, but as a living soul?

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

With

If you are getting the idea that I have no original thoughts, you have probably hit upon something. I would tell you that some of my best thoughts come from you guys.

My friend Pat wrote in regarding the potential split in the Methodist Church: "What’s tragic is that one central point of Christ’s ministry is to teach us how to be “with” one another. I firmly believe that with is the most important four letter word in the New testament."

With. With. Is there any Christianity really if we are alone? Didn't Jesus gather people around him? And while I am on this subject, where is the phrase "personal relationship with God" found in the Bible? It isn't. Now I am all for personal relationships with God, but has our insistence on keeping faith private and personal allowed us to push away anyone that we wanted? Has it allowed us to ignore the plight of many needy people in the world? The Good Samaritan did not have a private faith, he had a "with" faith.

We are all in this together. Everyone matters. Even those with whom we disagree.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

worth splitting over?

Another thought that came from a dialogue with one of you readers.

A friend wrote in... my husband and I were discussing this while we were driving back from Texas and it just seems interesting that this [homosexuality] is the one issue that the Methodist church has decided is worth splitting the church over if necessary. What about all the homeless people, the hungry children, the poor all around us? To me, those issues seem much more important and life threatening to some.   I have been going to a Methodist church every week since I was born and it seems like kind of a silly issue to hang our hat on.

I find this to be a fascinating thought.  We Methodists have stayed together even though we have had different views on politics, abortion, gambling, capital punishment and the list goes on.  But on this one, it appears that we might be throwing in the towel.  Sad indeed.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

Trip Updates and New Trip to Paris/Normandy

Let me use today's post to give you some updates on the trips that I am leading.


The Cuba Cruise August 13-17 has no more availability thru my travel group so if you want to go, you can book through Norwegian directly.  WWW.NCL.COM



The Ireland trip has 21 signed up.  9 are taking the London extension. 

The Cliffs of Moher

There is still room for you to go!  I am very excited about this trip.  The link to it is here:

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Temple Mount and Wailing Wall

The Holy Land Trip has 14 signed up so far.  This will include many of my favorite spots including:  The river Jordan, Caesarea by the Sea, Caesarea Philippi, Mt Carmel, The Sea of Galilee, Masada, The Jerusalem holocaust museum, Jerusalem and the temple mount.  I am still trying to negotiate for a visit to Beit She'an, a fantastic archaeological sight.  the link to the Holy Land trip is here:

Holy Land Tour - with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

I am adding in river cruise to Paris and Normandy.  

Fly to Paris, Cruise the River Seine.  Visit Les Andelys, Le Havre, Rouen, The Normandy Beaches and more. Click below for more information.

Paris-Normandy River Cruise

October 23-31, 2019

Click here to read or download the Paris Normandy Brochure

I have found travel to be such a beautiful way to see and experience God's world.  I have also kept up with old friends and made many new, valuable friendships along the way. 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Thanks.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

It is a gift to say, "I love you"

From my friend, Di...

I LOVE YOU

How often do you hear these words? From how many different people? How often do you say them?

Until about a year ago I only heard them consistently from one person.. not daily but often. Now I have been blessed with another person in my life that tells me this just about every day. So I have 2 people.

This morning the thought of that made me sad...
I thought about the person I love dearly and that I speak those words to everyday - very rarely getting more than a mumble in reply. I thought about the person that died a couple of years ago and all I wanted was to hear those words whispered to me. Yes. I know they love me but there is something about hearing it that makes a body feel good. Strips away the anxiety. Warms the heart. Lifts the spirits.

I thought about my friends that hear this all the time. Even several times a day. I stop myself before I start wallowing in self-pity and get stuck in the comparison trap. Instead I hope they realize how blessed they are.

I thought about the people that don't have anyone. That really made me sad.

Now as I write this an inspiration strikes me. I do have someone else..I have God. He loves me so much!!  I just need to be quiet so I can hear.
I need to open my eyes and really look around. Breathe deeply and smell. Eat slowly and taste. Reach out and feel.

Quit rushing through each day. Stop. Be grateful. Share His love with others. Help them to know.

God is love.
God loves me and God loves you!

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

today's sermon audio the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

click here to listen

this is the link

one mouth, two ears

My friend Lori wrote...

In a world of "I'm right and you're wrong" or "it's all about me," it is challenging to face hard times without feeling judgment from those around us.

Since no one is perfect, we can even find ourselves judging others. We know how it feels to be judged, but yet we judge others.  It is a vicious cycle of the human ego.

Are there negative Nellies in your life?  What if the naysayers win the day? What if those who look down on you win the battle?   Would the world be a better place?

And what if, instead of being negative, we used the tools God gave us for good. What if we used our two ears to hear - to listen - to understand - to be empathetic? What if we used our eyes to see beauty in acts of kindness?  What if we learned to see those around us as God's children?

What if we used our mouths - our one and only mouth - to seek truth, offer forgiveness, and to speak love? What if we held our tongues as our grandmother's reminded us to?  How would our world be different?

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason.  May our listening be more than our talking.  May kindness dominate what we allow to pass our lips.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....


Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

last Sunday's Sermon audio 7-8-15 The Parable of the mustard seed and Yeast - it's about change

Sermon on the Mustard seed that grows and morphs.  Yeast/Leaven that slowly changes the dough.

click here to listen

God in a box

From Richard Rohr's daily devotional on Sunday, July 1.

It takes a long time for us to allow God to be who God really is. Our natural egocentricity wants to make God into who we want God to be... While there are some “pure of heart” people (see Matthew 5:8) who come to “see God” naturally and easily, most of us need lots of help.

If God is always Mystery, then God is always in some way the unfamiliar, beyond what we’re used to, beyond our comfort zone, beyond what we can explain or understand. In the fourth century, St. Augustine said, “If you comprehend it, it is not God.” [1] Would you respect a God you could comprehend? And yet, very often we want a God who reflects and even confirms our culture, our biases, our economic, political, and security systems.

...God created human beings in God’s own image, and we’ve returned the compliment, so to speak, by creating God in our image. In the end, we produced what was typically a small, clannish God. In America, God looks like Uncle Sam or Santa Claus, an exacting judge, or a win/lose business man—

...Normally we find it very difficult to let God be greater than our culture, our immediate needs, and our projections. The human ego wants to keep things firmly in its grasp; so, we’ve created a God who fits into our small systems and our understanding of God. Thus, we’ve produced a God who requires expensive churches and robes, a God who likes to go to war just as much as we do, and a domineering God because we like to dominate. We’ve almost completely forgotten and ignored what Jesus revealed about the nature of the God he knew....

Jeff comments... I love it!  Yes we have made God into something that we can control.  Some have made him into something that they can use to hurt others.  God is not there for us to use to hurt others, and God is not there for us to try to control.

God is love, and that is what he asks us to do.  Simple.  Period.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....


Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

we might be getting a little bit picky

I received this cartoon from my friend Linda. 

It made me think about how picky we humans are.  How we have rights and demands that even Jesus did not have.

I want to drive this kind of car.
My AC better not be broken.
My order better not be messed up.
I want thin crust.
Don't forget the red peppers.
I want
I want
I want
I
I
I

Sometimes it seems like the world is more about me than it should be.  Let us take stock and remember that it is not our world, it is our Father's world.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

people are generally good

My friend Sharon from Cape Coral wrote this in....

"we have found people to people, one on one, stranger to stranger, to be kind, caring...in a word...wonderful. WE are not the problem. Media, politicians, the search for sensationalization, etc. are trying to tell us we all suck! Not so! Love, baby! Just love on one another. So simple...that is what we are supposed to do!"

My comments..... I think of how the news on TV is always bad. A shooting here, a problem there. The president did this, the president did that. It is like the media wants to keep us upset about something.

What if we choose to opt out. I choose to not be upset by what is going on. I choose to focus on the 10,000 good things instead of the 37 bad things.

I choose to smile instead of frown. I choose to love instead of hate. I choose happiness. I choose to see the good. Hey, wait, that has a ring to it....

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

I am retired

The internet has given us an unprecedented ability to stay in touch and keep up with each other.  In a matter of seconds we can reach out and wish each other happy birthday or ask a question.  We are living in a very different time.

In 1994 I moved from one church to another.  There was no internet, no email, no blogs, no texting and no cell phones.  Back then if someone wanted to stay in touch with me, they sent a card or made a phone call on a land line [remember those?]

Today because of all of the electronic stuff, we can stay in touch, and we do.  And I am glad to stay in touch with you.  I am glad that you read my daily blogs.  I am glad that we share email.  However, I can only be your friend, or your former pastor.  You have a new pastor.  I can love you and you can love me, but I cannot serve the role that I used to fill for you [unless you go to the Ft Pierce church.]

In Princeton and Mercer, Shawn is your pastor.  In Lee's Summit, Robyn is your pastor. In Cape Coral, Chuck is your pastor.  And after November 2018 in Ft Pierce, Tim will be your pastor.

I love you and I am fine with us staying in touch but I want you to lean in to your pastor.  I want you to love and support them.  As a former pastor I know, they need your love and support.  Hug them, look them in the eye.  Thank them.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Is it right?

A friend wrote in to ask me about homosexuality.  I think that they were asking, Shouldn't we tell people when we think that they are wrong?

We who grew up with Midwestern old fashioned values have a long list of things that we think are right and wrong.  At some point though we need to ask ourselves what business is it of ours?  I don't think that God put Christians here to be the morality police.  We don't get to vote on what other people do in their own homes or bedrooms for that matter.

The Bible teaches that we are all in the same boat. We are all sinners.  There are not categories of sinners.  One category for those with what we consider little sins and another for what we consider big sins.  We are all in the same boat.  All sinners.

I don't think it is our job to straighten people out.  That is God's job.  He has the Holy Spirit and he does not need our help.  Maybe we need to work on the board in our own eye.  I know that I do.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs



It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

The Walk of Shame

 So I have been watching the scale.  It must be broken.  I have been noticing that my clothes are getting smaller.  They must be shrinking!!!

I lose a notch in my belt.  My Sunday pants are getting tight.  Finally it is time for the walk of shame.  The walk of shame is when you go to Kohls to buy bigger clothes.  No one wants to do it.  I hope you never have to.

We took our 30% coupon in.  Do you know that I know someone who just tells the clerk that they have a 30% coupon even when they don't?  We actually had the coupon.  So I am looking for a suit that will fit because I have a wedding coming up.

I found something to fit.  It was on sale.  Plus and xtra 30% off!  I hope it still fits me in a few weeks.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

Balcony People

Some years ago I did a sermon based on the book Balcony People by Joyce Landorf Heatherley.  It is a marvelous book about how real people have real needs. 

Joyce says that some people look down from the balcony and judge those below.  Some live down below and complain about everything.  But there are those who reach over the side of the balcony to lend a hand up.  This is what we should all aspire to be.

We can grouse about our lives.  We can look upon others with scorn.  Or we can see people and reach for them.  Are you reaching for people?  Are you helping people up in life?

Every moment wasted on negativity is a moment that cannot be recaptured.  May we all lift one another up.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

another great day!

I am celebrating last Tuesday, June 26th.  I am actually writing this on June 26, celebrating today!
I wasn't working and my wife was out of town so it was a day for me to catch up on things.

I slept well.  11pm - 5am.
I got a cup of coffee.
I watched the news.
I watched ESPN Sport Center's top ten plays from the day before.

At 6:30 I started working on the truck's rear brakes.  The rotors were stuck on of course, but I learned a cool way to get them off.  The brakes were done by 8:30.  I had done the fronts a few weeks ago, so now I am in a good stopping truck.

I built a shelf for my wife's closet.

I hung two towel racks.

I went and got a haircut.  I bought a saw blade at Harbor Freight tools.  I went to the grocery store and bought a tomato and a head of lettuce.  Do you see where that is going???

I went home and at 12:30 made myself a wonderful BLT sandwich.  MMMMM.  Yummie.

All of this before lunch time!!!  How exciting.  Gosh we should be excited for every day shouldn't we?

Randomly at lunch I was listening to music and one of my favorite songs, Into the Mystic by Van Morrison came on.  I have loved that song for years.  I thought as I listened, when did I first hear the song?  And I remembered that it is on the sound track of the movie Patch Adams.  Another great movie.  I was watching Patch Adams with Robin Williams and I heard that song and loved it.

click to listen to into the mystic

This afternoon I am going to meet by daughter and one of her friends and my Florida friend Jeff.  We are going to drink a beer and throw some cornhole.  [dumb name for the game]
The other thing that I am going to do this afternoon and into the evening is hurt.  Every bone in my body is sore from the brake job.

Sore isn't bad though.  It reminds us that we are still among the living.
I hope you had a great day on June 26th and every one since.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

grateful or thankful?

I was talking to someone the other day and they were telling me that they were explaining to their son the difference between gratitude and being thankful.

I thought, oh, I am about to learn something.  Because prior to this if you asked me, they were the same.

He told me that you can be thankful and sit on your butt in a chair and do nothing.  You can be thankful and appreciate a thing. 

He said that gratitude has a different connotation.  One derivative of the word is "gratuity."  Like you leave a tip.  I am grateful for what you did so I leave a gratuity.  Therefore he says that to be grateful is to take action. 

So we are thankful when we appreciate a thing, we are grateful when we act to repay or pass on the kindness.

Something to think about.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

reflections on my birthday

Today I am 61.  My sisters and I are chatting quite a bit about becoming 61 and 62 because mom died at 62 years, 363 days.

Reflections on my life.

I have been so blessed.  I have a wonderful wife and three wonderful kids.  I have had the privilege of serving wonderful churches.  All of them were wonderful.  You guys helped me grow up.  You raised my kids.  You welcomed and accepted me.  It is hard to believe that I got paid for hanging around the church, preaching, and loving people.

Now I am partly retired.  I love the church that I am serving, or I should say that I love the people.  I have another little part time gig with my buddy Derek.  My family is comfortable.  I have so much to be thankful for.

I want to thank each of you, and I looked the other day and there are 700+ people that read or get this blog.  I want to thank each of you for loving me.

On my 61st birthday I want to say to myself and to anyone else that is listening... we get caught up in so much stuff that is hurtful...  love them instead.  Love them all.  It is the only thing that matters.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

July 4

Reflections on July 4th.  Read the whole post please.

When I was a kid I thought our country was perfect.  Over the years I learned that we have been involved in some questionable wars.  I have learned that we have done some things behind the scenes that were not so nice.  We have propped up dictators who had terrible human rights violations.  Our Congressmen and Senators seem more interested in their pockets than the country.  We conveniently got into a war with Mexico and ended up with California, Arizona and New Mexico.

All of that said, I can not think of another place where I would rather live.  I have been to Mexico, Canada, Nicaragua, Mozambique, France, Italy and Russia.  I wouldn't trade Missouri or Florida for any of that.

I am thankful today for the opportunities that my parents and this country gave and give me. 

• freedom
• the abundance of food
• the ability to travel from state to state or country to country
• the right to vote
• a college education
• the right to have as many children as I want
• the right to associate with whomever I choose
• the freedom of worship

Yes our country is not perfect, but it is a wonderful place to live.  Happy Birthday America!

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

pick your sin

So some churches and some Christians are all up in arms insisting that homosexuality is a sin.  I am not addressing that here today but I do want to address this thought.

The Bible also speaks to gluttony, to gossip, and to hatred.  Where is the Christian outrage over gluttony?  We so easily pick which things and which people we want to pick on.  And you know what?  It usually is not me.  We usually pick on those whose problems are different than mine.

Ever hear a fat preacher drone on about gluttony?  No.

We all have our problems and we would all be better off if we concentrated on resolving our issues instead of pointing the finger at someone else.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

but what does Jeff think?

Several have asked, but what does Jeff think about homosexuality?

Let me begin with this.  We live in a particular culture.  The religious culture in America is simply American.  Many American Christians believe that commonly held views in America are held around the world.  Not so.  Many American Christians have confused the American version of Christianity with actual Christianity.  Around the world there are many different beliefs among Christians.  Some American Christians believe that drinking is wrong.  The culture in Europe is different.  If you go to Ireland and tell them not to drink beer, they will laugh you out of the church.  Go to France and tell the Catholics not to drink wine and they will laugh your Christianity away.  So it is true with homosexuality.  While it is a big issue here [in some circles], it is not an issue everywhere.  There are some countries where it is much more normalized and there are still countries where you can go to jail for it.

So what do I think.

I am straight.  I have always been.  If the most handsome guy in the world is George Clooney, I have never looked at him or another man and thought, "hubba hubba."  Honestly there is not a fiber of my being that understands homosexuality.  But there is not a fiber of my being that relates to murder or 50 other things either.

I have met many gay people over the years.  They are people.  They deserve to be loved and respected.  One of the saddest things in the world to me is when someone comes out as gay and their family rejects them.

Just because I am not something does not mean that I or we have to reject someone or hurt them.  Jesus surely encounter gay and bisexual people.  In his day it was common for men who owned slaves to use them.  Jesus loved everyone.  Period.  We should as well.

Yes there are a number of scriptures that talk about homosexuality and I will address those one of these days.  But remember, the dominat theme of scripture is love.  Love.  LOVE.

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

- - - - - - - - -

I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs

The Way Forward

The purpose of the blog today is to bring you up to speed as much as I can about the tension in the United Methodist Church over human sexuality.  If any of you have corrections or anything to add, please help me get it right.

Annual conference is a yearly meeting of your Methodist group.  Missouri has an annual conference.  Florida has one.  Etc.  Then there is what is called General Conference which meets every 4 years.  It is the world wide gathering of Methodists and it alone speaks for the church.

I went to my first Annual conference in Tulsa in 1982.  I have been every year since except for one.  At that conference in 1982 and at every General Conf since, the issue of Homosexuality has come up.  The current stance of the UMC is that "homosexuality is not compatible with Christian teaching."  We are not allowed as clergy to perform same sex marriages and our buildings are not allowed to be used for them.  Many clergy and congregations around the country ignore these Methodist laws.

Just as the country is divided, the church is divided over these issues.  As a general rule, the northeast and the northwest are more liberal or progressive and as a general rule the south and the African Methodists are more traditional.  That is a generalization of course.

The tension between these groups came to a head at the 2016 General Conf in Portland.  At that conference, it was decided that the Bishops would come up with a plan to resolve this.  The Bishops appointed a group of people to a commission called "The Way Forward."  After some months of meeting, the Way Forward group came up with three proposals.  You can read about them here.

click here to read about the three plans

In my opinion, many church leaders are speaking with naive optimism that the church will stay together.  My Missouri Bishop Robert Farr gave a wonderful talk at annual conference and he is concerned that we may lose 1/3 of our churches.  I am concerned too.  I do not think that any of the proposals will satisfy the traditional group, except the traditional plan.  I fear that we will be facing
some difficult days ahead as a denomination.

Here is an illustration of how polarized the situation is:  Rev. Rob Renfroe is the president of Good News, an unofficial advocacy group that seeks to strengthen enforcement of church laws on homosexuality. [keep and enforce the ban] At a luncheon with likeminded United Methodists in the Texas Conference, He urged liberal/progressive Bishops to “Admit you no longer have the moral authority to lead this church,” he said. “And if you want to lead others out to something other than The United Methodist Church, we will bless you as you go.”

The report of The Way Forward commission will be voted on at a special general conference to be held in February in St. Louis.  I was going to go to this meeting, but I understand that it is closed.

I wish that we could all just get along and love each other, but it isn't looking promising.

However, it is still a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

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I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

4 Night cruise from Port Canaveral to Key West and Havana, Cuba.
August 13-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/cc18081318h17768#eotours

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/hl19030419g17768#.Wt84h7lRHcs