Thursday, March 04, 2010
As we journey through the Christian year, we find ourselves in Lent—a season of introspection and examination of our hearts in light of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent, we are challenged to consider the incredible price God willingly paid to redeem us from life separated from His mercy, grace, peace and love.
One of the passages of the New Testament that draws my attention during Lent is
Philippians 2:5-11. Most scholars agree that this text was...
Monday, February 01, 2010
As you make your travel and vacation plans for the year, prayerfully consider serving on one of our mission teams.
YUGO to Mexico/Family Mission, June 5-12: Minister among the migrant farm workers and people of Ensenada, Mexico with YUGO Ministries . The staff and missionaries will provide evangelistic opportunities as well as outreach contacts through networking with various local Christian ministries & churches. This team will use a variety of creative methods to...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
United Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of the UMCOR Haiti field office in 2005. >>Click here to donate .
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Beginning this week, Christ Church is offering a number of opportunities to help you develop a biblical worldview including new Christ College courses, The Truth Project Grace Group and two new opportunities for women: W3 (Women, Worldview & the Word) and WILD (Women’s Intensive Leadership Development).
Previous participants had this to say about these opportunities:
“ Christ College will equip the head and the heart of the follower of Christ so that he/she can...
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
It is important for Christians to understand the difference between a secular and a biblical worldview. Christian pollster George Barna defines a biblical worldview this way:
“believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific doctrinal truths. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He still rules it today; salvation is...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the difference between a secular worldview and a biblical worldview. The following twist of The Three Little Pigs provides some insight. The story is adapted from Iva G. May’s curriculum W3: Women, Worldview and the Word . While the focus here is on women, men can certainly substitute their own lures such as playing golf, season sports tickets or watching hours of ESPN…
Once upon a time there were three little pigs. The time came for...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The scene is 1865 in Israel. The well-respected Boston rector Reverend Phillips Brooks is on a horseback journey from Jerusalem to the little town of Bethlehem to assist with the midnight Christmas Eve service. As he begins to descend upon the city of David, he is captivated by the humble serenity of the birthplace of God Almighty.
He wrote, “I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after...
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Charlie Brown had the right idea. Charged with the task of obtaining a tree for the Christmas play, good ol’ Chuck, tired of all the commercialism, selected the least impressive tree in the entire lot. It also happened to be the only live tree. Another Charles, Mr. Wesley, also appreciated the hidden glory in a tiny Christmas life. He painted his classic carol, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing upon the backdrop of the humility of the Almighty Christ.
Christ by highest...
Friday, December 11, 2009
I got an e-mail quoted from Ben Stein's website which said, "I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In...
Monday, December 07, 2009
Now known as the Father of English Hymnody, Isaac Watts began writing verses as a small child. In his teen years, young Isaac complained that the songs in church were hard to sing. To this his father replied, “Well, write some that are better.” And he did. In fact, from that point on, Watts wrote a new hymn for his local parish every week until his repertoire boasted some 600 pieces. Already a notable scholar and author, in 1719 Watts sat down under a tree at the Abney Estate near...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Christmas began long before herald angels sang the first noel while shepherds watched their flocks that silent night outside the little town of Bethlehem. It is fitting, then, that one of the oldest songs in our hymnody is also one of the oldest cries of mankind. O come, O come, Emmanuel expresses humanity’s deep burden to see things finally set aright. Surely Christmas began with this promise in the Bible’s very first book: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and...
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Given the recent box office statistics and fanfare over the current Twilight book series & new movie release, New Moon, we ran across a blog post that is quite poignant. Check out Vampire Confessions from our missions partner & former missions pastor, James Loftin: http://jamesloftin.com/vampire-confessions .
Monday, November 16, 2009
I’ve been studying the book of Joshua with the junior highers for the past seven weeks. In the first week, I came across something that really bugged me. In chapter 1, verses 6 through 9, the author made it a point to let us know that God wanted Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” God commanded it three times in those four verses. In verse 9, He adds, “do not be terrified or discouraged, for I will be with you wherever you go.” I mean, what is it with Joshua?
He was there...
Friday, November 06, 2009
Statistics tell us...
More than half of all children living in Memphis live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty (as defined by neighborhoods in which at least 20% of households live beneath the poverty level).
Half of children living in high poverty neighborhoods change schools at least once per year. Changing schools is associated with academic under-performance.
80% of children entering kindergarten in the U.S. are better equipped in math...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Lowe's and Walmart already have their displays up. Is anyone else groaning at the mere thought of the upcoming seasons? For me, fall is the best possible nickname for autumn. It feels like an intense gravitational pull toward the bottom of social and financial exhaustion. Halloween, otherwise known as the new Christmas Eve, will launch us into the great high holiday season of Western Consumerism. We are weary at the thought of the immensity of our Christmas gift list and try to...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
“During Bridging the Gap, we hope to take you to places you’ve never been before, both in the city of Memphis and in your heart. To sum it up, we cannot know and love our neighbors who live in poverty if we do not know them—if we do not have a clue what they go through. Together we will experience a little piece of what that looks and feels like.” –Planner & CUMC Missions Associate Abbye Pates
Following the inaugural Bridging the Gap weekend last spring, plans...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry opens Friday, September 25 at the Malco Collierville Towne Cinema and Malco Wolfchase Galleria. This movie tells the story of a 75-year-old man and how his example and teachings influence a group of 12-year-old boys. >>Learn more .
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Life change happens best in Sunday school? Small group? Deeper discipleship classes that teach people to be self-feeders? The church in America has been wrestling with this question for several decades. We've been trying to find the right "program" to make, mature and mobilize disciples. >>Read Associate Pastor Scott Lees' recent blog post from The Olio .
Scott Lees
Monday, August 24, 2009
See pics and hear what's happening on the current mission trip to Africa at http://cumcmemphisteamupdates.blogspot.com/ .
Sarah Phelan
Thursday, August 13, 2009
What would you do if your pastor instructed you to take an envelope filled with money as part of a reverse offering? That’s exactly what happened at Christ Church on August 9 as members were given envelopes of cash ranging from $10 up to $100. The assignment: invest the money in God’s Kingdom by giving it away.
More than 650 members received an envelope totaling about $8,000. Each envelope also contained a card to return to the church within the next two weeks sharing how...
Friday, July 31, 2009
I spent some time in Catherine the Great's backyard a few days ago. After aimlessly roaming the masterfully landscaped gardens, my trek brought me to a Monetesque bridge overlooking the serene lake island, whose distant shore was sprinkled with colorful architectural wonders. The July air in St. Petersburg was dry and cool, and I took a breath which I desired never to exhale. There was a dull ache in my soul to remain in this moment forever.
Catherine's winter palace lay...
Friday, July 24, 2009
How many of you are on Twitter? Yes, it’s another social network. Just when you feel like you are getting a handle on Facebook, another online application comes your way. Perhaps, like me, you’re just trying to keep up with the speed of traffic, let alone the speed of change. However, I have found Twitter to be a great resource because it connects me to more than friends. Twitter connects me to great information and articles.
Most of my friends are connected to ministry...
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Right now, CUMC has mission teams serving around the world in China, Russia and Zambia. These teams are blogging about their experiences as Internet access allows them to do. Remember to pray for these teams and check out their posts at http://cumcmemphis.blogspot.com .
Sarah Phelan
Friday, June 26, 2009
When I was growing up, one of my favorite cartoons was The Transformers, “Robots in disguise.” There were two groups of robots—good and evil—that would battle back and forth. The robots had the ability to change into a type of transportation—plane or truck—and back to robots. I thought it was one of the coolest things. I loved it so much that I wanted to name my son “Optimus Prime,” but my wife wouldn’t let me.
The interesting thing about The Transformers is that when they...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Christ College is an intense discipleship experience for those who desire a deeper level of biblical teaching and accountability. Registration is now open for the fall semester , which begins August 16. >>Register now .
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
There they are—three hamsters in the latest car out of Korea obviously enjoying their ride through the city to the beat of song coming from an MP3 player plugged into the car’s vibrant sound system.
Indeed, they are the only hamsters in the commercial apparently enjoying life while many others are striving energetically on stationary wheels that merely squeak as they pour themselves into the effort. So what’s the message of this $270 million ad campaign to the gen-Y...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
I've had many types of jobs. In high school, I did everything from digging ditches, to painting bathtubs, to sorting fiberglass insulation, to making custom air ducts. This trend continued when I went to college. I was a youth pastor, a bagel baker (very cool) and a clerk at a small hardware store. I learned a lot from all of these jobs, but I learned the most from working at the hardware store. One thing I learned while I was there was how to sharpen lawn mower blades.
The most...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Prophet Jeremiah says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" This is clearly a verse about artichokes.
We must be careful not to read this with our American concept of the heart. Most of us will not be silly enough to conclude after reading this passage that our primary cardiovascular organ is flawed and academically beyond the study of even the finest cardiologists. Instead, due to our extensive Anglo-literary training, we immediately (and...
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Why do we have different styles of worship? Does the Bible teach us to be divided along lines of musical or atmospheric preference in our worship of Almighty God? I'm going to offer a pretty thick quote for us to consider, but it's ok if you glaze over it, because I'm going to break it down afterward. William Nichols writes in his book Jacob's Ladder,
"The foundation of Christian worship is Christ Himself, as One Who is both the Divine Word [REVELATION] and man's perfect RESPONSE to...
Monday, April 27, 2009
Now that the dust has settled a bit, I'd like to share some thoughts regarding the recent departure of University of Memphis basketball head coach John Calipari. When the announcement was made that our Coach Cal was considering the position at the college basketball Mecca University of Kentucky, our city was thrown into an uproar. My wife and I gave one another bewildered glances as the newscast informed us of the candlelight vigil outside his home.
This was a huge blow to the morale of...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Is it in Sunday school, small groups or deeper discipleship classes that teach people to be self-feeders? The Church in America has been wrestling with this question for several decades. We’ve been trying to find the right “program” to make, mature and mobilize disciples. Every 10-20 years a new model comes along and claims to be the “master plan” of discipleship.
Church leaders point to models like Sunday school, small groups and now discipleship classes as the place where life...
Friday, April 10, 2009
When the Bridging the Gap weekend began, there were a few skeptics who weren't so sure what they had gotten themselves into. They weren't given much idea as to what would be going on, the upcoming weekend somewhat shrouded in mystery. All they knew was that Bridging the Gap was going to be a time of learning for ourselves what God's heart for the poor is and how as His followers we are called to respond.
We know from scripture that we are to take care of those oppressed by unjust...
Thursday, April 02, 2009
My parents took a trip to the Ozarks when I was a boy, and they left me with my aunt and uncle for a week. Aunt Jody was and continues to be a delightful southern belle. Her only discredit in my mind at the time was that she was married to a scary, mysterious man with a penchant for rules and ridicule. This did not mesh well with my default settings. I thought he must have won her in some kind of shady speakeasy poker game. A usually rambunctious if not obnoxious boy, I was often the...
Monday, March 23, 2009
As we’ve been making our way through the Bible, both at Christ College and as a church, I hope we see a consistent theme. Each of the characters in the stories we read is MESSY and BROKEN and in need of a REDEEMER.
Preachers often hold up Abraham, David and Paul as the heroes of our faith and then teach people, “You need to be like________. Look at their good works and faithfulness. You should do good works and be faithful too.” The problem with this approach is that it is not the...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
On Saturday mornings when we were children, my sister and I would wake up early and run to the living room where we would consult the oracle TV Guide as to what viewing glories awaited us. Occasionally, we would be disappointed by that dreaded symbol next to one of our favorite programs: the letter "r." You may be familiar with the MPAA rating, but I assure you the TV Guide "r" was much, much, worse. It meant the episode was a rerun, and, being connoisseurs of cartoons, we would...
Monday, March 09, 2009
I've been thinking about narcissism lately. Why? I started a Twitter account. For those of you still in the dark ages of Facebook, Twitter is a social network where you constantly share updates with your friends in response to the question, "What are you doing?" Not only do you share updates about yourself, but you also receive updates about your friends on your phone. Does this sound a bit narcissistic? Do my friends really want to know where I am going to eat tonight? Do they need to know...
Monday, March 09, 2009
I’ve been thinking about Lent. A short definition for me…a season leading up to Easter where we fully identify with Jesus and His journey to the cross; a season where we learn to die to ourselves because Jesus died for us.
I’ve received several e-mails and text messages asking if giving up Facebook, or coffee, or alcohol count as Lenten disciplines. I had an epiphany, an aha moment, last night.
LENT IS NOT ABOUT WHAT I GIVE UP FOR GOD.
IT’S ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN UP FOR...