My Christmas Confession

As I understand it, Christmas has a history of being hijacked. And I confess, I hope it gets hijacked again.

The first hijacking took place by the early Christians when they took December 25 from the Roman pagans who were worshipping “the unconquered sun” around that date. This may have been more about survival than anything. Long before the Christians had lots of money, giant cathedrals and political influence, they were a small, persecuted bunch whose story was continually in danger of being absorbed by the dominate culture that surrounded them. (Think: Being a Hindu or Buddist in Orlando today). So, the politically insignificant Christians thumbed their nose at Rome and said, “We know the ‘unconquered Son.’ His name is Jesus, and he is Lord. This is who we will remember on December 25.” Those were dangerous words at a time when proclaiming anyone but Caesar as Lord was punishable by death. That was the first hijacking.

I’m not sure where to pinpoint the second hijacking or who to pin the hijacking on. It was 1933 when the first Sears Roebuck “Christmas Wish Book” was published. In that catalog you could find “Miss Pigtails” doll, an electric (battery powered) toy automobile, a Mickey Mouse watch, fruitcakes, Lionel electric trains, a five pound box of chocolates, and live singing canaries. It was 2009 when, South Park’s Eric Cartman sang his version of O Holy Night. “O holy night! The something something distant. It is the night with the Christmas trees and pie. Jesus was born and so I get presents. Thank you, Jesus for being born.”

Was it Sears, South Park or someone else that thumbed a nose at the early church and said, “We know Jesus got presents on his birthday and we think it would be a good idea for everyone to get presents on Jesus’ birthday.” Strike that match in the middle of free enterprise and human greed and it isn’t long until you’ve got the kind of Christmas fire that we see in full blaze before Halloween in showroom and online stores. That was the second hijacking.

There’s a third hijack attempt that is about as popular as that first hijacking was with the Romans. This attempt meets with resistance from people inside and outside the church. I’m more familiar with the resistance inside the church since I feel it within my own soul. It is very difficult for me to imagine going through the “birthday party for everyone” version of Christmas and really honoring the incarnation of God and appropriately anticipating the coming reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. This has been a tension for me for as long as I can remember.

Lately I have thought that it’s a shame that this whole “birthday party for everyone” we know as Christmas couldn’t be sometime in July and called something other than Christmas. I’m not saying that I don’t like hanging lights, decorating trees, playing pretty music, eating great food and exchanging gifts. That’s fun! Who doesn’t like getting presents? Who doesn’t like making the ones we love smile – even squeal with joy – when they open up that present we gave them to find a great surprise or the toy they had been wanting? All that is great.

I just think we miss so much of what God’s incarnation in Jesus is about when it gets wrapped up in Eric Cartman’s version of O Holy Night.

Jesus wasn’t born so I could get an ipad, an xbox or a Furby. In fact, Jesus is known for calling a man to sell his ipad, xbox and Furby and come follow him. Jesus chose a life of homelessness and spent his time eating with outcasts and proclaiming that a new world was possible – a world without violence, where the hungry are fed, the vulnerable are noticed, the powerful are humbled, the blind receive sight, and people do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

The third hijacking of Christmas will not be as flashy or cool as the second hijacking. It will not appeal to our desire to be entertained. And if you work for Sears, it probably isn’t going to help your paycheck. This hijacking is born out of a desire to take Jesus more seriously than anything else, to live our lives in a way that make sense in light of the gospel that Jesus was born to proclaim, and to push back on a dominant culture that threatens to absorb the Truth that defines our lives.

If you are compelled to participate in this third hijacking of Christmas, I would recommend a little book called “A Different Kind of Christmas” and “Christmas Is Not Your Birthday” by Mike Slaughter. I would also recommend an online Advent retreat that is being offered by friends of mine, Rev. Jan Richardson and Garrison Doles. Perhaps you would also like to meet together with other Christians who would like to support you in your quest to remember the incarnation and anticipate the coming reign of God that look different from the “birthday party for everyone” version. Let me know and I will facilitate that gathering at Spring of Life.

Vision for 10 Years and Years to Come

It’s a big weekend for the people at Spring of Life United Methodist Church. We are celebrating ten years of ministry together. That we have become a community of faith with an average weekly worship attendance of 232, an average youth ministry participation of 25, an average children’s ministry participation of 60 and an average adult and youth discipleship group participation of 65 is a miracle of God.

Those are significant numbers of people and of course the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

From the time of our first worship service together on November 3, 2002 at the North Lake Park Community School cafeteria, we have said, “Spring of Life is a place you can come as you are.” So we all come with our habits, hurts and hang ups. We come with different levels of understanding about the God and the Bible. We come rich and poor, gay and straight, divorced and married, young and old, black, yellow, brown and white, faithful and unfaithful, confused and assured, anxious and at peace, sad and joyful. We come as we are to Spring of Life.

In time, we added to that by saying, “ . . . and become who God created you to be.”

Our conviction is that the God who has revealed himself fully through Jesus Christ is on a mission to remake the world. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the “first fruit” of God’s new creation. The forces and powers of evil at work in the world have lost their ultimate power. The victory over them has already been determined by Jesus’ victory over death through his crucifixion and resurrection.

The gift of God to us through Jesus is that we now have the power to live our lives in ways that make sense in light of God’s good news of Re-creation. We have the power to extend ourselves in vulnerable hospitality to strangers. We have the power to forgive our enemies rather than nurse grudges and seek revenge. We have the power to take responsibility for our brokenness and sin by saying, “I am sorry” - making amends with those we have harmed. We have the power to pay attention to the cries of the poor and powerless, and use our power as allies for the vulnerable and voiceless. We have the power to use our resources rightly, acting as good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, rather than being consumed by the consumerism of our culture. We have the power to recognize, understand and appreciate the differences that exist among us as we seek to become the beloved community that God created us to be. We have the power to hear God’s call in our lives individually and collectively and take the next step on the way with Jesus.

This is the vision of who God created us to be and who Spring of Life is becoming by God’s grace.
We bring what we have – all that we are – to God and God takes that raw material and weaves it into a beautiful tapestry.

Last week as Carolyn, Julia and I stuffed envelopes with financial commitment cards to send to people at Spring of Life, I recalled the many things God is doing through this community of faith. I leave you with this celebration of what God is making out of the people at Spring of Life!

Spring of Life is a church where people . . .

• Provide meals, hospitality and love to families at Ronald McDonald House

• Give us space to remember that God invites people of every nation, tribe and tongue to worship together

• Give encouragement to parents of teenagers

• Pray for our loved ones who are sick and comfort us when we grieve

• Help us to die with hope for resurrection and new creation.

• Help us find ways to serve God with the gifts and talent he gave us

• Pray for our children when they get into trouble

• Clothe the naked, feed the hungry and house the homeless

• Teach us who God is through Bible study and challenge us to live according to His will.

• Celebrate our marriage and support us in our married life

• Welcome us when we feel alone

• Help us guard against crippling debt and loving money and stuff more than God.

• Help us recognize understand and appreciate our differences politically – finding unity through Christ rather than our national identities

• Listen to our confession of sin and remind us that we are forgiven and free from guilt and shame

• Give us a sanctuary space when life is uncertain and chaotic

• Strengthen and heal our marriage when we are hurting

• Help us heal through a divorce that we didn’t want

• Show us the value of having relationships with people of all ages

• Support us when we are caring for a loved one who is ill

• Keep faith when we cannot make sense of why things happen the way they do.

• Show us the value of doing hard things that are right and good rather than taking the easy way out.

• Encourage us to take risks by stepping out of our comfort zone to serve God

• Welcome us into a life of following Jesus through the sacrament of Baptism.

Election Day Communion

On Tuesday, November 6 millions will be voting for a new president along with other amendments, state and county leaders. This is important work for free people to responsibly engage, and we have reminded the church to take this work seriously. I’ve reminded the church many times that there are faithful Christians at Spring of Life who will choose to vote for Barak Obama, others will choose to vote for Mitt Romney, others will choose to vote for another candidate and others will choose not to vote at all. I am aware that these differences will not bother God as much as they will bother some of us.


Therefore, on a day when many of us in the church will be choosing differently, we thought it would be important to remember to choose one thing together.The most significant thing that the church has to offer the world is the self-giving love of Christ that recognizes our differences and unites us in a way that no nation or state ever can. For this reason, Spring of Life will be offering Election Day Communion in a very public and invitational way outside, near the entrance to the church property. We will have a 20 minute liturgy with all who gather to receive God’s grace and place their life under the authority of Christ. The times will be 7:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 6:00 pm.

Let’s meet at the same table,
with the same host,
to remember the same things.

We’ll remember that real power in this world — the power to save, to transform, to change — ultimately rests not in political parties or presidents or protests but in the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus.

We’ll remember that, through the Holy Spirit, this power dwells within otherwise ordinary people who as one body continue the mission of Jesus: preaching good news to the poor, freeing the captives, giving sight to the blind, releasing the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:16-21).

We’ll remember that freedom — true freedom — is given by God and is indeed not free. It comes with a cost and it looks like a cross.

We’ll remember our sin and our need to repent.

We’ll remember that the only Christian nation in this world is the Church, a holy nation that crosses all human-made boundaries and borders.

We’ll remember that our passions are best placed within the passion of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

We’ll remember that we do not conform to the patterns of this world, but we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

We’ll remember that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness.

And we’ll re-member the body of Christ as the body of Christ, confessing the ways in which partisan politics has separated us from one another and from God.

On Tuesday, November 6,
make a choice to remember.
Let’s meet at the Lord’s Table.
Let’s remember together.
Please join us for communion on Tuesday, November 6, at 7am, 12pm and 6pm.

Election Day Communion is a grassroots, multidenominational campaign inviting churches to express their unity in the face of increasing polarization, by holding a communion service on Election Day, November 6, 2012. Originally started by two pastors with no funding or organizational backing, Election Day Communion has quickly grown to include more than 425 churches from over 20 denominations. www.electiondaycommunion.org

A Call to Ministry

Recently we finished a series of sermons on different "call stories" in the Bible. My friend Evelyn Teran (pictured left) will be presenting her understanding of God's call on her life to ordained/licensed ministry in the United Methodist Church at Spring of Life's Charge Conference on Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. Below is her written account. We celebrate Evelyn's gifts for ministry and are grateful to be sharing this journey with her.

I was born and raised Catholic but at the early age of ten I experienced a renewal of my faith through the Disciple of Christ church. I started to develop a passion for ministry as I was able to participate in various ministry opportunities such as Sunday school, youth group, choir, bible study, prayer services and hospital visitation with a group of young adults. Even when my parents remain attending to the Catholic Church, they liked the idea that I was attending the Disciple of Christ church because they were able to witness and experience my dedication to ministry. Since my early youth I have been drawn to pursue a spiritual journey that will lead me to a spiritual formation that reflects the grace and the love of God for me and others!

Through the years I have experienced this call as making disciples of all nations. In 1989, I moved from Puerto Rico, to the state of Virginia, where I became a member of a Pentecostal Holiness church. After serving in the church as a Sunday school teacher and volunteer for various other ministries such as drama team, Hispanic Ministry, and as an usher, I was approved and sent to Youth with a Mission, a missionary international and worldwide organization.

During my six years of missionary work I was given the opportunity to disciple and evangelize to nations in the South Pacific, Europe, and North Africa. I became part of the leadership team that trained and equipped others missionaries. During the time I was committed to the mission field I was still looking forward to one day becoming the pastor of a local church. As part of my journey I have been given the opportunity to serve as a youth pastor and also as pastor of a small Hispanic congregation on a military base in Germany.

Throughout my 25 years of ministry serving God and the community I finally have been able to enter a pathway that will lead me to the final acceptance of my calling.  I have a passion for discipleship, leadership, and community.  I believe God has prepared me for a moment like this where I can serve the church with my talents and spiritual gifts. For the last four years I have dedicated myself to the Central Florida area serving as a hospital Chaplain and have been able to support and empathize with people during their darkest hours. I have as well had the opportunity to minister with prayer and counseling to staff and family members of the hospital. I believe God has guided me to serve as a Chaplain to form and affirm my pastoral identity with the intention to prepare me to do the work of a local pastor.

As I was seeking God and ways to better serve Him in the community His hand led me to the Spring of Life church. As I started to function as the leader for the Hispanic Ministry I found myself engaging in a pastoral role. Within this new role and my cross-cultural experience I believe that God is calling me to embrace a multicultural ministry that is compatible with the Gospel of Christ, where every nation and every tongue will worship together. In my calling I feel directed by God to lead and encourage others to walk in unity.

I believe I have the skills and spiritual gifts to teach, exhort, and discern to help and disciple the church to come near God and to develop an understanding of His love and grace. For the past few years I have pursued and accomplished pastoral clinical education in preparation in response to my calling. As I reflect on my journey I know that I have love and passion for the word, order, and sacrament within the church. I am passionate about empowering others to fulfill God’s call in their life, unifying and strengthening the church with the intention of making disciples of all nations. Within this journey one of my most sacred “memento” was the first time I was able to serve the communion for the Hispanic Ministry in Spring of Life, I felt the love of God in my heart affirming my call to serve others!

A Community of Extravagant Generosity

From support for those fighting cancer, giving to stop hunger now, doing minor home repair, to providing funds and labor for a wheelchair ramp, I see the generosity of the people of Spring of Life. I see many of you continuing to practice habits of good financial management in your own households so that you are free to give when God calls. You continue to push back on the culture of over-consumption as an act of worship. This hard work of financial discipleship is what we learn in Financial Peace University, and over time, we discover the joy of generous giving and the peace of being debt free.


Last Sunday in worship we heard Lenora talk about a call to ministry that she sensed for herself as well as her business (Cambridge School of Ballet). You might not think that teaching people to plié and grand jeté would be able to help put an end to human trafficking or provide clean water for people in Africa, but this was the vision that God laid on Lenora’s heart. Wow, can a business answer a call to ministry too?

A couple weeks ago in the Disciple Bible study on Wednesday night we read about God’s covenant (promise) that he made with Abraham. God said, “I will bless you and make your name great. I will make you a great nation so that you will be a blessing.”

“ . . . so that you will be a blessing.”

I remember one time after I had finished a funeral for a young man in my church, his dad came up to me and handed me a check for leading the service. I pushed back, trying to be gracious, and said, “Hey thank you, but I don’t need it. I’m well taken care of, thank you.” He just kept holding the check out and said, “Well, you know this doesn’t have to line your own pockets. Please take it.”

“. . . this doesn’t have to line your own pockets.”

Right. We are blessed so that we will be a blessing. God wants the world to know that he is a generous and self-giving God who notices the cries of the poor and oppressed. And so, we order and manage our financial life and our business so that we can reflect our generous, self-giving God to the world.

There is a person in our church right now who has been left alone by her family and unable to work right now because of surgery she recently had to remove what they thought was cancer in her abdomen. Thankfully, it turned out not to be cancer, but she remains vulnerable without a spouse, without family, and without a job to pay for food, shelter and healthcare. As you can imagine, she is afraid and lonely.

Those who know her at Spring of Life have told her. “We are your family. You are not alone. We are praying for you and we will make sure that you have food, shelter and friendship to get through this hard time.”

God says to his people: Do not to neglect the orphan, widow and vulnerable in your land because at one time you were vulnerable too. (see Exodus 22:21-22)

“. . . at one time you were vulnerable too.”

God is good to remind us when we have more than enough food, clothing, shelter; more than one means of transportation and a vast support network of family and friends that at one time we had none of that.

“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” 1Corinthians 4:7

“. . . what do you have that you did not receive?”

The truth is that we need friendship with those who are vulnerable as much as the vulnerable need friendship with those who have material resources. Interestingly, the Bible says, “God is close to the brokenhearted” and “blessed are the poor.” Jesus, himself, chose a life of homelessness and called the rich young ruler who wanted to see eternal life to sell everything, give it to the poor and come be a homeless follower too.

So Jesus doesn’t model a life of throwing a few bucks at the poor, he lives among the poor, in friendship, and by so doing, redefines blessing for the world.

Questions for reflection:

What about giving brings you joy?

Are there barriers to generous giving in your life? What are they?

What do you have to give when you are feeling vulnerable and alone like the woman in our church?

What do you have to receive from friendship with the poor?

How do you think it is true that the poor are blessed like Jesus says?

Now and Not Yet by Lenora Rousseau

I remember as a pre-teen sitting in the back seat of our station wagon for a number of family road trips from California to Florida, anxiously looking forward to arriving at my grandparents’ house in Pensacola. The first day of our trip was always the same. I couldn’t get in the car fast enough. By the third day, there were never enough rest breaks, and my younger brother would inevitably test my waning patience, triggering that age old lament… “Are we there yet?” The answer was always the same…“No!” And, more often than not, it was accompanied by the following admonitions (fired in rapid, ping pong succession by my parents): “Stop whining!… You’ll know it when we get there!… You need to learn to enjoy the journey!” Prophetic words, indeed.

In our recent worship services, while reflecting on Jeremiah’s call story, Pastor Dave posed the question: “What do you suppose God wants you to be now and when you grow up?” This was aimed primarily at our youth, but served as a thoughtful reminder to the entire congregation that God calls each of us to serve him in different ways during every age and stage of our lives. For the past three years, I have been exploring a call to ordained ministry within the United Methodist Church as a Deacon. When I think about how this journey has unfolded, I don’t have a ‘burning bush’ moment I can point to. Hearing a call to ordained ministry has evolved over time, being revealed one step at a time, with just enough insight for the next step. In many ways, it has mimicked those long family road trips. And along the way, I have discovered that my call is really twofold: who God is calling me to be now, and who God is calling me to be in the future. The phrase now and not yet comes to mind.

Those of you who know my background might be wondering how a Jewish girl ends up becoming a Methodist in the first place, and then goes on to discern a call to ordained ministry. A road less traveled indeed! Well, the simple answer is grace, and lots of it! When I first arrived in a United Methodist Church ten years ago, I was extremely broken emotionally and spiritually. At seventeen, I had accepted Christ as my Savior. But by the end of my twenties, I needed much more than a shining white knight to save the day, or a golden ticket to heaven ‘when this life was over.’ I needed (and wanted) to be fully transformed from the inside out; I was desperate for a life of faith that I could sink my teeth into and be made truly new. The message of grace (in its fullness), a theological cornerstone of the United Methodist Church, enabled me to encounter the unconditional love of God in such a unique and deeply profound way that it changed my walk with God forever. Learning to incorporate the means of grace into my life– worshipping, sacraments, serving, praying, studying, giving, fasting, and such– has continued to mold and shape me. Ten years later, I can honestly say that who I am now is closer to who God has created me to be than ever before. For now, God has called me to be a wife (to the most amazing husband ever), a mother and homeschool teacher to three wonderful children, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an artistic director, a member of the praise team at Spring of Life along with other leadership roles, and a seminarian. All of which would be impossible without the grace of God.

It’s no secret that worship, especially worship arts are a passion for me. For the past five years, I have been blessed to be the Artistic Director of Cambridge School of Ballet, running all of our classes out of Spring of Life UMC. During this time, God has given me a vision for redeeming the arts by using it as a tool for discipleship while making a difference in the lives of less fortunate children around the world. Our logo incorporates the tag line, “Pursuing passion with a purpose.” I have sought to live that out that purpose through the M6:8 Mission (based on Micah 6:8) to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. If you are interested, you can learn more about the M6:8 Mission at www.csoballet.org.

Ultimately, serving at Spring of Life UMC and directing the ballet school these past five years have been catalysts for discerning a call to ordained ministry. Yet, I would be misleading you if I didn’t admit that this has been a slow and lengthy process. Why? Because I have been fearful and resistant, stubbornly hiding behind a long list of excuses. Yet, God has continued to call, and I have continually sought to answer that call. Why Deacon? I heard it said once that “worship equals change,” meaning whenever and wherever God is worshipped, redeeming change is inevitable. For many of us, Sunday worship (or time spent at the church itself) is the only time we experience this kind of transformation. But as the people of God, we are called to live a life of worship Monday through Sunday, redeeming this world for His glory. Often, the challenge becomes bridging the gap between the faith we celebrate on Sundays and the reality of our everyday, ordinary lives. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with saying, “Preach the gospel always, when necessary use words.” This is probably one of my favorite quotes. If we are going to be agents of Kingdom change in this broken world, we must learn to be the gospel message in all that we do. Using my gifts and experiences, I believe that God is calling me to support the worship life of the church, bridging the gap between the church and the world by leading and helping others discover how God is calling them to live out their faith – doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly one step at a time.

In June of 2011, I started seminary classes at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. I am currently working towards a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies, with the intention of potentially going on to pursue a PhD in the area of worship theology. In addition, I have completed the Ministry Inquiry Process with Pastor Carolyn. I plan to enter the Candidacy process by attending the retreat in January 2013. I welcome your prayers as I continue this journey - that I may continue to discern God’s call in my life and to have the courage to follow where He leads. Likewise, I pray that God will sustain and encourage you in your journey as you discover how He is calling you now and in the future. Whatever God calls you to, wherever He leads you, I am confident of two things: it will stretch you beyond your wildest imagination, and (thankfully) He won’t stop calling. Praise God for amazing grace!

You can contact Lenora via email at this address: csoballet@yahoo.com

Smells Like Jesus

You know how certain smells trigger a memory? Green bottle of Polo cologne . . . I'm back in Junior High School.

The Apostle Paul uses this fragrance metaphor in his letter to the church in Corinth. "Through us spreads in every place the fragrance of knowing Jesus," he writes.

This week I was having lunch with a friend and he mentioned that he longed to live his life in such a way that people noticed something different, something that pointed people to Jesus. I thought of this smelly metaphor.

Indeed, what would our lives be like if they smelled like Jesus? What if that smell was as ubiquitous as green polo in a 1984 junior high school? Awesome.

Jeremy Troxler from Duke Divinity School gives us a whiff in this blog. Check it out: The Tie that Binds. A divided world does not need a church free of conflict and sin but a church that models how conflict and sin can be transformed into peace. [read more...]