Fresh Fruit

This time of year I enjoy an early morning run (a charitable use of the word in this case).  This morning I ran a new route in the neighborhood and along the course discovered some wild blackberry vines with ripe fruit, which provided both a welcome excuse to stop running for a couple minutes and an opportunity to sample the plump, sweet fruit.  I felt like I had found “berried” treasure.

One reason I love living in South Carolina is the abundance of fruit.  First come the berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries); then the peaches, plums, cantaloupes, and watermelons; then the apples; and finally, after the weather turns cool, the persimmons (eat them before they are ripe and they will turn your lips inside out).  

Until moving to South Carolina I did not realize there are so many varieties of peaches and they can be grouped into two categories: freestone and clingstone.  Despite Georgia’s reputation, South Carolina grows more peaches.  Georgia just advertises theirs better (a lesson in the power of marketing).

One thing I know about fruit is that once you get a taste of its fresh, sweet goodness, you want more.  This time of year we enjoy fresh fruit almost every meal.

The Bible has much to say about fruit – forbidden fruit, fruit of the Spirit, and trees cursed for the lack of fruit.  “You shall know them by their fruit,” Jesus says.  God must derive much pleasure when He sees fresh fruit in our lives – both the inner presence of the fruit of the Spirit and the outer evidence of the fruit of good works.  This is what Wesley referred to as Works of Piety and Works of Mercy.  Such fruit is in season year-round.

Congregational Conflict

Unresolved conflict is one of the most challenging aspects of church life.  Conflict arises to one degree or another - everything from minor friction to outright war - in almost every setting of human interaction.  While the conflict I most often hear about is conflict between church members and pastoral leadership, conflict between church members themselves is also common.

When such conflict exists, prayer is the essential starting point toward resolution.  Prayer brings God to bear on situations.  Prayer can result in changed minds, changed hearts, changed behavior, and an improved situation.  The difference prayer makes is amazing.

The second step toward the resolution of conflict is having a courteous conversation.  In my role as district superintendent, church members sometimes contact me with concerns about their pastor.  My first question is always, “Have you personally shared this with your pastor?”  I am surprised at how many church members want me to have a conversation with the pastor that they should first have with the pastor.  It is best when individuals talk with each other rather than talking about each other.  Face-to-face dialogue is to be preferred over phone calls, e-mails, texts, or Facebook postings.

Give thought to the best time and place for the conversation.  What time will be most convenient for the other individual?  What place will offer the most graceful setting for the meeting?  Meeting over a cup of coffee provides a setting markedly different than meeting in an office.  Making an appointment to meet is usually better than an unscheduled encounter.

There is much value in having a courteous and considerate conversation.  Misunderstandings can be resolved, mutual respect increased, common ground discovered, and relationships strengthened.  Changes are often willingly made (on both sides) as a result of an open, honest conversation.  Hearing you express your concerns may greatly help the other individual.  The other individual’s response to your concerns may greatly help you. 

Often, the source of the conflict is unmet expectations.  Sometimes those expectations are legitimate but unexpressed, and therefore unmet - simply because the other individual is unaware of the expectations.  When you lovingly and gracefully communicate legitimate expectations, the other individual can be empowered with knowledge to act.

There are also occasions when expectations may be impractical.  Put yourself in the shoes of the other individual and ask if what you are expecting is either unattainable or unrealistic.  A conversation can make evident whether or not expectations are appropriate and provide opportunity for resolution.

If, after following these steps, resolution is not forthcoming, the next step (according to Matthew 18) is to have a follow-up conversation with the assistance of one or two spiritually mature members of the congregation who can be wise mediators.

When unresolved issues spiral into congregational conflict, the results are invariably negative and include distraction from mission, hurt feelings, damaged congregational unity, and injury to the church’s witness in the community. 

When people who are striving to be Christlike sit down together for a prayerful conversation seeking resolution and reconciliation, good things usually happen. 

A person’s ability to extend grace is key in resolution.  When conflict is the result of personality differences, a generous spirit of forgiveness and a graceful commitment to live together in community is sometimes the most appropriate response.    

Finally, always remember that while it takes two to reconcile, it only takes one to forgive.  You can be the one.

Keep Digging

Henry is the oldest person I’ve ever seen stretching before a run.  He told me he was 80, started running when he was 70, and ran Boston at 72.   We were getting ready for the Quarry Crusher—a nearly four-mile run down into a massive pit and then back up.  They’ve been digging granite out of the quarry for decades, and the crater that has been created is very impressive.  With a twinkle in his eye, Henry told me to be careful on the downhill half of the run and to keep digging on the uphill half.  I told him he was an inspiration.

Sylvia and Jim Mallory are doing some digging of their own.  They are digging out our newest church plant and had 16 in their first service last Saturday.  Like my new friend, Henry, they, too, are octogenarians.  Both in their 80s, Sylvia and Jim are convinced God wants to do a new thing in Ridgeville, SC, and are planting a Church of the Nazarene in response to God’s call.  I tell them they are an inspiration.   

On the way back up the Quarry Crusher Run I was thinking about Henry, whom I had passed on the way down.  My lungs were burning and my legs were on fire.  That was about the time an 8-year-old girl passed me.   I told her she was an inspiration.

Keep digging.

Singing our Song

It seems to me that the Church of the Nazarene has been given its own special song to sing.  In the loud and noisy din of denominations, parachurch ministries, ecumenical affiliations, and independent, interdenominational, and nondenominational churches, we have a unique and important song to sing.   

Our refrain is about holiness, entire sanctification, perfect love, and heart purity.  The verses of our song speak of our fallen nature and broken souls, of the power of God’s transforming grace, and of God’s offer to change hearts, cleanse from all sin, and empower for service.  Singing this song is the reason for our existence. 

How is our song to be sung?  It is to be sung in our Sunday School classes, our small groups, our worship services, our music, our preaching, our discipleship, our compassionate ministry, our evangelism, our fellowship, our testimonies, and our good works.  We sing it through the living of holy lives.  When our words, actions, and attitudes bring a smile of pleasure to the face of God, we are singing our song at our best.  

God has given us a song to sing – a song that is as beautiful as a pure heart and as lyrical as the Psalms and the Beatitudes.  God has given us a song to sing – a song of scriptural holiness that invites a world crippled by sin to the dance of grace.

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"God has given us a song to sing - a song of scriptural holiness that invites a world crippled by sin to the dance of grace." - Eddie Estep

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We have a song to sing.  When we neglect to sing our song, our mission is compromised and our message is diluted.  If we don’t sing our song, God will raise up other singers eager to sound forth the grace notes of heart holiness.

We have a song to sing.  Let us sing it loud.  Let us sing it long.