My Ten New Year's "Covenants" (Or "Resolutions" if You're Not a Christian Nerd)

New Year's Covenant #1 

Avoid eating excessive sugar. See exceptions below...

[Peanut Butter Cups, Cookies, Kit Kats, Sugar in Sugar Bowl, Cakes, Milkshakes, Pies, Strawberry Shortcake, Hershey Anything, Chocolate/Mint Thingies, Caramel Creams]

New Year's Covenant #2

Become a better listener especially after coming home from work.

New Year's Covenant #3

Always remember your main mission in life which is to joyfully live out the good news of Jesus Christ through word and deed so that your family, your church, and your community will know and embrace God’s hope and promises for their daily living.

New Year's Covenant #4 

REFRAIN FROM TALKING WAY TOO LOUDLY WHEN SPEAKING ON YOUR PHONE IN PUBLIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Year's Covenant #5

Quit using millennial phrases like "street cred" in your sermons to sound like you are really with it. You are a middle aged mainline denomination pastor. Embrace it!

New Year's Covenant #6

Appreciate the moment but don't use that as an excuse to not plan ahead.

New Year's Covenant #7

Continue to wonder if you are truly a Christian nerd but don't let that stop you from praying and reading scripture at a set time each morning since this seems to have worked well for you over the past several decades.

New Year's Covenant #8

As a pastor, help the congregation to focus on a new ministry that will be sustainable and help people become more fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

New Year's Covenant #9

Do not check the mail when it's a federal holiday.

New Year's Covenant #10

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Top 10 Athens First UMC News Stories of 2016

What are the top Athens First UMC news stories from 2016? That's not easy to rank since there have been many, but here is my personal top ten list. It has been a great year of ministry and outreach!

#10

Folk Music Program

This past spring, the music ministry of our church hosted a fun folk music program. It was a groovy and really far-out time as we sang late 60's and early 70's music. We had a lot of families with young children attend along with those of us who grew up before and during the 70's!

#9

Church Talent Night Poem

OK, even most people's top 100 lists would not include this horrendous poem but it's included here because I put a lot of time into writing it (about 15 minutes, but still...it is a tear jerker and it is my blog after-all.)

#8

Kappa Phi Potato Bar with All the Toppings Fundraiser Meals

Kappa Phi hosted several potato bars with all the toppings fundraiser Sunday meals . Since they are known to have the best baked potatoes on this side of the Hocking River, how can they not be included in the top ten somewhere??

#7

Outdoor Prayer Cross

Our Boy Scout troop and our Tuesday prayer ministry team joined together in making this outdoor prayer cross. We mounted it in the ground in front of our church on Scout Sunday which was on February 14. Many students who walk by our church building place prayer cards in the secured box and we lift up these joys and concerns to God every week in prayer.

#6

Sunday 10:30 Worship Moved to Fellowship Hall

Due to our capital improvements which started in early September, our Sunday 10:30 worship service needed to move down to our Fellowship Hall space. Even though it's not technically a sanctuary, we have been blessed to have this secondary space in which to offer our worship to God.

#5

CORE Courses Launch

In September, our church launched six Core Courses which include Christianity 101, United Methodist History & Theology, Personal Finance & Stewardship, Intro to the Bible, Means of Grace, & Spiritual Gifts. Each course last three weeks and are taught by area United Methodist pastors and teachers and are held at various churches.

#4

Small Groups Launch

During the season of Lent, we invited the congregation to participate in one of six new small groups. These groups are designed to be share groups where we share our faith with each other and reflect on the past Sunday's worship theme. These groups continue to meet and are led by trained facilitators.

#3

Athens First Saturday Community Outreach Launch

Our Athens First Saturday community outreach started this past April. Our church gathers in Fellowship hall on the first Saturday morning of each month to be sent out to serve and bless our community. We make blankets to give away to organizations, pick up trash in our community, lead a nursing home worship service, make baked goods to give away, arrange flowers to take to the hospital, write positive sidewalk graffiti in front of our church, as well as many other projects. There is something for all ages to do! 

#2

Tripled Our Giving to Habitat for Humanity!

Our recent Christmas miracle was that we raised $6,218 to give to Habitat for Humanity toward the building of a home for a needy family in 2017. We tripled what we gave to Habitat for Humanity from last year's offering! The picture above is the house that we helped to build last year in nearby Amesville. The 2017 house will be build right next to it.

And coming in as the #1 highlight of 2016 is...

We reached our Capital Campaign Goal!

This past March during worship, we announced the awesome news that we reached our Capital Campaign pledge goal of $696,000 to go toward renovating the sanctuary, adding a front entrance glass atrium, installing an elevator and adding two staff positions for our college and community outreach ministries. Not only did we reach our pledge goal, we had also received $264,175 in cash when we made the announcement to help us begin our building improvements just months later in September. We are now looking at a February completion date of all projects! Praise the Lord!

New Year's Resolutions Or New Year's Covenants?

Another New Year is upon us which means the opportunity to make another set of resolutions for us to break by the end of January.  Sorry for this cynical comment but I think most of us share in the frustration of matching our good intentions with year long follow-through.

For example, every year one of my resolutions is to read more books to stimulate my thinking and knowledge base.  Guess what?  The books look great on the shelf at Barnes & Noble and after I buy some they don't look as sparkling on my desk covered with dust!

One of the strengths of John Wesley and the early Methodist movement was in their emphasis on covenants rather than resolutions.  By using covenant language, those early Methodists were drawing on the scriptural  understanding of God's loving faithfulness.  God is always faithful!  And because God is ALWAYS faithful, we can draw on a strength to help us keep our commitments.

We modern day United Methodists often forget that Wesley and the early Methodists had a very strong emphasis on the importance of the Holy Spirit.  We don't speak much about the Holy Spirit today but we should since it's through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live out our faith from day to day.  Without the Holy Spirit guiding and directing us, it's all up to us.  And we know how relying on our own strength works for us!

So this year, instead of New Year's resolutions, think about New Year's covenants.  Pray about the lifestyle changes that are needed in order to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ in 2012.  Enter into covenant with God and invite the Holy Spirit to give you the strength and guidance to live out these changes.  Give thanks for God's faithfulness which will sustain you throughout the year.  And if you really want to live out your New Year's covenants, participate in a small group, class, or bible study, where people you trust can encourage and pray for you throughout the year.

"Dear God, for 2012, help me to remember your faithfulness and depend on your Holy Spirit as I read more books that will stimulate my thinking so that I can be a more dedicated follower of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen."

Now, where's my Kindle?
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