bishop's perspective
Follow the God of poetry
The following letter was received by clergy at the Sending Forth Service at Annual Conference, June 16, in Lake Junaluska, N.C.
My dear partners in ministry,
Farewell.
But farewell is not my only or most significant word for you. Grace is. God's grace. Marvelous, infinite grace! Wherever you go to live out your ministry this year, God will be there. You can hang your very soul on the verity of that truth. And wherever God is, there is grace – transforming, strengthening and sustaining. You will need this assurance more than ever before.
In her book, "Putting the Amazing Back in Grace," Ann Weems' understanding of grace is what I yearn for you and your ministry:
(Christ) is risen! He who was dead is alive, but we who say we believe continue our quarreling, flipping through Bibles to find passages to support our private theologies. No wonder the children have left! We forgot to teach them the story. We taught moralisms instead of the word of God ... anxious and stressed, vying for positions of power, we spend our energies creating more rules, for fear of losing control. The rules have become more important than the freeing word of God. We have processed the gospel into neat little packages and stacks of paper. We¡òve gathered the saints into committees and asked them to serve without starlight. We¡òve drained the poetry from the gospel. We¡òve taken amazing out of grace and the glory out of God ... meanwhile, the wounded of the world still bleed, the helpless find no hope. The poor cry out in pain, but ... church people are quarreling ... we forgot ... we forgot ... we forgot who we are.
There are a thousand things in my heart I want to leave with you. But I will leave you with the passionate prayer that you will not forget whose you are ... that you will remember the story of God's mighty acts throughout history and in your own life ... that you will recover the Hosannas which belong to us as people of faith and hope. Follow the God of poetry rather than the God of rules and processes.
As I go my way, I want you to know you have inspired and blessed me over these past eight years. You are dear to me. And be assured that your district superintendent joins me in embracing you with prayers of thanksgiving and petition.
Now, go to the work God has assigned for you. Offer bread and not stones. Go with confidence! Joy! Hope! Grace! Love! Fear not. Fret not. Do not look back. Go in the spirit and power of the Risen Lord! Remember, it is Christ who sends (appoints) you.
Farewell.
Grace and peace,
Ray W. Chamberlain Jr.
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