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| ARCHIVES See below for this year's archives of:
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SERMON
PODCASTS Peace
on Earth: Jesus' Coming and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Dec 30: "Who Put That Star There?" Matthew 2 Jan 6 : "Grace Upon Grace" John 1:1-18 Jan 13: "Forsaking All I Take Him" Exodus 3:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 (Gary Conover) Jan 20: "Come and See" John 1:29-42 Feb. 3 : Road to Recovery, "Finding Help" Feb. 17 : Road to Recovery, "Coming Clean" Feb. 24 : Road to Recovery, "Making Changes" Mar. 2 : Road to Recovery, "Restoring Relationships" Mar. 9 : Road to Recovery, "Staying on Tack" Mar. 16 : Road to Recovery, "Recycling Pain Into Healing" Mar. 23 : "Eternity Crashes In" Mar. 16 :Leaving the Empty Tomb, "Belief Through Doubt" April 13 : "Foolish Obedience" The Net Results" April 20 : "A New Purpose in Life" May 4 : "From Tent to Temple to Table" Taking Care of God's House: The Campaign for Gogginsville Introduction Podcast May 18 : "The God of Love & Peace" June 15: "Not Everyone Laughs" Ruminations
& Reflections
November 2008 A Watershed Moment in History "See,
I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?”
Your brother
in Christ, October 2008 Reflections on the Year in Ministry The below is Rev. Dulaney’s annual Pastor’s
Report to the Charge Conference. It is his summary of the past year
in life and ministry, and a statement about his plans for the coming
year. Despite my energy and enthusiasm around this renewed focus, I was brought to my knees by a sequence of events in late December and early January. The first was that God awakened me to the reality of sin, and great need of grace in our congregation. The second was the formation of the pilot Covenant Discipleship Group—a weekly, small-group ministry that helps participants to grow in faith and discipleship through a community of accountability and support. The third was the initiation of Celebrate Recovery, and my own personal growth through the twelve steps. The fourth was the shocking news that surprised our family: we were expecting a baby! All of these events coalesced into a God-moment, where I confessed my tendency to do things by my own power, professed my need of God, and surrendered anew to God’s grace. Since then, I have grown in grace, with greater focus on what is most important in my life and ministry. I am learning how to surrender myself to God each day—especially in facing challenges, where I am tempted to operate by my own power. God’s Spirit has truly helped me in my preaching and worship leadership, as well as in my service in Celebrate Recovery, participation in the Covenant Discipleship group, leadership of the youth mission team to Louisiana, and teaching ministry (with our adult Sunday school classes, and now our high school confirmation class). While I have certainly had moments of stress, this spiritual surrender has helped me not only to be more fruitful in my ministry, but also to find the peace and joy of Christ in the midst of daily life. In my professional development, I was blessed to participate in the Goodson Academy of Preaching in April. There, the teachings of Dr. Walter Brueggemann deepened my biblical understanding, and (more practically) influenced the current sermon series I am preaching. The Academy’s peer coaching also helped instill greater confidence in my abilities as a preacher. In August, I was blessed to be selected as a participant in the Young Pastors’ Network (www.youngpastorsnetwork.org)—a professional growth experience coordinated by two of the nation’s leading United Methodist churches: Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio, and Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. In the coming 13 months, I will participate in conferences at both churches, as well as a retreat—including coaching with the two churches’ pastors, Mike Slaughter and Adam Hamilton. I am excited about this opportunity for spiritual growth and leadership development, hopefully improving my ability to stay focused on God’s vision. As an Elder in our United Methodist connection, I am also in ministry beyond Gogginsville Church. I continue to serve on the Danville District Committee on Ordained Ministry, as well as the Virginia Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. I also serve the Danville District by representing it on the Board of Directors at Camp Alta Mons. What a humbling thing to be a part of God’s work! I give thanks that it is not my work, and not your work, but God’s work—in the word of Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”! May we all continue to surrender to that Christ each and every day, for in this is our hope of glory. Your brother
in Christ, September 2008 I can see clearly now! “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,
you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are
the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what
is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according
to the working of his great power.” The view is also breathtaking in what it says to me. As many of you know, God has been giving your pastor a good working over in the past year. God has taken me to the woodshed for failing to be attentive to God’s voice in my life and ministry. It has been humbling, but also profoundly uplifting. Whereas my vision for the church used to be hazy and rather unclear, today it is far clearer than it has been in all my years of ministry. Why? Because God has reawakened me to the heart of it all: We are here to bring a lost, lonely and hurting world into the saving embrace of its redeemer, Jesus Christ! But God has taught me that it’s not enough to have the clear vision. I must also be living into that vision in my own life. It’s a basic principle of leadership: In order to lead others and the world to a transforming experience of God, I must first experience the transformation, myself. I should be the change that I long to see in others and in the world. I am thankful for the pilot Covenant Discipleship Group that I’m a part of on Thursday nights. Each week I am lifted-up and held accountable for how well I am walking the walk of discipleship—whether my daily spiritual disciplines, or my service to others through works of mercy. Realizing that our church needs to improve in how it (in the words of our Purpose Statement) “RESPONDS to the needs of others; AWAKENS other to faith in the gospel; [and] CULTIVATES relationships with Christ,” I understand that I need to improve these areas of my own discipleship if I’m to help lead the church to grow in these areas. I will say more about this in next month’s newsletter. But today, I praise God for the renewal I see taking place in the life of our church. As we go into this new school year, I pray that the Spirit would continue to help us all to see more clearly how we are being called to grow in our love of God, as well as our love of neighbors. Only when we become the change we long to see will others experience through our witness and our service the saving grace of our God. Your brother
in Christ, April 2008 The Precious Gift of Life “Precious in the sight of the LORD is
the death of his faithful ones.’”
One evening, as Kim was getting Zora and Jesse ready for bed, I was cleaning off the supper table and noticed that Zora’s glass of water was completely empty. She happened to walk in wearing her PJs, so I asked her if she’d drank all of her water. “No,” she said. “Gilbert needed some water, so I dumped it in his bowl.” I peered into Gilbert’s bowl. Sure enough, I could see tiny particles of Zora’s backwash floating around in the water. “Zora, you shouldn’t do that,” I explained. “Your mouth has all sorts of nasty germs. It might make Gilbert sick. He might even die. He’s not used to the stuff in your mouth.” Zora stared motionless for a moment, as what I said sank in. Big tears welled up in her eyes, which she tried to fight back. “Papa,” she said with her voice quivering, “Gilbert’s not really going to die, is he?” I realized that perhaps I’d said too much. But, at the same time, I had flushed down enough goldfish in my childhood to know how tenuous is the life of a goldfish. “Well,” I explained, “he may not die from this. He might be just fine. But even if he survives your yucky water, some day in the future he will die.” Thankfully, this seemed to relieve her pain and guilt over what she’d unwittingly done. The red, puffy eyes went away, and she headed back to her room for bedtime stories. This little encounter opened my eyes anew to how precious is life. Living creatures—whether a goldfish, a daffodil, or a human being—are given the gift of life. Each one is important, and has something worthwhile to contribute to the created order. Even when that life may seem small or insignificant to us, I am reminded that God is aware of the breath, the pulse, the sap, the bloom of each one. As creatures of God, our Lord is also aware of the pain, the hurt, the brokenness, the sin, and the death of each one. As Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). Because of our value—and even the value of sparrows—God would not allow us to fall into the ground, condemned to the abyss of perpetual darkness and death. Life is far too precious, in God’s eyes. That’s why, through Jesus Christ, death was defeated, once and for all. Because of what happened on the cross and in the empty tomb, death is powerless in the face of life. Each living creature that springs forth—most especially us—is even more precious…precious because its redemption from death was purchased at so great a cost. As the old Appalachian hymn says, “What wondrous love is this, o my soul!” Your brother
in Christ,
March 2008 Realize I’m not God “And God said to me, ‘My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
I’m still laughing! I laugh because I realize I’m not God. What grace there is in that simple acknowledgement! Throughout this whole experience—and as I move, day-by-day into the future—the grace of God has brought me to my knees with laughter. I realize that the only way I’m going to be able to do this—to be a husband, a father of three young children, and a pastor—is not by my own power. In fact, by my own power I will utterly fail. Only by the power of God’s grace will I be able to grow beyond my managerial “character defects.” And ultimately, only by the power of that same grace will I fulfill God’s purposes for my life. May God continue to give me—and us all—the grace of such laughter. For, indeed, only when we are fully weak and powerless can God’s power make us perfect in obedience, service, and love. Your brother
in Christ,
February 2008 A Lover Like No Other “Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy
bosom fly.”
It wasn’t until last year that I learned something fascinating about many of the love songs of U2: they are love songs to God. Even “With or Without You” is a Psalm to God (I’ll let you figure that one out on your own). One of these love songs is “The First Time.” It has three verses—each one focused on a different person of the Holy Trinity. The first verse is to the Holy Spirit: I
have a lover Charles Wesley—who, along with his brother John helped found Methodism—wrote over 6,000 hymns. A number of those hymns come across as intimate love songs. The hymn, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” used such almost romantic language to speak to God that many people found it offensive. Not only did some people try to rewrite the words, but it was also dropped from several Methodist hymnals over the years. It was deemed “too personal” for use in worship. But what better way to understand our relationship with God! The relationship between a lover and his/her beloved is the most vulnerable, intimate relationship we human beings experience with another person. No wonder God set it apart as sacred relationship through the covenant of marriage. Consider how much more deeply and intimately God knows you and me! The Lord knows every hair on your head. And in our relationship with God, we are at our most vulnerable. Who else knows the intimate details of your every thought, your every word, your every action? That our Creator could know all of our flaws and failings, and still love us is sheer grace! No wonder that love came to us at such great cost. So, this Valentines Day, as you find ways of showing your loved ones how much you care, pause and remember Jesus Christ, the lover of your soul. Ask yourself, “What would be my love song to the God of my life?” Your brother
in Christ, January 2008 Who Moved My Cheese? [Jesus said,]“Truly I tell you, unless
you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my
name welcomes me.”
It’s a simple concept that successful businesses understand: change happens! And unless we expect, anticipate, monitor and adapt to the change ourselves, we will find ourselves one day standing in an empty room screaming, “Who moved my cheese?!”—a very fruitless and wasteful way to deal with change, indeed! In the tale, we are encouraged to learn from the mice. The mice change in order to adapt to the changing circumstances around them. While the littlepeople hem and haw, wring their hands and go on and on about how awful the change is, the mice are living happy, contented lives. Jesus was not bashful about the need for us humans to adapt to God’s changes in the world. His main message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 4:17)—or, as Eugene Peterson translates it, “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.” (The Message). In other words, God is doing a new thing all around us (the Kingdom), and we are called to change our lives to adapt to this new reality. Unfortunately, much of God’s Church has failed to hear Jesus’ call to change. We have become like the Pharisees—persons who work to uphold the traditions and regulations of our institution. We have good intentions. We love the church, and want to make sure it isn’t corrupted or changed. And so we do the same things over and over, trying harder and harder, all the while our efforts are not fruitful. One day we find ourselves in a near-empty sanctuary, screaming, “Who moved my cheese?!” Our Church Council has adopted a new strategic plan for Gogginsville Church. The plan begins with our stated purpose of “making disciples of Jesus Christ.” It then outlines a plan for how we can best accomplish this, given who we are as a church, and who the people are in our community. The details of the plan will be published in our church yearbook later this month. The basic gist is that we need to strengthen our ministries of Responding to the needs of others, Awakening others to the Gospel, and Cultivating relationships with Jesus Christ. In short, it is an invitation to growth and change. Jesus calls his followers to turn from their Pharisaic ways. He wants us to change and adapt to the new reality he is creating in our world today. This is something that doesn’t come easy for even me. I wrestle daily with that inner Pharisee, who wants to maintain the traditions and the ways I know and love. But Jesus says to me, and us all, “Look, unless you change, and become like a child—a child who is humble, and who welcomes strangers in my name—you will never enter my kingdom.” Let us pray for the grace to turn from our fears, and to step out in faith and follow Christ’s lead. Your brother
in Christ,
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