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"Is the Lord Among Us?" Mission Leader Gives Resounding "Yes" |
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Stamford, Connecticut, October 14, 2009--"The Lord is among us," the president of the General Board of Global Ministries told directors of the mission agency at their annual meeting, held in Stamford, Connecticut on October 12-14. Bishop Bruce R. Ough of West Ohio used a passage from Exodus 17 in framing his remarks at a time when the board is undergoing an organizational restructure that has included a significant staff reduction and the resignation of the general secretary (chief executive). It is the verse in which the Israelites wandering in the wilderness became thirsty and asked, "Is the Lord among us or not?" Using the question as a kind of litany, he reviewed the variety of personal and group situations in which the question is asked. The bishop then applied the question to specific challenges facing the General Board of Global Ministries and The United Methodist Church, with a resounding "yes" in each case, a refrain picked up by the directors.
Finally, the bishop directed the question to the church as the community rooted in Jesus Christ:
Bishop Ough concluded:
The full text of his address follows: Address of the President of the General Board of Global Ministries to the Annual Meeting of Directors, October 12, 2009, Stamford, Connecticut IS THE LORD AMONG US OR NOT? Theme text: Exodus 17:1-7 Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ. I welcome you to the fall 2009 meeting of the General Board of Global Ministries' board of directors. It is good to be once again in your presence. I look forward to a productive meeting as we continue to live into our organization audit and the four areas of missional focus. A great deal of change has taken place since our last meeting in April. Due to the nature and urgency of many of these changes, particularly the resignation of Ed Paup as our general secretary, the Personnel and Executive Committees have handled most of what has transpired in the past six months. I am grateful to these two bodies. In particular, want to thank Dr. Maggie Jackson, chair of the Personnel Committee, and Mr. Paul Bankes, the Board's attorney, for their tireless, insightful, and compassionate work. I also want to thank all of you, as Directors, for your support and understanding. Because of the sensitive nature of all personnel matters, I have attempted to strike a balance between transparency and confidentiality. To the degree I have failed at the former, I invite you to speak with me or Maggie. One of the significant changes that has happened, among many others you will hear about as our operational audit task forces and various committees report this week, is the hiring of our interim general secretary, Bishop Joel Martinez. Bishop Martinez is no stranger to the Board. He is a former staff member and director, and for the previous two quadrennia served as the president of the Board. I thank God for his commitment to Christ's mission and the unique expression of that mission through Global Ministries. I am particularly pleased he said yes to my invitation, extended on your behalf, to serve as our interim general secretary. Please join me in welcoming Bishop Martinez. We will have an opportunity to hear from Bishop Martinez tomorrow when he presents his address. I have been praying and asking God for a pastoral word to offer to the Board on this occasion. I was led to the Exodus story, specifically the text in Exodus 17:1-7. Hear this part of the journey once again:
I love the Exodus story. Don't you? The stories of the Hebrew tribes wandering in the wilderness are so real because at every twist and turn of their 40-year journey, with every moment of crisis, with every experience of being forged and formed into the people of God, we see ourselves. We see ourselves in the struggles. We see ourselves in the questions. We see ourselves in the temptations and doubts. We see ourselves even in those fleeting moments of belief and faithfulness. Nearly everyone gathered this afternoon is familiar with or has studied or preached about this Exodus journey. You know that along the way God consistently revealed himself to the people--they received leadership from Moses; they received a path out of Egypt; they received the gift of manna to sustain them in the wilderness. And now they came to Rephidim. And there wasn't a drop of water for the people to drink. The quarreling and complaining began--they were angry with Moses and ordered him to give them water. They quarreled with God and cried out, "Is the Lord among us or not? Is the Lord among us or not?" Is this not our question, as well? How many here today have asked the question, at some point in your journey, "Is the Lord among us or not?" Nearly all of us have asked this question.
Dear friends, always pay attention to the questions in Scripture. Always pay attention to the questions being asked by the people of God. Always pay attention to the questions in your soul or your heart. Always pay attention to the questions that well up in your throat and cascade from your lips. Always pay attention to the questions others bring to you in the midst of holy conversations. The questions always mean God is about to reveal himself. The questions always mean Jesus is about to arrive. The questions always mean the Holy Spirit is about to dance among us like a flame of fire. Isn't that what happened at Massah, the Testing Place? Isn't that what happened at Meribah, the Quarreling Place? The people cried out with anguish and complaint, "Is the Lord among us or not?" And Moses struck the rock with his staff and God was revealed--God was revealed--in the fresh water that gushed from the desert stone. Our questions always point to, or foreshadow, God's miraculous, mysterious, life-altering revelation. And look at what God is doing! Look at what God is revealing! Look at what God is revealing to us in this very moment! In the midst of our questions and cries, God continues to reveal himself. God is striking the rock and life-giving water is gushing forth. Jesus' prophecy in John 7:38 is being fulfilled. "Out of the believers' hearts shall flow rivers of living water;" living water that brings new life, new hope, and new love to the parched wilderness, to the broken places.
Christian leaders are being called forth and sent into the world. We will commission 40 missionaries tomorrow evening and the world will join us through a live webcast. New congregations for new and more diverse people are being started. In Vietnam alone 52 new United Methodist churches have been planted in the past six months. Ministry with the poor is gaining energy and focus, through our Board-initiated and -sponsored Circles program and the ongoing leadership and work of the Women's Division. The campaign to improve health globally is advancing through UMCOR's disaster and recovery responses. Even now, life-preserving and life-sustaining aid is gushing forth to the flood victims in the Philippines and the earthquake and tsunami victims in Indonesia. So, I ask:
"Is the Lord among us or not?" Yes! The answer is yes, yes, yes--always yes! May it be so as we engage our work this week. May it be so as we seek to become even more effective channels of the living water. May it be so as our new missionaries come to receive the laying on of hands and take authority to proclaim to the world, "Yes!" The Lord is near! Yes! The Kingdom is at hand! Yes! Yes! Yes! The Lord is, indeed, among us!
Date posted: Oct 14, 2009 |
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