For the Fun of the Game...

One of my favorite games as a kid was Red Light, Green Light. This was the game that was very simple, and we all had so much fun! My friends and I would line up in someone's yard. A person was elected the leader and they would say, "GREEN LIGHT!!" We would all start racing towards them, when they would yell suddenly, "RED LIGHT!!" We would all come to a screeching halt, and we had to stand PERFECTLY STILL. Then they would start up again, "GREEN LIGHT!! RED LIGHT!! GREEN LIGHT!!" The winner would be the first one to the leader. We would start over again, with the winner now the leader.

I was reminded of this game yesterday while I was walking to my office. There was a group of children playing this game (or some variation of it) on the playground at the church. However, I noticed something remarkable…

Obviously, within any group of children playing, there will be some that are very athletic and some that might be not so athletic. There will be some that are very skilled in the game being played and some that are just playing along waiting for the next game. But as these children were playing, there were a few that were always closest to the leader overtime RED LIGHT was shouted. There were a few that were always in the back, farthest away and had no chance of winning. But that didn't matter to these children. The ones in the back were running as fast as they could, even when winning was impossible. They weren't playing to win. They were playing because it was fun.

When did that switch get turned off for us as adults? When did we stop playing just because it's fun? There have been several times in my life, when winning looked impossible, I gave up. I walked off the field. Why run anymore? I can't possibly win.

It's embarrassing to admit that… but it's true. As adults, when faced with seemingly impossible situations, we have a tendency to give up…. not try as hard… or go off on our own searching for a new game that we could win. Sometimes it is hard to see the value in risking a last place finish.

In the scripture from this past Sunday, we are introduced to an impossible situation that could end up with the death of thousands. Esther was a queen that had a choice: Save her people while risking her life or live the life of luxury as queen and let her people die. It was her uncle that put the situation in perspective for her. He told her that perhaps it was for such a time as this that she was where she was… in the exact position she needed to be to save her people. Would she be willing to risk everything to do what is right?

Are you willing to keep playing the game, not because you're guaranteed a win, but because it's the right thing to do? It's been very easy over the past year with so many changes happening in our country, for people to want to give up and look for the easy, guaranteed win. But perhaps you are where you are because for such a time as this, YOU are being called to do something big and bold for God. Are you willing to dream beyond riches and success? Are you willing to dream alongside God and risk everything to do not what is easy, but what will help transform the world?

GREEN LIGHT!! How hard are you going to run?

Esther: Timely Vision

Dr. Clayton Oliphint
June 27, 2010

Dedicated.

It's been quite a bit of fun this week with all of the feedback we've been getting about the scripture story and sermon from this past Sunday. It seems that many people are intrigued by the story of the Exodus, and hearing, specifically, more about the end of the trip.

This is understandable because it really is more towards the beginning of the 40 years of wandering that we are most familiar with. With action-packed scenes including the escape from Egypt and the 10 Commandments, it's hard to believe that there could be more to the story. We hope our highlight of Caleb & Joshua has brought more of this story into focus for you, and we continue to encourage you to explore these scriptures.

One element that always intrigues me when hearing the story of the Exodus is the amount of dedication that is present (or not present) amongst the people of God. Now, sure… there are many life-lessons contained in this story because the people of God did waver a lot in their dedication and faithfulness to the mission, and even God got fed up a time or two. But the story ends with the fulfillment of God's promise and presence because amidst all of the mistakes and complaints, God and the leadership of God's people stayed dedicated to the vision and promise of a land flowing with milk and honey to call home.

SPOILER ALERT: Even Moses remained dedicated, although he never got to step foot onto this land! His dream was realized by his people, but this would have never happened without his dedication to God.

Oftentimes our dreams don't come true instantly. That's a hard message for us to hear in our society today. We may make mistakes in the pursuit of our dreams and may feel like giving up. Sometimes our dreams take years and decades to realize. And sometimes (like Moses) we will never see the fruit of our dreams.

My mother used to always tell me that nothing of value comes instantly. She taught me that we must learn to remain dedicated to ideas that are worth holding on to. I think God has this same idea when it comes to our vision of the future.

What impossible dreams must you renew your dedication to this summer??

I thought this video demonstrated a tremendous amount of dedication by the artist….and it's pretty amazing too!!

Fear, Faith, and Courage

I've been thinking quite a bit about FOLLOWERSHIP lately. (Are some of you asking yourself, "Is that even a WORD??") With so much emphasis on leadership in our world today, it's a pretty interesting topic to explore. Are you a follower of anything? Is it okay to be a follower? Are you effective as a follower? I find it interesting that on college applications, resumes, and pretty much anything else to mark achievement in our world today, the question asked is about how good of a leader are you, but…

Is there any importance to being a good follower?

After spending some time this morning catching up on news and blogs, I stumbled upon this video on TED (an online video blog) that precisely sliced this very question in a fun and unique way.

In our Summer Dreams Series yesterday, Clayton reminded us of the story of Caleb and Joshua. Out of this story, we are reminded that in the face of impossibilities and struggles, we must recognize our fears, trust in our faith, and have courage even when others might not agree. To our leadership-conditioned ears, these sound like traits of leadership, but really they apply very directly to being a good follower.

Jesus must have known something about the power of followership. He called the disciples to follow him, to take up his teaching and learn to live as an outpouring God's love. We as Christians are asked to do the same. We are called to be followers of Jesus, and as Derek Sivers points out, it's the followers that end up showing the way of leadership.

As you dream this week, ask yourself: What movement is your followership helping to spark? Do your actions today help make God's dream a reality?

*Today's blog was contributed by Kevin Burns, Communications Associate. Kevin will be directing the First Thoughts Blog at FUMCR. To learn more about Kevin - Click Here

Caleb & Joshua: The Courage to Dream BIG

Dr. Clayton Oliphint
June 20, 2010

Served...

Think about the last time you were served. If you are like me, you're thinking about the last time you were in a restaurant... and to be honest with you, that's been awhile ago. But there are many aspects of our day-to-day lives that involve being served. Going to restaurants, sacking at the grocery stores, being helped at the Apple Store pre-ordering an iPhone 4 (Yeah... I wish!). In many of these cases, the service we receive is... well... expected.

Now, I don't mean this in some ugly, nose-in-the-air kind of way. What I mean is the service we receive on a day-to-day basis has become just a part of life. You just expect a waiter to show up at your table when you go to your favorite restaurant. But, have you ever been served when you really were in need? When it was your hand that was outstretched? You notice the service... and your server. Nothing is taken for granted. Most importantly, you will notice not just the gratitude that is in your heart, but you will notice the gratitude of the one who is serving you.

I spoke with Rev. Joy Anderson who serves as the Associate Pastor for Missions at FUMCR about a project FUMCR participates in every other month. It is called the AIDS Supper Club, and works in partnership with the AIDS Services of Dallas. This is a tremendous service offered in the city of Dallas, and I invited Joy to talk a little bit about our involvement in one of their many services.

We serve because there are people who need serving. This summer, I encourage you to dream big about serving others. I think this is one of God's dreams. Where do you like to serve? Have you ever been the one served?

PS - The AIDS Supper Club team from FUMCR is scheduled to serve dinner this Friday night. I encourage each of you to take a few moments to pray for this team, as well as pray for those who they are serving in fellowship.

Moses: Grounded in Faith

Sermon - June, 13, 2010
Dr. Clayton Oliphint

God showed up.

The title of this post is a quote from one of my favorite movies - Forest Gump. In this scene, Lt. Dan (a friend of Forest's from his time serving in the Vietnam War) was on the deck of the shrimp boat that he and Forest were using to get into the shrimping business. They weren't very successful, even though they tried everything they knew to garner some good luck. They even began attending church services!

This went on for weeks, and after hauling in yet another empty net, Lt. Dan says to Forest before jumping in the ocean for a swim:

"So where's this GOD of yours?"

The scene then cuts to the two of them on the deck of the shrimp boat in what appears to be the middle of a hurricane where we hear Forest's voice as the movie's narrator:

"It's a funny thing Lt. Dan said that, cause that night…. God showed up."

Finding God. This can be a tricky scenario. Did you know we were supposed to be looking for God? Some may answer, "God is in everything!!" Others may say, "I know God is there, but I'm not really thinking about that."

I asked the few people that sit around me this question, and these were their responses. Very "scientific" survey, I know… but does this mirror your thoughts?

In my opinion, that's a realistic response -- We are busy. Our to-do lists do stretch on and on and on… and while we may know in the back of our head that "God is in everything" we really just may not be thinking about that.

This summer we are beginning a series called: Summer Dreams. Summer seems to be a good time of the year to let our minds wander, and one area that Dr. Oliphint is encouraging us to examine is whether or not our dreams match God's dreams.

Now, for me, before I can tell whether my dreams are in line with God's, I must first know what are God's dreams. And in order for me to know God's dreams, I must first find God. But to find God, I mean really find God, we have to get beyond just knowing that God's around. We need to see God.

Enter the story of Moses - in particular the story of Moses and the burning bush.

When Moses first encounters God, it wasn't by God getting in Moses' way and tripping him along the path. God was up to something curious (a bush burning but not consumed) and Moses had to stop and decide to go investigate! Moses could have just said, "Hmmm… that's weird." And left it at that. But Moses went to investigate and the course of his life was changed forever. He discovered God's dream for God's people right then and there, and discovered that he [Moses] was a part of that dream.

Are you stopping to investigate where God shows up in your life? It could be in something curious or fantastic. But more likely than not, it's in something that we are not stopping to even notice, let alone investigate.

Where have you seen God before? What do you think God's dreams are?

*Today's blog was contributed by Kevin Burns, Communications Associate. Kevin will be directing the First Thoughts Blog at FUMCR. To learn more about Kevin - Click Here