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We have placed our Senior Minister's Monthly Newsletter Articles on this page for your reading and inspiration. During 2007 and 2008, the primary emphasis of the articles was on "Spiritual Disciplines."   While the articles are directed toward the community gathered as Friendship Christian Church in Athens, we hope that you will find some encouragement in your own Christian walk as you read and meditate.

December, 2008

“Silent Night”

                Sometime this month we will sing that most familiar, beloved Carol: Silent Night, Holy Night. (before you read any further, stop right where you are and “listen” to verse one of the song, silently…just go over the words and the tune “in your head.)

                If you did that…then you have a momentary taste of the Spiritual Discipline of Silence.

                But most of the time it is a challenge to find silence, much less practice it.  Noise surrounds us and we even invite it or create it to break the silence. 

                A drive in the car without the radio?  An evening at home without TV?  A few moments in Sunday morning worship with no talk or music?  And even when I pause and sit in the quiet of my study, there is still an internal flood of words…

                News Flash:  The world can go on without us for an hour. (Maybe longer!).

                The Spiritual Discipline of Silence gives us an opportunity to leave the noise and the demands of the world behind us, so that when we are alone with God we can pay attention.  We are not wasting time.  A relationship with God is based on revelation, not on an agenda.  A few moments in silence – like a warm cup of tea with a mist of steam and a pleasing aroma – actually calms the inner noise of our lives and invites the Holy Spirit to reveal more to us.

                Start short. Ten minutes devoted to silence, intentionally in the presence of God, will bear more fruit than you might imagine.  Try ten minutes a day for a week; then try ten minutes twice a day.

                Read Revelation 8:1 and consider: What must it be like when there is a period of silence in heaven?

                Even when you are doing something (a task or a project) turn off the background noise and offer the task (and the time) to God.

                Meditate on Psalm 37:4.  What are your desires?  What are your God-given desires?

                Make room for silence during this Season of Advent.  God seems to do miraculous things during the silences of our lives.  Silence will not solve our problems; but in silence we can cultivate a relationship with God which, over time, forms our lives for deeper awareness of God and richer communion with God.  And those are key ingredients of Friendship.

-Bob

October, 2008

“Let’s Go For A Walk”

“Walking in the sunlight, walking in the shadow, walking with Jesus alone…”

At the First Methodist Church of Plains last week, I had lunch with President Jimmy Carter (along with about seventy-five other ministers from eight or nine denominations). Following lunch, President Carter spoke to us about being a faithful disciple in public life. He recalled that in the White House each morning he had a “walk of prayer” from his bedroom to the Oval Office. “A walk of prayer.”

Let’s try it. Go for a walk (even just the usual walks you take each day, inside or outside) and, step by step, pray. “Prayer walking” is a spiritual discipline.

Prayer walking is a way of walking (or “walking” --rolling, if you are in a wheelchair…of visualizing movement through various scenes of living if you are not mobile at all) with Jesus. Especially walking (or “walking”) through places which touch your heart: hospitals, nursing homes, schools, housing projects, service agencies, airports, crowded streets, downtown…

Prayer waking steps to take:

1. Slow down. Walk deliberately. Pray for who and what you see and hear. Listen for God’s will.

2. Pay attention. Whatever you notice -- a need, a barrier, a celebration, a relationship -- offer a prayer for those you see and hear. ( I often find in my walking, upon seeing a person who is differently-abled and therefore struggling with what I find “easy”, that a prayer just somehow rises within me.)

3. Open your heart. Think of how Jesus would see and hear what you see and hear. And notice how this slice of life reflects God’s greater purpose.

4. Visualize what God’s will can be or could be in the place you are walking.

To take a long walk is a journey. To journey to a holy or sacred destination is a pilgrimage. For centuries Christian have taken long prayer walks called “Pilgrimages.”

For those not going to distant destinations (such as the Holy Land), the Labyrinth has afforded an alternative for hundreds of years. The Labyrinth is a concentrated, usually circular pattern through which one walks, and prays, and reflects, and meditates as if going on a pilgrimage to a holy or sacred place.

Through the Resource Center for Faith Development, Friendship will -- one day soon, we hope -- have a labyrinth for many to walk. Prayer walking toward a destination. Walking today where Jesus walks.

The location of this Labyrinth has been selected; a landscape designer is preparing a plan for the Labyrinth and for its accessibility; a team of Friendship members have committed themselves to seeing this through to its reality.

The Spiritual Discipline of “Labyrinth Prayer” -- an experience which is powerful and sometimes life-changing -- is a discipline we can learn, we can share, we can experience.

Prayer Walking and Labyrinth Prayers are two Spiritual Disciplines which enrich our relationship with God, which is -- as you know -- the foundation of Friendship.

August, 2008

“Rubbing Two Friends Together”

Romans 15: 7

“A Friend ought first to be selected, next tested, and then finally admitted, and from then on treated as a friend deserves.” - Aelred of Rievaulx*

Friendship is a gift. We know a lot of people. We have a number of acquaintances. But friends are relatively few. Friends support each other, share with each other, encourage one another, grow together. Friends choose and value each other.

Take a moment and identify your friends. To yourself, name those who call you their friend. It is neither modesty nor ingratitude to say that our real friends are few. Friendship is truly one of life’s greatest treasures; and treasures are not a dime a dozen.

"...the word amicus [friend] comes from the word amor[ love], and amicitia [friendship] from amicus."

“A friend love at all times” is a Proverb (17:17) learned in childhood but reflecting the wisdom of maturity. And another Proverb which represents the discipline of Spiritual Friendship: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (27:17)

In order to “sharpen” a friend, friends have to be in a relationship in which there is honesty, accountability, interdependence, challenge, and trust. These qualities of friendship, shared in the context of prayer and mutual support, result in “Spiritual Friendship.” And this kind of friendship both requires and results in discipline. It is this discipline of being in relationship…come what may…through “thick and thin”…iron sharpening iron…rubbing together even when it hurts…which is Spiritual.

But like every other Spiritual Discipline, the focus is God, not the friends. “He has not learned what friendship is who wishes any reward other than itself.” Friends practicing this Spiritual Discipline do not seek their own benefits, nor do they measure the value of the friendship by what either friend gives or receives. Indeed, such friends are not alone in their Spiritual Friendship: "Here we are, you and I, and I hope a third, Christ, is in our midst ... for what more sublime can be said of friendship ... that it ought to, and is proved to, begin in Christ, continue in Christ, and be perfected in Christ?"

The Spiritual Discipline of Spiritual Friendship results in greater love, love which is manifested to God through the hearts, and souls, and minds, and strength of Spiritual Friends. I see much evidence of this kind of friendship in our congregation. And so we know that there is this possibility right her, right now, in Friendship.

*All quotations in this article are from Aelred of Rievaulx, 1110 - 1167

June, 2008

“Juneteenth Sunday, 2008”

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished and continues to prohibit slavery. This Amendment was ratified on December 18, 1865. Thirty months later the news reached the State of Texas.

For thirty months, slaves in Texas were not told of their emancipation. Thirty months after Congress acted, African Americans in Texas were liberated. That day, June 19, 1867, is known as “Juneteenth.”

Maybe those who were sent to inform Texas were not that eager to go. Can you imagine that? Someone having wonderful news but reluctant to tell it…

Maybe the slave-holders were not so eager to know. Also difficult to imagine…that our lives could be radically changed but we prefer the status quo….

Maybe no one was sent with the news in the first place. (C’mon…no one would really believe that explanation; but it causes me to consider that even with the best news, it sometimes seems as if no one has been sent to tell it…).

How far is it from Washington, D.C. to Texas?

How far from the nearest Christian to someone who is suffering?

Regardless of how good the news may be…if no one is sent to tell it, if those who are sent are reluctant to go, or if those who are to hear it are not listening (or are prevented from knowing by dominating powers), then there might as well be no news at all.

“Juneteeth Sunday” -- June 15, this year -- marks the remembrance of June 19, 1867, when the good news of liberation finally reached Texas. On Juneteenth Sunday, many congregations will celebrate -- not the ACT of freedom but the FACT of freedom. For although all slaves in Texas were freed by the Amendment, they knew only slavery until the new law became the good news.

It reminds me of God’s liberation of humankind. In the Act of God through the incarnation, all of humankind -- past, present and future -- were liberated from the powers of sin and bondage, corruption and death. Yet many continue to live as slaves, and many continue to enslave others.

While God has already ACTED -- and God is still ACTING today -- many, if not most, continue to live in bondage. So what is the message of Friendship?

April, 2008 (see previous page)

February, 2008

November, 2008

"The Presence of Christ"

Who needs God? And when?

Those who have the spiritual discipline of “practicing the presence of Christ” have answered “I do.” And “At all times.” The reality is that we all live our lives in God’s presence. But to “practice the presence” means that one intentionally develops the habit of turning his or her heart toward God.

You might say, “Lord, I know you are present; I am here, now. Help me to hear you/see you/know you more deeply.”

When it comes right down to it, practicing the presence of Christ is our way of loving God and staying connected with God as we go through our daily lives.

Try these suggestions:

Stop several times during your day to pay attention to God. You might even set an alarm to remind you. When you stop, spend a few moments reading or reciting Scripture, or praying.

If you are interrupted while doing something which has your attention, practice by saying “Thank you, God.” I am here.

When you are involved in a task or a project, share it through a prayer with God as you begin, and when you reach a stopping point or complete the task, thank God for sharing the task or project with you.

Develop some prayers to help you keep your focus on God: A “drinking my morning coffee” prayer; a “driving to the store” prayer; a “putting on my shoes” prayer…you get the idea.

God is with us, always. God desires for us to be with God, always. Listen to the sounds of God’s presence in the world; look for the signs of God’s presence in your day; smell the aromas of God’s love in your surroundings; enjoy the warmth of God’s love in the sunshine.

Practicing the presence of God is a daily opportunity for cultivating Friendship

September, 2008

“It is no secret…or is it?”

As most of you know by now, Boy Scouts and Scouting are important aspects of my life. At the Celebration Service of Jimmy Maxwell’s life, I had the honor of meeting a man (named James) who earned his Eagle Scout Award while a member of Friendship’s Troop (back in the day). Plus, I discovered that Dr. Wade Nutter once served as a Scoutmaster right here in our church! My opinion: A Scoutmaster is one of the most influential and significant positions an adult can hold, one which deserves greatest respect. Imagine the day when Friendship can sponsor a troop again!! If I were not a pastor, I would probably be a Scoutmaster.

The Boy Scout slogan is “Do a Good Turn Daily.” And we were taught to do the good turn without being noticed; which brings me to this month’s Spiritual Discipline: Secrecy.

To practice “Secrecy” as a Spiritual Discipline, the Christian chooses to follow the simple and often hidden way of Christ. There are four aspects of this discipline which you can examine, study the Scripture, and come to a definition and understanding of each for yourself:

HIDDENNESS: Bible Study Mark 1:44 and 9:9;

ANONYMITY: Bible Study John 3:30 and Philippians 2:3

LACK OF DISPLAY: Bible Study Matthew 6:6

HOLDING CONFIDENCE: Life Study Gossip, Slander, Rumor

Secrecy as a Spiritual Discipline is healthy and can lead to deeper relationships with God and others. BUT, keeping secrets to avoid honesty or to obscure wrong-doing is never okay and is often harmful.

We can do special, private, personal, secret things for God (can you think of an example?), and we can to “good turns” for others without letting them know.

Listen to someone else as a safe sounding-board and keep their story in confidence.

Look for acts of service you can do without letting anyone know (this happens frequently in our congregation, I am happy to say).

Send a gift or a greeting card without signing your name.

Spend time with God in meditation and prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to move quietly through you to enrich your relationship with someone else.

Secrecy is a surprising spiritual dimension of Holy Friendship.

July, 2008

May, 2008

March, 2008

January, 2008 (see previous page)