On Vick and Grace

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

If you log onto the NFL Shops website and click on their best sellers list for jerseys, there you will find Michael Vick’s #7 for the Philadelphia Eagles. If I heard correctly on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio, Vick has the fourth best selling jersey in the NFL so far. No Eagle, including Donovan McNabb, even appears in the top 25. This comes shortly after Vick’s reinstatement into the NFL following jail time for running a dog fighting ring.

I live about 90 minutes south of Philadelphia, go to seminary in Philadelphia, and have in-laws who live just outside the city in New Jersey. Even though I am not a Philadelphia fan, I am certainly around the culture a little on a weekly basis. I am not surprised that fans have re-embraced Michael Vick. On one level, Philly fans are never happy with what they got. The first bad game for McNabb, the sports talk radio shows will be abuzz with cries for Vick to start. They also see Vick’s tremendous talent. He has the ability to transform the game with his legs as much as his arm. He can be an incredible weapon for a creative football team (unfortunately, Andy Reid is not that creative when it comes to coaching).

On another level, this whole scenario speaks a little about grace. Prior to Vick being reinstated by Commissioner Roger Godell and signing with the Eagles, the question everyone was asking was whether or not Vick deserved a second chance. From what I watched, read, and saw on sports channel was that Vick did deserve a second chance. Certainly there were those who did not think so (Think PETA and dog lovers everwhere), but overall people were willing to extend grace to Michael Vick.

I wonder if deep down, we give someone like Michael Vick another chance just because he might help our team win the Super Bowl, or because we know that we are in need of grace as well. We may not run a dog fighting ring, or run somebody over while driving under the influence of alchohol (see Donte Stallworth), but each of us is flawed. We each miss the mark of God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23). Even though we deserve the punishment for our sin, we can give thanks to God for Jesus Christ who came to save us from our sin. Jesus came to extend grace to you and me.

I hope that Michael Vick does well and receives the grace that he has been offered to do some good in the world. I hope that you and I will also receive the grace that has been offered through Jesus Christ and in turn extend that grace to those around.

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Back from the Survivor Retreat

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

I had the priviledge of sharing with Atlantic Avenue Church of the United Brethren‘s youth ministry this past weekend for their Survivor Retreat. Pastor Dustin Staples and his wife Ashley are good friends of mine, and it was great to share ministry together with them. The group was about 30 kids plus adults (probably close to 50 there total), with students ranging from 7th grade to seniors.

The Survior Retreat is based off of the Reality TV show. When we arrived, the students were split into three tribes and competed in various challenges throughout the weekend. It was great to see some of the older kids working so well with the younger students. It makes for a good first retreat experience when you get included in the activities.

I spoke each night in the evenings around a camp fire. Not a little fire, a big roaring fire. I spoke on 1 Peter 2:11 which says, “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.” We examined the life of Daniel and how he lived as an exile, yet lived differently than the culture. We looked at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and other teaches to see that Christians should live lives that will be counter cultural. Some examples were to pray for your enemies; turn the other cheek; and caring for the poor, hungry, and naked. And we concluded the retreat by looking at Esther, another Exile, who was placed in the King’s palace for such a time as this. The students were challenged to consider all the places where the move and live and how God has placed them there for a purpose.

Now that I’m back home and getting ready for school to begin, I am hopeful that I will be able to post more frequently and thoughtfully in the coming months!

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Reflections on Calling-

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

When I was 10 years old, I attended a church camp at Seneca Hills near Franklin, PA. The speaker that year was a missionary by the name of Hudson Hess. I can’t remember a thing about what he spoke about, only that I was riveted by his experiences of putting his faith fully in God. On Thursday of that week, he gave an invitation to 10, 11, and 12 year old students who might feel that God was calling them into ministry. I went forward.

I thought that God was calling me to be a missionary. I read every book I could about missions. As a teenager, I realized the impact my pastor had in my life. I felt that God was calling me to youth ministry- which is where I served for my first 5-6 years out of college. During that time, God was allowing me to spread my wings within my church setting and take leadership on a larger scale. From designing and leading worship gatherings, to preaching, to leading mission trips- there was fruit on a bigger scale than youth ministry. With that, I entered the Candidacy Process for the United Methodist Church.

I’ve now been appointed as a Student Pastor (almost through seminary!) at Avenue Church in Milford, Delaware for the last 3 years. This is the same church I did youth ministry in, so I have been here a little over 9 years. While here, I have seen the many joys and frustrations of following your calling. Let me list a few.

Joys:

  • It is so exciting to get to do something that God has laid on your heart and that you are passionate about. It is even more exciting when that passion yields fruit in your life and the lives of others.
  • There is great opportunity for the harvest and is a joy to be a part of that harvest.
  • There are people you meet along the way who inspire and encourage you. I have met some friends through this process that will be friends for a lifetime.

Frustrations:

  • The process of being ordained in the UMC is so long. I see other friends in other denominations given awesome leadership opportunities at a much younger age while I have to work through the process. I began the ordination process at 26 and might be able to be ordained before 35. (I’m 30 right now.)
  • Our conference in more rural and less open to innovation and new ideas. I don’t feel our conference knows how to utilize their young clergy.
  • Again, speaking for my experience only, the older clergy have not been real welcoming.
  • In an associate position, it is difficult to try out new ideas that the senior pastor is not on board with- which can sometimes stifle creativity.

That said, I am committed to God and to my call. I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead of me in ministry and I know that there is joy in the journey.

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DVD Review: The Wrestler

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

Relevant Magazine recently listed The Wrestler in their Top 10 Movies of 2008. Watching the movie, I would have to agree with them on their assesment, although one has to rummage through the pain and brokenness to see that this is a parable about the decisions we make, the possibility of new life, and the pain that humanity experiences. Mickey Rourke does an excellent job portraying Randy “The Ram” Robinson- who is a blue collar worker/entertainer who is 20 good years past his prime as a wrestler. Marissa Tomei is also excellent in the movie as Cassidy- a 40 something stripper who is a single mom of a 9 year old son. Here are some themes that I saw in the movie as well as some discussion questions at the end. I am sure I’m giving away a lot of the plot, so be warned if you’ve never seen the movie!

Purpose-
Randy and Cassidy are mirror images of each other in the movie. The are both past-their-prime entertainers (Wrestler/Stripper) who are looking for the glory they once had. They are both holding on by a thread for their survival. Randy survives a heart attack- only to go against his doctors orders to wrestle his former nemesis The Ayatollah for a 20 Year anniversary match. Cassidy wrestles between her job and her son. Both have a hard time imagining life outside of the life they know.

Significance/Relationship
Along with a struggle for purpose is Randy and Cassidy’s search for significance- especially in the form of relationships. Randy has no one close to him and his bad choices have burned bridges with his daughter. This is so clear as Randy participates in an autograph session with other washed up wrestlers. The extent of his relationships are people want a piece of The Ram…reliving the glory of 20 years past…with no one really interested in him. When Randy has a heart attack- he has no one to tell (except Cassidy) because his lifestyle has left him alone.

Randy does reconnect with his daughter in the movie and it is a heart warming moment. They make plans to go out to dinner on Saturday night- but Randy ends up at a bar, engaged in coked-up sex with someone 20 years younger than him- and misses his date with his daughter. This really illustrated Randy’s struggle with the “glory days” and moving on in life in significant ways.

Cassidy works the stage and the VIP area at the strip club, performing for men who pay for her services. We are given little information about her previous relationships, but through the movie she passes up the opportunity to make money to have conversations with Randy. Even then, she struggles to see Randy as more than a paying customer when Randy is interested in her and not what she has to offer in the club.

Exploitation
When Randy is speaking with his daughter as they are reconnecting, he tells his daughter “You’re my girl. You’re my little girl. And now, I’m an old broken down piece of meat.” When you think about it, celebrities are pieces of meat for our culture that consumes their every move. We think they have it together because of their fame and fortune. We buy magazines that track every move of celebrities for our entertainment and enjoyment. We expect that these people (pieces of meat) will somehow bring us meaning, purpose, entertainment, happiness.

Randy’s character had been physically and relationally exploited through wrestling. Cassidy’s character had been exploited through her job as well. Both were pieces of meat that people paid for to make them feel better, to escape reality, or for entertainment.

What does this say about our consumer driven society. We do not only consume food, but each other. We look at people in a way that says “What can you do for me?” rather than seeing the value in their lives because they are created in the image of God.

Brokenness
Throughout the movie, the viewer is left with some graphic images of the broken world we live in as both Randy and Cassidy struggle to leave the life they were living and start something new. The brokeness in Randy’s life was most apparent when he missed dinner with his daughter for sex in a bar bathroom. There was nothing meaningful or romantic in this scene. Nothing significant or meaningful. It was a vivid picture of someone who was so trapped in the life he was living that when faced with a decision- he continued in the cycle of brokeness.

This was also vivid in the movies ending. Cassidy, realizing that stripping was not the significance she was searching for, goes to the wrestling venue to find Randy and try to build a life together. She catches Randy before he goes out into the ring. Randy has a choice to make- to go out in the ring (and possibly die because of his heart), or to walk away and build a life of real significance with Cassidy. Randy chose the roar of the crowd over the one thing that really could have saved his life.

Identity
I just thought this was interesting….in two scenes Randy is called Robin. His boss at the grocery store has Robin put on his name badge rather than Randy. The boss claims he copied it off his W-4 form. Is it possible that Randy’s character had so bought into The Ram persona that he forgot who is really was? Whether or not that is intentional- or I just read too much into it- it certainly is an area to explore.

The Wrestler is Rated R and has strong language, nudity, sex, and drug use in the movie.

Questions:

1. What does Randy mean when he tells his daughter that he is nothing but a piece of meat?

2. How are Randy and Cassidy mirror images of each other? How are they different?

3. How do the choices the characters make in the movie affect their future?

4. What is the one thing that Randy and Cassidy are searching for in the movie? Where do they look for it at?

5. What are some ways the Bible deals with purpose? Relationships? Significance? Redemption? Choices?
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Best Of??

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

**Updated @ 3:50- I changed the link below. It should work now!

I was bored the other day in front of my computer and I was looking at some statistical data for the blog…more specifically, I was checking out sites that are referring viewers to mine. Most of them made a lot of sense (like facebook and twitter). One stood out. The Wesley Report had directed traffic my way, so I decided to check it out. Wouldn’t you know it, they featured my blog post on the Wednesdays Headlines and Links and right under “Best of Methodist Blogs.” You can check out the page here.

I don’t know what constitutes “best of…” anything, but it was cool to see a post linked. It’s like the time during my freshman year of college that I found out I was an honorable mention for National Player of the Week for baseball by doing a google search on my name. I didn’t hear it from the coach, but it was excited anyways.

With that said, check out The Wesley Report. It’s a great source of links and thoughts as you go through your day.

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Book Review: Finding an Unseen God

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

So I signed up to be a Viral Blogger for The Ooze. It’s a cool deal where every month you have the opportunity to sign up for a book, they send it to you (free) and in return you write a book review. This is my first opportunity to do so with the book I received.

I read Finding an Unseen God by Alicia Britt Chole on my way out to Denver for a week away. The short book (160 pages, I believe) was perfect for the flight. The book is Chole reflections on moving from Atheism to becoming a Christian. Chole’s writing was relaxed and certainly her goal was to tell her story rather than convince other atheist that they too should become Christians. It is the narrative of Chole’s life and experiences that catch your attention.

The most interesting thing about this book from me was not what I read, but the conversations that it opened up. I read the book during a four hour flight to Denver where I was seated next to a recent graduate of the Univseristy of Colorado who was a self-professed “Intellectual” and “Agnostic.” While I read on a plane, as a pastor I have created my own policy of attempting not to listen to headphones in order to be free for conversations. Why? Because I have had the most fascinating experiences talking with the people around me.

This was no different. While he admitted to being skeptical of Christianity, certain events in his life had led him to believe that everything happens for a purpose. After reading the back cover of the book, he thought a book like this could help with his own spiritual journey. So I gave him the book. To my mild suprise, he accepted it. (Which is why this is light on substance!) At the end of the jetway as we exited the plane, we shook hands and we went our seperate ways. I prayed that Chole’s book might help him to find God through Jesus as well.

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Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

No…it’s not the newest title in the Twilight series or some new horror movie. It’s part of this week’s text from John 6:51-58. Here is a piece of that passage-

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”

These words of Jesus caused a little bit of controversy over the years. First, the Law of Moses prohibited anyone from drinking the blood of anything, let alone the blood of another person (Lev. 17:14, Deut. 12:23). Romans misinterpreted Christian language surrounding the Eucharist “eating the body and blood of the Lord.” They thought that Christians were cannibals and this caused the early church much persecution in the Romans Empire.

Jesus, throughout chapter 6, is using this motiff of bread to point to God’s gift of eternal life. Just as God gave Moses manna from heaven, God has sent the bread of heaven to earth (John 6:33). Jesus declares, “I am the Bread of Life” in vs. 35. Just as life is obtained by eating physical food, eternal life is obtained by “eating” the flesh and blood of Jesus. This is a graphic way of explaining that we must take Christ into our inner most being since Jesus is the source of life.

How are we fed by God? How do we encounter God in a way that won’t diminish before our next meal?

We live in a society that demands instant gratification and quick results. We love our microwave ovens, our fast-food restaraunts, and text messaging. We want a diet that will work in 8 easy steps, or better yet, 4 steps! Magazines tells us how to ______________ (lose weight, have better sex, get washboard abs, etc) in _____ (insert number) steps. Yet, in the Bible, there are no 5 step processes to spiritual growth. Jesus says in John 6:56,

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”

This sounds familier to John 15:5…

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches ar epicked up, thrown into the fires and burned.”

Both verses in John talked about remaining in Jesus and remaining in the Vine (God). Spiritual growth, allowing God to feed us isn’t so much about what we do, but our proximity to God. How do we “remain” in God’s presence? How do we get close enough to Christ to “eat” his flesh and blood? How do we linger in the Spirit’s presence?

How are you fed by God? What ways have you found to linger in God’s presence? To feast in His presence? Talk it out in the comments!

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Beyond A Bumper Sticker Faith

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

I’ve been working on a new sermon series this week called Beyond a Bumper Sticker Faith. The series will take place this Fall or sometime in the winter. What I want to do is take a look at some of the sayings that Christians put on the back of their cars or wear on their T-shirts and discuss whether or not that is an accurate portrayal of Christianity. In most cases, our pithy bumper stickers and t-shirts give an inaccurate view of our faith. They are more like half-truths while some are near heresies.

I don’t know if this will be a 4, 5, or 6 week series. I’m still working on the details. But here are some examples that I would like to tackle for the series.

  1. God is My Co-Pilot: I really can’t stand this bumper sticker. Let’s face it, God asks for our total surrender. Galatians 2:20 calls us to be crucified so Christ can live through us. God was our whole lives. We are not Co-pilots with God. God should be in the pilot’s/captain chair all by Godself.
  2. Christians Are Perfect- Just Forgiven: Certainly there is some sense of truth in this bumper sticker. We are forgiven. Yet many times we fall into what Bonhoffer called “cheap grace” where we are forgiven but nothing really changes. The world sees us claiming to be Christian, yet living worldly because there has been no significant change in our life. God desire is for us to pursue holiness as God is holy. This does not mean we are perfect. It means that we are striving each day to be more Christlike in our words, actions, and deeds.

Those are some examples of where the series is going.

I need your help: What are some of your favorite (or least favorite, depending on how you look at it.) Christian slogans, bumper stickers, or T-shirts? Talk it out in the comment section.

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Book Review: Simple Spirituality

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

One of the most recent books that I’ve read is Simple Spirituality by Christopher Heuertz. Heurtz is the International Director of Word Made Flesh, which is a community who ministers to the poorest of the poor around the world. I really looked forward reading this book as Andrea went with WMF to India and I have had friends serving in India, Brazil, Peru, Romania, and Sierra Leonne through WMF. The book did not disappoint as I have read it twice in recent weeks.

The books is organized by WMF’s five Lifestyle Celebrations; Humility, Community, Simplicity, Submission, and Brokeness. As Heuertz writes in the introduction, “As I pray for the grace to live into a spirituality that embodies these simple commitments, I invite you to join me.” These Lifestyle Celebrations are central to WMF and their commitments and mission to serve the poorest of the poor. It would do good to do a quick synopsis of each from the book

Humility
“Humility affirms our need for God.” Heuertz goes on to write, “Humility is not a means to an end. Rather humility is the door through which we must enter to be welcomed into God’s presence.” How often do we allow pride to get into our way of seeing God and seeing our desperate need for God. The only remedy for our pride is humility that bows before God.

Community
Community is that which provides orientation and clarification for our identity. Our identity is not found in what we do or what we own- our identity is found in community with God and with others. The book challenged me to be willing to step into other people’s community rather than expecting them to come into mine…to try to view the world through a different lens.

Simplicity
Here in the Western world, much of our value and worth is ascribed by our paycheck, possessions and neighborhood. When we live simply, we live without extravagence and with an eye and heart to our neighbors. Heuertz writes, “We want to make the issue about what we give, but in truth the issue is about what we keep.” Are we engaged in a lifestyle that frees us to give? Or are we trapped in a cycle where we strive to accumulate more and more possessions?

Submission
“Submission is giving up oneself to the power of another.” When we submit to God, we give up our desires and wishes and allow God’s desires and plans to shape us. Submission is realizes that our lives are not our own- our lives belong to God and that we must seek each day to submit our lives to God.

Brokeness
“Brokenness is different- a voluntary surrender to God’s will over our own will…brokenness is open even to the grace in pain.” Brokenness is proactive rather than reactive.

Certainly the review above could be more in depth. But you’ll just have to read the book in order to get more. This was just to whet your appetite.

Heuertz does a great job of weaving personal experience to convey the points that he is making. Some of the stories are light hearted while many of them are a gut wrenching reminder of how the majority world lives.

One critique, and I don’t know if it is a major one. Heuertz speaks a lot of seeing Jesus in the poor. That is certainly true, but it is not the only place where we can see Jesus. Each of us is made in the image of God, and thus we can see God work in and through us in the way we live our lives. Heuertz’s emphasis on this certainly ties in with WMF’s mission to reach the poorest of the poor. It’s not major…there is another side to where we see God in our world today. The poor may be our most visible reminder, though.

I’m interested in your thoughts…have you read the book? What’s your take?

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Heading to Camp: Junior High I

Posted on July 12, 2009 by Steve LaMotte

Andrea, Abbie and myself are heading to Delanco Camp today. This is our third year participating in Junior High I at Delanco. It is always an amazing week. I will be leading worship this year along with 2 students from our worship team. Since there is no wireless at Delanco, you can follow me on Twitter for updates.

http://twitter.com/steve_lamotte

I’ll be leaving updates throughout the week from my phone. Also, you can check out Delanco’s blog and twitter page…

www.delanco.org/blog
http://twitter.com/delancocamp

I’ll be posting more from camp next week. Have a great week.

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