THE CONNECTION

February 2021
Posted on Feb 1, 2021 in BLOG, Newsletter |

“In All Things”
pleasure in those things. Instead, what he’s referring to is this: it’s okay if you’ve been enjoying worship from your couch while resting with a cup of coffee. It’s okay if you’re enjoying more time at home with family. It’s even okay if you found some solitude around Christmas to be a bit of necessary rest. It’s okay if you’re not missing your commute to work. It’s even okay if you find yourself cooking more meals at home rather than eating out. To reiterate, it’s okay if you’re enjoying some of what’s going one right now.
the silver linings. And then, finally, they offer a clause that sounds something like this: “None of this is to say this whole thing isn’t awful, because it is!” It’s almost as if they feel the need to apologize for experiencing happiness and something good during a very challenging and scary time.
-1Thesselonians 5:18 CEB
some practical examples:
• If you’ve been worshiping with us from home using Facebook or YouTube, or maybe even from the parking lot with your radio, take time to marvel at the fact that, as a church, we have the ability to record and share a whole worship service over the internet. While there is lots about the internet that is regrettable, we can give thanks for this small glimmer of light, can’t we?
• I was talking with a church member the other day who was planning to prepare a meal to take and deliver to one of our church’s shut-ins. I have to wonder if we’d think to do that regularly if we were more preoccupied with the busyness of life? Has slowing down caused us to think of others a
bit more?
wasn’t what we’d hoped for, but it was beautiful in it’s own way.
you have an opportunity to give thanks in this season of life. Perhaps it’s those moments of gratitude that will help us to see how God is walking with us through the storms of life.
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January 2021 Connection
Posted on Jan 1, 2021 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Enrich All Lives
While it may be the greatest cliché, it seems important to say this. Mariam-Webster Dictionary defines “Enrich” as to make rich or richer especially by the addition or increase of some desirable quality, attribute, or ingredient.
Why is this definition important? It’s important – even vital – because these final last words of our statement identify the purpose for which we are bothering to do any of this! We call ourselves friends is Christ, and live into that identity; we exercise hope, love and grace with one another, and extend it into the world, understanding that God is still working on each of us in a perfect-making sort of way; we do all of this, we extend all of this, we embrace all of this, and we believe all of this all for the purpose of enriching all lives. All that we do has no other purpose! The work of the church is not primarily about providing a social network for all of us to enjoy. It’s not about creating a status that emboldens us in the social and economic community. It’s not even about fostering a righteousness within us that we can measure ourselves against others with. It is all about enriching all lives.
To be sure, there is other language that we use in the church to talk about enriching all lives. One of my favorite is when we talk about “kingdom-making.” You see, here we’re talking about God’s kingdom (often written “kin-dom” as a way of reminding us that we’re not talking about a monarchy, but something altogether different…the reign of God)! And God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven (sound familiar?) is about ensuring that all lives – all lives – are made richer (no, not money) by the addition and increase of a remarkable quality, attribute and ingredient that we call GRACE!
And so, we are, by the statement we have adopted as a church, a kingdom-making church! We are in the business of enriching the lives of all people with the grace, love, hope, peace, promise, and joy of Jesus Christ! We proclaim that all – everyone – excluding no one – is invited into this amazing and grace-filled covenant with Jesus Christ. The door is open, the admission is free, the result is freeing! This is what we are about and nothing more!
My prayer as you come to the end of this article is that you will read our mission statement once more, and read it as a prayer for this church. Where we are already living into it, let us rejoice! Where we are not yet living into it – where we’re still holding on to a part of what we want it to be rather than what God wants it to be – let us draw closer to God who, with amazing grace, forgiveness and love, calls us back into even deeper relationship with our Creator!
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December 2020 Connection
Posted on Dec 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Exercising Grace: Hard Stop
it. “I love pizza!” “I’d sure love for my flight to take off on time.” “I just love how the
Hallmark Channel has Christmas movies on 24/7 during from October to March!” (yes, I
have a bit of a soapbox to stand on when it comes to Hallmark Christmas movies, but that’s
for another time, I suppose). Just like that word “love,” we also say the word “grace” a lot,
don’t we? It’s what we call the prayer before a meal. It’s the word we use to refer to
manners and social skills (“She has such grace!”). But we also talk about grace when it
comes to God, so let’s make that the focus of our time here.
It’s confusing, because it doesn’t play well with our understanding of what it means to earn
or deserve things. In our world, we receive a paycheck for work done competently. We
receive goods and services when we pay for them. We get things because we’ve earned
them. The opposite is also true. When people receive things that they don’t earn, we get a
bit frustrated, if not downright angry! We call it “handout” and demand reform! So, it’s no
wonder that we get a bit confused when we talk about grace: an immense love and promise
shared with us by God regardless of our deservedness!
person who is serving a life-sentence in federal prison (if we’re made uncomfortable by this,
then my point is well taken). Grace makes us uncomfortable because there is nothing we
need to do to earn it, deserve it, take it, or anything like that. We simply need to be open to
it and stop worrying about why we get it. God loves you, and there is nothing you can do
about it!
me and pours out this amazing thing called grace upon me, regardless of anything I’ve done
or have not done, am I permitted to just hold onto it? Is it mine to store up? Do I get to
determine who get’s a share of it? Who else deserves it? Of course not! Instead, God
invites us to extend God’s grace to others regardless of being deserving! We are to extend,
share, and exercise God’s grace to everyone! There is no checklist for who gets it. There is
no test or pop-quiz to determine who gets more than someone else. Let’s put it another way:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” -Mark 12:31
community and world around us. That’s it! There is no small print! There is no
determination to be made. Share God’s love and grace with the world. Hard stop.
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November 2020 Connection
Posted on Nov 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Exercising Hope: For All The World to See
Pastor Brian
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October 2020 Connection
Posted on Oct 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Exercising Love: For Gary’s
Crowd: “Wait, even Gary? Yeah, Gary’s the worst.”
Jesus: “Look, we’ve been through this. Yes, be kind to Gary, as well.”
Gary: “Ha! Suck it losers!”
Jesus: (palm to forehead) “Not now, Gary.”
Pastor Brian
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September 2020 Connection
Posted on Sep 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Friends In….
Some people arrived, and four of them were bringing to him a man who was paralyzed. They couldn’t carry him through the crowd, so they tore off part of the roof above where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they lowered the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven!” (Mark 2:3-5 CEB)
Sometimes, we assume the four of them were the best friends to have ever lived. In actuality, we really don’t know that! All we know is that they were among the crowd of people who (1) knew that Jesus was in town, and (2) knew what Jesus could do. Did they play Euchre together or cheer on the Wolverines, together? Did they support the same politician for office? Did they all prefer 11am service over the 9am service? We don’t know any of this, and it might be for a very good reason that we don’t. Maybe it just doesn’t matter. Treating others among us and in our community with kindness, humility and grace us does not require us to share best-friend bracelets or to be “blood-brothers.” It doesn’t even demand that we be like-minded in our political or social beliefs. What it does require is that we come to see each other as friends in Christ. Period.
I have a learned habit of referring to my congregation as “friends” or as “brothers and sisters in Christ.” A few years ago, someone commented to me that every time they hear me say that, they’re reminded that they are to see everyone in the church as their friend and brother or sister. I smiled and replied: “That’s the point!” They figured me out! If we are to truly be friends in Christ, and if we are to truly be the light of Christ in this community and in this world, it would behoove us to see one another as friends, more and more.
Can you imagine when, one day, people will look at the “friends in Christ” here at GBUMC and see not just another church full of committees, politics, and finances, but a church that takes seriously Christ at its core, and is tenacious in its singular effort to make disciples of Jesus Christ out of an authentic and increasingly rare love? I wonder if the first words from their mouths will be “We’ve never seen anything like this!” May it be so!
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August 2020 Connection
Posted on Aug 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife.” Matthew 1:18-24 (CEB)
“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, ‘Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!’ She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.’…Then Mary said, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:26-33, 38 (CEB)
You can rest assured that you didn’t miss anything, and that the calendar did not just jump from summer to winter with an unannounced celebration of Christmas. It’s just that these passages of scripture have been on your pastor’s mind lately. At the time of writing this (July 20th), there is just one month remaining until Stephanie and I will wake up on the expected arrival date of our soon-to-be baby daughter (but who’s counting, right?). In the scriptures noted above, Joseph, in the blink of an eye, became an earthly father to Jesus, the incarnation of God. Mary’s life was turned upside down as she experienced the miraculous pregnancy and the labor pains of childbirth, delivering a wiggly little boy known only as Emmanuel, “God with us.” Nothing will put pressure on you as a parent like parenting the Son of God, right?!
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July 2020 Connection
Posted on Jul 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

Greetings in a Strange Time
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June 2020 Connection
Posted on Jun 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter, Uncategorized |

To God Be The Glory
It’s all about gratitude. You have been the most loving, helpful and supportive congregation I have experienced since my arrival in Michigan in June of 1998. I have every reason to believe that the best days are ahead for Grand Blanc United Methodist Church. Reverend Laurie is very grateful to the staff, the prayer group, lay leadership and congregation for the love she felt from all of you.
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May 2020 Connection
Posted on May 1, 2020 in BLOG, Newsletter |

Unexpected Loss
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