The Spiritual Lives of America’s Young People

By Fr. Rob

Two very interesting books have been the focus of my reading recently: Soul Searching by Christian Smith and Melinda Denton (about the spiritual lives of teenagers 13-17); and Souls in Transition (about the spiritual lives of young adults, 18-27) also by Christian Smith.  These books are based on surveys done concerning the spiritual lives of young people.  I found a few surprises and a number of affirmations.  I will attempt to summarize them for you:

1.      Young people with spiritual roots and church connections statistically do better in life.  This includes such areas as social interaction, relationships, school, and general happiness.  They tend to exhibit less guilt over behavior and past wrongs, are more future oriented, and are more effectively seek meaning, purpose and productive direction for their lives.  It is clear from these studies that these life outcomes trend in the positive direction with deepening levels of faith commitment.

2.      A common perception is that there are fewer teenagers and young adults than in previous generations seeking connection with God and His Church.   These studies do not support this assumption.  While religion is definitely not a priority for most teenagers, many today are remaining in the church, usually in the faith community of their parents, and the number doing so is not significantly different from teens 40 years ago. 

3.      It is true, however, that many struggle with articulating their faith, and many simply lapse into a form of “moralistic therapeutic deism” (a faith based on God expecting them to live right but who is otherwise detached and uninvolved… In other words, they are on their own).  This displaces for many an authentic Christian experience based on a loving, growing relationship with God and neighbor, one that empowers, transforms, stabilizes life and provides purpose.

4.      We all know that the teen years involve a growing independence and an absorption into peer groups.  The message parents often get is “butt out,” and American parents are frequently willing to comply.  This is particularly true on issues of spiritual growth.  As a pastor, I have often heard as a pastor something like this:     “My teenager doesn’t want to come to church or be part of the youth group, and I think he should make up his own mind.”  The result is that many younger teenagers find themselves uncomfortably on their own with some of life’s toughest and most basic questions, such as their true identity and what is real, true, valuable and morally right.  Studies show that most teenagers very badly want loving input (after all, it’s a scary world out there), but they want input and engagement on re-negotiated grounds that take into account their growing maturity and desired independence.  This is when the art of parenting can be its most challenging, but also its most rewarding.

For us as a church family this means that we need to engage teens and young adults wherever and whenever we can.  We need to help them bring faith issues out of the background of their lives and find a Faith that can positively shape their lives.  We need to encourage young people to respect the faith of others but move beyond the modern cultural distortion that it is necessary to water down their own faith convictions in the process.  Finally, knowing that parents are and have always been the key to the spiritual development of young people, we need to bring parents into our church fellowship and talk about the criticality of faith development along side physical and mental development in the life of their teens.

Holy Trinity: A Community of Grace

Grace refers to the unearned favor of God showered upon our lives.  It is God dealing with us not on our worthiness or merit, but on our needs, simply because we are the object of His unconditional love.  This is the foundation upon which the “Kingdom of God” is being built.  Holy Trinity, as an outpost of the Kingdom of God, is therefore called to become a “Community of Grace.”

We who are tainted with the ways of this world find that being a grace-filled community doesn’t come naturally; however (thanks be to God!), it does come supernaturally through the inner working of the Spirit of God in us and in our community.  It is God who makes us a “Community of Grace.”  We are the recipient of God’s grace and therefore called to be an instrument through which that grace is extended to others.  We are therefore a community who is becoming…

Ø  A place of unconditional love that is a sanctuary for the sinner, the broken- hearted and the wounded.

Ø  The workplace of the Holy Spirit and a crucible for transformation and healing.

Ø  A community from which God’s Truth is shared with the world. 

Ø  A place where people can be invited in just as they are, but knowing that God loves them too much to leave them where they are.

Ø  A people learning to be loving and gracious because we ourselves have been treated with love and grace.

We are also a fellowship that is moving day-by-day toward holiness of life, not by our own works or merits, but by the grace of God’s activity within the community.  Holiness is within our grasp because God has “graced” us with His Holy Spirit. The Church calls this “Sanctifying Grace.”  Through God’s Sanctifying Grace, God has given us access to the marks of holiness, which are the “Fruit of the Spirit,”- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

Jesus showed what grace-filled life living looks like: 

Ø  He treated all people as having great value            ,                                     (Luke 7:36-50)

Ø  Regarded each person as a beloved child of the Father,                          (Matthew 18:10-14)

Ø  Hung out with the least desirable and the marginalized,                         (Matthew 9:9-13)

Ø  Conveyed to God’s people unambiguous and un-compromised Truth,  (Matthew 5:17-20)

Ø  Taught that only God is to judge,                                                            (Matthew 13:24-30)

Ø  Demonstrated that we are not to judge, but to forgive                            (John 8:1-11)

Ø  Cared enough to listen and be the instrument of change for the stranger (John 4:4-30)

Ø  Provided redemption and salvation to those who were lost to God.,      (Luke 19:1-10)

Ø  Conveyed a hope and a purpose for this life.                                          (Matthew 6:25-32)

 So, how are we to be a Community of Grace?  By…

Ø  By not condemning, but helping others become aligned to God’s call on their lives

Ø  understanding that others are a work in progress, just as you are (Matthew 7:3-5)

Ø   unconditionally loving the unlovely, even when they are unable to love us back.

Ø  caring for the stranger. (The Good Samaritan- Luke 10:25-37)

In other words, extending grace to others the way Jesus extends grace to you.                       

A Day with Moses

Exodus 3:1-5

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian…
Maybe it’s not working for your father-in-law, but perhaps for you it is just another day like any other day.

 and (Moses) led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Many of us can describe the landscape of our lives as “desert.”  Your desert, your wilderness wonderings through this life, may be arid, lacking vision and hope, bearing no fruit.  For you, it may be living day after day with the affects of past trauma.  It may be pain, disappoint… anxiety about the future… guilt about the past… broken relationships.  There are a lot of things that can take a life and turn it into desert.   Is there a far side to your wilderness?  You hope there is!  Perhaps you feel beyond hope… There seems to be no far side to your wilderness. 

For Moses, his wilderness is framed by an abandonment of identity… Is he a prince of Egypt and master all things worldly, or is he just a shepherd who knows how to get by?  Moses’ real identity, it turns out and He is soon to re-discover, is as a Hebrew, counted among the people of God, with a home in the very presence of God? 

Moses’ wilderness is also framed by a loss of purpose and destiny.  Does not God have something more for Moses? …for you?  Jesus says that He came not just to bring life, but to bring it in abundance?  Where is the abundance in the middle of your wilderness?  What does God have for you on the far side of your wilderness wonderings?

 ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

God was on the far side of Moses’ wilderness just waiting for him to draw near.  When he does, he gets a glimpse of the divine.  How about you?  Are you there yet?

⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

In a tone of submission, obedience and awe, Moses says, “Here I am, Lord.”  Like Moses, is this your day to submit to the Almighty?  There is an alternative: You can turn around and head back out into the desert.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

God is inviting you into His holy presence, onto “Holy Ground.”  Does God intend to sanctify your life and make it holy?  That is obviously His plan for Moses.  That is, for sure, God’s plan for you.  Will you allow it?  Will you today, perhaps a bit more than yesterday, open yourself  to the sanctifying work of God’s Holy Spirit in you?  This is the only way is you will be able to eternally remain in His presence and on this “Holy Ground.”  The Church has long understood Christianity to be God’s invitation into the very presence of God, but first He asks us to “take off your sandals” that are so covered with the filth of our not-so-holy wilderness wonderings. 

The story is far from over for Moses.  God sets him on a grand adventure punctuated with power and purpose.  What does God have in store for you as you move forward from this day?                                                         

Father Rob

Take Courage; Give Encouragement.

by Father Rob

When I graduated from college in 1970, I had a brand new engineering degree and a matching job in Charlotte.  The job came complete with what seemed to a 22 year-old young man to be a huge array of responsibilities and job expectations.  Like many young people who find themselves freshly out of the somewhat sheltered environment of the college setting, I did not have a great deal of confidence in my ability to meet the challenge. 

 My first night in town was spent at my uncle’s home, and I’ll never forget what he told me over breakfast the next morning. “Soon enough you will be running that company,” he said.  These brief words of encouragement became indelibly burned into my memory.  Just when my confidence seemed to be lacking, he came alongside me and was confident for me.  His efforts to supplement my waning belief in my abilities became pivotal in bolstering my courage for the challenging and rewarding profession that awaited me.

I retired from that company 31 years later.  I was not exactly running the company as he had prophesied, but I had become a successful part of its management team.  Would it have been different without my uncle’s gift of encouragement that morning many years ago?  It is hard to know for sure, but I believe it would have.

Today in my totally new job as a priest, I often find myself a steady dispenser of encouragement.  I come alongside folks in life’s hard and arid places, and I encourage them to press on to the far side of their dilemmas. The encouragement needed comes in many forms, and it may involve nothing more than instilling confidence that there is indeed a far side.  It is important in any array of difficult circumstances for the person in need to know that neither God nor I have left them.  Sometimes, my supportive presence is enough aid for them to begin the problem solving process independently.  Confidence is also found by many in the “Comfortable Words,” as our liturgy phrases it; or the situation may require that I roll up my sleeves and help share the burden in whatever way I can.  Courage is not only found in what I do, but in what I do not do, which includes withholding or delaying criticism even when warranted.  

Our words have great power, particularly for those for whom we are a significant other. What is said when one is in need of the courage to begin new career, overcome obstacles great or small, or embark on any of life’s journeys has the power to determine the direction they may take.  We can pronounce blessings or curses, encouragement or condemnation.  Our words give the permission and the courage for that person to live into and actualize our words of encouragement.   We can all be ministers of encouragement…. Are you?

Father Rob Hartley is the rector (pastor) of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in North Augusta.  You can reach his blog, “North Augusta Anglican,” at http://holytrinityna.blogspot.com/

1Kings 19: 9-18- Elijah’s Cave

The Story… At a big showdown on Mount Carmel, Elijah (and God, of course) dramatically defeats the prophets of Baal.  Malevolent Queen Jezebel is not happy and vows to kill Elijah.  Amazingly, even after being such a powerful instrument in the Lord’s hands, Elijah succumbs to a spirit of fear and depression by Jezebel’s threat.  He flees south from Mt. Carmel and holes up in a cave deep in the Sinai desert on Mount Horeb.

The story at one level is about allowing “The World” to steal from us the promise, provision, protection and purpose God has for us.  (“I am alone in all this, and they are seeking my life to take it away,” Elijah says.) 

We can all become distracted by the “Jezebels” in our lives where we can longer hear the “still small voice” of God speaking truth, assurance, peace, direction and power for living into our lives.  We can be consumed and blinded by problems, fear, bitterness, trauma, etc.

It is interesting that Elijah retreats to the “Mountain of God.”  Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai, is a place where God has the reputation for showing up.  Whether by God’s design or Elijah’s intention, Elijah ends up where he was sure to encounter the Living God…and he does.  And God asks Elijah, “What are you doing here?”

When the Jezebels in your life close in on you, do you put yourself in places where God has a reputation for showing up?  Do you seek a place where you can hear the “still, small voice” of God speaking truth, assurance, peace and direction into your life?  Is Holy Trinity that kind of place for you? Equally  important…  Are we making Holy Trinity that kind of place for others?

Fr. Rob

Difference between Episcopalians and Anglicans in America?

The question is about the difference between “The Episcopal Church” and “The Anglican Church in North America,” both churches in the Anglican Tradition.  Let me start by explaining a bit about Anglicanism.

Anglicanism has its roots in the 1900 year history of Christianity in the British Isles.  Today there are approximately 80 million Anglicans worldwide.  Anglicans see themselves as one expression of God’s One, Holy, Catholic (meaning “universal”) and Apostolic Church and is characterized by an emphasis on liturgical and sacramental worship, Protestant beliefs and a love of the great traditions of the Church.  Anglicans are bound together by a “common worship,” which is expressed and propagated in the “Book of Common Prayer” first drafted in 1549 during the Protestant Reformation in England.  Anglican churches are also largely bound together in what is known as the worldwide Anglican Communion. 

The Episcopal Church was formed after the American Revolution as an ongoing expression of Anglicanism in the United States.  In recent decades, however, the Episcopal Church has progressively taken on a revised view of Anglicanism and of the Apostolic Faith, what is known as Modernism and Modernist Theology.  The Episcopal Church today, particularly among many of its clergy, understands the Faith in some ways inconsistently with the Faith of the Apostles as recorded in Scripture and the Faith of much of the Anglican Communion throughout the world.

Two salient issues differentiating Apostolic Christianity (classic Anglicanism) from Modernism (The Episcopal Church) are the authority of Scripture and the uniqueness Christ.  This is far too limited a venue to fully explain, but in modernist thought the revelation of God in Scripture in many of its facets is seen as outdated and overridden by modern experience and human intellect.  Similarly, the uniqueness of what God has done in Christ has given way to an openness and inclusivity that trumps the apostolic understanding and eyewitness experience of the person and work of Jesus. 

This theological drift in the Episcopal Church and all its ramifications has caused a fragmentation in the Anglican Communion.  Presently the Episcopal Church finds itself in what has been termed “impaired communion” with much of the Anglican Communion.  North American Anglicans who could not go where the Episcopal Church is theologically headed and who wanted to stay with the broader Anglican Communion appealed to other provinces of the Anglican Communion to take them under their wing, at least in some interim fashion.  This congregation, The Church of the Holy Trinity, is a good example.  Holy Trinity was a church plant under the authority of the archbishop of Nigeria.  The foreign archbishops subsequently have encouraged the formation of a new Anglican province under which orthodox Anglicanism could re-gather in North America.  The Anglican Church in North America thus came into being.  An Archbishop of this new province was consecrated, and dioceses have formed.  

We thus have two expressions of Anglicanism in North America, one modernist, the other traditionally orthodox.  We should note that there are many orthodox believers still in the Episcopal Church, particularly among the laity.  There are also whole dioceses still in The Episcopal Church that are orthodox, such as the Diocese of SC (lower part of the state).  But the Episcopal Church leadership and clergy have a strategy to redefine Episcopalianism.  That process is essentially complete.

Sermon: 7th Sunday of Pentecost(Year A), July 31, 2011- Genesis 22:1-14, "Abraham", The Rev. Nancy Kenney

God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

PRAY

One day, a Pastor was making a wooden trellis to support a climbing vine. As he was pounding away, he noticed that a little boy was watching him. The youngster didn't say a word, so the preacher kept on working, thinking the boy would leave. But he didn't. Pleased at the thought that his work was being admired, the pastor finally said, "Well, son, trying to pick up some pointers on gardening?"

"No," he replied. "I'm just waiting to hear what a preacher says when he hits his thumb with a hammer."

That boy was testing the Pastor….checking to see what he would do.

In today’s OT reading, Abraham is facing a TEST, too.

When I was in college, I went to the University of Tennessee. The first day of one of my classes, the Professor told the class that 1 in three of us would be back the next year. He said to look to your left at the person next to you and then look to the right to see that person. Only 1 of you will be back for your sophomore year. I was shocked! So when I had a TEST, I had the impression that they were trying to flunk me out of school and were looking for me to FAIL.

Later I went to Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. It is a Christian school and the atmosphere was different. I was very anxious about my tests there, because this was Graduate School and I had been out of school for a number of years. When I came into the classroom for my first TEST in more than 20 years, I was surprised when the Professor opened with prayer and prayed for our success. He wanted us to pass the test and do well!

God has a TEST for Abraham in today’s OT reading. Do you think God wanted him to FAIL  or SUCCEED?

PAUSE

Ok, let’s look at today’s reading again and put things into context.

First of all, it is important to remember some background about Abraham.

By faith, Abraham obeyed God and left his own family and country to go where God would show him. God made a covenant with Abraham, promising descendants, land and blessings. He and his wife had been promised a child even though they were in their old age, beyond childbearing years. They did not see the fulfillment of the promise soon enough, so they took things into their own hands and Abraham fathered a child by Sarah’s servant. After that, Sarah conceived a child…..their only child….Isaac….the child of God’s promise.

NOW we look at TODAY’S reading when Isaac is older.

God tested Abraham. He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you."

God said to take his son…..his ONLY son…..the one God knew he LOVED…….

And do WHAT? Offer him as a BURNT OFFERING!!

BURNT offering? You know what is left of a BURNT offering? NOTHING! ASHES! So give him up completely?? 

This seems ABSURD! UNREASONABLE at best!

God had promised Abraham that he would have many descendants and become a great nation! HOW can that happen when he will have NO children? In fact, God changed his name  from Abram to Abraham which means “Father of a multitude”. How can that happen when Isaac is a pile of ashes?

Gordon Wenham, a biblical commentator, says that what God is calling Abraham to do is to relinquish the FUTURE by offering Isaac as a sacrifice. (Wenham pg 283 (World Biblical Commentary) That must have been confusing to Abraham,……. how God could have made these promises about the future and still be asking for Isaac’s life.   BUT

BIGGER than that was that Abraham LOVED Isaac; nothing was more precious to him than the son of his old age, whom God had promised to him.

God was requiring Abraham to give to God the most precious offering he could give.

SOOO the TEST was to see if Abraham, who loves Isaac, loves God even more.

The question for each of us is…….what would we have done if we were Abraham?

WHAT is most precious to us? Not that God is going to ask us for our children. This was the test for Abraham for a particular purpose….but WHAT do WE  hold most precious?

PAUSE

And….WHAT would our response be if God asked us to give it up?

PAUSE

1)      Would it be….Ok, but let me do it my own way and when I am ready?

a.       After all, don’t I know what would be best?  OR

2)      Would it be…..Will there be any PAIN involved?

a.       Because if there is I am OUT! No way am I going through any PAIN! OR

3)      Would it be……I don’t UNDERSTAND this!

a.       And until I do, I am NOT doing this! Explain it to me and then I’ll let You know! OR

4)      Would it be…..Is this going to COST me any MONEY?

a.       It seems people are always asking me for money, especially the church….You know how that is! I am OUT if it costs me money!

But if we were a people who had FAITH in God, would we remember that He created the universe, can heal our pain, has thoughts that are higher than ours, and that all that we have belongs to Him?

One response, we put our trust in OURSELVES and the other we put our trust in GOD!

PAUSE

I had a friend who was going to be ordained as a minister. The week before her ordination, she told God that if there was anything in her life that she loved more than Him, for Him to remove it. She wanted to love Him above all else.

She had a very close friend at that time that she knew was not good for her. She knew that God did not want her to continue that relationship, but she really liked this person.  Soon after this prayer to God, she noticed that that friend had found another friend that she was close to and no longer seemed interested in her friendship anymore. God removed that relationship and honored my friend’s prayer. My friend truly loved God above all else and put her trust in Him. It was painful to lose such a friend, but it has been for good in her life and she thanks Him now.

PAUSE

Are there things in YOUR LIFE that God wants you to give up to Him? Things that keep you from loving Him above all else?

The point in Abraham’s story is not what might have happened to Isaac, for he was never in danger, but what was Abraham’s response to God?

The rest of our passage today tells us that Abraham responded by getting up early the next morning and taking Isaac and his servants to head for the mountain that God would show them. It was a THREE day journey….plenty of time for Abraham to think about what he was going to do….to reflect on his memories of life with Isaac…and to change his mind. But he did not. He had Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice and he had the knife and fire, as they climbed the mountain, just the 2 of them. He prepared the altar and wood for the sacrifice; placed Isaac on the wood; lifted his knife to kill Isaac…………………”But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"  "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

 Abraham did not COMPLAIN, HESITATE, ARGUE or BEG FOR ANOTHER PLAN.

He did NOT ask if PAIN was involved or if it COSTS MONEY or for an EXPLANATION! He TRUSTED God….had FAITH in God….and GOD PROVIDED ALL THAT HE NEEDED!

As Abraham lifted his eyes, he saw a ram caught in the thicket and Abraham sacrificed him, after he released Isaac, at the angels’ command. And Abraham called that place “Yahweh will provide”.

Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

AND…. Abraham PASSED THE TEST!!  He had failed his first test from God, but passed the second one!

Now he showed God that He loved him more than the most precious thing in his life!

HE loved God over ALLLLLL  else!! And he had FAITH in Him and His word!

The question for each of us is:

Do WE trust God…..do we have FAITH in Him when we don’t understand what is happening in our lives; when our lives take an unexpected turn; when someone we love turns against us; when pain enters our life; when God asks us to do things that don’t make sense?

The REAL question is this:

Do we trust in OURSELVES?......OR……in GOD?

Do we trust in what SCRIPTURE says or in what WE think?

A test will surely come in our lives where we have the chance to choose.

God wants us to pass the test, like my Professor at Regent University. Jesus is even interceding for us so that we will pass!

The question is……WHO will we choose to rely on…….OURSELVES or GOD?