We seek God's blessing as we enter a new school and ministry year. The quality of students' and educators' lives is deeply affected by the way they organize their time and work. John Wesley and his brother, Charles, were part of an original group at the University of Oxford in England called The Holy Club. Out of this experience of active, disciplined devotion came the derisive term, methodists.
The first work of the Holy Club was the study of the Bible. The new movement was spiritual, humanitarian, but, first and strongest of all, scriptural. The searching of the Scriptures was earnest, open-minded, devout, unceasing. Wesley himself said: "From the very beginning--from the time that four young men united together----each of them was homo ur, ius libri; a man of one book .... They had one, and only one rule of judgment .... They were continually reproached for this very thing, some terming them in derision Bible Bigots; others, Bible Moths; feeding, they said, upon the Bible as moths do on cloth (Chapter V: The Holy Club at Wesley Center Online)
I appreciate our strong desire for Bible study; "to follow the Holy Spirit through prayer, and our growing knowledge of the Holy Scriptures" according to our mission statement. An organized approach to discipleship training can have a ripple effect throughout our lives, that is we can be methodists in ministry and life.
A playful and appealing resource I am integrating in my ministry and life now is called "Getting Things Done." It's author, David Allen, has some powerfully practical suggestions about why we struggle with our work and how we can respond differently to the demands of daily living. He recommends getting everything out of our minds, deciding what the next actions are, and recording them in a trusted system that is regularly reviewed and refreshed.
Your mind will keep working on anything that's still in (an) undecided state. But there's a limit to how much unresolved "stuff" it can contain before it blows a fuse. The short-term-memory part of your mind--the part that tends to hold all the incomplete, undecided, and unorganized "stuff"--functions much like RAM on a personal computer. Your conscious mind, like the computer screen, is a focusing tool, not a storage place. You can think about only two or three things at once (my emphasis) (Getting Things Done, 22-23).The power to focus, to have a singleness of mind and heart, or to commit to a common mission can be exhilarating. This power is a source of stability and peace from God. As we enter this new school and ministry year, we can seek the blessing of a well-organized life that is inspired by God and leads us to ask, "What's the next thing to do?"
We are an active congregation who responds to clearly defined invitations, challenges, projects and missions. So together let's seek the blessing of a methodist season of growing in the knowledge and love of God.
Peace, Pastor Jeff
