Reflections From Sunday Evening

I have been told that when a pastor completes work with a capital campaign they should take some time off. For one of the few times in my life I have taken that sort of good advice! Following several months of active involvement where the people of PWUMC pledged over 7 million dollars and have contributed 2.1 million to date, it is a good time to step back and re-charge. Last week Cindy and I took a few days and got away. That was good. Today Cindy and I met Bobby and Leslie and Andrea and Billy at Church of the Resurrection and went to church together. The worship was good, Adam Hamilton's message was great but being together in worship was best of all. After brunch together it is home for an afternoon with no responsibilities. Nice. I've been reading a book comparing and contrasting the thought of John Wesley and John Calvin. (This is what preachers do for fun.) There are many similarities but also significant differences. As I read these two great church leaders I see the basic difference lying in Calvin's tremendously astute insights into theology and Wesley's practical theology. Calvin explains things very logically. Wesley puts theology into practice. Wesley would have us live the faith. These are the two primary theological schools of thought in our culture today. (at least I choose to think so.) This new Calvinism seems to be embraced by a larger number of people, in particular younger Christians. This makes me want to do a better job of sharing and living the gospel in our Wesleyan context. So this is what I've been doing the last few days. It is not merely thinking about theology. In rest and restoration we find ways to live our faith. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve