A few weeks ago, I shared a message on Sunday about United Methodist Church lingo church words. Within the UMC’s understanding of the Christian faith, we believe that the church should be alive in the culture and the world. In other words, John Wesley (the father of Methodism) believed the Christian faith was to be a way of life; not simply a Sunday church thing. So with that, we read the scriptures, we live out our faith by clothing the naked, we visit those in prison, we pray for the sick and we feed the hungry.
The United Methodist Church also believes we are to take care of the orphans and children. During that Sunday message, I shared that five Texas Bishops of the United Methodist Annual Conferences had drafted a proposal to be presented to the Texas Legislature. The proposal and petition stated the need for resources to be released from the Rainy Day Fund to help children and youth in the Texas education system. I invited the congregation to sign the petition if they agreed with the proposal of the Bishops.
Back to my question, should I have used the pulpit to share this?
Frankly, I never thought twice about it. This was not a support of one political party or person. Rather, this was about living out my faith and inviting others to join me if they so desired.
This past Sunday, we shared in the baptism of a beautiful infant, as we were going through the liturgy I was reminded again why children are so important. Within the liturgy, we ask parents, “Will you accept the freedom and the power God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” To me, cutting educational funding is an injustice and God gives us the freedom and the power to resist this injustice.
In addition, the baptism liturgy invites the congregation into a covenant to help nurture and grow children; “Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include these children now before you in your care?” We respond, yes!
Over the past few weeks, I have been preaching about our calling at Cypress UMC. Our calling is to be a leading church in Cypress that grows God’s Kingdom, prepares our children and youth for Christ-Centered living, and partners with each person on their spiritual journey.
The UMC’s baptism covenant says we are called to resist injustice on behalf of these children.
The Cypress UMC’s calling states that we are to prepare our children and youth for Christ-centered living.
By joining our Bishops in making a statement to our Texas Legislature about the importance of our children’s education falls in line with the Christian faith and the direction of my faith walk.
Jesus loves the children – so should we.
Should the pulpit be used to share these ideas? By the grace of God, yes!
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