Ya can just call it an occupational hazard.

I have led and heard countless pastoral prayers over my lifetime. They have ranged from simple and heartfelt to complex and theological. Some have inspired tears and others somnolence.   

All preachers possess particular speech mannerisms. Words, phrases, utterances, and inflections make regular appearances. Pastoral prayers showcase these personal peccadillos.

The Babylon Bee, a satirical Christian website, published a fictitious pie chart on prayer among English-speaking evangelicals. It revealed that the word just composes 37% of all pastoral prayers. No doubt the nonstandard spelling of you as ya came in a close second.

The two words typically occur in prayer while addressing God. Examples: We just came to worship ya, Lord. I just ask that ya bless us, Father. May ya just grant this one request, we pray.

The colloquial ya makes ministers sound homey and approachable. Adding y’all certifies a pastor’s credentials as a good-old-boy-or-girl.

The adverb just seasons prayer with dashes of false-humility and self-abasement. We don’t want much Lord, just this simple request that’s hardly worth mentioning.

It’s a hazardous business critiquing prayer; but maybe the Lord Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, deserves more than a casual ya from God’s people. The Holy Spirit calls believers to address Yahweh with a capital You.

Perhaps we can just omit just in our prayers, too. Hebrews 4:16 encourages Christians to approach God’s throne with boldness and confidence. Let’s pray BIG prayers filled with audacious expectation.

Ya just might be surprised what happens.

The North Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church meets this week at The Classic Center in Athens, Georgia. Laity and clergy will practice “holy conferencing” and do kingdom work. Annual Conference sessions include reunion, worship, business, debate, beginnings, and endings.

Annual Conference traditionally begins by singing And Are We Yet Alive? Charles Wesley originally published the hymn in 1749. John Wesley began using it around 1780 during the opening worship services of annual society meetings. The practice continues today.

The stanzas recall the past twelve months since the conference gathered last. The stanzas celebrate those “yet alive” to do God’s work, and those who “the crown obtain” in heaven’s kingdom.

The hymn’s lyrics have grown increasingly poignant and meaningful over the years. I enjoy the family reunion atmosphere of greeting old friends; but I mourn the absence of God’s saints no longer present. I remember and celebrate brothers and sisters who have gone from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant.

Reflect upon the power of the hymn’s lyrics:

And are we yet alive, and see each other’s face?

Glory and thanks to Jesus give for his almighty grace!

What troubles have we seen, what mighty conflicts past,

Fightings without, and fears within, since we assembled last!

Let us take up the cross till we the crown obtain,

And gladly reckon all things loss so we may Jesus gain.

Amen.

Churches everywhere are observing Vacation Bible School Season. Although liturgical calendars do not note the sacred time, summer would not be complete without the Holy Week of bedlam and chaos.

I grew up attending VBS with a different theme each year. A joyful Jesus adorned all of the materials. Maps, pictures, and posters adorned the cinderblock walls. Flimsy 33-rpm records supported the curriculum with the week’s featured songs.

Filmstrips were high tech way back then. Multi-media presentations included felt boards with cartoon figures. For years, I thought all the disciples were six inches tall with Velcro strips down their backs!

Recreation was the high point of the day. The older youth led the playtime, which meant the teenage boys flirted with their female counterparts while we ran wild. The more organized leaders tossed us a kick ball before standing aside.

Refreshments included juice along and cookies. Whenever I read about Jesus feeding the five thousand with loaves and fishes, I always assumed the writers meant to say Kool-Aide and Oreos! I also thought that the pastors ought to substitute iced sugar cookies for the stale crackers used at Holy Communion.

We loved arts and crafts time, using markers, construction paper, glitter, balsa wood, and modeling clay. Oh, and the things we could do with a few Popsicle sticks and some paste glue! No doubt Noah constructed the ark with only these supplies on hand.

During music, we enthusiastically sang the songs of faith. Our Top Ten List included “This is My Father’s World,” “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and “The B-I-B-L-E.”  Our all time, number one, favorite was “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.”

Truth to tell, I remember the context of Vacation Bible School much more than the content. However, those summer weeks became grace-moments in my life. I learned that the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, loved and cherished ME!

I hope every child in our community has the opportunity to attend Vacation Bible School this summer. The experience will transform their lives, and the memories will last forever.

Give this generation a foundation of faith along with some juice, cookies, and Popsicle sticks, and they will change the world forever!

I am reposting this article in honor of the last week of school.

I loved the last days of school. The final week celebrated the best elements of education without the needless distractions of books, lessons, or tests. Students spent the hours helping teachers prepare classrooms for summer break.

The boys carried armloads of textbooks to the storage closet. We embraced the manual labor as a badge of honor. After delivering the dusty tomes, we roamed the halls before reluctantly returning to class.

The girls washed the chalkboards and stripped the bulletin boards. All of us joined in dumping the year’s debris from our desks. We scrubbed the desktops until they gleamed.

Teachers sent trustworthy children outside unsupervised to clean the chalk erasers. We banged the felt pads against the building and scrubbed them on wire boxes. Clouds of white powder filled the air. No doubt the inhalation of chalk dust caused many of my generation’s ills.

The cafeteria closed early for its annual degreasing, and the school provided grab-bag lunches with mysterious contents. In the days before peanut allergies, they often served peanut butter and honey blended sandwiches—a terrible defilement of the traditional peanut butter and jelly classic.

When the last bell of the last class of the last day sounded, we erupted from the classrooms like escaping POWs. Whoops of joy resounded down the hallways by the teachers. Bursting through the exits, we exalted in our newfound freedom.

An endless summer stretched before us, enchanted with magical promise. Who knew what new adventures awaited us? Life stretched before us filled with limitless possibilities.

Sometimes I imagine that the final day of my life will feel like the last day of school.

During my childhood, Memorial Day signaled the unofficial start of summer. I never thought much about the holiday’s deeper meaning. Enjoying a day off from school seemed significant enough.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Major General John A. Logan issued General Order 11. It designated May 30 as Decoration Day to honor fallen soldiers. Arlington Cemetery hosted the first major observance in 1868. The annual event grew into a national holiday.

Today our nation observes Memorial Day on the last Monday of May. The holiday honors military personnel who have died during wartime. Parades, speeches, flags, and cemetery floral arrangements mark the occasion.

We remember the men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country. We also honor armed forces’ personnel who presently serve at home or abroad. Our liberties come at a high cost, and we recognize those who lay aside self-interest for their country’s sake.

We recognize military families who make their own sacrifices. Each member of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves, and National Guard leaves behind a family at home. Our service personnel wear a uniform; but parents, siblings, spouses, children, and friends support them on the home front.

This weekend fly the flag. Take your hat off when the National Anthem plays. Recite the words of the Pledge of Allegiance in a strong voice. Express your appreciation to a veteran. Visit a cemetery. Place a flower arrangement. Say a prayer.

Remember, and give thanks.

• Joints provide a Rice-Krispy-soundtrack of snaps, crackles, and pops
• GI tracts make the same noises as a coffee maker.
• Drivers lower the radio volume while following directions.
• Doctors regularly use the phrase, “For a person your age.”
• Medicare supplement ads fill the mailbox and inbox.
• Speeders are maniacs and slowpokes are morons on the interstate.
• A hot date involves a recliner and heating pad.
• Empty boxes fill the garage because they’re REALLY good boxes.
• Pastimes include staring out a window for inordinate amounts of time. Bird feeder optional.
• Bending over lasts a while in case there’s anything else to do at floor level.
• Casual conversations cover medical procedures, home remedies, and physician references.
• My aching back and What a pain in the neck are more than expressions.
• Night driving provides a light show of halos and starbursts.
• But most days growing older beats the alternative.

This Sunday, May 11, our nation will observe Mother’s Day. The holiday began in May 1907 at Saint Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. A Methodist laywoman, Anna Jarvis, organized the service to honor her mother.

The Methodist Episcopal Church adopted the observation on a denominational level in 1912. Two years later President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday of May as a national day to honor mothers.

Church and country created the holiday with the best of intentions; but the annual observance creates a pastoral minefield, filled with unexploded ordinance. I often use The United Methodist Church Book of Worship’s poignant prayer for the day.

For our mothers, who have given us life and love,

That we may show them reverence and love,

We pray to the Lord.

For mothers who have lost a child through death,

That their faith may give them hope,

And their family and friends support and console them,

We pray to the Lord.

For women, though without children of their own,

Who like mothers have nurtured and cared for us,

We pray to the Lord.  

For mothers, who have been unable to be a source of strength,

Who have not responded to their children

And have not sustained their families,

We pray to the Lord.

Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children,

So you watch over your Church.
Bless these women, that they may be strengthened as Christian mothers.

Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.

Grant that we, their sons and daughters,

May honor them always with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I spoke at a high school baccalaureate service in the 1990s. I brought a camo fanny pack used for deer hunting as an object lesson. I discussed the meaning of the pack’s contents, including a whistle, compass, knife, bandage, and lighter.

My best friend and fellow pastor, Glenn Ethridge, developed the idea into a creative series of Graduate Sunday sermons. He dressed up as different characters each May and shared Godly wisdom with the congregation’s seniors.

I decided to reborrow the idea at Northside Church. I have spoken to our high school seniors on the first Sunday of May wearing various guises:

• 2018    Camos and boots with my original hunting pack
• 2019    Two Atlanta Braves jerseys featuring a pro’s name and my own
• 2020    Suit and tie delivering a David Letterman Top 10 List
• 2021    1970s, 100% polyester, bright orange, leisure suit
• 2022    State Farm’s Mayhem with black suit, tie-bar, bruises, and bandages
• 2023    Top Gun’s Maverick flight suit
• 2024    Indiana Jones with leather jacket, fedora, and whip

This year Senior Sunday coincides with Star Wars Day: May the 4^th be with you! The sermon is titled Soul Wars: May the Faith Be with You. Check out the Northside Church’s social media platforms for videos starring yrs trly as Obi Wan Bill Burch.

I hope you’ll join us onsite or online this Sunday, May 4 at the 9:00 Contemporary Service as we honor our seniors. Visit the church’s website for the live stream at www.northsideumc.org. The sermon will be archived for future viewing, too.

I gave up Facebook as a spiritual discipline during Lent. Most of us have a love/hate relationship with social media. It displays and promotes the best and worst of people.

I joined Facebook to connect with parishioners, colleagues, and friends. I quickly discovered its addictive nature, unconsciously checking posts in idle moments.

Therefore, I gave up Facebook during Lent. The seven-week hiatus broke my habit of constantly glancing at a phone. It enabled me to be more mindful of the world, enjoying my surroundings rather than staring at screens.

I returned to social media after Easter, but I only check Facebook twice a day. I also turned off the notifications. This strikes a healthy balance between connecting with others and wasting time on inane posts. Perhaps others feel the need to set appropriate boundaries, too.  

To misquote Jesus, Facebook was made for people, not people for Facebook. Social media makes a wonderful servant but a terrible master.

Join us this Easter Sunday as we celebrate the good news of the Resurrection! Northside Church is offering five opportunities for worship:

• 8:30                 Traditional Worship               Sanctuary
• 9:00                 Contemporary Worship          Faith & Arts Center
• 9:45                 Traditional Worship               Sanctuary
• 10:30               Contemporary Worship          Faith & Arts Center
• 11:15               Traditional Worship               Sanctuary

The 8:30, 9:00, and 11:15 services will be live-streamed on the church’s website at http://www.northsideumc.org. Easter animals will be present before and after the services.

I look forward to worshipping together as we hear the ancient words that are forever new, Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed!