The teachers at Wadsworth Elementary School attempted to ingrain the laws of grammar into the minds of my classmates. We memorized language rules by rote and then learned the exceptions to every rule. While writing, I still find myself mumbling arcane, grammatical incantations like: “I before E except after C unless followed by ‘eigh’ as in neighbor or weigh.”

Language experts state that English is one of the most difficult languages to master. Think about it—American children spend twelve years in school learning how to read and write a language in which they are naturally fluent!

One of the trickier rules of English grammar concerns comparisons. According to Wikipidia.com, “Comparison, in grammar, is a property of adjectives and adverbs in most languages; it describes systems that distinguish the degree to which the modifier modifies its complement.” So there you go.

Comparisons are made in one of two main ways. Words with less than three syllables typically use the suffix –er for comparisions and –est for superlatives. For example, “John is taller than Juan” or “Susie is the fastest person in her class.”

Words with three or more syllables are normally preceded by “more” or “most.” For example, “Sean is more productive than Jean” or “Katie is the most prolific writer in her school.”

Back in the day, our teachers taught us that words with one or two syllables use the suffix –er or –est; and words with three or more syllables use more or most. Today’s grammaticians are a more wishy-washy group who ambigiously mumble that words with two syllables can go either way.

One site advised that –er or –est should be used unless the new word sounds awkward. Well, THAT clears things up.

I confess to being a bit of a grammar geek and often critique miscues in grammar and spelling. One of my pet peeves is the incorrect use of comparisons. A recent commercial on TV for a public utility invited people to become “More Cool.” Memo to the advertisers: it should read “Cooler.”

Others creatively combine comparisons. I heard a weather reporter describing how an approaching front might be “more stormier.”

English is such a complicated language that there are always exceptions to every rule. Comparisons have a subgroup of irregular words that march to the beat of their own drummers. Common examples include: good (better and best), many (more and most), and bad (worse and worst).

Another group called “absolute adjectives” supersede any comparison. Consider words such as “perfect” or “unique.” By definition, nothing can be more perfect than something already perfect. If someone is unique, then another person cannot be uniquer. Although I will note that the spell checker on my word processing software did not flag “uniquer.”

So be carefuler in your comparisons and more rightest in your superlatives. Otherwise, you might just end up looking like the most foolishest one of aller!

On May 17, 1986, Tracy Proctor and I said “I do” at the Unity Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia. Today we celebrate our 30^th Wedding Anniversary.

Decades later I still vividly recall our first date. Tracy answered the door, and her appearance left me breathless. I thought to myself, “Why are YOU going out with ME?” Thankfully, I possessed enough self-possession not to ask.

The first date led to a second and a third as days turned into weeks and months. The following Christmas I popped THE Question. She amazed me yet again by saying, “Yes.”

Despite watching the video repeatedly, much of the wedding service remains a blur in my memory. However, I remember the weight of those sacred vows: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” Other than the death-parting thing, we’ve hit them all.

We quickly discovered that a wedding is a day but a marriage is a lifetime. The statement sounds like a cliché because it is, but clichés begin as truths. Couples that endure faithfully fulfill their vows one day at a time.

In traditional wedding services, the minister never asks the bride and groom if they FEEL in love. Instead, the pastor charges the couple with questions that begin with the words: “WILL YOU?”

We learned that love is both feeling and willing. Sometimes we acted in love because we felt in love. Other times we acted in love because we willed our love. Then we found the feelings all over again.

Tracy has seen me at my best and worst and loved me still. She accepts me for who I am but has never let me settle for any less than who I could be. Her gracious love transformed me into a better husband, son, father, pastor, and child of God.

Most love letters remain private and rightfully so. On the occasion of our 30^th  Anniversary, however, I wanted to publicly share how God has so richly blessed me in and through my wife, Tracy Proctor Burch.

I love you.

Periodically, someone will approach me with a newspaper article clutched in one hand and ask, “Do you know what the United Methodist Church has done NOW?” Then the person will share some real or imagined grievance about the denomination.

Upon closer examination, I usually discover that a person or group in the United Methodist Church has said or done something controversial. These individuals certainly have the right to express their opinion. However, the only body that speaks for the entire denomination is the General Conference.

Under the United Methodist system of church government, the General Conference is the ruling body of the denomination. The conference is made up of lay and clergy representatives from every annual conference in the denomination, spanning not only the United States but also the world.

The General Conference only meets every four years, and it passes the church’s laws, rules, guidelines, and policies. The final result is then published on a quadrennial basis in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. (If you ever suffer from insomnia, I highly recommend the book!)

The 2016 General Conference meets the next two weeks in Portland, Oregon. The assembly
will prayerfully make decisions affecting the future of the denomination. If you would like to keep up with the conference’s latest deliberations and actions, United Methodist Communications has a link at: http://www.umcom.org.

Please join me in prayer during this important time in the life of our church. May God continue to bless our congregation and denomination.

I graduated from Candler School of Theology in May of 1982. A month later Bishop Joel McDavid appointed me to the Mount Carmel and Emory Chapel United Methodist Churches outside Newnan, Georgia.

On our first Sunday as pastor and parish, I preached what—in my own modest estimation at the time—might have been the finest sermon in the history of Christendom. In retrospect, it might have fallen a bit short of such a lofty appraisal.

I awoke on Monday morning feeling pretty good about myself. Then it hit me. The two congregations expected me to preach again the following Sunday; AND they probably anticipated something new! So I slowly learned how to preach on a weekly (weakly?) basis.

God bless those long-suffering congregations in Coweta County who faithfully supported a preacher learning his trade. They took pride in training young pastors, and they gracefully endured rambling sermons with twelve points that never really made a point. The members shook hands after the benediction and assured me they had never heard a sermon quite like THAT before.

I recently flipped through a file drawer that contained some of those first sermons. I blushed bright red while reading the manuscripts. In those early days, I spoke authoritatively about marriage while living as a single man. I instructed parents how to raise children without any of my own. I encouraged people to joyfully endure suffering without any life experience in the subject.

So I’m writing an open letter of apology to those first congregations I served from 1982-1987. God bless the good people at the Mount Carmel and Emory Chapel United Methodist Churches. Precious in the sight of the Lord are those congregations who train up young pastors in the way they should go.

I am who I am today because of who we were together yesterday. I will be forever grateful for your patience, tutelage, and love.

And about that first Sunday when I preached what might have been the finest sermon in the history of Christendom —I really am sorry!

Last year a group from our church joined over 100 United Methodists from north Georgia who traveled to Israel. Most trips serve as enjoyable vacations that provide an extraordinary break from ordinary life. However, the Holy Land trip became a spiritual pilgrimage that transformed our souls.

Scholars describe Israel as “the Fifth Gospel.” The land plays a central role in the Scriptural story, beginning with the Abrahamic Covenant when God promised a future home to the Jewish patriarch.

After returning from Israel, I decided to reread the Old Testament (also known as the Hebrew Scriptures or the First Testament) one chapter per day. Most people skip over the place names as unimportant to the story. However, I determined to read with the Bible in one hand and a map in the other.

Frankly, it’s heavy wading through parts of the Old Testament. For example, genealogies of multiple generations soon blur into a mass of names on the page. Many of the Levitical laws no longer apply. And have you ever imagined the sounds and smells of the Temple as the priests sacrificed thousands of animals?

Some chapters of the story promote a profound sense of depression and melancholy. After finishing 1 and 2 Kings along with 1 and 2 Chronicles, I wondered why God didn’t wash His hands of the entire business. With depressing regularity, the author wrote about the coronation of a new king: “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

The Israelite people didn’t fare much better. God blessed the Jews. Then they constantly went a’whoring after other gods and idols. The people deserted God. They suffered the consequences of their actions. Finally, a faithful prophet or king called the people back to accountability. The nation repented. God restored and blessed the people.

Then the whole sorry cycle started all over again.

The story sounds familiar because it forms the plot of our own spiritual lives. In theory, the Christian life should be a linear journey as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus and grow in faith. In practice, however, we echo the words of the hymn: “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.”

The Lord blesses. We live faithfully. Then temptation arises, and we willfully (or thoughtlessly) wander away from God. We suffer the consequences of our actions. Finally, we “come to ourselves” like the Prodigal Son and realize what has been lost. The Holy Spirit calls us to repentance and restoration. God blesses our lives.

Then the whole sorry cycle starts all over again.

I would love to boast (humbly, of course) about a Christian life that travels steadily upward to the greater heights of God’s kingdom. Instead, a line graph of my spiritual journey resembles a profile of the Rocky Mountains with inspiring heights and depressing valleys.

Although I wish it wasn’t so, we all stumble in our Christian walk. It seems to me that the secret of sanctification is to fall FORWARD. Ask God to pick us up and brush us off. Rather than wallowing in sin and guilt, we are called ever onward as we follow one step at a time in the footsteps of Jesus.

According to The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, I serve as the  “Pastor-in-Charge” at First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville.

What would a pastor’s equivalent job title be in the business world? CEO? COO? Building and Grounds Supervisor? Mailroom clerk? In the upside-down-so-that-it’s-right-side-up-world of God’s kingdom, “servant among servants” might do.

The church is both a divine creation and human institution. Paul said that the church is the body of Jesus Christ in the world. The Holy Spirit works in, thru, and sometimes despite us; but we are Christ’s hands and feet in this world.

As a human institution, the church is also a business. Church leaders serve as wise stewards of heavenly and earthly treasures. On our best days, we never forget that the church is GOD’S business. We don’t manufacture widgets. Instead, we make disciples of Jesus Christ.

FUMC of Lawrenceville has a $2.5 million annualized operating budget. (I made the mistake of doing the math, and it equals $6,850 a DAY!) This sounds like a lot of money because it IS a LOT of money.

The congregation has 2,900 members on paper. (Understand the phrase “on paper” serves as a huge caveat—we average about 900+/- people in Sunday worship.) Work the equation. A $2.5 million budget divided by 2,900 members equals . . .

$862 per member per year.

If everyone in our congregation tithes (gives one-tenth of our income to God), then the annual income per member equals $8,620.

Hmmmmm . . . that doesn’t sound right; and it’s not—but the figures are correct.

Here’s the bottom line: some people give generously and others begrudgingly. Still others don’t give at all. We respond in a variety of ways to God’s call to financial faithfulness.

In Exodus 36, Moses led the people in building the Tabernacle which was a mobile temple for God. So the leader issued a call for a free will offering to construct and decorate the Tabernacle. The people responded with enthusiasm. Out of their personal possessions, they donated gold, silver, gems, linen, leather, goat hair, spices, and oil.

Finally, the skilled craftsmen overseeing the project told Moses: The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done. So Moses had to RESTRAIN the people from giving any more.

This is every pastor’s DREAM! I can only imagine standing up on Sunday morning and saying: “We need to ask you to cut back on your giving. The offering plates are too heavy for the ushers to carry. The financial secretary cannot get it all counted each week. We’ve run out of offering envelopes, and the church administrator had to order more deposit envelopes. Hopefully we can get caught up in the next month, and you can start giving again.”

The Lord has given us ALL of the resources we need to do God’s work . . . and they can be found in our wallets, purses, and bank accounts. When Christian stewards practice financial faithfulness, miracles happen . . . in our lives, churches, and world.

In grammar school, we learned the simple rhyme: April showers bring May flowers. Then one day our teacher asked: “Does anyone know what a May flower brings?” When we confessed our ignorance, she responded, “The Pilgrims!”

Get it? The MAYFLOWER was the ship that brought the PILGRIMS to Plymouth Rock! Yeah, we didn’t think it was all that funny either.

May flowers not only bring Pilgrims but also POLLEN; and it starts way back in March. Politicians often talk about “Red” and “Blue” states; however, I think they should add a third category of “Yellow.”

During the past weeks, yellow goo has covered cars, coated lawns, clogged throats, and congested noses. The golden gunk sticks like glue. After a shower, the streets appear to be paved in heavenly gold. Our Yorkshire Terrier, Sam, possesses a brown and black coat . After a walk, however, he resembles a miniature Golden Retriever.

No one can argue that spring is a beautiful season in Georgia. The trees bud, the flowers bloom, and the grasses grow. As the days grow warmer, everyone naturally wants to spend more time outdoors. Men fire-up the grills while women plant flowers and children play on the lawn. The aroma of freshly-cut grass fills the air. Azaleas, dogwoods, daffodils, and day lilies serve as harbingers of summer’s advent.

But the beauty can also be a beast. The vast palette of buds and blooms produces a noxious cloud of allergens. Sooner or later, almost everyone is affected with itchy eyes, sniffly noses, sore throats, and sinus headaches.

Doctors’ offices are jammed, and any social gathering sounds like a tuberculosis’ ward. The “Cold and Allergy” aisle of local drugstores does a banner business. People pop antihistamines like Tic-Tacs and gargle Chloroseptic like water.

I understand about the birds and bees and flowers and trees. The Creator designed this intriguing, intricate process to insure the reproduction of flora. I would never dare question the Master Gardener’s plan; however, there are times that I have enjoyed just about as much as I can stand. A reading of over 120 is considered “Extremely High” on the pollen count. Many spring days feature four digit measurements.

We can pray for rain, and a good shower will briefly cleanse the air. However, the pollen quickly returns. People resort to air purifiers, dehumidifiers, HEPA filters, and more. Yet here’s the simple truth: anyone who lives in Georgia better get used to the pollen. I suppose in the long run that allergies are a small price to pay for azaleas, daffodils, dogwoods, oaks, red tips, boxwoods, daylilies, and so much more.

In Matthew 6, Jesus told his followers not to worry. Then he pointed to the natural beauty all around them and said, “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” If God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, then surely the Creator will also care for us.

So breathe deep and give God thanks for the beauty of this earth—pollen, allergies, and all.

Several years ago I preached a series on financial stewardship. Members of the congregation shared advice given to them about money. I’ve listed a sampling of their fiscal wisdom below.

Do not spend more than you make each month.

Credit cards should be a convenience only. If you can’t afford to pay off credit cards at the end of the month, then don’t charge it!

If you make $1, don’t spend $2!

Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Compounding interest is a great thing! Learn it, love it, live it.

“Income 20 shillings. Expenditure 19 shillings and sixpence. Happiness. Expenditure 20 shillings and sixpence. Destitution.” (Charles Dickens)

Never co-sign a loan or loan money and expect to get it back. Look at it as a gift instead. If you’re not prepared to give the money as a gift, then don’t do it!

There is nothing wrong with being broke, as long as you live that way.

If you can live without it today, you can live without it!

A fool and his money are soon parted

Perform plastic surgery on yourself and your spouse.  (Dave Ramsey)

Our income should be divided three ways: 10% to God; 10% to savings, and 80% for everything else.

If you have an option to directly deposit money to a savings or retirement account, then DO IT!  It is as if you never make the money so you really don’t miss it.  If you actually have to move the money yourself to savings or a retirement account, it sometimes doesn’t make it.

Don’t use your credit card for a month.  This will get you in the habit of saying “NO” to unnecessary purchases.

When you do get a bonus or raise, use the FULL amount to deposit to savings or pay off extra on a car, etc.  Do not celebrate by purchasing something.

Baby Jesus only got 3 gifts for Christmas! Our children can do with less.

Tithe – God expects it, the Bible tells us to do so, and you will be amazed at the difference in your life when you do so!

Determine a dollar amount (for example $100) and do not make purchases exceeding that amount without first discussing them with your spouse.

Think about how many hours you have to work to earn the money before you make an extravagant purchase.

Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.”  (John Wesley)

Life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid!

The most important financial lesson is to create a budget for paying bills, saving money, and the cost of leisure activities.  Use the budget as a goal, always placing an emphasis on saving so that when the unexpected expenses occur, there is a savings’ reserve to handle them.

Get out of debt as soon as possible by concentrating on paying off the smaller bills first; once that is done, then take the “extra” money toward the next smallest bill.

Never agree to an adjustable rate mortgage!

Try to have a 6 month emergency fund for hard times.

Lock your credit cards in a safe deposit box at the bank or freeze it in a container of ice in your freezer.  Your “frozen assets” aren’t easily accessible but available for emergencies.

Read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

The best financial advice I ever received is simple: spend less than you make

The very best advice is to live beneath your means.

Learn the difference between speculation and investment. Then INVEST!

Spend less, save more, and avoid getting ripped off. (Clark Howard)

If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall!

A few days ago we celebrated the glorious news of Easter Sunday morning. Churches around the world reverberated with the ancient words that are constantly new: “He is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Congregations enjoyed standing room only as sanctuaries overflowed, experiencing their annual, high attendance day for the year.

The liturgical calendar calls the week AFTER Easter “Low Sunday.” The origin of the title remains unclear. Historians believe the name stood in contrast to the great festival of Easter. Following the celebration of the Resurrection, churches returned to the “low” or ordinary rhythm and routine of worship.

Church pastors know better. Low attendance puts the “low” in Low Sunday!

If Easter marks the high water mark for worship, then the week AFTER Easter resembles low tide. The same pews that were packed to capacity only seven days before now have plenty of room to stretch out for a short snooze.

This year’s Low Sunday is compounded by a further inconvenience of the calendar. The Gwinnett County School System Spring Break begins on Friday, April 1. School does not resume until Monday, April 11. So the Sunday after Easter lands in the midst of the weekend when many families will leave town.

Combining Low Sunday with Spring Break forms a pastor’s worst nightmare. Some churches may even dip into the negative numbers this week! Certainly the pews will be underpopulated and the parking spots plentiful.

During the days following Easter Sunday morning, however, we will continue to celebrate the season of Easter. For forty days, the risen Lord appeared to his disciples. The reports vary in the details.

The Gospels describe the women discovering the empty tomb. Luke’s account includes the two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Paul reports that Christ first appeared to Simon Peter, then the twelve Apostles followed by more than five-hundred followers at one time.

In John’s gospel, one man missed the first Easter Eve when the Lord appeared to the disciples. “Doubting” Thomas declared his disbelief and announced he would only be convinced by touching Christ’s wounds.

On the Sunday AFTER Easter, Jesus once again appeared in the Upper Room. He confronted Thomas’ doubts and displayed his wounded hands, feet, and side. For the first time in the Gospels, the disciple proclaimed to Jesus: “My Lord and my God!”

Christ responded: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” For almost two thousand years, people have believed the Easter message by faith rather than sight. The same message proclaimed at the empty tomb continues to echo in our ears today.

I suppose it’s a good thing that Thomas decided to attend church the Sunday AFTER Easter. Just imagine what he might have missed!

On Low Sunday, we continue to celebrate the Easter good news that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!

In February 2015, I joined over one hundred United Methodists from Georgia who visited the Holy Land. This blog first appeared after returning from the pilgrimage last year, but I wanted to revisit the article during this Holiest of Weeks. 

We spent the final day of our Holy Land Tour in Jerusalem. The bus dropped us atop the Mount of Olives with a panoramic view of the city. After a group photo with the Dome of the Rock in the background, we followed the traditional route of Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.

Tombs line the slopes where the Jewish faithful have been buried for 3,000 years. According to a religious legend based on Zechariah 14:4, the resurrection of the dead will begin on the Mount of Olives when the Messiah comes.

The site of the Garden of Gethsemane rests at the foot of the hillside. We walked through a grove of ancient olive trees before entering the cathedral. The Church of All Nations rests on the foundations of two earlier churches from the 4^th and 12^th centuries. The Roman Catholic church covers a rock where Jesus prayed “Thy will be done” the night before his death.

Entering the Old City of Jerusalem, we visited the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath. Then we walked the Via Dolorosa and paused at plagues designating the Stations of the Cross.

Altar at traditional site of Golgotha

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (or Sepulchre) marks the traditional location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Although the claim cannot be supported with historical certainty, Christians have worshipped at this sacred site since the fourth century.

Past the entrance we climbed a stairway on the left that ascended to the site of Golgotha. Under an elaborate altar, pilgrims knelt and touched the rock where the crucifixion took place. The Chapel of Adam is located beneath the altar. Legend claims the blood of Jesus seeped through the rock and covered the skeletal remains of First Man.

A large rotunda left of the entrance houses the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb. I stood in a line winding around the sepulcher. The anteroom contained the “Angel’s Stone” which is purportedly a piece of the stone that sealed Christ’s tomb. A priest stood inside, directing three people at a time to enter the second chamber of the tomb itself.

The low entrance forced us to bow while entering the site of Jesus’ burial. An altar marked the place where Joseph of Arimathea placed the body. We knelt in silent reverence on holy ground.

The Garden Tomb

Later in the afternoon we visited a second site claiming to be the possible place of the cross and empty tomb. Golgotha (Calvary in Latin) literally means “the place of the skull.” A British general and amateur archaeologist named Gordon found a rock formation outside Jerusalem’s walls that resembled a skull. He then unearthed a tomb nearby bearing a striking resemblance to the Gospel’s descriptions of Jesus’ burial place.

The Garden Tomb certainly gave us a sense of what the tomb might have looked like. Our British host talked about the various claims supporting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Gordon’s Calvary. Finally, he paused and said in true English fashion: “However, ultimately it doesn’t matter which site is authentic. The important thing to remember, you see, is THE TOMB IS EMPTY!”

The Crucifixion and the Resurrection bisect history. History swings on the hinges of the cross and empty tomb. On the far side of Easter, nothing remains the same.

The Easter angel’s words continue to ring down through the centuries and in our ears: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here—he is risen!”

God has conquered sin and death. Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the resurrection, and he invites us to receive life, abundant life, and everlasting life. Easter people need not fear the grave because we serve the Lord of Life.

The important thing to remember, you see, is THE TOMB IS EMPTY!