Tag: Andrew Lay

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5 Ways to Enter into the Lenten Season

Keith Memorial United Methodist Church

I was in my junior year of high school when my Sunday school class decided that we would all collectively give up chocolate for Lent. Hardly two days had passed before I broke that pact. I was over at my friend Aaron’s house when he offered me a Klondike Bar. Who could say no to a hunk of vanilla ice cream covered in a thin chocolatey shell? I had just finished the last bite when I remembered the promise I had made to my Sunday school class.

In a panic I said, “Oh my gosh, I forgot I gave up chocolate for Lent!”

To which Aaron coolly replied, “What would Andrew do for a Klondike bar?”

“He would break Lent.”

Lent is a season of forty days, excluding Sundays, that begins on Ash Wednesday and helps prepare us for the coming of Easter. Traditionally, Christians around the world participate in the season of Lent by give something up (like chocolate) in order the share in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

As Mark states, “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (Mark1:12,13 NSRV).

We fast during this time because Lent reminds us of when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. 

Lent is also a time for repentance, prayer, and almsgiving. It is a time of purification, repentance, and redemption. It is a time when we confront our sin and confess our guilt. It is a time of self-sacrifice and discipline. The season of Lent is so important, because it invites us to look inward and ask some important questions like: “What is in my life, that should not be in my life anymore? What is it that I need to change? What steps do I need to take in order to better follow Jesus?”

Lent invites us to ask these questions. Lent invites us to confront our sin and confess our guilt. Lent invites us to realize our need for God’s divine grace. Lent allows us to realize that we have been forgiven.

I want to explore 5 different ways to enter into the season of Lent.

1. Fasting

I know a lot of people who give up something for Lent just because it is really difficult. They feel like they have to suffer and punish themselves by giving up something that is really challenging. Others choose to give up something because it is really easy. They choose to give up broccoli or asparagus, for example. Still, others choose to give up something like dessert or soft drinks as a way to enforce a diet so that they can lose some weight. All of these scenarios are not necessarily bad, but they do not get to the heart of what this season is all about. Giving up chocolate for Lent was not a bad thing, but I cannot honestly say that it deepened my relationship with Christ. I cannot honestly say that I was participating in Lent as God intended. It is important to fast something meaningful in order to truly enter into the season of Lent. Give up something that will allow you to grow in your relationship with God.

2. Prayer

            A second, but very important, component of entering into the Lenten season is through the discipline of prayer. Prayer is one way that we communicate and connect with God. Engaging in daily prayer allows us to draw deeper in our relationship with Christ as we enter into this Lenten season. It is an essential means of grace that invites us into knowing the God who formed us, created us, and breathed life into us.

3. Study

            Communal study and daily Bible readings are great practices to adopt during the season of Lent. Study is an extremely important aspect of attending to the means of grace in our daily lives. Study invites us to not only expand our minds, but also our hearts as well as we dive deeper into our understanding of God. This Lenten season consider taking time each day to read through a devotional book or the Bible. I also hope you might consider attending our church lenten series “The Grace of Les Misérables” on Wednesdays at 6:00pm and Thursdays at 11:00am in Ensminger Hall, starting March 4th and 5th. My hope is this study might allow you to enter deeper into the Lenten season and prepare yourself for the coming of the Resurrected Christ this Easter.

4. Worship

            Worship is an important component of the Christian life and allows us to enter into God’s presence and receive God’s grace through word and sacrament. During the Lenten season, attending Sunday worship is a way to enter into communal fellowship as we celebrate what God has done, is doing, and will do in our lives and in the life of the church. Through music, prayer, Scripture, sermons, sacrament, and invitation, we can experience God in a deeper way this Lenten season

5. Reflection

            Making time for reflection is also an important discipline to practice during the season of Lent. Whether it is through silence, prayer, or journaling, taking time to reflect on your own individual life allows us to realize what might be holding us back from being closer to God. Reflection is a process that exposes the things in our lives that we can purge in order to grow in our relationships with the God who formed us, created us, and breathed life into us.

Overall, this Lent I encourage you to find ways to deepen your relationship with Christ. Perhaps you might do this through one of the three traditional Lenten disciplines of the Church: fasting, prayer, or almsgiving.

May you find ways to answer some of those questions that force you to look inward.

May you experience the divine grace of Jesus Christ.

May you experience God’s forgiveness.

May you be transformed.

– Andrew Lay

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It’s Okay Not to Be Okay

Keith Memorial United Methodist Church
Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

I have a good friend who struggles with anxiety and depression. She has a real medical condition that she has been prescribed medication to help treat. It is a real struggle that affects how she lives her daily life. 

A few months ago, she attended a United Methodist Church in a neighboring Conference where the pastor preached on the passage where Jesus tell us, “Do Not Worry.” The pastor essentially said, “If you worry, then you are not a Christian.” He harshly condemned people who struggle with worry and anxiety, saying that those people have a lack of faith. He said, “If you worry or struggle with anxiety, then you don’t really trust God.”

I know someone else who struggled with the loss of one of his close friends who passed away. In fact, he was right by his friend’s side when he died. He attempted to give his friend CPR but was unsuccessful. As you might imagine, he had a hard time dealing with this deep sense of loss. He also had a hard time dealing with this traumatic experience. He felt guilty. 

His parents suggested that he should go and see a counselor. They made an appointment with an older minister who ended up challenged my friend about his faith. “If you were truly a Christian,” the pastor said, “Then you wouldn’t be sad that your friend died. Instead, you would be happy because he is now in heaven.”

Wow. Really?

When my friends recounted these stories about these two pastors, it made my blood boil. I’m sorry, but I have to completely disagree with these two “colleagues” of mine.  

Who said you have to be okay all of the time? 

No one can be happy 100% of the time. We all have good days and bad days. We all experience ups and downs. You don’t have to act like everything is okay on the outside when it feels like your whole world is falling apart on the inside. Your feelings are your feelings. Let yourself feel.

When I experienced a deep loss of someone close to me who had died, the best thing that someone said to me was, “Whatever you are feeling, it is okay to feel that way.” In other words, “It’s okay not to be okay.”

These pastors who think you have to have it together all the time are just dead wrong. It makes me wonder, have they even read the Bible before? The Bible is full of stories of people who are inadequate and don’t have it all together. We can think of numerous examples of people in Scripture who experience deep pain and sadness, and that doesn’t mean that God can’t still use them. Scripture reminds us that you don’t have to have it all together in order to be in relationship with God.

God is with you, whether you are happy or sad. God is with you, whether you are experiencing faith or doubt. God is with you, whether you are on the mountain or in the valley.

God is with you, and God will meet you where you are. There is always hope that things will get better. God’s grace is always there to surround us and overflow in our hearts and minds.

Those who know that God summons the sun to rise are confident that, whatever tomorrow brings, it will also bring God with it.” 

– Thomas G. Long, (Long Matthew 1997)

God is not going to leave us where God found us. There is hope for a future, because God moves and works in our lives all the time – But maybe right now you are in a place where it seems hopeless. And in the meantime, just remember…

It’s okay not to be okay.

– Andrew Lay
Image of God, love

5 Ways to Love the “Unlovable”

Keith Memorial United Methodist Church
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never – I promise – regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst” – Luke 6:35 (MSG).

Most people don’t have a hard time loving the people that look, think, and act like them. It’s easy to love the people who love you back. It can be incredibly hard, however, to love those that society deems as “unlovable.” In this post we will explore 5 ways to love the “unlovable.”

What does it mean to be “unlovable?”

The “unlovable” are people that are especially hard to love. This may be because of something that they have said. This may be because of how they have acted. This may be because of a crime that they have committed. Whatever the reason may be, the unlovable are the people in our lives that we have a hard time loving.

  • How am I supposed to love Dylan Roof after he killed 9 church members during a prayer service at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, North Carolina?
  • How am I supposed to love Nikolas Cruz after he shot and killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Lakeland, Florida? 
  • How am I supposed to love Martin Shkreli after he committed fraud, embezzlement, and hiked pharmaceutical drug prices from $13 to $750 per pill?
  • How am I supposed to love the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia where James Fields drive his car into a crowd of counter-protesters killed Heather Heyer?

These are obviously extreme examples, but there may be people in your life that you have difficulty connecting with, getting along with, and loving. Take some time and think about the people in your own life that you might have difficulty getting along with or that you might deem as “unlovable.” Keep that person in mind as we explore 5 ways to love the unlovable.

1. Remember that God is Love

First, it is important to remember that all human beings are created in the Imago Deior the “image of God.” God created humankind by breathing life into the dust. 1 John 4:8 says that “God is love.” Furthermore, Jesus calls his followers to love God ANDto love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:37). Christians have the opportunity to offer God’s love to the people that nobody else loves. When you come across someone who is difficult to love, it is important to remember that God calls us to the radical and difficult work of loving everyone, including our enemies. We don’t have to agree with everyone or condone evil behavior, but we are invited to share God’s love as we seek to live in peace with God and one another.

2. Prayer

Prayer is a crucial way to offer love to the people that you may have difficulty loving. Prayer is an opportunity for you to speak good things into the life of someone else. It allows you to speak good things in your heart and over time this may change the way you see that person. Make sure you pray for them, but also make sure you pray for yourself. Here is a hint: if you are praying “Lord, please change this person who is always getting on my nerves and make them better” then you are probably doing it wrong. Yes, prayer changes things, but perhaps the thing that needs to change the most is your own attitude.

3. Put Yourself in their Shoes

A great way to gain a deeper understanding of the person you have difficulty loving is by putting yourself in their shoes. Maybe that work associate that always snaps at you is going through a tough divorce? Maybe your neighbor who keeps playing loud music is dealing with an economic crisis? You don’t always know what folks might be going through in their private lives. Try putting yourself in their shoes and giving people the benefit of the doubt. Often times when people act ugly toward you it is because something else is going on in their life at home.

4. Find a Connection

One thing that holds people back from loving an “unlovable” person is that people think they don’t have anything in common – and if you get a democrat and republican together in the same room it may seem that way. But one great way to love someone that is difficult to love is by trying to find a connection with them. It can be anything – even something small! Once you have established some common ground it may be easier for you to communicate with that person. And who knows, you may begin to find more in common than you originally thought.

5. Love from a Distance

If the “unlovable” person is completely resistant to your efforts to reach out in love, then it is okay to remove yourself from the relationship. It is important to keep safe and healthy boundaries. After all, it takes two healthy people to form a healthy friendship. All you can do is reach out, but you cannot make someone equally return that friendship. You can, however, continue to love someone from a distance. 

Remember that no one is truly unlovable. It’s not always easy to love people that we disagree with. It’s not always easy to love people who have committed heinous actions against others. You don’t have to condone their behavior, but Jesus says that you do have to love them. 

Take some time this week and try out one or two of these recommendations on some of the people you deem as “unlovable.” My hope is that your heart would be filled with more and more love for God and your neighbor.

– Andrew Lay
Holy Spirit

Pour Out Your Holy Spirit

Keith Memorial United Methodist Church
Rev. Andrew Lay being commissioned by Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor

On Wednesday, June 12, 2019, I was commissioned as a provisional member in Holston Annual Conference at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. It has been a long journey to get to this point, and I still have a long way to go. The process began when I entered the candidacy program in the summer of 2010. A few years later, I received my pastoral license on October 1, 2014. Then, last week started a three-year period as I continue the process of becoming an ordained elder in full connection of the Annual Conference.

Some of you may be wondering, “What does it mean to be commissioned as a provisional member?”

That is a good question…

As The Book of Discipline states,

“Commissioning is the act of the church that publicly acknowledges God’s call and the response, talents, gifts, and training of the candidate. The church invokes the Holy Spirit as the candidate is commissioned to be a faithful servant leader among the people, to lead the church in service, to proclaim the Word of God and to equip others for ministry.”

(BOD ¶ 325).

I love this description. I especially love that it speaks about how the church invokes the Holy Spirit. 

Just a few days before my commissioning, we celebrated Pentecost Sunday which was when the disciples experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on their lives. The Scripture passage below recounts this special moment.

“2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” Acts 2:1-4 (NRSV).

As I knelt down during the commissioning service, Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor placed her hands over me and said, “Pour out your Holy Spirit on Andrew Curtis Lay. Send him now to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to announce the reign of God, and to equip the church for ministry, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

I know you might think I’m crazy, but at that moment I felt a sense that there were tongues of fire hovering above my head. Now granted, I was wearing a black robe and under some pretty warm stage lights. But still, I felt the sense that God truly was pouring out God’s Spirit on my life. This was a special moment that will be with me for the rest of my life. 

My hope is that we all feel the Holy Spirit working in our lives. May we wake up every morning and say, “Pour out your Holy Spirit.” Amen.

– Andrew Lay