Category: Stories

On Thursday, August 28^th (tomorrow if you are reading this on Wednesday), a team of seven of us will be traveling to Naivasha, Kenya to celebrate our 160 graduates that have completed their two years of life skills training and career preparation. These young men and women, have worked hard for themselves, their families and their communities and it is time to celebrate their incredible accomplishments.

As you know, INUA Partners in Hope has been a ministry of First United Methodist Church of Winter Park for 15 years and many of you have been financial supporters, prayer partners, letter writers or side-line cheerleaders ever since. I feel honored to go and see the ministry first-hand. Over the last five years of being one of your pastors, I have heard so much about this incredible partnership of INUA and our three home churches here in Florida. Before I even came to be one of your pastors, my mother told me all about this ministry as one of the lead volunteers at my home church, First United Methodist Church of Ormond Beach. I look forward to learning more and seeing the lives that have been transformed through this ministry. I look forward to preaching this Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church and serving alongside Paul Matheri to offer God’s grace in worship. I look forward to seeing all eight neighborhoods and meeting the neighborhood transformers that lead in that life and community transformation. I look forward to seeing the progress that has been made at the farm and all of the work that has already been done there to prepare for the growing of plants and the fish farming culture that is about to begin. And I look forward to helping set up, execute and make the graduation happen for these youth on Friday, September 5^th.

I share all of this to say that I am asking for your prayers. Not only for our safe travels in our goings and comings as well as for protection against any sickness or health concerns that would slow us down. But I also ask that you pray for us to be fully present and fully open to the work of the Holy Spirit while we are there. I can say for me in particular, I am tempted to be focused some on the things at home, and the things that I can’t control. This is my first trip away from my young family and I am anxious about it. But I am learning, as I try and prepare my spirit, that my anxiety comes from a need to control. This may be only my struggle, but I would imagine that we all struggle when things are outside of our control. You know how much I love my family and you know that I worry when I leave for a major trip in the beginning of the school year and in the middle of hurricane season. I think this is normal, but I ask that you would pray with me and all of us who are traveling these next two weeks to be open to a spirit of peace. When I am worried, I miss things right in front of me. When I am anxious, I don’t see the things that often bring calm and stillness to my spirit. And I know that God moves most when we are vulnerable and when we are forced not to rely on our own strength and abilities. There is something freeing in that, brothers and sisters and I look forward to sharing more when I return.

In the meantime, please submit any questions you will have about INUA, IATEC, the graduation or the trip overall to racheld@fumcwp.org,  as I will be checking email occasionally as WiFi allows and posting pictures and a follow up devotion next week to tell you more about these youth that we are celebrating. Until next time, Jambo and God be with you!

This Sunday, we are singing one of my very favorite hymns: And Can It Be. I want to encourage you to sing boldly and really listen to the words. They are powerful words of grace, freedom, and awe at the love of Christ.

A Little History

And Can It Be was written in 1738 by Charles Wesley, just days after his own conversion experience. He and his brother John had been raised in a devout Anglican home, but both wrestled with doubts about salvation. After Charles felt his “heart set free,” he poured out his joy in this hymn. It was one of his very first hymns, and it has become one of the great treasures of Christian worship. Phrases like “my chains fell off, my heart was free” capture the wonder of God’s grace breaking into a sinner’s life.

A Personal Word

Growing up, this hymn shaped my faith and theology in profound ways. Verses 4 and 5 especially have always stayed with me: “My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” That picture of grace, God’s freedom breaking into my life, continues to be one of the clearest ways I understand salvation. Praise God that our chains fall off and our hearts are set free in Christ!

Grace and the Scriptures

John Wesley often reminded the early Methodists that God’s grace is at the very heart of our faith. He wrote about prevenient grace (God’s work drawing us before we even know it), justifying grace (God’s pardon and forgiveness through Christ), and sanctifying grace (God’s Spirit shaping us to become holy in love). For Wesley, all of this truth is grounded in the Scriptures. He called himself homo unius libri, “a man of one book,” meaning that above all, he lived by the Bible. Wesley believed that the Scriptures are “the rule and guide of our faith,” the clearest witness to the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

How We Sing Together

As we prepare to sing, let’s remember John Wesley’s own “Directions for Singing,” printed in the United Methodist Hymnal:

1. Sing all – don’t skip parts or sit silently. Join in!

2. Sing lustily and with good courage – lift your voice with strength and joy.

3. Sing modestly – don’t try to drown out your neighbor. Blend your voice with others.

4. Sing in time – keep with the congregation, not dragging or rushing ahead.

5. Above all, sing spiritually – let your heart be directed to God, seeking to please God more than yourself.

So as we sing And Can It Be this Sunday, let’s sing it not just as music but as the story of salvation sung and experienced. May it be our proclamation that God’s grace has set us free.

Here’s a rendition you can listen to ahead of time: https://youtu.be/Sbx6RNev-o0?si=dqfPTM4kHxcgFsDf

I was picking up my kids from school this week and I was excited to see them. It had been a particularly busy and productive day and I missed them. I always look forward to hearing about their day, listening to their stories, and watching them interact with each other as we drive home and transition into our nighttime routine. But when I picked up my kids, their personalities had magically changed into cranky, whiny monsters and I was a bit overwhelmed. One child was mad that I picked them up too early, another one was angry that it wasn’t a swim lesson day, and the last one didn’t make any friends at camp and obviously that was my fault.

Then I gave them all a snack, and suddenly, they weren’t as mean to me. It happened gradually, but the drive home felt less like the fiery pits of hell and more calm, even if I was still on guard.

It got me thinking about being HANGRY. You know this term, angry because you are hungry; it happens to the best of us. And boy, oh boy, was it my reality that afternoon. My kids were deregulated, overstimulated, and just plain hungry. And it gave new meaning to the spiritual hunger I see every day.

I am convinced that the anger and frustration and whininess that we see in our world, and especially in our leaders, comes from a deep spiritual starvation. We were created for God’s nourishment, God’s food, God’s sustenance and we have traded it for a cheap substitute.

It gives new meaning to the story of the feeding of the 5,000, although we know that only men were counted, because women and children were often overlooked and so, best estimates put the crowd, that day on the mountain side around 15-20,000 people that had listened all day and were now hungry. The disciples looked to Jesus for the answer, but he gave it right back to them. The versions differ in all four Gospels, but in Luke, chapter 6, he tells his disciples, “Give them something to eat.” Was Jesus only talking about literal food, or something deeper, something more sustaining?

I wonder what the Kingdom of God would look like if we met the cranky, whiny, emotional people we encounter on a daily basis and assume that they are at various stages of being HANGRY and then work to feed them. Maybe we actually feed them, like many of you have done through the Family Promise ministry. Maybe they need emotional food and those of you that are Care Partners and Prayer Warriors have given emotional food through your cards, love and support. And maybe too, those that are the most frustrating to be around need the Spiritual food of God’s grace. It could be that they need just a snack, to knock it off. Don’t get me wrong, some people need way more than a snack, but what if all we had to offer was a small appetizer of God’s grace? For instance, it wouldn’t take much to offer a smile, a shift in perspective, a hug, a listening ear, an invite to coffee, an extra three minutes of your time, a prayer. All of these things don’t cost us anything other than being present and expecting the Holy Spirit to show up.

What do you think? Who is HANGRY in your community? May this be an encouragement to you. And if it is you, if you are HANGRY, get yourself a snack. Or better yet, give some food to someone else and see what God does with a rumbly tummy and a new outlook.

AMEN

This Sunday is our last week of the Follow the Yellow Brick Road sermon series. So I thought I’d reflect on The Wizard of Oz in this devotional.

In the movie, Dorothy’s world begins in black and white. Her life is small, familiar, and focused mostly on herself, her struggles, her fears, and her desire to escape. But when the storm lifts her into Oz, everything shifts into vivid color. It’s as if a new dimension of life is revealed. And even more curiously, the people she already knew, the farmhands, appear in new forms as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. They were always there, but it took a journey beyond herself to see them more fully.

Isn’t that true in our spiritual life too?

There’s a story in Luke 24 where two disciples are walking on the road to Emmaus. They’re talking about Jesus’ death and their dashed hopes. They’re so wrapped up in their grief and confusion that they don’t recognize the person walking with them is Jesus himself. He listens. He walks with them. He even opens Scripture to them. Still, they don’t see clearly. Not until they pause, sit down, and break bread with him. Then their eyes are opened. Then they see Jesus fully for who he is.

How often do we walk past people without really seeing them? Maybe they’re coworkers, neighbors, church friends, or even family. We see them in black and white, like flat characters in the background of our own story. We may know their hobbies, their political views, or how they take their coffee. We may know their favorite sports team or what pew they sit in on Sundays. But do we really know them? Do we know what keeps them up at night? What brings them joy? What wounds they carry that are still healing? But when we slow down, listen, ask questions, and share life, the vivid moments of life come through. They become who they truly are, complex, beautiful, beloved children of God.

The path of following Jesus is like Dorothy’s journey. It reveals the vivid depth in others. We begin to see people not just as characters in our story, but as companions on the road. The Spirit helps us pay attention, turn our focus outward, and take time to share life with those we might have overlooked.

Reflection Questions:

• Who in your life have you only seen in black and white? What would it take to see them more fully?
• Are you open to the idea that someone you already know could be more courageous, loving, or wise than you realized?
• How might Jesus be walking alongside you today in the disguise of someone you’ve overlooked?

Prayer:
Jesus, open my eyes. Help me to see people not through the lens of distraction or assumption, but through your eyes of love. Turn my black and white world into a full color story where I can recognize the beauty, depth, and divine image in each person I meet. Amen.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we look around at the world today. conflicts in culture and even the church can often feel like battlegrounds: loud, divisive, exhausting. Fear seems to be the default tone. Anger spreads faster than understanding. Discouragement feels like the safest emotion to settle into.

But as followers of Jesus, we are not called to mirror the tone of the world. We are called to bear witness to something deeper, something eternal. Not optimism or wishful thinking, but hope. Real, rooted hope in the One who is making all things new.

The early Christians in Rome had every reason to be afraid. They were a small, misunderstood community living in the shadow of a massive empire. Rome demanded loyalty, celebrated power, and tolerated no rival kings. The culture around them glorified status, conquest, power, and control, everything the gospel of Jesus seemed to turn upside down. To proclaim Jesus as Lord in that environment wasn’t just countercultural, it was dangerous. It meant aligning with a kingdom not built by violence, but by mercy. Not rooted in fear, but in love.

And yet, to that community, Paul wrote these words:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NRSVUE)

This hope isn’t manufactured, it’s a gift of the Spirit. And it’s not meant to be hidden. It’s meant to shape how we talk, how we listen, how we love, and how we show up in every space, including the complicated and wearying world we live in.

Reflection Question:

Where can we be people of hope in a world of fear, anger, and discouragement?