The year 1929 was the year of the historic stock market crash that traumatized the nation economically. The month was January, a winter month, couched in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany, of course, is a Christian festival and it is observed on January 6. The festival is a commemoration of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, notably in the persons of the Magi.

It is my belief that God raised up a prophet, Martin Luther King, Jr. who “disrupted the tranquility of the nation, paralyzed and confused power structures, advocated creative tension, practiced civil disobedience and left a trail of turmoil and chaos.” King was a manifestation of God’s prophet among us, and he helped America to become a better place. He was a “drum major” for justice and a beacon of God’s light, the light of Christ.

Martin Luther King was reared in a Christian home. His parents taught him about Jesus. King answered God’s call and became a Baptist minister. But God also called him to be a leader in the civil rights movement. In Memphis, Tennessee he laid down his life on behalf of the striking sanitation workers. These workers symbolized the poor in America and the poverty stricken people of the world. King taught that love should be the “regulating ideal.” King wanted all people to be free and to be treated with equality of opportunity.

Because Martin Luther King, Jr. lived among us for a time, the nation and the world are not the same. He made a difference. He joined with others in the effort to bring the walls of racial segregation tumbling down.

The struggle, however, goes on because Dr. King would want us to continue to work together in the fight against injustices, discrimination, poverty, and racism.

Today, on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we give thanks to God for giving us a prophet who served among us and gave his life for the cause of justice. In this season of Epiphany we thank God who gave us Jesus Christ, a manifestation of God’s love for us. The courageous life of Martin Luther King helps us to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, the light of the world.

When I look back, I realize that from a health perspective, this has been a difficult year for me. I have experienced, however, the reality that when the storms of life are raging, God is with us. So I give thanks to God for comforting me in the midst of my health challenges. God’s comfort has come in the presence of a caring spouse and family, a loving and praying church family, and the nurture of family and friends. The Holy Spirit has indeed been my comforter. Praise God!

Today (December 31, 20111) is my official retirement date. It has been my privilege and honor to serve in the ministry of the United Methodist Church since 1966. I am grateful for the opportunity that the church has given to me to serve as a local church pastor, a district superintendent and a bishop. I have met so many wonderful people along the way. These folk have inspired me, taught me, encouraged me and challenged me.

On the first day of this New Year, I will be in the retired status. The New Year will allow me the opportunity to revise my schedule. The first step in this direction was to revert back to a small pocket calendar, while putting aside the large calendar that has been at my side for so long. There will be a lot less space to fill in with things to do. Now that seems to me to be a good thing.

What does the ending of this year mark for you? Whatever the markers are, take comfort in knowing that this year coming indeed can be your New Year. I encourage you to grasp the New Year with joy and gratitude. Look for God’s fresh beginnings. Seize the opportunities that god gives to you.

I end this year with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving for God’s goodness and abundant mercy. Life is not about my way, but it is about God’s will. God grants to each one of us one day at a time. Through our pilgrim discipleship, God prepares us to live victoriously.

So, I pray that God will prepare us to receive God’s fresh beginnings in our life and enable us to engage in abundant living in the New Year.

Happy New Year! Amen.

I have fond memories of my childhood when each Christmas season, we would prepare to receive our dear relatives who would make their annual visit to our home for a few days. We had to make room for these folk. That meant that we children had to give up our beds and make room for the adult relatives. I forgot about being displaced, because I was excited about their visit, especially my grandfather.

My mother worked very hard to get our home ready for Christmas each year. She would clean rooms, scrub floors, wash curtains, and make the house ready for Christmas. Dad would make a place for the Christmas tree. On Christmas day, all would be in readiness to receive our relatives.

I ask myself each Advent Season: Am I ready to receive Jesus on his birthday? Have I made adequate room in my heart?

We are preparing to move as I approach my retirement from the active episcopacy. A significant challenge is to sort through all of our earthly belongings and get rid of the things that we no longer need. There is also the matter of the accumulated junk. Junk has a way of cluttering all available space. Our retirement home simply will not accommodate the junk. The junk has to go, if we are going to have adequate space for living. We are making some progress in this regard.

That’s the way it is with Jesus. Too often we find ourselves crowding Jesus out of our lives because we have so many other things going on daily. We have to adjust the daily schedule so that there is adequate time for prayer, bible study and reflection. We also have to make time to go to church for worship, study, and fellowship. That’s what I call “making room for Jesus.”

Life tends to be a clutter of things to do. All of us have a “to do” list. One by one we check off our accomplishments. We find a way to get done all that we have set out to do, sooner or later. Some of what we do, however, is not really important when it comes to being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.

Some persons have asked: Will there be Sunday worship on Christmas Sunday? (Christmas 2011 happens to fall on the Sabbath Day.) Does the question imply that one might be too busy on Christmas day opening gifts, receiving family and friends, and preparing the holiday feast to have time for attendance at church? Surely we have time to worship the Christ child on his birthday when it falls on the Sabbath day! This personal decision might have something to do with “making room for Jesus.”

The Advent Season also has to do with “expectation.” Unfortunately, there is perhaps a low expectation on the part of congregations relative to church attendance on Christmas Sunday. For example, most Christmas cantatas were presented on the Sunday before Christmas Sunday, rather than on Christmas Day, the Sabbath Day this year. My hunch is that we do this because we don’t have a high expectation for church attendance when church attendance conflicts with Christmas Day – gifts to unwrap, toys to play with, dinner to cook, travel to grand mom’s house, dinner to eat, and time to sleep.

I am looking forward to church worship attendance on Christmas Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Hallelujah! Praise God!

When folk heard that Jesus was in the neighborhood, they went to see him. Some wanted to be touched by him so that they could be healed of their illness. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to ensure that he would see Jesus. The result was that his life was transformed. Mary declined to help Martha with dinner preparation so that she could have conversation with Jesus. She deepened her relationship with Jesus and enhanced her understanding of his ideas.

Isaac Watts captured the essence of making room for Jesus in his popular Christmas hymn, “Joy to the World” (The United Methodist Hymnal, #246).

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing…”

Christmas is coming and we need to make room for Jesus.

As pilgrim disciples, we have joy because Jesus came into the world as an expression of God’s grace and love. The hymn, “Joy to the World,” invites us to receive our King. The hymn (The United Methodist Hymnal, #246) says, “let every heart prepare him room.” In other words, we need to make room for Jesus in this Advent season. From a practical point of view, it is usually necessary to get rid of something in order to make room for something else. For example, when we purchase new furniture for a room, we move the old furniture so that there will be sufficient space for the new furniture.

There are times when one’s life gets clogged with distractions that separate us from God’s love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus, the Son of God, was given to us as a gift. Jesus, therefore, is our most precious gift. Jesus is the gift of Love.

After we say yes to Jesus, we too often “let sins and sorrows grow” and “thorns infest the ground.” This occurrence impedes the blossoming of God’s love in one’s life.

In this Advent season, what will you do with the Gift of Love? The Apostle Paul reminds us that without love we are nothing (I Corinthians 13). Has your love matured or is it stymied in its growth and development?

Paul provides us with a dynamic description of love. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Cor. 13:4-7).

This kind of love never ends. It is dynamic, not static. Do you have room in your heart for this kind of dynamic and mature love? Are you prepared to dump the things that get in the way of God’s love?

This Advent season is a good time to get started in making some fresh room for Jesus and God’s love.

I am always thankful to God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to my parents who introduced me to Jesus and taught me about the teachings of Jesus. They always lived a Christ like life in the presence of their children. The Bible was at the center of our Christian education.

Perhaps this is a moment of nostalgia, because I soon will be entering the retired relationship. As I look back over the years, I am thankful for all of the lay people that I have been privileged to work with in the various churches. Also, I am grateful for the many clergy colleagues whom I have encountered along the way. All of these persons have been and continue to be a source of inspiration to me.

I am thankful for the opportunity given to me to serve as a local church pastor, a district superintendent and a resident bishop. God has richly blessed me in all of these endeavors. So, I thank God for God’s grace and mercy that have enabled me to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ while serving in a leadership capacity.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as the resident bishop in the West Virginia Conference. This experience continues to be a personal blessing. I so much appreciate the fervent and constant prayers of the people, lay and clergy.

I give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve with a dynamic Cabinet – nine district superintendents, a conference treasurer, a conference council director and assistant to the bishop. They have been supportive and encouraging. I appreciate too the conference staff, and my administrative assistant. Without the participation of these committed people, we could not do the well the work of ministry and mission.

Perhaps one way to summarize my sense of thanksgiving is to say that I am grateful to God for all of my family and friends, my church family and my colleagues in ministry.

Dear God, I thank you for your many blessings, and I praise your holy name. Amen!

In the midst of numerous crimes against children, the church should be a sanctuary for our children at all times in every place. The church should be known in the local community as a place where children are welcome. The church must be a sanctuary for children – a safe place.

In caring for our children we provide food, clothing, nurture, education, safety and love, among other things. Adults should never do anything that might harm a child. We have a responsibility to provide for our children, as well as being responsible for nurturing them into adulthood.

The child abuse scandal that is associated with Penn State University and its football program is a painful commentary on the mistreatment of children in the global village. The alleged perpetrator was previously a member of the football coaching staff. He was “trusted” by the children. That trust was violated by acts of child sexual abuse according to a recent grand jury report.

Football has been king at Penn State. One report indicated that the football program last year generated revenue of about $100 million from all sources. The head coach, before getting fired, had tenure of more than forty years. Tenure and money often translates into power. Was there any misuse and abuse of power? Did this athletic program provide sanctuary for acts of child sexual abuse? The courts will answer this question at a later time.

Seeming greatness has led to disgrace. This horrible event is a wakeup call to the whole nation – families, churches, educational institutions, all youth programs, and neighborhoods.

We must report all instances of child sexual abuse to the appropriate authorities immediately. To do anything less is to be irresponsible. Not reporting any knowledge of child sexual abuse is to contribute to the abuse. This applies to our ministers, all workers with children and youth, all lay leadership in our churches, as well as every citizen in our neighborhoods.

Let us not fail our children!

On this All Saints Day, I want to lift up my grandfather who died when I was about thirteen years old. His name was William Logan, but the grandchildren always called him Dad Lo. He was our only living grandparent, so he got all of our attention. When we visited his home, he gave us a lot of his attention, even though he had to go to work.

Granddad dearly loved his four grandchildren and he enjoyed playing with us. We delighted in being around him. He drove his school bus just about everywhere that he went, and we looked forward to riding with him during the summer months. He almost never said that we could not go with him in his travels around the neighborhood.

I looked up to Dad Lo because he was a kind, generous and loving grandparent. He was a churchman. It was obvious to me that he was always helping his friends and neighbors who were less fortunate.

Granddad always told us to save our money and use it wisely. He would quote Mr. Franklin’s statement: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” He lived by this principle until his death.

My grandfather died on April 18, 1956. It was Good Friday. He had been a faithful church member, a devoted parent, and a loving grandfather. I shall never forget my grandfather, for he was the only grandparent whom I ever knew. I can still remember the days when as a child I tagged along at his heels, enjoying every moment that I spent with him.

When we remember the saints in our life, it raises up so many precious memories. I pray that it will be so for you in this All Saints Season.

Although October is the traditional month for Clergy Appreciation, this can be done at any time during the year. Clergy need to know that they have congregational support. A congregation can demonstrate its support on a regular basis. First, a pastoral leader benefits from the regular prayers of the congregation. Prayer makes a difference in the life of a pastor and the life of a congregation. Second, when a pastor receives congregational affirmation, he/she is strengthened in their own personal morale. Third, every human being desires appreciation. It is good for clergy to know that they are loved and appreciated.

I encourage each congregation to observe Clergy Appreciation Month, either now or at some other appropriate time as determined by the lay leadership team. Our clergy can thrive in a context where prayer, affirmation and appreciation are manifested on a regular basis. A congregation thrives when there is mutual love, pastor and congregation, congregation and pastor. It is a two way street.

As the spiritual leader of the West Virginia Annual Conference, I am deeply thankful for the women and men who have answered God’s call to serve in pastoral ministry and other special ministry settings. I am grateful for the faithful service that our clergy render in a variety of places. I also appreciate the many lay people who partner with our clergy as together they do the work of ministry and mission.

When I reflect on my own journey as a clergyperson, I am grateful for the many lay people who demonstrated clergy appreciation. Some people would consistently offer a word of understanding and encouragement. Other folk would give me a phone call to say hello, or send a thoughtful note. There were times when the family would be invited out to dinner. I fondly remember one dear lady who regularly would send her husband to our home bearing a homemade pie or yeast rolls. There was another lady who annually would stop by at Christmas time with a Santa Claus bag with a gift for each family member. These gestures might seem small, but they were loaded with love and appreciation. These signs of appreciation helped to sustain my ministry over the years.

Pastoral ministry in part is difficult because ministry is so public. The eyes of the community are always on the pastor and the pastor’s family. Expectations sometimes are unreasonable. Although striving for perfection, United Methodist pastors are not perfect. All Christians strive to grow in Christ as they journey on the spiritual path. Clergy, therefore, need our love, our understanding, our encouragement and our prayers.

Dear God, we thank you for all of our clergy who labor in your vineyard! Amen.

One CNN reporter indicated that Steve Jobs “gave the world what it did not know that it wanted or needed.” On the other hand, Fred Shuttlesworth helped the nation to attain what it knew that it did not want – equal rights for all of its citizens.

Rev. Shuttlesworth, a former truck driver, studied religion in night school and became pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1953. He was bombed, beaten and arrested on numerous occasions as he engaged in the fight for civil rights. He emerged as an articulate and outspoken leader in the struggle for racial equality in America. Rev. Shuttlesworth was jailed because he tried to make a difference in the arena of human and civil rights. During the turbulent years of the civil rights movement, he went to jail more than 30 times. He survived the bombing of his house in 1956. Shuttlesworth also survived chest injuries sustained when Birmingham City authorities turned fire hoses on demonstrators in 1963

Steve Jobs has been described by Apple as “a visionary and creative genius.” Under his innovative leadership, Apple introduced the iPod, iPhone and the iPad to the world. These technological innovations have revolutionized the world of personal electronics and communication. Jobs partnered with Steve Wozniak in 1976 and they founded Apple Computer in 1976. Over time, they began to sell computers in volume to “regular people.”

Both Jobs and Shuttlesworth had a way of connecting to regular people. Jobs connected with a public that began to buy Apple products. Suttlesworth connected with African Americans who determined that they would no longer endure segregation. In both instances, there was a new freedom – a freedom to communicate in new ways (Jobs), and the freedom to live life as a human being (Shuttlesworth).

Steve Jobs was the face and the backbone of Apple, Inc. In the case of Shuttlesworth, Martin Luther King, Jr. was the face of the civil rights movement, while Shuttlesworth worked in the “trenches.” Both men, however, were difference makers.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who reminded the world that longevity of life is not the most important dynamic in life, although desirable. Fred Shuttlesworth lived a long life, 89 years, while Steve Jobs lived to the age of 56 years. These two very different leaders, however, had a significant impact on their world. The world is a better place because Steve Jobs and Fred Shuttlesworth lived among us.

The events of 9/11, of course, were not the first acts of terrorism to take place in these United States of America. Many people have forgotten about the terrorism that was perpetrated on Sunday, September 15, 1963, forty-eight years ago. A bomb was placed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four black children were killed – Addie Mae Collins (14), Denise McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14). The bomb, planted by a terrorist, exploded at 10:22 A.M., while the girls and other children were attending Sunday school classes at the church. The blast also injured twenty-three other people.

Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was used as a meeting place for civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy and Fred Shuttlesworth. Tensions were flaring in Birmingham at that time when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Congress on Racial Equality got involved in an African American voter registration campaign.

A member of the Ku Lux Klan, Robert Chambliss, was arrested, tried and acquitted in the murder case on October 8, 1963. In November of 1977, the same defendant was tried again for the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing. At age 73 the defendant was found guilty, and sentenced to life in imprison where he died on October 29, 1985.

Birmingham at that time was a bastion of racial segregation. Numerous unsolved bombings and police killings had terrorized the black community for decades. Birmingham was the seat of numerous nonviolent demonstrations where the demonstrators were threatened by angry mobs, police dogs and fire hoses.

Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders always proclaimed a message of hope in the midst of tragedy and despair. Hope was at the center of the struggle for freedom. The answer to the struggle was nonviolence, not violence.

Violence was perpetrated upon the people who demonstrated, but it was their nonviolence that achieved the new freedom – desegregation in America. Violence will not bring peace to the global village. We cannot live in fear, but we must learn to trust God.

The three young girls who died on September 15, 1963 became known as the martyrs of Birmingham.