God's power and transformation in my ministry practice and spiritual journey

Umc Ordination

FULL MEMBERSHIP - EFFECTIVENESS in MINISTRY

Questions for the Committee on Theology

The candidate's reflections and the Board's response should be informed by the insights and guidelines of Part II of the Discipline (Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task).

How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God? (¶330.4. a) (1) for deacon; or ¶335 (7) a) (1) for elder).

My practice of ministry has been empowered by God through what has been a journey that begin in 1975 when the scales fell from my eyes, or perhaps like Paul, I was blinded into awakening to the one true God and through his Son our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was transformed into a new creature. Because of the power of God in my own life, a deep longing to share the love and grace of God has driven me forth in an extreme unction or moving within me of the Holy Spirit daily to seek out those who are the most in need of the knowledge and power of God in their lives. Many times during my journey to freedom from Vietnam to America to escape the communists, I faced the fear of death, but was saved over and again, and converted, indeed transformed a new creature into the body of Christ. My ministry has been impacted in terms of my understanding and experience of God in many ways and specifically in terms of the power of God to constantly 'renew' his children. God continually provides new beginnings and in the body of Christ's Church. God calls on the church and the pastor's ministry to 'discover' and 'invite' all person into the United Methodist Church and to relate "persons to God through Jesus Christ" as well as to nurture "persons in faith and discipleship, making the community a better place." (the Uniting Document: A Day of New Beginnings" of the United Methodist Church. God calls upon those in the ministry to work with the Holy Spirit in an ongoing experiential service and administering of 'renewal' or 'new beginnings' for the sake of the Kingdom. Jesus, in Matthew 9:17 states as a requirement for new wine, new wineskins and through fresh perspectives in ministry approaches God is able to work in the Church and the lives of those in the community and 'make all things new'. (II Corinthians 5:17) My ministry has been shaped by God's transformation of my perspective in relation changes necessary in the ministry in consideration of cultural and ethic issues in the community of the Church. The ever graciousness of the love of God have been clearly illustrated thus evidenced by His direction of my ministry, which has been a constant adaptation of the ministry to work toward many diverse individuals in seeking them for the sake of the Kingdom to come into the church and into the family of God. I have shared my experience in which I told of hearing God's word to me saying: "Where is your brother?" (Gen: 4:9), and my reply to God upon reading these words were "Lord, I will bring my brother home." (Gen: 37:30) My heart and soul have been reassured by the Lord who has said in Luke: 15:27 that if we work with an enthusiastic heart, we shall praise the Lord one day and hear the words: "Your brother has turned back home already." My brother and my sister are every individual who waits and needs to receive knowledge of the love and grace of God and to hear of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My brother and sister are those who need so desperately in their lives comfort of the Holy Spirit, working and ministering in their life. In the Methodist belief God is "...the one true, holy and living God, Eternal spirit who is Creator. God is sovereign and preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice goodness, and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the glory of his name." (UMC, 2007) God is a triune God and therefore, as United Methodist pastor I believed in Jesus Christ, "...truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant, he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him all men will be judged." Finally, I believe in the Holy Spirit "who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads men through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth." (Ibid) God is fundamentally the loving relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit poured out to us and in our rebellion and our rejection of God, God continues to reach out in love and Grace in the person of Jesus Christ with salvation, fully human, and fully divine God reaches out to humanity. My ministry has been greatly affected the last five years with the Vietnamese church mission because of the great need of God that I have seen in people who have come to know God. Because of the state of sin and ignorance of God's grace and God's love that exists in humanity, I see how God mourns for his children to know his love and grace. The First Vietnamese-American United Methodist Church was established only five years ago for the 66,000 Vietnamese in Northern Virginia and many have come to know God. The mission in Malaysia approximately 1 1/2 years ago brought God's love and grace to 150,000 Vietnamese. The FVAUMC increased each year and of the 150,000 Vietnamese workers in Malaysia. Each Sunday worship service, approximately thirty-to-fifty of these workers came to Christ, filling the church will believers for the sake of the kingdom!

What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace? (¶330.4. a) (2) for deacon; or ¶335 (7) a) (2) for elder).

The grace of God is always available as is his love and always makes available to us the amount of grace that we are in need of from God. Grace is evidence of God's love for us and is a 'free gift' of God. Grace works in our lives in different ways such as "prevenient grace' which is God watching over us 'before' we are able to even know to help ourselves. Grace allows us the freedom of will to enable us to respond to God. God moves toward us and enables us to move toward him as we are persuaded by God to enter a relationship of love with Him and one that he created us specifically to enjoy with him. Divine grace moves at the direction of God in whatever way that God chooses and at the time of God's choice. There are pathways through assured grace is available to use or as stated by John Wesley the "means of grace" through which God gifts our lives with grace, however divine Grace is always God's choice toward us in God's time and in his chosen way.

What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the "Lordship of Jesus Christ," and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit? (¶330.4. a) (3) for deacon; or ¶335 (7) a) (3) for elder).

It was related to those present at the Duke Divinity School Seminar in a session led by Dr. Gregory Jones the Dean of Duke Divinity School entitled: "The Practice of Ministry and Your Understanding of God, Divine Grace, Humanity, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of an African pastor, who had been quizzed as to the existing differences in African and American churches, and who replied that churches in America give off the appearance of Good Friday holding less importance than mother's or father's day. The United Methodist Church believes that the attempt of humanity in its present state tends to shun the realities of Holy Thursday and Good Friday and Jones expresses this clearly as well and he states that it is a prerequisite that we "...go through Good Friday, crucified and risen...in order to arrive at 'Easter Sunday'. Moreover, humanity does not want to share in the blame of the sufferings and death of Christ upon the cross. Instead, humanity would rather blame on one another due to creed, race or religion instead of picking up the cross daily and following the way shown under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The 'taking on' of Christ by the believer experienced by the Christian as a great desire because: "...if you really want the Christ and truly love him, there is nothing that will prevent his coming and taking up his abode with you provided your love for him manifests..." through loving inner spirit of Christ instead only the outside. One may appear to be a Christian yet the Lordship of Christ in the life of the Christian means that present is love, compassion and forgiveness for others. The Christian loves the 'inner spirit of Christ because to desire only the outside of Christ will not allow Christ true Lordship in our lives. Loving the inner spirit of Christ requires loving the spirit of love...faith...compassion... The spirit of forgiveness." (Lindsey-Weinman, 19?

-2000)

Justification

Methodists believe that regeneration is man's renewal through Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit in which we are partakers of the divine nature of God and are able to experience newness in life or a new beginning. Through this renewal, believers are reconciled to God and empowered in serving God in love and in obedience. Methodists believe regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we become partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth, the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with the will and the affections. Sanctification is believed by the United Methodist Church and its membership to be a result of God's grace through the Word and Spirit, and that it is a process in which those who have been born again or cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words, and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God's will, and to strive for holiness, a required condition for spending life eternally in the presence of the Lord. Full Sanctification is believed to be a perfect state of righteousness, love and holiness" which is required to live eternally with the Lord. It is possible for the believer to enter a state of entire sanctification, it is our believe that the state of entire sanctification is able to be obtained by "every regenerate believer" and that every believer may be delivered from sin's power through loving God heart, soul, mind and strength and through neighbor as loving self. The Christian must be careful of too much pride in spiritual matters and must constantly guard against sin in a total response to God's will thereby weakening the power of sin of the flesh thereby putting aside the flesh with the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

Marks of a Christian life

Describe the nature and mission of the Church. What are its primary tasks today? (¶330. 4. a) (8) for deacon; or ¶335 (7) a) (8) for elder).

The Church's nature and mission is defined by its' call from God to follow the commandments of the risen Christ who said to his disciples: "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Matthew 29: 19-20) the purpose of the United Methodist Church has as its' basis this commandment of Christ which is referred to as the 'Great Commission' which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The Church accomplishes this through churches providing the environment and conditions in which 'disciple making occurs'. (the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church - 2004 p. 87, 2000. The United Methodist Publishing House) the Church's mission is to make disciples, which is four-pronged and includes: (1) worshiping; (2) welcoming; (3) nurturing; and (4) sending. Furthermore, the Church has a calling for responsibility for individuals within the world within reach of the church in the community of the church and in which the church interacts with others at work, at play and in other areas of life. The church has a responsibility to open doors for others to grow closer to God and grow in their relationship with God. The church is called to mission, to support others in their ministry and to be a servant in ministry both with and to others. The church fulfills this role in daily activities, through groups and institutions, and through initiatives enacted to reach into the community and through our service, our gifts and our time.

What is your understanding of: (a) the kingdom of God; (b) the Resurrection; - eternal life? (¶330.4. a) (9) for deacon; or ¶335(7) a) (9) for elder).

The Kingdom of God, the Resurrection and Eternal Life combined make up eschatology. Paul writes in Colossians Chapter 1 and verse 13 that God has "...delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son." Therefore, we can understand that at the time we are saved by God's grace that our soul has entered or been translated into the Kingdom of God by God's grace and because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are given the gift of eternal life with Christ. Paul goes on to state in Colossians 1:20 that: "And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself..." And Colossians 1:21 relates: "And you, that were sometime alienated an enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled." This expresses the meaning of the Kingdom of God, which is within us and which is part of the Great Commission that we go forth into the world carrying the gospel and the truth of the love and grace of God through his son Jesus Christ.

8) What is the meaning and significance of Christian Baptism? How have you interpreted and practiced this sacrament in your ministry? (¶330.4. a) (7) for deacon; or ¶335(7) a) (7) for elder).

Baptism, just as the Lord's Supper is a Sacrament ordained by Christ. Baptism is representative of the Christians entering into God's household of faith, and is symbolic of repentance and cleansing of the inner person from sin and is representative of new birth in Christ Jesus and the mark if discipleship. Christ. Jesus instructed the disciples to go into the world making disciples of all men baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. According to Wesley, baptism is not deemed essential nor it is deemed sufficient for salvation but is viewed as the "ordinary means.' (Wesley, nd) Wesley believed that one could fall from grace and then be in need of restoration and that infant baptism is an affirmation of God's promise of grace before we are even aware of it. It was Wesley's belief that the community of believers is important in the infant baptism affirmation of faith as they are an active part in this grace of God in the life of the believer. God gave us His word and proclaimed our adoption through means of His Grace into the Community of believers and in baptism, we give our word to God in promise of our love and faith and in response to his call for salvation. Baptism is a sharing of the entire congregation of the church in the believer's entry into the community of believers in the United Methodist Church and God's universal church and is a time when the church affirms that they will uphold, support, provide an example for and work toward guiding the new believer closer to God.

9) What is the meaning and significance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper? How have you interpreted and practiced this sacrament in your ministry? (¶330.4. a) (7) for deacon; or ¶ 335(7) a) (7) for elder).

The Lord's Supper is one of the Sacraments ordained by Christ and are symbolic interpretations of the pledge to Christian faith and of the love of God for hic children these are 'means of grace' through which God works within us through quickening us and providing us with strength and confirmation of our faith in him. The Lord's Supper is one of the two Sacraments ordained by Jesus Christ with the other being baptism. The Lord's Supper is representative of our having been redeemed and is representative of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and as well of the love and union shared with Christ by Christians and with other Christians. The Lord's Supper when enacted with those who are worthy and in faith and good standing in God's will partake of the broken bread and drink of the cup in a spiritual union of taking strength from Christ spiritually until the second coming of Christ. Because of humanity's fall from righteousness, and apart from the grace of Christ our savior is destined and inclined to evil, unless a man is born again he will not see the Kingdom of God because man is devoid within the realm of his own strength of the capacity to do that pleasing and acceptable in the eyes of God. Yet humanity, through the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit and with free will of a responsible nature exercised by will towards humanity's own good is the hope of the church for the sake of the Kingdom. God came in the form of Christ, God's Son and the "Christ reconciled the world to himself..." When John Wesley conceived the Lord's Supper, it was through terms of Grace that Wesley views this sacrament. Just as Grace requires first a confession of sin and acceptance on the part of the individual of God's forgiveness, the requirement of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is that the individual come before God in a state of Grace because of the representation of the body of Christ, sacrificed for the believer. One does not think to approach the Lord's Supper in a state of fallen grace because to do so would be to arrive guilty and marred in a state unfit to share communion with the Holy Spirit through the body of Jesus Christ evidenced in the sacraments of wine and bread. This is a time of mysterious power when the body of Christ is held up before the eyes of God knowing, breathtakingly knowing...that God will extend His Grace, there is no question, no pause. John Wesley states in his sermon "Free Grace" that foremost, is grace is provided "free to whom it is given" and that it is not dependent upon man possessing "power or merit" in any degree whatsoever. Wesley also states that grace is not dependent upon man having possession of a record of: "...good works or righteousness" Wesley stated that grace is not dependent upon man's "good tempers, or good desires, or good purposes or intentions...." Indeed no, because God's grace is free to everyone, which from which are "the streams only, not the fountain. They are the fruits of free grace and not the root." (John Wesley 1703-1791) Whatever good exists in man and whatever good that man does, is "done by God...the author and doer of it. God who freely gave his own Son and "with him freely giveth us all things." (John Wesley 1703-1791)