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In my life before children, I was an avid gardener. My grandmother instilled in me a love of fresh cut flowers from the garden arranged in vases throughout the house, and an appreciation for the flavor of garden-fresh vegetables on the plate. I have fond memories of walking through her large gardens as a child, when the sunflowers towered over and shaded me. Once Russell and I had our first home, I learned just how much work it was to create amazing gardens like my grandmother’s! It was hard work to break up and convert the Maryland clay to fertile soil, and it took trial and error to figure out which flower and food species to plant where for successful cultivation. And, of course, there were the bugs to keep at bay – not nearly the challenge of Florida bugs, mind you. But, by far, the trickiest part of keeping my flower and vegetable gardens healthy and productive was keeping the weeds in check. Oh, my! There are SO many kinds of weeds, they each have their season, and they never tire in their attempts to take over the rich soil for themselves. I became adept at the best methods for removing weeds, largely based upon their root structure. For shallow-rooted weeds I could use my trowel, and only needed to turn over the top layer of soil to quickly get rid of them. For dandelions, I needed to dig down at least six inches to get a significant portion of the taproot, or these persistent buggers would simply pop up again in short order. Vines have their own trickiness, especially those with rhizomes. It took longer to track down their many roots spread throughout my garden. Sneaky, sneaky vines. Fast forward about 15 years, and Russell and I were attacking some Virginia Creeper in our yard here in Florida. For over a year we had been snipping this vine back above ground, and it would appear that we had cleared the vine only to have it crop right back up again – within days! One day, Russell was fed up with the vine and really went to town and dug down deeper and wider throughout our front yard, eventually uncovering and removing a root structure that was over 20 feet long, and in places, as thick as my wrists! Now THAT’S rooted! So well rooted, in fact, that over a year later, despite removing so much of the root, I STILL see some sprigs of Virginia Creeper popping up in our front yard… Can you imagine being that well rooted? So well rooted, that someone’s “snips” at you, their careless or hurtful words, don’t impact you much? So well rooted that you can respond to others with compassion, even when they are unpleasant, because you can clearly see the hurt beneath their unpleasantness? So well rooted that difficult circumstances or disappointments don’t damage your core; can’t remove your roots? So well rooted that you know exactly who you are, in all of your strengths and frailties, so you know what makes you grow well and what “rots” you? So well rooted that you can plainly sort your selfish motivations from your altruistic ones? So incredibly rooted that you could endure a devastating loss and still have love and hope? Imagine! If we at St. Andrew’s were all so well rooted, what could God do through us as a community? The Apostle Paul understood the importance of rootedness to the early church. He shared wisdom on becoming rooted in a divine relationship that impacts others. How do we become well rooted today? Join us on Sunday to learn more in our series: I Am SAUMC. I look forward to seeing you and engaging in worship together, to become ever more rooted in the marvelous love of God.

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross.” John 17:20 NIV Have you ever met someone who liked to talk about themselves? No matter what the topic of conversation it always seems to get back around to them, their accomplishments, or some great nugget of wisdom they have for you. I am sure that everyone has known someone like this. In my experience, people who make life all about them have one thing that keeps them from experiencing the fullness of life. The one thing that gets in their way is pride. Pride will cause a person to puff themselves up to a bigger and better version of who they really are and create a false image. They present this false image as reality, sometimes because they truly believe it is real. The problem is that pride will never allow a person to be 100% true to who they are. Philosopher, theologian, and contemplative Thomas Merton wrote, “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” It is only when we take on humility that we can truly know ourselves as God created us. Any version of ourselves that is not founded in humility is a false self. It is a version propped up by pride and self-deception. We can only see the true self through the eyes of the one true God. This is why I love the language of Genesis 1:27 that says God created humankind “ … in the image and likeness of God … .” We are created by God to embody the very image and likeness of the Creator. If we choose to be prideful it is a distortion of how God created us. Humility is when we present ourselves as God’s masterpiece, nothing of our own doing. With all of this as groundwork, we see more clearly what an incredible example Jesus is for the world. Jesus had every right to be proud. He was God, the Creator of all things, nothing was created except through Him. Yet, Paul reminds us that Jesus set all of that aside and became flesh and blood. Jesus humbled himself and became obedient – even to death on a cross – because it was God, the Father’s plan. Without humility Jesus would have never sacrificed His life for you and me. Without humility Jesus would not have been concerned with the human condition of sin. It was humility that allowed Jesus to save us. So how are we doing on humility? Are we willing to give up our rights, privileges, and preferences for others? Does pride ever get in our way and lead us to insist on our way? Can we think of a time where we were upset with the church because something didn’t go our way? I would imagine that each of us could answer affirmatively to at least one of those questions. So what are we to do? We are called to follow the example of Christ and humble ourselves for the sake of others. Sacrifice and service are the example that Jesus gives for all of us. This Sunday we will talk more about being a part of SAUMC in our series I Am SAUMC. The message will help us think about how we can sacrifice for the sake of the call of Christ. I look forward to sharing this message with you Sunday. God is at work at St. Andrew’s and I can’t wait to see you in church!

“I’m praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind ... ” John 17:20 MSG There is a story that has made the circles around the internet over the past few years. It is a story of an anthropologist who was working with some kids in Africa. One day he put a basket of fruit near the base of a tree. He told the kids that the first one to find the fruit could have all of it for his own. When he told them they could run, the kids all joined hands and ran together. Once they found the fruit they sat down together to enjoy it. The anthropologist asked them why they ran together with their hands joined instead of going on their own and potentially getting all the fruit to themselves. They kids answered: “Ubuntu, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?” What a great picture of unity and selflessness. The whole is more important than its parts or oneself. That’s what unity is all about. Do you remember, or have you read about, Coach John Wooden and his championship winning basketball teams in the 1960s and 1970s? Over the span of 1964 to 1975 John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins won 10 NCAA National Championships. He was quite the college coach and he coached some pretty amazing teams. When he was asked about what made his players great he answered, “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” The unity of the team and how every player worked as a part of the whole team was more important than individual stardom. John Wooden coached players to put the success of the team first, to trust each other, and to put their faith in the team. Obviously, it worked. The focus on unity and team was very successful. More importantly than either of the two examples above, Jesus thought that unity was critical when it came to His followers. Jesus prayed to God, the Father, that those who were following him would be of one heart and mind. Jesus wanted His followers to put the whole above the parts. When Jesus prayed this prayer He said that he was not just praying for those who were there that day. Jesus was also praying for all those who would come to believe because of their testimony. This means that Jesus was praying that the whole church would be of one heart and mind. To be even more clear – the goal Jesus set for the church was to become one heart and mind just like Jesus and God the Father. This should be our goal. So how are we doing? Are we united? Can we say that everyone at St. Andrew’s is of one mind and heart? Can we truly say that each one of us is a unifier? If the answer to any of these is no, then we have some work to do. Of course, the answer is no to all of them from time to time. We need to remember the goal that Jesus set for us, the church. We need to work toward that goal every day. We need to do everything in our power to bring unity to the church – in Jesus’ name. This Sunday we will talk more about being a unifier for the church. The message will help us think about how we can work together toward one heart and mind for Christ. I look forward to sharing this message with you Sunday. God is at work at St. Andrew’s and I can’t wait to see you in church!

The end of the summer break is an interesting time for students and their families. Feelings about the end of another time off from school can range from sadness or fear all the way to joy and celebration. I always felt a bit excited at the end of summer break. While I really enjoyed having the time to do as I pleased with my days, I really enjoyed the energy that surrounded the return to school. The shopping trips for new clothes and school supplies, the meetings with new teachers and coaches, and all of the possibilities that a new year had. It all made starting a school year seem like an adventure. One of the very best parts of heading back to school in August was being able to share stories about everything that I had been up to over the past few months with my friends, as well as hearing the same from them. It was always great to hear about what fun, exciting, and frightening things people could do when they were in-between school years. Without the constant march of homework, practice, tests, lessons, and clubs, young people and their families found time to climb mountains, reconnect with distant relatives, rebuild car engines, and serve people around the world, among other things. Breaks in the action provide us with great opportunities to have new experiences, find rest, build on our knowledge, and prepare for the next big thing, which is what Thrive Student Ministry has been focusing on over this summer break. They have been leading and participating in worship in a wide variety of places; they have connected in community with old and new friends; they have grown in their faith as they gathered for youth group on Sunday nights; and they have served in the church and in communities of need, both in and out of the country. We are so proud of each and every one of our students, because they chose to use their time this summer to be intentional about getting closer to God and his Kingdom. I hope that you all can join us on Sunday morning to hear more about how God has worked in and through the young people of Thrive, as well as how God can continue to work through the whole St. Andrew’s community.

11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, 13, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it its written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:11-15 (NIV) Greetings! I am Mrs. Toni Parrish and a member here at St. Andrew's UMC. This Sunday, we will celebrate the ministry and mission of United Methodist Women. I am also a member of United Methodist Women. The United Methodist Women’s organization is a faith-based membership organization of laywomen within The United Methodist Church. We are organized for mission and our members are committed to growing as disciples of Jesus Christ in community with other women and building the lives of women, children and youth. United Methodist Women has been in mission for nearly 150 years! This Sunday, not only will we learn a bit of the history of UMW and how the “foremothers” of this ministry were inspired and responded to God’s call, but we will also hear the story of a woman in the Bible who was considered an “outcast” and how she responded to God’s call! Two weeks ago, Jennifer Blessing shared with us, “When God calls, there is a power to action that inspires us.” Last week, Dr. Dan Parrish shared, “As we open the scriptures to define the goal that God has given to our response, we want to also look at the source of our vision for fulfilling that goal.” Talk about answering God's call! Those women, so long ago, who heard God’s Call, who felt that power to action, who came together to define the goal that God had given them and then responded by taking up the mantle to fulfill that call from God! Are we ready to put our trust in God as we put on the mantle that has been given to each of us? Do we have the beautiful feet that Paul proclaims or are our feet still in need of cleaning? I invite you Sunday to join us as we open this word from God together.

13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NIV As I sat to prepare this article for the Friday Connection – I took a few minutes to reflect on some of the many changes that have taken place in the course of my lifetime. I’m sure you will have some of your own that could be added as well. My first recollection of a phone line was the party line we shared in our house in St. Cloud, and then we moved to single line extensions. I remember watching Superman as he ducked into a phone booth to change from Clark Kent to his Superman outfit. I remember the large building it took to house the computer when I entered college in 1969 – knowing that the computers in our home are now more powerful than that large 3-story structure. I thought about growing up with phonograph albums, then 8-tracks, then cassettes and later to CDs and now downloadable .mp3 albums that we store and carry on our phones. I remember the 20" black and white TV that the family got around at night to watch the three or four channels it offered, then in 1963 our family got a 30” color TV and now we have TVs that offer a 3D image on 70" - 90” screens and projectors that can be shown on our walls. TV’s used to come in cabinets that were considered furniture, now we place our big screens on the walls of our home. Things have also changed in the church during that same period of time. We used to have UMYF (United Methodist Youth Fellowship) but now most youth don’t even know what that is. We sang out of the Cokesbury hymnal with its brown cover, or the old Methodist Hymnal – now we generally never lift our Hymnal out of the pew rack as the words are on the screen. The same is true for our Bibles – some look up the scriptures on their cell phone while others look to the translation on the screen in the front of the sanctuary. All this got me to thinking about how I respond to Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13 – “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." What is the goal that Paul is referring to in this passage? Is it a goal that we are striving toward in our own lives? Does it even apply to us today? I invite you to join us Sunday as we continue to respond to the question given to us by Jennifer Blessing last week – Responding to God’s Call. How we respond is an important part of our response to God and whose vision are we going to follow. As we open the scriptures to define the goal that God has given to our response, we want to also look at the source of our vision for fulfilling that goal. See you at the Father’s house Sunday.

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22 NIV When I was in the middle of third grade, my dad changed jobs. We were living in Pennsylvania and his job was now in New York. My parents wanted us to finish out the school year in Pennsylvania. For about six months, my dad would work in New York during the week and drive home to Pennsylvania for the weekends. It was a challenge but we all got through it. Dad would call home a lot to talk with us and keep up with all of us. One day, I got to the phone first. When I answered I heard a male voice say, “Jennifer! Hello!” I immediately responded with, “Daddy! I miss you. How are you?” And I began to chatter away about things I wanted to share with my dad. After about a minute, I stopped to catch my breath and listened to the other person say, “Jennifer, um, this isn’t your dad. This is your Uncle Bob.” I was mortified that I had confused my dad with his younger brother. I was so eager to talk to my dad that I plunged headlong into a conversation without even listening to who was speaking to me. I remember passing the phone off to my mom and running upstairs in horror at my mistake. Years later, I still remember the embarrassment of not checking who I was talking to. My 8-year-old self thought this was the most horrible thing I could do - to answer a call and guess the caller incorrectly. If only we had caller ID back in the 1970s! As much as I was embarrassed at the time, I realize now that younger me was much more brave. I was willing to jump right into a conversation without the hesitancy that creeps in with maturity and adulthood. When we are called, how eagerly do we answer? Do we respond with a willing heart? Or do we tiptoe around the call? Maybe we make excuses that we are not ready or that it’s not the right time to talk. Perhaps we know the reason we are being called, but we just don’t want to respond. Maybe we want to say no, but we realize that that’s not the right answer, so we avoid the call at all costs. Not responding when we are called doesn’t always work so well. Consider Jonah. In the second verse of the first chapter of Jonah, God tells Jonah to “get up and go.” And in the third verse it says, “But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.” Wow. Jonah didn’t even answer God but just ran away. It’s almost like a young child putting his fingers in his ears and saying “I’m not listening!” when mom or dad say to clean up or go to bed. Jonah’s reluctance doesn’t come without cost. Sitting in the belly of a big fish is probably a timeout technique no one ever wants to endure. But he learns that God’s call is not a mere suggestion. When God calls us, there is a power to action that inspires us. Even if we are filled with trembling at the call, God’s call is designed for who we are. He knows us and our talents and our capabilities. He knows that a “yes” response is well within us and He makes us brave enough to respond. This Sunday, we will explore how we respond to God’s call. Are you a Jonah, running as far as you can from God? Or are you like James and John, throwing down your nets and going immediately? Or maybe you are not even clear if it is God who is calling to you. May our time of worship be filled with hope and bravery as we talk about truly hearing God whether He whispers our names or He shouts it from the mountain tops. See you in church! Jenn Blessing

“Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Matthew 6:32-33 NLT It was a foggy June day in Northern California when all of the competitors took to the course. It was the U.S. Open and the second major of the 2000 PGA season. Every single player was there to win. Every one of them had focused the months prior to preparing for this tournament, this moment. All of the players were hopeful that at the end of the day on Sunday they would be the one to hoist the winner’s trophy and be the 100th winner of the U.S. Open. After the first round on Thursday, a 24-year-old Tiger Woods held a one shot lead over the closest competitor. At the close of the second round on Friday, Woods had increased the lead to six shots. Saturday evening after the third round, Tiger Woods was set to enter the final round of the U.S. Open with a 10 shot lead. By the time the tournament was over, Woods won his first U.S. Open by a record 15 shots. One of the second place golfers said, “Before we went out, I knew I had no chance.” Tiger Woods' performance was one of the most dominant and focused of all time. The key word in Tiger’s historic win is “focus.” When asked about how he manages all of the distractions in his life Tiger said, “My main focus is on my game.” Tiger was so focused on his game that over his career he was able to win 79 PGA Tour events, 14 major championships, and 12 international victories. He is considered to be one of the greatest golfers to ever live. While I am not writing all of this to glorify Tiger Woods, I am using Tiger as an example of the principle of focused energy and attention. It is a powerful principle. If you know anything about Tiger Woods' career and life you know what happened when Tiger lost the principle of focus and allowed other things to take away from his focus on his game. The Scripture above is the biblical use of the power of the principle of focus. Jesus tells his followers that God will provide for their every need if they will just say, “My main focus is the Kingdom of God.” Jesus lets them know, and us, that our primary concern (translate focus) should be living for God and building God’s kingdom. This primary focus will result in God’s grace, mercy, and provision in our life. There is power in focusing on what is most important in life. Focus is a powerful principle. So here is the problem. Most of us are not great at this principle when it comes to our relationship with God. Seriously, how much time did you give to the various areas of your life this week? How much time did you spend sleeping? Eating? Exercising? Reading? Working? I would imagine that if we were to actually count the time we spent focused on building the kingdom of God it would be a small percentage of our total time. I am not saying this to shame or bash anyone. I want to offer a solution. The solution is obviously simple and eternally difficult. The solution I would offer is this: figure out how you can use every area of your life to focus on building the kingdom of God. You see … the principle of focus is powerful. This means that every day this week when you wake up you ask God to show you how to build God’s kingdom throughout the day. As you are getting ready you ask how you can use breakfast to build the kingdom. As you are driving you ask how you can use your drive time to build the kingdom. When you arrive at work you ask how you can use your job to build the kingdom. Interacting with your kids you ask how you can build the kingdom. Do you see the focus? Stay focused on how every part of your day, week, and life are building the kingdom. You just never know when your kindness, your sharing, your expression of love and grace is going to help someone else know the love of Jesus. We are to live for God and make the kingdom of God our primary concern, or focus. This Sunday we will talk about building the Kingdom of God. The message will help us think about how we can use every part of our life to build God’s kingdom. I look forward to sharing this message with you Sunday. We also have exciting news about our “Paving the Way” campaign. Don’t miss this Sunday. God is at work at St. Andrew’s and I can’t wait to see you in church!

If you haven't made a donation yet, we encourage you to be a part of St. Andrew's legacy by making a contribution on or before June 25 . Click HERE to donate online.

I used to think I was pretty wise. I have made pretty wise choices in life in terms of what I have gotten involved with. I have made even wiser choices perhaps in terms of what I have not gotten involved with. Yet when it comes to the way I look at life right now, today, I am not so sure. Wisdom is typically defined by the ability to attain, retain, and utilize knowledge. A little more clearly stated, wisdom is the ability to choose wisely. So as I consider this term for my life right now ... I wonder how wise I am. Wisdom in Scripture is defined a few different ways. The author of Proverbs has ideas about wisdom. The Psalmist had ideas about what wisdom really was. In the New Testament, James talks about two kinds of wisdom: worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. Listen to how James defines Godly wisdom, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere." This is why I am unsure whether I am truly wise anymore. If wisdom is first of all pure then hold the presses because I am not wise. If wisdom is peace loving and gentle at all times, I fall completely short of the mark. If wisdom is willing to yield to others, full of mercy and good deeds then I lack the ingredients of a wise person. If wisdom means sincerely holding all people as completely equal then I am out. This wisdom that James writes of is incredibly difficult and ultimately telling when it comes to our attempts to be wise. As difficult as it is to be wise in all situations, I am equally encouraged by the challenge James' words are to me. I am faced with choices each and every day- choices that can lead to me exhibiting Godly wisdom and choices that can lead to me exhibiting worldly wisdom. Choices that lead to me exhibiting worldly wisdom are arrogant, selfish, and ungodly choices. They are choices that promote my own agenda and selfish desires. However, there are choices that lead to me exhibiting Godly wisdom as well. These choices lead to me being more pure, peace-loving, gentle, yielding, merciful, helpful, and sincere. The exciting thing about James' words on Godly wisdom is how clear they make my choices. The characteristics of Godly choices are evident and I know what my choice has been by my actions, so I can move through my daily life with certainty of whether I have chosen wisely. As I weigh the evidence of my actions against the characteristics of Godly wisdom I can determine quickly if my choices exhibit wisdom from above. This is extremely helpful to me and can be to you too. So as we go through our everyday moments in life ... we have the choice to choose wisdom from above or wisdom from the world. I challenge you to join me in following the words of James and choosing wisdom from above. This Sunday we will continue our series Almost Christian. We will discuss how serious and sincere we are about following God. We will also discuss what motivates us in following God. I can't wait to share this with you. I hope you will be in worship with me. See you in church.

"It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River." Joshua 4:20 A couple of weeks ago we spoke of why we remember. I used the biblical account of Joshua piling up twelve stones taken from the Jordan River to build a memorial to what God had done for God's people. The idea is that present and future generations would be able to remember God's abundant provision for them. The stones were a visible, tangible and present reminder. The amazing thing is that all someone had to do was look at this memorial and they would be brought to recall its meaning. If they couldn't recall or did not know its meaning they would need to ask. When they asked the people of God would share the memory. It is important to have memorials in our life. We at St. Andrew's have a great opportunity before us. Through our Paving the Way campaign is an opportunity for a Joshua style moment in our church. We have set a goal of finishing the north end of the main parking lot this year. The goal is to raise $130,000 in order to complete the project. As I write this we have already had people give $67,000 toward this goal. Wow! That is amazing. It puts us at 52% of our goal halfway through the campaign. Let's keep going strong St. Andrew's! The reason this is a Joshua style moment in our church is because of what it will mean for current and future generations. As each of us drive on to the parking lot we will remember how God moved in our hearts and lives. As future generations ask about our parking lot, and campus, we can tell them of the God of abundant generosity and provision we serve. This could be the opportunity to pile up our stones. There is also the fact that this project is a part of our legacy. As we give toward the completion of this project we are making it easier for unchurched people in our community to be receptive to church and to Christ. As we continue to invite people to church for services, special events, and other activities the finished parking lot will be incredibly inviting to them. Our first impression will be one of excellence and hospitality. This by itself most likely will not help someone give God a chance, but it could help to not turn them away. We want them to see a sign of how our amazing God provides through God's people. We want them to feel welcome. I encourage us all to prayerfully consider giving sacrificially to this campaign. We have asked everyone to bring their gift by Sunday, June 25. We look forward to reaching our goal and Paving the Way toward more and more people coming to Christ through the ministries of SAUMC. In Christ, Pastor Tim

"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’” Acts 26:28 When I was in high school I didn’t struggle to find what I wanted to do with my life. Many of my friends couldn’t land on a vocation or post-high school plan, but not me. I was sure of what I wanted: I wanted to be an entertainer! It’s all I could see myself doing for the rest of my life, so I decided that I would apply for colleges and universities with musical theatre and acting programs. Now, for those who don’t know, when you apply for an arts-based program in college, you don’t simply send in paperwork and transcripts. In addition to all of that, you have to audition to show what you are bringing to the table in the talent department. So, with my dream of becoming a big-time entertainer spring me on, I went to audition after audition in the spring of 2001. All of the schools had multiple levels of auditions, and there was a cut after each level was finished. I usually made it past the first cut, and I had a high rate of success of making it past cut two as well. After that, I didn’t find much success. I would usually find myself heading home after the third layer of the audition, disappointed and a bit miffed. This was my basic pattern, with the exception of two schools, one of which was a top pick of mine: NYU. I made it through multiple cuts and had been able to talk with some of the folks who ran the program. I had high hopes of making it in, but, as an average-at-best high school student, I found myself at a disadvantage. In the end, my grades became the deciding factor that kept me out of NYU. I was extremely disappointed when I received the rejection letter, and I struggled with it for quite a while. Now, many people tried to comfort me, and they usually did a pretty good job. There was one thing that was said to me, though, that did not comfort me at all. The basic sentiment was this: I should be really encouraged by the fact that I had made it right down to the wire before getting rejected. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand what they were saying, but it didn’t hit home for me. You see, from my perspective, almost making it had the same result as getting cut in the first round: I didn’t go to NYU. I was reminded of a saying I heard a lot when I was growing up that goes, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” We all have had moments like this when we came close or almost made it. We all know what it’s like to come up just short of success, and we all know that it was still not enough. That near miss was still a miss. In Acts 26, Paul is told that he came close to success, but didn’t quite make it. He almost convinced Agrippa to believe in Jesus, but that isn't enough. Paul cannot be satisfied with anyone almost believing in Jesus, because it’s just the same as someone not believing in Jesus at all. Paul follows up Agrippa’s statement with a clear declaration that he isn’t satisfied with almost convincing him, but prayed that he and all of the people around him could become altogether Christian. Close was not good enough for Paul, and it shouldn’t be for us. John Wesley argued in his sermon, The Almost Christian, that many of us who claim Christ are like Agrippa. We are almost devoted to following Jesus, but we stop short of full devotion. Over the next four weeks, we will be diving into Wesley’s work and striving to understand how to get past our Almost Christian status and try to become the disciples that God is calling us to be. This week, I am honored to share the first message of this series and I hope that you will be able to join us as we begin this important conversation as a community. Blessings!