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Opinions and Insights


January 6, 2012 Discipline


Lay Leader Column By Brian hammons


Ten Words to Remember for a Fruitful Lay Ministry: Jesus, Mission, Pastor, Field, Connect, Read, Simple, Discipline, Fruit, Spirit


Word #8 is a tough one –


“Discipline”. It’s also a very important one for our personal lives and leadership effectiveness. “Discipline” reminds me of


training for a marathon. As a runner, in order to accomplish my goal for a big event, whether it be a fast time or just finishing, I’ve got to prepare. For several weeks, I’ve got to discipline myself to get up early and train, putting in the time for long runs and speed work that’s required. Eating and sleeping habits must be better too. Really, all of life becomes more focused. If I don’t main- tain the disciplined practices, I’ll come up short of doing my best and may not accomplish my goal. Watching my wife Kim train for her first marathon this past year reminded me how important this is. The way she focused and trained with discipline was exem- plary – and she’s now a mara- thoner! As we begin the new year of


2012, a lot of people will resolve to develop better habits in their lives. These New Year’s resolu- tions require discipline, but often they don’t last more than a few weeks. So it’s appropriate at this time to consider this word for lay leadership. I think the word “Discipline”


has at least 3 meanings for us as leaders in the church: 1. Characteristic of an ordered


life; 2. Order imposed by an


authority; 3. A system of order in the


church (i.e. as laid out in the Book


of Discipline). Let’s focus primarily upon the


first. An ordered life with better


habits is what New Year’s resolu- tions are about. The Bible calls us to develop those habits – for example, the book of Proverbs is useful “for attaining wisdom and discipline


. . . for acquir-


ing a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair” (Prov. 1:2-3 NIV). Of course, Paul and other New Testament writers provide many examples and instructions to develop better habits. Early Methodists, beginning


with the Wesleys, were extremely disciplined in all aspects of their lives. The habits of many early leaders, particularly John Wesley and Francis Asbury, show models of discipline that many of us today find very difficult to emulate. When I read about Wesley’s hab- its of getting up at 4:00 am every morning for a couple of hours of prayer and study, the rigorous travel, regular fasting, journal- ing, exercise and eating habits, I’m in awe. While I don’t have to do everything as Wesley did, I should seek to order my life as led by scripture and God’s nudging, developing habits that help me to be a better leader and follower of Jesus Christ. Spiritual disciplines are prac-


tices that help us develop quali- ties and habits in our lives that are more Christ-like, closer to God. We also call them “means of grace”, and they include worship, prayer, study of scripture, and


the Lord’s Supper (Communion). How well do we as leaders practice these to become more spiritually disciplined in our personal lives, closer to God? One key to maintaining


discipline is having a group of like-minded Christians who can help remind us of our goals and encourage us. The early Methodists called these groups “Classes” or “Bands”, and today the terms “Covenant Groups” or simply “Small Groups” are used. Whatever we call them, the people in these groups meet regularly for prayer, fellowship, sharing their lives, and encouraging each other. Hebrews 10:24-25 provides good instruction to “consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another . . . .” How does the word


“Discipline” apply to you now? In what way is God nudging you to develop better habits? How can “Discipline” help you to be more effective as a leader in the coming year?


In the next few days I’ll be


prayerfully pondering these ques- tions for my own life and leader- ship, and I invite you to join in doing that too. May God inspire, assure,


and strengthen each of us in “Discipline” with the power of the Spirit for the challenges and opportunities of the year ahead. Thanks again for your leader-


ship!


Brian Hammons, Lay Leader Mo. Conference of the UMC


THE MISSOURI CONFERENCE REVIEW


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Circulation e-mail: lsanders@moumethodist.org Next Deadline: Jan. 6 Next Issue: Jan. 20


Doctor driven to help homeless teens


United Methodist News Service Dr. Randy Christensen climbed


behind the wheel of a big, blue RV and guided it through the streets of Phoenix, giving new meaning to the term “house call.” “I tell everybody that I have


the best job in the world. I love coming to work and taking care of homeless kids,” said Christensen, medical director of Crews ‘n Healthmobile, a mobile unit for homeless teens. Once parked, Christensen and


his team of nurses, caseworkers and medical residents got to work. A few of them hit the streets for places they know homeless young adults hang out to let them know the doctor was in. Most of the teens found their way on their own.


The mobile unit is based


at the United Methodist Outreach Ministries New Day Centers, where the staff of the Healthmobile also sees patients at a clinic. However, they can- not reach the teens on the street unless they go mobile. “I always felt a real strong


desire to help those that were homeless. It just amazes me that we all live in a society that has so many wonderful things,” Christensen said. “We all have so much to give, and yet there are children and teenagers … sleep- ing on the street. And deep down to my core, that just feels wrong to me.” House calls without a house Five days a week, the mobile


clinic is on the go because of the huge need for this team to make house calls to those without homes. “How ya doing?” Christensen


asked one young man in an exam room as he maneuvered around a nurse trying to check blood pressure. It’s a tight squeeze, but Christensen said he prefers the narrow hallways and small exam rooms of the mobile unit to a more traditional clinical setting. A young man named Brian


comes in for a checkup. He wears a pink bathrobe and complains that his feet hurt. Many cases, like Brian’s, appear


easy to treat. “We see a lot of the same


things that everybody else goes to the doctor for … coughs and colds and flu, maybe some asth- ma, maybe some skin infections,” Christensen said. However, these patients some-


times have histories that make their medical needs more acute. “We find out on top of all of


that asthma and skin infections and ear infections and what-not, there’s tragedy. Whether that’s abuse or neglect, violence, rape, all those terrible, horrible things that you can’t even imagine go on,” Christensen said. “We learn very early that we


address those things that they come in for, but we have to be very broad-minded in how we address their holistic health.” Cierra Lundberg is waiting


for her turn with the Crews’n Healthmobile. The 22-year-old has been coughing a lot lately and has not seen a doctor in years. “I was homeless for three years,


and I worked really hard to get an apartment. I got a job, and then I got laid off, and I lost my apart- ment,” Lundberg said. “I worked so hard to get that, so I’m like super upset. So I’ve been pretty much couch surfing for the last year.”


Christensen examined


Lundberg and explained to her that she probably has an infec- tion. While she is here, Lundberg also asks about getting glasses and talks about other issues she faces. Huge challenges Many of the young adults the


mobile unit staff sees are dealing with huge challenges. “Mental health diagnoses


are about three to four times that of the general population,” Christensen said. “Maybe one in 10 are hearing voices or having visual hallucinations. Maybe 40 percent have attempted suicide in the last six months. Probably 80 percent of them are abusing some substance.” These are tough problems.


Christensen and his team know they will not change everyone overnight. However, in the 10 years it has been out here, the crew has helped many teens get off the streets. Christensen has written about those years in a new book, Ask Me Why It Hurts.


Clergy/Clergy Spouse Deaths Rose Grindheim Sims, 90, surviving spouse of the late James Sims,


died on November 12. She was living in Florida.


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