Here are a couple of case studies. Astronauts are allowed to tweet on the job (even when in orbit). Now I’ve learned that brain surgeons can tweet on the job! Surely Deputies can manage the hazards of tweeting whilst following legislative debate.

There is, of course, a real risk that has gone unnoticed in the current policy. We are a church that is sliding into precipitous decline. The whole business of General Convention is widely perceived, by many Episcopalians, as hopelessly irrelevant to the actual mission and evangelism work of the church.

Perhaps, by encouraging — not just allowing, but encouraging — tweets, the Episcopal Church might find a way to make real connections to people who otherwise wouldn’t follow what was happening at church gatherings. I can tell you that since General Convention, I’ve listened to Lutherans and Anglicans meeting in synod, and in both cases I wouldn’t have been able to follow what was happening without Twitter. I’m going to go out on a limb and speculate that neither synod was ruined by the presence of some participants using Twitter. In fact, it’s possible the proceedings were enhanced.

Can we please change the rules before the next General Convention — maybe even the next meeting of Executive Council? Let’s face it, our current rules are a failure, unless the goal is to become wholly irrelevant.

Tip of the shiny hat to Boing Boing.

Judge eternal, throned in splendor,
Lord of lords and King of kings,
with thy living fire of judgment
purge this land of bitter things;
solace all its wide dominion
with the healing of thy wings.

Still the weary folk are pining
for the hour that brings release,
and the city’s crowded clangor
cries aloud for sin to cease;
and the homesteads and the woodlands
plead in silence for their peace.

Crown, O God, thine own endeavor;
cleave our darkness with thy sword;
feed all those who do not know thee
with the richness of thy word;
cleanse the body of this nation
through the glory of the Lord.

Words: Henry Scott Holland, 1902

I couldn’t find any stunningly great videos for this one. Here’s a karaoke version of the hymn with the tune that most Americans will know. The rest of the Anglican Communion uses this tune.

And what does this mean for Anglicans?

One could well argue, as I think I heard Reggie McNeal say not long ago, that “missional church” really should be understood as redundant. We never should have gotten internally focused in the first place. Doing so was turning away from our participation on God’s mission. The church was given a mission, which we’ve largely ignored. “Missional church” is about reminding us why we exist as a church.

It’s all about focus. Missional churches are rooted towards those outside the church. Seen this way, the first Oxford movement parishes could be understood as missional. Once you take the sacraments and incarnational theology seriously, you are driven to feed people — to treat people, made in God’s image, with dignity.

While it’s mostly the jeans-and-PowerPoint set that tend toward missional behavior, there’s nothing inherent in the connection between a particular worship style and a missional orientation. Brian McLaren, speaking at the Lambeth Conference, told the assembled bishops that Anglicanism has a special charism that makes us ready to become a missional church in our time. Our incarnational approach and transcendent worship is a perfect foundation for a missional orientation.

We can hang on to the essence of our faith, as well we should. But we need to be willing to set aside most of what we think we know about HOW we run a church. Ask many Episcopalians, and they’ll tell you pastoral care is the most important thing a local church should do. And I’ll agree, but that pastoral care must be for the whole world, not just for the members of the club. Moreover, that pastoral care shouldn’t just be offered by the clergy, but by every member of the church.

So when someone starts talking about a missional church approach, don’t assume they’re talking about worship style. Missional churches worry more about the state of the world than about the state of the church. When you think about it, that’s how Jesus carried on. Maybe this isn’t so much as fad, as it is a return to our roots as followers of Jesus — who set out to save the world, not to make the members of the club feel good.

Not long ago, a colleague of mine signed up for a Twitter account. After a couple of days, I got the inevitable question. “What’s the point of this?” I asked the same question myself when I first signed up. The New York Times has one of the best suggestions around for grokking Twitter.

Even the most prolific users say Twitter has become more useful as a way to tap in to the discussions of the day than to broadcast their own thoughts. And once you get pulled in, you might just find you have something to say after all.

Biz Stone, Twitter’s co-founder, suggests that naysayers simply log on to Twitter’s home page and search for a topic they are interested in, whether it’s their favorite sports team, the name of their company or a topic in the news. Within a minute, they understand the appeal, he said.

Not unlike life itself, Twitter has value when we understand that it’s not all about us. In this case, it’s about getting a handle on conversation streams (in real time). When I heard there had been an earthquake in Haiti, I hopped onto Twitter and started searching. In seconds, I could read first-hand reports and expert analysis from around the world. When there’s news happening, Twitter will have the skinny long before CNN or any website.

Twitter is also a great way to share events with people around the world. This could be as mundane as, say, the season premiere of LOST or a televised political debate. Not long ago, I listened to the live audio feed of the Church of England’s General Synod. I followed the Twitter stream and could understand the subtleties of what was happening — and I could pose questions to members of Synod. (The General Synod, unlike our General Convention, seems pretty friendly to social media.)

So give Twitter a try. Don’t expect that legions of people will start to read all about how you buttered your toast. That’s not really the point of it. Do expect that you can step into a conversation about any subject you can imagine with people across the globe.

Don’t get me wrong. I think trusting in God is generally the right answer. It would be alarming if a priest were to say otherwise. But telling someone to trust in God often isn’t enough. When someone is hungry, they need food. When someone has lost their home due to a foreclosure, they need a place to live. When someone is going through a painful time in a close relationship, they need someone to listen to them. So, sure, encourage someone to trust God. And then get some food, help find a home, and provide a listening ear. After all, God is likely to work through us rather than through parted clouds and a ray of light accompanied by a nice soundtrack.

Holy Ghost, my Comforter,
Now from highest Heaven appear,
Shed Thy gracious radiance here.

Thou the heart’s most precious Guest,
Thou of comforters the best,
Give to us, o’erladen, rest.

Blessèd Sun of grace, o’er all
Faithful hearts who on Thee call
Let Thy light and solace fall.

What without Thy aid is wrought,
Skillful deed or wisest thought,
God will count but vain and naught.

Cleanse us, Lord, from sinful stain,
On the parchèd spirit rain,
Heal the wounded of its pain.

Bend the stubborn will to Thine,
Melt the cold with fire divine,
Erring hearts to right incline.

Grant us, Lord, who cry to Thee,
Steadfast in the faith to be,
Give Thy gift of charity.

May we live in holiness,
And in death find happiness,
And abide with Thee in bliss!

Words: Possibly by Innocent III (Veni Sancte Spiritus, Et emitte coelitus). Translated from Latin to German by Christian C. J. Bunsen, Versuch eines all gemein en evangelischen Gesang- und Gebetbuchs, 1833; trans­lated from German to English by Catherine Winkworth, Lyra Germanica, second edition, 1856.

Martin Luther understood something very important about the Castle Church: the holy crap had to go. There might have been a time when a vial of the Virgin’s milk would connect the peasants with the story of the first Christmas and remind them both of the dignity of women and the awesome presence of God on earth. The brutal knights of an earlier day might be terrified into honoring their oaths if sworn on one of the 35 pieces of the True Cross lying in various reliquaries and altarpieces at the Castle Church. But that time was no more; if Castle Church was to play its part in the great changes on foot in the world, old ideas would have to go, and once-treasured relics be accepted as frauds and cast aside.

That’s a pretty good description of where the American church is today: there’s a lot of holy crap on the premises, and it is long past time for a good housecleaning. The American church is staggering under the burden of a physical plant that it doesn’t use and can’t pay for; it staggers under the burden of dysfunctional and bloated denominational and professional structures that it can no longer carry; and it is crippled by outdated ideas about what it needs to do its job. All these buildings, bureaucracies and assumptions may have been holy once, may have played a real part in advancing God’s work, but for a lot of them that time has passed.

I’ve been serving my current parish for almost three years. We’re about to have our third Dumpster Party during my tenure. When we do this, we get together on a Saturday morning and throw stuff away. We’ll have no trouble filling a third massive trash bin this coming Saturday. All that junk was filling up space that we couldn’t use for ministries. Two things are clear. First, we won’t miss any of the tons of stuff we’ve tossed. Second, we’re just getting started.

We occupy massive buildings that were built for a different age, for different needs, and for a different congregation. While we use nearly every room on Sunday mornings, it’s not clear that our physical plant makes sense for us. It’s also not clear what that means for us — or for countless other churches.

Mead writes about denominational and diocesan overhead, and he’s spot on. I would be hard pressed to say exactly how our 17% contribution to the diocese advances local ministry and the mission of the church. I hasten to add that I can recognize some benefits, but perhaps our ratio of administrative staff to mission work has gotten out of whack.

Last Saturday I heard Reggie McNeal speak. He said that last year, Christians across the US took in $102 BILLION in revenue. McNeal wondered if we church leaders might hear a question like this at judgement day: “You took in HOW MUCH and there were STILL HUNGRY PEOPLE in the land?!” It’s a good question.

I’m the biggest expense in my parish budget. You can look it up on our website. By the time you stack in all the benefits, the total goes above $100,000. Let me be the first to say that in the ideal church, everything I do would be done by volunteers. We’d hear preachers with training, but perhaps not in a seminary. Gifted people would offer pastoral care. People would be raised up and formed to offer sacramental ministry. My task, really, is to obsolete myself — in the ideal world.

And here’s the dilemma that Mead sidesteps. In busy world full of busy people, a “professional” to do much of the ministry and leadership work fits in better. Despite the known risks of people outsourcing their discipleship to another, we’ve settled on this imperfect scheme. Maybe that’s what has happened on a wider scale, at dioceses and denominational offices. At the very least, we need to face the spiritual risks of our present way of doing things.

We also need to start asking about the stewardship of resources. Must every congregation have its own dedicated building that is used fully only for two hours on Sunday morning? Must every congregation be led by a seminary-trained priest? Must every diocese have a program staff? Must every denomination have a large staff (whose connection to local ministry is unclear)?

We should not dismiss Mead’s writing out of hand, but neither should we run to fire everyone at 815 or at our diocese. We should be relentless in looking at how our financial resources are used. We should constantly ask ourselves if there’s a better way. We should have no sacred cows. None.

When we have our Dumpster Parties, there’s the inevitable conversation as something’s headed downstairs to the garbage. “Oh, we should not throw away that widget.” My reply is always, “Tell me when we’re going to use it next.” If there’s not a quick answer that involves a date within a year, it’s off to the trash. I also regularly offer to send these “precious” items home with people who say they cannot be discarded. It’s funny, but quite often something whose value is very high when it comes to church suddenly takes on a very low value when a trip home is contemplated.

This is easy at a parish Dumpster Party (and I’d be glad to collect a modest honorarium as your Dumpster Consultant if you want to implement this program in your parish). Maybe we need to come up with similarly clear questions for diocesan and denominational resources.

Will this lead to sharing the Good News and the transformation of lives? Will this allow us to serve others in Christ’s name? Does this _____ sound like something that would be used in the Spirit-led church of the book of Acts?

Hey, if you’re in Lincoln, RI, stop by this Saturday, March 13, at about 9 a.m. We’ll give you coffee, treats, and lunch if you stick around. We’ll let you apprentice at our Dumpster Party. And we might offer to send you home with something precious, such as a splinter-laden folding chair.

Wave of the reliquary to The Lead.

The photo is a set of relics on display at Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome. You can check out that photo and many others from my trip to Italy last spring.

Got that? It’s like sports in that it’s competitive and it’s a single elimination championship series. It’s got Lent in that it’s a bunch of holy people during, um, Lent. And while Tim is too clever to be open about it, you know he’s running some kind of bookie scheme in the proverbial back room. I noticed he’s searching for a curate now. Is it a coincidence his parish suddenly has the money for a second priest when their rector is running a Lenten sanctoral smackdown?

I haven’t written about it before because it was the first round. As a confirmed fair weather sports fan — who gets interested in the Red Sox if they’re doing well in mid-September — I can’t be bothered with first round anything. Now that the first round is nearly complete, I urge you to check out Tim’s blog. Vote early and vote often!

Here’s another thing. And this is an important thing. George Herbert is in the running. While not everyone likes him, he’s a bit of a favorite of mine. You can tell by the name of this blog. So when George comes up in the second round, taking on Joseph, I’m going to be asking you to bombard Tim’s blog and bury him in votes for George Herbert.

At this moment, I’m trying to decide how I can layer political pork or special interests onto Tim’s scheme. In venerable American tradition, I’m declaring that I want to see Herbert prevail. I’ll be invoking some Chicago-style “voter registration” campaigns. Perhaps I’ll start teaching everyone about purgatory and promising a reduction in years spent there for every Herbert vote. Whatever it takes…

By the way, on a more serious note, St. John’s seems like a pretty great parish and I think the world of Tim. If you know any great priests, or if you are a priest in search of a new cure, give consideration to the opening there. I have no doubt it would be a pleasure to serve with Tim, even if he is one of those insufferably trendy blogging priests. Now, please excuse me while I go check Facebook and then write the next blog entry.

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain;
Restore my hope, remove my fear, and bring me peace again.

Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take all bitterness away;
Let me forgive as one forgiven, and bring me peace today.

Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin;
Dispel the memories of guilt, and bring me peace within.

Fill me, joy of Jesus, anxiety shall cease,
and heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace.

Words: Michael Perry

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Words: Robert Robinson, 1758

Kate Campbell sings this brilliantly, but it’s not on Youtube, alas. I did find this acoustic setting (music starts at about 0:48). Also, here’s a lovely setting for choir and orchestra.

The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his,
and he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow,
my ransomed soul he leadeth,
and where the verdant pastures grow,
with food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
but yet in love He sought me,
and on his shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
with thee, dear Lord, beside me;
thy rod and staff my comfort still,
thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
thy unction grace bestoweth;
and O what transport of delight
from thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
thy goodness faileth never:
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
within thy house for ever.

Words: Henry Williams Baker, 1868

Here’s a video of this text sung to the standard tune in England. It’s from Princess Diana’s funeral, so you’ll have to forgive a couple of voice overs at the beginning and end. Americans are used to singing this to St. Columba. This is a lovely setting by David Cherwien for organ & flugelhorn.

So I’ve decided, here on 7WD, to begin debunking these distortions and errors when I see them. This is not the first time I’ve gone on a debunking campaign, you’ll remember (see here, here, and here). To be fair, I do occasionally make mistakes here, and in the name of so-called humor, I sometimes take liberties of all kinds. But I don’t pass myself off as a bona fide news sources.

Here’s today’s. It shows basic sloppiness. Writing for the Church of England Newspaper (which, despite its name, is not affiliated with the Church of England), Conger describes Virginia as “The Episcopal Church’s largest diocese”. Of course, that’s just not true. That claim belongs to the Diocese of Haiti. Fr. Conger might find it easier to keep this in mind if he also avoided the term “national church” when referring to the Episcopal Church, since it encompasses many more nations than the United States.

Also, and this is probably the fault of copy editors, “Convocation” in the title of CANA is singular, not plural.

Now before your scour 7WD for similar mistakes, remember two things. First, I do not claim to be unbiased or journalistic. Second, I sorely lack an editorial staff, as any regular reader will know. These mitigating circumstances do not obtain with CEN and other publications.

Today’s errors are mostly the result of carelessness. You’ll see in future days that the errors are often meant to distort the reader’s view of situations. Stay tuned.

Lord, the wind and sea obey Thee,
Moon and stars their homage pay Thee;
Listen to us, as we pray Thee,
Who on Thee for all depend.

Bless all travelers and strangers,
Safely keep the ocean rangers,
Guide them in the midst of dangers:
All to Thee we now commend.

Bless the friends we’ve left behind us;
Closer may our parting bind us:
May they dearer, better, find us,
When we reach our journey’s end.

On our way, dear Lord, direct us;
Where we err do Thou correct us;
From the powers of ill protect us,
From all perils us defend.

May we know Thy presence o’er us,
See Thy guiding hand before us,
Till Thou safely dost restore us,
Love to love and friend to friend.

Holy God, in mercy bending,
Human souls with love befriending,
Fit us all for joy unending,
When this earthly course doth end.

Words: Percy Dearmer, 1906

O for a thousand tongues to sing
my dear Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim
and spread through all the earth abroad
the honors of thy Name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears
and bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’tis life and health and peace.

He speaks, and listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful broken hearts rejoice,
the humble poor believe.

Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold, your Savior come;
and leap, ye lame, for joy!

Glory to God and praise and love
be now and ever given
by saints below and saints above
the Church in earth and heaven.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1740

Here’s a video with the most widely sung setting worldwide. This will be a shocker to Americans, who will have not heard of this florid tune. I’ve only sung it once, and I thought it was glorious. Here’s a very modern setting of the usual tune for Americans. Don’t say I can’t get all modern here on 7WD.

They have confirmed for FOX 25 that the recording we have with a child directing airplanes is an authentic recording from the JFK tower and an investigation is now underway. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday two children were able to instruct pilors over two days in mid-February.

No, kids didn’t take over the control tower by force and start issuing random commands. It turns out that one of the controllers brought his son to work, and then a different child the next night. On both occasions the kids were allowed to give a few instructions to aircraft. Over at this article (yes, I just linked to a FOX News site) you can hear audio of the event.

Opinions about this will vary greatly. Some will say that the controller and a bunch of other people should be fired. Kids jeopardized lives! Others will say this is harmless; the father told the kids exactly what to say, and the pilots clearly didn’t mind (listen to the recording).

To be honest, I am ambivalent. This was clearly a silly thing for the father to have done, true. But it’s also true that there was no danger by this action, as far as we can see. So what to do? You can hardly give this guy a pass. But terminating his employment will seem to many as an excessive response. Maybe he gets suspended for a few days as an example, and the policy is clarified? Frankly, this is the kind of thing that will consume too much energy and take away from other, more pressing problems. Every second that’s spent on this incident is time that’s not being spent on improving more serious long-term problems with our ATC system.

Situations like this are, in a way, good examples for us clergy types to think about. Life is rarely binary — right/wrong, in/out, yes/no. Ethical problems are messy. People approach me with troubled marriages, and I can hardly tell them either “stay married, no matter what” or “go ahead, get a divorce.” It’s never that easy. I usually say something like “you have to try, but God will go with you where your journey takes you.” It’s not very satisfying at times, but it’s true.

There was the vicar in England who got in a heap of trouble for suggesting that poor people might steal food if necessary, as a better alternative than some other choices. For those who read the good vicar’s sermon, you’ll know that he wasn’t encouraging people to steal. Rather, he was acknowledging that life sometimes gets so massively complex that easy answers no longer suffice. Stealing is better than, say, murder — if it comes to that. Those who object that stealing is wrong, no matter what, are probably saying this from a very comfortable position.

Back to the kids and the airplanes. Who knows what POSITIVE outcomes were caused by this? Maybe a pilot was so pleased by his interaction that he paid more attention and subsequent danger was averted. Maybe these kids will be so inspired by their time in the control tower that their whole lives will take a different turn. Same goes for the adults who were there.

Disclosure: I was once involved in a much more mild, but not entirely different situation. My grandfather was a foreman at a local rail yard. He took me to work one day and gave me the grand tour. This culminated in a trip out to the yard to climb into a switch engine. I was permitted to move the engine up and down the track, including the requisite horn sounding, throttle operation, and the rest. I can’t say that experience changed my life, but it’s one of the coolest things I can remember. As far as I know, no federal agencies investigated my time at the proverbial wheel.

Back to the kids and the planes one more time. There are lots of ways to measure things. Was this a violation of rules? Did anyone benefit? Was anyone harmed? I suspect kids would be able to answer this one better than most adults. You see,my experience with well raised kids is that they have a strong moral compass. They know right and wrong. They also know two other things. Sometimes rules have to be broken. And when you break a rule, there could be consequences. You’ll likely have to say you’re sorry and make amends.

So, this season of Lent, what say you? Should the father be fired? Should there be any consequences?

Either way, I’m definitely paying close attention to Channel 9 next time I’m on a plane.

A wave of the pen to Dave Walker for posting this on his so-called “The Cartoon Blog”. Clearly, he needs to think about renaming his blog “The Cartoon and Music Video Blog” but I suppose that’s his business.

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1747

Here’s the tune sung to Hyfrydol by the Crystal Cathedral choir; this is the tune most Episcopalians will think of with this text. Much of the world sings this to the (superior, in my view) tune Blaenwern, which you can hear in a stunning recording by the Wells Cathedral Choir. If you don’t have it, you should buy this CD. Finally, as an added treat, this is a recording I made at the Lambeth Conference in 2008 of all the bishops singing in the big blue tent.

I want a ridoncuously fast Internet connection. Google recently announced plans to deliver 1 Gb/sec fiber to lots of homes. For my non-technical readers, that’s a gazillion times faster than whatever you have. Oh, you say you have Fios? Compared to what Google’s going to offer, you might as well be on dial up.

Yesterday, the mayor of Topeka announced that he is changing the name of his city for the month of March to Google, Kansas. I am not making that up. You can check the New York Times if you don’t believe me. The idea is to attract Google’s attention in order to convince them to light up Topeka (or Google) with this blissful Internet access.

Here’s the thing. Topeka has nothing on us. We are a CHURCH. That means your fancy Internet gets you a fast connection to us, and we’re connected to God. That’s basically a way for Google to get faster access to God. Can Topeka top that? I think not.

By the way, Google, one more thing. When you hook up the church, don’t forget the rector’s house.

Come, sinners, to the Gospel feast;
Let every soul be Jesus’ guest.
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bid all humankind.

Sent by my Lord, on you I call;
The invitation is to all.
Come, all the world! Come, sinner, thou!
All things in Christ are ready now.

Come, all ye souls by sin oppressed,
Ye restless wanderers after rest;
Ye poor, and maimed, and sick, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.

Come, and partake the Gospel feast;
Be saved from sin; in Jesus rest;
O taste the goodness of your God,
And eat His flesh, and drink His blood!

You vagrant souls, on you I call;
(O that my voice could reach you all!)
You all may now be justified,
You all may live, for Christ hath died.

My message as from God receive;
Ye all may come to Christ and live.
O let His love your hearts constrain,
Nor permit Him to die in vain.

His love is mighty to compel;
His conquering love consent to feel,
Yield to His love’s resistless power,
And fight against your God no more.

See Him set forth before your eyes,
That precious, bleeding Sacrifice!
His offered benefits embrace,
And freely now be saved by grace.

This is the time, no more delay!
This is the Lord’s accepted day.
Come thou, this moment, at His call,
And live for Him Who died for all.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1747.

Last thing: wow, there are a lot of verses. I cannot even imagine what would happen if we were to attempt to sing a 16-verse hymn next Sunday at Christ Church. There would be ensuing irony as the hymn about invitation resulted in the eviction of the minister, I suspect.