One Pastor's Ponderings

Transforming or Transfiguring Lives?

2012-02-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

Mark 9:2-10

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Some thoughts about the Transfiguration from the blog of United Methodist pastor Mike Baughman:

We talk a lot about transforming lives and not very much about transfiguring them. This may just be semantics, but when churches talk about transforming lives, they generally want to get rid of something or everything that a person was and have them take on a completely new life! The goal is to change and inject some Jesus into them.

We treat new Christians, teenagers and ordination candidates (among others) like cancer patients who need to have unhealthy tumors removed and medicine injected. What if we sought to transfigure them instead? What if we were confident enough to assume that the full glory of God was already buried inside everyone? What if we believed that it isn’t our job to inject Jesus into them, but to draw Jesus out of them?

Be Outraged!

2011-11-17T08:14:00.001-05:00

A colleague of mine posted a link this morning on his Facebook page to a New York Times op-ed piece about a young Cambodian girl forced into prostitution. The author, Nicholas D. Kristof, is a journalist who reports on human trafficking worldwide. He writes:

"By my calculations, at least 10 times as many girls are now trafficked into brothels annually as African slaves were transported to the New World in the peak years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade."

I felt gut-punched. I had no idea. Soon I was trying to find as much information as I could about human trafficking. It's not hard to find. Oganizations such as Not For Sale are working hard to raise awareness about the 30 million people worldwide (including right here in the USA) who are victims of human traffickers.

So why didn't I know about this? Why doesn't everyone know about this? Why isn't the UMC a major partner in the "Re-abolish Slavery" movement?

I'm outraged - but I need to find a constructive way to channel that outrage. I need to learn as much as I can about human trafficking and what I have the power to do to help put a stop to it. I will be praying about how God can use me and the church I serve in the fight against this evil.

Sunday Afternoon Devotion

2011-10-03T09:29:00.001-04:00

For some unknown reason I've started to watch football. Don't ask me why. I've never been a football fan before. I don't know much about the rules of the game. I don't have a favorite team. And I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it. I think it all started when I couldn't fall asleep one Sunday afternoon. I really needed a nap, so I turned on a football game (which in the past has always functioned like a sleeping pill) and ended up actually watching it. So now, if I'm just hanging out at home on a Sunday after church, I'll usually turn on the TV to see who's playing.

Yesterday a commentator noted that one team's fans are so loyal that a good number of them travel around the country to watch their away games. That's some pretty serious dedication. I started paying attention to the spectators in the stands. I couldn't help but notice that they were absolutely passionate and rabidly loyal (why else would they paint themselves different colors and stand half-naked in the cold?). And for a lot of these folks, football isn't just a game here and there. They faithfully follow their team. They know players' names, stats, team history. They'll miss work, skip school, and forgo social events to see their team play. They eat, sleep, and dream football. Their devotion is practically...religious.

Hmm. If only people were as excited to go to church as they are Gillette Stadium!

Saying Goodbye

2011-08-30T16:08:00.000-04:00

It is with deep sadness that I share the news that my partner in ministry, Certified Service Dog for the Ministry, Allegra, has died. Allegra was the first Ministry Dog to serve in the New England Annual Conference and was only the second dog in history to earn ADI certification as a "Service Dog for the Ministry". She was active in full-time ministry from the time she graduated from the National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS) training program in January of 2001 until her retirement last year due to declining health.

Allegra served at the Niantic Community Church in Connecticut and the Randolph, East Pittston, and Pleasant Street United Methodist Churches in Maine. Her ministries included visitation to hospitals, nursing homes and daycare centers, assisting elementary school reading programs, serving as a church greeter, and assisting in pastoral care by acting as a social lubricant and stress reliever. She was a sweet, gentle dog with an intuitive sense for who most needed her attention and affection. Allegra’s unconditional love and non-anxious presence touched the lives of countless people and she will be missed.

The Face of God

2011-07-18T10:30:00.001-04:00

John Jackson wrote about a newspaper photographer who was sent to Ecuador in 1987 to cover the earthquake that devastated much of the country. In midst of such catastrophic suffering, he witnessed a scene of selfless love that moved him so deeply that he wrote a story about it. Here is his account:

"The line was long but moving briskly. And in that line, at the very end, stood a young girl about twelve years of age. She waited patiently as those at the front of that long line received a little rice, some canned goods or a little fruit. Slowly but surely she was getting closer to the front of that line, closer to the food.

From time to time she would glance across the street. She did not notice the growing concern on the faces of those distributing the food. The food was running out. Their anxiety began to show, but she did not notice. Her attention seemed always to focus on three figures under the trees across the street.

At long last she stepped forward to get her food. But the only thing left was a lonely banana. The workers were almost ashamed to tell her that was all that was left.

She did not seem to mind getting that solitary banana. Quietly she took the precious fruit and ran across the street where three small children waited – perhaps her sisters and a brother.

Very deliberately she peeled the banana and very carefully divided the banana into three equal parts. Placing the precious food into the eager hands of those three younger ones - one for you, one for you, one for you - she then sat down and licked the inside of that banana peel.

In that moment I swear I saw the face of God."

Living Life as a Prayer

2011-07-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

There was once a rabbi in a small Jewish village in Russia who vanished every Friday morning for several hours. The devoted villagers boasted that during these hours their rabbi ascended to heaven to talk with God. A skeptical newcomer determined to discover where the rabbi really went.

One Friday morning the newcomer hid near the rabbi's house, watched him rise, say his prayers and put on the clothes of a peasant. He saw him take an ax and go into the forest, chop down a tree and gather a large bundle of wood. Next the rabbi proceeded to a shack in the poorest section of the village in which lived an old woman and her sick son. He left them the wood which was enough for the week. The rabbi then quietly returned to his own house.

The story concludes that the newcomer stayed on in the village and became a disciple of the rabbi. And whenever he heard one of his fellow villagers say, On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way to Heaven, the newcomer quietly added, if not higher.

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" (Matthew 25:40)

Learning to Name the Name

2011-06-14T07:20:00.001-04:00

At PSUMC we've started work to improve our "minimum factor", which was identified by the Natural Church Development survey as Need-Oriented Evangelism. So I was especially interested in a recent blog post by Donald Haynes at the UM Portal. He suggests that the chickens have come home to roost in terms of the denomination's poor choices about priorities which have resulting in declining membership and vitality. Haynes says that "We lost our sense of who we are in the marketplace of religious pluralism. We continued to 'pass the cup' in response to human need, but we forgot how, with confidence and competence, to 'Name the Name.'"

Haynes warns that the current membership decline will accelerate dramatically when the US population takes the sudden downturn that statisticians predict will occur after 2018 (which the Lewis Center calls a "death tsunami"). It's a rather grim outlook.

However, Haynes goes on to suggest that it's not too late to change our fate:

We can rise again. Indeed millions are waiting to hear from us their identity is not their sin but God’s love—a love that will not give up on them. They are waiting to hear that our hospitality is not limited to our kith and kin and neighbors with like faces. They are resistant to “propositional evangelism” which is “in your face.” They are receptive to “relational evangelism” like Jesus practiced! As Lovett Weems recently said, “If the tsunami comes to a church that has reset its baseline and demonstrated the ability to begin growing, then the losses will not deter the ‘field of energy’ already moving in the denomination. The time to make choices is now—while there are still choices to be made.”

So, perhaps participating in NCD is a far more imperative undertaking than we realized. Now the question is whether we're able (and willing) to learn to both "pass the cup" and "Name the Name".

I Hate War

2011-05-30T19:01:00.000-04:00

On this Memorial Day I join my nation in expressing its gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. However, I hold to my conviction that I can honor the warrior and yet still hate the war. I can appreciate soldiers' valor and heroism and still grieve the violence, suffering, and destruction that war demands. In a speech in Chatauqua, NY on August 14, 1936, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said:

I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.

I have passed unnumbered hours, I shall pass unnumbered hours thinking and planning how war may be kept from this nation. I wish I could keep war from all nations, but that is beyond my power. I can at least make certain that no act of the United States helps to produce or to promote war. I can at least make clear that the conscience of America revolts against war and that any nation which provokes war forfeits the sympathy of the people of the United States...

Would that the conscience of America indeed revolt against war.
Kyrie, eleison.

Holy Land Trip Day 4

2011-03-03T22:05:00.001-05:00

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee from our hotel

Tiberius from the Sea of Galilee

Modern fisherman on the Sea of Galilee

Fishing demonstration aboard the boat "Faith" on the Sea of Galilee

Mount of the Beatitudes Church

Inside Mount of the Beatitudes Church

Church of the Loaves and Fishes, Tabgha

Inside Church of the Loaves and Fishes

Church of the Primacy of Peter

Inside the Church of the Primacy of Peter

Old City of Capernaum

Excavations at Capernaum

The House of St. Peter, Capernaum

"St. Peter's fish" - tilapia from the Sea of Galilee

Holy Land Trip Day 3

2011-03-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

The fortress on Tel Megiddo. Archaeologists have identified 26 layers of ruins.

Excavations at Megiddo

View of the Jezreel Valley from Megiddo

Stairway to the Megiddo spring

The channel to the spring beneath Megiddo.

Floor mosaic in a 1st century home at Sepphoris.

Sepphoris floor mosaic

Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Location traditionally believed to be the place of the angel's annunciation to Mary

Holy Land Trip Day 2

2011-03-03T19:27:00.003-05:00

Greek Orthodox Church of St. George in Madaba

6th Century mosaic map in the floor of St. George depicting holy sites in Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt

Mosaic Map

Moses' view of the Promised Land from the top of Mt. Nebo

View from Mt. Nebo

Holy Land Trip Day 1

2011-03-03T19:03:00.002-05:00

I took hundreds of photos while in Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank. I thought I'd share just a few that give a flavor of the trip.

The Citadel in Amman

The ruins of the Temple of Hercules on the Citadel

The Cardo Maximus - the main north/south road of the Roman provincial city of Gerasa (now Jerash)

The Oval Forum at Jerash

The North Theater at Jerash

The Living Stones of Palestine

2011-02-04T13:33:00.001-05:00

During a recent trip to the Holy Land we had the chance to meet some Palestinian Christians and hear about the challenges (one might say "oppression") they experience as a largely ignored minority in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The media portray the situation in the region of Palestine as Jews vs. Muslims. In fact, religion has less to do with the conflict than politics. It's more about the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state vs. the civil, personal and property rights of Palestinians. Unfortunately, when the situation is presented as Jew vs. Muslim, Palestinian Christians become invisible.

The Christian population of Palestine is the oldest Christian population surviving in the world. Its roots go directly back to the time of Jesus. Although it has managed to maintain a continuous presence for nearly 2,000 years, the population is dwindling.

Currently, between 2% and 3% of Palestinians are Christian, with the highest numbers living in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala. The pressures of Israeli occupation (high unemployment, land confiscation, discrimination, movement restrictions, family separation, etc.) and the sense of not belonging (as Arabs they are mistrusted by the Israelis; as Christians they are mistrusted by Muslim Palestinians) have resulted in increasing emigration rates among Palestinan Christians (particularly those who are younger and better educated). This has led many to fear that Palestinian Christianity is on the brink of extinction. Professor Bernard Sabella (himself a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem) has studied the region's demographics and warns that, if the rate of decline continues, the indigenous Christian community could disappear within 2 generations. The "original Christians" will be gone from the Holy Land.

While we were in the Galilee, we spent an afternoon at the House of Hope International Peace Center in Shefar'Am. The center's founder, a caring and gracious man named Elias Jabbour, spoke with us about the struggles facing Palestinian Christians and requested that we help raise awareness of their situation. And he posed an uncomfortable question. He asked why it is that so many Christians come to the Holy Land to visit the dead stones of ancient ruins while ignoring the living stones.

Why, indeed?

"A Text Without a Context..."

2011-01-29T11:23:00.001-05:00

I recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land with the Society for Biblical Studies (whose statement of purpose is "To reform biblical studies, to redeem pilgrimage from commercial sightseeing, to renew the mission of the Church".) One of the many things I appreciated about SBS's approach is the level of cultural immersion that is not usually experienced in Holy Land tours. Talking with (and asking questions of) Jordanians, Palestinians, and Israelis helped us to begin to get a sense of how different Western (particularly American) culture is from Near Eastern culture - and much more so Ancient Near Eastern culture.

Of course, that contrast didn't come as a complete surprise. Like most pastors, my biblical studies have included a bit about the time, place, and culture out of which scripture was written. But there's something about experiencing first-hand the dramatically unfamiliar social norms and customs, cultural values, lifestyle, geographical landscape, etc. - it really drives home how important it is to place scriptural texts in their proper context if we're to truly understand their message.

The biblical writers lived a very different reality from those of us in the 21st century USA. The assumption that the Bible can be understood apart from its socio-historical context - that its words are directly transferable to our time and place and culture - too easily leads to the misappropriation or misuse or misapplication or misrepresentation of scripture. I'm convinced that we need to understand the original meaning and intent of biblical passages (as much as is possible) before we can hope to properly understand them for our own time and place.

As they say in Bible study circles, "A text without a context is a pretext." It seems to me that a text without a socio-historico-cultural context can also be a pretext. And so, one of my take-aways from this trip is an even stronger resolve to always ask about the the sitz em leben ("situation in life") of the biblical characters and/or authors before I ask, "What does this mean for me?"

The Sacrament of Service

2010-12-17T08:46:00.001-05:00

I came across an interesting article by George Johnson in "The Progressive Christian". (link here) Johnson reflects on what he thinks could be considered idols in the church. He defines idols as "those things we believe or practice that become substitutes or an escape from what is essential, what is primary, what is ultimate. Idols are not necessarily bad or unimportant. The problem comes when they get more attention than they deserve, or take our attention away from what should have first priority in our theology and practice." As one example, Johnson suggests that many Christians have made an idol of the Bible - essentially worshiping the words rather than living by them.

I've been working with the Waterville Area Homeless Action Group, which has established an emergency winter overflow shelter. The shelter has struggled since its opening to find enough volunteers to keep it going. In spite of repeated appeals to area faith communities for support, help has barely trickled in from just 2 or 3 churches. I confess that I am frustrated and disappointed with the thousands of Christians in this city whose discipleship of Jesus does not include service to the poor. And so, Johnson's words about how and where we choose to experience the presence of Jesus resonated with me. He wrote:

A few Sundays ago we had a letter-writing Sunday in our parish. Almost everyone lined up that Sunday to come forward to receive the elements at the Eucharist and experience the presence of Jesus. I wished there had been that same line of people willing to write a letter on behalf of the poor and hungry in the world. And I wished that the subversive words and action of Jesus that caused his death would be lifted up in the Eucharist.

What would be wrong with a church that reminded its members that they would experience the presence of Jesus in the lives of the excluded in their community as much as they did in the sacraments? Is not this good biblical theology? (Matthew 25) What happened to the sacrament that Jesus instituted for us just before he was executed. I mean the practice of washing one another’s feet (or hands if it is easier)? Jesus’ command to “do this”is just as important as the "do this" in the communion liturgy. Has not our strong Eucharistic emphasis encouraged a kind of individualism rather than service in our theology?

How is it that a Church built on the life and teachings of Jesus did not give consideration to the sacramental nature of serving those about whom Jesus was most concerned - the last, the least, and the lost - those at the margins? (Even the Roman Catholics' 7 sacraments don't include service)

Can you imagine how different churches might be if we had a third sacrament - the Sacrament of Service?

If you invite them, they will come...

2010-11-22T07:41:00.001-05:00

Some random (but surprising) statistics from the Barna Research Group:

96% of unchurched people are at least somewhat likely to attend church if they are invited.
Only 2% of church members have ever invited an unchurched person to church.
The unchurched preferred traditional hymns (47%) to contemporary praise music (30%); participatory liturgy (53%) to non-participatory (34%); children in church (56%) to separate children’s church (33%); choir and organ (53%) to praise bands (23%);orderly service (55%) to charismatic service (31%); sermons that address real life concerns (62%) to expository sermons (21%).
In terms of theological stance, the largest subset of the unchurched is theologically liberal.

From the data, it would appear that significant numbers of the unchurched would find many aspects of the UMC very appealing. The problem is not that the UMC has nothing to offer the unchurched. The problem is we aren’t offering it.

The Christ of All

2010-04-19T18:11:00.003-04:00

I was reminded today of how hurtful the ubiquitous religious images that depict Jesus as Euro-American can be for ethnic and racial minorities. Of course we all know intellectually that Jesus wasn’t light skinned, blond and blue eyed. The paintings, Bible illustrations, stained glass windows, movies, etc., that portray him that way are simply a reflection of Euro-American hegemony.

This morning, in observation of the UMC’s Native American Ministries Sunday, Betty Palmer shared a story from her time as director of Down East Maine Missions. She told about giving one of the blueberry rakers a Bible that was translated into the language of her First Nation community, the Micmacs. It meant a great deal to this woman because, although she’d been told that God loved everyone equally, there was always some lingering doubt about whether that was really true. But on the pages of that Micmac Bible she finally encountered the universal love and grace and hospitality of God. The very same words of scripture that she'd heard all her life took on powerful new meaning when she read them in her own native tongue.

Like I said, the story was a reminder of how reimaging the historical Jesus in ways that are so familiar and comforting to some people (i.e., those of Euro-American privilege) can be so exclusive and alienating to others (such as First Nation minorities). Theologian James Cone once said, "God is whatever color God needs to be in order to let people know they're not nobodies, they're somebodies." I'm guessing that the Jesus who sought out and stood with and spoke for those at the margins would probably have been happier speaking Micmac than the Queen's English.

The Lord's Prayer in Micmac

Slam Prophet

2010-04-09T14:29:00.000-04:00

Chris Tse is a slam poet whose video of "I'm Sorry I'm a Christian" is making the rounds among my colleagues on Facebook. The poem is a pointed critique of Christian hypocrisy. In fact, it left me feeling a bit gut-punched. Whether the video offends, convicts, disturbs, admonishes, or provokes you (or perhaps all of the above), it expresses a message that I think is powerfully prophetic. (Remember that prophets in the biblical tradition didn't so much foretell the future as act as spokespersons for God, callling Israel back to justice and faithfulness.)

Fair warning - Tse drops the "F-bomb" a couple of times.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
-- Micah 6:8

Faith, Money, and Jimmy Choo

2010-03-30T12:26:00.001-04:00

I’ve had an email account with AOL since the early 90s. I still use it as my primary email address, in spite of the uncoolness factor.

One of the reasons AOL was able to go from being a pay service to a free service is the annoying ad banners at the bottom of all the emails. I usually don’t pay any attention to them.

This morning I received the latest email issue of the e-newsletter “Faith and Money” – a publication that encourages responsible Christian stewardship. As I scrolled down the email to choose an article to read, the AOL ad jumped out at me. It was for Jimmy Choo shoes. (Jimmy Choos are ridiculously expensive couture footwear that run around $1,000 a pair.) My inner cynic found the ironic juxtaposition sadly amusing.

It’s difficult to live as faithful stewards in a culture that worships at the altar of a very different god. Sometimes I wonder if the struggle to be “earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can” people in a “get all you can, enjoy all you can, keep all you can” world is a little bit like the ancient Israelites, surrounded by the attractive, popular gods of the Canaanites. It's easy to be tempted, to compromise, or to just plain give in. Living in a culture of consumerism, it can be a challenge to remain clearheaded about our values and our priorities as disciples of Jesus.

Sure, most of us don't have a rack of Jimmy Choos in our closets. That kind of decadence is easy to resist. But it's easy (given that the average American is exposed to over 1,000 ads a day) to be persuaded that what we want is something we need. God, grant me the grace to know the difference!

“Money is an excellent gift of God if it is used excellently,

answering the noblest needs of humanity.”

-- John Wesley

Blessed is the One Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

2010-03-23T21:25:00.000-04:00

A Palm Sunday thought from 8th Century bishop and prolific hymnographer, Andrew of Crete (c. 650-712):

"It is ourselves that we must spread under Christ's feet, not coats or lifeless branches or shoots of trees, matter which wastes away and delights the eye only for a few brief hours. But we have clothed ourselves with Christ's grace, with the whole Christ - 'for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ' - so let us spread ourselves like coats under his feet."

Glen Beck, Theologian?

2010-03-09T08:32:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this link today. I don't even know where to begin. Glen Beck insists that churches that concern themselves with the biblical mandate for social and economic justice are Communists. Or Nazis.

In his infinite wisdom, Beck says,

I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can.

(You can listen for yourself here.)

Maybe I'll send him a Bible to read. And the link to the UMC's Church and Society website.

Being the Resurrection

2010-01-26T21:02:00.002-05:00

Rob Bell (well-known leader in the Emergent Church Movement and the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI) is always interesting, and often provocative. In this video Bell describes just how subversive and revolutionary the Gospel was in its original socio-political context.

Bell asks:
"If people only had your life and they were asked the question, 'Has Jesus risen from the dead?' How would they answer?"

So, how would they?

Compassion for Haiti

2010-01-15T09:46:00.001-05:00

The news out of Haiti this week continues to describe a dire situation - an already impoverished country with a poor infrastructure being devastated by a massive earthquake. Relief efforts are under way, including the United Methodist Committee on Relief - our denomination's global humanitarian ag. UMCOR is an amazing agency (and an amazing agency of God's grace). They're always among the first to arrive and the last to leave. Not only that, 100% of every donation goes directly to the relief effort - not one penny is spent on administrative expenses. (To contribute to the Hatian relief efforts, follow this link to UMCOR.)

Estimates of casualties vary, but it is clear that the number of dead and injured isstaggering. It's hard to imagine effect the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, businesses, etc., will have in a nation already experiencing abject poverty. The people of Haiti desperately need our prayers, as well as material and financial support.

What they DON'T need is a well-known evangelical Christian leader suggesting that Hatians somehow brought the death and destruction on themselves. Sadly, the 700 Club's Pat Robertson did just that. During his TV show the day after the earthquake, Robertson once again opined that natural disaster is a weapon of God's wrath. Given his infamous history of such inflamatory remarks, it shouldn't have surprised me. But it did. Maybe "shocked" is a better word. It breaks my heart (and provokes no small amount of anger) for his awful theology to be the public voice of Christianity.

Unbelievably, Robertson insists that Hatians literally made a "pact with the devil" to win their independence from France in the 18th century and that the earthquake is God's punishment.

That may be Pat Robertson's theology, but he absolutely does not represent my understanding of God. I'm in agreement with a colleague who said that God doesn't cause earthquakes. Geophysics causes earthquakes. God causes compassion.

So, let God cause compassion in you. Work with God to bring aid to Haiti. Be the hands and heart of Jesus. Donate to UMCOR (or any other relief agency of your choosing). Pray for Haiti. And while you're at it, pray for Pat Robertson too.

Putting the "Christ" where?

2009-12-09T08:07:00.000-05:00

There are statistics out there somewhere about how many people start blogs and then abandon them after one or two posts. I can understand now how easy it is for a blog to fall victim to a full calendar. It's been almost 2 months since my last post, in spite of my good intentions. I do some of my best pondering in the shower (I wish someone would invent a waterproof laptop for sermon prep days) but lately I haven't had the luxury of post-shower free time to post my thoughts before dashing out the door. I suppose I could just get up earlier in the morning, but that's not very likely to happen.

So, here's something for your pondering today: "When the Church Banned Christmas" It was written by my UMC colleague, Anne Robertson. Anne is the director of the Massachusetts Bible Society and the author of a blog called "SpiritWalkers". In a recent post she suggests that Christians should be less concerned with "putting the Christ back in Christmas" and more concerned with putting him back in the rest of the year.

Are we really ready for the one we welcome into the world on December 25 to hang out with us the other 354 days of the year?

For All the Days That End In "Why?"

2009-10-27T12:05:00.001-04:00

Theodicy. It's one of those seminary words that I don't use much, but it's a topic that I deal with all the time. It's the "Why, God?" question. God, why do you let bad things happen to good people? Why do you let people get cancer? Why do you let tsunamis kill thousands of people? Why do you allow children to be abused? Why is there is there hunger, poverty, war, disease...?

You know the questions. You've almost certainly asked them yourself. Maybe not out loud - so many of us think that we're not allowed to ask those kinds of questions. Or that asking "Why?" is a sign of our lack of faith.

Baloney. Read the Psalms. Read Job (all of it - not just the part where Job is still keeping a stiff upper lip). Read Jeremiah and Lamentations. There's plenty of precedent for asking, challenging, and downright confronting God about the state of things. It's OK to ask the "Why?" question. Just don't expect the answer - or at least don't expect a satisfactory answer. Theologians have been wrestling with theodicy as long as there have been theologians.

Here's the set-up: God is supposed to be all-loving and all-powerful, but evil and suffering exist in the world. Therefore either God can do something about it, but won't (in which case God is not all-loving). Or God wants to do something, but can't (in which case God is not all-powerful). It's impossible to reconcile logically. I sure don't have the answer. Oh, I could recite a number of theological propositions, but ultimately none of them are satisfactory. So, I think we just keep asking God the "Why?" questions. We keep seeking understanding. We keep talking to God, even if it feels like a one-way conversation. And we live with the hope that (as the old Charles Tinley hymn puts it) "we'll understand it better by and by".

Spiritual Diversity

2009-10-12T20:28:00.003-04:00

The Lay Leadership Team at PSUMC has been using the book Equipped for Every Good Work by Dan Dick and Barbara Miller. It's a good resource for helping people discern what sort of ministry they're being called to.

As part of the discernment process the authors identify six different spirituality types: Head, Heart, Pilgrim, Mystic, Servant, and Crusader. The types represent the different ways we approach and experience God in our lives. No one is exclusively one type, but people do tend to operate in one or two predominant modes.

I read an interesting study the other day. Long-time United Methodists were asked how well the church provides for the spiritual formation of each of the types. It's obvious by their responses that our United Methodist congregations are essentially geared for head-based spirituality:

But here's the thing. The study also indicated that newcomers to the faith are very different from people who are long-time members of a church family. A survey of United Methodists who were relatively new to the Christian faith (less than 5 years) and their local church (less than 3 years) indicated that the typical UMC congregation is not well-suited to their spiritual types.

Dan Dick writes:

Newcomers are a pilgrim/servant blend, rather than a head/heart blend. Whereas head types want answers, pilgrims seek meaning. Where heart types enjoy the warm embrace of fellowship, servants seek to get their hands dirty living their faith in the world. Head and heart types like to congregate for corporate worship; pilgrims like small groups; and servants like work projects. Head and heart types will work for hours on committees and councils; pilgrims and servants want projects and teams. Head and heart types are well conditioned to have worship performed for them; while pilgrims want interactive worship where they are continuously involved and engaged and can ask questions. Servants want worship to prepare them for ministry in daily life

A common criticism of newcomers is that they do not get "involved"; but often those who prefer head- and heart-type experiences define that involvement. Many newcomers may not stay with a congregation that offers little or nothing to meet them where they are in their faith journey.

It seems to me that the UMC's new Rethink Church campaign is geared toward pilgrim and servant spiritualities. I wonder, though, if we can really make good on the claims we make in the ads, etc.

I think PSUMC is at least tyring. There's quite a bit in our strategic plan that will help move us toward more pilgrim and servant types of ministries. I pray that we really will "rethink church" and find ways to engage the seekers who haven't been able to find a spiritual home with us.

All Creatures of Our God and King

2009-10-03T14:20:00.002-04:00

PSUMC's Fifth Annual Blessing of the Animals was this morning. As always, it was wonderful to have people bring their pets to church for the short worship service and a blessing for each animal. We had mostly dogs, some cats, and one hamster. (The mule that I thought might come ended up staying home.) Someone even presented photos of the 3 cats that she wasn't able to bring, so I could offer a long-distance blessing.

It's a heart-warming thing to see people holding or sitting beside their pets in worship with obvious love and affection for them. There's a noticeable spirit of thankfulness to God for the place these animals occupy in people's lives.

I'm always amazed at how well the animals behave. Even though they're in an unfamiliar place with strange animals and unknown people, for the most part they're very quiet (other than one sweet and especially exuberant Springer Spaniel who always "makes a joyful noise unto the Lord"). Maybe there's something about their owners' body language that communicates to the animals that this is a special time and a special space. Maybe it's the spiritual mood or atmoshpere in the sanctuary. Maybe it's just plain grace. No matter. This one day a year the animals get the chance to praise God too.

Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Praise the LORD! (Psalm 148.7-10)

Welcome to the family?

2009-09-25T13:23:00.000-04:00

Gordon Atkinson wrote an interesting article recently for The Christian Century. He talked about the reasons members give for leaving the church. One complaint in particular caught my attention – folks who’ve tried unsuccessfully to fit into the community. Atkinson writes:

A good number of people who left our church said that they never felt like they were a part of the family. Sometimes I heard this from people who never made much of an effort to fit in. But sometimes I heard this from people who attended for a year or more, tried to make friends and still didn't feel at home. One man said, "Covenant [the name of Atkinson’s church] is a hard nut to crack."

In the past PSUMC has sometimes been “a hard nut to crack”. Some families or individuals who couldn't seem to find a way to connect with others eventually drifted away. I had one person tell me that she made the decision to become an active member of the church family. “But,” she said, “I had to push my way in.”

We’ve made a significant improvement in being a hospitable church that is very intentional about noticing visitors and making them feel welcome. But how easy is it for people to make it over the threshold from visitor to part of the community? How good are we at helping people get plugged in, connected, and feeling like part of the family?

Sighs too deep for words...

2009-09-22T09:33:00.001-04:00

"Jesus wept." -- John 11:35

Last Sunday's sermon was about racism. This Sunday we'll be talking about domestic violence. Very heavy topics that make for a very heavy heart. As I've been reflecting on our human brokenness, and the pain we cause each other, and the sort of injustice that damages or destroys victims, perpetrators, and our collective soul, it's been hard to carry around the weight of the sadness I feel. I can't help wondering about the One who incarnated God's incomprehensible love and compassion. How profoundly pained Jesus must have been by the human condition. It's no wonder he wept.

A bigger box of crayons

2009-09-18T22:48:00.004-04:00

I recently picked up a copy of Carolyn Jane Bohler's book, "God the What?" It's about how the metaphors we use for God shape our theology - how they frame out notions about God's nature. Bohler believes that when we limit our personal images of God, we limit our potential experience of God. And conversely, when we expand our metaphors for God, the potential for a livelier, more multidimensional faith grows. The book looks like an interesting read and I'm looking forward to having the time to dig into it.

I agree with Bohler that it's important to examine our metaphors for God. Using them is unavoidable. God is so thoroughly beyond our comprehension (humans trying to comprehend God is like Allegra trying to comprehend calculus) that we have to use metaphors in an attempt to wrap our heads around who and how God is. The problem isn't necessarily the metaphors themselves, but the fact that most of us have such a limited repertoire of them.

A lot of folks have an "Ancient of Days" image of God - the old man with the white beard sitting on the throne. If that's the only image you have for God, then God is probably perceived as a remote Deity, residing far away in a celestial heaven. Another dominant metaphor is God the Father. That's not a particularly helpful image if your father was abusive or emotionally distant or absent. God imaged as exclusively male reinforces patriarchy. The point is, in limiting our images for God we limit our understanding of God - sometimes in a very unhealthy way.

Scripture describes God as father, mother, lover, vinedresser, husband, companion, friend, advocate, liberator, king, warrior, judge, dairymaid, shepherd, farmer, laundry woman, construction worker, potter, fisherman, midwife, merchant, physician, bakerwoman, teacher, writer, artist, nurse, blacksmith, homemaker, an angry mother bear, a protective mother hen, and a nursing woman.

A colleague of mine likes to say that you can't color God with just the small box of Crayolas - you need the box of 64. What if we all could begin to build a broad repertoire of imagery for God? I'm guessing that a more expansive range of metaphors for God might just lead us to a more expansive experience of God.

Practice makes perfect

2009-09-15T10:01:00.011-04:00

I heard it again yesterday. "I give what I can."

It's a familiar refrain when the topic of financial offerings comes up. It generally means, once I've paid all my bills I give a part of what's left over. That seems reasonable, right?

Reasonable, perhaps. But certainly not generous. It basically means that I've chosen a certain standard of living and I'm paying the cost of that lifestyle. That comes first in how I prioritize my spending. Gifting the church as a way of demonstrating gratitude for God's love and grace in my life is secondary. The mission and ministry of the church is secondary. My stuff comes first. The leftovers are for God's stuff.

What if we could think about our giving as an exercise in generosity? Let's face it - our natural human orientation tends to be fairly selfish. Even our giving can often be selfish. (When's the last time you gave or did something anonymously, without any possibility of acknowledgement or thanks?) I'm convinced that the practice of generosity makes us more generous people. We don't give because we're generous. We give to become more generous.

As Christians, we seek to be perfected in Christ-likeness - to become more like the one whose humanity was characterized by self-giving, other-regarding, self-sacrificial love. Obviously, that sort of transformation depends in part upon God's grace, but we also need to work cooperatively with God. And so, the practice of loving extravagantly helps us to become more loving. The practice of showing mercy helps us become more merciful. The practice of forgiveness helps make us more forgiving. And the practice of sharing generously helps us to become more generous.

Practice makes perfect.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
-- Matthew 5:48

Beginning a new thing

2009-09-10T10:33:00.017-04:00

I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:19a

PSUMC’s visioning team recently completed their work of guiding the church through a process of corporate discernment. They worked with the congregation for more than a year to reflect, pray, and discern what God wills for us in this time and place. The final result was a plan for ministry for the next 3 to 4 years that will help us to build on our strengths and address our weaknesses – a sort of map for guiding our efforts and resources so that we can become more the church God would have us be.

This fall we begin using the map. If we’re faithful to the plan, it’s going to lead us into some significantly different ways of being church. I suspect that even some folks who are on board with the plan’s goals may experience discomfort with the “new thing” that God is doing among us. That’s because a new thing requires change and change is often uncomfortable, even when you invite it.

Churches are notoriously static and resistant to change. (Pastors love to recite the “last seven words of the church” – i.e., “We’ve never done it that way before”.) Change requires a lot of energy, and unless there’s an intentional effort to sustain the change, things tend to settle back into the previous status quo. Churches just don’t move easily. (Maybe that’s what Jesus had in mind when he talked about needing faith to move mountains!) So as we begin working toward the ministry plan’s goals, I’m anticipating some level of resistance, anxiety, and discomfort. But I’m also hoping it will be mild and that we can be gentle and thoughtful and supportive of those who are apprehensive about the changes.

When God’s Spirit begins to move among a community of faith it can be exhilarating or frightening or both at once (just ask the people who were in the upper room on Pentecost...). But I believe that God is calling us into a new way of understanding Christian discipleship and a more authentic way of being church.

It's an exciting time in the life of our church. God is doing a "new thing". We're being invited into the Great Adventure. So, saddle up!

Saddle up your horses we've got a trail to blaze

Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace

Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown

This is a life like no other - this is The Great Adventure
-- Steven Curtis Chapman “The Great Adventure”

"Their plowshares are beat into swords..."

2009-09-08T07:45:00.010-04:00

This poem by Walter Brueggemann (written May 25, 1999 for the bombing of Serbia) is from his book of prayers entitled Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth.

And now their plowshares are beat into swords – as are ours.
Now their pruning hooks are beat into spears – as are ours.
Not only words and spears,
but bullets, and bombs, and missiles,
of steel on flesh,
of power against bodies…
And you, in your indignation sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers”
We dare to believe they are the aggressor
and we are the peacemaker.
Yet in sober night dream we glance otherwise
and think we may be aggressor,
as we vision rubbled homes,
murdered civilians,
and charred babies.
And you, in our sadness, sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
We do not love war,
we yearn for peace,
but we have lost much will for peace
even while we dream of order.
And you, in your hope, sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Deliver us from excessive certitude about ourselves.
Hold us in the deep ambiguity where we find ourselves
Show us yet again the gaping space
between your will and our feeble imagination.
Sound your mantra with more authority,
with more indignation,
through sadness,
in hope…“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Only peacemakers are blessed.
We find ourselves well short of blessed.
Give us freedom for your deep otherwise,
finally to be blessed,
in the name of the Peacemaker
who gave and did not take. Amen.

Sabbath freedom

2009-09-04T09:47:00.028-04:00

"The glory of God is a human being fully alive." -- Irenaeus

Today is my day off. I received an email this morning with the subject line "DON'T READ THIS TIL WORKDAY!" I confess. I opened it.

Why is it so hard to unplug for a day? (It's a rhetorical question. I have a list of answers, none of which excuse my workaholism.)

Marva Dawn is the author of one of the best books on the spiritual practice of sabbath keeping, entitled "Keeping the Sabbath Wholly". It's an invitation to Christians to experience the "wholeness and joy that come from observing God's order for life" by observing sabbath time. Shortly after opening the aforementioned forbidden email, I came across an interesting video interview of Dawn discussing how important it is to rest and play. (Link here)

It was a finger-wagging reminder to let the world do whatever it's going to do without me today and to just go have some fun.

MaryAnn McKibben Dana wrote a contemporary paraphrase of the biblical sabbath commandment that I might just print out and put where I'll see it every so often:

Six days shall you be a workaholic;
on the seventh day, shall you join the serene company of human beings.
Six days shall you take orders from your boss;
on the seventh day, shall you be master/mistress of your own life.
Six days shall you toil in the market;
on the seventh day, shall you detach from money matters.
Six days shall you create, drive, create, invent, push;
on the seventh day, shall you reflect.
Six days shall you be the perfect success;
on the seventh day, shall you remember that not everything is in your power.
Six days shall you be a miserable failure;
on the seventh day, shall you be on top of the world.
Six days shall you enjoy the blessings of work;
on the seventh day, shall you understand that being is as important as doing.

20th C. Swiss theologian Karl Barth wrote, "A being is free only when it can determine and limit its activity."

I'm working on being freer. How about you?

Church is a verb

2009-08-31T09:44:00.008-04:00

"Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car." -- Garrison Keillor

Christianity isn't a spectator sport. Church isn’t someplace we go – it’s something we do. That’s the message of the “Rethink Church” campaign. The UMC is trying to shift members’ thinking about church – move them from going to church to being the church.

It’s clear that the number of people in the pews isn’t necessarily an indicator of congregational health. Effectiveness of ministry is. And not just the ministry of the pastor, but also (and I would argue, more importantly) the ministry of the laity. Every Christian – whether laity or clergy – is called to be a minister of some sort. By virtue of our baptisms we’re members of the Body of Christ, and as such we each have a part to play. That’s why scripture (1 Corinthians 12) portrays the church as a body – an organism with many parts, where each member has a unique role and contributes something important to the life of the body.

I heard about a Hall-of-Fame baseball player named Dizzy Dean. Dean was a great pitcher. His 1934 statistics haven't been matched by any pitcher since. But in 1937, Dean took a hard line drive off his toe, and the toe was broken. It shouldn’t have been a career-ending injury, but Dean was rushed back into the lineup before the fracture was completely healed. He pitched several games favoring the sore toe, and that led to an unnatural delivery that seriously injured his pitching arm. His arm never fully recovered and Dizzy Dean’s major league career was over within 4 years.

It seems to me that a similar thing happens in the church. The active members of the body become overextended trying to compensate for the non-active members and the effectiveness of the whole body suffers.

Like the "Rethink Church" advertisements ask, "What if church was a verb?"

Are reverence and joyfulness mutually exclusive?

2009-08-28T10:00:00.003-04:00

I'm still pondering this one...

Joy-to-stuff ratio

2009-08-27T08:30:00.004-04:00

Have you ever considered your “joy-to-stuff ratio”?

It’s a term that was coined by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, authors of Your Money or Your Life. Our “joy-to-stuff ratio” is basically the amount of fun we’re having in life divided by the amount of time we spend acquiring, managing, and consuming material possessions. When we spend our time accumulating more and more stuff that we have less and less time to enjoy, our “joy-to-stuff ratio” gets out of balance.

I think Jesus knew all about the “joy-to-stuff ratio”. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns his listeners, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” He goes on to talk about how we can become so wound up in striving and acquiring and accumulating that we miss out on what’s really important. It’s a lesson that bears frequent repeating, especially in a culture where we’re constantly bombarded by advertisements that connect personal happiness to material possessions and consumption.

If you think about it, we don’t really spend money when we spend money. We’re really spending our life – our limited time and energy.

Are you spending your life on joy or on stuff? What do you really want to use your life for? You only have so much life energy. What do you really want to use it for? Commuting? Shopping sprees? Acquiring the latest model whatever? Going for walks? Playing with your children? Helping people? Taking seriously the question, "What do you want to spend your life on?" could have serious ramifications for the way we choose to live.

“To be frugal means to have a high joy-to-stuff ratio,” say Dominguez and Robin. “If you get one unit of joy for each material possession, that’s frugal. But if you need ten possessions to even begin registering on the joy meter, you’re missing the point of being alive....Frugality is not too much, not too little, but just right. Nothing is wasted. Or left unused. It’s that magic word -- enough.”

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

2009-08-25T08:38:00.007-04:00

“Earth’s crammed with Heaven, and every common bush afire with God," wrote poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "but only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” I woke up early this morning, before dawn. As the sun came up, the world slowly came alive. The clear sky turned an azure blue and the leaves and grass seemed unusually green. The dew sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight. Birds of all kinds were singing, and eventually the cicadas joined the choir. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

15th C. mystic Ignatius of Loyola believed that those seeking God don't have to wait for extraordinary spiritual experiences like epiphanies or visions. By seeking God in all things, we may find God in all things.

How often do you and I miss the Heaven crammed into Earth?

"We" Faith in a "Me" Culture

2009-08-24T08:28:00.013-04:00

Dan Dick, who is the director of research at the UMC General Board of Discipleship, publishes a great blog called "United Methodeviations". In a recent post entitled "'We' Faith in a 'Me' Culture'" he talked about the number of congregants in United Methodist Churches who are not actively involved in the community or ministry of the church. I highly recommend reading the entire article, but here's an interesting statement:

At least half of our active members — even in the churches that promote community through small groups — view their relationship to the local church as that of a consumer. The church is a service provider to meet the needs and desires of those attending worship. These people want nothing more, they expect nothing more, and they have no interest in what the church/community might expect in return.

The article reiterates for me the challenge PSUMC faces as we start working toward the goals of our strategic plan - particularly the one about developing the expectation that "every member is a minister."

Praying like the Blues

2009-08-22T19:47:00.009-04:00

During the month of August I've been doing a sermon series on theological themes in popular music. Tomorrow we'll be considering the Blues as a form of lament. As I was listening to Blues music all week - that soulful musical crying, complaining, mourning - I was reminded of how essential it is to our spiritual health and wholeness to express our pain to God openly and honestly - including the anger, frustration, disappointment, etc., directed at God. Christians typically don't do that very easily - not individually in prayer or corporately in worship. Maybe we should all be praying like the Blues.

Part of my sermon prep was rereading Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann's article, "The Costly Loss of Lament". Bruggemann insists that lament needs to be a part of Christian worship. He says that implying (by neglecting lament) that our pain has no place in worship leaves those who are suffering feeling voiceless, powerless and hopeless. Before long people feel as though they're not welcome in God's presence. If we're unable to bring our laments to God, Brueggemann says, then God ends up surrounded by "yes men and yes women from whom never is heard a discouraging word." I'm pretty sure that situation doesn't make anyone happy (including God). I need to give some serious consideration to whether we've made lament a part of our worship often enough.

So, when is the last time you shook your fists at God?

And so it begins...

2009-08-20T08:43:00.000-04:00

I have ambivalent feelings about blogging. On the one hand it's a great way of communicating thoughts and ideas to those who might be interested in reading them (and even some who might not be...). On the other hand, it can seem just a bit self-indulgent or narcissistic. With the hope that I can manage the former without falling into the latter, I hereby officially enter the blogosphere.