I got up
this morning to a beautiful thin glace of light-reflecting ice covering the
world outside my window. Before venturing out for my Saturday morning errands,
I was required to take time to wait…wait for it to thaw.
In my
life as a minister, at times that is where I stand. I stand waiting for people
to thaw, to warm up, to take notice of the heat and fire of the Holy Spirit
that is a burning ember within them. The waiting is very hard, like waiting for
a diaper-baby to take its first toddling steps.
Since I
had to wait, I found myself standing by the window looking out on the frozen
lawn, and there I saw a flash of bright red cardinal, then the brilliant blue of
a fat jay, then the rust colored belly of a beak-bobbing robin. Along the gray
tree trunk of a side-frozen oak tree, an ebony and white dappled woodpecker hooked
his red-head up and down as he trailed towards the top branches searching for breakfast. My feathered friends reminded me.
There is
great beauty in the world, and it is easier to see when you are waiting. That
is if you are willing to take the time to look for it. In God’s time the thaw will come.
God’s people will burn hot. The embers of God’s Holy Spirit do not burn from
fuel that will burn away, but that fire burns from the fuel of God’s love
of which there is no end.
Lord, as
I wait for the thaw…let me see the beauty. Help me wait with patience.
I read Bishop Goodpaster’s blog today where he listed four areas of leadership, where when we are accomplished at them, we should be enabled to be a more missional church. They were:
focus
simplify
collaborate
adapt
Bishop gave us discipling questions to contemplate, and I got stumped with the first one. Focus. Over the last years, we pastors have been asked to consider ourselves to be more mission oriented and to lead our churches in this vain. We have been told to stop maintaining our current organizational structures and become more like missionaries working out of mission stations.
Here is a problem. For so many years we have been asked to “support” missions, missionaries, and mission work. Now we are being asked to be the missionaries. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that this is the right approach. It is just that it very difficult to change the mindset of the average church goer from supporter of to actual missionary.
The church has been completely instrumental in developing this mindset over the years. My question is how do we change the focus of church goers? Until we do get the focus changed, our efforts at being a missional church where we can simplify, collaborate and adapt will be seriously hampered.
In the
wake of the horrible mass killings of 2012, the subject of "gun
control" has been a hot topic both in the media and around our house.
People are passionate on this subject. Me, not so much. I am as inflamed as
anybody over the massacre of the innocent children and teachers at the Sandy
Hook Elementary school on December 14, 2012. I believe it was an act of a
seriously disturbed person, one who was off his rocker and not in control of
his actions. I know some disagree with me.
The
horrific incident has caused the opposite poles of the gun control issue to
become vocal and in some cases ridiculous. If raising the consciousness of the
public is one of the aims of the rhetoric, mine has been raised. On the one
side I've heard anti-gun people proclaim, "something has to be done,"
while the other side, the pro-gun people echo, "American's have 2nd
amendment rights." I been amazed at the venom that has spewed forth, from
gun owners being depicted as being apt to turn one day into a baby-killer to
anti-gun enthusiasts being labeled communists. To me it's absurdity at the
expense of the memory of innocent people.
Fact
is, and it is a sad fact, such atrocities as happened at Sandy Hook will likely
happen again, because mentally disturbed people will still do horrible, crazy
things.
Personally,
I do not like guns. My sister took her own life with a hand gun. I will forever
be haunted by the question that if it hadn't been in her possession at the
time, would she have made the hasty, rash and deadly decision she made, or
could she have waited and been reasoned with. I'll never know. As I said, I do
not like guns, but I know that there are people, who are law-abiding, mentally
whole, and who enjoy collecting, owning, trading, shooting, and working on
guns. My sister was one of them.
So I
must ask myself, should my feelings and dislike for guns out weigh another's legal
right to pursue his or her own enjoyments and hobbies?
I know
that guns are deadly, but so are other things; like neglecting the mentally ill...while we argue about (and spend great
amounts of money on) guns.
This week has had both difficult and joyous days. I joined
with others watching the children of our church perform their Christmas play on
Sunday night. My heart was warmed and blessed and I was so thankful for them. Then
there was Friday; the day a near same number of children was torn from their Connecticut
families in a horrific massacre.Such contrasts
overwhelm us, least it does me.
Certainly I was as stunned as everyone else with the
senseless carnage that was wrought on such innocent and helpless people by a
confused and disturbed man…boy.
Being a pastor, I have searched for appropriate words to
say, but mostly I have just been led to weep and pray for all of those effected. No
matter, for it seems that there are plenty of people who have plenty of words to
say.
Off-handedly I caught the comments of a FOX news anchor who
said this: “Many people who do not profess faith, always seem to reach for it
in times like these.” I thought to myself, well of course they do. What else is
there? Will cracking down on gun laws help the grieving heart? Will a
presidential visit make it all better? Will a thousand new mental institutions
with hundreds of new treatments restore what has been lost?
People may check the “none” box for religious affiliation on personal information
sheets, but when their very lives have been broken beyond belief, God is to whom they
turn. There is nowhere else to go, is there?!
Today I’m very much in prayer for the clergy people who are
conducting the funerals of those who died. I cannot imagine conducting 7
funerals in one week as I heard Father Weiss, of St. Rose of Lima in Newtown is
charged with doing. God help all who are serving these families. May God have
mercy and bring steadiness, strength and the grace of Christ to all.
Today, I am revisioning the little ones who died. They are with the Lord. I know that beyond any doubt. Even though I did not know them at all, I'm thankful for their lives. I am also thankful for the grace to know that God loves them and has them tucked safely in his arms. May I also have the grace to know that God loves Adam Lanza, and through that same grace may I forgive him for what he did to the innocent little ones.
The bow will be in
the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between
God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures. Gen 9:16 (CEV)
You can ask Ed, my husband, and he will tell you I am
crazy about rainbows. Of all the physical phenomena that appear in the sky from
time to time, I love them the best. As he knows, I will run him all over the beach just
to see one over the water, or anywhere for that matter.
I’ve seen a lot of rainbows because I know when they will
normally appear. They will pop up when the sun is at or close to the horizon
and shining towards the water in the eastern sky. This happens just after a
storm passes from west to east and the sky has cleared in the west and is still
cloudy in the east.
Frequently I have seen rainbows at times when people I
know have passed. That has happened on four distinct occasions, the most
notable was when my sweet aunt Nib died. As we were traveling to her memorial
service, God delivered a brilliant double rainbow. I’ll never forget that one.
Another double one I saw was over the ocean when I was
with my home church on a mission trip in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Did you know
that a double rain bow reverses colors? From indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange, and red to the reverse, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo. I
photographed one of them once.
But, by far the neatest one I’ve seen I saw this morning.
About 7:15am I happened to walk out to the car to retrieve some towels and
looked up to the western sky, and there was a rainbow! It was amazing! No rain, no
late evening storm, nothing usual about it. I ran inside like a freak, grabbed my camera and shot
a picture of it. If you look closely, you can see the second one. It was gone in three minutes.
When I see a rainbow I always think of God’s promise to
the earth, and I am reminded of God’s promises to me. I think I chase rainbows,
because I love to chase God and catch God in one of those creative moments that are
uniquely divine…like this morning when I saw the morning bow in the western sky
when it had not rained at all.
Just coming off of a blessed Thanksgiving holiday and launching headlong into the Advent season can leave a preacher a little breathless. You may be feeling the same way.
The season of Advent, that scurrying, hurrying, flurrying time that comes in the days leading up to Christmas can put even to most sedate and calm person into panic mode as we try to get the many things done that we always do during this time of year.
Since it is the season in which we celebrate the birth of God’s only son, it seems fitting to not only think about a gift, but really try to give that gift to him. So, it begs the question, what would Jesus like to have for his birthday?
Hum…we give him a lot of things. Christmas parties, special visits to folks where we deliver a song and a Merry Christmas wish, cute plays acted out by equally cute children, big, loud, festive parades, concerts of sacred music, special performances with hand bells, piano, organ and chimes, and last but certainly not least, we buy gifts for each other. We do all this and much more for Jesus on his birthday.
Though I know that Jesus appreciates all that we do in celebration of his birth, I wonder…are these things really what Jesus wants for his birthday. I read a comment this week from a colleague of mine who was wondering the same thing. His idea of a perfect gift for the King of kings was that we take a little time and spend it just hanging out with the Lord of lords. I believe that my friend is on to something here.
What would it look like to just hang out with Emmanuel during this most busy time of year? How about a trip to see the Holy One at the soup kitchen? I’m told he likes to eat there nearly every day. Or maybe we might talk to the Christ child as we listen to Christmas carols all by ourselves in the quiet of the house after everyone has gone to bed. I’ve also heard it said that Jesus lives in the pages of his life’s story found in the Scriptures. We could join Savior of the world there. And I know that during the wee hours of the night, Mary’s sweet Jesus is always there to sit with me as my lonely heart struggles to pray.
Whatever we decide to do this year to honor Jesus’ birthday, may we try to remember that it is our self that Jesus most wants. He wants us. For some crazy reason, he loves us. The love is greater than anything we can even imagine. So to hear from us in the quiet of an evening, morning or mid-day will be exactly what pleases the Lord Jesus on his birthday.
So I say…if that is what he wants, I’m going to try to give Jesus exactly that. I will give Jesus me for Christmas. What will you give him?
Brothers
and sisters, I urge you, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of
the Spirit, to join me in my struggles in your prayers to God for me... Also,
pray that my service for Jerusalem will be acceptable to God’s people...so that
I can come to you with joy by God’s will and be reenergized with your company.May the God of
peace be with you all. Amen. (paraphrase from Rom
15: 30-33 CEV).
Greetings from Morganton, NC
I know. I know. Preachers only work on Sundays. So why do
they need a vacation? Well, since you asked, I'll tell you.No, really, let me explain.
This past week I have enjoyed a Staycation. I stayed at home
in Morganton where Ed and I have our "non-parsonage" house. And I have to say, I needed every minute of
that Staycation. I did the typical
things you do on vacation, visited local attractions: the Mitsubishi dealership
service department (twice), Target, TJ Maxx, Best Buy and various thrift
stores. Went to the movies every night. I ate out and cooked in. I went to bed
early and stayed up late, and slept as long as I wanted to. In other words, I
relaxed and rested.
People who work in church ministry can attest to the non-Sunday
rigors of pastoral life. Though we may not be needed, pastors are on call 24/7.
You may not believe that a preacher is
willing to drop everything at a moment's notice to attend to someone. You may
not get that a pastor's mind and heart is on his or her parish 24/7. But 90% of
the time you would be wrong. Most pastors that I know never stop thinking
about, waiting on, or praying for the individuals of their "flock."
Pastors are called to be present for God's people. They carry
the concern for the state of the people's spiritual health. Pastors hold sacred
the reality of life, death, hell and the grave for the people they serve. The
burden for others rarely leaves a woman or man who has been called to be a
shepherd of God's people.
I, along with anybody who accepts God's call into
pastoral ministry, live for the moment when I know that persons under my
sphere of responsibility are at one with God; that they are okay spiritually;
that they are at peace with God; that they know where they are going when they
die; that they live fearlessly in the light of God's grace. Trouble is, we
pastors only rarely get to experience that moment.
We do catch glimpses of its possibility, in worship, in
times of fellowship, in ministries of outreach, in occasions of learning, and
in moments of prayer. But know? for sure?...well, that is what we think about
and pray about 27/7. That kind of attention, holding so many in one's heart and
mind, believe it or not, wears a person down. It wears a person out. It can
even make a person wonder if they have been truly called to such a life in the
first place.
So from time to time, a preacher needs to be re-created, to
be re-freshed, to be re-called. I am so thankful for my time away this week. I
am thankful that God has been able to touch me once again and recreate,
refresh, and recall me. I am also thankful that God trusts me enough to allow me
to carry the seeds of the gospel; that God trusts that I have a heart worthy of
carrying a pastoral love for God's people. That is the story of my staycation,
and I'm sticking with it.
This month Pisgah UMC engaged in one of the most important ministries we do during the year. Nearly 30 volunteer adults and youth participated in leading, teaching, feeding, and mentoring more than 50 children in Vacation Bible School.
I was truly blessed by seeing the community of believers here at Pisgah pitch in together to promote and celebrate the gospel of our Lord with children of all ages. It was a real and tangible sign of the people of God being Jesus to our kids and to kids from our community.
Being relevant as Jesus’ disciples in the world today sometimes means being able to transform and stretch ourselves. We may need to transform an ordinary educational space into an undersea science lab, or an ancient Palestinian sea shore, or a beautiful music and dance workshop. We may need to stretch to design a fun and relevant environment for kids to learn, play, sing, dance and worship God.
The main goal for VBS this year was to create a space which would allow children to experience Christian values, teachings and people who are committed to Jesus and whose lives are not bland, dreary or boring. Giving children these kinds of experiences will enable them to learn, grow and depend on Jesus all of their lives.
The mission of a church is vital to all that is done. In every endeavor, every worship service, every meeting, every building project, every fellowship event, every outreach opportunity, the mission must be considered. Connecting People to Christ is our mission.
Being relevant to contemporary people is also vital to reaching them for Christ. This past month you have likely noticed that we have placed a video projector in the sanctuary worship space. Some of you may be concerned about this new technology. People have often thought that such technology can have a negative impact on worship, taking attention away from God, preaching or the sanctity of the space. Another complaint that has been voiced in other churches is that such technology is “capitulating to culture” or “watching movies in church.”
While these are honest complaints, they pale in comparison to the need for updated technology in worship. The reason to use current technology is to connect to contemporary people in a relevant way.
In years past, churches only had outdoor toilets. In that era an indoor toilet was the new “technology.” Some church people refused to put toilets inside, “because they felt it sacrilegious to have toilets in the house of the Lord!” (Hamilton. Unleashing the Word. 45.)
As time and culture change it is vital for the church to change too. Otherwise we will be saying (inadvertently) that we don’t care about reaching contemporary people.
As we move through the rest of the year, we will be developing our new technology through finding and training folks to run the software and equipment. As we go through this time we will have typos, glitches, flub-ups and failures. So please, I ask you to bear with us as we train and learn. Please offer your suggestions, your solutions, your ideas, and also tell us what you like. You can use the suggestion box in the narthex or send an email to me.
A growing church is never static, but always seeking ways to transform and stretch into what is needed to reach others…especially contemporary people who are desperate for a meaningful relationship with God.
I believe in my heart that Pisgah folks desire to create a place that is inviting and welcoming to contemporary people. I also believe that Pisgah people are anxious to let them know that we care. God calls each of us to Follow Jesus, Make Disciples and Transform the World.I believe we can follow the calling.
the window sill, the settee for a time and then a bolt from the blue streaks forth followed by thunder a wrecking bent on chaos to thwart my forward movement
sunnier than I have been since snow fell in December enough clover to eat which feels good to my feet yet I need to remember Spring’s unpredictable often unmerciful I stay awake, stay limber
When dogs enter the sheep field kyrie eleison six bowls of dented cars and flowers flattened to the earth crushed to blackened and broken biers If God hates me, then I am lost kyrie eleison Tall grasses twitch in gusts popping past inching them low, lower, lowest. kyrie eleison Bodies, did I say bodies? stiff and cold, gone of breath, beat and beauty is an unreasonable angle to behold. kyrie eleison
