Reminder of the Call

   January 1, 2009 is an anniversary.  You see, on December 31st 1998, I went to bed with a prayer that God would make himself real to me.  The next morning, I awoke to what I have described as the scene in the Wizard of OZ, when Dorothy opens the door from her house to OZ.  It was the movement from black and white to color.  That morning, I awoke to God's technicolor in my life.        Ten years later, my life is very different because of that prayer.  I'm ordained and I'm serving under appointment in the North Carolina Annual Conference.   What a difference a decade makes.     

    My prayer today is that God will make himself real again.  To open doors I didn't expect.  To visit the equivalence of OZ.  To meet the people like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion again.  Actually, they all exist in our churches.  Would that we as pastors be willing to share the journey with them to the Emerald City.  Isn't that the call of pastors, living in communities that seek God.  

   My prayer during 2009 is that all pastors, myself included, live into God's reality not their own.  God's plans are better than ours any day!

Betwixt & Between

    So New Year is almost upon us--at least the secular new year. New Year in the Church began at Advent. What New Year resolutions will you make? What habits will you change this year?
   We live betwixt and between the Advents of Christ. Which are we closer to--the first or the second? Depending on your doctrine, it could be the second.
   For me, I'm living in a betwixt and between time.  I know I will move in June (yes, we Methodists like our summer trips to be across the conference to somewhere new).  I'm engaged in my ministry, but I don't look to start things as much as prepare things for new leadership.  Everyone wants to know where I'm going.  Speculation is a worthless commodity.  I've come to realize that I want certain things in the next appointment, but I'm reminded by the Holy Spirit of the Wesleyan Covenant prayer:
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Perhaps the New Years Resolution is to pray the prayer in earnest and live the prayer faithfully.

Happy New Year

Wisdom Reminder

From Tim Keel's blog (http://www.timkeel.com/timkeel/)
"The monastic perspective can assist us specifically with regard to understanding the value of community. Imagine for a moment that the people you encounter at home, work, or school are the very people God has given you to pray with, eat with, and play with for the rest of your life. And you are supposed to thank God for this, every day, several times a day. This is what monastic people take on. And what they've learned from this particular asceticism, in attempting to live in peace with themselves and with others, may constitute their greatest gift to us. How radical to think that we can best know ourselves by embracing commitment, not rejecting it; by relating to others, not callously relegating them to the devilishly convenient category of 'other.'"

From Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.

'Nuff said!

Getting It Right!

Get two or more pastors in a room and roll out this request, "Tell me about your church." Invariably one or more of the pastors will begin to regale the others with what is wrong with their church. I know, I've been on both sides of that statement. Most of the time, this refrain is added, "They just don't get it." It stands for a myriad of shortcomings.
However, tonight--TONIGHT, St Paul got it right.
Tonight was the end of the fall semester Spirit of St Paul Wednesday night dinners and programs. More about Spirit of St Paul another post.
Here's the point of tonight. We invited 40+ students from a local elementary school to our Wednesday night program. We had a couple teachers as chaperones. In addition, we had approximately 160 of our own men, women, youth and children at the event. We served the kids first, sat them at the front of the room at reserved seats. Several of our youth acted as table monitors helping the kids with dinner and dessert.
Afterwards, we had Santa Claus come and read "The Night Before Christmas" to everyone there. Then, all of the kids from the school received a gift bag with small toys, mittens, a ginger bread man and a copy of "TNBC." Several of the kids had never been to a church before. Several were taken to our sanctuary to see it. After the evening, the kids were taken back to school to their parents.
For one evening, the focus of the evening was not about us or our kids, but the least, the lost and the lonely. For a church more willing to write a check instead of getting our hands dirty, this is the start.
Tonight, they got it right--it is better to give than to receive. Amen!

Paying Out

For all you Methodist pastors, here's a thought.

Over the last couple months, we've had this internal conversation in our church about the budget. It seems that September panicked everyone about giving. We dropped tens of thousands that month over last year. As such, we've looked at the budget, tried to figure what we could do without over the period and looked to limp into the new year where all of a sudden, we will have money that we don't have now.

Over the last couple months, the question that has resonated with laity and staff is, "Are we going to pay out?" In other words, are we going to pay our apportionments in full by the end of the year. Apportionments are the funds that support the structure of the UMC. Paying 100% is so important that it's on the pastor profile we fill out each year. Bringing people to Christ is good, preaching sermons are good, providing discipleship to others is good, however, don't pay your apportionments, no gold star by your name on the pastor profile.

So we're worry that we might not "pay out."

Question: Is the focus on paying out or on discipleship? In my naive and simple way, I believe that giving even in an era of economic stress is a spiritual issue not a financial one. Many times, we frame the debate in terms of obligation. In order for us to meet our budget, we need you to give X amount. Perhaps that mindset should be framed in terms of generosity.

In John's gospel, God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son. "Only begotten" seems to imply all. Or the widow's mites. Jesus remarked about giving her all. Jesus speaks of an abundant life--does it come from obligation or generosity? Which fuels the abundant life?

In other words, if we give out of our generosity, will we worry about "paying out"? Hmm?!

Can I get a witness

Ben Witherington has this video on his blog. Any pastor who has been a pastor for more than a year has a wedding story. Or several. One of mine occurred out of high school. (No I was not a pastor yet) The young couple wrote their own vows. When the time for the vows cames, the bride (an angel) recited her. The groom promptly forgot his and replied, "WOW!" We were on the floor.
Or there was the wedding in the mountain in college in a small Baptist church on the side of the mountain. It was hot that day, no air conditioning--just funeral home fans (this was 1979!) What made the wedding was the bridal march played over busted speakers--"Here Comes the Bride" sounding like Thomas Edison had produced that version.
Ah, weddings!

Can I Get A Witness

Ben Wetherington has this video on his blog.  Any pastor who has been a pastor for more than a year has a wedding story.  Or several.  One of mine occurred out of high school.  The young couple wrote their own vows.  When the time for the vows cames, the bride (an angel) recited her.  The groom promptly forgot his and replied, "WOW!"  We were on the floor.  

Or there was the wedding in the mountain in college in a small Baptist church on the side of the mountain.  It was hot that day, no air conditioning--just funeral home fans (this was 1979!)  What made the wedding was the bridal march played over busted speakers--"Here Comes the Bride" sounding like Thomas Edison had produced that version.  

Ah, weddings!  

Simple is NOT easy

So I begin to blog this past summer.  Four blogs then silence.  Blogging is simple.  Put thoughts on a screen and push publish.  But no blogs for several months.  

Or trying to change my life--loose weight, get organize and live abundantly.  Sounds simple.  But it's not.  

Perhaps the problem in the Church is that we are more attuned to easy rather than simple.  Simple takes time to master.  We like easy.  We like to push the easy button and magic occurs.  Simple is different.  Simple requires practice.  Ah, perhaps that's the missing word, practice.  Practice implies effort, repeatability and sustainability. 

The more I'm part of a church community, the more I'm beginning to believe that the Church is not lacking in orthodoxy as much as orthopraxis.  What the church as understood and done for centuries are the spiritual disciplines.  Wesley called the means of grace--study, pray, etc.

Disciplines require effort, repeatability and sustainability.   

This thought resonated with me earlier today.  I go to the gym to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes and 15 minutes on an elliptical walker.  I don't like to go.  However, the accountability of having to loose 5 pounds by Sunday, December 7 and weigh in front of the congregation drives me forward.  Call it shame!  It works.  I'm within 2 pounds and possibly will close the gap in the next couple days with good dieting and exercising.  Disciplines.  Simply though not easy.  

Let's shoot for simple instead of easy.

Clutter

So it's been nearly 5 months since I wrote.  With the exception of one individual, the world hasn't missed my profundity.  

Why the silence?

Nothing to write, hardly.  

Nothing to say, hardly.

Perhaps it is the realization that my life has way too much clutter.  Having spent 1/2 day in a time management class in November, I have learned that clutter is delayed decisions.  

Sadly, my life is crammed full of closets and boxes and tubs of delayed decisions.  Sadly, most of us are encased in clutter.  What decisions have we put in closets, boxes and tubs to delay the decision.  Paul writing the Corinthians speaks of the day of salvation--a time of decision.  

Perhaps today is the day of decision making.  I know that over the last several months, I've wrestled with the need to make decisions and live out those decisions.  More about those in the coming days.  

However for today, perhaps the most important decision is to profess and believe, "Come Lord Jesus!"  Welcome to Advent!!