Plastic Santas and Cows for Milking

I just saw a Saturn with a plastic Santa on top of it riding through town.  I dig people who can actually pull off plastic Santas.  As I sit here working on all the things I didn't finish this week I am enjoying watching the people go past.  Earlier a mother came in here with her young daughter.  They just happened to sit by another family with two small children.  I watched as they examined each other and then screamed with joy when their eyes connected.  The little boy was wearing his pj's complete with camouflage rain boots.  The little girl ate only the cream-cheese part of her bagel and put the rest down...it was too boring, I suppose.    They were so excited to meet one another, though they never really said anything at all.  

This morning I've been talking with some folks in Homa Bay, Kenya.  How awesome technology is that I can directly call the folks working for our children's homes.  There's been such good news coming from the centers lately.  Wonderful reports of well-fed and clothed children who are singing praises to God.  Young people achieving success in school.  And on this side of the organization I am overwhelmed by people willing to donate extra time and funds to make sure the children have new t-shirts for Christmas, or to purchase land on which to grow mangoes.  God is so present in my life these days that it is almost overwhelming.  I am so aware of my inadequacies as a Pastor and as the Executive Director of Hearth to Hearth Ministries that it sometimes stops me in my tracks.  Who am I to think I have the abilities to do God's work?  

The truth is that I don't.  I am just like those little children who scream with joy when human connection is made.  I am overcome to know that even when different languages are spoken we can connect with one another through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  If only I were brave enough, I too could scream with delight when I encounter God's work.  

We Christians are so caught up in being right that it makes us ineffective.  The eternal struggle of  "removing Christmas" has been in the news recently.  We cry when our Commandments are forcibly removed from Courts of Law.  We are frustrated when young people have sports on Sundays.  What if it is really just our opportunity to actually sing of God's work and presence?  We don't need a sign or poster to declare that this is still God's world and into it breaks the Prince of Peace.  Do you think the guy with the plastic Santa really cares if someone doesn't like the fact that it's on the top of his car?  I doubt it.  He wants to spread laughter and joy...and if it takes some molded plastic then so be it.  

I think it's time that we recognize and proclaim the active presence of God rather than complain about it being "stolen" from us.  If you want to say Merry Christmas...do it.  If you want to put a plastic Jesus on your car and drive around...do it.  But more importantly let's squeal with delight when the Holy Spirit moves.  Let's be excited about the Christ in each other.  It is up to us to claim the real Joy of Christmas.  

Alice and the gals of Good Samaritan

The joy of my morning came right at the end of one of my phone calls to Kenya.  It came from a wonderful woman named Alice, who serves as a matron of our Good Samaritan Children's Home.  We had a serious conversation which ended with her saying, "I have a cow.  I'm milking a cow right now!"  For Alice and the children for whom she cares the delicious milk of the cow is the presence of the Christ Child: new opportunities for strength, nourishment, and blessing.  Alice's joy overflowed.....does yours?


Today I choose child-like joy...Wahoo!

The Pharisees WERE the good guys UNTIL...

Today I am battling with significance.  Sounds like a weird thing to battle, doesn't it?  It's a battle that I have fought for quite a while.  I want my life to count, I guess.  How?  That's the question.  When I was in high school significance meant involvement, involvement meant a life full of adventure and joy.  The days were significant for this athlete who loved people.  In college significance took great turn when I decided not to continue playing basketball and found myself wondering what God had in mind for my life.  

Then ministry meant significance.  Even the decision and the process led to days of intense journeying with God, soul-searching, and deep discussions with faithful companions.  Anyone who has taken the steps toward ordination in the UMC will know that as you kneel before the Bishop and receive the call to "take thou authority" and enter into full-time, fully-credentialed ministry in the UMC, you really feel like you've accomplished something.  I will always remember that day and the people with whom I shared it.  

A life of local church ministry can give the days a true significance.  It can be an adventure in building relationships with people you never knew you'd meet.  It can mean powerful moments filled with the Holy Spirit, loving Sacred words shared in what could be awkward moments.  

Let me be clear that I'm not speaking of the celebrity type of significance.  I'm not longing to be the next television preacher or anything...(though I do think I'd do pretty well on Survivor).  I am longing to be part of God's work and movement in the world and to know that I've done all I can to leave the world a more loving place than I found it.  I am seriously beginning to wonder if this can happen within the structure and organization of the church.  

In the wake of all of these UMC discussions I have really started to question my life-decisions thus far.  I do not question that God can use my life to bring glory to God's name, or that I have done my best to be faithful to my calling.  It is just that so often life in the church feels quite insignificant.  Ministry can quickly become more about pleasing people and keeping up numbers than it is about the significant call God has placed on all of our lives.    We're called to "go" and share and be like candles that light up the darkness.  We are called to love our neighbors as we would like to be loved.  We are called to be about bringing justice.      

The Methodists began as a movement.  What happens when a movement becomes a "church" and no longer appears to be moving?  What happens when young pastors who have dedicated their lives to this ministry begin to wonder if this is really what God had in mind? We are so caught up in maintaining the "rules" of who is "in" and who's "out" that we sit still. When everyone's more concerned about being right nothing can happen.  (Just look at the Govt.)

I was thinking about the Pharisees today.  I was leading a study on John a while back when we got to joking about how no matter what we read it always ended with the Pharisees showing up and turning things a negative direction.  Jesus would do something amazing...the Pharisees would show up and be angry.  Jesus would heal in a miraculous way...and the Pharisees would miss the miracle because it was the Sabbath.   The Pharisees had always been the good guys.  They knew the rules and they did their best to get the people to stay within the boundaries of faith.  They were good until something better came along...the one who cared more for the person than for the rules.  The Christ, who broke down all social barriers in order that all people know the love of God, the power of forgiveness, and the way to eternal life.  Jesus didn't ask for credentials first and then work, he allowed the Spirit to work through him for all.  

People were excited about Jesus...they're not so excited about the church.  People were willing to die for their faith...we fight about the color of the carpet and the music choices on Sundays.  Significance comes in moving with the Spirit, responding to God's call and Jesus's example.  

I want to be significant.

Doing the Splits.

Have you ever tried to convince someone that loves the King James version of the Bible that it's not really the most accurate translation?  Show them an NIV, or heaven-forbid, a copy of The Message and you might be facing an exorcism.  It's like trying to get the guy with the bullhorn to put it down.  You know that guy, right?  We have one of him at the Cherry Festival. He has signs and hands out tracts and everything.  He yells at people to make sure they get scared of hell enough to believe in Jesus.  You can't reason with this guy.  He won't listen because he KNOWS he is right....after all he's convicted by the Holy Spirit.  (If you've never seen the Nooma film "Bullhorn" you should watch it).


In thinking so much about the UMC and recent events and conversations, along with my presence at the Conference Leadership team meeting for W. MI today I continue to wonder if a denominational split is looming.  There is so much fear around this idea, that splitting would cause such a disruption and be so painful to the overall UMC.  I'm starting to wonder if a split would actually allow both parties to do things much more quickly.  Otherwise we're just trying to convince one another that the Holy Spirit has empowered us with the "right" solution, "right" way of thinking, a special understanding or conviction of the definitions and ranking of sin, and God's sheer disappointment at those who disagree with us.  


I am no Wesleyan scholar but I do have a basic understanding of John's desire to change the way things were back in the Anglican Church.  He wanted the Gospel to be practical and available to everyone.  It wasn't about creating a new establishment or power structure.  It was about a movement.  It wasn't about a heirarchical model of leadership, it was about a guy and his buddies who rode horses and preached outside about the power of grace.  (No bullhorn necessary).


I vote that we start a new movement.  No one needs to be in charge.  This movement focuses on loving people into a relatinoship with Christ.  It involves doing our best to meet people's deepest longings and needs.  It doesn't involve building huge structures or polishing our shoes.  It's about getting serious about movement...


I think we could call this the rUMC....UMC Revised.


Who's in?

Getting to the HEART of the matter...

I began my morning today by fielding a phone call from one of my favorite people, the Lutheran pastor from Lake Ann.  I am blessed to share this community with Pastor Justin and he is often a friend with whom I can discuss theology and church life.  Our call this morning was two-fold....1st, Justin needed to use the gym for his son's baseball practice....and 2nd, he wanted to know what is going on in UMC-land.  I told him that today was going to be an important day for the UMC and a bit about the nature of the discussions to take place.  His reply was, "We [ELCA] did it.  We lost congregations...but now we are moving along."  He didn't actually say that the decision to ordain all people called to ministry (regardless of their sexual orientation) was painless or helpful, but he did feel confident that the ministry of the ELCA has only gotten stronger.  Then he reminded me that the UMC and the ELCA are in full-Communion, which means that we can pair up for worship services and Holy Communion.  In fact, we've done this many times when our two congregations worship together.  This seems an interesting option considering votes taken today affirming the current wording in our Book of Discipline (our rule book) that clearly states homosexuality is a practice incompatible with Christian teaching.  

I want to be clear here...I'm not writing this to get your opinion on the issue of homosexuality/clergy/ordination/or Scripture.  This is not a fight I even have the stomach for tonight.  I'm writing because I have some serious questions about what lies at the root of this decision today.  Definitions of sin aside...what lies underneath these decisions?

If you've followed the buzz today you may have heard a response from our Grand Rapids DS.  After having experienced what took place this morning she spoke of her sorrow on behalf of the young people for whom inclusion is not even a question, or an issue.  This is my paraphrase, and my interpretation anyway.  

Ever since I became an official pastor in the UMC I have repeatedly heard, "We need more young people....we need more young pastors....what are you doing to grow the number of youth in your church..."  Too many times to count I have been able to stand as I hear "If you're in this room and you're under the age of 40 please stand......"  We are in real trouble when we look around and realize that before long we aren't going to have enough pastors to fill churches.  We are in even more trouble when we examine the downward slide of  young folks attendance and participation in the UMC.  

Is our stance on homosexuality what is causing our slow (and painful death?)  Are young people staying away because we just can't get our minds wrapped around the idea that sexual preference does not define a human being?  I was asked earlier tonight (thank you Zach) some other tough questions.  How would you answer these in light of recent General Conference events?

• From your point of view, what motivation might a young to-be clergy person have to progress through the UMC's extensive educational and denominational hoops if there is no guarantee of a job, and policy keeping them from fully expressing their ministry of inclusiveness and love?

• What reason might you suggest for other non-clergy ministry professionals (who have fewer stakes) to stay with the UMC
long-term if the denomination is clearly set decade after decade against inclusive loving ministry?

These questions are worthy of discussion.  What is at the heart of this issue...what are the consequences?  Immediately following the release of this information many of the seminary students...soon to be future UMC pastors had posts about getting out now, switching denominations...giving up on a system that seems unaffected by voices crying out in the wilderness.  
My stance on these issues continues to be transformed as God continues to work within me.  I serve a church where the decisions made today will be celebrated and find myself in the mystery of ministry as the Holy Spirit challenges us to do ministry together.  More and more I see how the political realm of the world is only mirrored in the politics of the denomination I  have chosen to serve.  I wasn't naive enough to think that disagreement wouldn't exist...but I do believe that no matter what the issue, we as Christians are called to respond with an attitude of love and respect.  Perhaps the most detrimental thing that has occurred (in my reading) at General Conference is the ability for those who serve God to speak without these two foundations of Truth.
Tonight I don't know what to think.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve God here in Lake Ann.  I'm grateful for some amazing, intelligent colleagues.  I'm grateful that I'm not responsible for judging anyone else's behavior, sin, or place in God's Kingdom.  My heart hurts however, for those who feel they do not have a place in a church/movement that began for that very reason, to spread the Gospel to all people.  

Riding the Fence can be PAINFUL.

I posted on facebook a little earlier this evening and have received some wondering.  I expected that.  A couple of years ago I was asked to preach at our Annual Conference gathering.  While this was a huge honor, I must admit that I was pretty terrified all at the same time.  I've always understood a large part of my call to ministry to be grounded in the joy of encouraging others in their calls to do ministry in the world (whether it be to ordained ministry, or that deeply sacred ministry that happens during most people's everyday lives).  Two years ago I headed to conference with a sermon all written and tidied up.  I thought it was a good sermon. 

As I sat through our normal proceedings that year, engaged in times of worship with my fellow UM's, ate meals and had lots of "parking lot" conversations I began to realize that my sermon stunk.  I found myself in the midst of people who longed to have the power structure of the church reversed.  I heard tale after tale of power struggles and of good pastors who would not receive appointments because their family's needs could not also be met in their Cabinet-appointed location.  I knew that the Spirit was calling me to speak from the heart and from my love of the UMC and Wesleyan theology.  Pastor's needed to hear that they were not a disappointment to God, that a decrease in church attendance or professions of faith was not necessarily because their specific ministry was ineffective.  I believe that in many ways we are now reaping the consequences of  years led by a broken organizational system.  I was used by God that day (I hope and pray) to encourage those people who live and minister and care in the often mysterious trenches of ministry.  I'm pretty sure that I even told the Bishop he could jump off a bridge and no one in our local church would notice....but if all the pastors in all the small burgs that house UMC's were to vanish, the world we be a different place...Christ's hands and feet would be less effective.

My first year in ministry my District Superintendent told me I was "too idealistic."  He said that because I held high expectations for my fellow pastors.  At that time I believed so much in the process, in the structure, and in the future of the church I am called to serve.  I am idealistic I suppose....I believe that the power in the UMC (and in any large denomination) is found at the local level, in the nitty-gritty details of local church ministry, chaplaincy, etc.  I believe that pastors need to feel empowered, encouraged, and cared for by those who hold superior positions within the organizational structure.  I believe that we can only be stronger when we include all people, all points of view,  all races, lifestyles, ages, and ideals.  We don't all have to agree with each other but we do have to recognize that  in the creation of each person God has done a mighty work, and that each person (regardless of our opinion) has been made in the very image of the God we love and trust.  Our system continues to do all it can to uphold a structure of power that is not only killing our churches, but preventing us from accomplishing our mission to transform the world while  "making disciples of Jesus Christ!

As I sit in the small village of Lake Ann tonight, my heart is troubled for my church.  I pray this struggle I feel is not one of selfish motivation or preservation.  I am definitely no expert when it comes to understanding what is happening in Tampa at our General Conference, though I have been excited about the possibilities that exist as the leaders and delegates of the UMC gather for discernment and vote-taking on legislation that could truly lead the UMC boldly into the future.  I must admit that I have not been glued to my computer watching the live-feed of the events and discussions.  I have only read snip-ets  of decisions, heartfelt testimonies and confessions, and the blog posts of the delegates from W. MI.  I recognize that the Spirit is at work, opening perspectives and offering healing.  Unfortunately I also recognize that riding the fence on huge issues will only perpetuate the downward spiral in which we currently find ourselves.  As a whole we sit on opposite sides of the table regarding huge issues, often led by the fear that comes with change.  How will we move forward?  Can we move forward when every side claims that the Gospel says....
Maybe we need to start with reading the Gospel again...

"A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another."  John 13:34

If we are true to the Spirit's leading, true to the discernment process are we not all changing and in a constant state of transformation in the Spirit?  It's when we think we've arrived, that our way is the only way, that we get stuck.  We are stuck, aren't we? 

Historically the Methodist's have played a large role in taking strong stands in the name of justice.  These days it seems we are the last to move towards inclusion and accountability.  We even struggle to have respectful, open, honest conversations with people who share different viewpoints.  Our nation and political climate are a reflection of the polarized state of the church.  "In the name of God, I'M right" is no longer an acceptable way of moving forward, reaching people with God's love, or transforming the world.  I am challenged by many to be bold, to use my voice, and I feel frustrated that using my voice could actually make me a victim of this system as it has many of my colleagues.  Because we are appointed under the auspices of a cabinet and bishop, should we "use our voices" they may just come back to haunt us.  What avenues are there other than to write legislation that will be dismissed because it may alter the way we currently do business?

I love the UMC....and I am a United Methodist to my core.  I believe in our theology.  Unfortunately we are so busy trying to find ways to entice people into our churches that we have seemingly set that theology aside on many occasions.  Perhaps instead of transformation what we need is reformation.

I'm ready to be reformed.  Sign me up for the big horse and let me ride.

The Fog.

Ever feel like everyone else has it all together and you're still trying to figure it out?  I've been struggling with that a bit lately.  This thing called ministry is such a mysterious beast.  Just when I think I am getting a handle on it, just when I'm about to declare success, I find myself shrouded in the dense fog of trying to get people excited to worship God.  Just when I think our church is offering that program that's going to catch everyone's attention I realize that nobody really needs another thing to attend.  In the meantime I'm certain, I mean CERTAIN, that God is in our midst...and that makes it exciting.  


Within the mystery lies the opportunity.  Within the fog lies a clarity that only comes when I'm using my "God-vision" to see the people that trouble me the most.  As I look around at what the other churches are doing, as I compare myself with the pastors I respect and admire I can get to thinking that I must lack faith or wisdom as I try to lead my flock as I believe God desires.  


I'm SO grateful that throughout the history of God's people God has chosen to use the less-than-perfect to do great things.  I want to do great things in the name of the Kingdom.  I want to be the fragrance of Christ in the stinkiest of places.  I want to have the faith to be less concerned about myself and more concerned about what opportunities God is placing in front of me.  


Tonight I pray that God would help me to have immeasurable "humble-confidence" as I yearn to be the pastor God has created me to be.  I pray that I will live fully into that call and not get caught up in the struggles of comparison and fear.


May the roller coaster ride continue!

Knots

When I first started in ministry I was so excited that I couldn't wait to help out in every possible way. I love people, so much of my time was spent visiting and praying with my parishioners. I was given charge of the youth group, something I was used to having served as a director of youth and children's ministry while in seminary. In the midst of the joy of practicing ministry I found my preaching voice and reveled in the mystery of The Spirit's movement in the lives of the people I had quickly grown to love.

I heard warnings of pastor burn-out and keeping life and vocation separate. I remembered the voice of my Church Administration prof saying repeatedly, "pastors should not make friends with those in their churches.".And oh so quickly, and without recognition I found myself breaking the unwritten pastor rules that have been handed down through the ages.
Has the role of pastor changed or am I just doing it wrong? I believe that the people in my congregation want to know that their pastor is a real person just like they are, one who struggles with living as Christ calls in the midst of this world. The pastor-pedestal is not for me! Besides, I'm too uncoordinated to be set up high. That's too far of a tumble for me.

Sometimes I feel like I'm in a knot trying to balance all the loose ends of ministry, friendships, family, and keeping healthy my own soul. Inevitably someone gets the short end of the stick and the strings unravel a bit. As many pastors are, I too am a grand people pleaser. This causes the knot to get tight once on a while when I realize that I am neglecting a friend, my family, or have dropped the ball on follow-through with a parishioner.

One of my friends recently posted a status in Facebook that asked this: "Is the way you are doing ministry destroying the God in you?". A profound question that should be easily answered with a resunding NO, but in my life could often be answered with a humble yes.

Ministry in the midst of The Bread of Life can leave me starving if I get caught up in knots. It's the knots of doubt and people pleasing that destroy the image and work of God in me, and in turn destroy my ability to see God in another. The irony of all of this is that it occurs under the great umbrella of loving God who simply desires my adoration, faith, and worship. How did that become so complicated, anyway?