tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102173022024-03-18T00:54:39.480-05:00Enter the RainbowI believe that the conversation matters. If in the attempt to realize the reign of God on earth, we cannot engage one another in respectful and grace-filled dialogue, we might as well not even try.Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comBlogger974125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-81552206438256134352024-03-17T09:54:00.000-05:002024-03-17T09:54:22.493-05:00"They Shall All Know Me"<p>"You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." - Indira Gandhi</p><p>The fifth Sunday in Lent invites us to open up to what God has to give us, if we will allow ourselves to do so. </p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><p><i>...this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. </i>(Jeremiah 31:33-34)</p></blockquote><p> I love the symbol of the raised, clenched fist. It is a symbol of protest, of resistance. A raised fist says, "I shall not be moved." There are times to raise our fists in the face of evil, injustice, and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves.</p><p>But there are other times we clench fists. We do so to fight, to punish, to protect ourselves from our enemies and close ourselves off. We clench fists and flex to warn, to show that we intend to do harm. Fists clenched in anger and animosity are very different from fists raised in resistance.</p><p>It is difficult to receive an offered gift with clenched fists. Impossible to shake hands. Clumsy to caress a cheek. Bizarre to blow a kiss. </p><p>The prophet Jeremiah wants us to know that God has something to give us, a new covenant, an unmediated connection, a true relationship. And apparently, God intends to just write it on our hearts, so that there will truly be no "haves" and "have-nots" in God's family. Every single one of us is getting this gift, given freely and directly from God.</p><p>Are we ready to receive it? Are we open to it? Are our hands, hearts, minds, voices ... are we uncovered and emptied out, laid bare and vulnerable enough to actually receive what God is offering us?</p><p>At our best, the church is a community in which it is safe to unclench our fists, to receive one another, to embrace our siblings without fear of judgment or betrayal. We don't always attain that way of being, of course. But we're working on it. Some would even call it "Reign of God" work, which is (as followers of Jesus know) already among us.</p><p>God has something to give us. All of us. ALL of us. (Did I say "all" of us?") Grace isn't something that God gave <u>you</u> and now it is up to <u>you</u> to give it to everyone else. "They shall all know me!" God has given everyone this amazing gift, and all <u>you</u> have to do is realize that, recognize it, and celebrate it. </p><p>My prayer for you on this Fifth Sunday in Lent is that you would open yourself up to God, and allow yourself to receive the life-changing gift God is giving you. And then, to understand the implications of this profound truth - God is doing the very same thing for each and every person you encounter.</p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-17623798032001166572024-03-10T13:40:00.001-05:002024-03-10T13:42:45.372-05:00"Look at the serpent of bronze and live"<p> The fourth Sunday in Lent is a reminder that God is with us.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” </i>(Numbers 21:5)</p></blockquote><p>The complaint came to Moses as the people were making their way through the wilderness, having been liberated from slavery in Egypt but having not yet arrived in the Promised Land. There were some mixed feelings among the people, naturally. I'm sure there was a lot of joy for being free, and at the same time a lot of anxiety and fear; they knew neither where they were going, how long the journey would take, nor what to expect when they got there.</p><p>And so, they complain. Naturally.</p><p>Many have noted the contradiction: the people complain <u>both</u> that there is no food <u>and</u> that the food tastes terrible. This, of course, is more than just a fun detail of the story. The contradiction means that the complaint wasn't really about food. Theirs was a fear they could not articulate, for it was too big, too complicated, too difficult to name. And so, they complained about the food.</p><p>What happened next is so strange, it is almost comical. The Bible says that the Lord sent poisonous snakes that bit the people, killing many of them. And though there is nothing in the text that explicitly indicates a causal connection, we cannot help but read the killer snakes as a consequence of the people's complaining.</p><p>In response to the snake predicament, God has Moses make a snake out of bronze and attach it to a pole. The idea is that people look at the snake on the pole and they won't die from the snake bite. "Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live." </p><p>If we are being honest, this is completely hilarious and bizarre to think about. It offends our 21st century scientifically informed perspectives. Which is, of course, precisely the point. It is a mistake to try to resolve that offense, to ease that tension. There is something to learn there; it is the space into which the Holy Spirit speaks.</p><p>That snake-on-a-pole makes another appearance in the Hebrew Bible, when King Hezekiah was cleaning up the temple:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>He removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole. He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehushtan.</i>(2 Kings 18:4)</p></blockquote><p>It seems that the bronze snake had become more than a reminder of God's presence. It had itself become the object of worship. The people had forgotten the iconic, sacramental identity of the bronze snake. They had forgotten what the bronze snake pointed to. "Nehushtan" just means "a thing made out of brass." </p><p>Rev. Dr. Katie Nix says that "the sin of this story is the belief that the people knew what they needed better than God did." It is always helpful to remember that God is God, and that we are not. And this is especially true during wilderness times.</p><p>In times of high anxiety and fear, when the future is uncertain, we rely on tangible reminders of God's presence. We lean into means of grace - prayer, worship, an image to look at or an object to hold, those kinds of things - as a palpable touchpoint that functions sacramentally, reminding us of God's active presence within, among, and around us.</p><p>And these objects or actions are so very helpful, but they are just reminders. The reality to which they point is much, much bigger. It is easy to slip into thinking that God isn't present when things are unfamiliar. When we are worshiping in a different sanctuary, or when we are grieving the loss of one dear to us, or when the very pattern of human interaction seems so completely different than it was a decade ago. </p><p>It is in times like those that we cling to the bronze snake up on the pole and forget why Moses made it in the first place. So remember, this Lent, that God is with you always, everywhere, at all times. We may be afraid, anxious, uncertain, and yet the things around us are but <i>nehushtan</i>, and that God is present with us no matter where we are, no matter when it is, and no matter what. </p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-17027490531999046022024-03-03T13:33:00.004-06:002024-03-03T13:35:26.911-06:00"I Am the Lord Your God"<p>The third Sunday in Lent invites us to remember the story.</p><p>Exodus 20 is one of the two places in the Bible where we read what are commonly known as "The Ten Commandments," and it is the appointed lectionary text for this week.</p><p>In the past I have been asked if I support the posting of "The Ten Commandments" in public places. My answer has always been the same. Unequivocally no. But maybe not for the reason you think.</p><p>To be sure, posting "The Ten Commandments" in public places is problematic because the "public" who occupy those places do not all ascribe to the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that should be reason enough. But for me there is another compelling reason to avoid the practice.</p><p>Posting "The Ten Commandments" in public places separates them from the story. It relegates them to a mere list of things not to do, rather than a chapter in the story of God's love for God's people in the world.</p><p>Writing on Exodus 20, Terrence Fretheim points out that "This covenant is a specific covenant <b><i>within</i></b> the already existing covenant with Abraham." The story had already begun, and was entering a new chapter. The beginning of Exodus 20, before the "commandments" themselves, is as important as the rest, and maybe more so:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"Then God spoke all these words, </i><i>“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery..."</i></p></blockquote><p>The people are already "God's people" by the time they get to Mount Sinai. The story has already begun. God has already been at work to save the people, to redeem them from slavery in Egypt. In that sense, these "commandments" are not given as a way to earn God's favor. It isn't: "Do these things and God will love you." Rather it is: "God loves you so much and in response you should do these things."</p><p>Too often, we approach the commandments of God as if they are video game maneuvers. If we jump up on these platforms in this particular sequence and collect up these specific coins, we will be rewarded by advancement to the next level. But the love of God doesn't work like that. </p><p>We are <u>already</u> in relationship with God. God created us. God has chosen us. God has set us free. And God is here, in our midst. </p><p>That is our story, the story of our relationship with the Lord. But not only ours. It had already begun by the time we show up. And the story will continue long after we are gone. May we remember the story, and live in gratitude for our small part of it.</p><p><i></i></p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-17471056178372957372024-02-25T09:29:00.003-06:002024-02-25T09:35:34.974-06:00"Sarah Shall Be Her Name"<p><i>"...Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her and also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” </i>(Genesis 17:15b-16)</p><p>The second Sunday in Lent is an opportunity for transformation. It is an opportunity to rise, a new creation, a phoenix from the ashes. "Sarah shall be her name." It is a renaming, a simple change to a single word, yet that word is so intimately connected to our identity, to our very being. When someone calls your name, they are calling <u>you</u>. </p><p>And for Sarai, it came after nine decades of life. Life with her husband couldn't have been particularly easy. She had to move from her home and wander around for much of her life. The Bible says she was beautiful. In Egypt, her husband asked her to pretend to be his sister in order to save his own life and Pharaoh took her as his own wife. (This story is not included in Vacation Bible School curricula for some reason.)</p><p>And we know that she was unable to have children. One time she devised a plan to ensure that her husband would have descendants; she had him marry Hagar, an enslaved Egyptian woman. It was a whole thing. Suffice it to say it did not end well.</p><p>Is it any wonder that after ninety years of such a life, the opportunity for transformation would elicit a chuckle?</p><p>And yet, there it is. It is literally never too late. The grace of God is always, always, always at work. Maybe you feel a sense that you are settled, established, maybe you feel like your life is a familiar routine that really isn't all that great but it's what you know so you're stuck with it. Maybe you know someone who feels this way. (Tip: You probably do.)</p><p>Maybe you've even come to a point in life where you're not sure who you are any more. You used to know, but little by little you have faded into someone else. It didn't happen all at once but these days when you look at yourself in the mirror there's someone new looking back at you. Someone you barely recognize. Or, maybe you know someone who feels this way. (Tip: You probably do.)</p><p>Maya Angelou said, <i>“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. That in fact it may be necessary to encounter defeat, so we can know who the hell we are. What can we overcome? What makes us stumble and fall, and somehow miraculously rise and go on?”</i></p><p>"It may be necessary to encounter defeat, so we can know who the hell we are."</p><p>Scripture says that "if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!" The Holy Spirit renews and restores so completely that the process is described as a second birth. And the possibility of being born again is an ever-present gift, there for us, waiting our response.</p><p>This Second Sunday in Lent is an opportunity for transformation. The grace of God is an opportunity to hear your name called, as if for the very first time. The grace of God is always working, always calling, always moving. This day is chance to know who you are, to miraculously rise and go on.</p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-13561177088303107122024-02-18T09:02:00.003-06:002024-02-25T08:28:10.985-06:00"I Have Set My Bow in the Clouds"<p> <span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In order to see the rainbow you have to be facing the storm.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0edf4f24-7fff-72b1-a562-e09f859f93c4"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">9 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">11 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">12 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: </span><span style="background-color:; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">13 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">14 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">15 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">16 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">17 </span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Genesis 9:1-17)</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The First Sunday of Lent this year comes with a splash of color. “I have set my bow in the clouds.” It is the rainbow, that miracle of physics that happens when light is scattered by water droplets, diversifying according to wavelength, literally bouncing the white light off of the back of each little droplet and sending it back our direction transformed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For Noah, it is offered as a sign of divine regret. God seems to lament the destruction wrought, and promises it will never happen again. The bow in the clouds is there to remind God (who needs reminding, apparently) of the sacred covenant between all living things and their Creator. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s fitting that, in order to see a rainbow, you have to be facing the storm. Technically speaking, the light source has to be behind you, and the water droplets in front of you. Light shines into the rain, and the rain receives it. Then, thousands … millions of individual droplets take that light and change it, reflect it, and offer it back to us.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As we stand, facing the storm ahead, we know that there is light behind us because we can see that bow in the clouds. The hope, the promise, the assurance of the Spirit - it all comes when we face the storm. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You may be facing a storm right now. If so, face it! And look for the rainbow. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You may know someone who is facing a storm right now. If so, shine your light into their storm with words of encouragement and gestures of love and support. Create a rainbow for them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is an apt metaphor, because at one time or another each and every one of us has experienced a storm of one kind or another. Charles Tindley’s well known him, “Stand By Me,” names it so powerfully.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: w; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When the storms of life are raging, stand by me.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This year Lent begins with a splash of color, God’s promise in the midst of the storm. A promise that God is there with and for us, cares for us, and will be with us through it all. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: ; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In order to see the rainbow you have to be facing the storm.</span></p><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-69116966795023896452024-02-14T08:38:00.002-06:002024-02-14T08:38:16.276-06:00Yet Even Now - Ash Wednesday 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Yet even now, says the Lord,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> return to me with all your heart,</span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-9606468c-7fff-5e8d-32b4-a2f0d83bf511"><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> rend your hearts and not your clothing.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Return to the Lord your God,</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> for he is gracious and merciful,</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and relenting from punishment.”</span></p><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>(Joel 2:12-13)</span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Those three words, “Yet even now…”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Joel has just spent eleven verses describing in poetic elegance the “darkness and gloom” of God’s arrival. The day of the Lord is akin to the invasion of a “great and powerful army” whose destructive power is experienced like a wildfire that utterly devastates everything in its path. The passage ends with a haunting question: “Truly the day of the Lord is great, terrible indeed - who can endure it?”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And then … “Yet even now…”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As bad as it gets, God is still there, calling, soothing, comforting. There is a theological puzzle here, though. The same God whose day is “terrible indeed” is here offering grace and mercy. How is this not a divine description of the cycle of abuse?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is really important to remember that the Bible is inspired by God, not dictated by God. God inspired Joel’s prophecy, and Joel wrote it from his own unique perspective, framed in his own particular view of the world. Joel’s words reflect his experience of and relationship with God.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You and I read a passage like this knowing some things about God. That God is good, and loving, and just. That God offers grace in abundance and life everlasting. When confronted with seemingly contradictory images of God’s identity, what are we to do? Maybe throw one of them out, based on our own comfort level? Maybe leap to the conclusion that the whole thing is fraudulent and throw it all away?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Or maybe hold them in tension, wrestling with the feeling of dissonance that the prophet so deftly illuminates. For me, this is the best approach. And it all hangs on those three remarkable words: “Yet even now.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This Season of Lent begins in a broken and hurting world. War ravages innocent people with relentless brutality. Political figures demean and insult their opponents. Violence seems to be the rule rather than the exception. The climate continues its inexorable slide toward disaster. And on and on. No wonder so many people are anxious, angry, and flat-out exhausted.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the midst of all that, the prophet offers this hopeful word. “Yet even now, return to God. Yet even now, center on the divine within, among, and around us. Yet even now, even when anxiety cripples you and anger rages red and exhaustion drains every bit of energy from your body … yet even now, God is there. Gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. And abounding in steadfast love.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yet even now.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-83079072396338382402021-03-10T16:50:00.001-06:002021-03-10T16:50:16.264-06:00"The Direction of the Church"<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The church staff of the
congregation I serve hears a lot of feedback, as do I. By far, the two most
common themes in this feedback are:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I do not like the
direction the church is moving.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I like the direction
the church is moving but it is not moving fast enough.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For brevity’s sake, I
will summarize the two positions as “Please Stop” and “Go Faster.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it goes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is noteworthy that we
hardly ever hear from people who say “I like the direction the church is moving
and am perfectly content with the pace at which it is moving there.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it goes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have a bit of advice
for you, if you’d hear me. When you are offering feedback about “the direction
the church is moving,” whether that feedback is offered to me, to a church
staff member, to another pastor, or to anyone, please be specific. Please say
exactly what you mean by “the direction the church is moving.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the record, here’s
what I mean when I say “the direction the church is moving.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I mean “closer to God.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I mean in the direction of love. I
mean along the way of sanctification. I mean our cooperation with God’s grace that
draws us ever closer to being perfected in love in this lifetime. I mean
towards fuller inclusion. I mean Exodus, liberation, a direction that takes us
toward the Promised Land. I mean drawing the circle wider, ever wider. I mean
along the arc of the moral universe, bending inexorably toward justice. I mean the
direction of the all-encompassing Gospel of Jesus Christ. I mean outward into
the world as ambassadors of reconciliation. When I say “the direction the
church is moving” I mean the direction of the Holy Spirit, discerned and
embodied in an intentional community of people, all of whom are just trying to
do the best we can with what we’ve got.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if I am serious about moving
that direction, I believe that any and all forms of evil, injustice, and
oppression must be named so that they can be removed from the way. That’s hard
to say, because it includes removing the obstacles that exist within me, also.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, whether you are a “please stop” person
or a “go faster” person, I hope you will be very specific the next time you
talk with someone about “the direction the church is moving.” And specifically,
if you are in the “please stop” camp and the “direction” you are referring to
means working to include more people more fully in the life of the church,
please be very specific about what you believe the consequences of that work
will be.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Go deeper than just, “I don’t like
this.” Go deeper than just, “It breaks the denomination’s rules.” Say out loud
what you believe will happen if your beloved sibling in Christ who happens to
be gay is allowed to get married in your church. Say out loud what you believe
the theological implications are if your dear neighbor whom you love and who is
called to ordination and who also happens to be gay is allowed to be ordained.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Be specific. If you really think it’s
wrong, claim it. Tell me exactly why you believe that working to truly extend God’s
love and grace to all people, rather than just sitting around and talking about
it all the time, is not the right direction for the church to go.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am not being sarcastic. It sounds kind
of like I am, but I’m really not. I truly value all perspectives. And if you
have a perspective to share, I am inviting you to share it with me. “Please
stop” or “go faster,” either one. Don’t make a vague reference to “the
direction of the church.” Tell me. I want to listen. I promise I will hear you.
I may not change my mind about “the direction of the church” or the pace at
which we are moving, but I promise I will hear you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-89235012921442111552020-12-31T08:36:00.004-06:002020-12-31T08:36:23.128-06:00"New" Year?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWtJPSZ-uPgsdvs4D9wmzbP1vI536-Cpw6gUpiQqb6p14bHV7fmuW7JVINSLsVAozWw0bFliKXz27UV-cY8YW1zq2OuN1dvP0b60CKptDv5U8qsoDtWFtfsDkbRV2orE3CXQGcQ/s800/panic-supermarket-due-to-coronavirus-crisis-pandemic-covid-toilet-paper-roll-best-seller-item-vector-illustration-179104179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="800" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWtJPSZ-uPgsdvs4D9wmzbP1vI536-Cpw6gUpiQqb6p14bHV7fmuW7JVINSLsVAozWw0bFliKXz27UV-cY8YW1zq2OuN1dvP0b60CKptDv5U8qsoDtWFtfsDkbRV2orE3CXQGcQ/w238-h161/panic-supermarket-due-to-coronavirus-crisis-pandemic-covid-toilet-paper-roll-best-seller-item-vector-illustration-179104179.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To turn a page on a calendar from one year to the next is often an act of hopefulness. Resolutions are made, slates are cleaned, and new beginnings are … begun. It is an opportunity, albeit an arbitrary one, to breathe deeply and recenter ourselves for what lies ahead.</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-42c067b5-7fff-8916-b0f2-eda3545174b8"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, to turn the page on 2020 and into 2021 feels nothing short of triumphant. We made it! We are through with this most weird and miserable of years!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course as we do so, we have to be mindful of those who cannot make this claim. There is something rather myopic about celebrating “making it through” a year in which 1.8 million people (and counting) died in a global pandemic. There is a certain sensitivity required of us this year, a certain empathy. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So this year we celebrate and lament simultaneously. “New Year’s Eve” 2020 includes both grief and relief. We are able to feel more than one thing at the same time, and this year we feel them all.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And this year, we are more aware of the mundane truth of this “New Year” celebration. Namely, that there is nothing magical about it. There is nothing contained in the January 2021 page of our calendars that will miraculously erase our struggles.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nevertheless, we resolve. We persist. We recenter and take another step. Even though we know it is just an arbitrary number on a calendar page, we embrace the opportunity to become something more. Alfred Lord Tennyson said, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a weird feeling, this knowing and hoping anyway. At times we pendulum swing toward one or the other, alternately drifting toward despair then becoming nearly giddy in the next moment. Weird, isn't it? So it goes.</span></p><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so we turn the page. Happy new year everyone! Embrace the relief </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the grief, the hoping </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the knowing. Let’s figure out what the next step is, and take it together.<br /></span></span>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-38795200349653456182020-09-03T14:17:00.009-05:002020-09-03T14:20:57.975-05:00Tendrils: A Foster Care Transition<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrbply-voWv9XnCgfZbJXW-1noEbsxbdV4GP0lhgmyp_szJN3fYHjbEdnpZfDTznNYGkTqJe1iyOVN1bP6fhBTB8eRaNwu7TYsDjdgTCVtadRfSeoE2JXdKsBO-U4oEzZX4WomQ/s698/tendrils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="698" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrbply-voWv9XnCgfZbJXW-1noEbsxbdV4GP0lhgmyp_szJN3fYHjbEdnpZfDTznNYGkTqJe1iyOVN1bP6fhBTB8eRaNwu7TYsDjdgTCVtadRfSeoE2JXdKsBO-U4oEzZX4WomQ/w200-h140/tendrils.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Some of the them work their way more deeply into your heart than others.<p></p><p>Which means that when they leave, it hurts that much more. It is an extraction. </p><p>Tendrils have entangled and pulling them apart is work. In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem or leaf shaped like a long thread that a plant uses for support and attachment, generally by twining around suitable hosts. These hosts are found by touch.</p><p>In foster care, it is much the same. By twining around suitable hosts. Used for support and attachment. Very often found by touch.</p><p>And then they need to move on, to be transplanted in new soil, and the tendrils have to be removed from the hosts. Some of them release gently. But some of them don't. They're stubborn; they hang on. Some of them rip off and remain. Still connected to the host. Dangling.</p><p>Baby C, there are so many tendrils.</p><p>We met you in the hospital, where you had spent the first two months of your life. Such a little chubbers. Cheeks for days. Fluffy brown hair. Bright, happy eyes. Your nurses had long since fallen in love with you, and we very quickly followed suit.</p><p>We watched you grow through all the "year one" stages. From a bottle, to baby food, to solids. From random movements of your arms and legs, to rolling yourself over, to crawling, to toddling around like a pro. Your first smile. Your first belly laughs. The first time you started mimicking our voices. The words you were learning: "What?!" "Ball." "Gabe!"</p><p>You wanted to be so fierce, with that little growl. (You were not fierce.) Sometimes you would sit at the table and just ... yell. No reason. Just yell. You would often grab a single piece of food from your tray, throw it carelessly onto the floor, and then grab another piece and eat it. Again, why?</p><p>You were learning to throw the ball, but every time you tried to throw it, it ended up somewhere behind you, which really cracked us up. One of your best moves was your "double take" look, looking away and quickly turning back with a gleam in your eye and a little smile on your mouth.</p><p>Speaking of smiles, you smile with your entire face. It is the most amazing smile ever in the history of smiles. When people would see you smile, it just makes them happy, and we smile with you. Don't lose that, C. That quality will come in handy.</p><p>You cried when you were sleepy or when you needed changing. And that was pretty much it. I mean, you got a little crabby after dinner but we took care of that by stripping you down to you diaper, which tended to keep you happy until bedtime.</p><p>And when we would rock you to sleep, you had a habit of reaching up your little hand and touching our faces, your curious fingers exploring mouth, chin, cheeks.</p><p>Tendrils. Twining for support and attachment. </p><p>Around whose heart though? Who is the trellis here?</p><p>And now, you are gone. We were careful with you; we tried to be gentle with your fragility during the process. Tried to protect the roots, the leaves, the tiny tendrils. We think the family you are with now (your family, after all) will be good soil in which you are going to take root and grow into ...</p><p>Into what? </p><p>We might be lucky enough to see. To be a part of your life in a new way and watch you keep growing and learning and becoming. To see how you will blossom. Maybe. It's just that whether that happens or not is not really up to us. So maybe. </p><p>All we know for sure is that we did our best. We loved you as best we knew how. We still do. And you are loved by so many people, C. So, so very many people. What a lucky kid you are, to have so many people who love you so much!</p><p>A foster family's job is to help a kid learn how to attach. And having learned that skill, they will then be able to attach more easily to the people in their forever family when they transition. </p><p>In other words, once they've figured out how to grow tendrils, to touch another with tender dependence, to find a suitable host to twine around for support, taking root in new soil will be much easier for them. </p><p>It's just that some of them work their way further into your heart than others do. And Baby C, you were in deep. </p><p>I love you Lito. I think you are neat-o.</p><p>Oh, inconvenient heart. So quickly filled. So easily broken.</p>Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-89924530750166329852020-07-08T08:13:00.000-05:002020-07-08T08:13:27.347-05:00The Good Samaritan, Covid-19 Edition<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he contracted an
illness that left him with a compromised immune system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now
by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he wore no
mask and did not maintain six feet of distance. ‘I’m not sick,’ he thought,
since he clearly had no symptoms, ‘So there’s really no need.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“So
likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, wore no mask and did
not maintain six feet of distance. ‘Since I am free to choose how to live my
life, I can do as I please,’ he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“But
a Samaritan while traveling with a mask on did not come near him; and when he
saw him, he greeted him with a wave from a safe distance. He asked how the man
was feeling, and if the man needed anything. Then he did not put him on his own
animal since that would have violated distancing guidelines, but rather walked
along the road with him a while, always staying a minimum of six feet away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The
next day he took out two denarii, donated them to Doctors Without Borders, and
said, ‘Thank you for taking care of so many people; and when I come back, I
will donate whatever more I possibly can.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Which
of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands
of the robbers?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He
said, “The one who showed him mercy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
said to him, “Go and do likewise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-53322743112536289972020-06-01T07:33:00.001-05:002020-06-01T07:33:07.441-05:00The Comfort of Chaos<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“...the earth was a
formless void…”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This phrase, in the
well-known first verses of the Bible, engages the imagination, and is worth a
pause for contemplation. We may want to quickly rush to the part where God
turns on the light, but maybe it’s okay for us to linger in the liminal space
of the darkness that covers the face of the deep.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many of us are “fixers;”
we want to identify the problem, develop a plan to correct it, implement the
plan, and move on. A “formless void” needs to be formed, it needs to be filled
in, it needs structure and substance. Nature abhors a vacuum, right?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our impatience is a
product of our sinfulness. We want things done on our time, in our way, by our
own calculations. We forget that we are we and God is God. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This impatience turns us
into our selves by prioritizing our own impulses and thereby away from one
another. When we turn away from our neighbors, we fall short of the vision God
has for this world, that we love one another as Christ loves us. When we turn
away from our neighbors, we are unable to hear them. When we turn away from the
world around us, we lose sight of the Gospel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When things feel
particularly chaotic, as they do these days, I take comfort in these first
lines from Genesis. “The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the
face of the deep.” The comfort comes from the next phrase: “...while a wind
from God swept over the face of the waters.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the formless void,
the Holy Spirit sweeps. Within the impenetrable darkness, the Holy Spirit
broods. In the chaos of the season, the Holy Spirit hovers among us, within us,
and in between us. Therein lies our hope. We are in a liminal space. We are in
a wilderness season. A time of uncertainty and weirdness. And we may be in a
hurry for someone to just turn on the light so we can get out of this
mess. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To be sure, we must not
sit passively, but rather we must actively engage the liminal space of this moment.
We must be fully present to the formless void. We have to become fully aware of
the darkness. We need to look into the face of the deep in order to see the
sweeping presence of the Holy Spirit.</span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-46319417397417889472020-05-25T07:30:00.000-05:002020-05-25T07:30:06.890-05:00Tipping Into Grace<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Things
feel precarious these days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
is the end of May, 2020, and we have been living with a global pandemic for
three months now. Even longer, actually. It feels to me like we are at a
tipping point. It feels to me like what happens in the next few days and weeks
is going to set the next few months in motion, and maybe years. And it feels to
me that it could tip either way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Put
simply, we will either tip into fear and frustration, solidifying the divisions
among us, or we will tip into love and grace, drawing us closer together than
we have ever been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Already
angry protestors carry automatic weapons to capitol buildings to threaten
government officials. Frustrated customers berate store clerks trying to
enforce simple, easy to follow rules. A stylist with Covid symptoms shows up to
work with dozens of clients, and when the story breaks she receives death
threats. And decisions that should be guided by reason and science are guided
by political party affiliation. And so it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
feels precarious, like we are tipping toward fear, anger, and divisiveness. I
just hope it isn’t too late for us to tip back the other way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
get the idea we’re feeling it personally, as well. The weight of these three
months is grinding us down. We are sad, tired, and grouchy. It is hard to
focus. Our relationships are strained. Our hearts are heavy and a weariness has
settled into our bones. And so just at the moment we as a society are hanging
at this precarious tipping point, we lack the personal fortitude to do anything
about it but succumb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
no wonder though, is it? The pressure cooker of this pandemic has slowly
increased over time, squeezing our anxiety until we have reached a point where
it either has to be released or it will explode. Many of us, feeling this
pressure build up, are rushing to restaurants and bars and gyms, foregoing
masks and physical distancing guidelines. Or expressing caustic bitterness on social
media with no empathy or understanding whatsoever. Or eating too much unhealthy
food. Or drinking too much. Or… pick your poison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
is as if we just need a pressure release, and we don’t care how unhealthy it
is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
prayer is that we will figure out a way to tip into love and grace, and become
closer over these next few weeks than we ever have before. And it will take
intentionality, cooperation, and determination to do so. It will take honesty
and good communication and a level of vulnerability not many of us are
naturally comfortable with. It will take trust, lots and lots of trust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
most of all, it will take the Holy Spirit. It will take us surrendering
ourselves to God’s desires and yielding our own wills to the divine. It will
take a renewal of our commitment to our calling to be the church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
refuse to think that it is too late, that we have overbalanced into fear and
anger with no hope of correcting things. I continue to hold on to faith in the
human capacity for love, which is far greater than we sometimes imagine. I
continue to hold on to faith in God’s capacity to redeem and reconcile. This is
a precarious moment, a tipping point. With God’s help, may we choose wisely,
and discover ourselves tipping into grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(And yes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc" target="_blank">this song is on my mind</a> a lot these days.)</span></div>
<br />Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-87054929186752475452020-04-23T11:04:00.000-05:002020-04-23T11:04:02.502-05:00Pandemic Pedagogy<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Things I have learned
during the Season of Weirdness:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 - We can change.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The idea that the church is incapable of change
is a myth. Suffice it to say that myth is thoroughly busted.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2 - It is all us.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> People are the church, not the building or the
pastors or the staff or the membership roll or the budget or the policies,
processes, and procedures. The church is us and there’s no them. Every
congregation is now and forevermore a “multisite” congregation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3 - Belonging is more
important than believing.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Non-essential beliefs, like non-essential activities, have faded into near
obscurity. For the past six weeks, the church has been all and only about “God
is with you no matter where you are” and “God is love” and “Love your neighbor
as yourself” and other such foundational truths. Isn’t it interesting that in a
time during which the term “essential” has become so prominent, the “essential”
doctrines of the church have also?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4 - We need each other.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The categorizing labels of the church are all
but meaningless any more. The lines separating “Evangelical” and “Social
Justice” and “Liturgical” and even “Conservative” and “Progressive” have become
permeable. Individual people and congregations will still lean into a
particular perspective, but those who lean into another are no longer
demonized. We have seen just how interconnected we are, and it will change how
we interact.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5 - Who we are is more
important than what we do.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It has been tricky to “do what we do” as the church, and working to figure all
that out has given us pause to consider why we do all the stuff we do in the
first place. Asking the “why” question leads us inevitably to finding out who
we are. It peels away the layers of irrelevance and reminds us of what truly
matters at the core of our identity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I cannot help but think
that the church will emerge from this “Season of Weirdness” in a better place.
“Stay at home” orders that limit gathering sizes, define essential activities,
and establish personal spacing minimums have compelled the church to do some
deep self examination. I am hopeful that we will have learned a few things in
the process.</span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-91670763512999828102020-04-20T07:41:00.002-05:002020-04-20T07:41:23.525-05:00Tech Support Evangelism<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Evangelism these days
looks more like tech support.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Helping people get
connected with Jesus in a time of “stay at home orders” looks like helping
people get internet access. Inviting people to church looks like “Liking” and
“Sharing” social media posts or creating “Watch Parties.” Sharing the love of
God with a neighbor looks like helping them create a Facebook profile or
walking them through joining a Zoom meeting.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the Easter Season
continues, the call to share the abundant life of Christ with the world is a
call to help those who may not be “tech savvy” become so. Buying someone an
electronic device is the equivalent of driving them to church these days.
Having reliable access to the internet is a social justice issue now more than
ever. The skillset to navigate online content is a spiritual gift. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of the things we
have done at Manchester UMC is divvy up our list of phone numbers among our
Stephen Ministers, the entire database, and they have been calling each and
every person connected to the church. For some, who are very well connected,
these calls have been a really wonderful “extra” point of connection. For
others, those who are not online, these phone calls have been a Godsend, the
only way they have felt connected to the church at all.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So take a minute and ask
yourself: Who do you know who needs some “tech support?” Who do you know who
may be feeling disconnected right now? We are beginning our sixth week of a
“stay at home order” in St. Louis County. Although there is some talk of a plan
to relieve the order, it is likely it will not happen for quite some time. Who
can you reach out to this week to get them connected to the life of the church,
and thereby connected to the resurrection life of Jesus?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the “Season of
Weirdness,” evangelism looks like tech support. Our mission is to make a
difference for Christ by transforming church and community, and a specific way
each of us can “transform the church” is by helping others get online to get
connected.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-77521483776177907602020-03-13T17:03:00.002-05:002020-03-13T17:03:53.039-05:00Covid-19 Letter to Manchester UMC<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear Church,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Manchester UMC is a part
of the St. Louis County community and the health and safety of all community
members is deeply important to us. In this unusual time, we are thinking
especially of those who are more vulnerable. Our concern is for our health care
workers, who are overwhelmed. We act out of compassion for the elderly, who are
at risk. We seek to offer grace for those with compromised immune systems, for
whom this is a time of high anxiety.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In response to the
Covid-19 pandemic, St. Louis County is banning gatherings of more than 250
people for the time being. By law, the government cannot prohibit a religious
group from meeting. However, churches have been encouraged to follow the
guidance of this ban.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Manchester UMC is going
to do so. This weekend, there will be online worship at 9:30 and 11:00 via the
congregation’s Facebook page. There will be no onsite worship. In addition,
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning non-worship activities (including Sunday
School) are cancelled. Other non-worship activities, groups, and classes are
welcome to meet if they would like to, and will do so at the discretion of the
group leader.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here are some thoughts
about how your smaller group might operate:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Rule one: If you have
symptoms, please stay home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Rule two: If you are
concerned about getting sick, please stay home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Rule three: If your
group meets, wash your hands before and after meeting and greet one another
with a wave rather than a handshake.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Rule four: Wash your
hands … a lot. And then wash them again.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During this outbreak,
things are moving very quickly. For a number of very complicated reasons,
reaction to this particular outbreak has been widespread and frankly, a bit
mind-blowing. It feels to me like a lot of decisions are being made based on
fear and panic, rather than reasonable, prayerful, and level-headed
consideration.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am hopeful that we
will continue to be the church in the midst of this chaos. The calm assurance
of the Holy Spirit will ease our fears and guide our actions. We will pay
attention to medical professionals and follow the guidance of sound science. We
will neither overreact nor underreact to the circumstances around us. We will
witness to the love and grace of God in all we say and do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friends, we are stronger
together. And this is a time for us to especially look out for one another.
Call your loved ones to check in. Invite family and friends to worship online
with you this Sunday. Think about how school cancellations will affect families
and offer support and care. Share your stockpile of toilet paper with your
neighbors. Think about whom you could bring groceries to, if they are unable to
shop themselves.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You know, stuff that
people who follow Jesus would do!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And remember, in this time
and always, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But now thus says the
Lord,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> he
who created you, O Jacob,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> he
who formed you, O Israel:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do not fear, for I have
redeemed you;</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
have called you by name, you are mine.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you pass through
the waters, I will be with you;</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">when you walk through
fire you shall not be burned,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and
the flame shall not consume you.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For I am the Lord your
God,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> the
Holy One of Israel, your Savior</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. (Isaiah 43:1-3)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grace and Peace,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Andy B.</span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-60763273279191524062020-03-09T09:19:00.000-05:002020-03-09T09:19:42.301-05:00A Reformation Season<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some occasions, albeit rare, when one is aware
that one is witnessing history. These are the times when we are able to step
back from the events of the day and think, “Our children’s children will study
this time.” Coming to that realization allows us to more deeply appreciate the
moment as it happens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if the Church of Jesus Christ is experiencing such a
season right now? What if the church is moving through a time of reformation on
par with reformation moments of the past? What if the last few decades of the
20th and the first few decades of the 21st centuries are studied by future
historians as a truly pivotal moment in the life of the Gospel?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are scholars who believe as much, and have done the
work to back it up. Several church historians have pointed out how the Church
tends to cycle in 500 year periods of reformation, and the last one was (you
guessed it) about 500 years ago. That was when Martin Luther famously mailed a
letter with his “95 Theses” enclosed to his bishop, beginning what we now know
as “The Reformation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just think a minute - what if we are living through a
similar season? What if we are witnessing a reformation period that our
children’s children will study in their church history classes?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we are willing to entertain that thought, the question
then becomes one of response. How will we conduct ourselves in this season of
reformation? Will we see changes as threats, or embrace them as opportunities?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember, reform doesn’t mean that everything old is
worthless and needs to end immediately. Reform means that “everything old is
new again!” Reform breathes new life into ancient traditions. Reform recreates
meaning in ancient practices. Reform reminds us of the “why” of following Jesus
in the first place.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am hopeful that the church embraces this season of reform
and allows the Holy Spirit to move us into a bright and vibrant future. By
God’s grace, I know that we will not only make it through this season, but we
will flourish for the sake of the Gospel as we do so!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-48977572390961597112020-01-07T10:58:00.003-06:002020-01-07T10:58:45.203-06:00A Season to Shine - My Initial "Protocol" Thoughts<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On
Friday, January 4, news broke of a new proposal to be presented to the United
Methodist General Conference. The proposal came from a task force of sixteen
United Methodists from a diverse array of groups within the denomination. The
people were not necessarily leaders of the groups, or even representing the
groups per se, but they were certainly members. The groups in question reflect
the theological diversity of our denomination, from conservative to progressive
and everything in between.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
proposal, known as the “Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through
Separation,” will be presented to the United Methodist Judicial Council for a
declaratory ruling as to its constitutionality. Then it will be presented to
the General Conference for consideration, potential amendment, and a vote. And
so, while the content of the Protocol sounds quite dramatic, as of now it is a
vision, not a plan of action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
vision is a way for the United Methodist Church to remove our prohibitions on
marriage and ordination for our sisters and brothers who are LGBTQ+. In doing
so, the Protocol creates a way to leave the United Methodist Church and start a
new denomination that would neither allow same-sex weddings nor ordain people
of the LGBTQ+ community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Following
this separation, the United Methodist Church would convene another General
Conference for the purpose of removing the prohibitions on same-sex weddings
and ordination of people in the LGBTQ+ community. Everything else that the
United Methodist Church does will remain the same at this point, though all
acknowledge that further reform is required in order for the denomination to
flourish as God intends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Importantly,
everyone would remain in the UMC unless choosing to leave, and the Protocol
calls for the Annual Conference to decide first. In other words, if an Annual
Conference wants to stay in the UMC, no vote will be required. At an Annual
Conference session, if 20% of the delegates want to vote, we will. Then, if 57%
of the delegates want to separate (obviously a number reached by compromise) we
would do so. Annual Conferences would have until July 1, 2021 to make this
decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
the action of the Annual Conference, congregations would respond. If the
congregation aligns with the decision of the Annual Conference, no vote is
needed. (For example, if Missouri decides to remain United Methodist, then all
of our congregations remain United Methodist.) However, if a congregation wants
to affiliate with a denomination other than the one chosen by their Annual
Conference, the church council would determine the vote threshold required, and
a church conference would be convened to hold the vote. Congregations would
have until December 31, 2024 to make this decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
this point, we are all asking questions about the implications of this
proposal. It is good to prayerfully and faithfully speculate about the future,
as long as doing so does not make us fearful or anxious. The Holy Spirit is on
the move within us, around us, among us. God is truly doing a new thing.
Seasons of uncertainty are also seasons of great promise and possibility. The
words of Jesus give assurance: “Remember I am with you always, even to the end
of the age.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Manchester
UMC is in a position to be a leader in the denomination for such a time as
this. Again I hear Jesus saying to us, “You are the light of the world. A city
built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the
bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In
the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is not a time to dim our light, Manchester. This is a time to shine even more
brightly. To shine with the God-given light of the Holy Spirit reflected in our
lives. To shine with the light of our vision, to be an inclusive community of
people who love deeply, worship passionately, and serve boldly. To shine
through our mission to make a difference for Christ by transforming church and
community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Church,
this is a season to shine!</span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-28170902299951443292019-12-11T15:42:00.001-06:002019-12-11T15:42:36.397-06:00"Even Mine"Many Methodists know that John Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed." It was a conversion of sorts, a moment of awareness of the divine.<br />
<br />
Not as many Methodists realize that the moment happened in 1738, when he was 35 years old and had been ordained in the Anglican Church already for 13 years. That means his "conversion" happened after he was called into the ministry.<br />
<br />
And I suspect that even fewer Methodists know the journal sentence that follows the "strangely warmed" observation. He wrote, "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."<br />
<br />
"Even mine," he says. "Even mine." Those two words. It is as if he has only just now realized that all the stuff he had been saying for all those years ... applied to him as well. How is it possible for a preacher, ordained by the church, not to realize that all the stuff they are saying <u>also applies to them</u>?<br />
<br />
Even mine.<br />
<br />
I have been a preacher for nineteen years. I was a full-time music director at a church for five years prior to that, a part-time choir director for two years before that. Twenty-six years working for a church. I grew up in church, my family is saturated in church.<br />
<br />
How is it that while all of that was happening I have never really been aware of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit?<br />
<br />
I mean, I have preached about it. I have pointed it out in other peoples' lives.<br />
<br />
But ... even mine?<br />
<br />
I feel like I have become more aware of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the past two or three months than I ever have before. No let me rephrase that: I feel like I have never been truly aware of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit prior to the past two months, and now I am. In really amazing and wonderful and sometimes confusing ways.<br />
<br />
I have seen the Spirit moving in the ministry of the church, in fresh expressions of Christian Community being born, true <i>koinonia </i>as it is meant to be lived. The ways I have seen this are numerous, and abundant. I have seen people returning to church for the first time in years, with hesitancy born from ongoing pain, and being able to spiritually breathe again. I have heard stories from the Shared Streets community, stories of transformation and hopefulness. I have seen the Spirit move in the simple gift of a new pair of shoes, a refurbished bicycle, and a new pillowcase. In the church, I have seen the Spirit move.<br />
<br />
One of the ways most obvious to me is the way I feel about my wife and children. My love for them has been renewed in these past few months in a powerful and tangible way. My wife Erin said to me recently, "You are happier than you've been in years." And she is right. I've loved her fiercely for almost thirty years, and in these past few months that love has deepened even more. How is that possible if not for the work of the Spirit? And my heart aches with pride for each of my uniquely gifted children, for each of whom I would gladly lay down my own life. In my family, I have seen the Spirit move.<br />
<br />
John Wesley had a group of Moravians show up in his life in the season of his conversion. Their unwavering faith in the midst of storm and struggle inspired him and was an impetus to his own time of soul searching. In a way, I have my own "Moravians" all around me. In this season, I have met and become friends with people whose connection with the Holy Spirit is so deep, so intimate, and so profound. I long to be as connected with the Spirit as they are, and I feel a unique grace in their companionship. In my new friends, I have seen the Spirit move.<br />
<br />
And finally, within myself ... I cannot even begin to describe the change I have felt within my own spirit. Yeah, even mine. And please understand, the way I feel does not invalidate any prior experiences I've had. This present moment is emerging from all that has been. It's just that in the past, I have been quick to affirm those "God moments" that others would tell me about in their own lives, and just as quick to minimize them in my own, to chalk them up to coincidence or just ignore them altogether.<br />
<br />
But now, I don't know ... my spiritual senses are awake in a way they haven't been before. I smile more. I walk more lightly. I breathe easier. I see people and am overwhelmed immediately with love for them. I notice beauty. I cry a lot. I laugh a lot. I don't really know this person I'm becoming, but I kinda like him. He's familiar to me, like a version of myself that I may have been once in a different time. In my self, I have seen the Spirit move.<br />
<br />
So yeah, I feel like I do see God present everywhere in the world, and sense the Spirit is at work in my life, even mine, saving me from my own spiritual lethargy, connecting me deeply to other people, inspiring me with a renewed sense of vocation, and beckoning from a hope-filled future.<br />
<br />
<br />
(And yes, I realize this post is utterly self-centered, and I'm sorry for that. I process things by writing, so this is really me processing some of the stuff happening to me right now. Thanks for reading.)Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-75926641576556559722019-11-20T17:00:00.002-06:002019-11-20T17:00:15.834-06:00Missouri 2020 Delegation Update<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 2020 Missouri
Delegation has been working hard in these past couple of months.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ In November, the
Missouri Delegation officially endorsed Rev. Sally Haynes as a candidate for
bishop. Sally had shared with the delegation at our September meeting that she
was discerning a call to bishop. At that meeting, there was a sharing of
initial thoughts, a prayer for discernment, and an outline for the process
ahead. In November, Sally shared some updates with the group, there was a time
of questioning and healthy conversation, and then the delegation voted our
support of Sally’s candidacy. We ask for continued prayers for the remainder of
the process ahead. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ In our meetings thus
far, we have been coached by Rev. Melissa Bailey-Kirk, who is a trained
facilitator in the Circle Way of meeting. Our hope has been to set a different
tone for our work together, one of trust and openness, so that our work may be
done as a spiritually centered and fully engaged delegation. We are so grateful
to Melissa for coaching us through our first few gatherings.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ We have had several
other guests with us, providing input into our work process. Rev. Jessica
Foster and Rev. Chelsey Hillyer spoke with us about their participation in the
UM Forward meeting last Spring. We spent some time speaking with Terry
Shoemaker and Ross Lundstrom from Wespath about legislation Wespath is
proposing for General Conference this year. We had conversation with Rev. Bob
Phillips of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference about his participation in the
Wesley Covenant Association. Each guest was invited so that Missouri might be
fully engaged in our important work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ Delegation member Rev.
Kim Jenne was able to connect with members of both Mozambique Annual
Conferences’ delegations on a recent trip. She conveyed greetings on behalf of
the Missouri delegations, presented a letter, and had a very meaningful
conversation about General Conference legislation and the hopes and dreams for
the future of the United Methodist Church. It is our intention to stay in
contact with our siblings from Mozambique, and to share a meal with them in
Minneapolis in May.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ The delegation is
anticipating receiving our written material in January 2020. Once we get our
copies of the “Advance Daily Christian Advocate” we will know exactly what
individual petitions are connected with what larger “plans” you may have read
about. There are fourteen legislative committees that initially deal with
General Conference petitions, prior to them coming to the larger group during
the conference’s second week. That means the General Conference is never
talking about a single plan in its entirety. Our system breaks the plans down
into smaller petitions based on the paragraph of the Book of Discipline that is
impacted. Please keep your Missouri delegates in prayer as we carefully read
through the pages of petitions that we will consider in May.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ The next time the
delegation will meet together will be in February, when we will meet in
Oklahoma City with other delegations of the South Central Jurisdiction. At that
gathering, individual delegations will have the opportunity to interview the endorsed
candidates for bishop. There will be opportunities to discuss General
Conference legislation, and to connect with other delegates from the various
Annual Conferences of our Jurisdiction. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is our desire to be
as transparent as we can about the work we are doing. This is a significant
moment in the life of the United Methodist Church, and it is a privilege to be
serving in this capacity at this time. We long to be centered in God’s Spirit,
and to be equipped by God’s grace to serve the church to the utmost of our
capacity. And we need your prayers in order to do so. Thank you for all the
encouragement that has been offered thus far, and as we swing into Spring and
get really busy, we’ll be relying on your prayers more and more. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May God’s grace and
peace be with us all. Amen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-43545936944156905082019-11-02T09:26:00.000-05:002019-11-02T09:26:06.607-05:00Pathways, TooOr is it Pathways 2? Or maybe Pathways II? Oh I know! Pathways Next!<br />
<br />
Ok, so it doesn't really matter. It is a team of 20 people from the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church meeting together for a common purpose. And when Missouri convenes a team to help discern a direction for the Conference, we call it a "Pathways" team. It's what we do.<br />
<br />
At our first meeting on Wednesday, October 30, we began our work by clarifying that purpose. Our Bishop, Bishop Bob Farr, has called this group together to discern a way for the Missouri Conference to be in ministry together pending the outcome of General Conference 2020.<br />
<br />
The group present last Wednesday agreed on a lot of things. We began with Scripture and prayer. Each one gave permission to share our names as participants in this process. We took some time getting to know one another. We started talking about some common ideas of covenant to guide our work. And we heard the Bishop lay out one possible idea for how we might proceed after June 2020 (the Annual Conference session).<br />
<br />
There are people from every district in the conference. There are elder, deacon, licensed local pastor, and laity. There is racial diversity. There is one person who is gay and out. (There may be others, but I don't know everyone at the table personally and we didn't really take a poll.)<br />
<br />
And there are people at the table who believe being LGBT+ should disqualify a person from getting married and/or being ordained, alongside people who believe sexual orientation and gender identity should be celebrated as an important part of what makes a person unique and gifted. And I'm sure there are people somewhere in between, too. So it goes.<br />
<br />
One of the helpful filters that Bishop Farr added to our work was this: we are not going to try to change one another's minds about what we believe. Our conversations are to be focused on how we can, in the bishop's words, "multiply our witness for the sake of Jesus Christ." In my own words, the question is, "What can we do together that would sow the seeds of the Reign of God in our varied contexts of ministry and service?"<br />
<br />
Bishop Farr has a way of speaking pretty powerful truths in pretty accessible ways. Sometimes you don't really catch it until it's past. Recently he said that it seems like there's an earthquake happening in the United Methodist Church; but maybe the church "needs to be shaken up."<br />
<br />
At our meeting on the 30th, he uttered a doozie, a real "Farrism." He said, <b>"Whoever wound up the United Methodist Church did <u>not</u> want it to be unwound."</b> What he meant by that was that our system is a giant hairball of overly complicated processes and procedures that nobody really even understands, much less follows completely. So the work of this Pathways team is not around "unwiding" the church, but orbiting that hairball as best we can.<br />
<br />
So here's the process - we are meeting at least four more times (December 17, January 18, February 27, and April 21). Our work will be presented to the Mission Council, who would, pending their approval, present it to the Annual Conference in June.<br />
<br />
One of the unresolved questions as I see it is, "What would trigger consideration of the Pathways plan?" Meaning, what outcome of General Conference would cause us to say, "Okay let's do our thing instead of that?" Would affirmation of the status quo trigger it? Would voting to divide the entire UMC? Would voting in favor of full inclusion and affirmation of all people, including ordination and marriage?<br />
<br />
Or will we just do it anyway, regardless of the specific outcome in May?<br />
<br />
This is one of the myriad of questions that the Pathways team will be asking. And there are so many. It is my hope that we are as transparent as we can possibly be in this process, and for me that includes listening to your hopes and fears as well. Please comment, email, or message me with your questions. Your voices are important to this conversation.<br />
<br />
And finally, I just ask that you please pray. A lot. Pray a lot. Pray for God's wisdom. Pray for an awareness of the movement of the Holy Spirit. Pray for our church. We are living through a season of reform, and the future is uncharted territory. In prayer together, we can navigate what lies ahead and continue to become the church that God desires.Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-90582219369990850212019-08-31T10:48:00.002-05:002019-08-31T10:48:33.593-05:00Two or Three?Help me out here, United Methodist friends. In the ongoing conversations about the future of our denomination, one of the questions is essentially, "Two or three?"<br />
<br />
As in, will there be two different systems (one traditional and one progressive), or three systems (one traditional, one centrist, and one progressive). Yes, I know it is way more complicated than that, and the language and labels are different among different "plans" and such. And I'm assuming we are all resigned to the idea that staying one system and trying to make that system more just is no longer an option, as February 2019 made clear to so many of us.<br />
<br />
So, a core question to wrestle with remains, "Two or three?"<br />
<br />
And here's where I need some help. I fail to see how there are three options. It seems to me that there is either "status quo" or "change." Either we allow same-sex weddings or we don't. Either we ordain LGBTQ+ people or we don't.<br />
<br />
There is nuance, of course. Some people are in favor of ordination but not marriage. Some would favor marriage as a legal relationship but not a spiritual one. And so it goes. Yes, it is nuanced.<br />
<br />
But ... let's do some practical theology, ok?<br />
<br />
A young gay person comes to their pastor and says, "God has called me to be ordained in the United Methodist Church." That pastor either says "Yes" or "No." That pastor cannot say, "Either."<br />
<br />
A same-sex couple comes to their church and says they want to get married. Their church either says "Yes" or "No." That church cannot say, "We are divided on that question."<br />
<br />
In fact, if that pastor says "either" or if that church says "we are divided" are they not in fact saying "No?"<br />
<br />
It seems to me that if we end up with three systems and one of those is labelled "centrist," the "centrist" system is in practice "traditionalist" if weddings and ordinations are still prohibited. And it is in practice "progressive" if weddings and ordinations are allowed.<br />
<br />
So, in practice, either "status quo" or "change."<br />
<br />
Many clergy colleagues have expressed some trepidation about making their congregation choose. There is significant anxiety about the tone of the conversation, and the potential for conflict. "It would split the congregation in two," some have said. I get that. I feel that.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I disagree. What better place to have the conversation than in a community of people who worship together, serve together, learn together, and love each other as members of one another in the Body of Christ? Surely there's no better place to have potentially difficult conversations than in the local church. It's certainly a far better place to have them than on the floor of General Conference, isn't it?<br />
<br />
Look, it is naive for anyone to think that no LGBTQ+ people in their congregation will ever be called into ordained ministry, or want to be married in their own church building. And so, we probably ought to go ahead and have the conversation, so that we can respond in a Christlike way when (not if) it happens. Otherwise the urgency of the moment will prevent effective communication, and the conflict will be harder to navigate.<br />
<br />
Right this moment, though my mind is open, I like the "UMCNext Plan," mainly because it presents a clear answer to the question of "Two or Three." The UMCNext answer is "Two." The UMCNext Plan basically says, "We would like to change the status quo in the UMC. If you don't like that change, we are going to create a respectful way for you to leave and form your own Wesleyan church, where you can have policies that prohibit marriage and ordination if you want."<br />
<br />
I like it because it is a choice between two things. Clearly articulated. One is fully inclusive; one is conditionally inclusive. You can pick. You have to pick. It is time to pick. Have the conversation. Choose.<br />
<br />
Help me. How is having a "centrist" system not choosing one or the other?Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-70662327812716148732019-08-12T07:56:00.000-05:002019-08-12T08:01:36.380-05:00Every One Is 'Gabriela'<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Regardless
of the circumstances of their specific cases, what has unified all twenty of
our foster kids has been the trauma of being removed from their parent or
parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kids
are taken into foster care for two reasons, and only two – abuse or neglect. That
means the adult in charge of caring for them has either treated them as if they
are worthless or treated them as if they did not exist. One hears the stories
and thinks, “How horrific! Who would do such a thing? What awful people!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet
each and every one of our kids has loved their “awful people,” in spite of the
horrific things that have happened. That love is experienced as grief when the
child is taken away, and that grief is traumatic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
of our kids (I’ll call her “Gabriela”) was taken into care when police raided
the home in which she was living. It was a drug raid, and large amounts of
cocaine were seized in the raid. As Gabriela’s case progressed, it was
discovered that her mother was from Mexico, and living in the United States
without proper documentation. Mom was struggling to get by, looking for a
better life for the two of them, and had been taken advantage of by coyotes who
promised big and failed to deliver, as is typical. Moving in to the drug house
was an act of desperation, a matter of survival. And bad timing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
a week straight, Gabriela cried herself to sleep every night at our house,
repeating a word over and over again as she did. We did not recognize the word,
partly because she was crying which made it hard to understand, partly because
she was three years old, but mostly because it was a word we had never heard
before. It turned out to be a sort of pet name for her mom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">She
cried herself to sleep every night crying for her mama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stories
of children being taken from their parents have been in the news lately,
first at the U.S./Mexico border and more recently as a result of I.C.E. raids
in Mississippi. These stories have hit my family in a particular way. Every one
of the kids whose faces we see on the news, whose voices we hear crying for
their parents, whose stories have awakened indignation and ire among so many,
every one of them is Gabriela.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gabriela
was reunited with her mom, which is great. And then we lost track of her, which
is not uncommon. And so we don’t know where she lives or who she’s with or how
she is or pretty much anything about her. She’s a teenager now, which is hard
to fathom. In our minds she is still three, still chattering away in a mix of
Spanish, English, and toddler, still wagging her finger at us when we tell her
it’s time for bed, still crying herself to sleep and calling for her mama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
may try to come at me with “but they broke the law” and the “it’s the parents’
fault for bringing their kids here in the first place” and the other myopic
platitudes that do nothing but make you feel better about yourself. But please,
don’t. I have zero patience for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here
is the truth: Each and every one of those kids on the news loves their parents,
no matter what. And each and every one whose parents were taken away was
traumatized by that experience. And that ought to be the priority; <u>that’s</u>
what we should be talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because
I just cannot bear the thought of a single child, much less a dozen, much less
… however many … crying themselves to sleep at night, calling out for their
mamas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-46502631240220625732019-07-18T15:16:00.001-05:002019-07-18T15:18:43.702-05:00It's All RacismI value diversity, in all forms. Difference keeps life interesting; we are created as unique and distinct individuals who see the world differently. I celebrate that.<br />
<br />
I celebrate it ... up to a point. And I get to decide where to draw the line between a perspective that is worthy of my respect and a perspective for which I cannot muster any. Celebrating diversity of opinion does not imply that all perspectives are equally valid. There's a line.<br />
<br />
Racism crosses that line. A racist perspective is not worthy of my respect. Racism is sin. Racism is evil. Racism is "<a href="http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/the-social-community#racial-and-ethnic" target="_blank">antithetical to the gospel itself</a>." Racism is the only issue; every issue is racism.<br />
<br />
Over the past three or four years in our nation, latent racism has been revealed, embraced, and mainstreamed. Overtly racist statements are made openly, in public, and without shame. And when challenged, the statements are defended with malice, malevolence, and bitter defensiveness.<br />
<br />
For the record let me say this: Telling people of color to go back where they came from is racist. (Though why I should have to make that clear boggles my mind.)<br />
<br />
Now, I have no desire to comment here on the president's character; I believe that his own words and actions have revealed more about his character than my thoughts ever could. Maya Angelou said it best when she said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Our president has shown all us exactly who he is, and I believe him.<br />
<br />
At first the overt racism was sporadic; it seemed a sideshow or some kind of alternate reality that would soon pass. When it did not, there was indignation and anger, resolve to resist and persist. And then when it continued, we thought it was a distraction from deeper more insidious things, intentionally orchestrated to divert our attention. I no longer consider it a distraction.<br />
<br />
The malevolent racist spirit that corrodes our nation is not a distraction from other more destructive activity happening behind the scenes. In fact the very fact that I once considered it to be a distraction is ample proof of just how insidious and evil this malevolence is. The malevolent racist spirit is the only thing that matters; everything else begins there.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://entertherainbow.blogspot.com/2016/12/trump-and-malevolent-spirit-of-nation.html" target="_blank">As I wrote previously</a>, "And so as disciples of Jesus, as Christians, as people who desire to live as God intends us to live, we have to confront the malevolent spirit permeating our world. We have name it, draw it up to the light, and annihilate it. And then we have to offer an alternative way of being, a replacement for the malevolence that will solidify its destruction once and for all.<br />
<br />
That alternative way is called 'love,' by the way. Love, and everything that comes along with it. Things like hope. And forgiveness. And justice, and peace, and grace, and compassion."<br />
<br />
I'm still here. And although it feels sometimes like the malevolence is indestructible, we must not allow ourselves to fall into "weak resignation to the evils we deplore." May God "grant us wisdom, grant us courage, serving the One whom we adore." Amen and amen.Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-63396887988312036602019-07-10T19:42:00.002-05:002019-07-10T19:42:51.179-05:00The Second Sunday<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
a wave of “first Sundays” across the connection, United Methodist pastors woke
up to discover it is week two, and another Sunday is right around the corner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
celebrated last weekend, pulled out all the stops, wore all the nametags, shook
all the hands. Preachers brought their "A" game. Musicians filled sanctuaries
with joyous praise. Hospitality teams polished up welcome desks. And it was
wonderful! It was a party! There was cake! Everyone was there to check out the
new pastor, and it felt like a big family reunion where one of the kids is
bringing home a new significant other for everyone to meet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
was great. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
guess what … this coming Sunday is just as important. I might even go so far as
to say that this coming Sunday is even more important. A one-time celebration
of a special event is awesome and spectacular and fun, and I don’t want to take
anything away from all the good stuff that United Methodist churches did last
weekend. It was a mountaintop moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Faithful,
fruitful discipleship is more than just mountaintops. Following Jesus is
comprised of mountaintop moments that are connected by long stretches of
valley, and those valleys are where life happens. Those valleys are where faith
is tested. Those valleys are where we grow and learn and serve and share. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
good news is that there’s another mountaintop coming. We get one a week, actually!
How cool is that? When we gather together to be the church at worship, whether
it is the new pastor’s first Sunday or the old pastor’s one thousand first, it
is the day the Lord has made and we ought to rejoice and be glad in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
a lot of us, this weekend will be the second Sunday (or Saturday) of a new
appointment. And I hope we pull out all the stops and bring our "A" games and
fill the room with joyous praise. Yes, again. Because God is worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God’s
grace comes both in periodic bursts of brilliance and in slow, steady streams.
We live in valleys interspersed with occasional mountaintop moments. Growing in
faithfulness means learning how to navigate both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
the second Sunday, week two. There may not be cake this week. Get up and go
worship anyway. I’ll see y’all in church.</span></div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-44217394987220874462019-06-24T16:26:00.003-05:002019-06-24T16:26:46.772-05:00Delegation Election Thoughts<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s what I think happened in the delegation elections at
the Missouri Annual Conference in 2019. (For background, click <a href="http://missouri-email.brtapp.com/files/ac19/sunday+journal.pdf" target="_blank">the lead story of this conference daily journal</a>.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was about
principles, not labels. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The national <a href="https://umcnext.com/" target="_blank">UMC Next</a> gathering generated four clear,
succinct principles. Written as commitments, these principles provide an
unambiguous way for people to self-identify. Labels like conservative,
centrist, and liberal can mean different things to different people and at
different times. I am conservative in some ways and progressive in others. Does
that then make me an aggregate centrist?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead of those subjective terms, the <a href="http://moumcnext.org/" target="_blank">Missouri UMC Next</a>
group took the four commitments and asked potential delegates if they supported
them. People were then able to say, “Yes, I affirm the four principles of the
UMC Next movement,” rather than, “I am a centrist” or some other nebulous
label.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It made some people
mad.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am truly sorry that some people were upset or angry or
disappointed by the lack of theological diversity on the Missouri delegation. And
to be honest, in past years I would have shared their disappointment. I am an
advocate for a “big table” church in which many different theological
perspectives have a voice. But this isn’t “past years;” this is a profoundly
significant time in the history of Methodism.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In this season, I am particularly mindful of the voices who for
decades have been at best only partly included at the table if not excluded
completely. And one of the UMC Next commitments is to “build a church which
affirms the full participation of all ages, nations, races, classes, cultures,
gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.” Actually, that sounds
like a pretty big table to me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was driven by hope
and trust.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At a pre-conference meeting of 225 people or so, hosted by the Missouri
UMC Next group, there was a notable buzz in the room. I said to my colleague
Lori, “There’s a lot of energy tonight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lori looked at me and without missing a beat said, “It’s
hope.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a generally positive, hopeful outlook among those
who affirmed the UMC Next principles. The 2019 General Conference had sucked a
lot of life out of a lot of people, and here for the first time since February
were some tangible ways to respond. That generated a lot of really good hopeful
energy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This hopefulness spilled over in an abundance of trust. The Missouri
UMC Next list of suggested delegates would have been nobody’s personal
preference from one to twelve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The names
came from a series of regional meetings held all over the state, countless personal
conversations, and several flurries of group emails. There was broad
participation, as many, many people connected in a variety of ways to pray and
talk and discern together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So yes, people were voting for people they had never actually
met before. Nobody knew each and every one of the slate, much less had spoken
to each one about how they would serve on the delegation. But here’s what
happened - personal preferences were set aside, because if you didn’t know
someone on the list, you knew someone who knew them. It was relational and
organic, the Methodist connection working like the connection can and maybe
should. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was a small part
of a great awakening.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here in our conference, there has been a reluctance to dialogue
about points of disagreement. Sidestepping difficult conversations has
generated an ethos that some would describe as unity. I do not see it as unity;
I see it as conflict avoidance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the church is awake now, in a way it hasn’t been before.
It happened all over the country at one annual conference session after
another. United Methodists are pretty strongly rejecting the petitions passed
at General Conference 2019 and the manner in which they were passed. And while
that doesn’t mean we ought to seek out conflict, it very clearly means we will
no longer be avoiding it for the sake maintaining a veneer of artificial unity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are so many things that are going to happen between
now and General Conference 2020, and nobody knows how everything is going to
shake out. Bishop Farr said at our Annual Conference session this year, “The United
Methodist Church is experiencing an earthquake. But maybe we need to be shaken
up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However you view this season in the UMC, very few can deny
that Easter people are raising their voices all over the place. Hope and
trust and grace and love abound! God’s Holy Spirit is alive and on the move!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The church is awake. It is glorious. It is terrifying. It is
in God’s hands. All shall be well. Amen.</div>
Andy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12069656553871499994noreply@blogger.com0