Ministry, Interrupted

Almost 36 hours passed from the time I started writing my last post about my visit to the Alzheimer's wing and the time I actually finished it and posted it, about ten minutes ago. If I ever needed any more evidence that "ministry happens in the interruptions," I got it yesterday.

I had my day yesterday fully agenda-ized! I knew exactly what I was going to get done and when - say goodbye to Cori and Erin going to church camp, do my correspondance, write a sermon, check on hospitals, attend covenant group, finish the blog entry, prepare for the weekend. That was going to be my day. Not even halfway through the "correspondance" portion of my morning, though, the interruption began, and did not end until afternoon. The only thing on my agenda that I accomplished was attending my covenant group, who holds me accountable for my health in the midst of busy ministry. I steadfastly refuse to miss that.

Someone came by to talk for an hour, someone called for help with a crisis, the plumbers needed a question answered downstairs, I went to visit someone in jail, someone new was admitted to the hospital for surgery so I went to see them. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. "Hey everyone, I have an agenda to accomplish here!"

So where am I today, Friday? I want everyone reading this to know that I AM SITTING AT HOME ALL DAY LONG WITH MY SON WESLEY PLAYING SUPER-HEROES, LEGOS, JEDI KNIGHTS, AND WHATEVER ELSE HE WANTS TO DO. Later we might go for a little hike in the woods somewhere. That is it! This is what I call SABBATH!

Last night after Wesley and I watched "Holes" (don't tell Erin, it was probably a little bit too rough for Wesley to see, but for a couple of guys sitting around watching a movie, we don't mind the rough stuff so much), Wes sat back on the couch and said, "Now THAT was a movie!" We smiled at each other.

That night, he slept next to me in the big bed. Somehow this morning he ended up completely sideways, allowing me just a few inches of space. I looked at him sleeping and thought, "My son is almost as tall as a queen-sized mattress is wide. When did that happen?"

I am going to finish up this entry really quick. I hear the Legos clicking away up in Wesley's room, and I don't want to miss any of the action. Thank you, Wes, for interrupting!

Sabbath Peace,
Andy B.

Ministry of Presence in the Alzheimers Wing

It has been a week since my last post. Four of those days I was at the conference and three of those days I spent getting caught up on everything I missed while I was away at said conference. One of the things I did to get caught up was to go and visit Anna. (name changed for privacy)

Anna lives in the Alzheimer's wing of a nursing home.

You press a red button on the wall to get the doors of the wing to open. This is a security featured designed not to keep people out, but rather to keep people in. I pressed the red button and had to sidestep a woman whom I did not know in a wheelchair right in front of the doorway as I entered. She looked at me and smiled. "Did you get it all right?" she asked.

I didn't know what she meant, and I don't really think she did either. I smiled and took her hand, saying, "Yes, ma'am. Everything is all right." She grasped my hand with a strength that I would not have guessed her slender, elderly frame could muster, and she pulled me close. She laughed with what might have been relief.

"Oh, good!" she said, "I was hoping that you would be able to" and so on and so on. Sometimes she made sentences and sometimes she just put words together at random, like drawing them from a hat. I don't remember what all she said, but I remember standing with her hands clasped desperately around mine, holding me close in the middle of the hallway for a good two or three minutes as she told me all kinds of very unusual things. She hugged me a couple of times. Through it all I just smiled and held her hands, until I was able to gently pry myself free. I continued down the hall to find Anna.

On my way, I wove through a score of wheelchairs that contained mostly women who had lost their memories, didn't know for sure where they were, what they were doing here, perhaps even having no real sense of self. Who are we, anyway, if not our memories? What is it that makes us more than biological machines? Where does the self reside? Alzheimer's disease is a monster, whose only objective is to rob its victims of everything they once were. I smiled and waved to everyone I passed in that hallway, and I got a few waves in return.

I made it through the gauntlet and stepped into the dining room at the end of the hall. I spotted Anna sitting at a table in her wheelchair, along with the other people who reside in her wing. I knelt by the side of her chair.

Anna is a very beautiful woman. She has shining white hair and deep, wise laugh lines in her face. Her lovely eyes convey a sparkle of wit and grace, and looking at her you know that if it wasn't for the monster steadily stealing her mind away, she would be dancing or strolling in a garden or attending a fabulous party or something.

"Hi, Anna. I'm Andy, the pastor of your church," I said.

A confused look came into those lovely eyes. "Who?" she said.

"The pastor of your church."

"What church?"

"Yours, Anna." I named the church.

"Oh, yes," she replied. And then she thought for a moment, then asked me something that gave me a little electric jolt in my heart. "How are your two children?" Then, noting my pause, she continued, "You have two children, right?"

She remembered? Or did some synapse fire randomly and came up with "two children"? I smiled and pulled out my wallet to show her the pictures. "Yes, they are doing just wonderfully," I replied. After that, she meandered away from the topic. As she went, her eyes became more and more puzzled, like she had forgotten something.

Our conversation comprised short bits of coherent discussion that popcorned from topic to topic as Anna led the way. Interspersed amidst these moments of coherence were long stretches of mumblings from behind her beautiful, confused eyes, as Anna worked to dredge words from the muddy river bottom of her mind. Once she asked me about my mother. We talked about her husband. We talked about food. Through it all, I knelt beside her wheelchair with my hand in hers and my eyes locked on hers, hoping that our physical and visual connection was compensating for the lack of verbal connection we experienced.

But there was that one moment. "How are your two children?" Out of the formless void, something was created with a few spoken words. And it was good.

After about fifteen minutes with Anna, I said goodbye, greeted the nurses on duty, wove through the wheelchairs back down the hallway, entered the code that unlocked the doors of the wing (the nurses had whispered it to me), and left the building.

What happened in the Alzheimer's wing? Will Anna remember that I came to see her? What did our hand holding and eye contact do, or what was it? What is the significance of that one moment of verbal connection? I don't really know. And I guess I don't really need to know. I suppose I'll just trust that God was there somehow, and leave it at that. It was ministry; I am a minister. Amen.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Pastor-Man Learns to Step Aside

Saturday night's worship service will be a real doozie! I am sorry that I will not be there.
Mike will give the message, Barbara will lead the service, Laura will offer communion, and Ellen will play the piano. All of these people are "ringers" - substitutes for the regular folks who will all be unavailable. I am going to the Missouri Annual Conference session in Columbia, but I would really love to be a fly on the wall to see Saturday's service unfold.

Mike and Barbara are members of my remarkable congregation, but Laura is a pastor friend from Living Water Christian Church and Ellen is a friend of a friend of a friend (literally) who is wonderful enough to step in and play the piano for the service. What a celebration of the body of Christ! It makes me smile to think about these four people meeting each other for the first time for the purpose of leading a worship experience together. Literally, Laura and Ellen will be meeting everyone there for the very first time, including each other, and yet somehow within the mystery of worship, they will all be united as members of the one body. Boy, do I ever wish I could be there to see that. It is going to be magical.

Problem is, if I was there, there would be no need for Mike, Barbara, Laura, or Ellen to be there either cause I would do it all.

Hmmm ... wait a minute ... what's that? ... I am sensing God trying to teach me something here.

You mean .... hold on, let's see if I'm getting this ... you mean I could actually (gasp) STEP ASIDE and let other people do stuff?!?! But that's just crazy talk! I am the pastor! I am Pastor-Man! Faster than a speeding phylactery, more powerful than a complete set of the New Interpreter's Bible, able to leap tall capital campaigns in a single bound. There's no need to fear, Pastor-Man is here!

Well, Pastor-Man is learning, sisters and brothers. I am learning that stepping aside not only allows other people to shine, stepping aside also allows the Body of Christ to flourish. So, this Saturday I will step aside. Mike, Laura, Barbara, and Ellen have things well in hand. In fact, I am sure the service will be a real doozie. (I really wish I could be there to see it; maybe someone will tape it for me!)

Sincerely,
Pastor-Man

For the Sake of Love

This blog is dedicated to the diversity of God's church. I'll start there, by reminding myself that diversity is generally a good thing. But I think there is a limit. Diversity doesn't mean all behavior is acceptable. Tolerance does not mean "anything goes."

Take meanness, for example.

In recent weeks, I have heard from three or four in my remarkable congregation reports of people just simply being mean to others. Things like excluding them from activities, gossiping maliciously about them, and just generally treating them with coldness and disrespect. That is something I cannot tolerate.

In fact, I just sent out an email to the staff to encourage them to "set the tone" for the congregation. When you go to church, you want to experience warmth, openness, and love, right? And the staff can really go a long way in creating that atmosphere. I even asked the staff to "fake it" if they weren't feeling particularly loving on a given day! In other words, act "as if." It is that important. People come to church for love, both to receive it and to give it.

After all, Jesus did not suggest to his disciples that they love one another, he commanded it! My wife likes to remind me, "Jesus did not say to show love for your neighbor 'if you feel like it today.'" Jesus said, "Love your neighbor." (By the way, He also said, "Love your enemy.")

Now, I know that we as mere humans-under-construction are not perfect (yet), and we have days in which a little grey cloud seems to hang over us wherever we go. I know that God has given us a range of emotions, good bad and otherwise, by which to experience the world. In fact, I have preached sermons about that very topic. But when it comes down to it, you can decide how you will treat others: to be cold and mean, or to be warm and loving, that is the question. What makes people choose option A over option B?

I don't want to sound like my remarkable congregation is filled with a bunch of meanies. Not at all! In fact, every single visitor who has spoken with me in the past year has practically gushed about the friendliness they have felt here. That makes me smile! But two or three meanies in an otherwise warm and loving congregation can make a really big impression. I guess probably the pictures of meanness people have shared recently stand out so sharply because they are painted on such a friendly backdrop.

Sunday my family went to the baseball game, and the Cardinals' pitcher was replaced pretty early, because he was doing so terribly. Since we were rooting for the Royals and were in Kansas City, this was a fun thing for us. The stadium speakers began blasting out "Hit the Road, Jack" as the pitcher walked off of the field. When my daughter Cori heard the song and realized why they were playing it, she got her I-am-just-about-to-be-sad expression on her face. Gazing up at me with furrowed brow, puckered lips, and teary eyes, she said, "Daddy, that's not very nice. That song will make the pitcher sad."

Leave it to sweet-hearted Cori to extend the Christian imperative to love your neighbor even to the pitcher of the opposing team! If she can do it at the baseball stadium, surely we can do it at church, where people come for the sake of love.

Be Nice,
Andy B.

Third Party Dream

Here's something I hope, but will never ever happen. I hope those 14 Senators who were level headed enough to compromise on the filibuster thing get together and form their own new political party. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants?

A third party comprised of people who value discernment, dialogue, and compromise would really help pry loose the bipartisan ideological fists from the throats of the American people. There are more than two points of view in our country, there should be more than two political parties. Let's embrace the diversity rather than deny it, I say!

Level headed John Danforth could be the party chair. Their animal symbol could be a prairie dog, since they are good at living in community. Party headquarters would be right here in Kansas City, since it is close to the middle of the country. The party color would naturally be purple, the blending of red and blue.

For the record, the 14 core members of the new party would be former Republicans John Warner (VA), John McCain (AZ), Olympia Snow (ME), Mike DeWine (OH), Susan Collins (ME), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Lincoln Chafee (RI). The former Democrats in the new party will be Joseph Lieberman (CT), Ben Nelson (NE), Mark Pryor (AR), Robert Byrd (WV), Mary Landrieu (LA), Ken Salazar (CO), and Daniel Inouye (HI). These are the 14 who decided to work things out like reasonable people instead of bashing each other over the head until someone submits - that's a fantastic story for the birth of a political party!

Now we just need a name ... could be the "Centrist Party." Or how about the "Compromise Party." Or something funky or trendy like "The Purple Haze Party" or "[adult swim]" or something. Maybe we could name it after some combination of the leaders' names - the "Liebercain Party" or maybe the "Chafazar Party." Hmm. Well, we don't need to come up with a name right away; we've got time.

We've got all the time in the world, since it will NEVER HAPPEN.

Hey, a blogger dedicated to diversity can dare to dream a little bit, can't he? But you gotta admit, it would be a real kick in the pants!

Baseball Causes Tooth Loss

Willa and Cori, the snaggletooth sisters, cheering for their respective teams at the game Sunday afternoon.

Royals Crush Cards, Bryans and Phillips Remain Friends

We all were showing our true colors at the K this afternoon. This picture is photographic evidence of unity amidst diversity, the Bryan family in blue, the Phillips family in red, everyone happy together in spite of divergent loyalties. But take note that Roger's smile is rather forced, as his Cardinals had just gotten trounced by the Royals and the minor league pitcher they put on the mound. And even better, the Royals got 12 hits, which means Krispy Kreme doughnuts for everyone! Wahoo!
It was a really great afternoon. It felt good to kick back and get a little recreation time!
Yea Royals!
Andy B.

I Need a Break

My friend Ashley says that if I don't get a day's worth of Sabbath every week, I will be pretty much worthless. "You've got to take care of yourself," she says, "so that you will be able to provide care for others." In fact, she has said this to me so frequently that I sometimes hear her voice in my mind, like the incessant drone of a moralistic lawnmower buzzing in the weedy recesses of my subconscious.

If Ashley is right (and I know that she is), I've got some catching up to do. I haven't had a true sabbath day of rest for at least three weeks now, and I am starting to feel it. Take today, for example. Today pretty much kicked my butt. Three people to visit with medical situations, two hours with a family in crisis, problems with our building project, two different calls from two people who just needed someone to talk with, bills to sign off, sermon to write - just one thing after another after another. By 6:30 I was so drained, I had nothing left for my family. I had to just lie down on the couch and sleep.

I don't want to have nothing left in my tank for my wife and kids when I get home from work. I want to be a good husband, a good dad. I managed to get a few cuddly minutes with my daugther when I tucked her in a couple of hours ago, and I treasure moments like that. But I need a serious "chunk of sabbath," as my friend Laura calls it. Time to recharge. Time to renew. Time to just live without having to act.

I'm not just whining, either. This sabbath rest is serious stuff. God actually COMMANDS us to do it. "There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD." (Leviticus 23:3) There it is ... in black and white ... "you are not to do any work." The LORD says it! And it is not a suggestion!

My work as an ordained minister requires there to be days like today. It is called ministry, and I am called to be a minister. I do not begrudge any of the people I was with today of their need for my presence. Please do not misunderstand. The fault is my own. I am the one not taking enough sabbath time for myself, says the moralistic lawnmower droning in my mind. The time is there, if I will just leave it alone. Instead, I find myself filling it up.

I want some time to live without acting. Yes, to live ...

Yearning for Sabbath,
Andy B.

The Blue Jeans Story

Okay, here's what happened...

I played in a charity golf tournament on Saturday at a place called the Liberty Hills Snob Club ... oh, sorry, I mean Liberty Hills Golf Club. It was a fund raiser for the Northland Assistance Center, an agency in North Kansas City co-sponsored by our congregation. I was taking a few swings on the driving range, loosening up to participate in this charity golf tournament. It was a beautiful day, I was going to play golf with some good friends, and the money was going to a good cause - I felt pretty wonderful!

Well, I'm standing there swinging my driver when this course employee scoots up in a golf cart and walks up to me. "Sir," he says, "I'm sorry, but you can't be on the driving range in blue jeans."

(Long pause.)

For several seconds, I really did think he was joking. "Oh, really!" I said.

With the gravity of Dr. Bones saying, "He's dead, Jim" on an old Star Trek episode, the course employee said, "Yes, sir."

"This is a charity event, you know?" I queried.

"Yes, sir. But you can't wear blue jeans on the course."

"I'm not a member of the club or anything," I said. I was still very stuck-in-the-headlights about this whole thing, but at least I had figured out that this guy was serious.

"Sir, I know that you are not a member, but it is a course rule. We can't break the course rules, even for a charity event," he replied.

My temperature rose a few degrees when I heard him say that. It is the same thing country clubs say to blacks, Jews, and any other group they want to exclude, "It's a rule; we can't break the club rules, can we?"

Realizing that this young man was just doing his job, I said, "I would like to speak to your supervisor, please."

Graciously, he offered to drive me up to the clubhouse in his golf cart to speak with his boss. Now remember, all of this fuss is over blue jeans. Denim pants. No holes, no frayed ends. Just a pair of decent looking blue jeans.

In the clubhouse, I spoke to the course manager, saying, "I promise you, sir, that I will never join your club. I promise I will never darken your doors ever again. But this is a charity event, and I am the pastor of one of the churches who sponsors the charity, and I am going to play golf today in this charity event, jeans or no."

"No, sir, you are not," was the manager's reply.

Again, I was struck with the absolutely blind obedience to an absolutely ridiculous rule. "If you require it, I will play this course in my underwear," I said. (In retrospect, this was not a helpful comment! But my temperature had risen several more degrees in that past few minutes, and I was struggling to keep a lid on it!)

The manager sighed, knowing he did not want a pastor of a church playing golf in his underwear on his course, which I most definitely would have done and which most definitely would have resulted in some interesting publicity for both the country club and my church! He said, "Sir, you are not going to play in jeans, but maybe one of the golfers has a pair of rain pants you can put on."

He was trying to compromise, and I figured I could meet him there. "Okay. That is better than being told, 'You may not play.' I'll try to find someone with some rain pants." (Now, I really don't know what rain pants are, why golfers need them, or what people with only a very few pairs of pants think about golfers who have a special pair just for playing golf in the rain. I was thinking of making a joke that ends with the punchline, "In case he gets a hole in one," but I stopped myself before it was too late.)

Walking through the pro shop to seek out a rain-pants owning golfer, a gentleman stopped me and asked, "What charity are you playing for today?"

"The Northland Assistance Center in North Kansas City," I told him. "It is an agency that provides food, rent assistance, utility bill assistance, and other services."

"I'll tell you what," the gentleman said, "You pick yourself out a pair of those shorts hanging there on the rack and tell them to put it on my tab."

(Long pause again.)

"Seriously!?" I asked.

"Yes, go ahead."

I proceeded to thank the stranger profusely for his graciousness and generosity. I went to the rack and selected a pair of shorts in my size, walked up to the counter, and told the course manager to "put it on that gentleman's tab, please."

And so it was that I came to own a FIFTY DOLLAR PAIR OF SHORTS! They are by far and away the nicest shorts I own - now or ever. Furthermore, another church guy wore jeans to the tournament, and this same stranger bought HIM a pair of shorts, too!

And so, to Dr. Richard Curnow of Liberty, Missouri I say a heart felt "Thank you." Your willingness to spend a hundred dollars on a couple of denim-wearing schmucks smoothed over what was becoming a rather ridiculous situation. If anyone needs a knee replaced, I hope you go visit Dr. Curnow!

And to the Liberty Hills Golf Club, I say a well-meaning "Lighten up!" Your rigidity and mindless adherence to a ridiculous rule is laughable, to say the least. Some of the clients served by the charity whose fund raiser you hosted would love to have a pair of blue jeans like the pair you did not allow me to wear on your manicured cow pasture.

And to the Northland Assistance Center, I say a very sincere "Let's have our fund raiser at different golf course next year." We don't need to be supporting a place whose principles are so out of whack with what is truly important in the world. We can accomplish our desired end somewhere else, and I can wear whatever the heck I want to wear.

Yours in denim,
Andy B.

New Holes in Corneille's Head!

If she loses any more teeth, we'll have to start feeding her jello for every meal!

My daughter Cori has lost another tooth. She reports that another is loose. That one will make four teeth in just the past couple of weeks! Plus the two that she lost when she was five. You'd think the kid was growing or something!
- Andy B.

Discovery at the Zoo

First Beginnings Preschool at the Zoo!

Dear Friends,
If you want to learn something new about the wonder and joy that comes from the amazing diversity of God's creation, take a trip to the zoo with a class of 15 preschoolers! That's what I did yesterday, as a chaperone for First Beginnings, our church's preschool. (My son Wes attends First Beginnings. He's the one on the far right in the picture.)

Yesterday, it was hot and sunny. Not a fantastic "zoo day," in that the animals were doing a lot of sitting still in the shade in order to stay cool. But for the kids, every new habitat we saw was a discovery.
- We discovered a little critter called a hyrax, with whom the kids were enamored. "Hi, Rax! Hi, Rax!" they called.
- We discovered that warthogs are actually beautiful creatures, if you look at them just right.
- We discovered that walking through a shady forest and catching sight of a jaguar peering at you from under a bush is a pretty scary thing!
- We discovered that hippos are "the most hugest" animals we ever saw.
- We discovered that a hungry sea lion can bark loud enough to make you cover your ears. Same with a nervous peacock!

And as I watched the kids discover things about God's amazing creation, I found that I was discovering, too. I was no longer chaperoning a bunch of kids, I was entering into their experience. I was peering into the animal habitats with eager eyes, primed and ready to discover something.

- We also discovered that, no matter how hot and tired and thirsty you get at the end of a morning, sitting in the shade and eating a sack lunch can really perk you up! (That discovery was made especially by the kids. For the teachers and chaperones, twenty minutes sitting and resting was not nearly long enough to be as effective.)

When you allow children to be teachers, you will be amazed at what you will discover!
Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Repent, Democrat!

"Anyone who wants to give your life to Jesus, please come forward as the congregation sings. If you want to be in prayer about how God is calling you to serve, come to the prayer rail and let's pray.

Oh, yes - and those of you who did not vote for George Bush in the last election, come to the altar and repent of your sin. Come down now! ... I know who you are! If you don't come down front, then just go ahead and leave"

In one church in Waynesville, North Carolina, voting for anyone but George Bush will get you called to the altar by your preacher for repentance, and if you choose not to come up to the front, you will be excused from the church altogether.

This is apparently not a joke. This apparently actually happened. A WLOS news clip reported it. It probably will never make big headlines nationally, but the blog world is all over it. One of the reports I saw lists an Associated Press byline, and I have read that Keith Olberman is going to have it on his show tonight.

An isolated incident? Just one nutty preacher? Something to laugh at?

A symptom of something bigger? The first of many nutty preachers? Something to be scared of?

Here's what I think: when it happens in one congregation, it hurts the entire church. Not because it might happen again, but because it happened once. We are one body with many members. What happens with one member affects the entire body.

You know what I think we should do? (tee-hee!) This Sunday, when the preacher extends the invitation to Christian discipleship, I think all of us who voted for John Kerry or Ralph Nader last fall should come on down and repent! We should come to the altar and say, "We are sorry, God. We are sorry for wasting everyone's time by voting last fall. We are sorry for the time we wasted considering the issues, studying candidates' positions, and trying to figure out the best decisions to make. We are sorry for actually thinking that we live in a free Democratic society. It would have been so much easier just to listen to the religious right and do whatever they told us to do. Please do not smite us, O Lord. We promise never to think on our own ever again!"

And since I'm the preacher in my local manifestation of the body, I'll be up front already. Less distance for me to walk!

Faithfully yours,
Andy B.

Missouri State Budget - Pending Disaster!

Hey.

In Missouri, the poor may not be able to get health care, but at least we will have cool sports stadiums!

According to figures in the Kansas City Star, TWELVE MILLION dollars from the state of Missouri is going to upgrade professional sports facilities in our state.
And in the meantime, NINETY THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FOUR people will lose their health insurance thanks to cuts in the state budget.

Now I’m not so naïve as to claim that that $12,000,000 would be sufficient to cover the health insurance cost of those 90,604 people. But Governor Matt Blunt has some ‘splaining to do, Lucy. He told us he had to make some hard decisions about the budget, and decided to reduce social programs for the poor in order to move closer to fiscal responsibility. I was not okay with that, nor were some other folks, but it happened, and here we are.

Now, however, if Missouri gives $12,000,000 to upgrade the state’s sporting facilities, the question our resident compassionate conservative has to answer is, “Where did you get that money, Matt?” I thought we were cutting our budget because we were broke! The way I see it, two things are possible:

1) Missouri is not as broke as Matt Blunt told us. If that is the case, he lied.

2) Missouri would rather upgrade sporting facilities than care for people in need. If that is the case, the values upon which our state government operates are seriously skewed.

My state representative, Trent Skaggs, believes that the budget is a moral document that should reflect the values of the people of the state. He is very concerned with the path the current administration and legislature are taking. What does your state rep think? More important, does your state rep know what you think? Call them! Email them! Let them know! 90,604 people will thank you for it.

To take no action is, in fact, to act.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Beth Stroud

Beth Stroud

Dear Friends,
You have probably heard by now that United Methodist pastor Beth Stroud had her orders removed for being a lesbian, then recently reinstated. If you have read Enter the Rainbow before, you probably can guess my position on this whole issue. But just in case, here it is in a nutshell:

1) I do not consider homosexuality to be a sin and,
2) Even if it was a sin as many believe, one's sexual orientation has very little to do with one's call to ordained ministry. I, for example, am not "that heterosexual preacher," I'm just a preacher. A sinful yet forgiven preacher just like Beth Stroud, and
3) There are a lot more important things for the Church of Jesus Christ to say and do than obsess about sex all the time, and finally
4) Homosexuality is not a sin. (Or did I mention that already?)

With that in mind, I want to invite you to check out a couple of the Methodist blogs that I have listed over on the right hand margin. Start out by going to Shane Raynor's blog - http://www.wesleyblog.com/ There you will read Shane's conservative United Methodist opinion and a string of comments that represent a spectrum of perspectives on this issue. Most are anti-gay, but every now and then a voice of dissent can be heard, even a few from some guy called Andy B. who, last I heard, dwells in a rainbow somewhere.

But most importantly, read the interview that Shane did with Beth Stroud. I disagree with him staunchly on this issue, but I respect him highly for his reasonable questions and respectful tone. He is clearly a person of integrity and decency. I admire and respect his willingness to keep the conversation going here in virtual space.

And most of the comments on the Wesley Blog are reasonable and respectful, too. Oh, a couple of people express their bitterness and hatred, but they are a minority. (I think those kind of folks need to quit taking themselves so flipping seriously!) Surf around some of the other blogs on that list to read some of the myriad of opinions out there.

Not only what we have to say matters, but the way in which we say it matters, too. If you choose to comment on my blog (or another one) about this issue or any other, I know that you will do so in a respectful and reasonable way. Try not to attack, just state your own belief. State it with passion and depth, but do so in love and grace.

Finally, I just wanted to mention that, in spite of having her clergy orders reinstated, Beth has chosen to refrain from resuming her clergy duties until the case is fully resolved. For what it is worth, she is a servant of the church with an extra portion of level-headedness and authenticity. She knows that she has a divine call to be a minister, and she is patient enough to wait until the church figures out something she already knows! Please pray for the church, for the United Methodist denomination, and for Beth as this conversation continues.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

D@#% Democrats!

Hey, what's up? I read the paper yesterday morning, and I gotta ask ... Aren't you sick of those blasted obstructionist Democrats? Who do they think they are, refusing to affirm President Bush's nominees? Threatening to filibuster? What kind of a country do they think this is, free or something?
I mean, how dare they approve J. Michael Seabright to be a federal judge for the district of Hawaii by a margin of 98 - 0. 98? ... 98!?!? Where were those other two Senators? Probably out trying to obstruct somthing.
And what is up with appoving 95% of the people Bush has nominated? Only 95%?!? Come on, people. 95% is not even close to where we need to be. Let's aim high! Blast the fallacious filibuster! Ram onward to 100%!!!

Sigh ...

Seriously, though. My four-year-old son likes to race. "Let's race!" he will say. When it looks as though he is going to lose, though, he calls out, "It's not a race, okay?" even though it was his idea to race in the first place. He changes the rules of the game when it looks like he might lose. And let me repeat - he is four years old. Bush nominees lose 5% of the time; he is batting .950 for the season. And when one of those 5 times out of 100 that they lose happens, his team calls out, "Let's change the rules!" so that they will win, anyway.

D@#% Democrats.

If I don't laugh, I might cry,
Andy B.

Florida Foster Care Fiasco

Dear All,
This story falls into the category of: Are you kidding me?

Here are the facts as reported in the palmbeachpost.com :
- 13 year old girl
- neglected or abused by parents
- in foster care
- repeated runaway
- now pregnant
- talked with case worker
- cannot afford to support a baby
- wants abortion
- psychologist finds no mental problems
- Florida judge says no

And here is the "Are you kidding me?" bit:
The state of Florida is trying to argue that the girl is not able to make an informed medical decision because she is too immature. So they are going to force her to become a mother. Because she is too immature to decide to have an abortion. The logic must be, "You don't need as much maturity to be a mother as you do in order to decide not to be one." Excuse me?!?

But this is directly counter to the argument that anti-abortion activists ususally make. Usually we hear, "Since you were mature enough to decide to have unprotected sex, you must be mature enough to accept the consequences of that choice." Apparantly that line of reasoning wasn't working out. So someone decided to switch from the "You are mature enough" argument to the "You are too immature" argument. Both of these arguments, by the way, are grounded in nothing more than a political agenda, neither in compassion for the unborn baby or the mother, nor a desire to celebrate the abundant life God gives.

What is my reaction to all of this? Well, my reaction is that more Christian families should should open their homes for foster care and adoption, and states should do everything possible to make it easier for people to adopt. Christians are called to a life of compassion and grace, not moralizing and judgement. The list of children waiting for adoption is long. I mean, it is long. I wish there was as much passion in the adoption debate as there is in the abortion debate. If we are truly "pro-life," we are going to make is as easy as possible for healthy families to adopt and provide foster care for children in need.

A 13 year old girl in foster care wants an abortion because she knows she cannot be a mother for this baby. What is the Christian response? We can choose to be a "NO" or a "YES" for this girl. We say either "NO abortion for you" and slam the door in her face, or perhaps we say "YES, I will welcome your baby into my home and care for her or him as my own child," and open the door to the rest of her life.

L'chaim, Andy B.

Saint Stuart

Stuart Whitney

Jesus said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Dear Friends,
Reverend Stuart Whitney died last Tuesday afternoon. (You'll have to create an account with the Kansas City Star to view the article I have linked.) At last, this man, who has for decades been laying down his life for his friends, can rest. There will never be another Stuart. The cancer that robbed him of his body robbed him neither of his passion for the gospel nor his compassion for people in need. We are blessed to have known him, and to have walked the journey alongside him for a little while. Please pray; gratitude for the life of Stuart and healing for the grief in the hearts of the ones who love him.

Stuart decided to start a homeless shelter 20 or so years ago, and was not going to let a little thing like Kansas City's zoning laws stop him. When winter temperatures fell into single digits, Stuart opened the doors of reStart without the approval of the city. And because it was the right thing to do, no one stopped him. Stuart worked tirelessly for justice for the homeless, the hungry, the impoverished - anyone anywhere who had a need Stuart could meet, he worked to get it met. Grounded in scripture, shaped by the church, and formed by his own experiences with injustice and poverty, his compassion for his friends was unmatched.

And we all were his friends, you know? When I sat across the table over coffee, talking with Stuart, I knew that in that moment I was the most important person in the world to him. That's the way he treated everyone. No greater love. He was discipleship incarnate.

Stuart, we will miss you. We owe you so much. How many lives did you touch? How many broken souls did you help get put back together? How many people would not be who they are today without your impact? I want you to know that there are a bunch of young clergy who are ready to pick up where you left off. You go ahead and rest, we'll take it from here.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Happy Birthday to ... ewww!

Her parents are so proud.

Dear Rainbow Dwellers,
I really just wanted to see how easy it is for me to post pictures within my blog entries, so I chose this lovely photo of my cousin Amanda celebrating at a recent family birthday party in order to see if posting pictures is in the realm of my ability. On an unrelated note, I would like to take a moment and thank Amanda for being who she is.
The good news is, it seems to be pretty painless to post pictures. A whole new world is open before me!
Shalom,
Andy B.

Loose tooth after ... 

Loose tooth before ... 

Not Just Numbers from Iraq

This is from the latest Christian Century, which cites the Guardian, March 19 as its source:

Toll of the Iraq war:
- 1,512 U.S. troops killed in Iraq
- 1,157 combat deaths
- 355 U.S. noncombat deaths
- 11,285 troops wounded
- 17,053 - 19,422 estimated civilian casualties since the war started, according to Iraq Body Count
- 189 foreign nationals kidnapped since October 2003, 47 still captive
- 170,000 coalition troops as of March 2003
- 175,000 coalition troops as of March 2005
- 18,000 estimated insurgents
- 1,000 estimated foreign insurgents

This is from me: Every one of the numbers represents a sacred human life, with parents, pet peves, dreams and desires, passions and personality quirks. Every single digit on that list is a child of God, and therefore of immeasurable worth. This is not a list of numbers, it is a list of souls.
AJ Muste said, "There is no way to peace, peace is the way." Marla Ruzicka said, "It is a luxury for people to say war is bad when they are in San Francisco. ... You can't say something is bad unless you come in with ways to fix it." Dwight Eisenhower said, "I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
War is not an abstract concept; real people get hurt and bleed and even die. Peace is not an abstract concept, either; real people survive and live and even flourish.
Make peace today, so that there will be no more lists of not-just-numbers tomorrow.
Grace and peace,
Andy B.

My Hero

Marla Ruzicka was killed Saturday in Iraq. I never heard of her before I heard that she was killed. She is now my hero.

28 years old. By herself. Going door to door in Afghanistan and then Iraq, assessing the damage done. A total of $50 to her name. Helping the innocent was her thing, and she was doing it, and had been for a while. She started an organization called CIVIC Worldwide in order to continue to do what needed to be done. Please visit their website. It is remarkable. Watch the Nightline piece done a couple of years ago about CIVIC. If you do not weep openly, something is wrong with you.

Marla Ruzicka is my hero. She wanted the world to change, and went about changing it. Before any relief agency of any kind was organized and operating in Iraq, Marla was there. She was visiting families, playing with orphaned kids, listening to grieving parents lament, confronting military bureaucracy, offering love and compassion from a seemingly inexhaustible well. She said, "No one can heal the wounds that have been inflicted; you just have to recognize that people have been harmed."

I am nothing. My big three story house, my two cars, my enormous salary, my closet full of clothes, my fridge full of food. It's dust in the wind. I can sit here in affluence and comfort and bitch and moan about the problems of the world all I want, but I know I'm not going to actually do anything worthwhile.

Marla Ruzicka did, and she got killed because of it.

What would I die for?

God help me, I don't know if there is anything.

I thank God for Marla Ruzicka. I pray that I can be like her. God give me her strength. Her passion. Her unwavering commitment to what is good and right and peaceful. Marla Ruzicka is my hero.

How Much Tolerance is Too Much?

When do I draw the line?

This question rattles me a little bit, and I ask it a lot. There is a point at which tolerance becomes apathy. Where is that point?

My daughter Cori has a classmate I'll call Debbie. Debbie was at Cori's birthday party. As far as I knew, they were the best of friends. A couple of days ago, I asked Cori if she wanted to invite Debbie over for a play date. Cori's expression immediately constricted into her famous "I-am-very-angry" face. Her brow furrowed, her lips pursed, her eyes flashed. With seven-year-old fists on seven-year-old hips, she said quite firmly, "No! She's not my friend any more."

I, being Mr. Tolerant, wanted to give Debbie a fair hearing. "What happened?" I asked.

Cori said, "She is too rough at recess, and when I got hurt she laughed at me."

Now I know that compassion deficiency is not uncommon in the first grade, but Debbie had reached a boundary with Cori. It was clear in Cori's mind - "She's not my friend any more" becaue she laughed at me when I was hurt. Cori could not tolerate this heartlessness, and acted accordingly.

Oh, that I could be so certain! Life is complicated, and it is very difficult to separate personalities from actions. How many "Debbies" are there, whom I must love as Jesus commands, but whose actions I cannot tolerate? And when you substitute the word "beliefs" for "actions," it gets even more tricky, doesn't it?

My prayer is that I can learn from my daughter on this one. There has to be a time when a person is "not my friend any more" because of his or her hatefulness, heartlessness, prejudice, or discriminatory ideology. Where do I draw that line?

Maybe I can apply Cori's recess test. So, if you are too rough at recess and you laugh at people when they are hurt, I'm not going to be inviting you over for a play date any time soon.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

I Have Officially Seen Everything

Hoo, boy! Something is seriously out of whack with the planetary alignment. In the past two days I have read two columns by conservative commentators that have really blown my mind. If what these two guys have to say is actually true, something is going on that is way more freaky than anyone could have predicted.

Today, Jonah Goldberg wrote a column claiming an issue for conservatives that, I have to say, I have never really heard claimed by them before. Listen to this: conservatives are now ... (are you sitting down?) ... environmentalists. That's right, according to Mr. Goldberg, being rich makes you environmentally friendly. As if any of us actually know what happens to our garbage after we put it on the curb, let alone care! And I don't even want to mention the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, do I? When forests are bulldozed to make room for new neighborhoods of half-million dollar homes on a daily basis - this is environmentalism? Give me a break.

But even more bizaare was yesterday, when David Brooks tried to make a claim that conservatives are actually ... (and if you weren't sitting down before, you should definitely do so now) ... diverse! Now I actually agree with Mr. Brooks' claim here; it's what entering the rainbow is all about. But Brooks says it as if it is a brand new idea he is introducing to the world. Furthermore, he entreats liberals to claim their own diversity as a way to make themselves stronger, since it has evidently worked so well for the conservatives. The kicker is, of course, that diversity is now and always has been a core value of liberalism. I am grateful that Mr. Brooks is just now discovering that conservatives are a diverse group, but I could have told him that a long time ago. So don't try to "introduce" liberals to the concept, please. When it comes to diversity, we pretty much already know that song. (It is even hard for me to use the labels "conservative" and "liberal," as I have in this entry, because doing so paints with too wide a brush stroke. I do so merely for the sake of simplicity.)

Somebody tell me what is going on! With environmentalism and diversity now being claimed by more conservative types, what will be next? Might conservatives begin supporting Head Start? Maybe public schools will be "discovered" next by the political right. One morning, a conservative columnist is going to write, "Hey, I just noticed that there are poor people in our country who need help!" If that happens, we will then know for certain that the planets are lining up funny! At least, by noticing their own diversity, Mr. Brooks and other conservatives may start to notice the rest of the world, too.
Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Priorities

Happy Easter! Since we started the season of Easter last Sunday, signs of new life are everywhere. Grass is greening, birds are singing, warm breezes blowing. Good stuff! Important stuff!

Spring makes you think about priorities - what is important to you, here and now. How much time outside in the midst of God's wonderful creation did you spend today? Can you see sunlight from where you are sitting right now? Can you feel any fresh air? Can you see your bird feeder? (You do have a bird feeder, right?) Cori has a notebook in our kitchen, right next to the window from whence we look to see our bird feeder. In her book, we keep track of all the different kinds of birds that partake of the seed we are offering. We do this because it is important for us. It is our priority.

The United Methodist Church has some priorities, too. The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) has a brochure that lists the top Legislative Priorities for 2005. In it, we find:
- End the War in Iraq
- Fight the Global AIDS Pandemic
- Preserve Social Security
- Oppose Internet Gambling
- Address the Global Climate Crisis
- Protect Social Safety Net
- Support Just Immigration Reform
These seven justice issues are on the front burner for our denomination. We will address them because they are important for us. They are our priorities.
I notice some of our perceived "hot button" issues are not there:
- "Protect the Institution of Marriage" is not there.
- "Spread Democracy in the World" is not there.
- "Ensure the Right to Life" is not there.
I notice what is important for the church, and I choose to focus my energy in those places. I am not saying these other things are not important at all, just not as important to the denomination as some other issues currently at hand. Each Christian makes her or his choices, and some even hold big expensive rallies in order to promote their priorities.
You make your choice, too. You might not agree with what the GBCS lists as top priorities for this year, and that is fine. But find something! Decide what your priority is, and pursue it with every ounce of your passion. Do it becaue it is important for you.
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take a walk in the park. Because it is important.
God is good - all the time!
Andy B.

Wrong Does Not Mean Unfaithful

I read this week about a forum held at the Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. The forum featured two clergy, one who was there to claim homosexuality is a sin and one who was there to claim homosexuality is not a sin. Now, one of these men is wrong, and I cannot see how it could be otherwise. They were debating in an either/or format. But the one you or I personally think is wrong depends on our respective belief systems, our readings of scripture, the things we have been taught, our life experiences, our relationships with God.

Here is the thing: I hope that we do not take the next step and say that the one we think is wrong is somehow unfaithful. Each of the two pastors, with their oppositional beliefs about homosexuality, is struggling to live faithfully to God's call in his life. Each of the two pastors, who cannot both be "right" (for whatever that is worth) on this issue, is a beloved child of God and worthy of our love and respect. Being wrong does not mean being unfaithful.

Now, I will stand toe to toe with anyone in the world with my firm belief that homosexuality is not a "lifestyle," not a choice, and not a sin. I am equipped with a knowledge of the scripture, spiritual formation in a loving family and church, what I hope is a close relationship with God, and wonderful relationships with friends who are real live, "self-avowed, practicing," honest-to-goodness homosexuals. If ever given the chance, I will look Rev. Jerry Johnston right in the eye and work my hardest to convice him how wrong he is.

BUT - I also expect him to work equally as hard to convince me of my error. I believe what I believe - but I desire to be shown where my belief is inaccurate or weak. Let's not beat each other up with the Bible any more, okay? Let's admit that we might be wrong, okay? Let's start by affirming that what we know about God and people and the world and stuff is just limited, finite knowledge, and that none of us - NONE OF US - has exclusive privy to God's favor, okay? I might be wrong; you might be wrong; but neither one of us should be excluded from the availability of God's grace, okay?

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

"The Glow of Distant Worlds"

Who else but an astro-physicist? What other person could display this depth of wonder and awe? Who in the world has a richer appreciation for creation than one who spends all day every day gazing at its beauty?

I read today about a team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who has for the first time measured light from two big planets in orbit around distant stars. A member of the team said, ""It's an awesome experience to realize we are seeing the glow of distant worlds. When I first saw the data, I was ecstatic."

What self-respecting scientist uses phrases like "the glow of distant worlds?" That sounds like a line from a Fanny Crosby hymn! This man of science describes a state of ecstasy and awe that is often reserved for experiences of a religious nature. Which in a way, this was.

In the last ten years, over 130 extrasolar planets have been discovered by earth-bound scientists. They generally detect them by noting a small gravitational wobble in the observed star or a brief dimming in the star's light as the planet passes in front of it. But now we are actually able to "see" the infrared light that is emitted by the planets themselves, using technology like NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Noticing more and more of the wonders of creation, being awed by the beauty of worlds beyond our own, just considering the infinite potential of the universe: these are religious experiences, whether you name them as such or not. Some may disagree, preferring to keep the "religious experiences" category limited to "Jesus experiences" or "God experiences" (or "my experiences"), and unwilling to even consider that scientific discovery can, and often does, draw us closer to the Creator.

But science and religion are not enemies, and they never have been. To separate them from one another is detrimental to both. It took science to allow humanity to gaze in ecstasy into "the glow of distant worlds."

"O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed,
then sings my soul, my saviour God, to thee, 'How great thou art! How great thou art!' "
(text: Stuart K. Hine, 1953)

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Eternal Life at Age 7

"Daddy, if you believe in Jesus you will never die. Right, Daddy?" said Cori at dinner last night.

Now, Cori is seven years old, and safe to say the sweetest seven year old you have ever spoken with. Her little voice is a lilting, melodious bird song, even when she is speaking the most ordinary words. So when she speaks extraordinary words such as the ones she uttered last night, it is all you do to keep your heart from splitting right down the middle. And when she said, "Right, Daddy?" she looked at me with her enormous, round, blue eyes and blinked a couple of times. What is a preacher-dad to do?

Thankfully, Mom took over.

"That's right, Cori." She was very sure of herself.

"What about Annie?" countered our daughter, "She died." (Annie was our dog, by the way. She died a couple of years ago.)

Cori paused and thought a second before grinning and asking, "Did Annie believe in Jesus?"

Cori is smart. She is, you could say, damn smart! She knew that we had told her, at the occasion of Annie's demise, that she was in heaven with God now. But here she was with the intriguing notion that one had to believe in Jesus in order to enter into eternal bliss in the arms of our Lord. Surely it is not within a dog's capacity to believe in Jesus, is it? Is it even in our capacity to believe in Jesus enough to be assured of entry into paradise? Isn't that the Question of questions here - the one that has divided Christians one from another for untold centuries?

But wouldn't you know, Cori has an answer. After she allowed my wife and I to fumble around with trite platitudes for a while, she simply said, "Prob'ly 'cause she was with us, and we believe in Jesus, that was enough."

Maybe the question is not what you believe but with whom you are in relationship? Yeah, that's prob'ly it. Thanks, Cori.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Human / Nature?

Does nature itself have intrisic value, or is the natural world only valuable insofar as it serves human needs? The U.S. Senate has voted 51 to 49 in favor of the latter: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/11154895.htm

By setting the stage for oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, our Senate has shown where their moral principles really are. God's good creation is to be valued if we can get something from it, but not otherwise. I actually heard a drilling proponent say that this coastal Alaska wildlife refuge was not his idea of a beautiful, pristine place to be preserved. Now, unless this guy was a talking polar bear, I am not surprised to hear him say so. Of course the north coast of Alaska is not a place one would want to build a nice beach house for vacations, but the ecosystem is home for a diverse array of life, created by God and therefore of sacred worth.

51 U.S. Senators have made it a matter of public record that their ethical concern does not extend to the intrinsic worth of God's creation. Not even, supposedly, with the knowledge that "God saw everything that had been made, and indeed, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31) Despite the efforts of environmentalists to protect nature from human violation, it seems we are bent on squeezing every drop of the earth's resources from our home planet, as if she was a giant sponge rather than a living, breathing organism.

So what do you think? Should our assessment of the value of the natural world be based upon what human beings can gain from it? Is there something sacred about nature that we humans might not fully understand, but ought to honor? How much of my suspicion that big oil companies have a lot to do with this is just cynicism, and how much is real? I'm looking forward to reading responses!

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

Religious Tolerance Web Site

Please check out this website. Click on the title of this blog entry to go to it. This is great stuff. Go and read. Spend some time clicking around the various topics. Everything I have found there is honest, balanced, and insightful. Many sides of a variety of diverse issues are explored. It is a hopeful and helpful site where you could spend fifteen minutes or a couple of hours, depending on how much time you have.

The home page of this site says, "Religious tolerance means to extend religious freedom to people of all religions, even though you disagree with their beliefs and/or practices." This is a website for people who want to know God's creation as the wonderfully diverse place that it is, and to explore some of that diversity. It is not militant, but it has a clearly defined agenda (just like everyone, of course. Why has "agenda" become a dirty word?). The agenda of this website is tolerance. (Why has "tolerance" become a dirty word, too?)

I hope you have a chance to peruse it.
Grace and peace,
Andy B.

The Four-Year-Old's Faith

Last night, my son Wesley and I had a conversation about praying. Wes is four. (I have written about him before.) In his bed, after getting pj's on, brushing teeth, and having our bedtime stories, Wes and I kind of snuggled in together to talk. I told him a little story, just something silly I made up. Then, after a small quiet time, I asked, "Wes, you want to say a prayer?"

"No," was his immediate reply.

"Why not?"

"I don't know anything to say." (It sounded like "anyfing" when he said it.)

"Well, Wes, you don't have to say anything special, just listen for what God has to say to you." This was excellent theology, and I was sure that it would impact him deeply. After all, I had been to seminary and knew all about stuff like this.

"But I never heard God before." (It sounded like "heared.")

Okay, this was another issue, but I was equipped. "You might not listen with your ears, but you can listen with your heart."

Giving me a look that said, Yeah, yeah, I have heard that one before and I'm not buying it, Wesley said, "I never heared him with my heart, either."

(Long pause.)

What do you say to that? It is a four-year-old's first crisis of faith. How do you say something to a four-year-old in that moment that will make any kind of impression, some kind of difference in his relationship with God? I couldn't think of anything to say, so I hugged him.

Maybe that was enough.

Hugging him, I said "Wes, you know how you get up every morning and come downstairs all sleepy and stuff, and you climb up into Mommy's lap and snuggle with her for a little bit until you wake up all the way? You know how that feels? Maybe that is kind of like what God feels like."

Wesley didn't say anything. He was asleep.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.

P.S. My friend Roger has a great story about something his daughter taught him about God. Check it out: http://seamhead86.blogspot.com/2005/03/mouths-of-babes.html

Calling it Splits

I have been out of town for a week, so I haven't had a chance to write. I was in Nashville at a big United Methodist shindig. Good stuff. But I'm back now, so look out! I have some catching up to do.

A newspaper article in the paper yesterday (the link in the title above should take you to the article) told of Christ Church Episcopal in Overland Park splitting away from the Kansas diocese of the Episcopal church. There is also a great letter about it at www.episcopal-ks.org. The issue at the center of the split is "human sexuality," which is a code word for our attitudes toward people who are homosexual. The congregation is leaving because the larger church has proven to be too tolerant in it's ordination the Bishop of New Hampshire.

The congregation's Rev. Ron McCrary calls the split a "win-win situation" because there was no bitterness or animosity in the split. They are just taking their congregation and leaving. They are saying: No hard feelings, huh? You aren't going to play by the rules WE make, so we'll just quit playing with you altogether. Forget about all that "Christian conversation" crap, that's just for show. Forget about all of that "Come, let us reason together" fluffy stuff (Isaiah 1:18). Too touchy-feely for me. Bottom line is - we don't agree, so I'm going to play with some kids who think like I do!

Win-win situation? Who exactly is winning what here? Who made this a contest? How did living together as the body of Christ get perverted into a situation where there are winners and/or not losers?

The article said that the congregation would assume the $1.7 MILLION mortgage and pay the diocese $1 MILLION for the right to leave. So what we have here is a church willing to shell out 2.7 MILLION DOLLARS rather than be a part of a denomination with a bishop who is gay. First of all, I'm thinking we should be shocked an apalled that there is a congregation with 2.7 MILLION DOLLARS on hand to spend! What else could they do with all that money? How many hungry people could eat for a year using their 2.7 MILLION DOLLARS? How many pairs of new shoes for how many poor children could we buy? How much medical insurance could honest, hard-working folks afford with that 2.7 MILLION DOLLARS? Makes you want to cuss, doesn't it?

Second of all, here is a group of people who is hard at work to ship food to people in Sudan (a wonderful and worthy endeavor), but cannot see the glaring disconnect between this mission and their stance with regard to people who are gay. Rev. McCrary says, "This church has a long history of reaching out to hurting people in our own city and foreign countries." Well, I just hope none of those Sudanese people receiving your food are homosexual, Christ Church Episcopal. We wouldn't want "those kind of people" to receive any grace now, would we?

The retreat into fundamentalism is well underway, faithful rainbow-dwellers! And in the Episcopal church in Overland Park, it is very, very real - you can see it happening.

Just want to leave you with this thought. I figured I would throw a little scripture in the mix, just to make things interesting! "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6) I guess that pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

Grace and Peace (and today, maybe a dash of Hope - God knows we need it),
Andy B.