The Tree Across the Alley

There is a tree just across the alley from my office window. Right now, it is kind of scraggly. The branches are bare of leaves. It is what my mom might describe as “puny,” one of her all-time favorite words. If I were to judge my tree from this distance and in this moment, I might offer a rather mundane assessment. It is a tree that is sublimely unnoticeable.
But I remember that tree last spring and summer. I remember the bright new growth. I remember the full green vitality. The birds who used that tree for a launching pad to my window bird feeder remember, too. The memory of that other time assures me in this moment that something wonderful is about to happen to the tree across the alley.
And when I walk up to that tree and look very closely, I can see the buds forming on the little twiggly branches. I can see the aspect of what will be already present in the fragile new life. When I get in really close so that I can see what’s truly going on, I know that I am just about to witness a miracle on the tree across the alley.
Over the next few weeks, the tree is going to be transformed. No longer the scraggly, puny specimen it is right now, it will bud, then blossom, then come to full, vibrant health. It won’t happen all at once, but moment by moment, inexorably, gradually. By the time I sit here again next month, writing Andy’s Articulation for May, it will seem to be a different tree altogether.

We need to be careful, don’t we, when we might be tempted to make a judgment based on a momentary glance taken from a distance. Before we do so, we need to remember – remember where we have been, the places from where we have come, the experiences we have shared. We need to remember how God has been at work not only in the moment but also through the years, through the generations, in fact, through all time and even beyond. And we need to remember that God will be at work in this world long after we’ve gone.
Before we offer that judgment, we need to look closely – look closely at the variables in the given situation, the people involved, the relationships forming. We need to be as fully engaged as possible in the situation and know as much about it as we can before we make any kind of judgment, one way or the other. I am sure that God is overlooked vastly more often than noticed in the world around us, and I would guess that most often it happens when we are not truly looking closely enough.

Jesus cautioned, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment” (John 7:24, NRSV). If I judge the tree across the alley by “mere appearances,” it’s really not much of a tree. But if I remember and if I look closely, I can make a “right judgment,” knowing that the tree will soon come to life again.
By the way, this works with people, too!

Monday Quiz:

Guess which one is the retired United Methodist Bishop, and which one is the old goat?


(Sorry, sorry, sorry. But it was just too easy to pass up! It's a joke, people. I love you, Daddy Monk. You are my grandfather and I have nothing but respect for you. I sure hope you are chuckling right about now :) )

A New Appointment

Last post: March 12th. Wow. I am a slacker.

But in my own defense, I have had some things on my mind since then. Not an excuse, just an explanation. Ya' see...

In June of this year, the Bryan family will be moving to Springfield, Missouri, where I will be appointed to serve as pastor of Campbell United Methodist Church. The appointment has been announced both at Campbell and here in North Kansas City, so it will be made official at Annual Conference, and the last weekend of June will be our first weekend in Springfield.

When the Ozarks South District Superintendent Kendall Waller told me about Campbell UMC and the particular needs of that congregation, he gave me some time to pray and think about it, and to talk it over with my wife Erin. In this process, I discerned that God is calling me to serve as the pastor there. I said yes to this appointment because Erin and I truly believe that we are being called to Campbell.

Of course, that is not to say that we are eager to leave Northtown – far from it! We love this remarkable congregation, and the last four years together have been filled with love and joy and genuine Christian friendship. I heard someone relatively new to the congregation say recently, “I am constantly amazed at how much you all actually enjoy being together. It’s like you really like each other!” How true that is, and what a wonderful thing to be said of a congregation.

And that’s what the new pastor is going to find here – a remarkable, Christ-centered, people-focused congregation. The new pastor is going to find a congregation who understands its mission to provide a Spiritual Home in which all persons can live and grow in their relationships with God and one another. The new pastor is going to find a vital and vibrant congregation with a lot of momentum and energy, growing both spiritually and numerically, and always ready to reach out and convey the love of Christ in all they say and do.

And so we're leaving a good place - and going to a good place. Campbell UMC is a community of really great people who have been through a lot together. I have already sensed an eagerness and an energy in the people there that promises some pretty good things. God is clearly at work in the community, and we are looking forward to being there and getting to know everybody. I can see nothing but wonderfulness in the future for Campbell!

Itenerant preachers sometimes have to leave a place where things have not gone well - that can be messy. And sometimes we have to go to a place that we are sort of dreading - that can be scary. But how lucky am I, leaving one vital and vibrant congregation and going to another one!

Your prayers during this time of transition will be greatly appreciated.

Young Adults

My brother likes to say that young adults are not a field of sociological study, an observation which is especially true for people who happen to be young adults. For young adults, young adulthood is called life, and the tendency for the church to objectify young adults as a demographic to be analyzed and then "reached out to" seems a completely disconnected and sometimes even insulting endeavor.

I personally am dismayed by the almost desperate tendency to pin the "savior" lable on young adults and so-called "young adult ministries," whatever those are. It sometimes feels like church leaders think that, if we can just get enough people under 30 here, everything's going to be okay. All of the decline in membership and ministry and relevance and all that jazz will just magically go away if we can grab a hold of a few twenty-somethings and bring 'em in. My response, simply put, is that the church's approach to young adults is counterproductive. Let me 'splain:

Let's start with the premise: It seems as though there is an effort to get more young adults into the church by studying ways that the church can reach out to them. Now, do you hear that? The question on the table is how can "we" (the church) get "them" (the young adults) involved with "us" (the church again).

So, what usually happens next is that somebody who thinks they are clever says something pithy like, "The answer is to meet them where they are, not expect them to come to us." Have you heard that one before? But notice the problem with that line of thought is exactly the same problem as before - the artificial separation between "them" and "us" is still there. If "we" are metaphorically going to meet "them" where they are, young adults are still objectified and separated from the church, rather than thought of as the church themselves. This line of thinking says that young adults are a mission field, they are not part of the church.

What would happen if we started with the belief that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (i.e. Galatians 3) - and then added to that list OLD nor YOUNG? How would the church engage in ministry differently if we truly believed that and made that idea the foundation for what we do? What if, instead of "bringing them in" or even "meeting them where they are," we just let young adults (ALL adults, in fact) just be who they are and do what they do where they are, and everyone could just be okay with that.

Even my brother misses the mark sometimes. He has this big thing about bringing a rock concert experience into the church worship service. What if, instead of that, we just thought of the rock concert experience itself as worship? What if, instead of trying to find the magic program to install into our church ministry plan to attract young adults, we just gave people permission to rethink what church is all about in the first place?

Young adults, who are the church, could just do what they do, and everyone would be okay with it. Retirees, who are the church, could just do what they do, too, and everyone would be okay with that, too. Youth, who are the church, ... Children, who are the church, .... you get the idea. In fact, young adults and retirees (and youth and children for that matter) might just find themselves doing things together every now and then, and everyone would be okay with that, even.

There is no "them" and "us" - it's all us. Young adults are not the saviors of the church, they are the church, here and now, wherever they happen to be and whatever they happen to be doing.

"Deeply Moved"

Those two words caught my attention in preparing for this week's sermon. "Deeply moved." They are in John 11, the story of Lazarus, and describe how Jesus responds to the situation. John tells us that "he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved." In fact, so profound is Jesus' emotional response that he cannot contain his own tears.

I've been pondering why this incident is recorded. Why does John share this intimate glimpse at the inner emotional life of Jesus in his gospel? I mean, this is the Messiah here! God's anointed. The light of the world come to shine in the darkness and all that. What's he doing crying?

But perhaps the question answers itself. John tells us that he wrote his version of the story down "so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believeing you may have life in his name" (20:31). So John wants us to believe. That's his agenda - to move us from un-belief (maybe dis-belief?) into belief. I don't know about you, but it sure is a lot easier for me to believe in a Messiah who expresses empathy in response human grief than a Messiah who would stand stoically by, unmoved by the pain and suffering of the people he loves.

What was it that moved Jesus to tears? Perhaps is was simply grief for his friend Lazarus; perhaps compassion for the others who were crying all around him; perhaps he was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer weight of his mission and frustrated that so many people around him weren't "getting it." After all, the resurrection for which the Jewish people were longing (i.e. Daniel 12:1-2) was no longer a distant, "one of these days" event - it was here and now. "I am the resurrection," he said. Not some abstract teaching about the end of the age, but him. Not just the things he was saying and doing, but him. Embodied. Incarnate.

As Mike said last night at Bible study, "It must have been a lot of pressure to be Jesus."

And so in order to accoomplish his mission, he decided to reveal God's power through the death of Lazarus. He basically allowed Lazarus to die in order to make his point. And how far fetched would it be to think that maybe, upon seeing the grief Lazarus's death caused, he may have had a pang or two of regret? Maybe just for an instant he thought, "Oh God, I hope this is worth it."

The confluence of all of that stuff hit Jesus with a powerful impact. And because he loved deeply, he was deeply moved. And because he was deeply moved, we believe. Even in our human relationships, how much easier is it to be friends with someone who is compassionate and empathetic, as opposed to someone we percieve as cold and aloof?

The story of Jesus' relationship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus helps me believe, because I see in Jesus' emotional response the love of God as a vital, vibrant, responsive movement to human pain. I guess I would say that this intimate glimpse of Jesus's inner life makes God more real for me, and helps me figure out what it means to love, because God first loved us.

Personal Update

I don’t think I have ever been so sick. Last week I did not come in to the church at all; I turned over the Saturday night worship service to Adam; I spent most of the time in my recliner under a blanket drinking apple juice and blowing my nose.

(By the way, thanks be to God on high for Puffs Plus.)

The nurse at the doctor’s office said that she probably could just photocopy my symptoms and change the name for the few hundred people they had seen with fever, cough, runny nose, and congestion. The worst thing was that my energy level was zero; I just couldn’t do anything. It was a major undertaking to walk across the living room. The doctor said that it probably started out as the flu and then became an upper respiratory infection. The good news is that my lungs were clear – no pneumonia.

Anyway, I’m back at it now. I’m feeling more energy than I have in two weeks, and have been able to come in to the office and get some catching up done. It’s amazing how much work piles up after just a few days out. I have a prescription of antibiotics to take care of the infection, and I’m almost through those, then a follow-up appointment at my doctor on Friday.

Here’s a funny thing: when my doctor was asking me questions to try to figure out how I had gotten sick he said, “So have you spent any time around sick people?” I just kind of smiled at him and said, “I’m a pastor. It’s kind of a part of my job.” And I was very diligent in all my hospital visits to wash my hands in every room, keep my distance from people, all that stuff. So I don’t think I got sick in the hospital; it was just a thing.

But it feels good to be back – I’ll do a “real” post later this week, most likely.

123 Book Tag

I saw this on Will Deuel's blog.

Here are the rules:

1 - Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (Just grab one, no cheating!)
2 - Find Page 123.
3 - Find the first 5 sentences.
4 - Post the next 3 sentences.
5 - Tag 5 people, who will post theirs in the comment section.

Here is mine:

“One might suggest that the Star Wars movies are designed for children, and that portraying the notion that war is hell would be too gruesome and emotionally distrubing for a young age group. But this defense fails for the simple reason that, unless it is shown to be morally questionable (and that, presumably, is something most children could relate to on some level), violence is rendered part of the everyday, ‘natural’ fabric of existence - at the very least, not a bad thing, and, at most, the (only) path to redemption.”

(I’m only including two sentences because there are so many dependent clauses involved! So complicated!)

And so I am TAGGING:
1 - Brad
2 - Adam
3 - Justin (welcome to the blogosphere, JZ)
4 - Erika
5 - Anyone else who wants to!

Ignatian Examen - It is Called a Discipline for a Reason

"Recall that you are in the presence of God."

This is the first line of the Examen prayer that I am using this Lent as a spritual discipline. (In fact, I'm inviting the whole congregation to participate.) The Examen is a structured time of prayer and reflection with five or six specific steps to go through at the end of each day. It takes maybe 10 - 20 minutes, depending on how deep I go.

But having done it every night for the past couple of weeks, I have realized a pretty cool thing. During the day, in the "heat of the moment" as it were, I just have to say that first line, "Recall that you are in the presence of God," and suddenly there is clarity and breathing space in a way that there wasn't before.

When something happens that is upsetting, "Recall that you are in the presence of God" calms me down so that I can respond more appropriately.

When my to-do list threatens to overwhelm, "Recall that you are in the presence of God" helps me prioritize my day, moment by moment.

When my latent perfectionism freezes me into unmotivated hebetude, "Recall that you are in the presence of God" liberates me to fail gloriously without fear.

And so forth.

I think that's one of the reasons that a spiritual practice needs to be a "discipline" - so that it becomes ingrained, habitual, so much a part of me that just thinking the first line allows me to sense a bit of what I sense when I do the full thing each evening. To borrow from our Buddhist friends, I am able to get into a state of mindfulness very quickly. Just uttering the first line calms me down, heightens my awareness of the present presence of God, and gives me room to breathe.

It's the same thing with music, too. The first couple licks of "You Got to Funkafize" by Tower of Power are all I need to hear for me to get taken to another place. When I hear the opening of U2's "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," I'm awakened immediately. The thunderous opening of the Dies Irae movement in Verdi's "Requiem" catapult me to a different dimension instantly. It's because I am so intimately familiar with these pieces that just hearing one small part of them elicits my response to the whole.

So it is with a spiritual discipline. With the repetition comes familiarity, and a more immediate access to the fullness of the practice. All of which, of course, is intended to draw us ever closer to God, and to becoming the people God desires that we become.

Methodist Technology - Not an Oxymoron Any More!

Check this out.

Hat tip to Erika.

Do Not Oppress the Alien

There has been a very long and in-depth conversation going on at Locusts & Honey about immigration policy. Click here to read through the comments.

John prompted the conversation by asking "to whom the OT refers to as 'foreigners'" in the several passages that instruct God's people in how to treat them. John wonders, are the foreigners/aliens people in Israel "legally" or are they "undocumented" or perhaps the Bible is referring to all foreigners, regardless of legal status.

Good question, and obviously (judging from the comment thread) an evocative one.

What if, though, the reference to "foreigners" is not so nuanced as we might try to make it? What if the Bible is just talking about non-Jews in general? The Jewish people were chosen by God to be a nation or a people. That "chosen people" status permeates the entire Hebrew Bible. To try to make the term refer to our contemporary idea of immigrants may be a stretch, historically speaking. The national identity of the Jews is tied to the land, to be sure, but physical national boundaries were shifty things back then, and even more so the Jewish national identity is about their relationship with God.

So what if those Hebrew Bible references to the foreigner or the alien are describing how people who have a relationship with God should treat people who do not have a relationship with God? Or perhaps how people of one particular religious tradition treat those of another, especially how those of the predominant tradition treat those in the minority?

Or what if it is all of the above? What if it is a broader, more sweeping instruction than we can imagine? What if a Scriptural listing of alien, foreigner, widow, and orphan calls us to notice any and all who are marginalized by the predominant system, whatever it may be, and then to act justly on their behalf? Then the question becomes not "What country are you from?" but rather "How are you being hurt by the predominant system?"

And then, applying that to the contemporary discussion of immigration reform, it calls people to notice how others are being hurt by the U.S. system of immigration. How families may be separated. How bureaucracy drags the process into inordinantly long times. How unbelievably expensive it is. How predators abuse people by inflating the cost of their services which promise help navigating the unwieldy system. How depending upon which official is considering your case on any given day, you might be approved or denied, seemingly at random. How following one office's instructions to the letter doesn't necessarily meet another office's expectations, which can mean either flat-out denial of your request or shuffling it into someone's inbox somewhere until they are able to dig it out and consider it, at which point they may just refer you to another office somewhere to start over again. And so forth.

For me, the immigration issue is not about language or culture or national laws being broken. For me, immigration reform is all about changing the way a predominant system oppresses, marginalizes, and dehumanizes people.

I am hopeful to hear your thoughts, as we continue an important conversation.

Julius In the News - More On Kenya

This link (click here) has a video story featuring Julius and Sarah.

Julius is on his way to Kenya to bury his brother and care for his family. Please pray for his safety and for Sarah's peace of mind. And while you're at it, throw in a couple for an end to this craziness.

This picture, which was in the Kansas City Star this week, is of Julius holding a picture of himself and his brother.

Soulfari Kenya's blog is a place you might go to hear about ways you can help.

The United Methodist Church is there, too. Click here to read about our denomination's response and here is another little blurb. I am interested in the sentence that indicates some church compounds have become safe havens in the voilence. I wish I knew more about that.

Prayers for Kenya - Terrible News

Edna just sent me an email, and when I read the subject line, "Really bad news from Kenya," I braced myself, and opened the email.

Earlier, I had read this news report - click here - describing an assasination in Kenya, really just one more act of violence among many, I thought then.

Edna's email relayed the terrible news that Julius's brother Melitus had been shot and killed in Kenya. (Last week, I posted an email from Julius regarding his brother Emmanuel - click here.) Melitus was the founder of an orphanage where she had been this summer, and as her email mentioned, had recently been elected to parliament.

Suddenly, the news story I had read earlier took on new significance. Amazing how things change when a generic news story suddenly gets personal, isn't it?

Julius and his wife Sarah were here in North KC in worship on Sunday morning. Now, two days later, his brother is killed, the rest of his family are in fear for their lives, and they are confronted with enormous decisions that will have to be made under extreme pressure. He wants to be there with his family; they are terrified of what could happen if (when?) he goes; the rest of his family is in danger and he wants to protect them; there is a great risk to his own well-being if he goes; Kenya is his home and great violence is being done to it - I cannot even begin to imagine what they must be going through.

I told both Edna and Sarah today via email that my prayers this morning when I read the news were not very pleasant. How much richer would our Christian liturgy be if we could cuss? This morning, I did my best to find out. Please pause and say a prayer for Kenya as you read this.

For Julius, Sarah, Emmanuel, Juliana, and for all the rest ...


How long, O Lord?
How long?
I cry for help ... nothing.
I see violence, blood, death ... and still nothing.
How long, O Lord?
How long?

(borrowed from Habakkuk 1)

Just Another Morning at Home

This morning, Wes says to me, "Dad, why isn't ten pronounced like 'onety'?"

This is a typical question from Wes.

In response, Cori said, "Because then twenty would be pronounced like 'twoty'?" (Say it out loud for full effect.)

This is a typical answer from Cori.

Then they both burst out laughing, and periodically repeated the word "twoty" throughout the morning, which of course sent them into another round of near hysterical laughter.

This is a typical conversation around our house.

Church / State / Politics - Here's a question for you ...

I have a few honest questions, and I promise there is no agenda attached.

I read this announcment yesterday, with some bracketed things in order to keep it objective:

The [Specific Political Party] Women's Club of [Unnamed] County will meet at 7
p.m. Monday at [Anonymous] United Methodist Church, [Address].
Membership is open to all [Unnamed] County women who are interested in the [Specific Political Party] and upcoming election issues.
The meeting is open to the public and will feature longtime [Specific Political Party] activist [John Doe]. He will provide information about the [Specific Political Party] primary elections and caucus procedures. [Statewide elected official also of the Specific Political Party] will also attend.
For more information, please call [phone number].

Okay, got the picture? I hope all the [brackets] aren't distracting.

My honest questions, then are: Is this okay? Can Anonymous UMC host this meeting without transgressing an ethical or legal boundary? Is Anon. UMC endorsing the Specific Party by hosting this event? What do you think?

Reverend Photog...

...is back in action. Click this.

MLK Day - How Big is the Dream?

Click here and here for news about Kenya. There are informative stories and also video posted at both sites.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, right? So I'm asking myself today, "What would he say about our world if he were here?" Would he call us to contentment and satisfaction at how far we have come, or would he continue to challenge and push us until the dream of peace and justice and reconciliation that he so powerfully announced was realized around the globe?

How is this picture, taken recently in Kenya, different from the pictures of police just a few decades ago, responding to marches and protests led by Rev. King? Different uniform. Different straw that broke the camel's back. But the underlying causes are pretty much the same, aren't they? Injustice - oppression - intolerance - hatred. The powerful wielding their power without any thought or concern for the powerless.

"I have a dream..." is too fluffy for me today. Instead, let's go with this:

So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime -- the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. (King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963)

May we be extremists for love on behalf of Christ in this bruised and broken world.

Thoughts on the Ordination Process

Why is the candidacy process toward ordination in the United Methodist Church so long and involved?
Because ordained ministry is hard work, and you need a good set of tools in your belt in order to do it.

Why is seminary so hard?
Because ordained ministry requires a depth of theological understanding that ninety hours of master’s degree work can give you.

This is my personal testimony. All I can do is share from my own perspective, and say what my experience has been. I hope that, if your testimony about any of this is different, you will respectfully offer it in the comment section, or post something on your own blog. (For example, read what Brad has to say about his experience.)

I wouldn’t be who I am, nor could I do what I do without having been formed in the crucible of seminary and journeyed the candidacy process together with a group of other Residents in Ministry whom I still count as beloved sisters and brothers. I’m not good enough, smart enough, strong enough to serve Christ as I am called in the church without having had the formation, growth, and learning I was given in the candidacy process and in seminary.

I had a fantastic mentor; I had a covenant group with whom I could share my innermost self; I had relationships with professors, superintendents, and bishops that were collegial and supportive; I had peers who pushed me to excel and who encouraged me when I was sucking rocks; I had Sandy Ward at the Conference Office letting us know exactly what forms we needed to turn in and by when; I had family members and friends keeping me grounded and keeping my priorities straight.

I went into the process as a response to my calling, not in order to figure it out. The candidacy process is not the place to discern your calling; it is where you go in response to it. If you are not called to ministry and certain of that call, wait. Like my Dad said, “If there is anything else that you could do, do it.” And if you are called into a ministry that can be done without candidacy/seminary/ordination, for heaven’s sake don’t put yourself through it!

I dug more deeply into my seminary studies than I had at any other level – high school, undergrad, or master’s – I worked my ass off in seminary. It is a Master’s Degree and it is supposed to be hard; the Church of Jesus Christ/the United Methodist denomination/the souls of God’s children are at stake here, you better believe that I wanted to work hard – for their sake. If I had discerned that I could realize my calling without seminary, there is NO WAY I would have put myself and my family through it! (Although I found that walking the baby in the middle of the night is a great time to study your Greek verb paradigms.)

Instead of worrying about what “the system” required of me, I just did what I thought I needed to do in order to be equipped for my calling. Turned out, it was pretty much the same thing. For example, I found a mentor and was in a covenant group before I learned that those things are required. So I called my DS and told her, and she said “Great! If you found something that works for you, run with it.” My calling is to ordained ministry, and the things I figured I would need to accomplish my calling were there to be found in the candidacy process and in seminary. What a deal!

I am so very proud of the eight years of my life between 1999 when I realized my call into ordained ministry and 2007 when I was ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. And I’ve gotta say, it was fracking hard! Of course it was. It was work, it was struggle, it was formation. I’ve heard people complain about that length of time, but I don’t. I’m grateful to have had that time to prepare.

I’m not saying Deacons and Elders are better than anyone else. This is not an either/or deal here. I’m not saying “licensed/commissioned/ordained” implies “smarter” “stronger” “bigger” or “better” or anything like that. It is just a particular role in the ministry of Christ accomplished through his body, the church. It is a role to which God called me, and I am fulfilled in it, and (I have to confess) proud of the journey I took in order to get here.

And I’m also not saying that after my eight years of candidacy/seminary work, I have finally “arrived” and there’s no more work to be done. Far from it; one of the most astonishing things about going through the process is realizing just how much I don’t know and still need to learn.

And another thing I’m not saying is “Don’t change the process.” I think the process toward ordination can and should be transformed - always reforming, if you will. I am saying don’t make it easier and don’t make it shorter just for the sake of convenience. I don’t want my doctor to have gone through a process that was quick and easy, just so that she could become a doctor sooner and at a younger age; nor would I want my pastor to.

If the process needs to be transformed, let’s get real about doing it. But if all we’re going to do is complain about how long and difficult it is, count me out.



Cross posted here.

Please Keep Kenya in Prayer

My dear friend Edna forwarded me this email from a Kenyan friend:

Hi Friends,
Hope this correspondance find you all safe, well and healthy as we are.
I have been in touch with my famliy in Kenya and so far all but one have been spared the harsh reality there... my brother Emmanuel.

He has been robbed by policemen who beat him with those big sticks they carry for no apparent reason at all. He has been robbed at gun point but all in all he will live to see another day. Right now am unable to keep intouch with him over the phone because that to was stolen... That is the scary news yet we still pray for peace and common sense to return to Kenya. He will be okay. Pray earnestly for peace and calm to return to Kenya. I am trying to pretend that I am okay and do what i have to do.
I also pray that one day our leaders to be held accountable for their actions and utterances of insighting others to voilence. I wish that Justice to be cherished in Kenya. Right now the one thing many Kenyans long for the most is Justice. A system that gurantees every Kenya there legal rights. anyway...

Anyway....

Anyway i found this educative article on BBC website that i request you all read to comprehend the reason behind the chaos and voilence in Kenya. I am encouraged by such article because it does not protray Kenyan as other articles have. This one tries to shed light on the root cause of the problem and some solution to the current problems. And the danger of Democracy in a communal society.
Go to the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7168551.stm

Julius

Julius is a person in turmoil. "Anyway ... anyway ... anyway..." To know that his brother, on the other side of the world, has been beaten and robbed; to wonder if others in his family will be safe; to visualize his home being torn to shreds by senseless violence - we cannot begin to fathom what it must feel like.

Edna wrote:

Dear Andy,
I am so sad and discouraged. I knew Emmanuel had been robbed but I didn't know he had been beaten. Emmanuel is brothein-law of Sarah who was at church with me Sunday and father of Francie that I recently wrote about in my blog. Maybe it will all be settled in some distant future time but my friend had been beaten and I can't help but be very, very sad.
I keep praying.
Edna

Please pray with Edna and Julius a prayer for peace. Please pray for Emmanuel and for Sarah and for Francie. Please pray for justice and peace and calm to prevail in Kenya. I feel like Julius sometimes, like I have to "pretend that I am okay" and just go on with life, you know?

And honestly I feel like sometimes I wish that I just didn't know Edna, so that then I wouldn't know people she knows, so this issue would remain an abstract, other-side-of-the-world news article that I hear vaguely mentioned every now and then. It would be so much easier then, so much neater, so much less intrusive. I could just categorize "Kenya" in a list of "global concerns" that we ought to stay aware of and wring our hands about.

But damn it, I do know Edna, and she does know people who are scared and hurting and almost frantic with worry about what might happen next. Because they hurt, Edna hurts, and because Edna hurts, I hurt. I saw her last night at church. I asked her how she was and she said, "Pretending."

I guess one good thing is that we can all hurt together while we pretend everything's okay, huh?

picture above is from the website of Soulfari Kenya

Addendum (1/18): To clarify, I love Edna dearly and do not regret knowing her in the slightest! When I reread this post this morning, I realized there may be room for misinterpretation there. It may have been clearer to have written: "Sometimes I wish that I could pretend I just didn't know Edna..." I am so happy to know Edna, and I am a better person because I do. (Love you, Edna!)

Ministers' School

After Tim Keel presented on Tuesday, Ministers' School for me kind of went into auto-pilot. I was there, but more focused on managing the logistics, keeping things together, and doing my thing as chair of the board rather than actively participating in the school itself. However I did manage to snag a few bits and pieces from the other presenters.

We had Robert Martin from Saint Paul School of Theology lead morning Bible study Wednesday and Thursday. He took us through Paul's visit to Athens in Acts chapter 17. He noted how Paul had visited the city, getting to know his context, and observing the people's lives. Paul then went to them - into the marketplace - and "met them where they were" to talk with them about Jesus. In this way, Robert said, Paul was able to make Jesus incarnate for the people of Athens - which is what the church needs to do in our own particular contexts today.

Another of our presenters was Craig Miller, from the General Board of Discipleship. If you want to hear a rather standard, "party line" presentataion on church growth ideas, Craig Miller is your guy. After all, he is pretty much the denominational church growth person in his role on the GBOD. And his presentation was jarringly different from Tim Keel. While Tim said to emerge from within particular context, Craig generalized about churches and generations. While Tim cautioned against reductionism, Craig presented lists of things. While Tim said fruitfulness is what happens naturally, Craig said here is what fruitfulness should look like. I will say this, however: we got to play Guitar Hero on the big screen, which was pretty cool.

Our last presenter was Susan Cox-Johnson, who shared some of her thoughts about how the Emergent movement of today is kind of rooted in the Wesleyan movement of way back when. I confess that I was pretty busy during her talk, and so I didn't get too many details (sorry, Susan) - but I do remember how she compared Wesley's field preaching with the Emergent movement by making the claim that John Wesley was adapting his ministry to the context, and trying to figure out the best way to preach the Gospel in a new way so that it would be heard. Here's some more about her presentation.

Bishop Schnase led a little session that was supposed to be "Conversation with the Bishop" but kind of turned into a presentation by the Bishop instead. No big deal, it is always good to hear what Bish Schnay-Z is reading these days. His sermon during closing worship used the metaphors of sculling and white water rafting to illustrate what it's like to try to do church one way when the context really calls us to do things another way. As in, it would really hard to row a scull down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. He used time, but I would use context. Whereas his message was about how at one time sculling was a good enough model, now we have to white water raft. I might say that sculling works some places and other places necessitate rafting. And in fact, at our congregation's planning retreat Saturday afternoon, I did! (That's right, I stole it. And I'd do it again!)

With the end of this school, my two-year term as Chair of the Board ended, and now I am Dean of the School. (My Grandfather told me yesterday he was Dean of Missouri Ministers' School in the mid-1950s, which is kind of cool.) Instead of logistics and details, I'll be responsible for content and faculty. I've got to say, I'm pumped!

Next year:
"Gutenberg 2.0: Proclaiming the Gospel in the Information Age"
Faculty (so far):
Tony Jones, Debra Mason, Billy Reeder
Main ideas:
Just like the printing press did 500 years ago, digital technology has given people access to more information and means of communication than ever before. We know about text messages, online social network sites, streaming video feeds, and such - but what effect do these media have on the message? What does it mean to tell someone that God loves them via a text message? What does it mean to share Christian fellowship via a Facebook group? What does the doctrine of incarnation look like through a computer screen? Can my laptop be an icon through which I encounter the divine?

These kinds of questions (and more!) will frame Ministers' School in 2009, and I for one can't wait!

What song is this?

This is cool, in a very music-nerd kind of way.