A special called session of the General Conference of the UMC occurs later this month in St. Louis, Missouri. I have, in many respects, remained silent on my views regarding human sexuality and the church. I pastor a congregation that, I think, welcomes everyone - liberal, conservative, straight, gay, women, men, people of different ages and nations - who are, at their core, children of God. As God's children, they are welcome at the table.
Our congregation engages in Disciple Bible study, and this year, we've been working through Jesus in the Gospels. I facilitate two different sessions of the study each week, on Tuesday night and on Thursday morning. This past week, we were talking about Jesus and his opponents - Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, and others. It struck me, as I was doing the reading this past week, that Jesus spokes some harsh words to those who opposed him, but the purpose in doing so was not to create a further chasm - "us vs. them" - but to give them an opportunity to reconcile with God.
That seems to be Jesus' main purpose - to reconcile people with God. His healings accomplished that purpose, because the cured could return to worship and be a part of the community. His work with tax collectors and sinners brought them to a place where they were reconciled with God - Zaccheus' story comes to mind. He sought to bring the downtrodden, the outcast, the scorned to a place where they could be in relationship with God - but he also did that with the Pharisees, the Zealots, the Sadducees, and those within the religious establishment. Even on the cross, Jesus' words - "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing" - provided an opportunity for reconciliation.
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure all of us need some reconciliation with God. My relationship with God isn't perfect, just as my relationship with others isn't perfect. As much as I try to live Biblically and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, there are times where I mess it up, fall down, and struggle. However, the Holy Spirit is still at work, drawing me closer to God each day. That gives me hope for the future.
So I'm praying. I'm praying for my congregation. I'm praying for my denomination. I'm praying for delegates to General Conference. I'm praying for my LGBTQ brothers and sisters, as well as my traditionalist colleagues and friends. I'm praying for liberals and conservatives, for Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians and Independents. I'm praying for each and every one of us - that the Holy Spirit would reconcile each one of us to God - and through God - to each other. I need all'y'all to help me follow Jesus - and quite possibly, you need me too. Our future lies in all of us being reconciled to God.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Responding to Charlottesville Events
I am on spiritual renewal leave during the month of August. Part of my "work" during that month has been to do some writing of hymn texts for use in my local church. Words and phrases have been active in my mind these past 11 days, and I am looking forward to sharing with my congregation these texts and tunes for us to sing together.
And then, today and the events of Charlottesville. I felt that I needed to respond in some way - and as I considered the news, and what a Christian response might be, I moved toward penning a hymn text. So, here it is for you - and if it is helpful, please feel free to use it. In my head, I am hearing AURELIA (The Church's One Foundation) as the tune for this text.
We wonder in this process
And then, today and the events of Charlottesville. I felt that I needed to respond in some way - and as I considered the news, and what a Christian response might be, I moved toward penning a hymn text. So, here it is for you - and if it is helpful, please feel free to use it. In my head, I am hearing AURELIA (The Church's One Foundation) as the tune for this text.
When hate and fear are reigning,
men’s hands have been raised high,
We long with pain and trembling
for days when none will die.
We hope for times of wholeness
when war and strife will cease;
We search for ways to answer;
“our witness must increase.”
Despite their hoods and armor,
some walked linked arm in arm.
Friends brought a peaceful protest,
to show these men no harm.
Still cars became their weapons,
they injured and they killed.
If swords turn into plowshares,
some peace may be instilled.
We wonder in this process
if God is really there.
We comfort countless victims,
and feel God’s presence there.
We pray the Holy Spirit
will work to heal our land.
and one day all God’s children
will walk here hand in hand.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
General Conference and a Way Forward
It's been a long time since I have blogged - well over a year, as the time stamp suggests. I have found myself praying and listening and watching and reading for months as our UMC General Conference prepared for their meeting. I have prayed for liberals and conservatives, orthodox and progressives, and what keeps coming back to me is this: why aren't we talking about Jesus? It was a question I asked in my sermon on Pentecost, or perhaps even a plea: what would happen if we talked about Jesus more, and listened to the Holy Spirit?
I am grateful to not be a delegate to the 2016 General Conference. I had been approached and asked if I would run, and the Spirit prompted me to say no. I don't envy a single of the almost 1,000 delegates who are gathered in Portland, Oregon. Both in the legislative committees that met this past week, and the plenary sessions now, my sense is that we spend a lot of time talking at one another, and not really with one another. And for good reason: we do not know one another. Yes, we know the people in our delegations (hopefully), and we may know a few others across the connection, but most of those gathered in the room at the convention center probably do not know 10% of the people who have come together to make decisions about our polity, doctrine, and our future.
I don't imagine that we'll see a lot coming out of Portland, but here's my proposal. I suggest that every annual conference elect their delegations for the 2020 General Conference at their 2017 meetings. Rather than having a debriefing session for General Conference in 2020, that we pair a US conference with a central conference, and that the delegations would meet together in the fall of 2017, spring and fall of 2018, and the spring and fall of 2019, with at least two of the gatherings happening on each others' soil. For a week at a time, these delegations live in intentional community, and share their stories of how Jesus has saved them, how God has transformed them, and where they see evidence of the Spirit's movement in their lives. There should be no other agenda than to discover the risen Christ in one another. When these intentional communities gather for the next General Conference, their work would translate into legislative committees. Each legislative committee should have a representative from each conference, and each day, the legislative committees should spend their mornings asking those some questions - how has Jesus saved them; how has God transformed them; and where they see evidence of the Spirit's movement in their lives. Afternoon and evening work could then be spent on legislation, but only in light of the presence of the Trinity in the lives of those present. Perhaps we could also do that work after worship during plenary sessions. I wonder what might happen if we would organize ourselves in that way - as disciples of Jesus Christ, rather than as legislators. Perhaps we might see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God - even at General Conference.
I am grateful to not be a delegate to the 2016 General Conference. I had been approached and asked if I would run, and the Spirit prompted me to say no. I don't envy a single of the almost 1,000 delegates who are gathered in Portland, Oregon. Both in the legislative committees that met this past week, and the plenary sessions now, my sense is that we spend a lot of time talking at one another, and not really with one another. And for good reason: we do not know one another. Yes, we know the people in our delegations (hopefully), and we may know a few others across the connection, but most of those gathered in the room at the convention center probably do not know 10% of the people who have come together to make decisions about our polity, doctrine, and our future.
I don't imagine that we'll see a lot coming out of Portland, but here's my proposal. I suggest that every annual conference elect their delegations for the 2020 General Conference at their 2017 meetings. Rather than having a debriefing session for General Conference in 2020, that we pair a US conference with a central conference, and that the delegations would meet together in the fall of 2017, spring and fall of 2018, and the spring and fall of 2019, with at least two of the gatherings happening on each others' soil. For a week at a time, these delegations live in intentional community, and share their stories of how Jesus has saved them, how God has transformed them, and where they see evidence of the Spirit's movement in their lives. There should be no other agenda than to discover the risen Christ in one another. When these intentional communities gather for the next General Conference, their work would translate into legislative committees. Each legislative committee should have a representative from each conference, and each day, the legislative committees should spend their mornings asking those some questions - how has Jesus saved them; how has God transformed them; and where they see evidence of the Spirit's movement in their lives. Afternoon and evening work could then be spent on legislation, but only in light of the presence of the Trinity in the lives of those present. Perhaps we could also do that work after worship during plenary sessions. I wonder what might happen if we would organize ourselves in that way - as disciples of Jesus Christ, rather than as legislators. Perhaps we might see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God - even at General Conference.
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
The Beauty of Our Art
I was appointed to a new church August 1, 2014. A congregation that had suffered through a long history of decline, sordid affairs from decades ago, and an arson fire that destroyed the original building on Christmas Day 2014 awaited me upon my arrival. Although the original building was destroyed, the education wing received only smoke and water damage. Within three months, the education wing had been cleaned up, and the congregation began worshiping in its fellowship hall. Long a witness to the downtown area, and with an existing structure, the congregation made the decision to rebuild in the same place. Ground was broken May 12, 2014, less than three months before my arrival.
As we have planned for this space, knowing that we are rebuilding a sanctuary (and a congregation), we wanted to show our commitment to the community we serve, so we have utilized local companies whenever possible. Our contractor is from town; electrical technicians come from town; many of our other vendors (including the pipe organ company) are within a two hour radius. Even our stained glass artisan is from Robinson.
Yesterday was a beautiful day for the church. Our stained glass artisan brought in a crew and installed the first set of windows - the Good Shepherd window. The main windows in the new sanctuary are recreations of the original windows. Our artisan worked for several hours on the installation, all the while saying that she did not want to look at the windows until they were done. Mid-afternoon brought the completion of the installation, but she stayed on the scaffolding to clean and do touch-up work.
When she finally stepped away, she took a few steps back, came and gave me a hug, and asked me what I thought. I, of course, thought that it was beautiful; vibrant colors, with the glass telling the gospel story - what stained glass is supposed to do. I said that I hoped we could find a way for her to place her signature on one of the windows, as a testament to her work and witness. She said no - that the windows were the congregation's, and not hers. I pushed back, saying that it was a both/and; they are the congregations, but they are also her work. I explained that it's the same way I feel about preaching as art: it's my artistic expression, but once spoken, it also belongs to the congregation that hears the word.
As we were having this conversation, some of the construction crew, who are working diligently on staining trim and molding, as well as its installation, came and stood, and we looked together at the first set of windows, trimmed in beautiful stained red oak. And we stood, without saying anything, as we experienced something of a holy moment. For these artisans, and all who will offer art for the sake of Jesus and the gospel in the coming weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries, will have made an impact far beyond themselves. It is the beauty of our art, because we offer it of ourselves for Christ to be glorified. And along the way, in the time that is coming, generations will experience the Word in artistic expression, and will come to believe through faith. How powerful is the beauty of our art!
As we have planned for this space, knowing that we are rebuilding a sanctuary (and a congregation), we wanted to show our commitment to the community we serve, so we have utilized local companies whenever possible. Our contractor is from town; electrical technicians come from town; many of our other vendors (including the pipe organ company) are within a two hour radius. Even our stained glass artisan is from Robinson.
Yesterday was a beautiful day for the church. Our stained glass artisan brought in a crew and installed the first set of windows - the Good Shepherd window. The main windows in the new sanctuary are recreations of the original windows. Our artisan worked for several hours on the installation, all the while saying that she did not want to look at the windows until they were done. Mid-afternoon brought the completion of the installation, but she stayed on the scaffolding to clean and do touch-up work.
When she finally stepped away, she took a few steps back, came and gave me a hug, and asked me what I thought. I, of course, thought that it was beautiful; vibrant colors, with the glass telling the gospel story - what stained glass is supposed to do. I said that I hoped we could find a way for her to place her signature on one of the windows, as a testament to her work and witness. She said no - that the windows were the congregation's, and not hers. I pushed back, saying that it was a both/and; they are the congregations, but they are also her work. I explained that it's the same way I feel about preaching as art: it's my artistic expression, but once spoken, it also belongs to the congregation that hears the word.
As we were having this conversation, some of the construction crew, who are working diligently on staining trim and molding, as well as its installation, came and stood, and we looked together at the first set of windows, trimmed in beautiful stained red oak. And we stood, without saying anything, as we experienced something of a holy moment. For these artisans, and all who will offer art for the sake of Jesus and the gospel in the coming weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries, will have made an impact far beyond themselves. It is the beauty of our art, because we offer it of ourselves for Christ to be glorified. And along the way, in the time that is coming, generations will experience the Word in artistic expression, and will come to believe through faith. How powerful is the beauty of our art!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Advent Thought
Part of changing a culture is education. This year, I've been reading a wonderful Advent devotional. Each day, the devotion features the writings of church fathers and mothers, both ancient and new. I have been posting an Advent thought from each of these writings to my church's Facebook group daily. However, yesterday's reading was a poem, and I didn't really want to take just a snippet of the poem to share, but the whole verse was too long to post, so I wrote my own. Here's what I said:
Today's Advent reflection, by your pastor:
"The tension of Advent exists for many people because they do not understand Advent as a time to remember the first coming of Christ, while simultaneously being a time to anticipate the second coming of Christ. Part of the beauty of prophetic and apocalyptic literature in the Bible is that it calls us to examine our lives, our hearts, our motives - and to make adjustments so that we are truly ready for the entrance of Christ. Do we really see this call as beautiful? If we were honest, most of us do not. Such self-reflection causes us to see what is less than beautiful in ourselves. It is much easier to rush through Advent and get to Christmas because we then do not have to take the time to truly prepare ourselves for the Christ who comes and turns our world, our values, our lives upside-down. Moving directly to Christmas is safe, and perhaps somewhat shallow. Jesus calls us to a deeper faith than that, which is why we need Advent. Advent moves us beyond warm and fuzzy carols, conflated birth stories, gatherings and gifts to our deepest need - a Savior who brings us to the feet of God."
How might you be playing it safe this Advent? What hard work of self-reflection still needs to be done? Do you need a Savior?
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