"Jedism" for Labor Day Weekend

After church today, we had to wait for my husband, then drive a good way out of town to attend a lunch in honor of the baby I'd just baptized. My son was out of his juice. It was hot; he was thirsty. He couldn't wait until we got to the home.

I told him we'd drive through the McDonald's drive-through for a chocolate milk on the way out to the party. After I ordered the milk, through the intercom came:

"One oh eight."
Then silence.

I thanked the girl and started to drive on.

That's when "Jed" said:

"So that means 'drive to the window'...

in Spanish?"

"Something like that, I guess, son," I replied.
And we laughed.

This weekend, let us pray for all who "labor," especially those who labor at thankless jobs for too little pay.

Let us give thanks to God if we have a decent job that supplies the needs and some wants of our families.

And let us give thanks to God for those who do everything from taking our order at McDonald's to cleaning our rooms in a hotel, to making our computers, to running our companies, to nursing our parents, to...

History, the Future, and Open Minds

It's official. We have the most diverse slate of presidential/vice-presidential candidates in the history of our nation. 2 white men, an African-American man, and a white woman. We don't even have to mention the difference in their ages!

Last night, I watched Senator Barak Obama's speech as he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States; when John McCain makes his speech, I'll watch it, too.

If you ask me, "doing your homework" and truly listening to and researching the truth about the candidates is the only responsible (not to mention faithful) way to decide whom God is raising up to lead this great nation of ours into the future. I believe that God does indeed have a will for our election, but we cannot trust one party's spin, or another's, or political pundits on our favorite news outlet, to tell us truly what God's will is. That's our job as Christians in community.

I, for one, don't want society telling me how to vote or how to be Christian; I want to discern that within the Body of Christ, as we listen together for the voice of God to lead us. I want to spend time in prayer and significant discernment before I cast my vote. Only then can I be confident that I am seeking God's will for our country. Of course, pastors and churches cannot tell their members how to vote. We can, however, covenant with one another to pray and to be responsible in our approach to the general election.

But I digress.

What I wanted to say today is how much we have to celebrate...how amazing it is that God has worked such a mighty work in our nation in under 50 years, that the faith-filled "dream" of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (which I believe is also God's dream for all peoples) could be realized enough

that a man who would very likely have been a slave in our nation 150 years ago is now the presidential nominee for of one of our two main political parties,

and that a woman who would not have been able to vote 90 years ago is the Vice-Presidential candidate of the more "conservative" of the two parties.

The past 24 hours have been monumental in the history of our nation, regardless of who you believe should be the next president, something to celebrate and give thanks to God for. It is something that means that

God is not through leading our nation into realizing the divine dream...the Lord is not finished with any of us yet. God has a future with hope in store for us.

Praise the Lord for that!

Back to (Pre) School!

Yesterday morning was exciting in our house!

"Jed" started 3-year-old kindergarten in our new town, in the church my husband serves as Director of Music Ministries!

He was a bit hesitant, but when my husband picked him up, he announced that he had had fun in his class of 10 girls and 3 boys...though he couldn't remember any of his new friends' names. Oh, well. I'm sure that will come.

We're ALL still trying to learn lots of new names around here! (I'm having a harder time than I thought I would.)

We're so grateful to have 2 wonderful church families, where the needs of our family are met generously, and our spirits are nurtured with care by so many. For those of you who are part of our previous two church families, we were tremendously blessed among you, as well, and we do miss you, too.

I haven't felt very reflective for the past few days...just trying to do what needs to be done in the moment it needs doing. So, until next time, enjoy "Jed" hanging up his newly hand-made school bag (his daddy and I had fun making it) on his very own peg at school!

Who Am I? by Casting Crowns

A wonderful reminder in 5.5 minutes.
I needed it!

Thank you, God, for Chris

This is the bulletin cover.
It was created from a picture Chris's wife Barbara took, and the skill of a good friend.
It represents my friend and mentor well.

On Wednesday night about 9:15, our Conference lost a wonderful minister. I thank God that for the past several years, I was able to know him...learn from him...pray with him...be encouraged by him. It was an immense privilege.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will celebrate his life and give thanks to God for him. The current pastor of the charge, two of his best friends and colleagues (like brothers to him), and I will do our best to be faithful to God, to him, and to his family as we honor him.

It will be hard.

Though he had suffered long, he was too young. He told me once that all he wanted was what was recorded in the Bible as a human life-span: three-score and ten years. He didn't make it.

He also told me he wasn't afraid to die; he firmly believed the promises and truth he had proclaimed as a preacher in our church for 42 years. He knew that death meant a new phase of our eternal life with Christ.

And still, his battle reminded me of Dylan Thomas' famous poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night". Chris loved life. He adored his wife and family, and he loved being their patriarch and protector. He loved the beauty of this world...fishing, growing things, sitting on his back porch looking at the lake and feeling the breeze, cooking, visiting and eating with loved ones, giving advice to people like me, and cracking jokes...all the things that make our lives on earth real and enjoyable. He experienced the abundant life in THIS WORLD that Jesus promised. He did not want to give any of that up.

And so, those of us close to him watched him "rage against the dying of the light." He fought a 6-month prognosis for 11 months over this past year. He completely defied death 15 years ago. He lived each moment as fully as he could.

I thank you, God,
for letting me know and learn from Chris.
I thank you, God,
for his witness, and his preaching, and his life.
I thank you, God,
for giving him the fight, and for winning the battle for him.
Help me now, help all of us now,
to receive your promise and comfort,
and to be faithful.
Amen.

Building on the Best

I'm continuing to learn a lot.
I'm reading.
And I'm doing my best to listen.

Several days ago we had a visitor in the office.

A member of the church for many years, she had brought a donation from her school class's 60th reunion gathering.

Here's why:

When she was in 8th grade at the middle school downtown (close to our church), the school burned down. In response, our church donated the use of the Sunday School and sanctuary buildings.


By that I mean: the church housed the entire school for the rest of that year.

The students learned math, science, and reading in our Sunday School classrooms.

They had assemblies in the sanctuary.


They ate lunch in the basement of the parsonage.

The church became their school until a new one could be built.

For this woman, then a pre-teen, the church became home when her school burned. As she learned in the classrooms, she also felt the love of the church family and of the Lord of the Church. And because she felt the love and embrace of God and the congregation, she was led to give her life to Christ in the very same sanctuary where her school was holding assemblies. She was baptized, and her witness of faith drew her parents to Jesus, as well.

She's been a follower of Jesus and a faithful church member here ever since.

If any church is going to embrace the vision that God has for its future, it will mean building on the best of its past. In the 1940's and throughout its history, this very church I now serve has opened its doors and hearts to the children of the community around them in their need. When the middle school school burned, and at many other critical moments since, this very church family put their own needs and desires aside in order to serve the people around them. In this instance 60 years ago and in the decades since, this church has given itself in hospitality and service to the people of this town.

This is one of the very best, and most faithful, elements of our past. It is something to celebrate and give thanks to God for. And it is definitely, most definitely, something that the Holy Spirit wants to build on for the future.

Grieving with Hope

Many of you may know that this past May, famous Christian singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman and his family tragically lost their youngest daughter Maria in a terrible accident. Maria was their 6th child and the 3rd daughter they'd adopted from China.

Many of us have been praying for the Chapman family over the past months since the tragedy. The other day, they gave their first interview.

They spoke of how they are grieving together, with hope, as the Apostle Paul put it.

If you'd like to see the interview, the link is below. You will have to sit through two commercials and an intro. before the 9 + minute interview will begin. But it is worth it...inspirational.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5518680

Can't Go Back

The church I'm serving has a long and glorious history. Founded almost 150 years ago, she has been the "mother church" of this city and area. Fifty years ago, the pastor here led three worship services each Sunday morning. Over 1000 people worshiped here each Sunday morning. St. Paul's was a megachurch before they were the "in thing." This church gave birth to another, long before mother-daughter church plants were the new topic of conversation in our conference.

The last several Sundays of worship here have been glorious, at least for me. I'm convinced there is no more beautiful worship space anywhere. I see angel wings on the back wall as I worship and preach. The arches of the ceiling draw my heart and spirit upward. Everything is round. And I have two amazing musicians behind me playing organ and piano by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I'm not the only one who has felt the joy and power of Christ present as we've worshiped together. I feel amazingly privileged.

But I must say that one refrain I've heard has really got me thinking. On more than one occasion, someone has said something like this to me:

I really think that now maybe this church can get back to the way it was.
Maybe we can get back our former glory.

Now, I freely admit that I have no idea what God has in mind for the future of this church. I'm simply on the journey with the congregation to discover where we're called to go, what we're called to do, who we're called to be.

But there's one thing I'm pretty sure of:

God isn't interested in our "going back" to anything.
God only wants us to embrace the future and its glory, whatever that looks like.

I understand what the people saying these things mean. I'm glad that we're all hopeful. Where there is no hope, there is no joy or faith or trust usually, either.

I'm very very glad there's hope.

But we need to understand that God never calls, or wants, us to go backward. Things will never be the way they were, but there is a glory that awaits us, if we're faithful...no doubt.

My hope is in trusting God to lead us into the future, not back to the past.
It is a joyous time!

One more thing...

I'm starting to read three books, in this order:
You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, by James A. Harnish
A Second Resurrection: Leading Your Congregation to New Life, by Bill Easum
and
Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, by Robert Schnase

I'm sure that God will be speaking through them.
I look forward to hearing the divine voice...