One Pastor's Life

Our God is Greater - Chris Tomlin

2010-09-18T14:34:00.000-04:00

We are in the middle of a great adventure, one that God has invited us to undertake, one that has been filled with great challenges.

The journey will continue to be difficult, we know. This song has touched me, and perhaps you need to hear it as much as I did.

I have not disappeared. I promise

The Prince of Egypt

2010-07-31T22:42:00.002-04:00

I had forgotten I had it.

That is, the VHS tape of the movie The Prince of Egypt.

It came out while I was in seminary, and I saw it in the theater.

And that was it.

After seeing that movie, I was fully and completely in a crisis of faith. It was the Passover scene that did it, really. It was just too hard for me to see an actual (albeit animated) reinactment of the killing of Egypt's children by the "passing-over" Spirit of God. I know, I know, they were oppressors, and their violence against others and unwillingness to listen to God and free the people resulted in the Passover, but still...

Seminary itself already shakes the foundations of your faith. All I needed was this movie--and I fell.

After a long conversation with my Old Testament professor the next week, I came to terms and peace with God and the Bible again, and my faith returned, but not without a "dark night of the soul."

I'm honestly not sure why I then obtained the VHS tape of this movie, or why it ended up later with my sister.

But this past week, she brought it back to me. And, while "Jed" stayed with her in her new classroom while she set it up (she's a teacher) and I went to do some work in Columbia (supply-getting and hospital-visiting), she let him watch it. I knew she would. I didn't try to stop her. But I felt kind of funny about it.

Since then, he's wanted to watch it 4 times.

I don't know how I feel about this.

I have watched it with him several times, stopping to explain various things in the best way I can, but it's hard.

So I wonder--what do (or did) you who also raise (or who have raised) your children in faith and knowledge of the Bible tell your children about the "texts of terror," the stories where God smites people, and people kill people, and the Lord seems scary?

I know what I say, and I'd be glad to share.

But it's hard. And since God is the Great Mystery, I am so afraid I'm saying the wrong things, or things that might scar my child in ways that would not please Christ, or be true to Him.

So I'd like to know what you say to your children about these things.

Please comment below, if you're willing to share!

Wayfaring Pastor: Wayfaring Stranger - Selah

2010-07-31T22:36:00.000-04:00

My friend and colleague Mike just posted this on his blog earlier today. I liked it, and thought I'd share. Maybe it will touch you where you are, too.

Wayfaring Pastor: Wayfaring Stranger - Selah

Missing "LaLa"

2010-07-19T19:00:00.006-04:00

On July 4, one of her favorite days of celebration, my mother-in-law joined the greatest celebration imaginable--around the throne of God.

After a whole morning and afternoon of having music played for her from the laptop she used in the hospital (everything from a version of the 23rd Psalm to "Amazing Grace" to our son's "1st recording" of "Jesus Loves Me" on YouTube), we finally played a song she loved, and had requested for her funeral. That song was "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe.

She was breathing as the music began. But with the the first words, we who were beside her looked at her again. She had slipped away. She no longer had to "imagine" the moment described in the song. She knew the glory of that time.

Now, just over 2 weeks later, her family is missing her a great deal.

"LaLa" gave her all to parenting her three children: my husband and his younger brother and sister. She took care of the husband she married at age 18 for 43 years. But the greatest joy of her life came with the births of her grandchildren...6 of them. It was with the first that she took on her new name. As a toddler, he was the first to call her "LaLa," because of the way she sang to him all the time.

On Wednesday, we will mark 2 weeks since the worship celebration of her life. It was grand...a celebration of who she was.

And I'm still giving thanks to God for bringing me into this family so I could know her, love her, be loved by her, and watch her love my child, for 7.5 years. She was a teller-of-the-truth-as-she-saw-it, a fun-lover, a lover of life, an adventurer, a Christian, a loving mother and grandmother, a care-taker, and quite a fighter through her 4.5-year battle with cancer.

She is missed, and she will be for quite some time. But thanks be to God for Judy, "LaLa," and her witness of faith, fight, and love. Thanks be to God for all the prayers and love that have come our way in this difficult time. And thanks be to God for the promise of eternal life with her and all the others who have gone before us in life and faith.

I hope you you enjoy the pictures of the time she and "Jed" shared...

To "Anonymous"

2010-06-30T16:27:00.004-04:00

As I sat here in the hospital room with my mother-in-law and and family a few minutes ago, I took a moment to check my e-mail. To my surprise, I discovered that at least one person is still reading this blog. Unfortunately, you have chosen to keep your identity "anonymous."

But whoever you are, if you're still reading, I want you to understand (though I rejected your comment and it will not show up on my former post) my understanding of God and prayer.

I do NOT in any way "blame disease or government incompetence on not praying enough or properly" (in your words). I do NOT subscribe to ANY understanding of God or God's work in the world that DOES blame terrible things on "not praying enough or properly." To do so would NOT make me feel better, and would indicate that I believe in a God not of wholeness, peace, and grace, but of terror.

Instead, what I believe about prayer and God is this:

Prayer is a gift that invites us into, and allows us to maintain, relationship with the God whose will and work are always for our wholeness and peace, and for justice and peace in the world.

True prayer is the equivalent of open, full, and honest communication between a parent and child, or two lovers.

The God I worship is all-loving and wants to be in real relationship with us.

The God I worship did NOT create chaos, disease, division, or government incompetence. That all came from somewhere else.

The God I worship has overcome the power of all of that life-stealing stuff through the self-giving of Christ (who himself was God become flesh out of love for us, to share humanness with us and offer us life eternal in and with God).

Through the gift of prayer, the God I worship reveals healing and resurrection in powerful ways to God's children.

The God I worship will ultimately eliminate all of the life-stealing stuff in the world and make all things right and whole forever. Though I can't explain why that hasn't already happened, I know that God touches us even in the midst of pain to bring wholeness and peace, and I am thankful for that. I do continue to pray for the day of peace and wholeness, and redemption of all creation, to quickly come.

And by the way,
my mother-in-law is now actively dying. Her death will release her from pain and bring her a peace she has not known in some time. And if the government had worked the way it was originally "supposed to" according to our human plan, we wouldn't be able to be here now...we'd be in Russia instead.

So perhaps, in God's mysterious love, this holy time was protected for us to be HERE NOW...even maybe through some "government incompetence." Who knows? I just embrace the mystery and praise God that I can feel the mystery of divine grace.

I also pray that you, and all of the children God created, can also one day feel that mysterious grace. There's nothing more beautiful, or life-giving.

My Prayers

2010-06-09T21:52:00.005-04:00

There is so much pain in the world, all the time.

But sometimes the deep pain touches closer to home than others.

RIGHT NOW, my mother-in-law is lying in a hospital room in the cancer center of a major regional hospital. This past Friday, she became unresponsive right in front of my eyes, the eyes of my husband, and the eyes of our five-year-old son. Though she is now out of that particular area of the woods, she is very tired of fighting a 4-and-a-half-year battle with an uncurable disease. But she's only 62 years old, and she needs to see her grandchildren all graduate from high school and college!

RIGHT NOW, our second son (who will turn 3 on October 4) is waiting for us to return for him. He is in a "baby house" in Russia with 89 or so other children under the age of four. He has a picture book of our family, a toy phone to "call us" on, and the promises of his caregivers that we are coming back for him. But we can't get to him, because the U.S. government (Citizenship and Immigration Services) has declared that they have until the end of July to process our application and issue their approval for us to adopt this child. They've also said that there's nothing we can do to speed that process up, even though we first submitted our application to them in December. And all we want is to go to Russia and pick up our child, love on him, introduce him to his big brother, and bring him home. RIGHT NOW.

RIGHT NOW, my sister in Christ, friend, and clergy colleague Narcie (a 30-year-old campus minister, wife, daughter, sister, and mother to a 1.5-year-old and a just-now-3-year old) is preparing to have brain surgery to remove a tumor that was found a week and a half ago. She will go in for this surgery on Friday.

You can read Narcie's journey, and share your prayers with her and her father, by following their blogs here and here. I hope you will join me in praying for them.

These, among a few other painful situations for those I know and love, are the soil from which most of my prayers are growing right now.

Or maybe the word is not growing, but "groaning," which is (I believe) one way of interpreting what the Holy Spirit does within us since, or when, we "don't know how to pray as we ought." Come to think of it, there's a lot of stuff I need to hear in Romans 8, which is a passage another dear friend of mine from divinity school used to pray in its entirety, from memory, when her Chron's Disease or Multiple Sclerosis would have her doubled over in pain.

It seems like there's a lot of stuff from Paul in that particular part of that particular letter about suffering and "waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies." And there's something else about groaning in labor pains while we wait for the revealing of glory and God's children in there, too, isn't there? Perhaps I'll go read Romans 8 one more time. Maybe you'll join me in that, and in prayer...

"We Are the Truth"

2010-04-13T10:31:00.002-04:00

As you know, we are trying to adopt.

We are trying to adopt, ironically (considering international news of the past week) a little boy named Artyom from Russia. He is not 7, but 2 1/2. We consider him to already be our son, and we are very concerned that our process may be interrupted by this horrible action committed last week by a woman in Tennessee.

If you'd like to be a part of advocating for continued international adoption, which I sincerely believe is a movement of the Holy Spirit in the world, and/or you have an adoption story to share with the world, please consider this "Call to Action" from the Joint Council on International Children's Services.

Please click here and read how from a fellow adoptive parent:

Call to Action

Gods Heart: Adoption

2010-03-13T20:12:00.001-05:00

Why we're doing what we're doing...

Pray for us and for our new child!

We're headed across the ocean to meet him next week!

Kids say the darndest things

2010-02-20T13:46:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love to hear a four- or five-year-old talk.

They can be so adorable and funny. Yes, even mine.

We were lying in the bed the other night, after bath and stories, listening to the first songs on "Jed's" lullaby CD. After the first two songs, I leave the room.

Usually, we don't talk. We just say our prayer and then "try to go to sleep."

But this time, "Jed" had a question. He'd been watching the Disney Channel, and had seen a preview for the new teen movie Starstruck. He wanted to know about it. But I didn't know anything. So our conversation went like this, when he spoke with his sweet soft voice into the darkness.

Mommy, why is Starstruck a big-kid movie?

Buddy, I don't know. I don't even know what that is.

It's a new show on Disney Channel. Why is it for big kids?

Buddy, I told you, I don't know. I don't know anything about the show. We'll talk about it in the morning. Just go to sleep now.

-Brief silence, while I think I know what he's thinking, then-

It's not like a star that got struck by lightning, Mommy.
It's just the name of the show.

Yep, that's exactly where I thought his mind had gone. I guess a Mommy knows her little boy and how he thinks.

Just like God knows God's little children and how they think. Kinda scary, and really comforting.

The Wreck

2010-01-31T19:09:00.006-05:00

The other day I got a bill in the mail from the SC Department of Transportation. My husband had told me that it would probably eventually arrive, but even he began to doubt after this long. It seems that when you damage state property on the interstate (namely, the cable barrier in the median), you are responsible for paying.

You see, on October 24 (over 3 months ago now), I had a wreck. "Jed" and I were on our way to Greenville to celebrate the birthday of one of his little friends, the son of one of my best friends. As we made our way (yes, probably too quickly) up the interstate, a series of events ensued. The chain reaction started with my reaching into the back seat to get "Jed's" cup and ended with our car facing incoming traffic from the median, caught in the cable barrier between the north- and south-bound lanes. When it was all over, the passenger-side-curtain airbag had deployed, the interstate barrier cable had smashed the back window in on that same side (right beside my son) and "Jed" had a teeny scratch down his right arm, from the

"Jed" was a jewel and a trooper through the whole thing. He said,

"I wasn't even scared when the car went all wiggly; I just was like 'Whoa! What's goin' on here?'"

He also kept saying,
"I'm sorry you broke your car, Mommy. I really liked your car. I know you liked your car."

When I would tell him how sorry I was that I messed up driving and he was going to miss his friend's birthday party, he would just say
"It's OK, Mommy. It's OK."

In the face of my little boy that day, I saw the face of Jesus.

I also knew God's Spirit at work in some miracles and gifts, like:

+ Somehow, our car wasn't hit by another car as it swerved all over the two lanes of the interstate totally out of my control.

+ Somehow, our car didn't slam into another car as it swerved all over the two lanes of the interstate totally out of my control.

+ The two nicest young guys in a pick-up behind us (who had seen the whole thing) stopped to check on us, got "Jed" out of the back seat, and waited with us until the first responders came.

+ The officer that responded to the accident had a preschooler and thus a carseat in the back of his vehicle, and he offered to drive us to meet my mother (who was the first family member I could reach to come meet us, and who dropped everything to come)at a gas station 20 minutes away from the accident.

+ That same officer let me pile all my stuff (the car was loaded down) into his vehicle, and then helped us get it in my mother's car.

+ My mother drove us on up to Greenville to where the party was, and all the kids were still there and still in their costumes. "Jed" got to play with his friend on his birthday after all, and I got to see my good friends.

+ And, not least, neither of us were hurt in any way (with the exception of that teeny scratch on "Jed's" arm.

So, God showed up in some amazing ways, and I took a few weeks (during which I borrowed my Lay Leader's Jeep--thanks, Ken!) to discern what I should do for a new vehicle. Of course, they had totaled my beautiful 2-year-old Hybrid Civic. Ugh.

I do like my new car, though. It's just that the gas mileage isn't QUITE as good--only 32 MPG :-) (The hybrid got about 45).

All this was just brought back by that LARGE bill from SCDOT. I realized that I'd never shared the story. I'm remembering the good gifts. And I'm thanking God yet again for yet one more gift: GOOD CAR INSURANCE.

New Blog

2010-01-22T18:54:00.002-05:00

I just posted for the first time on a second blog that I've just begun.

The other blog will be open to invited readers only, and will chronicle a new journey our family has begun. We are following what we believe to be the call of God into adoption.

If you would like to be invited to follow our journey on the new blog, please send an e-mail request to preacherkristen@yahoo.com.

Whether you read along with my other blog or not, though, please join our family in prayer for the child we hope to adopt, and for God's guidance and provision through this process.

Thank you!

Haiti

2010-01-16T20:12:00.003-05:00

Marthe lives there. She's almost 14 years old, and I've been her sponsor through Compassion International since she was 5. My $38 a month gives her clothing, a Christian community and mentors who show her the love of Jesus, and education designed to release her from poverty. Her school and community are located 3 km from Port-au-Prince.

It's Jean-Luc's home. I'm not sure where he is now, but he was one of my good friends in seminary. He wanted to go back to Haiti to minister there, to make his country better. I wonder where he is now.

The Reverend Dr. Sam Dixon, the top official of the United Methodist Committee on Relief and a member of the North Carolina annual conference, died there after the earthquake. He was trapped with two other United Methodist ministers in the Hotel Montana, and two other aid workers (at least one of whom was also United Methodist). The five had gone to the hotel to discuss improving medical missions in the nation. Those with Rev. Dr. Dixon were pulled from the rubble alive. The Reverend Clinton Rabb was rescued 55 hours after the earthquake and is in critical condition now in a Miami hospital. The Reverend James Gulley is back in the U.S., too.

Mrs. Jean Arnwine died in the earthquake, there, too. She was 49 years old and one one of three United Methodist mission teams in the country.

Let us pray for the families of all these individuals, as we pray for them by name. And let us lift the hundreds of thousands of others affected, even though we don't know their names. Because each of them is a beloved child of God.

And, though the earth may shake, there is something I do know for sure: the love and grace of God is unshakeable. They never move, except to reach those who suffer. And I know that Jesus cries with those who cry, and that the Holy Spirit of power and healing fills all who open themselves to it.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, will indeed work powerfully, yet again, to bring life out of death, order out of chaos, and hope out of hopelessness.

May God use us to do just that.
Please visit UMCOR's website to learn more.

Five Years Ago Today...

2010-01-04T22:22:00.002-05:00

this picture was taken, and sent out to friends and family by my husband, to announce the birth of our son:

He woke me up this morning by coming into my room and announcing (with his hand up and all his fingers up in the air to show me his new age):

"Mommy, I'm five! I'm five years old today...it's my birthday! I'm five years old FOR REAL!"

It was the best wake-up I could have gotten. Such a happy boy...joyful to be five years old.

Over these five years, I've made many mistakes and lost my temper more times than I can count. I've not been a perfect parent, and he's not been a perfect child. But I pray that I've done a few things for him.

I pray that I have...

shown him a reflection of the unconditional love his Creator has for him,

taught him a bit about God's design for his life,

introduced him to his Savior as faithfully as I can,

begun to guide him to accept the grace of the Holy Spirit who will fill him throughout his life,

and

taught him about the beauty of the Church, the followers of Jesus who love God and each other as best they can and who walk together, hand-in-hand, on the journey of faith.

If I've done this, then perhaps I can consider that the greatest success of my life.

But I pray each day to be a better representative of Christ to my son than I was the day before. I thank God each day for the grace that offers me forgiveness, a new start, and transformative power. I pray each day that "Jed" knows the love and grace of his Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, as I do. I thank the Lord each day for the man who is "Daddy" to our "little man" and my partner in parenting...and I pray for those who have no partners as they parent. I can imagine no harder task.

In this, my son's now-sixth year of life, I pray that we will all "grow up" together through the beauty of sanctification. What a journey...

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T17:30:00.002-05:00

I'll continue my tradition.

My resolutions for 2010 are:

+ Write thank-you notes (haven't I had that as a resolution before...hmm...a growing edge?)
+ Rescue a child from an orphanage (if indeed that's God's plan for our family), OR
+ Get involved in orphan ministry in Ukraine
+ Grasp a vision...God's vision...and take a step (or two) to help make it a reality
+ Clean my desk
+ Get rid of some junk (in my soul and in the house and office)
+ Hug my child every day, whether he likes it or not
+ Every week, call a friend far away
+ Read a book each month, even if it's an "easy read"
+ UPDATE MY BLOG!

And, if you're reading this, how about help remind me about these?! Thanks!

Time, Time, Tickin'...

2009-12-31T16:57:00.004-05:00

So, about six weeks or so ago I came home from work to a most amazing scene. My husband practically met me at the door to say: "Your son has something he wants to show you."

"Mommy, come here!" his voice rang out from the hallway. So I went through the den and peeked around the corner to see this:

Look carefully. He's so proud. And can you guess what he had been doing? I knew immediately, because I had been watching him copy the times off of the digital clock under the television for days. My husband reported that for a full fifteen minutes, our son would copy the time onto a piece of paper and then put it in the marching line in the hallway, only to begin again as soon as the minute changed. He did both sides of the paper, so when you flipped a sheet over, you saw 1158 and 1204, for example.

He left out the colons, but he still marked every minute of time for fifteen minutes of his life and left the evidence of his focus all down our hall.

It got me thinking about just how quickly those minutes change and turn to hours, and how those hours turn to days, and those days to weeks, and those weeks to months, and the months to years. And how do we mark that time? How do we honor the truth of each minute? And do we recognize God's presence in each time?

I realize that I haven't been the best blogger here recently. The past few months have brought lots of twists and turns, and I've been preoccupied. Time has marched on, and I've just tried to hang on for the ride, giving honor to each death and to the grief it brings, while celebrating moments of joy and peace in a spirit of thanksgiving to God.

I've also been faced with many questions and struggles over the past year, as I'm sure most of us have. These struggles have been personal as well as vocational, dealing with family and church life. As a family and as a church family, we've tried together to discern the best paths ahead, the ones into which Christ would lead.

But today is New Year's Eve, and I look forward to the calendar's turn-over. I look forward to a new year. I hope it is full of hope, health, love, celebration, and joy. Perhaps it will involve adding a new "little one" to our family through international adoption...we're working on that. Perhaps it will lead to peace with our family just the way it is. Perhaps...

What is sure is this: God already knows what 2010 will hold, and will hold us through it. Thanks be to the Lord for that!

Trade as One - Just One

2009-12-19T12:48:00.001-05:00

Something to think about if you haven't finished your Christmas shopping. Also check out options at www.umcor.org.

JEd's first recording- "Jesus Loves Me"

2009-09-11T21:51:00.001-04:00

Enjoy!
No matter how you sing it, the message is always true!

Challenging the Waves

2009-08-07T20:49:00.003-04:00

My son has begun a new phase of his life: the water-loving phase.

We were worried about this for a long while, because while he would play in VERY shallow water, he would have a screaming fit if we tried to get him to float, swim, or do anything that involved water above his waist.

But this is a new day.

He has taken swimming lessons, and he has developed confidence.
My husband was eager to see how this translated from a pool to an OCEAN.
So they went yesterday to the beach, only 1.5 hours away.

And the most amazing, hilarious, and inspiring thing happened:

Our son was loving playing in the water, the waves, even slightly above his waist. My husband could hear him saying something, seemingly to the waves, over and over, but he couldn't make out the words. He just let the boy play.

AND THEN THE BIG WAVE CAME. IT KNOCKED "JED" DOWN, UNDER THE WATER.
Suddenly, my child was completely enveloped in the wave, pulled totally under water. My husband was certain that he would react the way he always had: coming back up, crying, wanting to pack up and go home.

BUT THIS TIME WAS DIFFERENT.
As "Jed" came up, my husband watched him turn again to the waves. He pointed both of his fingers at them and said,
"Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"

My husband was so proud; he has turned a corner.

We later found out, as they were telling me the story, that what our son had been saying to the waves as they hit him, before the "big one" came, was
"C'mon now, waves, you gotta do better than that if you wanna knock 'Jed' down!"
[he actually said his full name in that sentence :-)]

I've been thinking about this ever since. My son was challenging the waves.
The things that had always come and knocked him down, making him fear the power of the ocean, throwing him off-balance...he was challenging them! He was ready for whatever knock they would bring, and he knew he could get up. He was confident.

I wonder...do we have the confidence to "challenge the waves?"

Those things that have been able to knock us down in the past, that have caused us fear, can we look at them and know that they really have no power over us? Can we be like the "virtuous woman" of Proverbs 31, who, because of her trust in God and her wisdom in living, could "laugh at the time to come?"

I'm so glad my son learned that, no matter what waves came at him, or how big or strong they turned out to be, he could have confidence that he could and would get back up. The courage he has gained has come through learning, trusting. I pray that, in faith, we too can learn and trust that the God within us is stronger than any waves, so we can confidently say:

C'mon now, waves, you gotta do better than that to knock [insert your name here] down!

Mommy's Kisses vs. Daddy's

2009-06-13T17:13:00.004-04:00

We've had a big weekend.

Yesterday we went to one of our beautiful state parks: on Lake Marion in Santee. The boys had been there several times before; I hadn't. So they took me in our canoe along the shoreline from the boat ramp, to the isolated place they had named "Little Frog Beach," owing to the fact that there had been scores of little tiny frogs there the last time they'd been there. I re-named it "Stinky Beach," because while I saw no tiny frogs, I did see quite a few fish skeletons, and I did smell quite a fish smell.

However, I also got to watch my son splash in the water and quite enjoy himself, so it was worth it.

You can imagine that after such a day in the sun, no one was interested in cooking that evening after we got home. We decided to go get a pizza instead. So while we were at the restaurant, "Jed" bumped his elbow on the table. It hurt. He started to whimper.

"Let mommy kiss it," I offered.

So he showed me the spot, and I kissed it. At least I thought I did. He said

"No, mommy. Right here."
And he pointed to a new spot.

At that, he frowned. It was obvious he was still hurting.

"I guess mommy's kisses just don't really work anymore," I said to him, sadly. I was secretly lamenting the fact that my son is growing up as he opened his mouth again.

"Well, sometimes they don't," he said.

At that, my husband said, "Let Daddy try."

So "Jed" offered his elbow. My husband kissed it.

"Jed" thought for a second, looking at his elbow.

"OK," he said, with a lift in his voice, "Daddy's kisses kinda make it worse!"

CHALK ONE UP FOR MOMMY.

A "Jedism" Kind of Weekend

2009-04-25T14:35:00.004-04:00

I really need to be catching up on work, but since Jim shared with me this past week (at our Board of Camps and Retreats Ministries meeting at Asbury Hills UM Camp, about which I will blog soon) that he liked my sharing of my little boy's humor, I thought I'd relay a new "Jedism" from Thursday night.

When I got home from that overnight meeting, "Jed" and I had some quality time together, the latter part of which involved cleaning his mess from the den. You need to know that his best little stuffed friend is named "Lambie." Lambie is, of course, a lamb. Well, Lambie was on the floor, as were many other things. "Jed" couldn't get them all, so I offered to help him.

"Would you like for me to carry Lambie?" I asked helpfully.

"Yes," he said, absently.

We took a few steps into the hallway, at which point he actually noticed for the first time that I had picked up Lambie. He put out his little arms as if to stop me from moving.

"Oh, Mommy, Mommy," he said, "I meant 'no.' No, you can't carry Lambie."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, because you have to be special to carry him."

"Am I not special?" I asked, trying to hold down my smile.

"Um, well, you are special," he replied, "just not really quite special ENOUGH."

Gotta love the possessiveness of a four-year-old for his best friend!

Six years ago today...

2009-04-24T08:21:00.004-04:00

I married this man.

We were standing in the small Memorial Chapel within the massive and gothic Duke University Chapel. I promised, with newer vows from our United Methodist Book of Worship to "encourage the gifts of God in you," or something like that :-)

Today, I still love to hear him play the piano, the organ, the trumpet, the fluglehorn. I love to watch him play with our son. I am thankful to have a husband who supports my minstry and who understands its demands, even when those demands interfere with our family plans. I even love that he wants to spend our anniversary evening walking in the Relay for Life. So that's what we'll do tonight, even as I give thanks for the gift that my husband is.

Happy anniversary, honey!

Death...and LIFE

2009-04-24T07:53:00.006-04:00

We've just walked through the journey of Holy Week, moved from death to life. The journey was pretty amazing here... Above is a picture of what Good Friday evening looked like.

Our church shared the Holy Week journey (Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worship) with three other churches: another UMC, a Baptist (Cooperative Fellowship) congregation, and a PCUSA church. The four ministers led the services, and a combined 80-voice choir sang at each one. These two were the last of a series of four services, which also included Ash Wednesday.

We also shared the Lenten journey with four other UMC's, joining together with them each Sunday evening of the first 5 weeks of Lent. This brought together United Methodists of all backgrounds and several ethnic groups.

These services that have brought together followers of Jesus from many different groups were a tremendous source of joy, hope, and life for me throughout the wilderness journey of the 40 days of Lenten fasting....but now

Easter has come!!

This 50 days is about LIFE...NEW LIFE!

To the end that we might experience the power of Jesus' resurrection as a church family, I am looking forward to two things:

1. Dr. Kennon Callahan, author of Twelve Keys to an Effective Church WILL BE COMING TO HELP OUR CHURCH DISCERN GOD'S VISION FOR OUR FUTURE. He will be here on Saturday, May 16, and I hope that our church family will be as excited as I am that we are going to be able to glean from his wisdom and experience as we seek God's guidance for the church's LIFE in the future.

2. WE ARE GOING TO START A NEW WORSHIP EXPERIENCE! Look for details in a post to come very soon. The date to begin this source of new life is June 9 (and yes, that's a Tuesday).

In summary, I want to thank the Church Council of my congregation for their "leap of faith" in the two areas mentioned above. And I'd like to invite all of you readers to be in prayer for our church family as we undertake this new ventures. Please pray with me that they will indeed be signs, symbols, and means of God's power of resurrection here in this place!

I found this quite...overwhelming. And what does it all mean for church?

2009-03-24T21:48:00.001-04:00

Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

Transfiguration Sunday Sermon

2009-02-27T21:28:00.002-05:00

This is for you, Meredith!
Here's how we got to Lent in our church...

God Shines Forth:
Mark 9:2-13: Transfiguration Sunday, Yr. B
Kristen R. Richardson-Frick
St. Paul’s UMC
February 22, 2009

If Transfiguration Sunday is about anything at all, it just might be about teaching Jesus’ disciples that we have a lot to learn. I’ll tell you the story, and you’ll see what I mean.

Jesus’ first disciples, the ones who got to walk with him, watch him heal, and hear the tone of his voice as he cast out demons and taught his followers, they loved God’s holiness and glory. They did everything right by God’s law. And they knew the Scriptures. They could sing all the Psalms and quote you the Ten Commandments. And they knew what to expect when God down to save them from their enemies. The Psalmist whose song was our greeting this morning says it: “Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people.” When God’s messiah came to deliver the people, that’s how he would come, the disciples knew. He would come in power and great glory, with a devouring fire and a mighty tempest to judge the people and root out all enemies from the land. Yes, the disciples knew what to expect from the Son of God.

They were very confused, then, when, right after Peter shouted “You are the Messiah!” to Jesus, Jesus told him to shut up about it and started talking all over the place to everyone about how “the Son of Man” was to be rejected, and beaten, and shamed, and humiliated, and ultimately strung up naked for the world to mock at while he died a horrible and gruesome death. They had thought he was the one coming with power, glory, fire, and wind to set the world straight! They had thought he was the one coming with weapons to destroy the enemies of God! All this talk about suffering and death and silence couldn’t be right! And now the disciples are confused, even angry at Jesus’ words. I can understand. God knows they at least need some verification, some proof from God that what they think about Jesus is true. They need some little glimpse of his glory to hold on to.

And so six days later, Jesus takes them up the mountain, the realm of God’s glory. God’s promise was revealed to Noah on a mountain as the ark perched atop and a rainbow filled the sky. God’s Law was thundered to Moses on a mountain from the stormy brightness of the cloud of God’s glory. God’s Word was spoken to Elijah on a mountain in a still small voice. Oh, yes, going up on a mountain was always inviting yourself into God’s holy presence, and Peter and James and John all knew it. Phew! Amid all this talk of suffering and silence, finally we get to experience a little glory!

But we should all always be aware that when you get what you pray for, it may scare you half to death, and it almost certainly won’t happen the way you expect, or even maybe want.

So they go up to the mountain, and they do get to see God’s glory all right, and they get to hear God’s voice. And they get to see Moses and Elijah, and they get to see Jesus transformed into his glory right there on the spot. And it was terrifying. But it was unbelievably glorious and awe-inspiring. Can you imagine? What would you do? Have you ever had an experience quite like it, a mountaintop experience, where everything is glorious and you can literally see and feel the holy God with you? Remember when you felt like you were on a high mountain and that your prayers for confirmation of Jesus’ real-ness were answered? Remember? I pray that we all have those mountaintop moments in our lives from time to time, for they are amazing, aren’t they? A moment like that is an answer to prayer, a confirmation of our faith, something to hold onto when the going gets tough.

Most of us who have these kind of experiences want to stay there forever. We see Jesus, feel his glory, know God’s presence, and it’s awe-inspiring. Though it’s scary, it’s the most wonderful kind of scary we’ve ever known, and we’re in the presence of the Lord, for God’s sake, and who wants to leave that? So we sing, and we shout for joy, and we hug and cry. And we feel like real Christians, maybe for the first time ever. And we want to stay right there in that worshipful place forever. And so we, like Peter, ask if we can. We think we’re doing the right thing, making a real and true home for Jesus right where we are. If we want to stay on the mountain forever, surely God does too, right? We blurt out “it’s good for us to be here! We can make dwellings right here!”

And then a cloud descends over us, the glory of God, that like the light and brightness of God hides our eyes from seeing what is too great for us to see, and we hear the Father’s voice thunder from heaven: “Look at Jesus, your Lord, my Son, the Beloved One! Listen to him!” And suddenly the glory is gone and Jesus looks normal again and Moses and Elijah have disappeared, and everything is back to the way it was.

And before we can say “boo,” Jesus is saying: “OK, time to go down the mountain now. Now don’t tell a soul about this! I mean it. No one can know until after I’ve risen from the dead.” And you mutter with your friends “from the dead? He’s holy; he can’t die! We just saw him in glory! What’s going on here?” And you try to figure it out. And so you start to ask Jesus questions about what’s going on here. You ask about the one who was supposed to prepare for the Messiah’s coming, Elijah. And Jesus says: “Yeah, Elijah came, and they did horrible things to him, just like the Scripture says.” Jesus sure seems to be on this suffering kick, but you just saw him in glory, and it’s all so confusing! And you just want to go back to that great place on the mountain top, but you can’t.

See, we think that the mountain is the place to be with God. We think that’s where the true worship is. We think that’s where Christ’s glory is revealed to us most plainly. We think that’s where God’s best work is done. We’re a people who “reach for the stars” and believe “bigger is better.” We believe in great success and wealth as a blessing. We think the high and mighty of this world are also the holy and powerful. At the top is where the glory is, right, or why all this “American Idol” and “Forbes” magazine and “Most likely to succeed” in our yearbooks? Why all this grades-comparing and church attendance comparing and house-square-footage comparing? Yes, we think higher is holier, bigger is better.

And what’s more, we think that worshiping Jesus and building dwellings for him in our holy mountain places and going with him there or staying with him there is what being a Christian is all about. We think we’re most holy when we’re most successful for Jesus, when we can bring lots of people up to the mountain with us and invite them to stay there. But the Transfiguration tells us we’re wrong about all that, and so much more. The Transfiguration tells us that we have a lot to learn about how God works, and what Jesus wants, and where God’s glory really shines forth most powerfully.

The Eternal Father’s voice thunders: “This is my Son, the Beloved One. Listen!!” And Jesus says: “The Son of man must suffer to be glorified. We must go down from the mountain to really do God’s work, to be true as God’s people.” And down the mountain we go, right into the scene of a demon-possessed boy and sheer human helplessness and need…right on the journey to Jerusalem that leads to conflict, and suffering, and beating, and torture, and mocking, and death.

I don’t know why we think being a Christian is about going to the mountain to worship in God’s glory and bringing others up with us to stay there. I don’t know why we forget that, if we’re going to follow Jesus, we have to get down off the mountain and get right into the places where people are helpless and need a hand, where people are hungry and need to be filled, where people are hurting and need to be healed. I don’t know why we think we can stay and worship God through our stained-glass windows and with a dreamy detachment from the world without meeting Jesus in homes and neighborhoods where all the windows and dreams are broken. I don’t know why we’ve forgotten that Jesus revealed his glory and power when he gave up glory and became powerless. I don’t know why we’ve forgotten. But we have, I think.

And so Jesus, after shining in our faces, pushes us down the mountain, because he wants to transform us into what he is, on the mountain and in the streets and on the cross, shining his holy light, so God can continue to shine forth, this time through us.

Shane Claiborne is a twenty-something who saw Jesus’ glory, heard the Father’s thunderous voice, and followed Christ down the mountain so Jesus shine forth God’s holy light into his heart and could transform him, too, into a shining light of holiness. He’s written a book about his life “as an ordinary radical,” as a fool for and lover of Jesus who lives most of the time in community in one of the “worst” neighborhoods in Philadelphia but has also spent time in a leper colony in Calcutta, India. While in Calcutta, he learned a new word: namaste, meaning something like “I honor the Holy One who lives in you.”

One day, Shane was asked to do a doctor’s job in the leper colony, to treat and dress a wound. He’d been watching the doctor do it all day, just assisting. But now he was asked to do it alone. “I had been watching,” Shane writes, “and I did know what to do, but I wasn’t sure I dared. I came forward and sat in the doctor’s seat and began staring in the patient’s eyes, and the decision had already been made. I began carefully dressing the man’s wound. He stared at me with such intensity that it felt like he was looking into my soul. Every once in a while he would slowly close his eyes. When I was finished, he said to me that sacred word I had come to love: ‘Namaste.’ I smiled with tears in my eyes and whispered, ‘Jesus.’ He saw Jesus in me. And I saw Jesus in him. I remember thinking back to the stained-glass window my United Methodist church had bought for over $100,000. I saw a clearer glimpse of Jesus in this leper’s eyes than any stained-glass window could ever give.” (all Shane Claiborne references taken from The Irresistable Revolution, (Zondervan: 2006), 80).

We don’t have to go to Calcutta to follow Jesus down the mountain, to see Jesus in a leper’s eyes. But, as Mother Teresa used to advise, we do have to “find our Calcutta,” whether it’s in our own home with a spouse or parent, or down the street with a neighbor, or in a part of this city you’ve always been scared to go in, or working at CCMO or on a Habitat house, or as part of a Mission team to another state or even country. The disciples thought worshiping Jesus was about staying on the mountain with him in the glorious place, singing praise songs and being shielded there from the pain of the world down below. And the Transfiguration said they were wrong, said we have a lot to learn if we think that way.

For it isn’t until we get down from the mountain and encounter the helplessness of other human beings, until we touch them and offer healing, that we really begin to see Jesus. It isn’t until we suffer with Christ that we can be glorified with him. It isn’t until we get down from the mountain and into the hurting places of the world that we begin to know who our Lord really is, and to truly see and worship his glory. It isn’t until we get down from the mountain and begin to carry the cross with Jesus that we can really be transformed into his presence for the world. And that is what being a Christian is all about. Not the mountain, but the cross. Are we ready to go down into the valley, into the real world? And are we ready to find, if we do, that the cross ends up on a mountain, too, where God shines forth like nowhere else? I pray the answer is “yes.” So may it be. Amen.

Unusual Prophets

2009-02-25T17:33:00.004-05:00

On this Ash Wednesday, as we begin the season of Lent and face our sin, brokenness, and mortality...as we walk through the wilderness and to the cross with Jesus, here's a little inspiration for the journey.

God just might use even a dog and an elephant to show us what pure love is like, what we're called to be and do...

Check this out.

Where Babies Come From...

2009-02-13T14:22:00.002-05:00

So, the other day my husband and son came home from their day away and my husband says to my son, "Tell Mommy what you told me about where babies come from."

A little surprised, I asked my son, "You know where babies come from?"

To which my son replied:

Yes, ma'am. I know how babies get in mommies' tummies.

Mommies walk along,

and when they see a seed on the ground,

they eat it.

Then the seed grows in the mommy's tummy

until it turns into the baby.

And then after the baby is born,

it turns 1 (showing a 1 with his finger),

and then it turns 2 (second finger up now)

and then it turns...Well, you get the picture.

Now I must admit, I was impressed with his thoughts. But I asked, "Where did you hear that?"

To which he replied in his cute and self-deprecating tone,

I just made it up.

Ah, the innocence! Children lose it all too soon. I pray that he can keep his for a long, long time. Perhaps the church has a role to play here, what do you think?

While I Was Out...

2009-02-10T17:58:00.011-05:00

Well, we've had a lot going on while I've been away from the Blogosphere.

First there was Advent and 2 Christmas pageants.

At one of "Jed's" churches, he was a "little drummer boy" because he had told the Children's Choir Director, "I don't want to be a cow, a sheep, or a shepherd. I just want to be a little boy." So she obliged.

At his "other church", "Jed" did agree to be a shepherd, because a little buddy of his was going to be one, too.

That, of course, was just the beginning of the Christmas celebrations. There was the fun of Christmas Day and Santa's visit. Santa brought "Jed" what he'd been asking for for months, a CHAINSAW! And, as you can see, "Jed" promptly tried to saw the limbs off of the Christmas tree.

Well, after the joy of Christmas came the celebration of the New Year, "Jed's" 4th birthday at a Dinosaur party (he was really happy about it, as you can see).

Then came the Inauguration, and me trying to explain to "Jed" just how important this day and the stuff he was seeing on TV really was.

Now here we are ALREADY in February (the second week, no less), and I'm trying to get back to whatever "normal" is. I hope that means blogging. Don't give up on me yet!

Happy New Year!!

And by the way, if you checked those New Year's Resolutions from last year and wondered how I did on those, I'll tell you: NOT TOO WELL. So you haven't seen any for this year!

My Christmas Gift to You

2008-12-23T20:01:00.002-05:00

3 Priceless "Jedisms", all from one day--today:

1. Today my sister-in-law took her kids and "Jed" to see Santa. When my son told Santa that he wanted a chainsaw, a pitchfork, and a camera for Christmas, Santa responded with perplexity, as many people do. He remarked to "Jed": "Wow! A chainsaw? Well, I guess you want to be a lumberjack when you grow up!"

To which my son said, in his thick southern accent:

"I didn't say nuthin' 'bout bein' a lumberjack! I just said I wanted a chainsaw!"

2. Sitting at dinner, with my sister, her husband, and our parents, "Jed" was drinking from an orange Halloween cup with black bats on it. My mother said "You've got a Halloween cup!"

My son replied:
"Yep. It has bats on it. Bats are good because they eat mosquitos that suck your blood."

As we were laughing at that, my brother-in-law (who works in pest control) said: "I can show you how to catch bats so you can have one to take to school for show and tell."

And then, from "Jed," the priceless and sarcastic response of a not-yet-four-year-old:
"Well, congratulations, Jeremy. Congratulations."

3. Last, but not least: As he was going to the tub for his bath, where he plays as I type, he got excited about the toys he could play with. So he exclaimed:
"Holy mackerel with cheese on top!"

WHERE DOES HE GET THIS STUFF?

Last Week's Morning Minutes: November 24-28

2008-12-03T16:10:00.004-05:00

Monday, November 24

Tonight I will be telling a little Christmas story at Edisto Gardens. Tonight I look forward to walking with those children, including my son, through the light displays that will fill the night. I’ll be there for the Kids’ Walk at 6:00 p.m., and I hope many children will join me.Tonight I will be telling a little Christmas story at Edisto Gardens. Tonight I look forward to walking with those children, including my son, through the light displays that will fill the night. I’ll be there for the Kids’ Walk at 6:00 p.m., and I hope many children will join me.

Tonight, I think, it will really feel like the Advent season is about to begin. Advent, which leads to Christmas will not officially start in the church until this Sunday, though.

In our culture it seems, Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year. One area station I know of is already playing all Christmas music. And for this, I am sad.

See, when we go ahead and celebrate Christmas before Christmas Eve arrives, we miss out on the joy of expectation fulfilled. If we wait patiently, holding our breath until the Savior arrives to save us, we gain blessings we could not have known otherwise.

I like to celebrate Advent before Christmas. There can be great lessons learned as we wait on things: especially as we wait on the coming of Christ. What have you learned while waiting in your life? What are you waiting for now, and what might God be trying to say to you there?

Tuesday, November 25

There’s a little known Old Testament book in the Bible called “Nahum”. Nahum was a prophet who was given one vision from the Lord to speak of, a vision about Ninevah. Ninevah was the capital of the ancient nation Assyria, and was located across the Tigris River from present-day Mosul, Iraq. There’s a little known Old Testament book in the Bible called “Nahum”. Nahum was a prophet who was given one vision from the Lord to speak of, a vision about Ninevah. Ninevah was the capital of the ancient nation Assyria, and was located across the Tigris River from present-day Mosul, Iraq.

In Nahum’s day, Assyria had conquered the kingdom of God’s people Israel and was a fearsome power. But Nahum’s vision said that God’s wrath would be poured out on Assyria for their abuses and force. Nahum says: “The Lord…rages against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty.”

It is not God’s desire for nations to get so drunk on power that they harm God’s children. Though we may look at the world and wonder why the Lord is not pouring out wrath and judgment on nations who do not follow the divine will, we can be assured that judgment will come. What was true of God in Nahum’s day is still true today. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and it will come upon those who set themselves as enemies of God. Today, let us pray to be faithful to God as a people, and let us pray that all nations will turn to the Lord, that we all may see God’s salvation.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Cooks are preparing turkeys and dressing. Families are traveling. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. But not everyone finds it easy to give thanks this season.

As happy families gather around tables, many are lonely or grieving. For many, this is the first Thanksgiving without someone who was a part of them. As yams bubble in lots of ovens, many other kitchens have bare cupboards, in homes where parents struggle to put food on the table each day. As many of us stuff our bellies with food, many others are too sick to eat.

Yes, for many, today it can feel pretty hard to give thanks.

So today, tomorrow, indeed during this whole season, let those of us who can and do lift joyful prayers of thanks to the Lord for our many blessings also offer a different kind of prayer.

Let us pray for those who, for reasons of poor health, grief, hurt, or poverty have difficulty counting blessings. Let us pray that the Lord will shower them with grace and provision. Let us also pray that God will use us to be blessings of care for them. Let us listen for the call to care and be open to the movement of the Lord’s Spirit in this and every season.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Today is Thanksgiving Day. We celebrate bountiful gifts of God’s harvest on this day; we count our blessings. Today, we also pray for those who find it hard to give thanks. And I’d like to invite us today into one more form of prayer: that of confession.Today is Thanksgiving Day. We celebrate bountiful gifts of God’s harvest on this day; we count our blessings. Today, we also pray for those who find it hard to give thanks. And I’d like to invite us today into one more form of prayer: that of confession.

As we teach our children about this holiday, we accentuate the positive. That is natural. And there are beautiful things about the origin of this day and the origin of our nation. But there area also things that we as a nation may find it hard to confess. European settlers certainly did not always treat Native peoples in the “new world” in a manner worthy of God. Today, as a result, many Native American communities are caught in poverty and lack of education.

This history teaches us that, as noble as we humans are, we do not always act in ways that are noble. We can always learn from our mistakes and do better. More than that, we can thank God in this and every season that the Holy Spirit never gives up on us, and keeps working within us to make us more the people God created us to be. Let us pray today for our nation and all its peoples, that the Lord would work in mighty ways to make us righteous and holy altogether.

Friday, November 28, 2008

I will not mention any names, but certain members of my extended family have a long-standing tradition for this day. They are the early-bird shoppers of the day after Thanksgiving. Each Thanksgiving Thursday after we eat, they begin to scrounge through the newspaper ads for the best Christmas gift deals. They get up long before the sun, and they begin to shop.

Today, I would like to challenge us to a new kind of shopping tradition. What if this Christmas, we made or wrote or crafted all our Christmas gifts? Or what if all of our gifts were donations the favorite charities of our friends and family members, made in their names? What if we used our online computer access to research environmentally-friendly or fair-trade gifts to give? Or what if we vowed within our families and circles of friends to give the gift of time this Christmas, rather than anything money can buy? At the very least, perhaps we could all agree to spend less on material things, so that we might focus on the spiritual blessings of the season.

What do you say? I’ll be starting some new Christmas gift-giving traditions this season. Will you join me?

Last Week's Morning Minutes: November 17-21

2008-11-24T13:41:00.002-05:00

Monday, November 17, 2008

Last week I traveled to Alabama with my mother and my son. Alabama is my mother’s home, and where her mother and two sisters still live. While there, several crises arose. We were able to be present in the midst of them.

Too often, families become estranged because of miles or anger, apathy or inability to communicate. When this happens, we forget how to love the family members God has given us with the active care that is the hallmark of divine love. And when that happens, we are in danger of forgetting how to love anyone at all, aside from ourselves.

Mother Teresa once said: “I have a conviction that I want to share with you. Love begins at home, and every[one] should try to make sure that deep family love abides in his or her home. Only when love abides at home can we share it with the…neighbor. Then it will show forth and you will be able to say… “yes, love is here.” And then you will be able to share it with everyone around you.

Today, let us love those God has given us as family, sharing care, forgiveness, and unity. Thus may we learn the ways of love to share in the world beyond our houses and our bloodlines.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” the Apostle writes in Ephesians. And then he gets specific to marriage. “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.”

Too often, we forget in marriage and other relationships that God has called us to be self-sacrificial, self-giving, self-less instead of selfish. We want to control, dominate, make the rules, get our way.

But the Lord teaches us through the Holy Scriptures that, as Christ our Lord willingly gave himself for the sinners he loved, so we are to humble ourselves and willingly give ourselves to those we have promised to love, honor, and cherish. This is a call to husbands and wives, children and parents, friends and neighbors, strangers and co-workers. Each person around us is a child of God equal to us in God’s eyes. The relationships to which we are called are marked by self-giving agape love, willing submission of our own desires for the building up of another.

Today, let us all examine how well we are acting in selfless love, sacrificial giving, and willing submission in our relationships. Today, might we be willing to put away our own selfish desires, and look to the joy and welfare of the ones we love?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

These words were spoken through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of God at a desperate time. The people were devoid of hope; they no longer knew who they were or what they were supposed to do.

God knew their desperation. The Lord knew their confusion. And into that desperate situation, God spoke to them the word that said “I have plans for you, for your life. That plan is for peace and not harm. I offer you a future with hope.”

Today, many of us may feel desperate or confused. We may wonder what we’re here for, what we’re supposed to do. But just as God once spoke to Israel, God still speaks to us. God has put us, each of us, here for a purpose, a good purpose in the Lord’s great plan of salvation. Each of us is unique, with a particular role to play in the healing of the world and those around us. Hear today the word of God: “I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for peace and not harm. I offer you a future with hope.” Today, the word is for you and me. Believe it.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

This morning, I and other area ministers, are speaking at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes prayer breakfast. FCA is a vital ministry in our community, and it is my joy to be able to engage in prayer for our youth with them on this day. The theme of the morning is “Rescuing and Embracing our Youth and Community through Character.”

What FCA knows is the truth: our youth today do indeed need to be rescued from the things that would keep them from full and abundant life in Christ, and they need to be embraced in love. Orangeburg County as a “community of character” is seeking in many ways to do just those things.

Today, let us say special prayers for our young people. Youth of today are affected by things that, just a generation ago, were unheard of. They have temptations most adults cannot comprehend. They fight battles with evil that leave them feeling alone and torn apart.

More than anything, our young people need the love of God and of the community, who shapes in them a character that can endure and triumph, no matter what they face. Let us pray today for our youth. And let us commit to rescue and embrace them with whatever tools we have available.

Friday, November 21

Today, my son’s preschool is holding their Thanksgiving program. I look forward to seeing my little boy up there singing songs of thanks to God, wearing his little Thanksgiving costume. The other day, he came home dressed as an American Indian from school. They are learning about the first Thanksgiving.

As he learns, I hope he learns that Thanksgiving teaches many lessons. First among them is that as we prepare to gather with family or friends, in churches and homes, around turkey and dressing, yams, green beans, and pecan pie, we must always remember to focus our time of joy on giving thanks to God, who is the source of every good and perfect gift.

The day is called “Thanksgiving” because that is what the day is set aside to do: give thanks to the LORD for the goodness provided at harvest time, when the land brings forth the abundance of food we need to thrive, due to the design and nature of God. As we gather with family in this season of thanks, let us gather in the knowledge of the abundance of God’s love, generosity, and forgiveness, and let us allow those same gifts to flow through us to others.

Too long since a "Jedism" was shared...

2008-11-23T21:40:00.005-05:00

Nothing our son has said recently has really "screamed" to be put in the blog, but this week changed that.

So, here's a "Jedism" for you for Thanksgiving week.

The other day a volunteer, and dear member, at the church was wrapping a shoebox to send to Operation Christmas Child. She didn't need the rest of the wrapping paper, so she offered it to me. I gladly accepted.

When I walked in the door at home, I was carrying the roll of giftwrap. My son ran to the door to meet me (he does this whenever he hears my key in the door--it's precious).

"Hey, mommy!" he yelled gleefully, and then, spotting what was in my hand:

"Oh, wow!!" (grabbing the roll of paper now and holding the end to his eye like a telescope) "Is this for playing pirate!!??"
I guess we hadn't told him it was almost time to wrap Christmas gifts!

Last Week's Morning Minutes

2008-11-18T11:36:00.002-05:00

Monday, November 10, 2008

I’m reading The Shack by William Young. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it. The story follows a man who has experienced great tragedy as God encounters him at the place of his greatest pain. Through this divine encounter, the main character learns who God is in a very different way than he ever imagined possible.

We humans like to “put God in a box”. We tend to stick to images and ideas of God that we’ve been taught by other flawed human beings without delving too deeply into the self-revelation of the Lord in Jesus Christ. But we as Christians believe that when we look at Jesus, when we encounter Jesus—in worship, in the face of another, through humble service, or in the pages of the Bible—then right there we also encounter the Creator: the Holy God.

Today, Jesus wants us to see him, know him, experience him. How can we open ourselves up to meeting him? Can we speak to a stranger in whose eyes we see light? Can we read a page of the Holy Scriptures? Can we offer a hand to someone in need? Can we pray? These are ways we can open ourselves to Jesus, ways he just might meet you and me today.

Tuesday, November 11

Today is Veterans’ Day. We give thanks for the service of men and women in uniform, of all generations, who have willingly given themselves to pursue justice and freedom for people around the world and to provide protection for all of us here.

Today let us pray for our veterans. I borrow from a group of Franciscans these words:
O God, We ask for blessings on all those who have served their country in the armed forces. We ask for healing for the veterans who have been wounded, in body and soul, in conflicts around the globe. Bring solace to them, O Lord; may we pray for them when they cannot pray. We ask for an end to wars and the dawning of a new era of peace, as a way to honor all the veterans of past wars.

Have mercy on all our veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. Bring peace to their hearts and peace to the regions they fought in. Bless all the soldiers who served in non-combative posts; May their calling to service continue in their lives in many positive ways. Give us all the creative vision to see a world which, grown weary with fighting, moves to affirming the life of every human being and so moves beyond war. Hear our prayer, O Prince of Peace, hear our prayer

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Our church and others are busy right now collecting and filling shoeboxes. Many of you have heard of this ministry of the Franklin Graham Evangelistic Association, called Operation Christmas Child. Come Christmas Day, thousands upon thousands of children all over the world, who would not otherwise have received a single gift for Christmas, will get a shoebox filled up with love with goodies and with signs of Jesus’ love. Through the boxes, these children will encounter the truth of God’s gift to our world, the gift of salvation.

It is easy to forget that our role every day is to spread the good news and the love of Christ. As we go about filling shoeboxes and thinking of the children who will receive them, let us also seek other ways each day to bring a good tiding to someone around us who may desperately need to hear one.

Write a note of care, offer a listening ear, commit yourself to do the thing that you know God has asked you to do for another. Tell someone Jesus loves them. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to mention it, to offer it. Just consider it a shoebox full of love, full of goodness, offered to a child of God.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Our church, like many congregations, has committed itself to a program, an ongoing intentional process, called Natural Church Development, or NCD. NCD originally came out of a research project conducted by a German man named Christian Schwartz. Christian Schwartz wanted to know what made a congregation, any congregation any place of any denomination, healthy and vibrant. So he studied 1,000 of them.

By now, tens of thousands of churches have been studied, and the NCD process of improving church health has been birthed, developed, and fine-tuned. It has become a way for all kinds of churches to be intentional about becoming, and growing ever more healthy.

The theory is: no human, no organism, and no organization is perfectly healthy. And just as humans need to have regular doctor’s check-up’s to find the unhealthy places and improve ourselves, so the church needs the same kind of thing. Just as God wants people to be healthy and at their best, God wants the same for the church.

The church, a family, any group of people: we’re all like a person who can be healthier if we’ll just commit ourselves to the processes: a person may need to quit smoking, a family may need to develop better communication, a church may need to learn how to better structure its church life. We can all get healthier, as individuals and groups. What will make you and those around you healthier today in Christ?

Today's Sermon

2008-11-16T17:31:00.002-05:00

Just Do Your Job:
Proper A28: I Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30
Kristen R. Richardson-Frick
November 15, 2008
St. Paul’s UMC

We’re in the “Between Times.” That’s what the people who talk about these things for a living call it….the In-Between Times. That is, we live, move, and exist in the time BETWEEN Jesus’ first coming and his last, BETWEEN the initiation of the kingdom of God on earth and its completion, BETWEEN the giving of the gift of the Spirit and the full pouring out of it on all creation. We live in between. And if you ask any middle child, you know that living in between can be tough.

Jesus knew it would be tough to live in between. The Apostle Paul knew it was tough. And both of them wanted us to have some words of comfort and instruction to get us by, to keep us focused, as we live there. Jesus was talking to his disciples, who had just asked him about the end-times. Paul was writing to the believers in Thessolonika, who obviously had some questions about Jesus’ return at the end of time, and what would happen to those who died before that time and at it. And both Jesus and Paul seem to turn attention away from the question itself in order to say something that goes much more important.

The disciples have asked Jesus, after he prophesied that the great Temple would be destroyed, how they will know when the end of time is (they obviously think that the destruction of the Temple will mean the end-times have arrived). And that question has prompted Jesus to say many things about what the end will look like. We’ll look at Jesus’ words more in-depth on Wednesday night after our meal (there’s a plug for the study), but for now be content to hear that Jesus used the familiar images of wars and rumors of wars, false messiahs, earthquakes, and amines. He tells the disciples they will be persecuted and mistreated, but that the good news will spread through all the nations. He talks about a “desolating sacrilege” in the holy place in the temple and cries woe for women who are pregnant or nursing in those days. He says the Son of Man will come like lightning and that there will be signs in the heavens, and that the elect will be gathered to him.

But then he says, “But as for WHEN all this will happen, not even I know that. It will be unexpected, like when people were going about their business in Noah’s day, and suddenly the flood washed them away…like all of a sudden while two women were grinding meal, one disappears…like a man goes away on a trip and has no idea that a burglar is coming to steal his stuff in the night.

Then Jesus proceeds to give the “sooooo….” to the disciples. He says, “So, since you don’t know when the end is coming, but you know that it is coming, be like the faithful servant who was faithfully keeping the household running when the master of the house returned unexpectedly. Don’t be like the wicked servant who thought his master would be gone a while, so proceeded to get drunk and beat up on the other servants, only to find the master return as the household spiraled out of control on account of him. The master will punish that servant.

“Or think about this: the kingdom of heaven coming that day will be like this: there were ten bridesmaids anxiously awaiting the bridegrooms arrival. Some, assuming he was coming shortly, bought a little bit of oil to keep their lamps lit. Others didn’t know how long he would take, so they bought an extra supply. So when the bridegroom took a while, the anxious bridesmaids fell asleep and their lamps went out. When the cry came out in the middle of the night that the groom was coming, the ones with extra oil were in good shape, but the ones without had to run into town to buy more. They missed the groom’s arrival and were shut out of the party.

“Or think about it this way: There was a man who was going on a journey. So he called together his servants and entrusted all his assets, his property and their tasks to them. To one servant he entrusted $ 5 million, to another $ 2 million, to another $ 1 million. Now the servants had worked for the master for a long time. They had had the opportunity to watch him, to see how he operated, what was important to him. Two perceived him in one way, and the third saw him differently. The first two servants went out and immediately began taking risks with the money, spending and investing it in such a way as to grow it, to get a good ‘return on investment.’ The third took the $ 1 million and buried in the ground.

“When the master of the estate returned, he called back the servants to take back control of his property and wealth. The first was happy to report that he had taken the $ 5 million and made $ 5 million more for the master. The second had a similar report. And they both heard those words we all so long to hear: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will entrust much more to you now. Enter into the joy of your master!” But it was not so with the third servant, who came before the master saying: ‘I knew you were a hard man, punishing, and so I was afraid. I hid your $ 1 million in the ground, and here it is back for you.’ For this servant, the master had only words of condemnation.”

And this last story of Jesus makes me wonder: did that third servant really KNOW his master? What made him see only a harsh tyrant in a master who entrusted a fortune and an estate to his servants, who obviously only wanted to see them invest it well and make it bear fruit? Or rather, what had the other two servants seen in the master that let them know that if he were there, he would be investing the small fortune so it would grow? What had given them the confidence to take risks with what they had been given so they could do what the master did? How did they know that this was the job they’d been entrusted to do?

So often, I think, we take our Lord for a harsh tyrant. We, like the third servant, cower in fear and bury the amazing gifts of the Holy Spirit with which we’ve been entrusted. We forget that we are living as stewards of God’s estate, to care for it as Christ would, in between the time that the generous and risk-taking master has been here, and the time he returns. We neglect the gifts we’ve been asked to make grow into something beautifully abundant for God’s kingdom. We become like the bridesmaids who let the lamps go out, like the servant who decides he’s got enough time before the master of the house returns that he can get drunk and mistreat his peers. And Jesus and Paul have warnings about that: if we fail to be faithful servants of the master, to bear good fruit for him, to keep the light burning for him, to stay self-controlled and loving for him, then there will be a reckoning. We will face that judgment at a time we least expect.

This is why Paul writes with a plea in his words: “Let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us stay alert and sober. We belong to the day, to the light. Defend yourself against the night, the dark. Put on faith and love like a breastplate. Put on the hope of your salvation like a helmet, for we are not destined for God’s wrath, but for salvation and joy in Jesus Christ, who died for us so that we may live always with him. Encourage each other, build each other up, in this, as you already are.”

You may wonder why we’re engaging in the Natural Church Development process, why we’re shifting the structure and operation of the church around, why we celebrate Communion once a month, why I do the things I do or say the things I say the way I say and do them, in worship and teaching and preaching. It’s because I know the Master. I know the abundance of the gifts he’s entrusted to us, as individuals and as a church. I know the way he has worked and the tasks he’s entrusted to us in this in between time.

And I so desperately do NOT want to see us be the unfaithful servant. I so do NOT want to see us consciously or unconsciously become drunk, lazy, or abusive of God’s other children. I so do NOT want us to let the lamp go out, or bury the master’s treasure in the ground.

But I so DO want to see us, as individuals and as a church, remain faithful and care-ful as we tend the Master’s house and engage in his work with God’s fellow children. I so DO want us to keep the lamp-light of Christ burning so a dark world will be drawn to its light. I so DO want to see us take the gifts we’ve been given, the very treasure of Jesus: the good news of God’s salvation, the assurance of forgiveness, the promise of healing, the touch of grace, the love of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit, and make them grow so that everyone in Orangeburg knows how we’re investing God’s goodness, so that everyone around us is brought into the goodness of salvation with us.

I so DO want to see us be the faithful servants God has made and entrusted us to be, because I know the joys that come with faithfulness, and the consequences of unfaithfulness. All we have to do is just do our job while we live in between. We don’t have to know when the Master is returning, just that he is, and that he wants to find us faithfully at work when he does. It’s simple if we want to be ready, Jesus tells us: Just do your job.

Jesus will talk more about what faithfulness and unfaithfulness look like next week, what doing the job he’s given us looks like, and so will I, but for now, let us pray:

Loving master, you have entrusted us with a great fortune and asked us to use it to grow your kingdom. You have asked us to keep the light burning as we await the bridegroom’s arrival. Forgive us when we fall asleep, when we forget our role, when we fail to do the job you’ve asked us to do. Cleanse us now, make us faithful again. Send your Spirit to empower us again with your gifts, and to help us be the faithful servants you need in this time in between. Amen.

Since the last post is still the post-election one...

2008-11-13T22:47:00.003-05:00

I'll post a link to a celebrity's letter to President-Elect Obama.
I thought it was pretty good and thought-provoking.

We Christians ought to know a little something about sacrifice, shouldn't we?
Regardless of your thoughts on how the election went, now is the time to pray and to dedicate ourselves to the work God is calling us to as a nation.

Paula Poundstone has some ideas on that.
I pray that our new president does, too.
Enjoy!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96890409&sc=emaf

A Pastoral Letter to My Congregation Regarding the Election

2008-11-06T18:58:00.003-05:00

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
+ Philippians 3:6-7

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change…
+ Psalm 1:1-2a

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On Tuesday, our nation elected a new president. Barack Obama will become the next leader of our nation. While for many this moment was a watershed of progress and hope, for many others Obama’s election raised fear and concern.

Over the past week, I have heard some speaking about our next president as a “savior” figure. I have heard others refer to him as “anti-christ.” I have heard confident people express deep satisfaction at our democratic process and its result, and others concerned that our nation faces uncertainties with an Obama administration that it would not have under a McCain one.

To all of these uncertainties, opinions, and fears, God has a word to speak. The scriptures that are the heading of this letter are the Lord’s word to us in this and every time.

We must remember as we look ahead to January and beyond: We believe that God the Creator is Sovereign. We worship Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings. We trust that the Holy Spirit is and will be at work in and among the people who trust in God. We must rely on the promises that, no matter what the future holds, good or bad, God our Lord always holds us and our eternal future, if we follow Christ Jesus in the way that leads to life. Therefore we have nothing to fear or dread in this life.

In the coming weeks, we must also remind ourselves and others that Barack Obama is simply a man: a man who gave his life to Jesus Christ at a church altar 20 years ago and was baptized in the one Holy Spirit we all share, a man who pledges love and loyalty to this nation, and a man who we pray will humble himself before the Lord, seeking God’s guidance, during his time of leadership.

Let us be always in a spirit of prayer for our nation, that God’s peace will be sent to and among us, that we may grow in the ways of Christ, and that we may comfort one another with the assuring words of the God’s presence and promise. Let us pray for all our leaders, especially lifting our president- and vice-president-elect.

And let us always seek first the kingdom of God and the Lord’s righteousness, knowing that as we do, we become a light to the nations and a sign of God’s peace, hope, promise, and sovereignty in this and every age.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Kristen

Celebrating All Saints': Today's Morning Minute

2008-11-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

Monday, November 3, 2008

Yesterday at St. Paul’s, just as in many churches, we celebrated All Saints’ Sunday. Each year on November 1, Christians all over the world stop, remember, give thanks, and worship. For each November 1 is All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day.

We may think of the saints as people different from us. But in its most basic form, the term “saint” simply means “one who is being sanctified, or made holy by the Holy Spirit at work within him or her.” So, if you are hearing the sound of my voice, and if you have asked the Spirit of Jesus Christ to come into your heart and life and make you like Jesus, make you holy, then you, my friend, are a saint. Just like the 14 people our church named on Sunday, those who have been removed from our membership roll to the membership roll of the Church Expectant in heaven, you and I are created and called to be saints, people who show those around us what God is like, people who are being made more like Jesus by the Holy Spirit each day. You are a saint.

Never thought of yourself that way? Well, start. Each day, wake up and say to yourself in the mirror: “I am a saint. Lord, help me behave like one.”

On the Death of Trick-or-treating: A Lament

2008-11-01T11:08:00.005-04:00

In one of the little towns I which I was ministering last year, they do it right. The kids and their friends from my former church all pile into a trailer behind of the dads' pick-up's, and they go from house-to-house trick-or-treating.

Everyone sits on front porches and hands out good things for the children to enjoy, and everyone oohs and aahs over the kids' cute costumes. Other children are all running around the neighborhood, and it's just good fun. Neighbors get to know each other, and the feeling of community is palpable.

It was not so in our new community last night. Only a couple of houses on each street in our neighborhood had on lights. Only three cars with children in them stopped at our home for treats. And as we walked the streets of our neighborhood looking for inviting front porch lights, all three of us in our cowboy hats, we ran into NO other families.

It was as we walked that I realized: the community I served last year, where my son had the best trick-or-treating experience possible, is probably the exception, rather than the rule, now. People have become so afraid of the neighbors they don't know, so untrusting of others, that most families stick to church or community events for Halloween fun. They don't even go trick-or-treating anymore. And most people in houses on Halloween night have become so disgusted by greedy teenagers wanting candy for free, or even afraid of people taking advantage of an open door to commit crimes, that they no longer turn on the porch light. They stay holed up inside, safe.

Stories like the one I read this morning don't help.

When I was a little girl, things were different. I remember how the neighborhood crawled with kids running from house to house, and I looked forward every year to dressing up as a hobo, or Strawberry Shortcake, or Pippi Longstocking. I remember chatting with neighbors I didn't know, and suddenly they became friends.

When trick-or-treating dies, so does something wholesome and good that taught us that strangers can become friends, that our neighbors are people we can and should care about (even those we don't know), and that a community spirit can be real in our neighborhoods.

I'm sad today.

I'm sad that neighborhood trick-or-treating seems to be a dying tradition.

I don't know what we'll do next Halloween. In the meantime, I'll pray that God will work in a powerful way to take away fear, and to return safety and joy to our communities, so maybe trick-or-treating can make a comeback.

At least my son said he had fun last night. He didn't know any different, not able to remember last year. I guess his joy is all that matters.

Morning Minutes this Week

2008-10-30T14:00:00.007-04:00

Monday, October 27
Last week, I spent a few days back up on the campus where I spent my seminary years studying: Duke University. There is something about that place. It isn’t just the beauty of the Gothic-style architecture or the uniform granite facades of the buildings. It isn’t just the beauty of the trees and flowers and shrubs. It isn’t just the liveliness of the young undergraduates.

There is something else that I love about the place: it feels like home. It was a place I was nurtured and formed in the Christian faith. And at its center stands the amazing Duke Chapel, built like a European Gothic Cathedral from centuries past, but serving as a sanctuary of peace for generations of students, including me.

At the center of Duke’s campus stands a beautiful church building, with spires reaching high heavenward, directing all eyes and hearts up to God. At the center of the campus, at its heart, is a huge and tangible reminder. Focus your attention to the Lord.

What is the “Duke Chapel” of your life here? What is it that, when you see it, directs your attention heavenward? Is it a place, a person, an object? I hope it is something, for always, our hearts can find refuge when we focus them upward to God.

Tuesday, October 28
In recent weeks, we’ve heard a lot about the “credit crisis” that we are hoping and praying is soon to resolve itself. I heard something of it from Adam Hamilton at Duke the other week when he spoke there. Rev. Hamilton is the Senior Pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leewood, Kansas, a church of 14,000 members that was started with about 14 people gathering in a funeral home about 16 years ago.

But Rev. Hamilton wasn’t talking about the church’s story while we were gathered at Duke. Instead he talked about leadership in difficult times. As he spoke about the current economic situation, he quoted an economist as saying that the current crisis is a crisis of faith, and then he pointed out that the word “credit” is the same word as “credo” in Latin, which means “I believe.”

Our whole credit system is based on a belief, a trust, that the person who borrows money will be able and willing to pay it back. When that belief, that trust, is gone, the whole system fails.

Today, where does our belief and trust lie? The markets can fail. Our hopes and dreams based in this world can die. But there is one who never fails us, who never let us down. Will we believe in and trust that One, our Lord today? If so, no crisis can shake us.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
When I heard Rev. Adam Hamilton speak at Duke he talked about a lack of leadership in such difficult times.

We all know that the world is not the way God intended it. We as humans have messed things all up. In the beginning, God created a garden of peace, a place of tranquility for us, but we tried to grasp what wasn’t ours to have and thus destroyed it all. God created one human race to live in harmony, but we have divided ourselves by tribes who fight and kill each other.

In Jesus, however, God came among us to invite us into a new way of being. In Jesus, God came among us to show us how to live in the peace that was originally created and intended. In Jesus, God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us live into this vision for humanity.

Rev. Hamilton pointed out that much of our problem as a church and a nation is that we have plenty of people in authority, but too few visionary leaders who can help us move from the brokenness we are in, to the vision of peace that God intends. Today, let’s pray for God to raise up such leaders, and let’s commit ourselves to following them in the way we know is right.

Thursday, October 30, 2008
On Monday, the United Methodist pastors of our area gathered together for prayer, fellowship, and learning. We had the pleasure of hearing from Orangeburg’s Chief of Police, and we were enlightened. As he spoke, he talked about the partnership necessary between Christians and the police, as we both seek to do battle against the evil in this world. And then he talked about one of the most profound manifestations of evil: criminal gangs.

As with most things evil, the evil of gangs is perpetuated by its preying on the young and vulnerable. The recruitment starts in elementary school, and it targets those who feel broken, who are desperate for a place to belong and to feel like a part of something, and don’t know where else to find it.

We have heard our Lord say when he was challenged for keeping company with sinners: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners.” We have heard him say, “I was lonely, and you visited me.” We have head him ask us to care for the least, the last, and the lost.

The battle against gangs that prey on our young is a spiritual one against the force of evil. It is about bringing healing and help to those who need it. How can our community and our churches do spiritual battle in this area? I pray we commit ourselves to doing so.

Friday, October 31, 2008
Today is All Hallows’ Eve. That’s what the church calls it. You may call it “Halloween”. Today, Christians can rejoice that our Lord Jesus Christ has defeated evil and death in all their forms. Today, Christians can face the reality of evil still present in the world and say with confidence: you have no power over us, and you will not win this battle. Today, Christians can rest assured that our God is and always will be triumphant over the forces that seek to destroy us.

This is the meaning of Halloween for me. The holiday may have traditions associated with pagan rituals of the past, but for the church, it has become a time to face the reality of evil and to rejoice that God gives the people of Christ victory over it, and protection from its power.

Thus, we can enjoy the simple pleasures of the holiday: giving good treats to children just as God gives goodness to us, and letting little ones enjoy the fun of being a princess or a cowboy for the night.

And we can put candles in our pumpkins, reminding ourselves that we are all like one, a creature out of whom God has scooped the nasty stuff, given a smile to, and put the light of Christ inside, so it can shine for the world. So tonight, have some wholesome fun, and give thanks to God for victory.

Stewardship Sunday Sermon

2008-10-27T21:03:00.004-04:00

Giving Ourselves to the Vision:
Consecration Sunday: Proper A25: Deut 34:1-12; 1 Thess 2:1-8; Matt 22:34-46
Kristen R. Richardson-Frick
St. Paul’s UMC
October 26, 2008

Yesterday after our two-day uplifting leadership training, I took my son to Greenville for his “best little buddy’s” birthday. Long ago I grasped the vision of him having a life-long friend in my closest friend, and that involved being at each birthday party. It involved my son jumping with his friend in the jump castle his mom had rented and enjoying seeing his far-away bud. So I spent the money on gas, food, present, and I spent an entire afternoon and evening making it happen. The vision of the day and the friendship had grasped me, so the rest was secondary.

Last night while coming home and driving through Columbia, I heard the old George Harrison (former Beatle) song: “I Got My Mind Set on You”. You remember the lyrics: “I got my mind set on you…gonna take time, a whole lotta precious time...it's gonna take money, a whole lotta spending money...it's gonna take plentya money to do it right, child.” At least in the song, the vision of George courting this lady, of them being together, had grasped him. So spending the time and $ to make it happen was not an issue. The cost was worth it. The sacrifice was simply what was necessary to make the vision happen.

We live according to the visions that grasp us, you see.

A couple dreams of having a family, grasps a vision of making that happen, and they begin to make a priority of it. They talk about it. They try for it, and when they are expecting a little one, they spend time and money at the doctor’s office, making sure everything goes just as it should. The woman makes and effort to take prenatal vitamins. They clear out a room in their house and begin spending lots of time, effort, and $ on making it just the perfect nursery they see in their minds. The vision has grasped them, so the sacrifice is worth it. The time and money spent is secondary, not even an issue.

Or a family gets a vision of a dream home, so they buy a fixer-upper of a house start spending all their extra time and all their disposable income on planning, on lumber, or cabinet builders, or new furniture or watching HGTV to get ideas.

Or a man retires with a vision of traveling. As soon as his party is over, he hops a plane to travel a whole day to get to some exotic location, where he spends exorbitant amounts of money on luxury.

Or a woman desires peace and quiet after she’s raised children and cared for a sick husband. So she buys books and creates a quiet sanctuary in her home filled with a new comfy chair and beautiful potted plants and a view of trees. It takes a good bit of time and money to get it right, but she doesn’t care. She has been grasped by the vision, and the rest is secondary.

Do you see what I mean? We give ourselves to our vision of what the world, our world should be: time, energy, money, blood, sweat, tears…We willingly give them to create the vision.

Often we have no trouble on the kind of visions I’ve described so far, secular ones, not necessarily bad, but having little to do with God’s kingdom creation in the world.

But what about when the vision is God’s for us and the world, and not ours for ourselves? It seems that often we have more trouble on that front.

Tony Campolo, whom you know is one of my favorite preachers, describes how he saw this first hand (in his book Let Me Tell You a Story). Having taken a red-eye flight across the country, exhausted from days of speaking and needing rest, he was met one morning by his secretary who promptly apologized for failing to cancel an early speaking engagement that had previously been on his calendar. It was a World Day of Prayer service for a large group of women. He had to go, even though he was exhausted.

His secretary drove him, and he sat trying to stay awake as the service began. The prayer time came before he was to speak, and the presider brought a request from a missionary woman in Venezuela. She described this missionary, a doctor, who desperately needed $5000 to build an addition onto her medical clinic because there were so many people who needed treatment that she had to have many of them outside, her building was so small. The woman turned to Tony and said: “Dr. Campolo, could you please lead us in a prayer that God will provide the $5000 our missionary needs?” Not thinking clearly because of the exhaustion, Tony could not control his tongue before he said, “No, I won’t. But what I will do is take all the $ I’m carrying on me and put it on the altar and ask everyone else to do the same. No checks, just whatever cash you’ve got. Then I’ll ask God to write out a check for the difference.”

Tony had only $2.25 in cash in his wallet, but he put it down. The presider smiled and said, “Well, we’ve gotten the point,” but Tony said, “No, I don’t think we have. My $2.25 is on the altar—it’s your turn now.” The woman was taken aback, but she pulled out $110 from her purse and put it on the altar. “We’re on our way,” Tony said, and looked at the next woman. One by one, he took 25 minutes to have every single woman present come forward and lay her cash on the altar. At the end they counted: $8000+. Tony said, “The audacity of asking God for $5000, when He has already provided us with more than $8000. We should not be asking God to supply our needs. He already has!” He sat down and said nothing else.

Yes, it can be hard to give ourselves to God’s vision, to embrace God’s vision as our own. It takes a transformed mind, one that is set completely on loving God and neighbor with everything we are and have. Just as Jesus said: the first and greatest commandment is this: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

When our heart, soul, mind, strength is set on this: on loving God and neighbor centrally in lives, when we’ve grasped that vision--God’s vision of a world where the divine will reigns and where people love one another as God loves all of us--then the sacrifice necessary in building God’s kingdom on earth becomes secondary for us. We willingly give ourselves: time, energy, money, blood, sweat, tears, to create God’s vision. For God’s vision has become ours.

Think it doesn’t happen today? To people like us? Consider Gayle Williams, a British woman about my age, who moved from her comfortable life, giving up worldly pleasures and all her time, to live and work in a dangerous place among people who were desperate. She worked for Serve Afghanistan, “which helps young boys and girls who have lost limbs to land mines and bombs” in that war-torn nation. Gayle had been working there because God’s vision of love of these particular neighbors had grasped her. She loved God with all her heart, soul, mind, strength, and these neighbors as herself, so the sacrifices necessary to show these children and adults with them Jesus’ love, and tell these people who had never heard about Jesus’ love all about Him…the sacrifices were secondary—the time, money, effort—not an issue. They were just what was necessary to make the vision a reality.

Gayle was killed this past week by the Taliban in Afghanistan for, as they said, “spreading Christianity.” Her mother Pat told the newspaper The Independent: “Gayle was serving a people that she loved, and felt God called her to be there for such a time as this. We know her life was blessed and she was a blessing to those around her. No one could have asked for a more humble daughter with a more loving heart. She died doing what she felt the Lord had called her [to] and she is definitely with him.”

This week, Gayle joined the long line of Christian Martyrs who were killed for following Christ, for witnessing to him in a hostile world, but she had willingly gone into harms way, because God’s vision had become hers. God’s kingdom vision had grasped her, and she was willing to give it all to see that vision become a reality.

Gayle had entered the line of those like Moses, whose burning bush vision from God had grasped him so thoroughly that he was willing to walk away from his comfortable life with wife and family to face Pharoah in Egypt and then wander with a stubborn ornery people for 40 years in the desert, without food, water, clothing, permanent shelter, in the sweltering heat, just so he could see God’s vision of the Israelites prosperous and free in the Promised Land come to pass. For his faithfulness, before his death, Lord gave him that glimpse. And the time, sacrifice, effort, it was all worth it.

Gayle followed those like Apostle Paul, whose vision of complete love and devotion: heart, soul, strength for God and neighbor--whose faithful following of Jesus his Lord in the way of self-giving sacrifice for the salvation of the world--had so completely grasped him that he gave up his life of power and privilege within the Jewish community of the Pharisees to become a wandering preacher who lived among the “unclean” Gentiles so he could show them the love of God in Jesus, so he could tell them about Christ’s love, so he could invite them into relationship with Jesus and form communities of salvation for them, with them. “So deeply do we care for you,” he wrote to one of those groups of people, the one in the city of Thessolonica, “that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”

This kind of self-giving love of Paul, that was his imitation of Jesus, that he imparted to the Christian communities he formed, became hallmark of early Christian churches. The earliest historians tell us so.

Theologian Daniel B. Clendinen quotes two (on his journeywithjesus.net website): A generation after the first believers, the theologian Justin Martyr (c. 100–165) summarized the appeal of a "holy" Christian community: “Those who once delighted in fornication now embrace chastity alone. . . we who once took most pleasure in accumulating wealth and property now share with everyone in need; we who hated and killed one another and would not associate with men of different tribes because of their different customs now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them and pray for our enemies.” Similarly, Tertullian (AD 155–220), who wrote, "Our care for the derelict and our active love have become our distinctive sign before the enemy. . . See, they say, how they love one another and how ready they are to die for each other."

My friends, God’s vision for the early church is still God’s vision for our church today. God’s vision of salvation for the world through Jesus Christ--God asks for us to make our very own vision. The Lord today has a vision for St. Paul’s UMC as a place where people are so in love with God: heart, soul, mind, strength, and so love with brother, sister, neighbor, stranger, that we willingly give ourselves: time, money, effort, energy, everything, to see that we show that love to people everywhere: from here in our own neighborhood to the other side of the world.

When God’s vision for St. Paul’s becomes fully our own vision: when we care so deeply about seeing that we are a vibrant, holy, Holy-Spirit-filled, actively-ministering-in-Jesus’-name, offering-salvation-through-Jesus’-love-to-the-people-around-us by inviting them, embracing them, serving them, loving them…when that happens, then we won’t have to have a stewardship emphasis month anymore. Because God’s vision will be ours, the giving of our money, our resources, our talents, our time, or energy…it will all be natural, just what we know we’re called to do.

Today, God invites us to begin, or continue in a more dedicated way, the journey with Jesus into that vision. Today, God invites us to embrace the divine vision for St. Paul’s. Today, we can come to the altar and give ourselves to living it. What do you say? Will you embrace the vision? Will you give your lives to it?

Morning Minute 10/21: About Laity Sunday

2008-10-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday we celebrated Laity Sunday in our church. I as the pastor got to sit out in the pews and worship, while one of our lay speakers led worship and delivered God’s word. It was a joyous time, an important day.

Laity Sunday is not a day celebrated by just one church; it’s a universal celebration by many, and it is all about lay people. If you don’t know what a “lay person” is, it’s a person who is a baptized member of a church, a believer in Jesus, but not an ordained minister of the Gospel. But every lay person is indeed a minister.

See, whenever someone is baptized into the Christian faith, that person is made a representative of Jesus in and for the world. That person is given a life-long job to do, a vocation to participate in God’s salvation plan for the world.

On Laity Sunday each year, we lift up and thank God for the ministry of all lay people. But our lifting up and thanking God for the work and ministry of lay people is certainly not limited to one day a year. Today, I give thanks for the ministry of all ministers, ordained and not. Today, let us all commit ourselves to representing Jesus in the world, to serving him with our lives, to offering his saving love to others.

The Squirrel Story

2008-10-21T12:08:00.003-04:00

I've wanted to blog about the squirrel. But instead a couple of weeks back I wrote "Morning Minutes" about it. Before I begin to share the day-to-day "Minutes" here, I want to share the series that was all about the squirrel. Here they are:

Wednesday, October 1
Saturday night, I heard a loud squeaking sound outside our house. I had to go see what it was. When I stepped out, I spotted our cat on the driveway, hovering over a baby squirrel.
Of course I couldn’t leave the baby to this fate, so I removed the cat and took the tiny thing into my hands. I inspected him, and I held him. When I loosened my grip just a bit, he tried to scurry, so I thought he might be fine if I could get him back up in a tree. Maybe, I thought naively, he can run right back into his nest and be fine.
I put him on a branch, cuddled in some leaves, and went back inside. I also went to work on the computer, researching how to care for baby squirrels, and by the time my husband came home a few minutes later, I had a plan. We were going to take the squirrel in if it was still on the tree branch. Of course, it was, and when we brought it in, it hit me: what we had done for the baby squirrel is what God does for us in Jesus. God rescues us from the power of whatever would destroy us, and holds us close. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

Thursday, October 2
My husband and I took in a special animal on Saturday night: a baby squirrel about 5 weeks old that had been captured by our cat. Luckily, the cat had not done much damage, just a small cut on the baby’s side, which we cleaned and covered with antibiotic ointment as the squirrel rescue website directed. The site also told us how to tell if the baby was dehydrated, which it was. As the site prescribed, we made an electrolyte solution and began to feed the baby what it needed. We cared for it through the night.
As I said yesterday, what we were able to do for that baby squirrel is exactly what our Lord does for us. Evil, sin, and chaos are out to destroy us each day, to kill our souls, just as our cat was out to destroy the baby squirrel. And when those powers get a hold of us, what happened to the baby squirrel happens to us. We get frightened, and spiritually dehydrated, and injured.
But if we will not fight the divine hand, if we will let God hold us, our Lord will pick us up, hold us close, and nurse us back to health and wholeness in love, caring for us all through the night and every day. Won’t we let God rescue, hold, and heal us today?

Wednesday, October 8
Last week, I told you how my husband and I rescued a baby squirrel from our cat and took him in. Since then, some of you have asked me how he was. Here’s the answer. Last Saturday night we kept the baby squirrel, nursed him. But on Sunday afternoon, my husband and son took him to Columbia to a wildlife rescue center.
We had to do this because everything we read stated that, if a baby squirrel has been caught by a cat, it has to receive antibiotics, and that only people trained in wildlife rescue know best how to rehabilitate wild animals. So we had to take our baby to people who knew what they were doing. It was in his best interest.
This is, of course, how God designs things. There are reasons we need wildlife rescuers and veterinarians, doctors and lawyers, ministers and linesmen, secretaries and nurses, judges and government officials, custodians and teachers. None of us is called or equipped to do everything that needs to be done. We get in trouble when we try to do things God did not intend or gift us to do.
So today, as you go through the daily routine to which God has called you, as each of us seeks to do what we have been asked and gifted to do for the world’s good, let us know that we are valued, that we are gifted, and that the world needs what we have to give.

Thursday, October 9
One more story about the baby squirrel: when one woman heard the story of our rescue and the delivery of the baby to Columbia’s wildlife rescue center, she said: “well, I don’t think I’d have driven all the way to Columbia for a baby squirrel.” Now there’s some good wisdom in that statement. Was one sick rodent’s future really worth the gas money, the emissions into the environment, and the hours it took to drive to that center? I can’t answer those questions. But I can tell you what went through my head when my husband told me about the comment.
I thought about God. I thought about how God chose to come among us in Jesus to save us and provide an eternal future of glory and joy for us. I wonder if, when God’s plan of salvation was announced to the heavenly beings, some of the angels said: “God, do you really think you need to go to those lengths to save those broken sinful obstinate little creatures? Doesn’t that seem a little extreme? Will it really be worth it in the end?”
I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful that the Lord of all creation did not count the cost or consider the plan of salvation too extreme, too much of a sacrifice. Otherwise, who knows where we’d be? Let us give thanks to God today that the Lord chose to go to go to such lengths to save you and me.

Last Sunday's Sermon (and yes, I sang at the end)

2008-10-18T09:14:00.003-04:00

In Times Like These:
Proper 23A: Exodus 32:1-14; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14
Kristen R. Richardson-Frick
St. Paul’s UMC
October 12, 2008

This is a hard week to preach. Every time I have turned on the computer, the TV, even the radio, all I’ve heard is terrible news. You’ve heard it, too. It’s impossible to escape: talk of a new global Great Depression, people who’ve lost everything in the stock market, talking heads debating constantly what to do or what’s going to happen next. As it has all happened, I have remembered a conversation I had almost 7 years ago, with a man who gave me a free financial planning session because I was his Associate Pastor. As repeated for the fifth time how I needed to invest more of my income each year into the stock market through our 401k plan, I finally asked: “But, what if the stock market is doomed to fall? What if we’re like ancient Rome, and eventually the empire will crash?”

He dismissed my question by laughing, pointing to his chart that showed how all through history the trend of the market was to growth, and telling me my fear was unfounded. Today, I think of him and of financial planners everywhere. I pray for them, because they, too, are feeling the same anxiety that the rest of the world is feeling, or more, as we all wonder if our stock market will indeed eventually fully recover, hoping that it will in time. People everywhere anxiously watch the economic indicators every day, every hour, and it is hard not to panic or fall into depression ourselves. And, in times like these, it is hard not to wonder where God is in it all, what God’s desire for us is. Surely the divine will for our lives is not fear and anxiety, is it?

Enter our Epistle Reading for today. Did you hear it? Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice…The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Did you hear it? Now granted, Paul was not talking to people who were anxious about an economy in crisis. He was not writing to men and women who had lost half their money in a stock market crash. He was not speaking to those whose fears were financial.

But he was indeed addressing people who were afraid for their children’s or grandchildren’s futures in an uncertain world, just as we are. He was indeed speaking to friends in Christ who were up against seemingly impossible odds, just as we are. He was indeed talking to his family in the faith who were trying to understand just where God was and what God wanted from them in their precarious life situations and anxious world, just as we are. And so his words are just as much for us today as they were for Paul’s 1st century congregation. And he makes three main points that I think we, too, need to hear today.

At the end of a letter filled with encouragement and instruction, Paul first urges two women at odds with each other to “be of the same mind in the Lord.” And while at first this may seem like a specific command to two individuals about a particular situation that doesn’t apply to us today, I think it is more than that. We must remember these defining words from the middle of the letter: “Let each of you look not to his own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself…”

Here at the end of the letter, Paul reminds two feuding women, and with them the rest of the congregation, how brothers and sisters in Christ are to think and act: “Be of the same mind in the Lord, have the same mind as the Lord, humble yourself before God and each other. Think not of yourself first, but others.” Today, some of us in this sanctuary may be facing difficult times. We may have lost much of our savings, we may wonder about the future. We may be grieving or facing ill health. But, my friends, there are others too whose futures in jeopardy, perhaps much worse than ours. There are many who have lost, are will lose, their homes, who have no money or job to provide for another place to live. There are men and women with young children to feed and clothe who cannot find work. There are people among us, and around us, who desperately need to know that those who have more resources will be there for them who have less.

Did you know that one of the young men who came last week to our Barnabas breakfast told those of us at the table with him that he could not remember the last time he had eaten bacon? Bacon, my friends, is a luxury. For that man, one Sunday School class cooking bacon was a way to experience the abundant blessing of God. Simple things can make a tremendous difference.

So what does Paul’s direction to two feuding women in Philippi have to say to us today? “Be of one mind in the Lord.” In the Lord, be of one heart and mind. In the Lord, find common ground. In the Lord, humble yourself and look more to the interests of others, who are more in need, than you look to your own interests, which are less. In the Lord, let us unify in the desire of God to care for the widow and the orphan, to care for those in distress, and to take care of one another in our need. In the Lord, let us be one…in caring for each other, and in showing care to God’s other children in need, especially in times like these.

But Paul did not stop with this word. His second word was, in essence, Rejoice in the Lord, for the Lord is near. So “don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything” (CEV), with thanksgiving. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. From these words of Paul comes the old expression that I keep reminding myself: “If you’re gonna worry, don’t pray, and if you’re gonna pray, don’t worry.”

While we may say at first, “That’s easy for you to say, Paul,” it’s important to hear the basis of Paul’s exhortation. Paul doesn’t say, “Rejoice, because everything’s gonna be OK one day.” He doesn’t say, “Throw your cares to the wind and just sit back and relax.” What he says is: “Rejoice in the Lord. Pray about everything, with thanksgiving for what God has done for you in the Lord Jesus.” And again we hear the echo: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s point was that we who are in Christ Jesus, who have been born anew in the Lord, have a confidence and a life that nothing in this world can threaten or shake. We who “stand firm” in the Lord are held up by a strength that is not our own, and that is not of this world. We who are “clothed in Christ” and in his righteousness and blood are clothed in a glory that nothing in this world can tarnish. We simply have to remember that we are “in Christ the Lord,” and not in this world. We simply have to act, behave, and think as those that no fears or anxieties of this life can shake. We simply need one thing: to clothe ourselves in Christ and his mind, his holiness, his life, his self-giving love, anew.

When Christ and His mind are our clothing, we know that we will always be clothed correctly to enjoy the wedding feast of the God’s eternal kingdom to which we’ve been mercifully invited, never thrown into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. When Christ and His holiness are our wedding robe, we can be assured that no threat of destruction will unseat us. When Christ and His righteousness, rather than society and its schemes, define our way of walking, talking, trusting, and behaving in this world, we can rejoice with assurance that we are not worshipping some dead golden calf that cannot save us, but rather we are serving and living for the living, active holy Creator and Judge of all.

And this gets us to Paul’s third word to the Philippian church: “Finally, beloved,” he says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing [to God], whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me [as I have tried to show you by word and deed what it means to be humble and to live with the mind and behavior of Christ Jesus], and the God of peace will be with you.”

My friends, in the midst of all our uncertainty and all the false claims and false idols that have failed us, we still know the One who is true. We know the One who is honorable, and just, and pure. We know the One who is excellent and worthy of praise. And today Paul encourages us to think about Him, to focus on him, to allow our hearts and lives to be clothed in Him, to allow His mind to transform ours until we are one with Him and with each other in His service. What more appropriate word could there be for us, in times like these? “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…think of Christ…and the peace of God will be with you, will guard your hearts and minds. Rejoice! The Lord is near.”

It reminds me of the woman I used to hear singing as I worked with a youth group team on her dilapidated house. She was seventy-something and had spent her life earning next-to-nothing washing richer people’s clothes. She had taken in her handicapped grandchild and cared for him in her home. Her life was hard, and she had almost nothing most of us would consider necessities. But every time I was in a room near her, I’d hear her singing, always the same thing:

Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home,
when Jesus us my portion? My constant friend is he:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” his tender word I hear,
and resting on his goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
though by the path he leadeth but one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When song gives place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to him, from care he sets me free:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
for his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

A New Leaf

2008-10-17T11:06:00.003-04:00

Long time, no blog...

Sorry.

I can blame it on lots of things:

busyness,
lack of reflection,
lack of focus,
a preschooler who demands all my non-work time,
and did I mention busyness?

I can also blame it on the fact that I have a new "journaling out loud" outlet in this new appointment, namely

Morning Minutes.

Each Monday--Friday morning, if you live in this area, you can hear me two times waxing reflective for one minute on general spiritual issues that I see arising in the world around us, and/or on the Scriptural witness for our lives specifically.

This church has a long tradition of providing "Morning Minutes" from the pastor, and it's something I have very much enjoyed. I have also had several people ask me for copies of what I've said, and so:

I'm turning over a new leaf in blogging.

I decided on it while I was at Duke this week for Pastor's School and Convocation.

From now on, I will post most of my "Morning Minutes" after they have run, for anyone to enjoy. This will accomplish two things:
1. allowing anyone who wants a copy of what I've said to download it, and
2. keeping me blogging on a regular (daily) basis!

Of course, there are no "Morning Minutes" for the weekends, so I'll have opportunities to share other thoughts and "Jedisms" then.

Who knows? I might even post some sermons!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the look and feel of the "new leaf."

I'll start tomorrow sharing some of the previously aired "Minutes".

Hope you enjoy!

And for those of you who read this primarily for "Jedisms", here's one for today, along with a glimpse into our family's world.

Each morning when "Jed" wakes up, he calls me (or Daddy if Mommy's away at the hospital or some continuing education event). Here's how he does it:

He opens his cute little mouth and sings, yes sings...
Moooommmy, come in my beeeedddd-rooooom!

What a beautiful way to start the day!

The Rainbow Connection

2008-09-13T13:46:00.003-04:00

The people in Texas are seeing quite a bit of rain right now, courtesy of Ike.

I pray for them.

My week has been much less catastrophic, but not very fun nonetheless.

This week has been my most difficult since the move.

I won't go all into the "why" of it all, but by my Sabbath Day yesterday I was in tears.

And then came the rain.

I was preparing to go to a cookout with some new friends and their families.

We're all 40 or under, 3 of 4 of the couples have kids, and four of us are ordained ministers in this town. We all moved to this place less than 18 months ago to pastor established churches here, and we represent 3 denominations: United Methodist, Presbyterian (USA), and Baptist (Cooperative Fellowship). We're glad to be in relationship. We look forward to what God will do through our ecumenical friendship and partnership.

But just about an hour before my husband, son, and I were to leave for the get-together, the bottom fell out of the clouds. It rained hard and heavy for the next hour, but subsided just as we were leaving.

As we pulled onto our street, I saw it:

A beautiful, full, bright rainbow: the brightest and widest I've ever seen.

It was gorgeous.

And it said:

After the rain, there is always the promise.

After the rain, somewhere there is a rainbow.

After the rain, there is still God.

After the rain, there is beauty.

After my morning tears, my evening was full of laughter. We all had a wonderful time watching the kids play, grilling out, venting about the things only other ministers and their families understand, and knowing that God will see all of us through, if we will only be faithful.

Thank you, God, for rainbows and friends.

Adorable, but...

2008-09-06T19:59:00.003-04:00

A few nights ago, my son hardly slept.

He had developed a cold, and the congestion in his nose kept waking him up. He refused medicine (and remember how the FDA said it didn't help anyway and not to give it to young children??). It made for a very, very long night for all of us.

Around 5:00 a.m., we were all trying to get back to sleep after dealing with the troubles of mucus at around 4:50. We had given our son a tissue to hold in his hand in the bed and use when he needed it.

Suddenly, my husband and I heard a sing-song voice coming through the baby monitors (yes, we still use them so I can hear my son breathe). The little voice said/sang:

Oh, tissue!
Where are you, tissue??
Tissue, I can't fiiiind you...
Come, here, little tissue!
Where aaaaarrrree you?

Oh, yes, it was adorable. But it was also 5 a.m. after a very long night of interrupted sleep.

I wouldn't trade it for anything, this little amazing gift of God.

"Jedism" for Labor Day Weekend

2008-08-31T20:18:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-29T10:23:00.011-04:00

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!

2008-08-26T08:01:00.004-04:00

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

2008-08-19T21:50:00.001-04:00

A wonderful reminder in 5.5 minutes.
I needed it!

Thank you, God, for Chris

2008-08-16T08:53:00.007-04:00

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

2008-08-13T19:34:00.006-04:00

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

2008-08-08T11:25:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-06T21:31:00.002-04:00

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...

Drivin' Me Bunkers!

2008-07-30T18:24:00.007-04:00

Time for a new "Jedism"...you know, one of those things my son says that is just too cute to forget.

So we're in the car, all three of us, driving home one evening. Suddenly, there was something in the road, and my husband had to swerve to avoid it. We continued talking, only to hear our son in the back yell in an exasperated tone: "Dad, you're drivin' me bunkers!"

The way he said it was so funny, we started to laugh. I then said: "Buddy, what does that mean? How is Daddy drivin' you bonkers?"

Here was his priceless response:
Well, when you swoosh the car around like that when you're drivin', it makes my head go back and forth really hard and go "bunk" on my seat! That's drivin' me bunkers!

Of course it is!

The Ultimate Donation

2008-07-28T18:32:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow I will conduct my third memorial service/funeral in this church. I've been here just over a month now. All three of these services will have celebrated the lives of women, and two of them will have been memorial services. In my definitions, "memorial services" are conducted in the absence of a body, while "funerals" are conducted when the person's body is present (whether in a casket of in the form of cremains).

I'm pretty sure that every other end-of-life service I've conducted in my 7 + years of pastoral ministry has been a "funeral," whether with a casket or an urn present. But, for the second time in less than a month now, I will conducte a "memorial service" tomorrow in the church. And the reason for the "memorial service" rather than the "funeral" is the same in both cases: Both women donated their bodies, as their husbands had also done, to the Medical University of South Carolina.

We live in a day when suicide bombers are blowing up themselves and as many innocent victims as possible, when gunmen are targeting Christians in their own churches (let us pray for the our brothers and sisters in Christ as well the perpetrator of this terrible act in Knoxville, TN), when so many people are taking the lives of others without regard for their value. What a powerful witness to the self-giving love of Christ, then, when one chooses as a final act of grace to give one's body away so that others might learn to give and preserve life.

I've thought about what I want done, or rather what God wants done, with my body after my death, I really have. I thought I'd decided that my faithful witness would be to have it buried in a plain wooden casket built by my husband with no metal parts at all, in a grave with no vault--the most natural burial possible. But now I'm thinking...I almost went to MUSC as a medical student earlier this decade...maybe one day I'm supposed to actually let myself go there in a much different way.

I'll be praying about that, thanks to Mrs. D and Mrs. M., two women for whom I and my new church family give thanks to God.

Have I said how much we love this town?

2008-07-22T21:36:00.006-04:00

There's a dedicated group of students from the three institutions of higher learning that are based in this little city who are set on being "changers." The organization they've formed is called "Changing the Perception, Inc."

The reason they've formed themselves into an organized unit with a common goal is an obvious one to anyone who's heard what we heard before we moved here. This town is perceived negatively by many in other places. And everyone who loves this place, who calls it home, is now dead-set on changing that image.

I'd heard it all before I came here: "You're moving THERE? Oh, I'm sorry. Well, just never go out at night. Don't go to Wal-Mart past sunset."

But guess what? We love it here. My son and I went less than 5 minutes from our home on Sunday afternoon to see a GREAT production of Seussical, Jr. performed by a highly talented group of youngsters in a recently, and beautifully, renovated little theatre downtown. Then yesterday, our family went another direction less than 5 minutes from our home to walk through a world-class rose garden to a duck pond where children gather to feed turtles and Canadian geese and Mallards. The whole park is situated along a natural river, the longest black-water river in the world. We went there after eating in a great restaurant, again, less than 5 minutes from home.

We've been embraced by everyone in our churches with the greatest hospitality, care, and enthusiasm imaginable. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, we've met in the community has been kind and welcoming to us. We have a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood near downtown.

We love this place. Of course, no place is perfect. And there is plenty here besides the perception that does beg to be changed according to God's perfect plan for humanity. Part of my role as a minister and spiritual leader in the community is to help us understand what needs to be addressed and address it. That, I will attempt to do as faithfully as I can.

But for now, I just want to say...we love it here. If you're one of those who thought we were moving someplace that isn't simply great...please come visit! We've got a guest room!

Ever had a song in your head...

2008-07-19T21:57:00.002-04:00

that you just couldn't get out?

Well, for my son, apparently it's not a song, but trucks.

So tonight as we got on the interstate in our drive home from my parents' home (they'd been keeping him while I performed my last wedding of the summer--congrats to Allison and Nick!), he said:

So Mommy, you know those big trucks that drive on the interstate? I've been thinking about them. I think I'm not gonna think about them anymore.

If only it were as easy for us to "meditate on God's goodness and God's Word" as it is for us to get silly thing like pop songs or even trucks stuck running around in our heads!

In Today's English Version of the Bible, the Psalmist of Psalm 63 prays to the Lord:

As I lie in bed, I remember you;
all night long I think of you,
because you have always been my help.
In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cling to you, and your hand keeps me safe.

There's something else for ALL OF US to think about!

Living in "Connexion"

2008-07-15T22:24:00.009-04:00

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, believed in living in communion with God and with one another. The polity and operation of the Methodist movement therefore involved what Wesley called "connexion." Wesley insisted that the movement be one in conferencing, in mission, and in practice.

Today, this "connectionalism" is expressed in many ways, not the least of which is through Christian Conferencing at every level of the church's organization. Local churches in the United States are connected in districts, annual conferences (which meet, as the name indicates, each year), and jurisdictional conferences (which meet every four years). The General Conference, the defining global gathering of United Methodists consisting of lay and clergy delegates from every annual conference in the denomination, meets every four years, as well.

The last General Conference was held back in April, and now it's time for Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference! It begins tomorrow at Lake Junaluska, NC. The main focus of each Jurisdictional Conference is the election of bishops.

If you click on the the link embedded above, you can follow all the happenings of SEJ, including election results. One of South Carolina's own, Columbia District Superintendent Dr. Tim McClendon.

In invite you to be in prayer for Jurisdictional Conference, for all the delegates, and for all the Episcopal nominees, including Tim. I certainly will be!

"You're a baby!"

2008-07-11T10:49:00.002-04:00

The church of which I am now pastor has about 30 members living in a United Methodist retirement community, The Oaks. I had the privilege yesteday of visiting the six who are in the nursing center, introducing myself to five of them for the first time. I enjoy talking with people who are decades older and wiser than I am.

One of the ladies I met yesterday asked me how old I was, after confirming with a disbelieving voice that I am, indeed, the new PASTOR of the church. I told her the truth: I'll turn 34 years old this year.

Her reply: "Well, you're just a baby. A baby."

My response: "Yes, ma'am. I suppose I am."

Her again: "Yep. You're just a baby."

I suppose I may have been offended if I didn't believe that we're all always babies in comparison to our Lord, and that we all need to be reminded of that from time to time. I think we all get into a little trouble when we think we're "all grown up" in the faith and all wise. It's like I Peter 2:2 says:

Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. (TEV).

So thanks, Mrs. T., for the reminder!

Anyone Believe In Reincarnation?

2008-07-09T18:49:00.002-04:00

Of course, the belief that our souls return to earth again and again from heaven, to inhabit different bodies at different times, is simply not a part of traditional Christian belief.

But the other day while riding in the car, my 3.5 year-old-son says:

So, mommy, when I rused (used) to be a big man, I drove a big ol' blue dump truck.
And I would hook up a big ol' trailer to my big ol' blue dump truck and I wore red boots when I would climb up into the truck. Yea, red boots.

And I said:
Really. Hmmmm....
That's very interesting, baby.

The Spirit Blows Where It Wills

2008-07-06T20:13:00.003-04:00

The other day I was having lunch with a wonderful older couple in my new church. After our bread arrived, I prayed a blessing over our meal. The prayer was nothing special, just a simple sharing of thanksgiving to God for the goodness we enjoy, and a request for blessing, nourishment, and strength for the journey of faith.

Following the prayer, the three of us continued in conversation, enjoying the fellowship and good food. We were practically oblivious to others around us; we were simply concentrating on our own sharing.

And then another approached. She was not someone any of us knew. But she extended her hand and said: "I'm sorry to interrupt you, and I wasn't even going to come over. But then I was just waiting for my check to come, and I felt like I needed to come speak. I just lost my mother two months ago, and I've been having the hardest time. I know that when you were praying, you were just praying for you all, but I just wanted you to know that it felt like you were praying for me, too. As you prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to thank you. I needed that."

For the longest time, I was a person who felt a little funny about praying openly in restaurants. (Yes, I do realize how strange this sounds coming from a preacher). I'll never feel funny about it again.

Time for Updates

2008-07-04T17:16:00.012-04:00

If anyone is still reading this blog, allow me to update you on the last month.

1. We have moved. We received the warmest welcome possible at this beautiful downtown church, full of wonderful people. I felt full--full of joy, full of hope, and full of the Holy Spirit--in our first Sunday worship service last week. We feel privileged to be here, and humbled at the tasks that lie ahead. But I also know that God is at work, and that "all things are possible with Christ." I plan to spend the next six months or so just getting my bearings--listening to people and to the Holy Spirit, getting to know the people of this congregation, and planning for what our years of ministry together will entail.

2. My sister got married! She is ten years younger than I, and it is hard to believe she's an adult. But time does march on, and she is a married woman now. It felt strange to be the Matron of Honor rather than the officiant, I must admit.

But as further proof that "time marches on", my baby boy (age 3.5) was the ring-bearer. More than that, he took this picture! He insists that he wants to be a tow truck driver when he grows up (not just any tow truck, mind you, but the big huge kind that can tow 18-wheelers and such), but I'm seeing the possibility of professional photography as a career! We've told him that he can be "whatever he wants to be and God wants him to be." We'll teach him to evaluate choices further as he grows. For now, we're just trying to get him to use the potty consistently again and to want to do something besides watch Noggin during the day!

3. Our home is not yet set up. I've decided that this project, like many other things in life, is one more reminder that God is never finished with us, just like I'll never be finished getting my house in order. Just one more reminder of sanctification...I've decided so many things are.

So that's where I've been for the last month + a week. I pray that everyone is having a safe and celebratory Independence Day. I've been sick for the last three days, so I'm resting up for my second Sunday.

Thanks for checking in on me. I expect to be more faithful about posting as I move into this new ministry adventure. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about! So check in again soon...

In the meantime, may God's grace and peace be with you this 4th of July and every day.

John Wesley's Rule

2008-05-28T21:38:00.003-04:00

My dear wise John Wesley guru professor from Duke Divinity School (Dr. Richard Heitzenrater) says that there's no proof Methodism's father John Wesley actually ever said this, but it is attributed to him nonetheless, and I really like it:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

Think what the world would be like if we all took this rule to heart...

Transition

2008-05-26T08:55:00.012-04:00

Last night, I preached at a Baccalaureate service for one of the communities I currently serve. As I sat on the platform for the service and then stood behind the podium and presumed to preach God's Word to the graduating class at this pivotal time in their lives, I looked out at a sea of faces that included many who have become my family. The graduates included 5 young people who've called me "Pastor Kristen" for the past 4 years. I've watched them grow from "kids" into amazing young adults.

At roughly the same time I was leading worship in the high school, one of the dear souls who is a part of my other commuity passed from this life into the nearer presence of God.

Life is full of transitions. Some are minor; some change everything. Some bring rejoicing, while others bring pain. But as I told the graduates last night, every time God says "go" in some way, God also offers opportunities for growth.

When God told Abram to "get up and go" without even telling him where, God also promised Abram that if he trusted the Lord's leading and promise, he'd be blessed beyond imagining. (Genesis 12:1-4) God pours out blessings on those who trust the Lord, even in the most difficult of transitions, in every command from God to "go" from here to there.

As God says "go" to us in so many ways, my prayer for all of us is that we'll, as the old song says, "trust and obey." Thus may we truly know joy in Jesus, today and every day.

A Long Time Coming

2008-05-20T14:03:00.002-04:00

I'm moving.

Come June 23, I will live in a new house in a new city and be the new pastor at an old church.

I'm moving.

I've finally been able to say it publicly, to write it publicly, and to try to wrap my mind around all that that means. I'm United Methodist. I should know what it all means. We move. We itinerate. We never know where we'll be serving and living from year to year. But facing the reality is always challenging. Many non-United Methodists think we really know how to do this moving-thing well. Well, maybe it's because I've only done it one other time, really, and NEVER with my family...but I feel like I really have no clue how to do this.

I keep making lists and trying to pack boxes. I tie up one loose end only to have another end begin to fray. It's emotionally draining, all-consuming, and SCARY! I have mixed feelings or I'm numb. I move constantly or I get stuck. I cry or I laugh.

This is limbo.

But THIS is my comfort:
The same God who has always told those who would listen to "go" and to "do" is with all of us through every transition. And our Shepherd Christ will guide us if we will follow. And the Holy Spirit will fill us with peace and lead us into the amazing Truth God has for us, if we will open ourselves and listen.

Through every change, for all of us who trust in the Lord, one thing remains the same:

But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be buned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, our Saviour...

I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

+ Isaiah 43:1-3a, 18-19

What does "Minimally Adequate" mean?

2008-04-29T14:04:00.005-04:00

Have I ever told you that our Supreme Court and SC State Legislature refuse to intervene in horrible educational situations because our state constitution only requires that each student receive a "minimally adequate" education?

Though Christ tells us to care especially for "the least of these" our state apparently thinks "minimally adequate" is OK for areas without a high tax base.

We as Christians should not think this is OK. And now we have a chance to change the way our state operates! I invite you to take action with me, if you live in this state. Here's how:

http://www.goodbyeminimallyadequate.com/

Raising Children in Faith

2008-04-18T20:49:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, like many Thursdays, I ate lunch with the secretary from one of my churches, her husband, mother, daughter, mother's friend, and the youth pastor from the Baptist church down the street (where she is also secretary, and where the staff happen to be enough similar to us theologically that I have my son in preschool there this year).

CNN Headline News was on the TV above us, and of course it was reporting on the court hearing held in San Angelo, Texas, over custody of the 416 children removed from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound two weeks ago. Of course, the youth pastor and I (being the official ministerial types) were asked about this, and an interesting discussion ensued about how we bring up (I even said "indoctrinate") our children in our faith. Of course, the 416 children removed have had the only world they've ever known shattered, even if we firmly believe it was a heretical, distorted, against-God's-design kind of world. (Let us pray for these children especially)

I've been thinking a lot this subject of child-rearing in faith recently, though, as my child has said in a deep chanting voice "Christ the Lord" while handing me a little cup of juice, as he's tried to figure out what it means that Jesus came back from the dead, as he's made strange comments and asked bizarre questions about God and heaven. I've been thinking about how much our children do trust us to teach them, to form them, in what is truth, in what becomes essential and central to who they are and how they live. This is interesting as this Sunday we will look at the passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus says "I am the way, and the truth, and the life..." I'm glad I put all my trust in that truth, or I think I could really, honestly be seriously messing up my child's head and world-view.

So, as my child learns, and as we try to teach and form as faithfully as we can (with a lot of prayer and humility) please enjoy the following "Jedism" on prayer before meals, from a little Southern boy with a thick adorable southern accent. We were shamed recently at the home of some friends and their two children, one of whom is the same age as our son. Their son knew more than one blessing. Our son only knows "God is great..." So without further ado,

The Jedism of mealtime blessings:
said tonight over pizza, just before we really said grace:

God is great.
God is good.
Bless his heart.

Oh, yes, my friends. He's southern.

My Little Plumber

2008-04-15T21:28:00.002-04:00

Just thought it would make you all smile.

The Finished Product

2008-04-14T21:01:00.007-04:00

This past Sunday morning, we reconsecrated the sanctuary building of one of my churches. You may remember that I wrote about the sanctuary renovation project before. Well, before Christmas 2007 arrived, the "steel implants" were set. You can see them in the picture above. Just look up in the corner and above the light.

So we enjoyed Christmas, celebrating the gift of the Christ-child inside the gift of a stronger, different-looking, renovated sacred space that will be standing now for generations to come who can "come and adore Him" here.

But we were not finished. And we knew it. For when the steel supports, cables, and turnbuckles were placed, they disturbed the very old shingles all over the roof. So we knew that Lent would bring yet another major project and expense, the placement of a new roof (we're talking another $22,000, people) on our church's buildings. And it did. Needless to say, when the roofing work was finally finished a few weeks ago (not coincidentally in the Easter season), we wanted to hold a special Homecoming and Re-consecration service, which we enjoyed this past Sunday.

In the children's sermon at this service, an astute five-year-old got my point right away when I explained how the wood beams had not had enough strength to hold up the roof all by themselves, so they had needed to have some metal put in to help them. Of course, before I could say it, she told me that that was just like how we need Jesus in our hearts to have the strength we need, that we're not strong enough on our own to be the people God wants us to be.

These kids are too smart for me!!

But one other thing kept running through my head that day, another metaphor about the roof and reconstruction. It was a metaphor of gratitude and awe, a metaphor I never dreamed would be true the first few weeks I was here and feeling the anxiety of a small South Carolina church that had never had a female pastor before, not to mention a tiny young single one!

What kept running through my head and heart as we celebrated this past Sunday was this: God has had a plan for this church and me to be in ministry together for almost six years and counting. I know that, since, over the years in which I've been here as pastor, we've worked together to reconstruct this church family and community of Christ from the inside out. Things have changed. The household looks different than it did before. And, my friends, it is stronger in Christ, firmer on its Foundation, than it was six years ago.

I haven't done it; the members of the church family haven't done it. God has done it through all of us together, and through the partnership we enjoy. I can see the evidence of it as clearly as I see the black-coated steel implants in the sanctuary. And I thank God for it, because I know what it means: this church will stand firm on its Foundation for decades to come, and will keep being a sacred place for generation after generation to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ whom we worship and adore each Sunday.

Praise and thanks be to God for the "finished product" of the reconstructed sanctuary, and the "unfinished" project of the reconstituted family of faith that worships in it!

Just Overheard...

2008-04-09T20:05:00.002-04:00

The "little man" and I just got home from the Wednesday night meal at one of my churches, and I was checking e-mail. He was playing on the couch with a hand-me-down toy from one of his cousins, a rather large "Rescue Heroes" robot named "Irv."

As he used the remote to control Irv, the robot kept talking to him. He's always just ignored that, because Irv says "grown up" things like "awaiting input," "rescue wench deployed," and other such robotic things in a mechanical voice.

But just now when Irv asked, "Do you copy?"
Jed answered in a frustrated tone:

I don't have any copies!

That's my boy!

The Great 50 Days

2008-04-07T09:15:00.003-04:00

I'm so glad that Easter isn't just one day, but instead 50 Great Days of Celebrating Resurrection, because WE STILL HAVEN'T DYED EASTER EGGS!

I know, I know, I'm a terrible mom. And you won't believe me when I tell you that we simply haven't had enough "down time" at home as a family to do it since Holy Week, but it's true. And so I'm very glad that we have several more weeks of Easter in which to dye eggs. Maybe this will even be a great teaching experience (about the Christian year and how it forms us) for little Jed.

The "Jedism" for early Easter, by the way, involves one of the things (in addition to Shrek underwear and Cars magnets and markers) that the Easter Bunny left in his basket on the first day of Easter. It was, of course, some candy--to be shared with Mommy and Daddy. It was two bags of M&M's, one of the peanut variety. Mommy and Daddy love those. We finally opened them about a week ago.

So we were enjoying them, trying to convince our son that the Easter Bunny (who, by the way, comes to leave treats on Easter morning because he wants to spread the joy of the good news that Jesus is alive) thought he would really like Peanut M&M's, too. We wanted him to try them. He just kept making that "skwinchy face" and shaking his head. As he held one skeptically between his thumb and forefinger, we said, "There are peanuts and chocolate inside these M&M's--try it."

He looked unconvinced.

Then he shook it.

Then he said: "I don't hear any peanuts in there."

There was no use in explaining, though I tried after we stopped laughing. He wasn't going to try the M&M.

More for Mommy and Daddy!

And thus we continue to celebrate the fact that our Lord Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!

Maybe we'll even get around to dyeing Easter Eggs eventually in joyful celebration of the empty tomb and the Living Lord.

Alleluia! Happy Easter!

Holy Saturday

2008-03-22T18:57:00.002-04:00

We enjoyed two Easter Egg Hunts today on a perfect-weather day for such things.
We laughed, and ate candy and hot dogs, even took a picture with the Easter Bunny.
All the while, I remembered that on this day in 33 a.d., those who loved Jesus were grieving, not laughing around eggs and candy and chips and a bunny in the sunshine.

Today, the cloth on the wooden cross in front of our building is still black. Officially, the Church is still mourning Jesus' death on the cross. But in reality, we're hiding eggs and talking about an empty tomb.

Celebrating Easter while living through the reality of Holy Week is a strange thing. I love the tradition of it all, worshipping through the the story, experiencing it together as a church. But living in the past while knowing the future is a paradox.

Last night, we cried in the dark as we heard and sang of Jesus' betrayal and sacrifice for our salvation.

The night before that, we remembered Jesus' last supper with his friends, and shared in the remembrance meal ourselves as we received the Sacrament of Communion. And then we stripped the church of its accoutrements, down to the bare wood, just as Jesus was stripped of his friends, his clothing, his life.

In all of that, we mourned our part in this story of sacrifice and salvation, the sinfulness for which Jesus died. And we prayed that our sin might die with Christ.

But today we look forward to what comes tomorrow. We already rejoice, because unlike Jesus' first disciples, we know how this story ends. We know that tomorrow, when we go to peer into Jesus' tomb, it will be empty. And we know that because it is, we can and will know Resurrection life with our Lord.

It is the already, and the not yet--
It is the reality of faith and life for those who follow Jesus to the cross and beyond.

Thank God we don't do it alone.
For the Risen Lord helps us.

The Weekend's "Jedism"

2008-03-22T18:54:00.002-04:00

Warning: This post is only for those who have an appreciation of bathroom humor.

Yesterday morning at 5:51, my son called me to accompany him to the bathroom.

As he tinkled into the toilet, this conversation occurred:
Him: Is it going into the pot?
Me: Yes, it is, sweetie.
Him: Some people call a potty a pot.
Me: Yes, they do son. Yes, they do.

And thus began my Good Friday.

"Jed-ism" of the Day

2008-03-20T10:09:00.002-04:00

My son's nickname was ALMOST "Jed", so I think it's appropriate that I call the funny things he says "Jed-isms" as I share them with you.

Of course, a more appropriate post for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday should be here and is to come (I hope), but for now enjoy a tidbit of our morning:

As "Jed" held up a plastic toy nail from his kids' workbench, he says:
"This is the perfect nail to hang a picture of a dinosaur on the wall."

Our response: "What? Ummmm....no. But good thought!"

Happy "Jack Patricks" Day!

2008-03-17T08:20:00.015-04:00

My baby boy is growing up.

I want to remember every fun moment.

It hit me yesterday as he walked (between two sixth-grade girls he adores) down the aisle of my second church, waving a palm branch behind the cross and light of Christ. I was singing "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" to Christ, but I was also thinking: "He's a big boy now! He's part of the children's Palm Sunday Procession!" And then he continued to stand at the front of the sanctuary as the Children's Choir (with which he's been going to practice) sang their "Hosanna" song. He chose not to sing until after the service, when everyone but a couple of ushers were gone, of course, but he still stood up there!

So, I want to capture every adorable "little kid" moment somehow, and since we no longer keep up the baby book (or rather, my husband has stopped keeping it up, and I never did--terrible mommy!), I thought I'd share with all of you some of the things he's said recently that I want to have on record, so I never forget.

The first is the title of this post. We told him Saint Patrick's Day was coming up, and I gave him a little Irish flag I'd bought, and he started waving it and yelling "Happy Jack Patricks Day! Happy Jack Patricks Day!" I stopped him and made him say "saint," explaining to him that "Saint Patrick" was a great man who loved Jesus and told the people in the country of Ireland how much Jesus loved them, so they would love Jesus, too.

He still says "Happy Jack Patricks Day." Oh well.

Here are some other fun things he's said and done recently. Now remember he just turned 3 in January, but he loves some big words, and he uses them in context. Like this:

"ACTUALLY" (one of his favorite words) "I DO want this/that," after having said he doesn't.

"APPARENTLY" (another one of his favorites) "this train wants to go over here!" as he pushes it along the edge of the table.

"Y'all need to stop giving me this toothpaste, 'cause it hurts my froat." (protesting against my brushing his teeth this morning with his fruity Cars toothpaste)

Another thing he does that I want to remember: He changes the words to common songs, just like his Mommy and Daddy do. For example: "The bear went over the mountain" has become "The bear went over the choo-choo" and so forth...He knows what he's doing. You should hear some of the songs he creates!

And here's a really cute conversation that took place as they pulled away in Daddy's truck one day:

I said "Bye! Be careful!" But my son didn't hear what I said exactly, so as they pulled away he asked "Daddy, what did Mommy say?"

My husband: "She said you're really cute."

My son: "No!"

My husband: "No, you're not really cute?"

My son: "No, I AM, but that's not what she said!"

He's so right. And so big.

Sigh.

So Happy Jack Patricks Day!

Why I Love Bradford Pear Trees

2008-03-13T21:48:00.003-04:00

After our marriage, my husband and I decided to plant a tree in the front yard of the parsonage. There were absolutely no trees on the big grassy lawn, and we thought it would be a nice addition, and something to be amazed by when we come back to visit here over the years and note how it has grown.

We talked a while about what kind of tree to buy, and we settled on my favorite yard tree: the Bradford Pear. They're in full bloom right now where we are; everywhere I go, I see them. And finally, after several years, our tree is doing exactly what I love most about these trees: heralding spring and the coming of Easter with branches reaching upward like hundreds of pure white arms praising God against the baby blue sky, while other trees and flowers continue to lie dormant.

When I look at Bradford Pear Trees in their first full bloom, especially on a warm clear day like today, I see resurrection. In the darkest coldest days of Passiontide and Holy Week, I see the promise of what comes on Easter morning. Everywhere, I see these reminders that God has not given up on creation, but instead brings life out of death and beauty from barrenness. I see the purity of God's love and faithfulness revealed in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

This coming Sunday we will bring branches of palms, not Bradford Pear blooms, and the Sunday after that we will smell the lilies, but until then...and even through Holy Week...the Bradford Pear trees in bloom all around me will be powerful living reminders, as well. Thank you, God, for all the ways your creation tells your truth.

Yard Burning

2008-03-05T20:55:00.003-05:00

My husband tells me that his family used to burn their yard every year, but this is a totally new concept to me. I grew up a suburban girl; he grew up in the country. Now, we live in the town limits of a small rural town. Every night this week as I've driven home, I've smelled smoke. One night last week, the smoke was drifting into our home from the yard being burned across the street. People around here burn their yards before spring arrives, as do many in other rural areas.

I'm told that burning your yard is good for the growth. I'm told that, if you burn the old dead grass, the new grass of spring will have more room to thrive. I'm told that it's the same concept as controlled burns in the forest.

It's an interesting concept as I think of Lent. In our spiritual disciplines, we ask the Holy Spirit Fire to burn away the dead areas of our lives, the things that choke our good growth, the sins that keep us from thriving in Christ. Maybe Lent is like a controlled burn.

If so, I wonder what smoke signals my soul is putting out to let me know it's working. Do you smell anything burning in you? If so, maybe it's a good thing, a God thing. What do you think?

Testing, Testing, 1...2...3...

2008-03-02T20:35:00.002-05:00

So a few minutes ago I left my son's room, having rocked him to one of his lullaby songs. I'm glad he called one of us back in there, because the going-to-bed routine tonight was particularly heinous. Now I'm the first to tell you that my adorable child is not perfect, but throw in the fact that he has given up afternoon naps (this happened several months ago) and is now three (a much more difficult age, in my opinion, than two was), and you get a "tired tooter," as we say, around 7:00 each evening.

He had been great for my husband all day today, I'm told, after they left me at the church to continue working through the evening. But just before his bath, he decided to lose it. He screamed through my washing him. He kicked me in the gut while I tried to dry him and put on his P.J.'s. He wailed that he wanted pink (strawberry) milk to sip as we read bedtime stories instead of the chocolate we had given him (for which he had asked, I might add). He fussed so much he missed "Goodnight Moon" almost entirely. He finally did give up on getting the pink milk and join in his bedtime prayers.

Anyway, so I'm thinking God must feel this way a lot. All the Lord asks of us is a little love and cooperation in return for the amazing love and divine care we receive. But instead we scream when God tries to clean us. We moan for things we don't have instead of appreciating what we do. We fuss instead of listening to God's voice speaking to us. It must be frustrating.

But eventually, when we become settled, I hope that God also hears us calling out to be held and comforted. I hope that we realize that we've behaved badly and want to tell our Heavenly Parent "I love you". I hope that we snuggle up to the heart of our Creator and listen to what the divine love tells us. In those tender moments, we realize that the only thing that matters is the purity of our love, the relationship that sustains and saves, the connection and trust we share in God's heart. And hopefully, hopefully, we learn to be a little bit better than we were the day before.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2008-03-01T13:01:00.009-05:00

I know I'm not the first to say such a thing, but my grandmother is one of the most wonderful saints I've ever known. Now 88, she continues to amaze me with her warmth, her faith, and her love.

Can't you see those things in her smile?

She's generous and kind, understanding and wise, tender and encouraging. I'm so thankful my son, her only great-grandchild despite six children and 11 grandchildren, gets to know her. He adores her, as well he should.

My grandmother went to college, Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, before most women took that step to higher education. She became a teacher. One summer day, she met my biological grandfather, who was studying at Duke University's Divinity School to be a Methodist preacher, while on family vacation on Portsmouth Island, adjacent to Okracoke Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He was there for his summer ministry internship.

They were married, and she began the life of a preacher's wife in the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church. She supported him as he made visits to mothers in the coal mining community he served during World War II, delivering the worst news any parent could imagine. She made visits with him to ill parishioners. She cooked wonderful meals for the presiding elders when they came for visits to his churches. She bore him four children, the second of whom is my father. When she moved with him in 1949 to a new church named St. Paul Methodist in Fountain City (now part of Knoxville), where he would be the second pastor ever, she did not know that she would not move with him again.

Early in his sixth year of appointment to St. Paul, when he was just 41 years old, my grandfather died suddenly and unexpectedly, early on a Sunday morning. My grandmother was left with the four children, ages 13 years to six weeks, in a parsonage in which she could not stay. Strangely, none of those four children followed in their father's footsteps by going into the ordained ministry. I am the only child or grandchild who has so far done so. Six decades after my grandfather, I, too, went to Duke Divinity School and became ordained. I remember how proud and happy my grandmother was at my ordination. Seeing her joy was one of my greatest joys.

I believe that if the Methodist Church had been actively ordaining women at the time my grandfather died, my grandmother could easily have been encouraged to enter the process. In fact, my grandfather died in 1955, and the General Conference of 1956 granted full clergy rights to women, but my grandmother found her calling, and her means to support her family, in becoming a lay minister of visitation at Church Street Methodist Church in downtown Knoxville. She talks about the time following my grandfather's death as a time of deep grief, yet a time in which she learned the provision of God through the dear and generous community of the church, who built a home for her, and whose monetary gifts would show up anonymously in her mailbox, exactly when she needed them most.

It was serving and worshipping at Church Street United Methodist Church that afforded her the opportunity to meet her second husband, the man I called "Granddaddy" until his death one year and four months ago. She knew him with his first wife and cared for both of them as she died of cancer, leaving two children alone with their father. A year later, love surfaced between my grandmother and "Granddaddy", and she took his children as her own. They married two years before I was born and lived together for 35 years.

Now she has a new community; she chose this past summer to move into a small apartment in a retirement community where some of her friends, also widows, reside. My husband, son, and I spent the last couple of days in Knoxville, dining out with her, going to Target, talking, enjoying the antics of a three-year-old. She let him grab her arm in affection. She bought him gifts. She held her forhead to his and smiled. She forgave his misbehavior. She read him books. She asked about the people in my churches. She overlooked our tardiness in arriving. She asked my husband about his mother, who is battling Multiple Myeloma. It was precious time. It is never long enough.

I dread the day (hopefully quite a few years from now) on which I will keep the promise I made to my grandmother: to conduct her funeral service beside my biological grandfather's grave in a little mountain town in Virginia, where he was born. My joy on that day will be to know that she's receiving the reward of her Master. Until then, it is my joy to spend any time I can with her, and to watch her love all of us in her family (especially her great-grandson) with the purest kind of love there is--God's love flowing through her.

The video you're about to watch...

2008-02-14T21:33:00.002-05:00

is one that has been on my heart for a while, one that I discovered this past summer.

On this day of St. Valentine, my heart goes out to the children of the world who desperately want to be loved by a family. There are millions of them. If your family feels incomplete, watch this video with an open heart and with prayer. Perhaps God is calling you to adoption.

It's something that our family has been praying about for months now, as many of you know. None of us know what our families will ultimately look like, but as one of the songs from that Transiberian Orchestra concert I blogged about in December says: "Every man is my brother, and every child is ours."

Orphans of Ukraine

2008-02-14T21:29:00.001-05:00

Where Were You At 1:30 a.m.?

2008-02-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

I ask because 1:30 seems to be the time that I'm awake in the middle of each night.
I know, I know...maybe if I'm awake I should actually POST AN ENTRY at that time once in a while, but I'm usually otherwise occupied.

For example...
Last night (and most normal nights) I was helping our son make it to the potty for his middle-of-the-night trip.

But the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that,
well those were another story.

Now, before you read the rest, you must know that this post is not for the faint-of-heart (or stomach). If you can handle it, read on. If not, wait a few more days (yes, I'll try to be more faithful to post from now on) and check for a new entry to read. OK, here goes.

So night-before-last, I was regretting that we'd allowed our son to eat normal (and not so healthy) food again too quickly after he got over the terrible stomach virus all three of us have had, because at 1:30 he lost it (all of it--in every way possible) all over the toilet, half the bathroom, and both of our PJ pants. So the next 15 minutes were spent cleaning him, the bathroom, and me, then putting him back to bed. Now remember, I'm still very weak and recovering from the bug myself, still having eaten NO SOLID FOOD since Saturday. Oh, and I'm also sleeping on the couch at that point because the bug had attacked my husband after leaving me sapped, and he now needed the night-time privacy he had afforded me the two previous nights.

So here I am at 1:45 a.m., cleaning up after my son's illness's last stand. But then, of course, the soiled rugs and clothes could not sit in the bathroom for the rest of the night; they HAD to be washed. So I go to the washing machine (in our kitchen adjoining the den where I'm sleeping on the couch). I put in the bath rugs and PJ pants. I start the machine, and I lie back down on the couch to return to dreamland, after pushing the cat out of the way.

Round about 2:00, I hear water pouring onto the kitchen floor.
No lie.
So I rush (as fast as I can) to the bathroom and grab two towels to sop up the water that's now everywhere. Two isn't enough--I go back for three. I don't have the energy to wring them out, so I let them sit in the kitchen sink, having (of course) to move a pile of dirty dishes out of the way. Sigh

Then I go get two more towels to put up against the machine, to guard the floor against the next spin cycle. Fun, huh?

Now, you probably don't want to know about 1:30 a.m. two nights before that.

Let's just say it really not pretty--at all. And neither was just about any other time that entire night.

So all of this to say...If you think pastors and their families are immune from this kind of nasty illness, think again.

Also, I do think a quote from a wonderful spiritual writer said something to me (and maybe to all of us) this morning:

The circumstances of our lives are another medium of God’s communication with us. God opens some doors and closes others.... Through the wisdom of our bodies, God tells us to slow down or reorder our priorities. The happy coincidences and frustrating impasses of daily life are laden with messages. Patient listening and the grace of the Spirit are the decoding devices of prayer. It is a good habit to ask, What is God saying to me in this situation? Listening to our lives is part of prayer.

- Marjorie J. Thompson
in her book Soul Feast

Lastly, I want to acknowledge that ONE OF MY NIGHTMARES BECAME REALITY when I had to call people late Saturday night (when the virus decided to take over my body) and ask them to lead worship in my absence. In nearly 7 years of pastoral ministry, I've never missed a Sunday morning due to illness. There's a first time for everything, but I surely hope it will be at least another 7 years before I have to again.

Thank you, lay speakers Charlie and Gregg! I know you led worship faithfully and spoke God's Word clearly in my absence, and I am deeply appreciative. I look forward to getting back work today (finally I'm getting some energy again) and to being in the pupit Sunday.

Bad Mommy!

2008-01-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

So, my son and I were supposed to go to our wonderful Riverbanks Zoo on Friday morning for a really cool program for preschoolers. I had been telling him about it all week. I had him all ready to take his beloved stuffed puppy, because the program was a "teddy bear clinic" in which the kids learn how the vets care for zoo animals, and they also get to learn to "take care" of their own animals. As I put him to bed, he told me how happy he was that he was going to the zoo with his puppy in the morning.

It was then that it hit me: I had not registered for the clinic!

Of course, when I tried to register us online after he went to sleep, the clinic showed up as "unavailable." After an e-mail and early morning phone conversation, still the clinic was "unavailable" to my son and me.

Sigh.

He was disappointed when I told him the next morning, but we still went to the zoo and took his puppy dog. We still spent the day together, and everything was fine.

But it got me thinking...

I messed up.

We humans do that...quite a lot.

We are not God.

We are imperfect.

On Sunday night, the Confirmation class of one of my churches and I discussed one of the prayers of confession in our hymnals. One of the things that we don't do enough in general, I think, is confess our brokenness and ask for God's help.

We like to think we have everything under control in our lives. We like to think we are capable of holding it all together all by ourselves. We often even choose to believe that we have power to control not just our own lives, but the world around us, too.

We forget that we're not the Savior. We forget that we're not God.

That's not a good thing to forget. I'm glad that every once in a while, I get a reminder. I mess up good (or rather bad). And then I thank God for divine mercy and forgiveness. And I ask for help from the Holy Spirit to do better. And I remember that I can't do anything without God's help. Because I'm just a broken human being.

Say it with me...I am not God. I am not the Savior. But with the Savior's help, I can do whatever God asks of me. Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Amen.

My Hope Is Built

2008-01-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

I know how the rest of the hymn goes...it's one of my favorites.
"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness..."

It's true for me. The reality of Jesus is what my hope is built on.

Still, I've been thinking about hope a great deal recently, what with Christmas, Epiphany, and my friend and colleague Jim bringing musings on that subject for our reflection at a clergy meeting Thursday.

My hope is built on Jesus' sacrifice and his righteousness. But it is also built on God's determination and anger.

Hear me out. Jesus himself is proof of both.

In God's determination to draw all the world back to the divine heart, the Eternal Son came among us in the flesh to live, teach, die, and defeat the death our persistent sin has brought to us, so we might be raised to new life with him. In God's anger at evil and sin and their power, Christ was resurrected to initiate a kingdom in which Jesus' followers will continually fight evil, injustice, sin, and death's power as those forces continue to fight for control.

In the Trans Siberian Orchestra's popular song "Christmas Eve: Sarajevo," the first notes are from a melancholy cello plays, as the Rock Opera narrator explains, from amid the rubble of a war. As the lonely cello sings "God rest ye, merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay," in booms angry guitars, beating drums, and loud keyboards shouting "Sweet, silver bells" and echoing the cello's "God rest ye...". In God's determination, Christ demands his way into the world to take it over and bring justice and righteounsenss.

In Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ, I love the Resurrection scene. Jesus looks angry to me. On his face seems to be written: I'm back. And I'm not going to let sin and death have its way anymore. Satan is finished.

God is angry at sin, evil, injustice, death, and their power over us and the world. And God is determined not to let them have the last word. Christ's life, righteousness, sacrifice, and resurrection are proof, at least to me, that God's word is the last word. It will be a word of life and peace for the world.

Until then, God is still angry and determined enough to lead Christ's followers to fight the sin and evil still seeking control in this world.

On this last word of life and goodness and God's determination to have it...on God's anger at evil and death and God's power to defeat it through Christ's resurrection...my hope is built.

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-31T23:31:00.000-05:00

+ Write thank-you notes
+ Pray at least one Psalm each day
+ Keep our bedroom straight; it is my "secular sanctuary"
+ Compliment my husband and son, and at least one other person, each day
+ Say "I can't take this" less and pray "Lord, help me" more
+ Go to the dentist for yearly visit
+ Write a short story
+ Actually take my recommended monthly day for "spiritual rest and renewal"
+ Put (small amount of) savings into high-yield account
+ Cook (really cook--from scratch) at least one meal a week
+ Read the newspaper (or at least skim it) each day
+ Observe Lent
+ Celebrate Easter
+ Take a real vacation again
+ Call friends regularly
+ Eat dark chocolate
+ Carry a canvas bag for minor shopping trips
+ Buy local produce whenever possible
+ Spend more money for organic or earth-friendly products
+ Make and use natural cleaners
+ Replace our lightbulbs with all CFL's
+ Make a scrapbook or two
+ Enjoy something about each day
+ Say "thank you" to God for something each day
+ Remember who and Whose I am all the time
+ And my perennial...seek to be faithful in all things

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Same Song, Different Tune

2007-12-26T22:11:00.000-05:00

I am one of those strange pastors that likes to wait until LATE Advent and/or Christmas Eve to begin singing traditional Christmas carols, even though we're hearing them everywhere else. I do this because, when we wait until the very night of Christ's birth to raise our candles as we sing "Silent Night" in the darkenss, I think we feel the amazing gift of the promise's fulfillment more powerfully. If we wait to sing "Joy to the World" until the celebration of the Incarnation (or Jesus' birthday, however you like to think of it), then I believe we can feel the lament of the world, and thus our desperate need for the Savior to come, more fully. I can't tell you how fully I felt the Holy Spirit in our Christmas Eve services because of our faithful waiting. It was amazing. I don't tend to get emotional while I'm leading worship, but I can count on emotion each Christmas Eve at that point.

But this past Sunday, Christmas Eve Eve, I began to worship with traditional carols sung by a traditional congregation with its small choir. The songs we sang all told the story of Christmas: the longing for a savior that is met by the promise of God and fulfilled in the coming of Christ. Matthew's gospel told us how Jesus was born. Then I moved to the next service, where a traditional (and all women's) choir (directed by my husband, the music director of that church) made the beautiful offering of a Christmas Cantata that again told the story of Christ's coming for our salvation through music. All very traditional...powerful, but traditional.

After lunch with my sister and her fiancee and then dropping off our son with my husband's sister and brother-in-law (and their three children), my husband and I then went to experience the same Gospel in a much less traditional way. We went to hear the same song sung to a MUCH different tune.

It is something of a tradition, a tradition we share with my music director (and her husband) in the first church I worship with each Sunday. We all like a band known as the "Trans-Siberian Orchestra," and each year they come to Columbia. We missed last year, but this past Sunday was our third concert. The first part of the concert is the same (except for the lights, staging and pyrotechnics) each year. It's loud, and hard, and definitely a far cry from Bing Crosby. They call it a "Rock Opera," and it tells the story of an angel flying over earth on Christmas Eve to collect an offering for God. The story involves a bar and some clearly not-church folk. The presentation of the story involves some dancing girls in dresses and boots that would make many people in my pews suggest they put on a long coat. But the story is no doubt the story of Christ's coming and his continuing work in the world. I may blog another time about my take on the band's most famous work, called "Christmas Eve: Sarejevo." But for now...

It all has gotten me to thinking...the founder of Methodism John Wesley talked about "plain talk for plain folk", or something like that. The Apostle Paul spoke of becoming different things to different people. I believe the point both men were trying to make was: God has made clear that the divine will is for ALL persons to know the salvation of Christ. If that is so, and if people are so very different from one another, don't we need to tell the story of Christ to each group of humans in language they understand? Different generations have different ways of speaking. Different cultures relate to different imagery. Different groups can listen to different music. What is nonsense to one makes sense to another. What is noise to one is a melody to another. My husband and I seem to exist in more than one generation, language, culture...at least sometimes; maybe we're a bit "bilingual".

Maybe we all need to become "multilingual" in order to tell the story. It's always the same song we sing, with saints and angels. We just need to learn a few different tunes to tell the story of Christmas and Easter. The babe born in Bethlehem is counting on us to make sure the whole world, and all the children therein, hear of his love and his gift to us. Can we sing the song so that everyone will hear? Can we preach the gospel to everyone at all times, using words if necessary, as St. Francis said? The shepherds went to tell everyone everything they had seen and heard. I pray that we all can do the same.

If anyone's still reading...

2007-12-23T07:13:00.000-05:00

You may want to know, if you didn't see it, that I wore ripped jeans and fuzzy red slippers with snowmen on them to host our "Annual Parsonage Christmas Drop-In" this past Thursday. I didn't do it to make a fashion statement; I did it because I ran out of time to get properly dressed. But the food was out, the fruit was sliced, and the cake was cut. And everyone had a good time (I think--we did), with one notable exception I'll talk about in a minute. THANK YOU if you were one of the ones that made my frantic run worth it by (1) coming and (2) enjoying watching my child (who by the way had on no shoes or socks but was still adorable--again, no time for shoes) and (3) eating the food and telling me it was good (even if it wasn't) and (4) telling me the house looked good (because it was indeed a miracle that you could even walk around in the living room--less than 1 1/2 hours before people arrived my son thought that a whole big box of packing peanuts needed to be dumped on the floor).

Anyway, two things I want to share about this drop-in.

One: The fact that I didn't have on proper clothes and my son had no shoes is symbolic of my life each Advent. Though my husband and I work "our fannies off" to get the necessities accomplished, there is never enough time to get to other important things (like blogs :-) or nice slacks or shoes). But if we're lucky, and if we're open to God's Spirit that always flows around us, we'll be able to simply enjoy the blessings of Christ's coming in the midst of fellowship with friends and family anyway. We'll also be able to stop and simply worship, and just enjoy the fact that our Lord is present among us because of the Incarnation that we celebrate in this season. So forget about the shoes and the ripped jeans--just enjoy Jesus and come as you are to the party of the kingdom of God, whether you're frantic or bored or whatever!

Two: God showed us yet again at our drop-in that the divine has a way of re-directing our attention to what's truly important in the midst of our frenzy to do what we think is essential. Don't get me wrong: God did not cause one of my elderly members to become ill enough for us to call 911 that evening, but when it happened, God certainly intruded and focused us on being there for him and his wife in their need. The Holy Spirit was there as I silently prayed with my hand on his knee. The Holy Spirit led several people to get wet cloths for him, to put their hand on his wife's back, to hold them up, to drive his wife to the hospital and stay with her until their daughter and granddaughter arrived. Don't worry, he is much better now, home from the hospital and re-hydrated and his old self. He told me in the hospital Friday that they had all decided I had put something in the cider...

Anyway, my prayer for all of us is that, in the midst of the Advent frenzy and the Christmas clean-up, we will let God stop us and focus us on what's most important: Christ our Lord and the salvation-gifts--of healing, hope, family, abundant & eternal life, and friendship & reconciliation with God and other humans--that he was born to offer us. And as we do so, I pray that we'll forget about the things that don't really matter in the kingdom of God (like what you wear or whether all the food is presented right...)

Merry Christmas!

Advent 1

2007-12-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

I was exhausted last night. After two worship services I'll tell you about in a minute, then a coaching session, then cheering for our kids from one church riding our float in the town Christmas parade, then going to that same town's Christmas tree lighting service sponsored by our Ministerial Association, then rushing down the road 18 miles to the other church (which I live beside) to eat soup, fellowship, and "prepare" the greens (since we cannot be in the sanctuary to actually HANG them), I was tired.

I think waiting in felt silence (see post "The Sound of Silence" below), and exhausted, are good stances to assume at the beginning of the season of Advent. Only when we're waiting in silence and exhausted are we in a position fully to acknowledge that we're helpless to save, control, or help ourselves. Only when we're waiting in the silence, and exhausted, are we needy enough to ask Christ to "come" for us again to save and help and heal us, and then to embrace him truly when he arrives, letting him change us.

Our worship yesterday took a very different form from your typical Sunday service. We began it by adopting a spirit of worship before the God who has promised to come and be present with us. We then acknowledged just how desperately we need what only a Savior can provide by praying for the needs of the world, as individuals led us in prayer for those suffering from HIV/AIDS and other diseases, for victims of violence and natural disasters, those in military service, the leaders of nations, and others.

Then we heard the promise of God, through the Prophet Isaiah, that a Savior will come to bring healing and peace. We celebrated that promise in song and prayer. Only then could we "hang the greens" and thank God for the first fulfillment of that promise in the coming of Christ into the world, remembering with each "green" an aspect of Christ and his kingdom. Celebrating his first coming, and the beginning of God's promise being fulfilled, led us then to hear from Christ himself (in Matthew's Gospel) about the day of his second "advent", or coming, on which the promised day of peace will finally fully come.

At that, we heard from Paul's letter to the Romans how we are to prepare for that day by "living in the light," and we committed ourselves through song-prayer to being people of the light. Finally, through sharing at Christ's table of sacrifice and victory, we were empowered to live as people of the light, prepared for Christ's return, acting as his body until he comes again. We were sent forth to live that reality.

Maybe because I didn't preach (trust me, this was just as much work :-)),this service for me was a beautiful remembrance of God's promise, and the fulfillment of that promise, that we celebrate and await in this season. I hope I wasn't the only one who was touched by God in the sharing. And by the way, if you were one of the people who led a prayer or read a scripture in that service, THANK YOU for helping me to pray to God and hear the Lord's Word.

Betty Visits The Methodists

2007-11-28T23:16:00.001-05:00

BEWARE! This may offend some of you. "Betty Butterfield" is looking for a church home, and "she" has visited ours... There's some not-so-churchy language here, too. But it's a hilarious look at how we Methodists just might be seen by others... We need to laugh at ourselves sometimes. At least I do.

The Sound of Silence

2007-11-28T18:15:00.000-05:00

11 days. That's how long it's been since I posted anything.

I can't stand it when I check other people's blogs faithfully because I really want to hear what they have to say, and they don't post for a long time. So, I apologize to you if you're like me.

I could blame the long absence on simple busy-ness, and that would not be untrue. It wouldn't be the real reason, though. The real reason has more to do with what I've given as the title of this post.

I don't know about you, but sometimes my mind, heart, and life get so full that I no longer know what to think, much less what to say. I hear so many voices that I can scarcely hear the voice of God speaking TO me, much less THROUGH me. I feel so much that I don't know what to feel, and I sort of go numb. And in those moments, all I hear is silence. I do and think and say and feel what I have to do and think and say and feel at any given moment. And that's all I can do or think or say or feel. And then when I don't have to be feeling, or thinking, or saying, or doing anything, I shut down. That's where I've been, I guess, for these past 11 days.

It's not that I haven't sensed God's presence or felt intense emotions or glimpsed the holy during these days. Quite the opposite. It's hard not to feel profound grief and the gentle touch of the Holy Spirit while praying with family members whose son/grandson/brother just died in his sleep at age 19. It's hard not to feel profound joy and the embrace of Christ while baptizing a new child of God. It's impossible not to feel God's peace while surrounded by beloved family and abundance of food at Thankgiving, offering praise to the Father. I have certainly laughed and felt tremendous gratitude to the Creator when my son has said some of the funniest things I've ever heard. (The other day, when on his Bob the Builder DVD one of the characters said "So let's drink a toast to..."[yes this is a toddler's video], my child [almost 3] said: "That's silly what Wendy said. We don't drink toast!")

Perhaps it's the intensity of each moment that has gotten me. Perhaps it is the busy-ness. Perhaps its the long list of things I have to get done at some point, but clearly not today. Perhaps it is the "going through the motions". I don't know. Whatever the reason, I've not been able to think of much to say; I haven't had much clarity.

But maybe that's the very best way there is to enter the season of Advent. Waiting for clarity. Waiting to hear God speak. Waiting to understand. Waiting for everything to come together. Waiting on the Savior. Waiting...while knowing that God is faithful. Waiting...while knowing that God will come. Waiting...in silence.

On Baptism

2007-11-17T10:18:00.000-05:00

Everything comes in waves, it can seem. In small, stable or slowly-growing churches, baptisms can be that way. There have been entire years that passed at one of my churches without a baptism. Sad, huh?

But then I'll have several at one time. At the end of September, I performed two baptisms in two weeks in one of my churches. And now at the end of November, I'll be doing it again--two baptisms in two weeks, one for each church this time. There have been no baptisms at all in the intervening weeks. Waves.

Waves are something I think a lot about whenever I baptize. One of the reasons for this is that I always use a seashell in the service. I then give that shell to the newly-Baptized as a keepsake. The shell, an ancient symbol of Baptism, to me serves as a reminder of not just the water of baptism and of life, but also of the beauty and uniqueness of each child of God.

I also think of waves when I baptize because I think of the waves of God's grace and love that overflow for us and flood us with mercy, power, and newness of life when we are brought into Christ's family the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism.

There is so much symbolism and depth to Baptism. It bothers me when it gets cheapened or simplified. That's one of the reasons I love being Methodist. We allow all the symbolism to be preserved in our choice of modes of baptism. As of this Sunday's first service, I will have baptized using all three.

I did my first baptism by immersion (or, as the teenagers called it, "dunking") this past July. I had to get tutored in the mechanics by a Baptist colleague first, but it was a powerful experience to hold someone as she fell into the watery depths and died with Christ, then to be raised up to new life and a new family, dripping wet and crying. Every time I "sprinkle a baby," I think of their little hearts and lives being "sprinkled clean" by the blood of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And I look forward to my first "pouring" baptism for an 11-year-old this Sunday, in that same fellowship hall where I want to have all my Services of Word and Table now.

The different sort of worship space demanded a different sort of Baptism. And so Sunday, I will pour out the water from my beautiful pottery pitcher, the same one used each Communion to pour out Christ's blood in the juice. I will pour out that water over the head of the young lady who will just have made her profession of faith. As I do, I pray that she and everyone else in the room feels the Holy Spirit poured out into her heart and life, to drown our sinfulness and to pour grace, mercy, and power to live as God's children into us.

What a beautiful thing to preserve all the modes of baptism. In doing so, we preserve the depth of meaning the Sacrament has, and perhaps, too, some of its mystery. God does a lot through the water and the Spirit, more than any of us could ever fully understand. Who wants to minimize that?

I Joined Facebook Today

2007-11-12T13:05:00.001-05:00

One of my fellow clergypersons, a good friend, invited me in. I'm amazed at who I found there! I'm amazed at how many people choose to share and to connect this way. And it got me thinking.

I guess we're all always looking for convenient ways to connect. The key word there is "convenient." I wonder if we, in our fast-paced world, are looking for mock-community. I wonder if that's because we don't know how to live in true community. We want community, but we don't know how to have it. We think autonomy and independence and privacy are the highest virtues. Don't get me wrong; I as much as anyone think e-communication has its place, and can be a very good thing (why else would I be blogging?) Still, hear me out...

As a pastor, I keep secrets from my parishioners all the time. All clergymen and women do. I'm not speaking of my own secrets necessarily, though I do keep my private life as private as possible (why?). The secrets of which I speak now, though, are the ones whispered to me across my desk through tears, when no one else can hear. They are the secrets church-people don't want anyone else they worship with to know.

How sad. How sad it must make the Lord that his followers can't be real with one another. How sad it is that we refuse to share our darkest secrets with our brothers and sisters in Christ, to invite them to pray with us through our trials and help us to conquer whatever would destroy us. How sad that we just can't discuss certain things, for fear of judgment or retribution or exclusion. How sad that we prize the convenience, autonomy, and privacy of virtual-relationships and over the work and reward, and maybe even saving power, of authentic, one-to-one, flesh-touching-flesh, voice-speaking-to-heart, truth-in-the-open, share-everything, forgive-and-walk-beside relationships.

I don't believe it will be so in the kingdom of God. So I have a "modest proposal" (as a fellow United Methodist Pastor writes in our conference's newspaper). What if we in the church tried to find more and more ways each day for people to really connect in authentic and deep ways? What if we invited ourselves and others to share truly, from the heart? What if we invited each other into our home lives, our family relationships, our checkbooks, our secret worlds? Could we then maybe help each other be more fully alive to God and to each other? Could we maybe then move toward the day when all are in full communion with the Lord and each other? What would our church look like then? What gift might we have to give the world? I don't know. It's just a thought.

True Communion

2007-11-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

Until now, I have neglected to mention that one of my churches is worshiping in our relatively small, but very beautiful, fellowship hall. We are doing so with gratitude, and without complaint, while a construction company repairs our sanctuary building. The sanctuary, you see, was built in 1950 without enough structural support to keep in standing forever. So now it's having orthopedic surgery, I say. It's getting some steel implants, and then it will be as good as new.

So this past Sunday, All Saints Sunday, we had our first service of Holy Communion in the Fellowship Hall. The setting is already much more intimate than our sanctuary is, now add tears and sniffles as we remember the saints. Then throw in that we receive communion completely by intinction in that church. Add, too, the fact that in the intimate worship setting we're in this month, there is no altar rail, so in order to offer the body and blood of Christ into His peoples' cupped hands, I and the cup-bearer had to stand literally behind the Lord's Table and serve from there. Put it all together, and you get the most real, authentic, Holy Communion I've ever celebrated.

As people came forward, you see, they were brushing the knees of the choir and their friends in the front pews who had already received. They came with tears in their eyes; they came sensing the presence of the saints we had just named walking with them. And then they got to shake a hand or pat a knee. They got to smile and laugh and chat with their brothers and sisters in Christ, so close to them they could feel one another's breath, while they filed up to the Lord's Table to receive the good gifts, the holy food, offered there to all of us.

At first the extra noise bothered me. Didn't they know this was a holy moment, a kairos moment? Why were they talking to each other?

And then it hit me. This was the feast of remembrance AND the victory banquet. This was not my table, but God's. And at Christ's table in God's eternal kingdom, we bring our tears and our laughter. More importantly, we talk, and we touch. We listen and we receive. We are in relationship, intimately, with the Lord and with each other. There will be a lot of talking, I think, and a lot of touching, at God's eternal banquet table. This Communion was real. This Communion was like it always was meant to be. And now I want to move into the Fellowship Hall for every first Sunday of the month for Communion. Maybe Baptism will feel more full there, too. Who knows. At any rate, I thank God for the taste of intimacy and authenticity I was privileged to experience on All Saints Sunday. I pray that all of us may experience the same truth in some way each day.

Surrounded by Saints

2007-11-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

First, read Tim McClendon's blog entry on All Saints Day.
The link to his blog is at the left, and his entry is "Great Cloud of Witnesses".

Now consider my All Saints Sunday. I began it by leading worship in a church that lost three saints, two very active members who were also well-known and loved in the community. As I preached, as we lit candles while naming these names, as we listened to the bells on the memory banner, I could sense the sadness. I could hear the tears. I watched three grieving families know that their loved ones are missed by not just their families, but by the whole family of Christ. Then I moved to lead worship in a church family that lost two of its saints, one much too young and one after a long battle with debilitating illness. Again, we gave thanks to God for their witness and love, and we grieved the loss we feel so deeply.

Then this afternoon (after some last-minute preparation), one of my churches hosted ten or so others in a "cluster" charge conference. We worshiped together in a packed sanctuary, we conducted business briefly in individual rooms, and we fellowshipped. The sanctuary was packed with people and bursting with Charles Wesley's hymns of praise. I wish that sanctuary looked and sounded that full each Sunday at 11:15!

In everything, in this All Saints week, I could sense the presence of the great "cloud of witnesses." They joined us at Christ's table. Their voices mingled with ours as we sang eternal praise to our Lord. They dried our tears. They cheered us on.

It is an amazing mystery, this communion of saints, this being surrounded by those who have preceded us in faith. They are at once with us and in Christ's nearer presence. They are at once present with us and gone from us. And we at once grieve our loss and rejoice in our hope and God's promise. Thanks be to God for All Saints' Day, and for all the saints who have shown us the way of faith, and who still cheer us on as we run the race of a faithful life. Thanks be to God for Hank, and Gene, and Bobby, and Vicki, and Ronnie. Thanks be to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit in each of us. Thanks be to God for the promise of eternal life, a life that begins now, and never ends. Thanks be to God. Amen.

The World Is A House

2007-11-01T19:14:00.000-04:00

St. Paul taught us we're a household, a Temple. Jesus described his followers as brothers and sisters. We talk a lot about the "human family." And if you look at pictures taken from the moon, our earth looks so tiny, like one spherical house.

I spent this morning at a clergy orders gathering for our conference. The focus of our time together was the HIV/AIDS crisis we are facing in the world. As the speaker talked about individuals in sub-saharan Africa who are dying or orphaned because of the disease, as he told stories of men and women from the United States to Haiti to Thailand to Zimbabwe, I began to think about the world as one big house.

Think about it. God has really given us one big house, with lots of rooms in it. In my house, three people live. We have a kitchen where the food is, a bathroom with clean water to bath in, bedrooms with clothing and beds. One of our rooms does the duty of an office, a place to think and work. There's a medicine cabinet, too, where if I'm sick I can find something to help me heal. Everything we need to survive is somewhere in the house, and we all share it. Everything in the house belongs to all of us, though we all have our own space.

It's so simple, isn't it? God has given us everything we need as a human family to survive and thrive. In one room (part of the world), the land produces crops to feed us. In other rooms, there is plenty of fresh water to quench our thirst and keep us healthy. In other areas, we find offices full of people smart enough to figure out how to enable us as a family to share what's in one room with people whose bedroom is down the hall. All over the whole house, we find things we all need to share.

Perhaps I'm thinking too simply. Perhaps the earth and its people shouldn't be thought of as a home, a family. Maybe God didn't expect us to share, but rather to hoard our belongings like selfish brooding kids who just want their world to be their own bedroom, and never mind anyone else in the house. Maybe finding out how to get things from one room to another is too complicated, too.

Maybe. But then I wonder why the Scriptures talk the way they do, if I'm wrong. What do you think?

What Happens to Bad Pecan Trees

2007-10-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

For four-and-a-half years, I've had a bad pecan tree in my parsonage back yard. I mean, it hasn't produced one decent pecan in the past four seasons, that anyone could find. The pastor who lived here before me told me it was a bad tree before I ever moved in. The tree looks sickly, even.

Imagine my surprise then, a week ago today, when I stepped on a supposedly "bad" pecan shell lying on the ground, only to see inside it a large, beautiful, and tasty pecan. A good pecan from a bad tree was a find, for sure. Of course, I went looking for more good pecans on the tree. And guess what? I found some! Quite a few GOOD pecans were just waiting to be shaken down. There were still some bad ones, too, but still...

I am reminded of Jesus' parable about the man who had a fig tree that didn't produce fruit for three years. He ordered the gardener to chop it down. But the gardener begged for one more year to care for the tree, to hopefully make it healthy enough to produce figs. (Luke 13: 6-9).

Four four-and-a-half years, I've looked at that pecan tree and seen only a waste of space. How often do we look at the world that way? How often do we look at an individual, a church, a nation, or a group of people and see only something that doesn't produce good fruit? How often do we then think it isn't good for anything but to cut down?

I'm surely glad that the Creator sees something else in us supposedly "fruitless" or "bad" creatures. Who knew that, with time, the parsonage pecan tree would give me tasty treats? I guess sometimes there's more to "bad" people, churches, communities, nations, or groups than meets the eye. Perhaps sometimes, we must exercise a little patience and wait to see what the Good Gardener can do with some faithful TLC.

For four-and-a-half years, I've lived with a bad tree. Now I'm eating good fruit. Who knew? Well, Someone did. Thank God.

Finding Peace

2007-10-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

On the night of this past July 6, when my little boy was almost exactly 2 1/2, I finally discovered what soothes him when he's distressed, in pain, or sad (not tantruming, mind you--that's another story). We were in the car driving to the airport to pick up my husband from his band's high-profile gig in Canada, where they had been asked to play for the U.S. Embassy's Independence Day gala. It was about 11:00 p.m. The plane had been scheduled to land at 6:30 p.m., a perfectly reasonable time for a toddler to be in the car. Delays had changed those plans, and I had unfortunately had to put my sleeping son in the carseat at 10:45 p.m. and drive the 45 minutes to pick his daddy up. I was praying that he would be able to sleep fine in the seat for that time, but those prayers were not to be answered.

The poor little man woke up fully by about 10 minutes into the trip. He began to whimper. Then he began to cry. Then the wailing started. All my soothing words fell on deaf ears. But then something (the Holy Spirit?) told me to sing "Jesus Loves Me." And I began, softly and tenderly to sing: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so." By the time I got to "little ones," my son had stopped crying. When I got through the song, he said: "Sing it again." By the middle of the next round, I could hear him singing with me, his sweet little voice chiming in a "Jesus," or a "me" or "strong" here and there.

I recently received, not for the first time, an e-mail story about a retired pastor in his 90's who returned to preach at a church he'd served for decades. Instead of a sermon, he told the congregation that, of all the messages he'd preached as truth and of all the things he'd learned in seminary and ministry, the one truth with the most value was "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me..."

Here is the truth: every day I sit with people who are dealing with chronic illness, or who are facing death. Every day, we all see news stories about people around the world who are suffering. Every day, pastors everywhere counsel people whose families are falling apart, for whom addiction is a demon, or who face abuse or trauma. Every Sunday, I preach to a sea of faces, faces of people whose loved ones are at war, who are grieving the loss of parents, who are widowed, who are trying to figure out how to deal with rebellious teenagers, who are confused or afraid or lonely.

Sometimes in our lives, as we whimper or cry or wail at our reality, we simply need to listen to hear the voice that sings "Jesus loves me..." Sometimes in life, we are the crying toddler. The Lament Psalmists came before us as those who suffered, and they give us permission to join them, as they cried out to God while also acknowledging that they knew the Lord was there, heard, cared, and would give them strength and peace in the storm. As the secretary of one of my churches has posted by her desk: "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. But sometimes the Lord lets the storm rage, and calms His child."

And sometimes in our lives, when we have peace, we are called to be like the mom I was in the car, singing it for others to sooth them and dry their tears. Maybe they will join in the singing with their sweet voices, too. Always in life, we can rest in the truth that because "Jesus loves us" (all of us), Christ will get us through the valleys of the shadow of death and will lead us to still waters and green pastures. May those of us who know Jesus' love always be singing about it for ourselves and others. May this be the way we find peace, for us and for the world.

When A Plan Comes Together

2007-10-12T08:27:00.000-04:00

"I just wanna know--where does this food come from?"

The question was a challenge, and I wasn't up to it. I just got frustrated. It was late, and I was tired, and I was leaving the next day for Duke University Divinity School's annual Convocation and Pastor's School. We were at a leadership team meeting at one of my two churches. I was, for the nth time, trying to get them to consider partnering with Angel Food Ministries to provide low-cost perishable food once a month to the community from our facility. Still, no one was coming forward to lead the effort, and now this question: "Where does this food come from?"

Little did I know that my frustration would be turned to agreement with his incredulity over the next few days. Little did I know that when the Assistant Dean for Continuing Education at Duke Div. said "This convocation has the potential not just to change your mind, but to change your life," she would be right.

As the star of one of my mother's favorite shows from the 80's used to say: "I love it when a plan comes together." (The A Team, if you're wondering). But just whose plan was coming together? Well, I believe that would be God's.

This past week, I had the amazing privilege of learning from Biblical Scholar Ellen Davis about how God speaks of creation-care and true wisdom through the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). I sat in wonder at the truth about humanity's and the earth's precarious position at this point in time as told by scientist Wes Jackson. And I was moved to contrition and repentance by the poetry and words of Wendell Berry. All of them spoke of how we've forgotten the implications of praying "Give us this day our daily bread," as we hoard unnatural foods that were shipped from nations away and were produced by people we don't know, whose treatment we can't verify as just. All of them explained the restraint, trust, generosity, and justice God calls for in his people. All of them spoke as prophets. In addition, as if I weren't feeling contrite enough, As I flipped through the cable channels on Tuesday night (enjoying the plethora of channels we don't have at home), I got stuck on Blood Diamond on HBO. This violent film has a powerful purpose: to open our eyes to see how our desire for nice things, in this case diamonds, has terrible implications for other human beings sometimes, in ways we'd never imagine.

All of this to say, God made everything from Sunday through Wednesday come together for a plan...for me and my family to live more as God intended on the earth, as best we can, as we seek to be "in the world" but not "of the world." Have you shopped at a farmer's market recently? Have you put in some Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs in your house? Do you ask your jewelers to prove to you that the diamond you're about to buy is not a "conflict diamond?" Do you know how the animals that are now your meat were treated? Do you recycle? Do you tend a garden? These are just some of the questions I believe God wants us to ask ourselves. Then we might just make a beginning of living as Christ intended, of "exercising mastery among" creation (Ellen Davis' translation of the Hebrew in Genesis 1) rather than "domination over" it (as we've traditionally understood that same Hebrew phrase).

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

The Week's Highlights

2007-10-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

Everyone within 30 miles of Salley, SC (I realize that's not many people :)) really must try the Hilltop Restaurant. It is indeed like something out of a movie. It looks like nothing but an old abandoned wooden structure on the outside, except if you pass by it at lunchtime...then you'll see the yard filled with pick-up trucks and a random car or three. When you step inside, you'll find an eclectic mix of tables and furnishings, and lots of working-class men (my boys and I went with another couple, and we were the only two women there, besides the women who run it). When you sit down, you'll be brought a plate full of food by one of the three women who run the place. There is no menu; you just get the two meats and four sides plate, whatever they're fixing that day. And I guarantee you'll love it, no matter what it is! Thanks, David, for introducing us to the Hilltop. It was wonderful food, and quite an experience. That was Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, I got all riled up about President Bush's veto of the SCHIP expansion legislation. I got so riled up, in fact, that I actually e-mailed all the parishioners in my address book and asked them to prayerfully consider contacting our representative, as a justice and faith issue, to ask him to vote to override the President's veto. I was fully cognizant of the fact that our representative, who habitually stands with the president on every matter, had probably voted against the measure to begin with, and that my/our plea may very well fall on deaf ears. Still, I believe the Holy Spirit can and does change people when they are open, and often the Spirit speaks to one human being through other human beings, so I felt God leading me to contact him myself and invite my people to do the same. I've only gotten one reply from parishioners, and the reply I received from Representative Wilson was, of course, a form letter explaining why indeed he had voted against the measure to begin with, as I suspected. Something about fewer people smoking so the source of funding for the expansion shrinking, and about illegal immigrants being able to access the program if it's expanded (as if I would think that's a terrible thing)due to lack of adequate identification requirements. I think these are pretty weak reasons not to cover more uninsured children. If the cigarette money dries up, then legislate a way to cover the cost when needed! Haven't we every heard of faith in God to provide when we are faithful to working with God on the justice and mercy things in society? Anyway...

I've spent the last two days in a Coach Certification training for the conference. I think becoming a certified coach may just change the way I do ministry and even relate to my friends, family, and pretty much everyone else. My husband has already said at least once. "I know what you're doing. Don't coach me. (Smile)" I look forward to seeing where this goes in our conference. It, like Natural Church Development, has the potential to be extremely transformative. Another work of the Holy Spirit? You just can't stop that guy (or gal, whatever perspective you have).

I look forward to World Communion Sunday. I'll blog more on that later.

Stepping on Toes

2007-09-30T15:30:00.001-04:00

Well, this morning I think I did just that in my sermon. My own toes even feel sore! If you heard the reading of I Timothy 6 and Luke 16, you know what I mean. Check out the "Global Rich List" link at the left to see just how world-wealthy you are! I was stunned, and shamed that I ever complain about wanting more.

It helps to know that the web makes it easier than ever to reach out and give aid to persons who desperately need to know someone cares and wants to change the fact that they have nothing, or close to it, by worldly standards. With us, they are children of God, and the body of Christ has a duty to be Christ to them, to bring healing and redemption. I have added links (all to the left) that I find helpful to keep up with what's going on in the world, and to do what Christ has asked us all to do on his behalf...bring hope. I will continue to add to this list as I find websites that I think will enable us all to reach across the chasm that separates rich and poor to touch "Lazarus at our gates."