Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We live in a society of advice columns, experts and make-over shows. Without even knowing it, you can begin to believe someone knows better than you how to live your life. Someone might know a particular something better – like how to bake a three-layer molten coconut chocolate cake or how to build a website – but nobody else on the planet knows how to live your life better than you. (Although one or two people may think they do.) For today, trying asking yourself often, especially before you make a choice, “What do I know about this?”
I’ve sort of fallen off the #Trust30 bandwagon, in part because several of the questions and prompts, I didn’t feel I could answer well in a public space like this blog, and in part because I simply haven’t taken the time to write. But I was especially interested by this one, because I received it via e-mail, right next to another e-mail (Ginghamsburg Church’s daily Transformation Journal) that hit right on the same theme.
The Transformation Journal devotional piece for the day was the Scripture reading from 1 Samuel 17:12-58, the story of David defeating Goliath. Rather than focusing on the conflict at the end, I found myself paying attention to the arc leading up to it: a culture paralyzed by fear; David being dismissed and mocked by his brothers; a King without vision or insight into the problem; an attempt to put David into King Saul’s armor to fight this battle. How often does our story parallel David’s, speaks to that quote above from Emerson, and the question Jen Louden raises? How often do we already have the skills we already need, that will translate into new situations even when no one else believes us (and sometimes we don’t trust them ourselves)? How often will we face questions by those who can’t or won’t see the possibilities before us? Are we ready and willing to challenge the old paradigms or do we just silently submit to the status quo?
Too often my attention is on the skills I lack; attempts to put on another’s ill-fitting armor that hinders movement and holds me back, instead of trusting the gifts and talents most natural to me. Too often I fail to consider the “small victories” against lions and bears, that prepare me for the giants in my midst.
May we let go of the fears and unhelpful comparisons, and trust in the Spirit already at work within us to accomplish the task before us.
“We live in an interactive culture where people are attending not just to what they see and hear, but to the meta-messages of behavior and values. What is our witness as church leaders if we are constantly sick, tired, stressed, depressed, or dealing with less significant details? What happens to our capacity to lead in a visionary and creative way when we are constantly engaged in the management aspects of leadership? Where is our authenticity and credibility when we ask people to do things we do not do ourselves — like pray, give, serve, play, rest, exercise, and learn? The “average” pastor in The United Methodist Church reads 2-5 books A YEAR, only three of them related to their faith or profession… Only 1-in-3 of our ordained clergy read the Bible apart from sermon, class, or small group preparation. Only 2-in-4 have a regular prayer/devotional discipline, and only 1-in-7 have a regular exercise routine. 7-out-of-9 report that they do not eat as well as they should. 8-in-10 say they do not get enough rest, and a similar number report that they do not take all their allotted vacation and personal days each year. What we do speaks more loudly than what we say. We are communicating to those we lead that these things aren’t very important. Is that the message we truly wish to send?
I’m doing okay with regular reading, prayer, study of Scripture (although there is always room for improvement), vacation and sleep, but am pretty bad in terms of eating and exercise. Definitely disciplines to work on.
Rob Rynders highlights an important issue: Should Annual Conference Require You to Let Them Monitor Your Social Media Activity? The question arises out of a recent move by the Board of Ordained Ministry in the Kentucky Annual Conference that candidates for ministry and provisional members will “friend” the Annual Conference on Facebook, and likewise give them permissions on Twitter, blogs, etc. to review postings. Even though I am already “Facebook friends” with several District Superintendents, and both my Twitter feed and this blog and publicly accessible, the idea of a person (or group) actively monitoring posts makes me nervous.
The Chad Holtz case and now this one, really force us into a position where we have to be clear around what is “public space” and “private space” and where one is a “representative of the church” and one is simply an ordinary individual venting the same frustrations, and opinions as anyone else. Certainly there is a need for accountability, and a measure of discretion among what clergy post, knowing the “fishbowl” is always there; but at the same time there needs to be room for “safe spaces” where I can offer up a idea or link to a page or post a video that might not fit the Social Principles or Doctrinal Standards of the United Methodist Church, and know that charges won’t be brought against me for it.
For the past couple of months I’ve been dreaming of an event/conference/discussion that can be both a basic training exercise in social media etiquette (for there have been situations in this conference where clergy (and clergy spouses) haven’t always kept the best boundaries around Facebook posts), but also to have a more general discussion, ideally with UM bloggers from across the denomination, where we can figure out some of these basic guiding principles around maintaining a social media presence that allows free expression, but also recognizes our mutual obligation in covenant relationship with each other. So it would be both a “how to” primer on using social media, but also an academic and philosophical event (maybe with seminary support?) to help guide a “big picture” around tools and appropriate expression; which could then be brought to Cabinets and Boards of Ordained Ministry to help guide their work given that this stuff is still foreign to a large number of their members. Naturally, because I’m lazy, I’d love for this to happen in or near Detroit. Anyone with the $$ or skills to pull something like this off?? (Yes I’m looking at you, Methodist Union; also ye’ olde stomping grounds, GETS, and friends down in Ohio – United and MTSO).
Really interesting video and discussion around Jim Gilliam’s recent talk at the Personal Democracy Forum, on “The Internet is my Religion” here. Really struck by is last comment: “I have faith in people, I believe in God, and the internet is my religion.” In its very best moments, the internet, as a tool for connection can “out church” the church – as a place to bring people together, but at the same time, we must be mindful that vital relationships aren’t virtual relationships, I believe there still has to be an incarnational aspect to ministry, of flesh and bone, hugs, laughter and tears that is a fundamental human need and the place where a real-world gathering of believers is still necessary.
Related: Andrew Conrad on the Pros and Cons of Web-casting a Funeral. As Andrew notes, I like the idea of making the funeral accessible to people who can’t be physically present, but I can see how it could promote people to disengage from that incarnational community at a time when it is especially needed. (As a practical matter, I’d also assume that you’d want to put a funeral webcast of a private link, limited to specific people, but then it becomes one more thing that has to be planned and communicated in the midst of everything else the grieving family is dealing with in that short 3 or 4 day span).
Great video about ministry happening in Hull, England. I spent a year living in Hull, so a lot of the sights resonate with me, although part of the university community I was also sheltered from much of what is depicted here. Still would love to go back for a visit sometime.
I’d love to try something like this for my office at church. Also from Lifehacker – How to Photograph Star Trails – I remember my Earth Science teacher in High School did this and brought the photos in to class one time, which I thought was the coolest thing ever.
Interesting article on Moving from Church Membership to Mission Partnership – switching over isn’t quite that easy in a UMC context, but I think there are some really good points in that “membership” language is problematic, and we need to rethink our very conception and understanding of what we are really about as a body of believers.
Seth Godin on Organization vs. Movement vs. Philosophy – once you’ve changed from movement to organization, can you go back again? As Godin says, “The trouble kicks in when you think you have one and you actually have the other.”
Teresa Cho – 10 Problems of a Dying Church & How to Fix Them – for United Methodists, #2 need to be tweaked a little bit to simply address anxiety with the SPRC, and a renewed commitment to work with the DS/Cabinet and newly appointed pastors. Otherwise, some good points to consider.
Don’t necessarily agree with it, but still an interesting article – Why We Don’t Allow Children in Worship. I can get on board with offering excellence in children’s programming, and giving adults space to worship without distraction, but when the two come together, seemingly to exclude, I’ve uncomfortable.
Once again Jen Lemen’s writing is beautiful, powerful and speaks to the heart. Please check this one out: Absolutely Seen and Loved.
If we live truly, we shall see truly. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?
I’ve been having trouble identifying only one place, and most of the places I can think of are places I’ve already been… I’m not sure what that says about me, other than a current, more general desire to revisit and reconnect, to discover what I’ve forgotten, even though I know those places wouldn’t be the same as I remembered/experienced them the first time.
Places to revisit:
Hull, England (northern England – Yorkshire/Manchester/etc., more generally)
I feel like I should have Russia on the “haven’t been” list (I studied Russian in high school & college), and Japan on the “revisit” list (I was an exchange student there in 1984), but really neither one seems all that appealing at the moment; partly I think because of the language barrier (not that there wouldn’t be language or cultural issues with Italy, Liberia, or Israel).
What will I do to make sure I get there? Actually, my church work opens the possibility of traveling to most of these places – I’d love to do a British Methodist pastor exchange at some point, we have strong missions involvement with Liberia (which is why it is even on my radar), and church trips to Israel are fairly easy to come by, if you have the time and money.
“The winning lottery numbers for June 17 are 10 20 22 39 48 and the Powerball is 25, you’ll have to split the pot with someone in Oklahoma, but $50,000,000 is still a good sum.”
The more serious message to the past:
“Do more to appreciate where you are and what you are doing. Make sure to soak up every moment you have with your children (the one you have the the one still on his way).”
To my future self:
“Stay strong in the battle against the robot overlords. Humanity WILL NOT be enslaved! You know their weakness, don’t be afraid to exploit it at every opportunity.”
The more serious message to the future:
“Keep dreaming. Keep trying new things. Don’t fall into complacency or cynicism.”
We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.
1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. 2. Write the story that has to be written.
I’ve had many fears in life, but I not so sure I’m afraid of death; I’ve preached too many Easter Sunday sermons to know that this is not the end.
And yet, as I approach this end, as I consider the end of this life there is a powerful mixture of celebration and sorrow.
Sorrow for all the things left undone, unsaid, unexpressed. Sorrow for the risks not taken, the joy not shared. Sorrow for all those times I caved into fear – the fear of what others might think or might say; the fear that lurks inside the deepest, darkest recesses of one’s own soul which silently whispers, “Not good enough”, “Not worthy”, and “Not possible.” As I enter into the light of eternity may this darkness be forever cast away.
But, as I consider these last few moments, I choose not to dwell in the darkness, instead I celebrate the precious gift of life that I have been given. I give thanks for the love of Amy, Allison and Ben – for the joy and for the laughter, for the trips we’ve taken and for the simple meals we’ve shared around the dinner table. I give thanks for my parents and brothers, for helping to shape me and support me over all these years, for the countless blessings revealed in ordinary moments. I give thanks for all the companions on this journey, for those who I’ve walked and wrestled with; for those whom I’ve kept in close contact with and those whom I’ve lost contact but not forgotten. To all these, so often I’ve failed to thank, failed to adequately express myself for all that you’ve done and all that you mean to me; I’m sorry and I hope you can offer your forgiveness.
At last my 15 minutes are nearly up (I type really slowly)… I wish I had some great bit of wisdom. Just enjoy life, soak up every minute that you can – take long bike rides though the Iowa countryside, swim in the cold saltwater of the oceans, and stare up on a warm summer’s night and count the stars. Take risks. Live without fear. Keep it simple – in the words of Micah, “Seek justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God.”
Prompt: Liz Danzico – Today Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. The force of character is cumulative. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
If ‘the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tracks,’ then it is more genuine to be present today than to recount yesterdays. How would you describe today using only one sentence? Tell today’s sentence to one other person. Repeat each day.
Your commute is killing you. Interesting article (and a little scary); I’m right at that 45-minute mark each way and have started having back pain…
7 Ways to Make Commuting (a little) Better – haven’t tried the “learn a new language” idea, and books on tape have been hard for me to process… I think I need something a little more mindless; but it’s still a good list if you are stuck in a car on a regular basis.
Donald Miller – How to Partner with God in God’s Work. I was sort-of trying to make this point as part of my Baccalaureate message but I know it didn’t come across nearly as clear or concise – in every day and in every place we have opportunities to partner with God, using the multitude of gifts God has given us. Sometimes it can be as simple as working in the garden or baking a cake.
Following the Baccalaureate service someone thanked me for not being an “Open Theist” which really had the feeling of being a backhanded compliment. The weird thing is, open theism is a strange topic to even bring up in such a setting – it relates to how we understand God’s relationship with time, and there was nothing in my message to that would suggest I was a firm supporter of something like predestination. I suspect what this person was really affirming is that I didn’t seem to be a universalist, because I talked about Jesus in my message.
Love this quote from Anna Quindlen from a 1999 Villanova University Commencement address (via Inward/Outward):
“So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life.Get a real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you.”
“I urge evangelicals to make clear to all who will listen that we DO believe in the return of Jesus Christ, but, as a whole, we DO NOT believe in staring into the sky waiting for it to happen. For the most part we agree with Luther who, when asked what he would do if he knew Christ would return tomorrow, said “plant a tree today.” In other words, carry on as always living as disciples of the crucified and risen Lord.”
Seth Godin on legacy issues in business… not too difficult to make the jump to legacy churches and questions of how we continue to support congregations with no interest in growth or vitality.
Chad Holtz offered a couple very raw, honest, and I believe important posts on how the church responds to people with addiction, and Chad specifically speaks of his own sexual addiction. I consider this to be a must read. First this. Then this follow-up. Finally, this one.
I think I’m going to try the #Trust30 thing, but I’m not sure I’m going to put it all up on the blog. (As much as I like the idea of developing a discipline to write on here every day, realistically I’m not sure I can maintain it).
I think I need some clothes with embedded LED lights… (or maybe just a stole for the candlelight Christmas Eve service)…
Matthew Paul Turner has a really great take on the group (groups?) speculating that this Saturday will bring the end of the world, and how it impacts the faith of the “least of these.” Certainly worth reading.
Church Marketing Sucks provides an overview of how some churches celebrated Mother’s Day. Some really great ideas on that list.
Jordon Cooper reminds us the best resumes don’t necessarily make the best leaders. Also, from a tweet Jordon sent out – read this next time you assume an unemployed (or homeless) person could just get a job at McDonalds – in their most recent hiring blitz they filled 62,000 positions… but received 1 MILLION applications.
The next librarychurch is a place, still. A place where people come together to do co-working and coordinate and invent projects worth working on together. Aided by a librarianpastor who understands the Mesh, a librarianpastor who can bring domain knowledge and people knowledge and access to information to bear.
In a digital age, access to great preaching, Biblical scholarship and theological inspiration are just a couple mouse clicks away. On some levels, the local church can no longer compete in that regard. What the local church has to offer is the opportunity to connect people with each other and with information that will equip them to serve and be the people God calls them to be.
Jay Voorhees – Conversation with a Young Methodist. Also from Jay, The Young Clergy Question – I’m not sure I’m completely on-board with everything he brings up in this post; but I think there is a danger of wanting “young clergy” simply for the idea that they are “young” – especially when the Conference/District/Local Church doesn’t have systems in place to adequately support them. He’s completely right on when he says:
“The problem is not one of age — it’s a system that values conformity to institutional norms above that of leading congregations to a vibrant and living faith that is relevant to people of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences. We have a process that lifts up those who say the right answers or who calm the boat in the storm, and does what it can to stamp out those with an entrepreneurial spirit. The issue isn’t age — it’s values.”
Nice post from Jeremy Smith on some basic Facebook “how-to’s” for pastors. I’ve been in conversation with colleagues that something like this, but even more specific needs to be distributed, as District Superintendents, clergy, and clergy spouses have sometimes pushed the limits of appropriate boundaries of sharing and interaction on Facebook. There is still a lot of gray area with social media in general, but there are some clear needs for basic education as well.
Really interesting TED Talk from Eli Pariser on the “filter bubble” – how the personalization features built into facebook, google, etc. keep us from seeing a broader worldview. (It’s also cool that Eli uses a screenshot from my old college friend, Scott, as part of his presentation). As Eli talks about the filter that operates “behind the scenes” in the algorithms, I found myself also wondering about the filters we create ourselves – this whole “round-up” thing I do every week is basically a filter, and there are pretty clear patterns about my thoughts on church, theology, social media, and music…
Then from Jesus Needs New PR – Joel Olsteen has never heard of Mark Driscoll – interesting to read in context of Eli Parsier’s talk on “filters.” Where do we place our attention? How does it distract? How does it keep us isolated? How does it inform? How does it broaden our worldview?
Roger Olsen on Deep Church – I love that idea of “urban Amish.”
Another hard-hitting post from Dan Dick on Wethodism:
“It is time to take the “me” out of Methodism and replace it with “we”. Somewhere we lost touch with the fact that this is God’s church and that each of us is fortunate and blessed to be allowed to be a part of it. The church does not exist to serve our individual needs. It doesn’t exist to make us happy. It doesn’t exist to make us feel good about ourselves. It exists to do God’s work and will in the world, and we are invited to be active participants in the glorious creative miracle of God’s unfolding vision. We have got to get over ourselves. At the very limited extreme, church may be about “us” as a whole, but never about us merely as individuals. The whole “me and my buddy Jesus” mentality that pervades our culture has virtually nothing to do with church, Christianity, or the Bible. Our boiling everything down to a personal and private religion has a historical name — heresy. It isn’t all about me — and our denomination is suffering an acute case of “me”-thodism.”
“Is it possible to call people to be living sacrifices when they can’t even be bothered to know who it is they follow? It’s hard enough to talk about turning the other cheek when there are celebratory flash mobs in the streets because we finally killed our enemy. Or to call the church to love their neighbor when people see giving to others as an infringement on their entitlements. But this goes even deeper. It’s a mentality utterly at odds with the entire way of Christ and yet its adherents still claim to be Christian. I struggle with knowing how to respond. I know this issue is nothing new; it’s just difficult to be reminded of its extreme in such a blatant way. But I keep wondering how can the body of Christ ever be healthy when so many of its members are non-functioning?”
Maybe Hyatt’s post is an appropriate segway to let my friends know this is going to happen on the Wednesday before Annual Conference at 6:00 – feel free to come and watch.
For the past couple years I’ve been attentive to Jay Bakker’s ministry – following his twitter feed and subscribing to the Revolution NYC podcast. I have yet to watch the One Punk Under God, but it’s been on my list for a while. What I have seen and heard from Jay, I’ve found to be pretty interesting, and so I was excited to have the chance to review his latest book Fall to Grace: A Revolution of God, Self & Society.
A couple weeks ago, just as I was a couple chapters into the book, I mentioned that this might be my favorite book of 2011, and that still holds true. What Jay has done is crafted a fantastic, brief, and easy to understand work of practical theology, unpacking the implications of grace.
Jay draws from his own life, recounting some of the hardships that he faced as a child, with the scandals that turned the Bakker name into front-page news and fodder for late night comedians, while Jay was only eleven, to battles with dyslexia and alcoholism. As he notes, the faith he had during his teen years only served as a “cold comfort” rooted in a form of evangelical legalism with little personal understanding of grace. Attempts to “get right with God” always seemed to fall short. After hitting rock bottom the insight of friends and a careful study of Scripture, especially the Pauline epistles, led him to a place where Jay finally understood that, “Paul’s message wasn’t about guilt and punishment. It was about acceptance; it was about forgiveness; and it applied to me!” (pg. 17).
This book is rooted in Jay’s personal story, but it is far from a personal memoir. Jay goes on to unpack Paul’s writings on law and grace, drawing primarily from Galatians, but using the other epistles as well for reference points. As someone who tends to focus on the Gospels and the book of James instead of Paul’s writings because of the ways they have been used (and occasionally abused), I really appreciated Jay’s analysis and will go back to these texts with a fresh look. Overall, the book spoke to me deeply about how God’s claim on us is greater than all our attempts (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) to “earn” God’s favor. Jay speaks to a wide-spread (if not universal) doubt Christians often wrestle with around acceptance and genuine forgiveness, and does it with excellence.
Jay speaks to how, when we truly grasp the concept of grace we will change (and be challenged) as individuals and as a community. Near the end of the book he provides a specific argument to how the idea of grace applies to those in the gay and lesbian community. If you are already familiar with the standard interpretations around inclusion, you won’t find anything new here. Given that Jay’s book will reach an audience unfamiliar with those interpretations, some will be challenged by this section. Even if you disagree with Jay over this issue, I’d encourage you to listen to Jay’s point of view.
This book attempts to take on some big theological issues in an easy to understand way. Jay’s story speaks to me personally, and I sure it will for others as well. I’d certainly recommend it to others.
(Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book as part of Ooze Viral Bloggers for review. Just getting the book for free didn’t influence my opinion).
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