Life in the Way

Sinner in need.

I have been thinking a lot recently about a lot of deep stuff.  One is sin.  I find that because I am a Christian and even more so a pastor, there is often a perception within the church and community that I am less flawed or more righteous.

I am not quite sure where these perceptions come from, but clearly I am not less flawed or more righteous.  I am a sinner in need of grace throughout my entire journey of life.  Like the rest of us, I struggle with self-destructive behaviors and I wrestle with relationships.

It is true that I yearn for more time with God and cling to Jesus.  Yet, if anything, a more accurate perception of me might be one in which I have screwed up life worst than most and out of the misery and suffering I turned to turn to Jesus, who was there all the time waiting for me to be ready.  He offered me forgiveness and grace and gave me hope. He assured me that He would never leave me.

In that, I have become hopeful and seen some positive changes in my life.  I give glory to God for that, but I am still a person - apparently less perfect than the stereotypical “pastor” and in need of prayer, forgiveness and grace just as much as the next person.

Can I expect that? From some, yes.  And from others probably not.  Regardless, God has called me to lead less-than perfect people to a hope of freedom, even in my own imperfections and flaws.

The Apostle Paul’s states in his letter to the Romans:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:15-25, TNIV)

This is not to justify my behaviors. It is not to make me feel better. But as a pastor called to lead, it is to know the reality of my own state in a world in which I/we were born and have a chance to be redeemed.

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Spiritual Disciplines: Works of Piety

John Wesley believed that Jesus is God’s means of grace. For him, the “means of grace” were also “works of piety” (spiritual disciplines) and “works of mercy” (doing good to others). He said that means of grace are: “…outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.”

Wesley talked about a variety of works of piety:
The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures; (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord’s Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him: And these we believe to be ordained of God, as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men.

He also emphasized the importance of fasting and participating in Christian community.

Prayer

John Wesley considered prayer an essential part of Christian living, calling it, in many of his writings, the most important means of grace. Christians were to pray constantly, without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He wrote in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection:

Whether we think of; or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him.

All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer, when it is done in simplicity, according to the order of God, without either adding to or diminishing from it by his own choice.

How have you experienced prayer in your own life? Do you agree with Wesley that it is the most important means of grace, more important than the Bible?

Bible Study

John Wesley read the Bible every day, usually early in the day or late in the evening. A scholar, he could read the scriptures in their original languages and wrote commentaries on the Bible. His Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and his sermons are a part of the Doctrinal Standards of The United Methodist Church. John Wesley gave Methodists advice on how to read the Bible. Read Wesley’s advice and try it. Is his approach helpful to you? What is your method of searching the scriptures?

Fasting

The spiritual reasons for fasting have been pretty much lost on today’s society, particularly in Protestantism. Many United Methodists are surprised to learn that John Wesley fasted two days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays, in his younger days. Later he fasted on Fridays. Charles Yrigoyen, Jr., in John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life writes:

Wesley was convinced that fasting, abstaining from food or drink, was a practice firmly grounded in the Bible. People in Old Testament times fasted (Ezra 8:23). So did Jesus and his followers (Matthew 4:2; Acts 13:3), and Wesley saw no reason why modern Christians should not follow the same pattern. His plan of fasting sometimes allowed for limited eating and drinking. He found that fasting advanced holiness. (John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life copyright © 1996 Charles Yrigoyen, Jr., p. 33.)

John Wesley believed that God’s grace is conveyed through the Lord’s Supper and that it is a major way God nourishes us. Has your experience of Holy Communion been nourishing to your spiritual growth? If you are one of the many Christians who do not take communion very often, do Wesley’s arguments help you to see the sacrament in a different perspective? Read the entire sermon. (Blog article from http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/disciple.stm)

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The Aquarium: A Journey Of Faith.

Recently, I bought an aquarium.

But let me start about a year ago, when we saved three “feeder” goldfish. One for each of my kids. Soon, my daughter’s goldfish was the only survivor. Her name is Allie. After the pastor performed funerals for the two deceased fish. The fish died days apart, so the funerals were on separate days and due to my cat we held to the Jewish tradition of burying the departed expediently. Almost immediately my kids wanted replacements and I was able to hold them off. Until, one fateful day when my wife went for her new driver’s license…

The place she needed to go was next to the PetSmart. So, I was going to drop her off and take the kids on some errands. In a whim and to satisfy my kids year long yearning for replacement fish, I decided to take them into the pet store armed with a quarter each ($.25) for two new feeder fish. I knew the fate of these fish and I was now giving two death row fish at least a slim chance. The margin of survival was not good against Allie the now monstrous goldfish that already occupied the tiny little tank, but hey - I was giving them a chance.

Well, the next twist of fate was unexpected and brought on by the yet-to-renew-my-license lady. My wife was unable to get her license because she only had 16 official forms of identification and needed 17, so she called me on the phone and then meandered over to PetSmart. My kids excitedly told her what the plans were and she promptly pulled me aside and told me that she couldn’t handle anymore fish funerals. So we had to do something else.

Well, what ensued was the creation of self-contained 30 gallon biosphere living in my dining room. Slowly this biosphere (AKA, our Aquarium) began as a somewhat small concept. Probably kinda like Manhattan was 300 years ago. But now there are 5 snails, 4 red tailed sharks, a bala shark, 6 tiger bards, some kind of catfish, an angelfish, and a big ugly eel.

At first, it was challenging and the learning curve was steep as we tried to regulate the water (pH, ammonia levels, etc.). Then it was learning about live plants and figuring out how the general rule of sunlight is bad for your tank can translate into light is good. It was a crazy, tenuous time. We were living on pins and needles. The tension was thick and at any moment anyone could erupt from the pressure. We had to perform CPR on several fish as the water regulated and unfortunately had a couple more funerals.

What has ensued is pretty miraculous.

At first our tank was cloudy, but the pet store’s fish expert - Dr. Fishlady, told us that in about 2-4 weeks “healthy” bacteria will grow and the tank will clear up. Patiently waiting day after day for that moment cause me to wrestle with my faith. The Dr. Fishlady said that seemingly out of nothing these invisible things will grow. But where did these things come from and how can the be helpful, (later I understood them to be from trash (leftover food) and poo)? Can I trust the person who told me, she didn’t look like much of an expert (with her two months experience working at the store)? How could she know? She told me what to do, and I admit I didn’t go on blind faith, I did some research and read for others’ Aquarium experiences. With enough testimony behind her words and advice, I began doing what she suggested.

Hour by hour I waited, carefully watching the water temp., pH, and other factors. Hour by hour, I looked at the fish and the clouds beginning to pessimistically wonder which one would need CPR next, how long would it be before I would sell the tank because of disastrous results, and how I would break my pessimistic ideas to my kids (as they prophetically became reality). I hoped for the best, but I just could not get beyond the experience of struggling fish and cloudy water.

Aside: One thing I have learned about my pessimistic prophecy is that it is always wrong. In all of the Bible their is always life and hope.

So, the family and I left for a little 5 day trip. No one wanted to leave because we feared the unknown, what would happen to the fish in this delicate state with out constant attention and care. With tears, we bought the week long tank auto-release feeders for the tank and left. As we left, the cloudiness was thick and the ammonia and pH were in the danger zone. (I though for sure the fish were goners.)

We arrived home from our trip, miraculously, the tank was crystal clear. The fish were thriving and the pH/ammonia level was great. To this day, the tank is very much a self-regulated system that is easily maintained. Those little invisible bacteria that somehow grew out of nothing have created a healthy biosphere teaming with life. Forgive me for doubting the Fishlady about the invisible stuff that really made life in the biosphere flourish.

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Saddened By The News.

My Uncle Eric lost his battle against cancer and passed away last night. His and my Aunt’s wedding anniversary was yesterday and of course today is Father’s Day, which adds to the sorrow. Please keep them in prayer for peace and strength in this tragic time.

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WSJ article from June 13, 2008

Check out this article called Inspired By Startbucks: Charismatic Pastors Grow New Flocks Overseas,
Using Satellites, DVds and Franchise Marketing To Spread Their Own Brand of Religion.

What do you think about the direction of this type of church?  Do you think it is “the” new emination or a fade/trend that will soon end?  Why?

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Small Local Church - Simply The Best Solution Ever.

What am I raving about… Pastors, church membership recorders, finance committees - I’d like to introduce you to ChurchInfo.

ChurchInfo is a free church database program to help churches track members, families, groups, pledges and payments. Our feature set is comparable to expensive church management software packages. Our users are supported by an open-source community of people who volunteer their time and energy to make this technology available to all churches.

This is the solution that I have been looking for. It is web-based (hosted on our server). It is simple. As a pastor, it does everything I need it to. It is open source. It is free. κοινωνία at it’s best!

I can’t say enough about the effectiveness I have already experienced. Check it out!

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ESP - You Thought You Knew

ESP has been traditionally know in my circles as Extra-Sensory Perception. I loved studying about this in graduate school as part on my parapsychology studies. But recently, ESP has taken on a different meaning, Equally Shared Parenting.

“Teammates through life,” the husband in the NY Times video says, yet the husband and wife split up the laundry duties whites (hers) and darks (his) because apparently no one wants to do it (so if they have two garbage cans do they each clean one can every three months???). My perception is that ESP tries to reframe a social contract of love and respect issues in the realm of a business contract dividing up responsibilities (to borrow from Dan Ariely’s terminology in Predictably Irrational).

I believe that each person whether working or not has an essential role in the family. Teaching at times, learning at time, following at times, and leading at times, but in each role, with love and respect. When we talk about people and relationships, equal is a little more complex than getting change for a dollar and splitting it 50/50 (because inevitably one person will want a 50 cent piece and the other will want 50 pennies - and the change maker gave you 4 quarters). Of course any married couple regardless of culture and era should want health, recreation, and fulfillment for their partner. It is implicit in the couples marriage vows or relational covenant.

As I watched the New York Times video on ESP, I couldn’t help but think that this idea is wrong kind of ESP a healthy relationship requires, focusing on the individual self-fulfillment. Instead, my marriage has required me to perceive, in almost an extra-sensory way, the things that create spousal-fulfillment through respect, appreciation, and selfless love. I am not trying to say something crazy like we should be willing to live together in love willing to comfort your partner, or honor them; whether they are in sickness and in health; especially forsaking everything for them as long as you both shall live… or then again, maybe that is exactly what I am saying.

ESP, in an attempt to create individual and family health, seems to focus on marriage as something that primarily is focussed on equally shared responsibilities and fairness (business commitments), instead of respect and love (social commitments). ESP is a hopeful construct that will in actuality causes a regression pointing back to a time when marriage was more a business contract between families than a love contract that require self-sacrificing love.

What do you think?

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Drew Theological School: The Welcome Table

Above is the image from their brochure and website. I really like it! Who made it? What software program was it made in? Is it a .jpeg? Can we animate it so that the people around the cross move, rotate and dance a little? Would it be better to create a flash video or an animate .gif for the presentation purpose of the web, projection software and print? Maybe put some music behind it…

From Drew’s Website: “The feasting table where there is room for every one is also the place where, throughout time, we’ve told our faith stories and praised the Holy One who gathers us together. Join us this summer at the table where we will learn exciting and inspiring ways to tell our stories - gathered around a table or in our congregational families. And, hear and learn new worship music that will excite the soul and invite the Holy Spirit. You’re invited to ‘The Welcome Table’ whether you are clergy or lay person, musician, preacher, worshiper, anyone who seeks to share stories and praise God.”

This looks like a lot of fun. The leaders are solid and Drew is a nice place to envelop yourself in Methodism. When I was at SCD a couple of years ago, Molly Vetter did a great seminar on emerging worship. One of the things she did was talk about the use of projection in worship. There is a level of technical prowess that can (let me reiterate - “can” does not mean it is necessary, but if done well “can”) enhance the worship experience through use of picture, sound, and video. This seminar has aspects of emerging and recorded music (although more as a negative because their is no musician, as opposed to using digital music to enhance the experience).

Maybe Drew could consider a worship/church technology track, supplement, or event. Early on in my ministry I would have found that incredibly useful, and even today as technology continues to expand in leaps, it would be great to have a group of early adopters (or beta testers) sharing information and creative ideas. Our most successful churches are using projection in worship and without artistic talent (or just good taste) it can come off doing the opposite of it’s intent. Projection in church can be like an out of tune instrument or a sloppy communion table without the right training and artistic touch.

From my estimation, there are two components to this: human and mechanical.

First, the easy one is the mechanical. The machines need to be capable. Can you imagine a communion table that is unstable or a church full of pews that might not support the people sitting on them. Well, computers, software, and projector are much the same. The things that we incorporate into worship must be more than capable of supporting the purpose - enhancing or accenting the worship experience.

Much like pianist, who not only knows how to play the piano; but knows the different piano manufacturers; how different environmental conditions can cause distortions in the piano’s ability; and how different pianos sound better for certain pieces; have an ear for playing; etc. The people behind the curtain (at least at our Annual Conference) have the ability to focus or frustrate the worshipers. And like the musician, the projection can be specific to the context, culture, and content. - And get this, it can be well done with good, fast machines that can make what your doing help to focus and reinforce the worship connection or it can be done with slow glitchy, “out of tune,” machines that frustrate instead of focus. There is an artistic side that any good template maker or piano designer knows.

Second, is the human resource. In this instance, the people working on this must be both artistically sensitive and technically capable. There are aspects of searching for the right image, video, and song. (There are multiple needs like legal assistance navigating copyright - but for simplicity’s sake…)

With the incredible ability to manipulate and create, the people creating multimedia for worship can become very much like the trained pianist who can more than just play the song on the songsheet. I have seen some really good multimedia in worship and I have seen some really bad multimedia (an example is the PowerPoint slides for the UMH and FWS, they are right on technically and incredibly useful, but artistically they are poor quality and not flexible beyond the Microsoft monopoly.) A good multimedia sense is a pentacostal manifestation of tongues to the new generation. (Aside: my 32 month old child like to play nickjr.com more than watch it on TV.) Working together, technically, artistically, powerful worship is possible and fun!

Outside of the “walled” worship experience, there are multiple avenues of recording, broadcast and interactivety that are easily accessible and affordable for the local church to reach out to a broader community. The web has developed in a way that can revolutionize the local church’s ministry. Just a few examples of this are shut-ins who can gain access to worship in multiple formats (e.g., tape, CD, DVD, online) or even live on the computer; youth and young adults can interact through multiple channels of access (e.g., text, IM, blog, email); and young parents can find the schedules and events at anytime and import them into their calendar systems and set reminders, as well as instantly map out point to point route on their GPS system.

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It Is 52F Degrees In Reykjavik Today.

I went out this morning to get the papers at 7:45am and was blasted by the heat. It was already unbearable! Yesterday, we spent the evening at my parents house with some of my cousins from Iceland. They are visiting and heading down the coast today with a final destination of Disney. Can you find me?

I told Denise (can you find her?) on Thursday that I was already tired of the summer and that I was ready for winter. This is a far cry from my days of youth yearning for the summer and long days on the beach body boarding and playing beach volleyball. Now I am much more content in cooler weather. I would rather be freezing than burning up in the heat. (There might be theology in there somewhere.)

Anyway, I was praying this morning for my family and extended family and found myself being envious of the fact that it never get this hot where they live. Oh for Iceland today.

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The Prodigy… enjoy! (3.24 mins)

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