what have I done now?

It starts innocently enough - a simple envelope with a membership card included - well, it's actually a temporary membership card - and the first few times I ignored it simply because AARP was emblazoned on the front.

Yep, I started getting my invitations just days before my (gulp) 50th birthday in June.  And every few weeks since a new 'temporary membership card' arrived in the mail.  Being more mature now, it wasn't long till I started comparing my AAA benefits with AARP.   Did you know that AARP has a better hotel discount than AAA???  Go figure!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I paid my $16 dues and am now a card carrying member of AARP.  Why not, right?

In addition to discounts of all sorts membership benefits include email newsletters with helpful tips and information for a better life for us older folks.  But I'm not sure what to think of the latest newsletter.  It's this headline that has me disturbed, quite frankly:  "13 Little Luxuries We Deserve Now That We're Over 50"  It's enough to make me wonder if I should cancel my membership right away!!

I don't know about you, but I didn't know that I deserve much of anything just for turning a year older.  I fear this is another example of what's wrong with our culture.  The article promises, "Big satisfaction for small expenditure, and small guilt!" hmmm, that sure sounds nice, but just because I am over 50?!?!

Should I really care about real maple syrup (at $100/gallon) and weekly manicures, numbers 4 and 7 on the AAPR list, as luxuries I now deserve when I see broken and hurting people each and every day?  I think that if I have enough money to pay for real Hawaiian ginger or a six-pack of massage certificates then I should be tithing to my church at the very least and investing my time and talent in mentoring and volunteering too!

I'm not sure if I'll keep the AARP card -  I don't really like the warped perspective its giving me about ageing in the 21st Century.  Seems pretty immature and shallow to me, but what do I know?

Peace,
Deborah

God's mysterious ways

I was raised in the United Methodist Church.

When I went to college I just didn't have time to go to church.

I moved.  Started a career.

Dealt with my mom's death without the church.  It wasn't perfect, but it was ok - I wasn't angry with God.  I just learned that life is fragile and sometimes people get sick and sometimes they don't make it - no matter how much they or you pray.

I got married in my back yard with a retired pastor officiating for $35.  The local United Methodist church said they couldn't do it since we weren't members.  They suggested we call Rev. Fite instead.

And yet, when my first born child was 1 1/2 I knew, like a homing pigeon, that I needed to be in a church.  The fact that my stepson, who was 14, had recently moved in with us helped as well.  For some odd reason I figured that the only place I could learn about how to raise a 14 year old was in the church.  (btw: I went to the church that had said no to the wedding 3 years earlier.)

One Sunday not too long after I started attending the pastor did his normal altar call after the sermon and for some reason as we stood up to sing the final hymn I felt compelled to go forward.  I have no idea what the pastor said that morning, but the hymn was "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus"

I remember the surprised look on his face, the questions he asked as the congregation continued to sing; he wanted to know my name, if I had ever been baptized (I had as an infant) and if I wanted to join the church right then by profession of faith.  Through my tears I said, "yes."

Afterwards I can't say that I felt a whole lot different, but I sure was welcomed by folks.  That church showed me and my children radical hospitality.  It was later that I figured out that it has been a long, long time since anyone had come up and joined without pre-arranging things with the church staff.  But there I was  - a newly minted member of Mountain Park United Methodist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  I had always figured I was a Christian, but now I was a member.

I joined a Sunday School class - I intentionally chose the one with folks who had kids my stepson's age.  For the next couple of years, until we moved, we attended worship on Sundays and participated in the life of the church.  No committees, not many expectations.  My husband was angry at God at the time and was not interested in church, so the children weren't baptized.  I was ok with that because no one pressured me to do otherwise.

When number 2 child, Hannah, was born I remember some people from the church stopping by to bring us some meals.  The very best thing was the strawberry jello with lots of real strawberries in it.  Funny, the things you remember.

It was in my Sunday School class that I learned that Jesus was God.  The whole Trinity had escaped me until that time.  I'm not sure if I wasn't listening, or if I just missed it along the way.  Probably a little bit of both.  I was 30 years old.

12 years, 2 more children and three moves (and 3 churches) later, I was in seminary.

God sure does have a sense of humor.

On this All Saints Day, I can't help but think of the Saints in my life.  Many of whom I don't even remember their names.  Go figure.  I hope that one day we can renew acquaintances and reflect on the various places God has taken us.  Actually, I count on this to be true.  The communion of saints and feasting at the heavenly banquet all sound pretty wonderful to me.

A facebook friend asked earlier this evening; "Have you ever wondered, in the quiet moments, if what you give your life to---time, energy, heart, soul---really matters or makes any measurable difference?"

Yes, I have...

I think God is ok with me asking such questions.  And yet, I don't really know how to respond to her apparent angst.  Except with my story.

 And so I carry on, serving our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the best way I know how.  By the grace of God someone's life may be a little better.  Who knows?  And even if I never know -  I am ok with that...most days.

in Christ, together
Deborah

Change the World - who me??

Mike Slaughter and Alan Hirsch - Change the World 2011

Just back from Ginghamsburg UMC's Change the World Conference.  It was a great event with inspiring speakers and breakout sessions.  There is SO much running through my head right now but there is one thought that struck me...Mike Slaughter said it a couple of times "I'm 60 years old, I'm almost dead!"  and while the comment always brought a laugh, there is power in those words.


I am, ummmm, 50.  I most likely have 25-35 more years ahead of me.  What am I going to do with the time that I have left?  




Am I going to look back at the past 25-35 years and lament my mis-steps, and yearn for my former adventures - so many of us live in the past and yet, that doesn't sound like what God wants for my life.

me - 25 years ago

Am I going to look ahead wondering what will be next - perhaps some day I will fall in love again, or maybe I will move to the mountains of North Carolina to a little cabin and read all night...will I ever learn to fly fish?


Or perhaps, just perhaps, I need to look at the time that I have left as a gift - and live with gratitude and in anticipation of being used by God in powerful and exciting ways.  I think it boils down to whether I am courageous enough to live life fully, with gusto...anticipating that there will be hills and valleys along the way (I already know this from experience) but also great blessings too!


If I start the day confident in God's abundant love for me then why not just dive in and be... just be who God created me to be.  Of course, I am still trying to figure that one out - one of the benefits of being so young is that I don't have to have all of the answers. I do need to be faithful and trust that love, the source of which is God's amazing abundant love, will win in the long run.

Bottom line - it's my only hope...it's what gets me out of bed in the morning...it's what fuels the fire and passion I have to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.  What is this Good News? Well, I think the Gospel of Luke Chapter 4 has a lot to say on this:

Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

God's Spirit is on me;
he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place."
       (The words of Jesus Luke 4:16-19 The Message translation)

Alan Hirsch was one of the keynote speakers at the Change the World conference.  I've been reading Hirsch for years and it was a thrill to hear him in person.  He said that the one virtue that he sees lacking in church leaders is courage.  He reminded us that the fundamental job (and opportunity) of a leader is to exercise the power of the imaginative leap. To help people see the world like Jesus sees it - to open up new and exciting ways to approach each and every day and to set parameters by which people can dream dreams.  

That's what Jesus was saying in the gospel of Luke as he quoted the prophet Isaiah:

*The world does not have to be this way any longer!  

*There is no need for anyone to be without food, clean water, health care or safe shelter! 

*The blind can have their vision restored! (open your eyes to the possibilities, friends)

*People who are burdened and battered can be set free from the fears and addictions that imprison them!

As a person of faith and a leader in the United Methodist Church I believe we are called to make this come true each and every day of our lives...but I can't do it alone. That is why I am part of the Body of Christ - the Church - and together, using our God given gifts, we can do this.


The world is full of beautiful, beloved, broken people and as servants of our risen savior, we need to share the Good News - and release others for ministry and mission. We can make a difference!

How is God calling me, you, US to bring the Good News to our community? How can we lift each other up and partner together? How can we live out of our giftedness and be a blessing to others?

These are the questions I'm wrestling with this beautiful October day.

Peace, love, in Christ,

Deborah

Looking into the future - a view from 1969

The Fort Dodge Messenger Farm Edition July 26, 1969

Shocking Forecasts:

Predicts no sermons in churches of the future

by George W. Cornell AP religion writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Out of the murkiness of the present commotion and changes in the churches, a Protestant scholar has taken a long look at the eventual results of it all - and he sees some shockers ahead.

Among them: The disappearance of sermons and Sunday morning church services; growing interest in Jesus and less in the mystery of God; broad church consolidations; multiple memberships by some believers in more than one church.

The Rev. Dr. Roland W Tapp of Philadelphia, a United Presbyterian specialist in religious education, says "part of the upheaval now going on in the churches is temporary, but much of it will have permanent effects."

Recently on a three month research assignment for analysis and planning, Dr Tapp said in an interview that indications are that the organizational structures of churches "are not going to make it" to the end of the century."

"The long-range prospects are good for essential Judeo-Christianity, but not for the institutions.," he said.

Dr Tapp, a one time missionary, California pastor and World War II bomber pilot, is a former professor of psychology and philosophy of religion at Kentucky's Center College and of Biblical languages at San Francisco Theological Seminary.

He offered his lively preview of the future church at a recent gathering of religious publishers.

Items on the forecast included:

- A re-enactment of the fundamentalist-liberal fight of 60 years ago...It already has resulted in a marked polarization of the church at all levels...the split may become irreparable.

-With Protestants and Roman Catholics "no longer in real dispute" over major doctrines, they wil move increasingly toward "merger at practical levels" - between fundamental Protestants and fundamental Catholics and between liberal Protestants and liberal Catholics.

- Most institutional members will be 45 years old, and up.  "There will be a steady decrease in total membership...fewer youths will join the church."

-On the other hand, there will be "increasing interest in religion and Christianity" among college students and young adults but "they will continue to avoid the institutional church."

-Christian teachers will see themselves "more as fellow-seekers" rather than "transmitters of heritage."  They "will be more interested in Jesus and less in God"  even though this seems a "flat contradiction in Biblical terms."

- The Consultation on Church Union will bring unification of major Protestant denominations among "great wailing and gnashing of teeth," but the new connective church "will be no more of a monolith than it is now."

-"Sermons are out.  And so is the Sunday morning worship service at 11 o'clock.  The death rattle will be long and loud and gruesome."

-The main theological shift will be away from doctrine of divine transcendence toward a "doctrine of panentheism," which holds that "God is in everything," in contrast from pantheism, which says "God is everything."

- Racial integration "will be a fact within the churches...It already is a workable everday truth at headquarters levels."

- Church property, valued today at over $80 billion, will go on tax rolls.  "In a pluralistic society with Christians rapidly becoming a minority, this kind of tax exempt welath simply cannot be tolerated.  It won't be."

All shook up!!

In my past life (before seminary and becoming a pastor) I watched movies for a living.  It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.  I was part of a team of folks who wrote and produced 15 and 30 second movie promos for TBS and later TNT.  My job was to convince you, the viewer, to set aside 1 1/2 to 2 hours of your life to watch a movie on my station.  It was a great job and Atlanta in the late 80's and into the 90's was a great place to be.

Back then we aired the classics: westerns, dramas, war movies, and an occasion horror flick too.  One month I was assigned to promote a week of Elvis movies...and later I had the opportunity to help produce our live coverage of the release of the Elvis stamp - LIVE from Graceland, which brings me to the title of this post.  Something's going on - it's like everything's All Shook Up!

Just about a year ago a steering committee appointed by the General Conference presented the Call to Action report to the United Methodist Council of Bishops.  They used outside research agencies to examine our organization and to identify markers of Vital congregations.  They then put together a series of proposals that if put into effect, will essentially re-order how we do things in the United Methodist Church.

I believe that these recommendations have been made with the very best of intentions after a great deal of prayer and deliberation.  Some of the recommendations are painful, some are down right scary.  They all will require thoughtful and courageous leadership to implement.  I believe that the people serving on the Steering committee, as well as the subsequent Interim Operations Team, are doing their best to advise and guide the United Methodist Church so as to continue to be a viable and vital Church well into the future.

What is interesting to observe are the responses to the reports over the past year.  AND, what is noticeably missing - response from the laity of the church.  Yes, friends, the lions share of the responses that I am reading on blogs, websites, twitter, facebook, etc are from clergy folk and much of it is centered around the use of various 'dashboards' to measure on a weekly or atleast more regular basis worship attendance, small group participation, outreach/missions work and benevolent contributions above and beyond apportionment giving.

the TBS crew circa 1988

Now, I hate counting things and paperwork as much as the next gal.  I admit that I am blessed at Trinity UMC with an administrative assistant who rocks and handles many of these sorts of details.  I know this may seem like one more hoop to jump through, but then, I think about my 20+ years in the TV industry when we poured over Nielsen ratings and marketing reports as soon as we could get our hands on them.

I fear that the ones rattling the cages the most are my brothers and sisters who have not experienced life outside of the church...(folk I affectionately call 'lifers').  There's nothing wrong with being a lifer, but friends, lifers, fellow clergy folk - get with the program.  We should all know that by and large our parishioners do this sort of thing all the time!  We've brought in tons of other ideas from the business world, (some good, some not so good) whats so wrong with counting heads and checking out how we're doing?  I seem to remember from my UM History class that John Wesley took his spiritual temperature every 15 minutes and journaled about it - yikes!  Now that's overkill!

Another complaint that I'm reading is that the 'higher ups' in the UMC have tried this sort of thing multiple times but to what success?  Well, again, lifers, the reality is that for this 'newer' clergy person this is the first time a plan has ever been given to me (and to many of my colleagues as well).  Perhaps using our previous life experiences we can help with the adjustments that need to be made - of course for this to happen we need to be invited to the table for these sorts of conversations - even tho some of us have not been ordained for that long.  It seems to me that Moses was a 2nd career kinda guy and look what God used him to do.  Perhaps this is why there was an uptick in the number of 2nd career folk called to ministry and who entered seminary about 10 years ago.  hmmmm who knows God's mysterious ways?

I know that the ultimate goal of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission found in Matthew 28; to make disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the world, preaching, teaching them all that Jesus taught his disciples and healing broken lives.  I know that the best way to do this is through faithful preaching and teaching and mission/outreach to the community at large.  I also know that disciple making is messy, challenging and done one person at a time.  It is a huge investment of time and energy to get to know one another as Jesus knew his disciples.

Our foundational way to do this in the United Methodist Church is by encouraging disciples in small groups, holding one another accountable in Christian love to: do no harm, do good and practice the means of grace (prayer, worship, bible study, holy conferencing, fasting, etc).  Please click here to see what the General Rules are all about.

So, here's an observation and a couple of questions (finally): I believe that anyone CAN be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  But, does everyone GET to be a disciple if they are not willing to invest the time to learn how use their God given giftedness to walk and live as Jesus has taught us?  To do good, avoid evil and attend to the means of grace?

And, if you aren't a disciple, does that mean that God loves you any less?  I don't think so.  I think it just means that in this season of life some folk have chosen different priorities...but that doesn't mean that they don't love their church or God. I also don't think it means that the person who can't dive in should be judged or treated any different than anyone else.  It just means that we are fragile human beings in need of grace.

As leaders in the church we need to be faithful to our call to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, but we won't get anywhere using scare tactics.  We need to be dispensers of grace.  Grace says something like; 'let us walk alongside you during this challenging time in your life, we are here to love you and your family and to provide a safe place for you to grow in faith.'  I have found that when we approach someone in this manner we are in the best position to disciples them - funny how that works.

By the power of Holy Spirit we can lead our church into the future.  All of us (clergy and laity alike) are needed to build up the kingdom of God and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  It's what Jesus calls us to do, its the covenant we entered into at baptism and regardless of dashboards or restructuring, it sure is a rewarding way to spend the time that we are blessed to have together.  In my humble opinion anyway.

To God be the glory!

in Christ, together,
Deborah
(the 2nd career gal who really thinks lifers are aok)

September 12th

For several weeks we have been building up to the 10th anniversary of 9-11.         

There was 'drama' about the commemoration events...  9-11-first-responders-left out

There were heightened fears about terrorist attacks... here's one news story

and there was one group who encouraged folks to get out of their houses and walk their neighborhoods - make new friends and knock down barriers between people.   911walks.org

What I want to know is, now that the speeches are over, now that the wall to wall coverage is done, what are we going to do differently?

Is the whole point of the 9-11 hoopla to trot out our politicians and film footage of the events of that day 10 years ago or is it to make us appreciate our country/family/freedom more or is it just another day to get everyone emotionally charged and then we can be relieved on 9-12 that things aren't nearly as bad  as we were afraid they were??

Just thinking out loud here...

What should/can/are we going to do differently now?

Peace,

Deborah

some thoughts after today's hike...

Hillside Chapel Cross
Pictured Rocks Camp

I'm spending the first part of the week at Pictured Rocks, one of Iowa's three United Methodist Camps.  My official title is "Spiritual Director" but in reality, I'm here with two Trinity kids: Justin and Claire - and 14 other youth from around the state ages 9-13 as we explore what it means to be a beloved child of God and to enjoy the wonders of His beautiful creation.

My responsibilities were light today, so I spent much of the morning catching up on paper work (yeah, I know kinda boring) and then this afternoon I did some worship planning.  After a while I thought to myself; "hey you, what are you doing?  It's beautiful outside and you're in the middle of the woods at camp - what are you doing working?"  So I strapped on my Keens and went on a hike.  

Wesley Trail - Pictured Rocks Camp

This is my first time here, and I blew all of the rules; I went by myself, I didn't tell anyone where I was going, and I didn't have a map - yikes!  But the paths are nice and wide and I paid attention to where I was going (no bread crumbs necessary).  I set out from my cabin hoping to follow the route that the Triathlon runners took when they were here on Sunday, but I couldn't find the chalk lines that marked their path.  What was quite visible when we arrived Sunday afternoon had been washed away by yesterday's heavy downpour.  While I was out of luck, I did follow some clues and I think I figured out where all they went as they raced through camp.

Life is kinda like that.  We have mountain top experiences that get us on fire for Christ and in response we join every Bible Study or small group we can find, we read the Bible daily even, but after a while the storms of life have a tendency to wash away the path that seemed so clear just days/weeks/months earlier.  If we aren't intentional (or disciplined about it) we can easily get off track, lose our way, and give up...doubting that what we experienced was really real in the first place.

That's why it's so important not to go it alone.  Our faith journey isn't our private excursion (or walk in the woods to push the metaphor even further), we are one part of God's great story...from creation to today and into the future - God was, is and will always be!  We are beloved and beautiful and special but we are also small and part of a greater whole.  To find our place in the Kingdom we have to seek His face and the best way to do this is to join with others.  

Nature Trail - Pictured Rocks Camp

After hiking down the trail we took last night to the Windy Hill Campfire site, I decided to take the nature trail.  ahhhh, I soon realized the nature trail was different...while the path to Windy Hill was what one would expect from a walk in the woods, the nature trail had been recently smoothed out to make it safer for the runners.  I found I didn't need the chalk lines at all, I just had to look for the smooth path and I knew exactly where the Triathletes had run.

As followers of Christ, the Risen One, we don't need chalk lines...but we do need to be faithful and we need companions along the way...my prayer focus these next few weeks is about how the church I serve can be a faithful companion for folks who are journeying this exciting, and yes sometimes wild, trail of life.  We have to make room for people to explore who God made them to be and at the same time share in the joys as well as challenges of life.  

I sure don't have all the answers - so any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

in Christ, together,

Deborah