Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New Orleans- Congress on Evangelism -Part 1
The Congress on Evangelism January 5-8
The Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans
FUMC and the Austin District of the UMC sent me to the Congress on Evangelism to learn what I could and report back. I've reported on this to a couple of Sunday school classes, but figured this might amuse the 3 of you who read my blog as well. The theme of the week was Restore, Rebuild & Renew. “…they replied, “Let us start rebuilding,” So they began this good work.” – Nehemiah 2:18
All of the key note speakers spoke to this theme in one way or another.
Tuesday, January 5th
I arrive in New Orleans only to discover that it will not be warmer in this southern city than it is in Austin. In fact a cold-spell is covering most of the United States and it is as cold in New Orleans, LA as it is in Denver, Co. Genius that I am, I did not bring a coat. This leads to a walking tour of the area around the fabulous Roosevelt Hotel (freezing the entire time) where I find a very warm jacket at Foot Locker for $32. Score! The hotel is one of the most beautiful I've ever stayed in. It has just been restored to its pre-Katrina, art-deco splendour and I'm in awe. Thank you Congress on Evangelism for not being at the Motel 6.
I am still cold later that afternoon so I decide to have dinner in the hotel to avoid a trip outside. A sweet Methodist couple from Punxatawny, PA invite me to eat with them, for which I am grateful. I learn about Phil the groundhog and what a wonderful life he leads. The food is wonderful, but it is in incredibly tiny portions (which leads me to eat at McDonalds at 9:30 at night after the service- I am not proud of this but it was close and it was really cold out!).
Every evening started off with worship led by choirs from the surrounding UM churches. It was sublime and emotional. The key note speaker the first evening is Pastor Rudy Rasmus, of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. http://www.pastorrudy.net/ Rasmus took a church with 9 members and turned it into a church with 9000 members. Rasmus is a dynamic preacher and perfect to kick off the conference. There are 620 attendees with perhaps 10% African Americans. I meet people from Montana, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, and of course, Louisiana. Everyone loves Pastor Rudy by the end of his sermon.
Rasmus has a small goatee with 3 braids, I'm not going to lie, it looks odd. Rasmus laughs and explains that it is his way of spotting judgmental people from 10 feet away. If they look at him and move in the opposite direction then he knows they don't like jazz musicians... and people who look a little funky. This is the gist of his message. He wants to start a “love revolution”. He says that we can only rebuild when we remember that Jesus used people on the margins of society and put them at the center. Rasmus equates Jesus with unconditional love. He reminds us of John 3:16 AND 17 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
The Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans
FUMC and the Austin District of the UMC sent me to the Congress on Evangelism to learn what I could and report back. I've reported on this to a couple of Sunday school classes, but figured this might amuse the 3 of you who read my blog as well. The theme of the week was Restore, Rebuild & Renew. “…they replied, “Let us start rebuilding,” So they began this good work.” – Nehemiah 2:18
All of the key note speakers spoke to this theme in one way or another.
Tuesday, January 5th
I arrive in New Orleans only to discover that it will not be warmer in this southern city than it is in Austin. In fact a cold-spell is covering most of the United States and it is as cold in New Orleans, LA as it is in Denver, Co. Genius that I am, I did not bring a coat. This leads to a walking tour of the area around the fabulous Roosevelt Hotel (freezing the entire time) where I find a very warm jacket at Foot Locker for $32. Score! The hotel is one of the most beautiful I've ever stayed in. It has just been restored to its pre-Katrina, art-deco splendour and I'm in awe. Thank you Congress on Evangelism for not being at the Motel 6.
I am still cold later that afternoon so I decide to have dinner in the hotel to avoid a trip outside. A sweet Methodist couple from Punxatawny, PA invite me to eat with them, for which I am grateful. I learn about Phil the groundhog and what a wonderful life he leads. The food is wonderful, but it is in incredibly tiny portions (which leads me to eat at McDonalds at 9:30 at night after the service- I am not proud of this but it was close and it was really cold out!).
Every evening started off with worship led by choirs from the surrounding UM churches. It was sublime and emotional. The key note speaker the first evening is Pastor Rudy Rasmus, of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. http://www.pastorrudy.net/ Rasmus took a church with 9 members and turned it into a church with 9000 members. Rasmus is a dynamic preacher and perfect to kick off the conference. There are 620 attendees with perhaps 10% African Americans. I meet people from Montana, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, and of course, Louisiana. Everyone loves Pastor Rudy by the end of his sermon.
Rasmus has a small goatee with 3 braids, I'm not going to lie, it looks odd. Rasmus laughs and explains that it is his way of spotting judgmental people from 10 feet away. If they look at him and move in the opposite direction then he knows they don't like jazz musicians... and people who look a little funky. This is the gist of his message. He wants to start a “love revolution”. He says that we can only rebuild when we remember that Jesus used people on the margins of society and put them at the center. Rasmus equates Jesus with unconditional love. He reminds us of John 3:16 AND 17 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I don't think of myself as a perfectionist. My house isn't particularly tidy, and my office, try as I might, is cluttered and unorganized. I don't expect perfection from my friends, and I'm usually not too hard on myself when I screw up. But lately I've noticed a tendency in myself that I'd never noticed before. A need to be perfect.
John McMullen's last sermon here at FUMC touched on how the need for perfection can paralyze you into inaction and then our new Pastor John touched on that topic again. That's what happened with this blog. I've been reading so many other blogs that I've given up on writing one myself because I can't measure up to other peoples writing.
I cannot tell you the number of times that I've told my children not to compare themselves to others, and yet I've spent months doing it. Nothing good comes out of beating yourself up because you have not done what the president/movie star/your 2nd cousin has done.
My Greek class is another example of my issues with perfection. I try not to be prideful about most things, but my school work is something that I tend to be pretty proud of. I do well. I expect an A or B+ from myself. Never mind that I work full-time, and have a family, and like to spend some time with my friends, and try to take care of myself physically. Surely I can do everything. Apparently I've been supermom in my own mind.
Until Greek. Greek has beaten my ego to a pulp. I've never been in danger of failing a class. NEVER. I've never had my hair fall out because I am so stressed. I've never encountered a situation where I've given my all, and still found myself floundering. Yet, (and here is my real problem) there are others in my class who are doing just fine.
Ouch.
Who said that I had to be at the top of my class? Who said that I had to compare myself to other people? Who said I had to be perfect?
Not God.
So here is what I think I'm learning this summer. If God can love me despite my many inadequacies, then I should, at the very least, give myself a break. I am not perfect. This is not news.
So I will continue to share some of my random thoughts about membership here for you. Just don't expect perfection. Ha.
John McMullen's last sermon here at FUMC touched on how the need for perfection can paralyze you into inaction and then our new Pastor John touched on that topic again. That's what happened with this blog. I've been reading so many other blogs that I've given up on writing one myself because I can't measure up to other peoples writing.
I cannot tell you the number of times that I've told my children not to compare themselves to others, and yet I've spent months doing it. Nothing good comes out of beating yourself up because you have not done what the president/movie star/your 2nd cousin has done.
My Greek class is another example of my issues with perfection. I try not to be prideful about most things, but my school work is something that I tend to be pretty proud of. I do well. I expect an A or B+ from myself. Never mind that I work full-time, and have a family, and like to spend some time with my friends, and try to take care of myself physically. Surely I can do everything. Apparently I've been supermom in my own mind.
Until Greek. Greek has beaten my ego to a pulp. I've never been in danger of failing a class. NEVER. I've never had my hair fall out because I am so stressed. I've never encountered a situation where I've given my all, and still found myself floundering. Yet, (and here is my real problem) there are others in my class who are doing just fine.
Ouch.
Who said that I had to be at the top of my class? Who said that I had to compare myself to other people? Who said I had to be perfect?
Not God.
So here is what I think I'm learning this summer. If God can love me despite my many inadequacies, then I should, at the very least, give myself a break. I am not perfect. This is not news.
So I will continue to share some of my random thoughts about membership here for you. Just don't expect perfection. Ha.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Suicide
We are all interrelated, and this is never more apparent as when someone dies. The ripples of the dead widen across the water of our lives touching all who knew and cared about them.
This week I got news that an old friend from high school committed suicide. I haven’t seen him in years, but I remember him very fondly, and I am deeply saddened.
This is not the first time I’ve dealt with suicide. There was a friend when I was in high school, another in college, and still others who have drunk themselves to death when they should have had years to go. These are funerals that are beyond difficult to experience. Mostly because those of us who are left behind, feel like we should have known about their despair, and done something to help. Yet, the kind of sadness and depression that leads a person to take their own life is not something that they share with others, and it is not something that other people can cure. It is an illness that they often keep secret until it is too late.
A common misconception about Christians is that we believe that those who commit suicide will go to “hell”. Let me be clear. We do not believe this. Nothing is beyond God’s redemption. Nothing.
In my studies at seminary this week we have focused on the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25: 35-40:
“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
The common interpretation of this parable is that we are to see the face of God when we see other people in need. That is certainly a good and true interpretation. We see Christ in others, so that Jesus and the “other” become inseparable in our sight. But this parable also demonstrates how interconnected our relationships are with each other, and with God. We are inseparably linked to our relationships. We are who we are as we encounter other people. All of these encounters in our lives matter. God cares for all of God’s creation. God’s creation matters.
Today, for me, this says what I wish all people who consider killing themselves knew deep in their hearts. They matter. They matter to everyone who ever cared about them.
So, to my friend who I haven’t been on a date with in 25 years, who was sweet, and funny and kind, who is now gone, you mattered to me, and many, many others.
This week I got news that an old friend from high school committed suicide. I haven’t seen him in years, but I remember him very fondly, and I am deeply saddened.
This is not the first time I’ve dealt with suicide. There was a friend when I was in high school, another in college, and still others who have drunk themselves to death when they should have had years to go. These are funerals that are beyond difficult to experience. Mostly because those of us who are left behind, feel like we should have known about their despair, and done something to help. Yet, the kind of sadness and depression that leads a person to take their own life is not something that they share with others, and it is not something that other people can cure. It is an illness that they often keep secret until it is too late.
A common misconception about Christians is that we believe that those who commit suicide will go to “hell”. Let me be clear. We do not believe this. Nothing is beyond God’s redemption. Nothing.
In my studies at seminary this week we have focused on the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25: 35-40:
“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
The common interpretation of this parable is that we are to see the face of God when we see other people in need. That is certainly a good and true interpretation. We see Christ in others, so that Jesus and the “other” become inseparable in our sight. But this parable also demonstrates how interconnected our relationships are with each other, and with God. We are inseparably linked to our relationships. We are who we are as we encounter other people. All of these encounters in our lives matter. God cares for all of God’s creation. God’s creation matters.
Today, for me, this says what I wish all people who consider killing themselves knew deep in their hearts. They matter. They matter to everyone who ever cared about them.
So, to my friend who I haven’t been on a date with in 25 years, who was sweet, and funny and kind, who is now gone, you mattered to me, and many, many others.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Confession Time Again
I’ve never liked the Gospel of John very much. Don’t stone me, I know it’s beautiful. It does have lovely imagery and poetry that speak to my soul. But at times in Christian history it has been used like a hammer to crush those who believe differently than we do, and I really don’t like that.
People often quote John 3:16 as their favorite verse, “For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
So people say, “See, the bible says the Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life… therefore everyone else is going to hell. “ What they leave out is the next few verses, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
What does that mean? Those who do not believe are “condemned already”?
We discussed this in my mission class last week. Professor Jones said that the general understanding is that John believes that we are already living in Hell.
Wow. What an eastern/Hindu worldview– life is misery – salvation is finding a way out of this misery to full life.
John seems to be saying that when we accept Jesus as the unique revealer of God we are lead out of the hell that we already inhabit.
What does that hell look like? A place filled with greed? A place where neighbors do not care for each other? A place where miracles are no longer longed for, because people no longer believe they can happen?
John was adamant that Jesus was God. Jesus was what God looked like in the flesh, and if you could see that, if you could glimpse God, if you could see Jesus' life, and know that God had been here, then your life would never be the same.
You would be saved. Not just in the future “by and by”, but right now.
Now that, I like.
People often quote John 3:16 as their favorite verse, “For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
So people say, “See, the bible says the Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life… therefore everyone else is going to hell. “ What they leave out is the next few verses, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
What does that mean? Those who do not believe are “condemned already”?
We discussed this in my mission class last week. Professor Jones said that the general understanding is that John believes that we are already living in Hell.
Wow. What an eastern/Hindu worldview– life is misery – salvation is finding a way out of this misery to full life.
John seems to be saying that when we accept Jesus as the unique revealer of God we are lead out of the hell that we already inhabit.
What does that hell look like? A place filled with greed? A place where neighbors do not care for each other? A place where miracles are no longer longed for, because people no longer believe they can happen?
John was adamant that Jesus was God. Jesus was what God looked like in the flesh, and if you could see that, if you could glimpse God, if you could see Jesus' life, and know that God had been here, then your life would never be the same.
You would be saved. Not just in the future “by and by”, but right now.
Now that, I like.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Advent Conspiracy
A couple of years ago our family instituted a new Christmas policy. We all like presents, and are perfectly good consumers, but it had gotten out of hand. We had mountains of gifts. We just had too much stuff, or maybe it was because we were broke that year, I can't remember which. Perhaps it was a combination, but either way we came up with a new way of doing presents.
Christmas evening, after the kids had opened their gifts, after "It's a Wonderful Life", after a big dinner, we all sit down and tell each other stories.
We tend to hand out the writing prompt on Thanksgiving - "What is your favorite childhood memory?" was our first attempt. The next year we each picked a name out of a hat and we had to write something about the family member whose name we'd picked.
We usually write about a page's worth. Then we hand out our pages, and everyone reads someone else's thoughts. This is to cut down on the tears. Sometimes our stories are ridiculously funny, and sometimes we cry.
This has turned into the most anticipated part of Christmas Day for the Stuart/Miller/Thomas households. What will Grandpa write about this year? What embarassing story will Jen tell about her sister?
So as we move into Advent I encourage you to think of ways that can make this season more meaningful to you and yours.
Check out www.adventconspiracy.org for other ideas.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Questions for You
I'm back in school again and loving it! I'm learning all about the history of the Methodist Church. You know what? It's not boring! Strange, I know.
Anyway, in my studies I came across this list of questions that John Wesley used in his "small groups". Wesley formed folks into groups for accountability and further bible study. Sounds familiar doesn't it? He believed that the real spiritual work happened in these "societies" and I think he is right. Anyone can have an epiphany as part of an emotional worship service. The question is can you keep that feeling and have it inform your everyday life? Now that is more difficult.
I'm not going to lie. These questions are hard hitting. But I really think they are helpful. What do you think?
The 22 Questions of John Wesley’s Holy Clubs
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10.When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I go to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not like other people?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
Anyway, in my studies I came across this list of questions that John Wesley used in his "small groups". Wesley formed folks into groups for accountability and further bible study. Sounds familiar doesn't it? He believed that the real spiritual work happened in these "societies" and I think he is right. Anyone can have an epiphany as part of an emotional worship service. The question is can you keep that feeling and have it inform your everyday life? Now that is more difficult.
I'm not going to lie. These questions are hard hitting. But I really think they are helpful. What do you think?
The 22 Questions of John Wesley’s Holy Clubs
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10.When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I go to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not like other people?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
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