Being Present

Advent
Time for waiting and a time for being present. I took this picture yesterday at the Chuy's Parade. My youngest was on the GSD&M float with her buddy io and SuperPal Universe (a band - for those of you over the age of 18). She was so excited. So joyful. So present. I'm going to try to be just like my 7 year old during this Advent season.

Joyful, excited, present.

HOPE

"Hope arises out of the hard truth of how things are. Christians will always live carrying in one hand the promises of how it will be and in the other hand the hard reality of how it is. To deny either is to hold only half the truth of the gospel."
Craig Barnes

Every time I think about the reality of our President-Elect I get teary eyed. Whatever your political affiliation, its exciting/moving/mind-boggling that we Americans have lived up to the promise of America. That black children today will grow with the knowledge that they really can be President of the United States.

I'm studying Eschatology in school today. Eschatology generally means the study of end times. The essay I'm reading by Martha L Moore-Keish states well how I'm feeling about my faith and America today. "The eschatological character of the Christian faith means that we have hope in the power of God over all that would hurt or destroy. We have confidence in God's ultimate purposes and goals for the restoration of creation... Eschatology is not about idle speculation about who will be "left behind" at the rapture; it is about our hope in God. Furthermore, Christian eschatology affirms not only that we have hope that God will triumph over evil in some future time, but also that we participate already in that future."

I like that. We are participating in our future. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," said the prophet. His dream has in large part come true for America.


We are participating in our future. Amen.

My Christian History Class Rocks

Cathy Stone and I started seminary on September 2nd. It’s exhilarating to be back in the world of academia! It’s also nice to have my buddy Cathy with me for this journey.

It is completely different from my undergraduate experience. Seriously, the difference between 17 and 37 isn’t just 20 years. I am currently euphoric that my first paper in 15 years (for my worship class) received a B+. I was worried.
But what I’m really, super-duper loving, is my Christian History Class. I am without reservation turning into a serious history nerd. I’ve always heard about saints, but never really paid attention to them. I'm Methodist for heavens sake. I knew that Martin Luther King Jr. was named after Martin Luther, some Lutheran dude from way back, but I had no idea… the passion, the drama, the torture. Christian history is reshaping my understanding of all of our beliefs.

So here are a few tidbits from my class. I have to share them with someone. My 11 year old doesn’t want to hear about them anymore. Imagine that.

• Gnostics had some funky ideas. Creation is evil. Your body is bad. Not hard to see why this faction didn’t last.
• The Nicene Creed was written in 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine called a council to decide whether Jesus was God. They decided he was.
• In the 12th century there were wonderful communities of women called Beguines in France. Their neighbors loved them, the church did not. They wanted to worship God and live in community. Many were burned at the stake for that crazy idea.
• The Peasants Revolt (1524-1525) was spurred by Luther’s letter Appeal to the German Nobility (read it). 6000 peasants were killed and Luther was horrified. The serfs had the notion that serfdom was contrary to Christian freedom. The German elite thought otherwise.
• Menno Simons saved the Anabaptist movement from its revolutionary elements. He was spurred to leadership after his brother and many others were slaughtered at Munster for some admittedly bizarre beliefs. His followers are now the pacifist Mennonites.
• As far as I can tell, no Christian groups tolerated any other Christian groups. Really. I mean they tortured and killed other Christians (not to mention non-Christians) if they had any doctrinal differences. It’s really depressing.

So here is to being a Christian in the 21st century. We argue about all kinds of things, but generally speaking, in this country (I know there are exceptions), we don’t kill each other over them. Can I get an AMEN!

Don Snow Saint and Sinner

I miss Don Snow.

When you work in a church you meet all kinds of people who touch your life in different ways. Don was one of a kind.

He was a big man with a deep radio voice, and a fat Dalmatian named Lexie, that he brought with him everywhere. This immediately made me love Don, because I too have an unnatural love for dumb Dalmatians.

If you look around on this website you can find Don’s faith story. When I was working on the “Welcome Video” for the church Don volunteered to help me out. I was looking for members from all of the different worship services to say something short about their service. I had a script written. Don threw it away.

About that time, Young and I had the idea to run a series of Faith Stories of our members on the website. I asked Don if he was interested in us taping him. Don said no, he had preached his faith story at a service in the chapel a few years earlier. He told me that it was too painful to repeat, but that I could transcribe it if I wanted to. What you see under “Faith Stories” is what he wanted to say to welcome people. What you can’t see is that Lexie was there at his feet in the Sanctuary, sitting there quietly while we taped. And then I listened to Don's faith story.

Don’s story killed me.

I sat here in my office last summer listening, transfixed by his voice and his pain. I wish I’d been there that night in the chapel to hear it in person. Instead I transcribed it, stopping, sniffling, typing, repeating, typing some more, and crying quite a bit. My officemate, Tami, came in to make sure I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown. I tried hard to impart the rhythm of his story and his sincere love of this church family. It is not perfect, but when you read it, you get the sense of him.

Don understood that the church wasn’t for perfect people.

The church is a place to catch your breath, reassess, center yourself, and be with other imperfect people who are trying to turn to God just like you. Turning to God is easy during the good times, but hard, so hard during the bad. To quote Don, “At a time when I couldn’t talk to God in a rational, reasonable, even polite voice, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, God found a way to talk to me. God showed me the face of Christ in a whole lot of people. Many of them here at this church and it was a really good thing. It helped me survive and for that I am grateful.”

Don and I spoke quite a bit about how we missed some of the saints of this church who had passed on in recent years. It’s a strange thing to realize that he is one of those saints now.
That has got to have him laughing.

I miss you Don Snow.

WORSHIP +2

Here’s the thing. Methodist’s lose their pastors.
Once a pastor is ordained in the Methodist Church they are subject to itinerancy. This goes back to the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and it is not going to change anytime soon. Pastors are moved to where the District Superintendent thinks that they will do the best job, or where that pastor is needed the most.
This is good and bad.
Good because pastors are spread around and get to learn about the people from different parts of their district.
Good because all of the “superstar preachers” are not centered at one church.
Good because if you have a pastor that you aren’t thrilled with, don’t worry, that pastor will be moved eventually!
Bad because we feel a great sense of loss when our favorite preachers move on. This leads to all sorts of bad feelings about the church, when the truth of the matter is change is inevitable. Pastors will be moved and they know that.
Why am I telling you this?
Worship +2 can you help you! Worship +2 is our way of saying that we want you fully connected with this body of Christ. Yes, we want you in worship, but we also want you to meet other people in this church and feel connected to them. +2 is an encouragement to join a small group and a mission project.
Why?
Because if you are only connected with a worship service, or the preacher in that worship service, you are bound to suffer when that person leaves.
Small groups include Sunday school classes, book groups, Bible studies, choir, committees, whatever. They are a way to stay engaged with the people that make up this body. My Sunday school class, Genesis, has held me together more times than I can say. Through the good times and the bad those people have been there for me. And we were there for each other when one of our favorite associate pastors, Beverly Slusher, moved on to her own church some years ago.
Mission projects are the lifeblood of this church. They remind us that we must live out our faith through our treatment of “the least of these.” We have had people go to Russia, New Mexico, Kentucky and Mexico to extend our helping hands just this past year. We work extensively in the Austin community to feed and clothe those who have no place to go. We mentor children from disadvantaged households. We build and fix homes of the elderly and poor. Through this work our hearts are changed, and we in our middle class hearts learn that God is working to change us too, not just those whom we are helping. When you work on a project like some of these mentioned you build relationships with the people you are working with, and this too will help you connect with this body of Christ.
So here is my challenge to you: embrace Worship +2. Get involved with a class, and look for a mission that speaks to your heart. Your life, and the life of this church community will be enriched. And it might help you get through the sadness I see coming down the pike, when our beloved pastors retire.

Jim Wallis on Hope and Cynicism

Jim Wallis rocked the pulpit this week. His speech left me with much to ponder, but one of the last things he said struck me the hardest because of events at the church earlier in the week. Wallis asked us not to give in to cynicism. He said that hope is a choice. “Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, and watching the evidence change. Commitment makes you feel vulnerable, so cynicism is a buffer against commitment. It's a safe place. A sanctuary. Cynics are against the bad stuff. But they have given up hope, and decided to hunker down and protect their own security.”

A story from last Sunday: David Bonner is one of our three custodians. He is handsome, has a dry sense of humor, works very hard, and is a black man. He was out early last Sunday morning blowing the leaves off the steps of the church as we have done for the past 25 years. If you drive through downtown Austin on almost any day of the week, you will find all kinds of yard people blowing leaves into the street. Last Sunday, two police officers saw David with the blower, and started harassing him, asking if he was blowing litter into the gutters, and looking for corroboration from folks at the bus stop. They proceeded to start writing David a ticket for littering, and would have, had our Church Administrator, Jim Weaver, a white man, not stopped them. (In fact, he had quite a bit to say to the officers, who left sheepishly, according to those who witnessed this occurrence.)

When I heard this story, it was all I could do not to break down in
tears. I knew immediately in my heart, that had it been me out there blowing leaves, this would not have happened. David looked at me holding back my tears like I’d lost my mind. A black man in America knows that he is going to be harassed just because…

Now, I know that this is just a little thing, no one was killed or hurt, but it makes me so sad. If this small example of racism could happen in Austin, TX, in 2008, what else happens that I have no idea about? How difficult is it to be a person of color in America and not be cynical? How on earth can I make a difference?

Rev. Wallis says that we could be the people that make the evidence change. Change WILL happen if we have the commitment to make it happen. We, us, NOT any politician or political party.

I don’t have a big answer. But I have hope. I have hope in my children. I have hope in you. I have hope that one day none of us are going to have to step in and speak up on behalf of David just because…

This is my choice. I won’t be cynical. But it still makes me sad.

Back to UnChristian

The full title of this book is "UnChristian - What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why it Matters". Authors, David Kinnamon and Gabe Lyons, took three years to research the book through interviews and surveys. Their conclusions are fascinating, sad, and rather eye opening. If we think of our Christian faith as being about love and redemption, we have done a mighty bad job of communicating that to the young people in America. This research was conducted with, what the authors term the “Mosaic” generation (born between 1982 and 2002) and the “Buster” generation (born between 1965 and 1983), and for the future of the Christian church it is essential that we not ignore what they have to say about us. There are six general themes that the book addresses. Young adults perceive modern American Christianity as being: hypocritical, too focused on getting converts, anti-homosexual, sheltered, too political and judgmental. Not at all how I see myself! But let’s go down the list one at a time, and see if we can look at ourselves though the eyes of an outsider.

Theme #1 “Hypocritical”- This one is easy. The definition of Hypocrisy is “The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness”. However, “Mosaics and Busters” are not interested in the Websters definition. Hypocritical means to say one thing and to do another, as far as they are concerned.

Well, shoot, they have us there.

The commandments that Jesus asked us to follow above all others are “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (NAS, Mark 12:28-31).”

Virtually impossible!

We live in America where we love money and celebrity above everything else, with God as a possible close third. Love our neighbors? Does that mean Mexicans and Canadians? AND the person with the dirty RV parked on the street? Cause if it does, forget about it. We love our neighbors if they have a pretty garden and their dog doesn’t poop in our yard, and we don’t have to pay for their medical care.
I am going to have to meditate on the other chapters of this book on another day. I am too indicted by theme #1 to go any further today.

JUST SAY HELLO

I think it is hard to be a member of a church. So much is expected of us. I am reading a new book titled UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons that chronicles their research on attitudes towards Christians, and it isn’t pretty. Here is an excerpt from the website, "Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental,” young Americans share an impression of Christians that’s nothing short of . . . unChristian."

OUCH! I will share more with you as I get deeper into the book, but first let me make a simple suggestion. It might seem elementary, but it is one that can make a huge difference in someone’s impression of you as a Christian. The first step you can take to help change attitudes towards Christians is to just say hello. “Jen”, you say, “What are you talking about”?

I’m talking about looking around in worship and saying hello to the people sitting next to you. It’s that simple. "Jen", you say again, “I don’t know those people, or maybe they look familiar so I should know them but I can’t remember their names and I don’t want to embarrass myself”, or “Jen, give me a break, I’m shy and I don’t like to talk to other people”, or “Jen those folks look funky and not like people that I want to be hanging out with.” Excuses people. We cannot depend on the greeters and ushers to be the only members of this congregation who talk to guests. We should all be showing our Christian love by welcoming everyone who comes through our doors. I’m not asking you to hike around the sanctuary or chapel and greet everyone you meet. Just say hello to the folks next to you and see how their faces change. Notice how this simple greeting can make folks feel more at home and welcome.
Let me also say that I know what it’s like to come to worship for just myself & my renewal. Sometimes you feel so broken that it is all you can do just to get to church. I understand that. I am not asking for much…..just say hello.

Rehearsing

When I was younger than I am today I was in a play with a guy who gave one of the best auditions ever. It was great. I had the lead role and was thrilled at the thought of working with this man. At the same time there was a woman that I read with who gave an amazingly bad audition. Really, I was embarrassed for her. But the director knew her and she ended up with the part. Go figure.
My favorite part of the entire process of putting on a play is the rehearsal period. Rehearsal is where you try different ideas out, act silly, overblown, take big chances, and act like a fool in the hope that you will - in this rehearsal process – find the place that your character needs to be. When your character is in the right place then the audience will be moved and you will have done your job. If you are working with good actors than you have faith that your fellow cast members will not judge you and will allow you to experiment to your hearts content. By the end of the rehearsal process you have (hopefully) winnowed down to the essence of who you want your character to be.
You can probably see where this is going. The woman I was so sure would be awful was wonderful. She tried something new everyday in rehearsal. She was way too big, and then had days when you could hardly hear her, but she was constantly working. She was an absolute joy to work with. When we finally opened the production she gave a beautifully nuanced performance that challenged the entire cast to be better every time they were on stage with her.
The guy, on the other hand, drove me absolutely insane. His performance on the last day of that show was the exact same as the day of his audition. He wasn’t interested in experimenting. He had his own ideas about who his character was and it wasn’t going to be changed by anything that any of the rest of us did. He had not grown one bit.
Isn’t this what life in the church is like?
Sometimes we are stuck in a rut and not ready for change. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what beautiful music we have heard during a service or the people we have spent time with during worship, we came into church with a hard heart and we are going to stay that way.
Other times we may not be at our personal best, but we come with an open heart and we hear the message that we needed to hear and we leave changed for the better.
Perhaps this church is our rehearsal process together.
We come to hear a message and hope to carry that message with us throughout our week. Sometimes we get it and sometimes we don’t. Either way we keep coming to this safe place where we are accepted even on our bad acting days. I am thankful to be in this rehearsal process with you.