Swirling Nuggets of Wisdom

          On my last trip to Chuck E Cheese I had the honor of accompanying my newly turned six year old into the ticket blaster machine. After putting on safety glasses, my son and I stepped into this capsule. In a matter of one minute we were bombarded with flying tickets swirling around us and had to grab as many as we could as onlookers stopped to watch this frantic scenario. It was stressful to have so many valuable tickets coming at me and helplessly trying to capture as many as possible. 

          The Festival of Homiletics is like trying to grab as many valuable nuggets as possible swirling around me in a finite amount of time. It's both rewarding and stressful to try to capture all these pieces of wisdom, truth, and advice for the preaching moment. And then there is the challenge of sharing these various nuggets with those who have not had this experience. 

          Tuesday was a twelve hour day of lectures and worship, each one teaching and enriching my personal, pastoral, and preaching life. What a rich and overwhelming diet to feast upon! Here are some nuggets I was able to catch as they were swirling by:

          We feasted upon the first miracle of Jesus at Cana and how even God needed a mom to encourage him at age 30 to fulfill his purpose in this world. Preachers are like parents, offering courage and hope to a congregation hesitant to fulfill their purpose in the world. Mothers and preachers know what their children and congregation are capable of and so nudge and push them saying, "You can do this!" We remind them who God calls them to be and give them the support and courage to be it. 

          Your people will make you into the pastor they need you to be. 

          We preach from our scars but not our wounds.

          Before we can know the Good News about a text, we need to be clear what the bad news is, what is the text convicting me of. Dig deep and be vulnerable and honest. 

          In prophetic preaching, we must first expose and then envision. Exposing without envisioning leaves us in despair. Envisioning without exposing leaves us with no motivation to change. For example, we must first expose our racist society before we can envision the sacred work of reconciliation we are called to do as God's people.

          At some point the community context cries out to be addressed from the pulpit. We cannot ignore the world around us. We cannot ignore the evil in the world. Preaching must address pertinent issues like racism in the face of Ferguson, New York, and Baltimore.

          We were told through Nehemiah 8:1-12 to Lawyer up when we approach the pulpit. Scripture gets people upset and the temptation is to soften it. But if we are not getting run out of town then we probably aren't preaching Jesus. God's Word puts us all on trial. Preach God's uncomfortable Word, not what people want to hear.

          And in the evening, just to put our ego in check, we heard, "Consider your call. Not many of you are wise or powerful or of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish to shame the wise. God chose what is low and despised, so that no one might boast. God chose you."

          My husband told me to enjoy my vacation this week. After a long twelve hour day and 7 1/2 pages of single spaced notes, it is anything but a vacation. Rather it's an intense learning, growing, challenging, nourishing experience to mold me into a more faithful messenger of God's Word. Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.  

But What If...

     1800 people are gathering in Denver, Colorado for the Festival of Homiletics, a preaching conference for pastor geeks like me. At the opening worship service, I was introduced to a Lutheran, blue grass, 19 page bulletin liturgical style of worship. With clergy collars, banjo, gluten free crackers, and standing up/sitting down more times than a fitness class, pastors (among others) gathered to praise God together. 

The opening worship service was head lined by Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, a local celebrity known for her tattoos, tell-it-like-it-is preaching style, and New York Times best selling memoir. Even in a ten minute sermon, she did not disappoint. Using the Mark 9:30-37 passage about welcoming children, she put the passage in context by reminding us the role of children in that day. And let's just say it had nothing to do with Norman Rockwell and Ann Geddes. Children were seen as replacement adults: dirty, inconvenient, unwanted, snot nosed, not potty trained, and treated more like mongrel dogs. The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest, "like a bunch of insecure junior high boys talking smack." Jesus responds to these petty arguments by taking this dirty, messy, unwanted child and telling them they need to welcome this child as they welcome Jesus.

Bolz-Weber continued, "This could have been a lesson on radical hospitality, whatever the hell that means." But upon reflecting that a bunch of tired stressed preachers who have travelled all day were the ones listening, the message that Jesus was giving us one more thing to do just didn't seem right. But what if... What if instead of seeing ourselves as the disciples, we saw ourselves as the child: feeling misunderstood, unwanted, messy, inadequate. What if we are the dirty ones that never feel good enough.  What if the disciples were not only given the message to welcome the child, but to see themselves as a child welcomed by God. What if we as pastors saw ourselves the same way.

Pastors too feel small, scared, with no ability to make themselves worthy, like the children of Jesus' day. But what if...God welcomes that part of us just as much as the competent, faithful part of ourselves. What if we didn't have to hide our pettiness, our insecurities, our short comings, our messiness, because we knew we were accepted, welcomed, and loved by a God who enfolds that which is filthy and helpless into God's forgiveness and grace.

Then pastors could be honest and vulnerable, standing among the congregation instead of above them. Then preaching could be just as much Good News to the preacher as the congregation. Then we might step out from the curtain of competence that hides our insecurities. Then we might really experience words like grace, unconditional love, surrender.

What if we were all just dirty, unwanted, messy, inadequate children. And what if God welcomes and loves us anyway. 

Taking a Deep Breath

     As a child, I loved swimming in my friend's pool. We would often race each other the length of the pool under water. After I had gone about half way, I would have to come up for air. I quickly exhaled and then took the deepest breath I could before becoming submerged once again to finish the race. That's what these next four hours are: a deep breath before I go under water once again.

     After being submerged in the waters of moving to Virginia Beach, learning new routines, getting to know a new congregation, having half our stuff still packed and sitting in the rental garage, searching for a house to buy, trying to sell the Charlotte house, a small flood in the rental house, celebrating three birthdays, hosting my entire family during Holy Week, and two trips back to Charlotte, it's time to come up for a deep breath.  A time to relax even if I am on a full flight on the way to Denver to attend the national preaching conference, Festival of Homiletics. Since I'm too cheap to pay for wi-fi, I find myself in an odd predicament. I can't multi-task. I can hardly single task. Trapped in a small seat for several hours, I am forced to "Be still and know that God is God." God has me where God wants me.

     Deep breath. Ruach means breath. It also means spirit. As I take a deep breath, I also breathe in the Spirit. I need a mini-Pentecost. A fresh experience of the Holy Spirit. Life has become too hectic and I sometimes lose perspective. I lose my temper with the kids (and my husband) too quickly. I get too overwhelmed with fixing up the new house so we can move in Memorial Day weekend. I feel like I'm behind the curve with so much more to learn at the new church. I lose my sense of peace. Ironically I also just started teaching a class based on Marjorie Thompson's book Soul Feast, all about the spiritual disciplines. Not a coincidence that I'm teaching this book when I myself need to focus on the spiritual disciplines more than ever before. Not a coincidence. Rather a God incident. 

     Deep breath. In the class last week, we talk about breath prayers, a one sentence prayer that is thought of or whispered while breathing in and out. Two people had brought up my favorite scripture for breath prayer before I had the chance to introduce it. "Be still and know that I am God." With every breath I take off one word from the end of the sentence. "Be still and know that I am. Be still and know that I. Be still and know that. Be still and know. Be still and. Be still. Be." By the time I get to "Be" God has stilled my swirling thoughts and frantic lifestyle. I am centered once again.

     Deep breath. Pentecost is coming, in the church calendar year, in our denomination, in our churches, in our lives. Breathe in the Spirit. Allow it to still you or to energize you. Let the Spirit move with the the oxygen into your blood stream and become a part of you. Feel the presence of God and center yourself on the Source of your being. I need that. I forget how much I need that until moments like these when God traps me and stills me and speaks to me.

     Deep breath. As I soar 30,000 feet over the earth, the view above the clouds is serene. It gives me a completely different perspective as the problems of the earth seem so small above the clouds. This week will give me a different perspective also. This wonderful week will bring inspiration, challenge, and growth as I sit at the feet of some of the great preachers of our time. A time to renew and recharge, like my cell phone currently plugged into the charger between the plane seats. I look forward to sharing whatever God whispers in my ear this week. In the meantime...deep...breath.

A New Day Begins

This picture is one of the many I captured in the early dawn over Virginia Beach. I love sunrises. The beginning of a brand new day: a new day full of possibilities, unexpected blessings, and opportunities to be God's hands and feet in this world. As I paused to witness the beautiful way in which God ushers in another day, I couldn't help but think of the new day dawning in my life. As the sun sets on my service at Mulberry Presbyterian Church, another day dawns as I joyfully accept the call to be the pastor at Kings Grant Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Yes, after months of interviews, long nights and and early mornings of prayer, reading MIFs and websites and statistics until my eyes got blurry, God has fully convinced me that I am being sent to serve the people at Kings Grant. It was a long journey, full of unexpected twists and turns. I mean, since when does a 2012 car break down one block away from the hotel after a 6 hour drive? How often does a two year old car have the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears stripped from the transmission? Well that incident meant that we had to drive a rental car for two weeks and then return to Virginia Beach to retrieve our newly fixed car. That return trip, although only 24 hours, was my spiritual discernment retreat that helped lead me to the conclusion God wanted me to start a new chapter of ministry in Virginia Beach.

Of course I'm not going to Kings Grant just because my car broke down there while I was visiting. I'm going because of a search committee that was convinced long before I was that after 403 PIFs I was the one for them. I'm going because God spoke to me through Frederick Buechner who wrote, "The place God calls you to be is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." I can imagine no deeper gladness than being the next pastor at Kings Grant. I'm going because when God wakes me up between 2:00-4:00 a.m. EVERY morning for 15 days straight thinking about this church, God must be trying to tell me something. I'm going because after trying to convince the search committee I was not the right one, after trying to see myself in other churches, after surrendering this call to God and willing to say no, I couldn't NOT accept this call (sorry for the double negative). I'm going because if the search committee is crazy enough to do their presentation to the congregation in bare feet to honor my preaching style, they must be kindred spirits (either that or as strange as I am). I'm going to this church because they are exactly what I need, and I am exactly what they need, and by God's grace we have been brought together for such a time as this. (And did I mention they are about 10 miles from the beach?) See who they are for yourself at www.kgpc.org.

So starting January 1st, I will be the next pastor at Kings Grant. The moving van comes December 26. December 27 I'll be residing at 604 Sandy Springs Lane  Virginia Beach, VA 23452. January 11 I will preach my first sermon in what I know will be a long and fruitful ministry among a wonderful part of the Body of Christ. February 8 I will be officially installed by the Presbytery. 

A new day brings new possibilities, high hopes, expectations, and excitement. January 1 the sun rises in my life and at Kings Grant. And it's a beautiful thing! 

Don't Do Mission!

Yes, you read it right. Don't do mission. In fact, that might be one of the pitfalls of church today. We do mission like it's something on our check list. We form a mission committee. We have a mission opportunity. We DO mission work. Our mission work.

What's wrong with that? Well first of all it's not primarily our mission. It's God's mission through us. That is a profound shift. Instead of saying, "One of our missions is to volunteer at the soup kitchen once a month" we should be saying, "Because God's mission is to feed the hungry, we volunteer at the soup kitchen." See the difference? Our mission programs begin with God and God's mission in this world.

So what is God's mission? "For God so loved the world, that he sent his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life. For God sent his son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him." God's mission is love and salvation. That's why Jesus came. How did Jesus manifest that love and salvation while he lived? Jesus' mission was proclaimed by him in the temple through the prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." That's God's mission: love and salvation. That's Jesus mission: good news, release, recovery, freedom, proclamation.

Thankfully God's mission has a church. Not God's church has a mission, but God's mission has a church. If the core of who the church is, who we are as Christ followers, is not God's mission, then we've missed the boat. Mission isn't a program, a component of the church's ministry. Mission is who we are, what we are about, how we live. It changes us and transforms us and equips us to do God's mission in this world.

Therefore, mission is a lifestyle to be learned before it is a program to be run. It is a lifestyle of sacrifice and service when we're driving, at the grocery store, at work, doing housework. It is a lifestyle of having "people eyes" as we notice and engage the lives of people around us. It is a lifestyle of being an "ambassador of blessing" finding ways in our everyday lives to bless those around us. It is a lifestyle of love and sharing God's salvation in word and deed with others.

So mission work can be done while we are at the bank and offer to pray for the bank teller who just got a divorce. Mission work can be done when we order food at a restaurant and listen to the waitress talk about how hard it is to make ends meet, then leaving a substantial tip for her. Mission work can be done in a thousand different ways everyday by caring about and being a blessing to those around us.

Let's stop thinking about mission as a component of "church life" and see it as the core of who we are every minute of every day. That's missional living. Seeking to be a blessing to everyone we meet. When mission starts to transform us and makes a profound difference in our lives, then God's mission to transform the world will be done through us. Don't DO mission. BE God's mission every minute of every day.

The Beginning of an End

It was with a heavy heart that Session and I broke the news to the congregation that my last worship service here at Mulberry will be our Christmas Eve Services. It's been a strenuous past few months as we have considered this possibility, hoping to find a way to stay but knowing that God has different plans. Fortunately, by moving to part time status and ending the full time installed position, the congregation is freed to create a search committee and begin their search for a part time pastor immediately. By moving to part time status the financial situation of the church becomes strengthened. By moving to part time status, it also makes the inevitability of leaving that much more real.

For 6 1/2 years I have loved serving this church. With all the ups and downs we've had, it is full of good people with faithful hearts doing their best to follow God's will. It is also hard to leave a situation where so much fruit is evident from these years of mission focus: new members, new visitors, new staff, new intern, new outreach programs, etc.

But like Paul says in I Corinthians 3:6-7, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." I have planted the seeds God has given me. Apollos will come along in January and water the efforts that have been invested. But neither of us deserve any credit, because only God will give growth to those seeds.

These next three months will be one of preparing for a transition, for all of us. I prepare as I pack a house but don't where yet where I will be going. They prepare as they interview and search for a new pastor. Neither of us know quite what to expect or what will happen. It's the beginning of an end, and yet another beginning for all of us is just around the corner. To God be the glory!

Would You Be a Christian if There Were No Afterlife?

It's a strange question, I know. For some it may be offensive. Others may find it simply ridiculous and dismiss the question altogether. But I have found this to be an enlightening spiritual exercise: Would I be a Christian if there were no afterlife? If there were no heaven to strive for or hell to fear?

First of all, let me clarify I do believe in an afterlife and that Jesus paved the way for humanity to experience eternal life. But does Christianity, does Jesus himself, have anything else to offer than just a golden ticket through the pearly gates?

Twice now this issue has been brought to my attention in one capacity or another. The 14 year old young man I am co-preaching with this Sunday has chosen the topic of Salvation. He has experienced a Christian school setting that preached fear of hell and he has other thoughts on reasons to turn to Jesus and live accordingly. Others have asked me if I "believe in a literal heaven or hell"? Many Christians have used heaven and hell as motivation for accepting Jesus as their personal Savior, and preaching that to others.

But what if? What if there were no heaven or hell? Would there still be a reason to be Christian? Would Christians still evangelize and share the good news of Jesus with others? How would they share that good news if there was no fear of hell or reward of heaven?

An unhealthy focus on heaven and hell blinds us to so many other motivations to give our lives to Christ. Here are just a few that come to mind:

1. Gratitude: When we realize that God became a human being, lived an exemplary life in relation with God's triune self, died to forgive our sins, and rose again to prove to humanity it was all true, we respond out of gratitude. We respond in loving God because we have first experienced that love in Jesus. We choose to follow Jesus and live a counter cultural life because we are thankful, appreciative of all God has done for us. We follow Jesus not out of fear of hell, but out of gratitude for the love and forgiveness that's been shown to us.
2. Experiencing Unconditional Love and Forgiveness: Who else can forgive our sins: the mistakes, the failures, the bad decisions? Who else can truly give us unconditional love? We cannot find those two things on this earth. Forgiveness frees us from a past we cannot change. Unconditional love means we don't have to earn, or be worthy, or perform in order to experience acceptance. The only way to experience unconditional love and forgiveness is its purest form is through God in Jesus Christ.
3. A Peace (and Joy) that Passes Understanding: Giving our lives to Christ means we experience a peace that passes understanding and a joy that defies logic. I am reminded of one Christian man who walked into an Arby's and the cashier said, "Why are you so happy?" Believing in Christ means that we can have a peace even in turbulent times, a joy in the midst of difficulties. Our peace and joy do not come from a bank account balance or the stock market or the amount of electronics we have or a prestigious job or our paycheck or house or car or relationships or...you get the picture. It comes from being in relationship with a God who knows us, loves us, and wants to give us abundant life here and now.
4. A Meaningful and Purpose filled Life: When you give your life to Christ, your life suddenly has new meaning. We live counter culturally instead of simply for our own benefit and welfare. We give and help and love those in need, even when we can hardly afford to. We may put ourselves in harm's way to save another life. We may be content with a lower paying job because it gives us time to volunteer more at church or be home more with our families. We are freed from the rat race and the "me mentality" so apparent in our culture.

Granted, not all Christians live this way all the time, myself included. But these are also compelling reasons to follow Jesus. It shouldn't be about fear. We are afraid of what will happen if we don't follow Jesus. Becoming Christian should be more about love, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, joy, meaning, and purpose.

When we give our lives and hearts to Jesus, we begin a process of living a transformed, counter cultural, sacrificial, loving-beyond-our-means kind of life. There is a peace and joy this world cannot take away. Our lives have purpose and meaning we did not have before. We are filled with love, knowing that we are loved and sharing that love with all we meet. Overall, we experience a difference here and now in our lives, not just in the "sweet bye and bye." And we give thanks and praise to the One who gave his life for us that we might have abundant life on earth in the present as well as the future.

Yes, there are many reasons to follow Jesus. I have found the most compelling to be more about how it changes my life today, how it makes a difference in who I am now, how I am encouraged to lead a transformed life on this earth. True, I believe I "may not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) But for me, that's just icing on the cake.