Disconnect?

Here are a couple of posts by two Methodist bloggers that I read regularly.  Even though they are talking about different topics, if you look more closely, they are both talking about the same thing.

The Mediocre Commission from Dan Dick's Unitedmethodeviations blog

English Major Reads the Mission from John Meunier's An Arrow Through the Air blog

I'm looking at these posts after having read about Hezekiah in Second Chronicles chapters 29-32.  What struck me most as I read this section was what a dynamic leader King Hezekiah was in his time!  He focused on one thing only-as the leader he wanted Israel to get right with God again.  He cleaned up the temple, he cleaned up the town, he got rid of the things that had taken them away from God so they could focus on worshiping THE GOD once again.  Not only was there action regarding what he said, there was commitment.  The people clearly understood what was being asked of them and how to go about "fixing" the problem.  They cleaned up their act!  And they did so, without hesitation.  

Hang on to this thought as I jump over to Hebrews 3:7-8 (NRSV)

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness..."

Here's what the footnote says on verse 7 in the Wesley Study Bible:

"The emphasis on 'today' throughout this passage strikes a note of urgency.  Responding to the word we hear from God is the first priority for each day, not to be put off until another day."

Again, there is an emphasis on action and commitment.  

So, where is the disconnect today?  Where are the dynamic leaders clearly putting out a message of what needs to be done?  That, in a round about way, is the message I get from both Dan and John's blog posts (although they might disagree with my interpretation and conclusions).  This is not something that is happening just in the United Methodist church, this is happening in denominations across the country and around the world.  Not all!  But enough to raise the eyebrows.

It's not just leadership that is the issue though.  Let's go back to Hezekiah.  He cleaned out the temple and the towns-he got rid of the "sacred cows", to use a turn of phrase.  What would have happened if the people resented the fact that he removed the "pagan rubbish"?  What if they couldn't let go of that Asherah pole  because it had been standing for 100 years?  It was part of their "cultural heritage".    There are two sides to this coin-ineffective leadership on the one side, members who just won't let go of certain things on the other.

How do we overcome the disconnect?  One suggestion I have, is look at what Church of the Resurrection does, not because everyone should be like them, but because they have a very clearly planned path of Discipleship training (and it's not a 36 week course).  When someone asks them the question "what do I do next" they are able to answer that question because they have a course path already planned out.  It's clear, it's concise and it's ongoing.  The goal is to deepen their knowledge, their faith and their commitment (or as they describe it:  Head-Heart-Hands).  If members have a deeper spiritual walk, perhaps they will not feel the need to hang on to something that just doesn't work any longer.  It probably is not the only solution out there but I do think it is worth considering.  So that addresses one side of the coin, but how about the other side, the leadership side?

 Where, oh where, are the dynamic leaders who can guide a congregation to make needed change without inciting a riot?  Is that expectation of a leader to high a standard to set?  Now I suppose we could just avoid that sort of confrontation by letting the established churches continue on doing their thing and, instead, start brand new congregations.  But here's the flaw with that plan-at some point the "new" church becomes an old established church and you have the same exact problems all over again!  So how do we train our leaders to walk that fine line?  I get the distinct impression that most ministers would welcome some training in this area.  A class that is part "cast a dynamic vision" and "how to handle the grief of letting things go" counseling for church members.

All I'm saying is, we might as well try to address the issues now because it sure beats going round the mulberry bush over and over again!  If we can help our ministers to become better at managing transitions then we spend less time in-fighting and more time focusing on the community around us.  And let me just say this, because I have experienced it first hand, change poorly executed causes A LOT of hurt feelings and heartache and the damage of the "ghosts of Christmas past" carry on long after you think it's all said and done!  There are members who may be able to forgive but I can tell you they don't forget!  Although, you may not have been the minister who instituted the change, you better believe that at some point, it will be brought out of the closet and you will be forced to deal with the aftermath.  It's not pretty and it surely is not a lot of fun!

gett'n to it!  It's time to reconnect!

An Interesting Footnote on Hebrews 2:14-15

Here's the note from the Wesleyan Study Bible-see what you think.  Agree or disagree?

"When people think that death is the final word, fear of death will keep them from fully obeying God and seeking God's justice.  Fear of death diverts their energies toward worldly achievement, amassing wealth, and seeking pleasurable distractions to 'make the most out of life' while they can.  Because Jesus faced death and emerged victorious from the grave, we can be freed from this fear for joyful, unrestrained, undistracted obedience."

Do people accumulate wealth and strive for recognition and acclaim because deep down they fear death?

Interesting question to ponder.

It's All About Caring Enough to Share

I have a good friend who has been going through a tough time.  He has been incredibly courageous confronting this hideous disease called Cancer.  My friend, over the years has given much to the community through his teaching and coaching and his example of just being an all around great guy!  His family is a treasured part of FUMC Washington's faith community!

So, some of our members decided it was time to do something to help.  We're hosting a dinner and asking for free-will donations.  It's time that we step up to not just help out with prayers and presence but to help out practically with finances.  Co-pays, medicine, transportation costs-that's not cheap!  There are some brilliant people planning and coordinating this event.  I'm not the brilliant one, all I did was post it to our church Face Book page and start sending out invites.

But wow!  What an impact already!  We have 122 followers on the First United Methodist Church, Washington, Missouri Face Book page.  I posted the event somewhere around 7:00 last night (so it hasn't even been a full 24 hours).  As of 9:40, we had 45 confirmed attendees, 24 "maybe" responses, and 34 "unable to attend" but here's the big whopper number-there are still 763 outstanding RSVP requests for a total of 866.  Two hours earlier, that total number was 662.  I did not send out all of those invites!  I don't think the other administrators on our Face book page sent out all of those invites.  This has happened because friends invited friends who invited friends.  One by one, "word of mouth", spread the word!  My oh my, how the word has spread!

I am so incredibly grateful and humbled by this small community who are coming out in droves to help!  They care enough to share in the "for better" and the "for worse" times in people's lives!  This is community.  This is Christian faith and fellowship at work.  This, my darling friends and readers, is what it's all about!

Here's what Paul said in Hebrews 13 (The Message Paraphrase):

"Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others."

I intend to be there on November 5th to do what I can to help.  If you happen to be in the Washington, Missouri area on that day come on by!  Care enough to share-that's what we do in our walk of faith!

It's nice to hang out with brilliant, caring people!

Skunked!

In the wee hours of Sunday morning life suddenly became exciting in "Trudy's world" for all the wrong reasons!  My husband decided to let our dogs out, sometime around 3ish, when the civilized world is fast asleep.  We have two younger "pups" (they are not quite two years old yet) and two older dogs.  The pups seem to be under the illusion that anything outside is a living chew toy, meant to be chased.  The skunk in the woods did not share their perspective and proceeded to make his objection known by a full on spray!  My husband, hearing the commotion and wanting to bring peace to the neighborhood, let them in the house!  And that is the point, that I woke up from my blissful slumber due to the most wretched, eye watering smell known to man!  Thanks to the dogs, my house was skunked!

We did manage to get them back outside but the damage was done-the house reeked!  So Sunday was spent washing-anything and everything, trying to get the smell out of the house.  When family and friends stopped by to visit, the first thing I asked was "how bad is the smell in the house?"  A lingering odor but by acting fast and going deep we managed to eradicate most of the unpleasantness!

As I was fighting what seemed like a losing battle, I thought about the section in Hebrews that I had read on Saturday.  In chapter 10 Paul is telling the Hebrews to hang on, to not quit, to stick it out.   The Message paraphrase says this:

"If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all we've been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment-and a mighty fierce judgment it will be!"

A little further on in the chapter:

"But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion." 

This got me thinking about the people who come in the front doors at our church and leave out the side door. Is it that they have given up on their faith, or have they just given up on the church?  I've talked to some of those people who went quietly out the side door over the years.  I've even been one of them, to be honest!  A lot of them left not because they lacked faith, they left because the church lacked depth.  I remember in particular, a conversation with a former member who ended up going to a different church down the road. He said to me "I love the people here but what I got was milk.  What I get at this other church is meat and I needed that!  There came a point in my spiritual walk when I needed more than just milk on Sunday morning."  I think on the times when I had to walk away from a church and those occasions had to do with the fact that I just got burned out.  I'm one of those "willing volunteers" that gets over volunteered and there doesn't seem to be any graceful way out!  So, rather than cause a conflict, I quietly exit out the side door.

We talk a lot about evangelism and outreach in general.  We want our members "going out in to the world".  I agree, that we need to be "out and about" more.  I do wonder though, are we equipping our members to do that?  Are we giving them the depth of teaching that they can go out confidently?  Are we also giving our members who do volunteer and do go out, an opportunity to take a break when they need to?  Do we recognize what our members already do as far as volunteering in ways that may not be connected to the church?

Tough questions!  No easy answers for me at least!  One thing that I do see though is that there seems to be, in some circles, a desire to look at each thing as a separate entity and I am not convinced that is such a wise thing.  Let's take evangelism for example, if we don't teach members well about what we believe, why we believe it and why it is important (in other words, give them some depth) then how will they respond if they are challenged when they try to share their faith?  If you feel like you're going to lose in the first place, then why would you battle through the frustration and exhaustion in order to win the battle?  The average member in our church will not be standing out in front of a crowd talking about their faith walk, they will be doing it one on one.  So, knowing that this will be the "style" of evangelism that the majority will be doing, isn't it worth looking at the depth of teaching that we have in our own church to empower them to share confidently?  To me, this is not an "either/or", this is a "both/and" situation.

This has been percolating in me for awhile but it really came to the forefront for me after attending the Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection.  I don't think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill on this idea.  I don't think I'm barking up the wrong tree.  The Methodist tradition and Wesleyan heritage has depth.  We just need to work on how we teach that depth to our members.  Without depth, our members do not have the tools to evangelize or to hang in there for the long haul.    

The pups had never run in to a skunk before.  The older wiser dogs knew to stay clear.  The younger two got sprayed and then came into the house where they "shared the love".  Hopefully the pups learned their lesson and will steer clear of skunks in the future!  I worked hard to get the smell out of the house and by the time I was done, I was exhausted.  But I knew if I acted quickly and stuck with it, eventually I would gain some ground.  And when all was said and done, I could take a break and recharge my batteries.  Asking our new members to go out and evangelize is like sending the pups out to face a skunk.  Without some depth of experience, they could end up getting painfully sprayed.  And when they do get sprayed they run for home.  If we do not have experienced leaders there to help clean them up, then the smell will stay.  And the leaders-they need time to recharge their batteries as well.  Whether it is a minister or a volunteer, they may have the experience but they can get burned out if they are expected to do the work all of the time.  Balance is the key.    Looking at one area specifically is not a bad thing in and of itself.  But when we isolate from the "both/and" realm of experience and depth than we are short changing our ability to address the problem.  We need to reach out, we need to evangelize but in order to be effective we also have to recognize the need for teaching.  Depth and experience and time for rest, need to be part of the equation as well!

And I am positive that "both/and" sure beats getting skunked!  I speak from the voice of experience on that one!

Penance, Prayer and Depth

Penance is a really old fashion word that we historically associate with punishment, and that understanding is reinforced by the dictionary definition of the word.  I'd like to draw your attention to a few of the descriptive words in the definition:  "sincerely repent, confess and perform acts required".  I really got to thinking about this word as I read through chapter 5 in John Ardt's True Christianity (just a quick note if you decide to follow the link and read this yourself-it looks like it is all one big document but it does break down by chapter, you just have to look for the start of a new chapter in the body of the text).  Back to the topic at hand!  John Ardt made this statement:

 "For true conversion does not consist in putting away great and outward sins only, but in descending deeply into your own self, searching into the inmost recesses of the heart, the secrets and closets, all the windings and turnings thereof; changing and renewing them throughout, with the grace, that is given you..."

For an individual to really embrace the gift of grace, they need to understand that they have a need for forgiveness in the first place.  That's why we see Peter in Acts chapter 2 of The Message paraphrase saying:

"Change your life.  Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven." 

 Many did repent and were baptized.  Yet, we find Paul talking in chapter 5 of Hebrews about the fact that those who should be eating "solid food" are still drinking "baby's milk."  They understood on the surface, but they had not gone into the depth that John Ardt talked about.

We have the same problem in the modern church!  Think about it-why make the effort to go to church, or to fellowship with other believers if it does not make a significant difference in your life?  Depth matters!  I was reminded of this at a workshop that I participated in at the Church of the Resurrection's Leadership Institute.  Rev. Constance Cherry led the workshop and it's focus was on prayer-specifically corporate prayer.

Rev. Cherry asked a question that we should all ask and seriously consider: "if the people in this congregation only had me to teach them to pray, what would their concept of God be like?"  As leaders, we need to remember the importance of teaching others how to pray.  Corporate prayer is a conversation between God and people and what we say, the words we use, should reflect that understanding.  And true conversation not only involves speaking, but it also involves listening.  It involves acknowledging that God is present. Corporate prayer done well can be a model for individuals to use in their personal, private prayer time.  It can help us move towards a deeper relationship with God.

As I reflect on the information that I gleaned from this wonderful workshop I realize that prayer is one of the things I struggle with personally.   Particularly the quiet "listening" part and the admitting my shortcomings and mistakes and asking for forgiveness.  When was the last time that I sincerely repented, confessed and changed my ways?  It's not that I don't want to do these things, it's making the time to do them!  I long for that spiritual depth but I honestly didn't know where to begin!  I have the distinct impression that I am not the only one out there that struggles with the this issue!  The further down the road you go, the more you realize, the less you know!  Nothing like a little reminder that nails you squarely between the eyeballs!  (Yes, Virginia, God does have a sense of humor!  He puts up with me, that should be proof enough!  hee hee hee!)

So two lessons learned from this particular workshop.  One is that I need to work on my own prayer life and listen more and ask for forgiveness for my mistakes more often.  The second is that corporate prayer is important and I hope that my church will make this small change in our services to include more prayer time.  Modeling prayer in a corporate setting may be just the thing that an individual needs in order to make a significant change in their own life.  Isn't that what our faith walk is about?  Penance, prayer, grace and change.  Seeking depth rather than superficiality.  I pray that our faith community chooses to lead the way by example because it is a powerful and meaningful way-following in Jesus footsteps!

Time for me to go eat some more humble pie!