koinonia 21c beach retreat conversations

Koinonia 21c
Beach retreat February 6-8, 2009.
Conversations (PLEASE READ AS A GROUP)

Spend some time together. Enjoy the gift of rest and friendship.
And be spiritually formed as followers of Jesus and lovers of GOD and one another. Spend some time thinking about these things. Because you are here. And this is a Sabbath time for holy conversations among friends. The following is a way for you to go. You may do this as a large group, in small groups, in your rooms with snacks at 2 am. You may do something else. Decide together. Everyone will retreat in their own way. There’s more here than you’ll need for the weekend. What you begin, we will continue…and so…
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of GOD.” Ephesians 3:14-19.

GOD
· Read Psalm 148.
In the BIBLE GOD is known for creating all things, choosing a people/tribe/nation (Abraham), delivering a people from slavery and political oppression (Moses), the torah (law), the prophets (interpreting the law through the spirit of divine grace, mercy, love), priests and kings. The biblical GOD is intimately involved in human community-from families to nations, the poor to the wealthy, the weak to the powerful. This GOD is before and beyond space and time, yet is available and somehow near. GOD’s transcendence inspires awe and worship. GOD’s proximity inspires devotion and desire to be where God is.
A. GOD creates with intention for humanity. What is it? How are we part of God’s ongoing creative work? What is your role in that creativity? What do you make? What would you like to see this community (koinonia 21c) create? Share an experience that you would describe as beautiful.

B. What enslaves you? Who are the slaves in our world? What does deliverance look like and how do we announce it?
C. There are over 600 laws in the Old testament. Jesus summed them all up with two. What were those two laws? How did Jesus enact those laws? How can we?
D. Prophets remind us that being religious is not enough. God wants our hearts to be changed. God desires mercy, not sacrifice. God calls us to justice, to set right what is wrong in human community. God wants us to be holy. What does it mean to be holy and be human? What is divine justice? Read Matthew 18:23-35 to hear a story from Jesus.





US
· Read Psalm 51.
a. Humans are screwed up. Genesis 3 describes the fall or the emergence of sin. Is sin an act of disobedience or an act of freedom? How might you describe sin?
Name a way in which you are vulnerable. Name a weakness. Name a failure. What is tragic about “the human story?” What, in history, must we not repeat? How have you/ we/ all of us contributed to the destruction of creation? What needs healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness in your world?

b. Humans are made in GOD’s image. What do you love about yourself? What is the most amazing thing about humans? What is the best thing humans have invented, done, thought up? What is divine about you and the person next to you? What is beautiful about people? What relationships do you cherish?

JESUS
· Read Mark 16:1-8.
Why did Jesus die? What did he teach? What was the coolest thing Jesus did? Why did he rise from the dead? Where is JESUS? How does Jesus feed us, save us, love us? What does it mean to be fully God and fully human? What does JESUS hope for this world? Baptism and the Lord’s supper are the places/experiences through which we get connected to Jesus and His way of love/life. How can bread and water become a way we share Jesus with others? .

CHURCH?
· Read John 17:20-26.
Koinonia 21c is a way we live Jesus’ prayer. What is difficult about unity? As a social networking community that may include people from various locations, backgrounds, and generations how do we embody unity? (In the NT, The Acts community did not become “Christian” until after they were scattered to various parts of the empire.) What does it mean for koinonia 21c to be church? If you could dream together: How might we become a living, active church? What might the local cluster groups be like? What might large group worship be like? Who is connecting? What is our mission as church? How can we be spiritually formed for this mission? Will regular clusters be the place for formation and mission?

NEXT?
As I said this is part of an ongoing conversation that happens on line, in congregations, at events, among friends over coffee or tea or pepsi or beer. And we are part of it. It is a larger movement in our culture and in the church that has emerged in recent years which is changing the way in which we understand and embody the message of Jesus. It is exciting, especially when conversations lead to generous service and inspiring worship.
May we be faithful, even as GOD is faithful to us in the Spirit of His Risen Son, Jesus the LORD of life. AMEN.

emerging vs. emergent

Click on the above title to read an excellent interview/article with Brian McLaren that comes from the emergingchurch.info website. Also a good resource for ongoing thought inspiration and conversation about where we are as church, where we're going, and what is emerging among us.
One thing is certain, when the culture shifts the church does too. Phyllis Tickle's book, "The Great Emergence", identifies the seismic cultural shift of our time and connects them to previous eras in history. Every half millenium there is such a shift and the result is a sifting of theology and ecclesiology to respond to the changes. The Great Reformation in the 16th century was the last of these shifts. And we are experiencing another one. Think of the difference: Printing press--computer. Mass mail---email. Neighborhood---internet. Television---YouTube. Telephone---Iphone. 90 years is rather short to experience the kind of incredible shift that we have in communication and community. Tickle expertly identifies the shift and begins to answer the question, so where are we now and where are we headed? Since this is the time in which we are sifting out these answers, we live in ambiguity and some tension between what was and what will be. Some us us on the emergent front are pressing for a new sense of center, authority, identity and praxis. McLaren seems to point toward clarity. So, read the article and the book. And ask yourself, "Where are we as a church? Are we able to engage and address the situation we are in or are we still disassociated from the context that surrounds us Where am I in the midst of that question? What are we coming to believe about the church, Jesus, GOD, the world, religion, politics, money, etc..."

task force or forced into another task...?

I met a dozen people today. A few clergy people. And several priests or ministers who live out their vocations in non-ordained or non-rostered lives. We were brought together by a common passion for prison ministry to form a "prison ministry task force" for this synod. The initiator of the group is a woman who is passionately called to prison ministry, is seeking financial and institutional support to more fully engage in it as a newly ordained pastor. (I am suggesting that some of her motives are selfish ones, but her heart is planted in the liberating justice/mercy of GOD.) As for me and my prison visits, I can hardly call my weekly venture a passion. I am devoted to it. I enjoy going. I feel a sense of calling to it. But passionate? I'd rather not have a calling to go to prison every week to be honest. I'd rather not feel compassion for these guys and their families. I'd rather not feel compelled to go and tell them the good news. I'd like to be that guy I was last year. Dad. Husband. Pastor. Trying to survive parish ministry. Thinking about mission development, synodical transformation, etc...but not prison ministry. Missional, incarnational, cruciform ministry is harder to practice. And it is counter cultural and counter to the institutional church. I now spend more time engaging non-members than members. I wonder what the members think of this? Whose Pastor am I? I guess that is a question that needs to be asked by me, this congregation, the ELCA. The vocational ministry of the ordained clergy has been narrowly practiced. GK Chesterton said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." Is the pastor's ministry exclusively congregationalist? To preach and teach, to pray and serve the congregation to whom he is called? Or is the pastor the leader of a movement of spiritually formed missionaries sent to bear witness to the transforming grace of the gospel in the neighborhood/world? Is there a balance to strike? Is it possible to serve two masters---the ones who pay our salaries and the ones who don't? I lean toward the latter and seek not to strike a balance but to increasingly engage in gospel ministry outside of congregational life. To whom are we called and sent? I am not being questioned about my weekday ministry. And I am relatively transparent about it, too. I share on Sunday what God is doing Monday-Saturday. All this is to say that I have undregone a spiritual/vocational transformation in the past two years that has been profound, ground-shifting. And it is hard to embody this transformation weekly because I am being called to dark and complicated places where there is brokenness, pain, fear, grief, anxiety, shame, and a lack of spiritual maturity. I see two men every week and I should see at least two others. but I don't want to take on another two guys' stories and struggles and spiritual needs.
Because there is also more local family ministry calling me. I met two families this week. Both facing their own challenges. Economic, social, spiritual, relational. And I wondered in both circumstances, as I wonder when I go to prison. Am I what or who they need? What can I possibly offer them that will seriousl make a dent in their daily lives? I'm broken too. A "cracked eikon" to borrow Scot McKnight's language (in his book "Embracing Grace", cracked eikons refers to the broken state of sin and death we are in, even though we are icons of God, made in His image and called to reflect His grace and glory as children and heirs and followers of the Christ). So what can I bring them? I met Gary and Deanna and their three kids. I met Sierra and her three kids, too. I know that this is a privilege to be invited into their lives. Even when there are challenges, struggles, and truth to be told in love. Even when we can't solve the promblem ,can't erase the debt, fix the cracks, etc...Maybe all we do is trust GOD. Let the rest go. Hope for the Kingdom. Pray for peace and reconciliation. And stay out of the way. I am reminded of how little of the daily work of ministry is about me and my intellect or generosity of spirit. God does it all. We just showed up for it.

why i like mondays

I like Mondays. It's one of my favorite workdays anymore. On Sundays I share the gospel with people and I often wonder if what we heard and saw changed anyone. Not so on Mondays. Monday afternoons have become significant. I find that one of my favorite things to be is their guest. Not in a selfish sort of way, seeking the hospitaity and good graces of another, but in the sense that I like to be on other people's turf. I like to be in the unfamilarity of a new place that is not my own. Befriending prisoners was not part of my sense of call until last winter. They are why I like Mondays.
I have had the amazing opportunity for the past few months to visit with people in county prison. I see two guys every week now and will likely add another guy to my weekly visitations soon. I love going there and being their friend. It started when I started visiting a couple of folks connected to my congregation, but quickly evolved into a calling to go and share good news with strangers. Strangers who sometimes become friends. Like Dan. I found out yesterday that Dan's celly is the brother of another guy I had been visiting a few months ago. Small world. I guess I've visited 6 people in the past year. I tend to keep my circle small so I can devote attention to them over the course of their time inside. I have only been able to stay connected to two people after their release. But I expect that will change.
What is it like in there? I don't really know. But I know it's home for too many young men and women. The recidivism rate is like 50%---that's the percentage of incarcerated who return to prison with 3 years of release. Justice and mercy is an organization devoted to systemic reform. Visit their site to learn more. I also know that prison does not correct or reform, because most prisoners do not take advantage of the few opportunities offered to them. And the programs that are offered are just that; institutional programs. They are not transformational. So much of what our culture does with people is superficial and impersonal, programmatic and routine. Jesus' ministry building relationships by crossing boundaries. Going to the prisons. Jesus quoted Isaiah and said that he was proclaiming release to the captives. He also declared that visiting prisoners was tantamount to visiting the Christ.
When we visit, we talk about life inside and outside. We talk about next steps, fears and hopes. We have been been able to talk about Jesus, to pray together, to dream and hope together, to suffer together, to tell the truth to each other, and to sit in silence. I like to prescribe a spiritual practice for the guys. Read this psalm everyday. I had prescribed psalm 13 and the Sermon on the Mount for Justin. This week he shared how he was being shaped by those words. He shared the words of jesus thatstood out to him,moved him, struck him, challenged him. Few congregation members have shared such insight and excitement about Jesus'words. Perhaps they are too familiar.
When I leave now I have a little guilt. Being free is not something to take for granted, especially if you begin to identify with prisoners. Am I so different that they are? Why I am out here? The law is a tricky thing. We all break the law. We've simply weighted the law in such a way that certain breaches are penalized and others are not. Nevertheless I always look forward to Monday.

Carefully Taught

After the November election or maybe before it, someone in the black community said, “Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children could fly.” Tracing the election of the first biracial President to the civil rights movement. I don’t care what any of you think about the election results, the President-elect, or democratic politics. We must acknowledge as a people that the ability of a nation to elect a leader whose racial profile situates him within a community whose history includes slavery and oppressive poverty, segregation, and disenfranchisement is a revolutionary act. And an act that could not have been accomplished had it not been for the sacrifice of many leaders who demonstrated for Barack Obama and the black community that they are human, divinely made, and worthy of equality, respect, and the best of what this nation, this world, and our GOD have to offer. Demonstrated by Rosa Parks, by those in Alabama who participated in the bus boycott, by Dr. King and those who marched on Washington, by Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson and Hiram Revels the first African American US senator. How can we name all of those people, historical public figures and personal relationships who demonstrated for the world how to exercise compassionate justice toward all people. Being human is demonstrated to us, behaviors are learned and acquired through relationships with other humans. We are socially and relationally taught to behave in ways consistent with those around us. In the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, a musical about race relations, my favorite song is You’ve got to be carefully taught the lyrics are poignant for us today.
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

As for race, so with faith. Faith is demonstrated to us through the lives of faithful others. We come to know, see, hear, recognize GOD in the ordinariness of daily life only in so much as others have demonstrated their own belief and trust in that GOD’s presence. The story of the call of Samuel the prophet is a fine example of many call stores in the bible. Samuel did not know the LORD, did not hear God’s voice or see God’s glory before. He was an unconverted child of religion. He was being trained by a priest, Eli. And then the LORD spoke to Him. His ability to understand, recognize, and respond to GOD was contingent on Eli’s realization that God was speaking. Eli’s faith directed Samuel to listen. It makes one think, does God speak to us in ways that we are unable to hear because we have not paid attention to other faithful listeners who demonstrate for us how to hear GOD?
And then in the gospel, we hear the call of Philip to Nathaniel to come and see. IN John’s gospel Jesus’ divinity is demonstrated through signs or miracles and ultimately in His willingness to suffer and die for his disciples, for the world. Nathaniel is invited to come and see, but his ability to recognize in Jesus of Nazareth the very image of God is contingent on Jesus’ demonstration of his identity and on Philip’s capacity to share what He believes. Without Philip’s testimony, Nathaniel does not come, does not see, does not believe. Without Philip Nazareth remains the town out of which come uneducated bandits, prostitutes---salt of the earth, not light of the world. Our faith is contingent on the demonstration of others who in word and deed show us the way. Christ is indeed revealed to the world in the behaviors of the church, in our corporate witness, in our actions and speech. People learn about Jesus through our demonstration of the His way of life. We have to stop thinking about Christian education as something that you attend in Sunday school, a program of the church. Christian education is what we do that demonstrates to others that we are in relationship with the God who raised Jesus from the dead. We have to be careful about what we are teaching others in our silence toward injustice, in our own prejudices unresolved, in our unforgiving attitudes. Do our homes, our checkbooks, our relationships, our work and leisure lives reflect the gospel? Are we teaching others how to love God and the world, and our neigbors as ourselves? Are we grateful for having received it ourselves?
Who first demonstrated for you what it means to follow Jesus, to be a disciple, to live in the presence of God. Who carefully taught you how to love others, including people who are not like you? Who taught you how to give generously, how to care for creation, how to pray? Who taught you how to worship? Who taught you how to serve others? And who are you teaching? Who is your Samuel? Who is your Nathaniel? All of us have been Samuel and Nathaniel—coming to know and grow in faith toward this GOD who speaks and calls us and commands us and forgives us and leads us and suffers with us. All of us have been carefully taught. Some us are still learning. Some of us are also teaching. May you learn and teach the way of Jesus as if the world depended on it, because maybe it does. Amen.

Kingdom of GOD

It was inspiring, moving, and unprecedented in the course of human events. It would mean something, a promise fulfilled, a hope realized, a dream come true. To some, it was just another speech, another spiel, another stump. To others it was life-affirming, and life-changing. It was so compelling that people came. A few at first, then a lot. Millions over time. The first ones who caught the spirit of change and the winds of revolution were not the educated or intelligent, not the wealthy or the politically savvy, not the strategist or the leaders, not the innovators or the worldly. The first were everyday folk, hard workers, struggling to survive, a little angry at the way things were, a little helpless and hopeless in the face of systemic oppression. People ready for change.
The implications of the bold words he spoke would have resonated with the lowest of the low and the highest and mightiest. His words were politically charged, not just rhetoric to gain approval or attention or support. Real words with real weight. Words that could be and would be refuted and rejected by many, even as so many others believed in them, devoted themselves to them, saw them lived out and embodied in the man’s actions.
And it was the actions, as much as the words that truly inspired. He crossed boundaries, broke rules, rejected old divisions, animosities, and grudges. He refused to play by the cultural, social, ethnic rules. He invited local politicians and local law-breakers to one table. No party politics. He was neither conservative, nor liberal. He was not an elitist, but he could rival any educated teacher with an authoritative voice. He reached out to communities that had been written off, rejected, isolated, and devalued. He offered an alternative way, another system, a different take on the notion of progress and the project of civility. He was willing to sacrifice his own life so that others might be embraced by someone lovely and good. He came among his own and they rejected him.
When Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he announced that an eternal reality was being revealed and opened to the world. He announced that the rules and rulers of this world would no longer control and oppress the truth about life. He announced that the deceptions and false assumptions people had made about God, about the earth, about themselves, and others were being fully disclosed and uncovered. He announced that the world’s story was about to be retold from a new perspective. He announced an end to captivity, a deliverance, a renewal, a healing, an emergence of new life, a light in darkness, a way through suffering and death to a forever life and a more perfect home. He announced that the cosmic forces for evil were being crushed, bound, gagged, cut off at the knees, imprisoned, overcome. And they were being overcome by goodness and peace and mercy and compassion and grace and love and beauty and freedom. All powers we will possess as he does, when we are possessed by GOD’s Spirit and will.
The implications of this announcement often go unrecognized and undetected. Largely because we are dust, weak, children. And we are living in deceit, denial, and dehumanizing systems impoverished by the depths of human history. For 2,000 years people have been arguing and killing over the meaning of this phrase, kingdom of GOD. But he came with no military force, no economic stimulus package, no bailout monies, no debt free future solutions, no 50% off sales, no simple solution to lose weight in 30 days. He didn’t immediately put an end to all strife. He didn’t reduce carbon emissions or nuclear warheads. He didn’t slow the aging process or promise your best life now. He didn’t teach us how to make millions or how to win the praises of friend and enemy alike.
He taught us how to live and how to die. He gave us a way to follow and the necessary forgiveness and healing to keep on following in spite of the danger one will face when one tries. He taught us to turn the other cheek and to reject retribution and revenge as an option. He taught us to be content with what we are given and to give away what we have. He showed us that suffering and sorrow that come from entering the life of another human being and offering to serve is beautiful and worthy of praise. He gives us hope that dying, surrendering, freely offering yourself is to live a life that is redeemable and will be resurrected.
If you are impressed with the life you have made for yourself or you are content with the world as it is, if you believe that humanity is a flawed project at best and at worst just a cosmic accident with no better future. If you believe that the only end to come is death or annihilation of the species or the planet as a whole, then the message announced by and lived fully by Jesus is going to be a hard message to swallow.
But if you are ready for change, renewal, hope, a reevaluation of life’s meaning, and a way forward that will change everything on this planet from the way you shop to the way you relate to your neighbors then it is time to begin. Following this way has never been easy. It is demanding and requiring of you. Its symbol is a cross, after all. The hangman's noose. So let me announce this to you as plainly as I can: Repent, turn around, change your mind, reorient your life, for the Kingdom of GOD, God’s life and power and rule and hope and dream and will and way in this world is at hand, in front of your face, within you, around you, over you, and visibly here. If you are wondering wghere or how or when or why...why you, why now, why us, why, then...See Jesus for details. Amen.

Inauguration

It is a new beginning of sorts, a "new era of responsibility" is what he called it. As we turn another page in the annals of human history, this time a new volume begins. It signals the end of an age and the beginning of another. Indifference to or paralysis in the face of unjust and dehumanizing systems that subtly or overtly oppress and devalue others on the basis of human distinctions can no longer exist as the default position of Americans in the world.

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 we witnessed an historic and revolutionary act of redemption and transition in the global social-political arena. Barach Hussein Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He is the first African American President, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. He is the son of a Kenyan immigrant and a midwesterner. He was raised with his maternal grandparents and mother, in the absence of his father. he is extremely well-educated and a product of postmodernity. He is struggling to give up his blackberry. He is married to Michelle, also a successful lawyer. They lived in Chicago, where he sought to revitalize struggling communities. He was a state Senator and spent four years in the U.S. Senate. His intellect and capacity to understand complex issues of history, politics, economics, and human relationships makes him a highly capable leader. He is charismatic and bold. He inspires confidence and hope for a generation of people increasingly frustrated with modern institutions, special interest politics, and a consumption-driven economy that privileges the few. He will be paid $400,000 a year to lead our nation out of war, out of economic recession, out of a cultural poverty that lacks beauty and innovation, industry and compassion. We pay entertainers and athletes 100 times what he makes in a year. He was sworn in on Lincoln's inaugural bible.
148 years ago Lincoln, the proclaimer of emancipation, was sworn into the Presidency by the chief justice (Robert Taney) who wrote the decision in the Dred Scott case that stated: "States do not have the right to claim an individual’s property that was fairly theirs in another state. Property cannot cease to exist as a result of changing jurisdiction. The majority decision held that Africans residing in America, whether free or slave, could not become United States citizens and the plaintiff therefore lacked the capacity to file a lawsuit. Furthermore, the parts of the Missouri Compromise creating free territories were unconstitutional because Congress had no authority to abolish slavery in federal territories." ----ruling of the court in Dred Scott vs. Sanford, March 6, 1857. In 1865 and '68 the thirteenth and fourteenth amendmants would guarantee full rights and citizenship for people of African descent. 140 years after the fourteenth amendment is passed, Barack Obama swears to preserve and protect the very constitution that guarantees the equality and freedom essential to our national identity and to rehumanizing the other in our midst. We have lived in deep deception, blindness, and fear. The people who walked in darkness...After Tuesday, isolationism and terrorism--the two actions produced by absolute fear---cannot remain the default mechanism by which humans operate in the world. "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself," said F.D. Roosevelt. And what he meant holds true today more than ever before. Fear is a root cause of suffering. "Perfect love drives out fear," wrote John. To love the other is to engage them, to see them, to welcome them, to feed them, to offer gifts, to embrace as one embraces a friend. We are being called to corporately embrace people. Jesus called this neighbor love. To let love drive one's actions toward the other, rather than fear. Someone said that Obama's presidency means that people will be less afraid of a young black man walking down the street. After all, he could likely be a doctor or a lawyer or a president; as well as a criminal or a gang member. Our default assumptions about people are being reconstructed and this is God's doing in and through history. It shows us that God's work of redemption through history is characterized not by immediate, swift seismic displacement. But by the gently moving wind that moves through the ages. Redemption itself is timeless and eternal, transcending our own agendas and dreams. Dr. King had a dream. He expected it to be realized one day. And that dream is being realized in our lifetime; but there is more work to be done. The twin sister of racial inequality is economic injustice. So with race, now with poverty.

"Time moves on and redemption happens in history. Dry bones are re-assembled, held together by sinews and flesh. Dry bones in the psyche of young African-American males who lack a sense that there is a legitimate place for them at the table. A place where they can express their own voice with pride and dignity. Because Obama embodies this, a healing shift has happened in the African-American story–in the American story.

Time moves on and redemption happens in history. The redemption of past wrongs is a good thing. An African-American president is part of the healing of history. It is part of the healing no matter what your individual political perspective. It is part of the healing because it is flesh being put to dry bones. It is the inclusion of the other. It is the peaceful revolution of hope in which those who have been trampled on by history now come to the table of privilege."---Excerpted from Just an Apprentice; a blog by my friend and co-conspirator Brian Miller.

embracing grace

Scot McKnight is one of my favorite teacher/authors. We are going to explore his book "The Jesus Creed", paraclete press, 2001, for Lent in 2009. That book is about the Jewish Shema and Jesus' summation of the torah that includes the addition of "Love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus. McKnight fleshes out the way of Jesus as it pertains to this creed, which is how he understands the use of the Shema in Judaism and in Jesus' spirituality and teachings.
I am now reading McKnight's book "Embracing Grace:A Gospel for all of us" for the Sunday disciple group who asked to spend some time and energy talking about grace. he writes this by way of introduction, "This generation wants an authentic gospel, one that is both proclamation and performance, a gospel that deals with the world they live in: a world that is full of images of people dying and starving and being put to death by goons, a world where there is a profusion of tensions, a world where the Christian faith isn't the only faith in town, a world where one particular deonomination doesn't own the market on everything, a world where neighborhoods don't look like the one in the waltons .
A good question to ask is what sort of gospel story do we need, what sort of news is good news? What story is honest enough about who we are and brave enough about who we are not that it shocks our hearts and at the same time invites us into the truth about life, God, the world, everything? Is the story of Jesus that kind of a story? Does it shock and confront us, does it also welcome us? I think Scot McKnight is right that this generation is not satisfied with sentiments about life after death or with a gospel told from the perspective of the rich, the fortunate, the powerful, the secure. Joel Osteen's gospel just doesn't resonate with a world that is akin to suffering, injustice, abuse, and all manner of sin.
Grace is shocking too. Because it is given freely but comes with a great cost to the giver. Relationally, God's grace includes the betrayal, suffering, and death of Jesus-the anointed son. So, God is exceedingly generous. We are recipients. Hopefully grateful, willing, obedient, and honest recipients who may become an offering in response to such grace.

Kindergarten

So my oldest son will be five in March. He has been attending preschool at a local Lutheran church for two school years. That has been good for him, for my wife, and for our second son. He goes three mornings each week.
Last night my wife and I went to our school district's Kindergarten Expo! We learned everything there is to know about kindergarten. We are not unawares. My wife is an elementary school teacher on extended parenting leave. She does not have a permanent position with a district, but will eventually return to full-time teaching. We get it. We know the drill.
And yet, I was a little freaked out. Its hard to adapt to the idea that our firstborn is old enough already for school buses and math and recess and tests and homework and friends and desks and school supplies and peer pressure and science and reading and writing and teacher conferences and gym class...I may be ahead of myself a little, but h's going to be five. I remember five. not four so much,but five. I remember my bus driver for God's sake! And Paul and Amanda and Amy and sidewalk recess on wet spring days and chalk boards and erasers and standing agains the wall at lunch after being accused unjustly. And the Principal's office and the nurse's office and Mrs.Boyer-Yardley the art lady and Mrs. Franklin--my teacher. And If I can remember these things, then he will too someday. More than anything else, the idea that we are now making memories for him is significant. That's not to say that you get a free pass on bad behavior as a parent of kids below the age of 3 or 4. But now the stakes are higher.What will he remember about his childhood? About his school? His teachers? his friends? his first bus ride? Bullies? Math? Books? The reality that he is increasingly aware of his own past is an integral part of the human experience. isn't it? And we take it for granted. Our deep memory potential. And science tells us we only tap the surface of our mental recall capacity.
There have been stories on the news about people whose brains are wired to remember everyhing that ever happened in their lives. Dates, times, days, faces, names, hurts, etc...all available all the time.
I think forgetting is also a gift sometimes. Even as memory holds great power, for within it lies the possibility of real change. To remember may mean to repeat or to reject what was before. Just as to forget is to allow for the possibility of the same.
WhenJeremiah says that God promises to blot out our transgressions and remember our sins no more, this is no small thing. For God to promise to forget how we act is necessary, isn't it? Were it not so, God would be full of regret. Instead, God chooses not to look at the past but to see us in the present and to move us toward His future; a future I believe that holds more promise for us than does our human past of destruction, chaos, cruelty and the rest of the forgettable stuff of humanity's ugliness. God forgets and God forgives. A free gift for both God and us. Without these things we might all be stuck.
I know this: I will not forget the day Jonah gets on that bus. It will be a sad day and a happy one. And it will be an end and a beginning as so many changes are in life. Inherent in it is the gift of public education, the gift of friendships and community so often found there, and the gift of memories to be collected as part of the journey of life. I will remember and so will he.
Do you remember kindergarten?

emergence in our place

Some respected religious scholars are calling the current redefinition of church or ecclesial reformation 'emergence'. It is an opening up, an unfolding or arising of something new within the ancient form of Christian community. A reframing of the church's story that considers the deep rootedness of the kerygma, both in the 1st century church and in 1st century Judaism; as that kerygma addresses the situation we find ourselves in today. It is a recontextualization of the significant matters of our faith through engagement with 21st century postmodern culture. We seek to hear and live this good news, but through the framing narrative of postmodernity. Churches are still trying to embody a gospel for a situation that no longer exists. Its like we're still trying to feed people food high in saturated fats and cholesterol when we know the health risks inherent in such a diet.

As some of us in our synod begin to explore what it means to belong to church in the 21st century, we might seek some inspiration from the above web community. Emergent village has been at this for about a decade. Click on their link to "cohorts" to watch a youtube video about these local, missional/theological conversations being generated around the country by people who are seeking a deeper intentionality about their spiritual formation as people of GOD. I think we are leaning toward this new social, public spiritual conversation as we foster local cluster group formation among Lutheran Christians,our friends, and neighbors. If you are wondering how you might connect with others who are searching for a safe place to talk about God, Jesus, church, ministry and vocation in the world, faith and relationships, etc...then comment on this blog entry. We are trying to get people connected. There is a social networking component to this at a Facebook group called "koinonia 21c."
Church is becoming something other than it has been in the modern,Constantinian, institutional model. It is being redefined and reshaped. And it is sparking interest where interest in these things had lost momentum or priority. Church is shedding its buiding, budgets, and boards business model and realigning with a simpler way---a way characterized primarily by authentic relationships held together by the mystery/presence and story of Jesus the Christ, the Son of GOD.

Baptism of Our Lord

What is Baptism?
She was surprised at first. Almost next expecting what she had been expecting for months when it happened. Water broke! Time to go! Oh my God! grab the bags, wake him up, call someone. Call everyone. Check the...ouch, never mind. Get in the car. And it hits her, like that. As she dries off wet legs (yuck). She was born for this...to be a mom. It was a God-given gift and her calling in life and in less than 24 hours she wuold be living it for the rest of her life. And then another contraction hits.
It surpristed him at first, those words from the doctor. Cold words in the dim hallway outside the busy intensive care unit in the too familiar hospital. "Less than 24 hours now". With her. Afte r59 years in the same house, the same bed. And now it was coming to an end or changing. The first tear rolled down his cheek. It was cold. And then hey came out like an uncontrollable flood---weeping, sadness, pain in the gut, in the heart. And he sat on the floor clutching his 80 year old knees. He wasn't thinking any particular thought. Just her. Flashes of a life. Their wedding day, that trip to California, their first new Buick, the kids, the house, the grandkids, the cancer she beat, her smile, her voice, her hands. And the tears fell. He would live without her for the rest of his life.
It was no surprise and she shouted and laughed and jumped and kicked the couch and grabbed the dog and threw her wet coat on the kitchen floor. The rain had made the envelope damp and her hair dripped from the four minutes she stood holding it at the mailbox with the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Open it. Read it. YES! I'm in! Accepted. Med. School. In 2 months. As water droplets stained the letter that told her future, she sat on the floor and remembered her daddy said, "You can be whatever you want to be, baby, because we love you." She was 9 then. 15 years later , she was on her way to becoming a doctor. Call dad. Now. On this rainy summer night fter a long shift in the restaurant, she is wet and happy and ready to start the one thing she has always wanted to be---a healer of sick people.
As the sun emerged behind gray clouds, he sat alone on the one dry bench under the canopy of green and watched the cars splash through the flooded streets spraying water to his shoeless feet. Will he eat today? Sleep inside? See a friend? Wlll he survive? A storm had passsed but the one he livs in keeps raging in his head. Are the clouds ever going away? How did he let them gather over him, consume him, wash his life away? How did this happen? His disease, job loss, wife leaving, foreclosure. No job, no money, no car. Nothing. No one. Just himself. His better days now were either drunk or in jail. He walks, then. Crosses against the light, bare feet wading through four inches of runoff. he;d sat on the steps of that building before. Never daring to go up, open the door, go in. See. But somethign aboutt he sun peeking under the clouds said, "its time." As he took the first step up, the door opened. A young man sees him and smilies. They are both surprised for a few seconds. And then he says, "Hi I've seen you here before. Is your name Tom? I'm Peter. Come on in. Coffee's hot. Join us. Supper is in 20 minutes, if you like. Welcome to St. Paul's."
Baptism--it happens once and it happens over and over and over again. Moments when God comes ot us, calls to us, inspires us to our next best selves. Rescues us from our worst selves.
Baptism is not fire insurance or a guarantee. It is divine adoption and life vocation rolled into one. I was adopted at the age of two at Our Saviour Lutheran in Rockford, Illinois. And God has called me to this life ever since, the life of the Son, the life of Jesus. The one who teaches us how to live washed and wet and willing to be who God wants Him, needs Him, loves Him to be. Who does God love you to be? What does God love you to do? What makes God say, "This is my boy, this is my girl. I love you so much. Your life pleases me." Jesus' baptism is a sign of his identity and an anointing into a vocation. His life is an authorized mission from God to the world, a single man devoted to live the perfect life, die a humble and sacrificial death,and rise as a sign of the timeless, transcendent, eternal,power of God with us.
My you be drenched in the love of God. May you soak up God's grace and compassion. May you pour it out in holy, gracious, sarificial living and giving. You are baptized.Like him. You are children. Born for God's love and born for God's world. May love be our gift,Jesus our way, and baptism our delight. Amen. ---Sermon for Baptism of Our Lord, 2009

What's a missional?

"We haven't really been interested or involved in missions before, Pastor." I've been around the church long enough to have heard this a few times from a few faitfhul parishioners. Missions has characteristically been viewed as a subset or a committee in a congregation. Tihs committee oversaw some projects or some designated funds for mission work. Mission work was done by others somewhere else for some other people. Missionaries were rare breeds, willing and courageous enough (read crazy) to go in the name of the LORD to a distant land and a heathen people. This was the heart of foreign missions in the 19th and 20th century and retained a kind of late-medieval colonial dominance culture. Most church people were not involved in missions. Many congregations were not involved in missions, save the occasional project; the food or clothing drive, the charity-of-the month "mission giving" opportunity, etc...for the most part mission was left to the broader church as an enterprise disassociated with local congregational life. The local congregation was a house of worship, Sunday School, and fellowship among a relatively homogeneous group of members.
This has changed as the culture of North America has changed. Evangelists are coming from Tanzania to share the gospel here! And churches are beginning to reimagine their identity and purpose vis a vis the language and activity of mission. Missional churches are arising with a newfound energy for gospel-driven action in the world; especially in local context.
The gist is, many people are moved today by a desire or passion to live the compassionate justice of Jesus in and for neighbors. churches are beginning to seek ways of expressing their faith in GOD through intentional interaction within thier communities. not only are congregations sending people on short-term mission trips to Haiti and Biloxi and Appalachia, but congregations are beginning to see thier neighborhoods as the context for mission.
What is the mission or a missional life? It is to interpret the message and ministry of the gospel in terms of a present day, incarnational way of living a more just and compassionate life. It is practicing the sermon on the Mount and the Good Samaritan and the feeding of the multitudes as signs of the promised Kingdom that is somehow present in and through the gathered and sent communinty of believers. Mission is a way of seeing GOD---the GOD whose will, hopes, dreams, desires, and purposes for creation are made known to us in Scripture. God is on a mission to love humanity with a holy and perfect love that transforms us into divine children, whose own purposes and wills are shaped and formed by the one who embodies a perfect humanity---Jesus. To be missional is to conform ones life to the life of Jesus and to submit ones will to the will of GOD.
A missional church lives to love the neighbor i all the ways we are able to do so. A missional church love sthe neighbor because we have recognized God's eternal love for us. We have received grace upon grace; so we respond in worship and in serving others.
A Missional church has an outward focus, an apostolic character, and Jesus at the center of everything. A missional church boldly asks, "What is God calling us to do and be in this place for our neighbors?" A missional church knows its context, is in relationship with neighbors, non-members, and the secular resources that are already doing God's work in the world. The church in Acts announced the resurrection of Jesus and the Kingdom of GOD in words and actions. They cared for the widows and the poor. They welcomed outcasts, gentiles, and marginalized households. They served the needs of the least in their communities. They were actively engaged in an economy of sharing and giving that benefitted all kinds of people. They were willing to stand before powers and authorities as witnesses of injustice, cruelty, and sin. They were advocates who accompanied the voiceless and the oppressed.
Are we a missional church? is the focus of our message and ministry the other?

ELCA Bishop Hansen's remarks on the Gaza conflict

January 7, 2009

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Gaza Situation at Amman News Conference
09-004-JB

AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said
the United States government needs to take a more active role in
stopping the conflict in Gaza. Stopping the conflict needs to be
a top priority, and it must be accomplished as soon as possible,
he said.
Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza,
Hamas must stop rocket attacks on civilians in Israel, and
negotiations must be restarted for "a permanent peace with
justice and a two-state solution." The LWF is a global communion
of 141 churches in 79 countries, representing 68.3 million of the
world's Lutherans.
Humanitarian conditions for the people of Gaza must be
improved immediately, Hanson said. "We are deeply concerned that
food, medicine and other basic necessities are not getting to the
people in Gaza. We ask that borders be opened for humanitarian
aid to reach Gaza. This must be a long-term, sustained effort,"
he said.
Hanson, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and the Rev. Munib
A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), addressed a news conference here
Jan. 5.
In response to a reporter's question, Hanson said he was
disappointed that the Bush administration vetoed a cease-fire
resolution in the U.N. Security Council and hoped that new
proposals would succeed. Israel needs to comply with U.N.
actions, he added.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan are leading more than 40 bishops
from the ELCA and ELCIC who arrived Jan. 6 in Jerusalem for a
week-long series of meetings with religious, political and
community leaders in Israel and the West Bank. A smaller group
of bishops from both churches arrived here Jan. 3 for similar
meetings in Jordan.
The Canadian government is deeply concerned about the
violence and loss of life in Gaza, and it wants humanitarian aid
to be available to people living there, Johnson said. "The
Canadian churches have stated that all attacks on civilians,
whether in pursuit of political ends or as a part of military
operations are unacceptable and must be deplored," she said.
Months ago the North American bishops made plans to travel
together to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank to demonstrate
support and encouragement for the ELCJHL, to learn about the
political and social situation in the region, and to advocate for
peace. The visit is the 2009 Bishops' Academy, an annual event
for study and reflection.
It is significant that the bishops are arriving at a time of
serious conflict in Gaza, Younan said. "It makes their visit more
significant and more important as they ... dare to come to stand
with the peoples of this (region), to stand with Arab
Christianity, and to tell the world that the voice of the manger
in Bethlehem is much stronger than the voices of cannons and
F-16s and bombs wherever they are in the world," he said.
Lutheran bishops met Jan. 5 with Zeid Al Rifai, president of
the Jordanian Senate, who said Israel's incursion into Gaza is
"mind boggling" and "inexcusable." He said "indiscriminate
killing ... will achieve absolutely nothing." The Gaza conflict
must serve as an incentive to revive the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process, Al Rifai added.
The bishops also met with leaders of the Jordanian
Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and Jordan's Minister of
Islamic Affairs, Abdul Fatah Salah. The Lutheran bishops added
their signatures to a document addressing "Islamic-Christian
Interfaith Coexistence," which calls on both faith traditions to
cooperate, continue dialogue, and promote peace and justice in
the world. The bishops concluded activities Jan. 5 with an
evening reception for religious, political and community leaders.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan said they would meet Jan. 6 with
Jordan's King Abdullah II to talk about Gaza and other concerns
before traveling to Jerusalem.

Peace in Gaza

I invite my readers to respond to the situation in Gaza by going to the Churches for Middle East Peace website, learning all you can about the issues surrounding the ongoing fighting, and advocating with our government to broker a cease fire. The Bush administration offered an international summit in 2007 in Anapolis, MD to move closer to a two-state solution. They never reached agreement.
Today, civillian Palestinian casualties in Gaza have overloaded the medical community's ability to assist. A an attack near a UN school left 40 dead and many more wounded.
I wonder how the excessive nature of Israel's vengeful assault on Gaza can go unchecked by the U.S. The random act of terror that disrupts Israeli community and kills, injures, and maims Israelis is often met with excessive military retaliation. Rather than a police action that punishes the people groups responsible for terrorist attacks, a general war offensive is launched that impacts civillians and essental infrastructure. This, I believe, only fuels the malcontented extremists.
This is a religious matter. it cannot be separated form politics and economics. Christians, Jews and Muslims must find a way to live peaceably without comprising core beliefs. I see no core belief within Christianity that calls us to exclude, hate, villify, demonize, or destroy the other. They are created in the image of God. Jews are God's chosen people, from whom and for whom Jesus came. Islam cannot exist to become the only religion on the planet. Extremists in all three camps must now be marginalized and silenced by thoughtful and faithful moderates, who might see an alternative that is neither secular/pluralist, nor fundamentalist/extremist. Brian McLaren's blog and some articles on Sojourners offer some compelling thoughts.
I have always believed that moderate Christians, perhaps even Lutherans and anabaptists together, are essential to the brokering of a truce because we are called by Jesus to a radical turning away from vengeance and retaliation to a willful act of submission as a servant of the neighbor. When a people group surrenders their will to power and claims of authority, while also providing for the needs of the enemy, then we might begin to see a way forward.
Today, we cannot resolve the entrenched conflict expressed by Arabs and Israeli's toward the other. But we can be people of peace, offering in some way to create the capacity for peace among neighbors and we can support those with power to seek a peaceful solution. So, write to President-Elect Obama and compel him to get in the game in order to broker a lasting truce through real conversation.
Also, please pray for the 90 + Lutheran Bishops and their spouses who are travelling to the region this week. May the Prince of Peace guide their steps and give them words of hope to share.

Epiphany prayer

O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only begotten Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know thee by faith, to thy presence, where we may behold thy glory face to face. Amen.

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be know, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Epiphany

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany. History and tradition has marked this date as the arrival of the Gentile magi to offer gifts at the feet of the new King of Judea born in Bethlehem, whose birth was astronomical, cosmically foretold by a bright star. Some believe that they saw a rare and brilliant planetary alignment. Others, a comet. Mo matter, it is told by St. Matthew that magi from the East come seeking this King. And they logically begin their search in the palace of the King of Judea--Herod of Jerusalem. They are mistaken. So they travel south to Bethlehem and find the family there. In the city of David. Beth-lehem, The "house of bread or meat", transliterated. There they worship Him, bringing gifts of incense for the gods, gold for a king, and myrrh for one who will die. Odd combination of gifts. No rattles. No baby blankets. No toys. They bring gifts symbolic of His identity and mission. A King whose life will rise like a fragrant offering before god, an offering even in death.
This day has marked Jesus' baptism by John and His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, where he turns water to wine.
For us this day means many things: We are those who have been invited supernaturally to believe in the divinely anointed Kingship of Jesus, the Savior of all people. We are invited as were all the gentiles, beginning with the Magi. Our posture toward this invitation is to be one of worship, ofering ourselves in devotion and service to Jesus. Also, we are called to the waters of baptism, whereby we are made one with Him and heirs of life. We remember our own baptisms on this day, when God reoriented our souls and broke the bonds of sin.
Finally, this is a day of joyful miracles. The mundane and ordianry is made extraordinary in the hands of the Lord Jesus. Look for the miraculous on this day. See God's hands at work in the ordinariness of your day.
May God be made manifest to you on this day in the flesh of Jesus, who died for us and gave His body for our eatiing and drinking.

Winterfest, Lutheranhands and church

The annual event! Whether its a cool mission trip to Biloxi or a revivalistic, high octane weekend youth event, the annual event has been the hallmark of youth ministry. Now there are regular experiences with youth groups in congregations and maybe even conferences. But they are usually stop gaps between the big events. The events are powerful, transformative experiences. Kids are shaped by the faith of their peers and generational elders. I know, because I grew up in a congregation where the annual event was the thing that kept me engaged in the mundane experiences of the rest of the year. The rest of the year was, well, unspectacular. And if your congregation is one that is not too enaged in youth culture and youth ministry, then you might feel like you've gone from the mountaintop to the cemetery. The natural high of the experience itself gives people an event hangover which can last awhile. Often a few weeks. But the enthusiasm often wanes and the ordinary, mundane reality of life settles us. There is a spiritual deflation that occurs post-event in our church's culture. ELCA national gatherings can have this feel too. They happen only once every three years, so a lot of preparation goes into that one experience. Then it happens. Its awesome. And then we go home. Not so awesome. Sometimes lame. Church for my parents or grandparents, but not me. God was encountered at the event. Not in the weekly gathering or the monthly youth group meeting.
Some youth workers will take offense. I know there is a lot of good youth ministry happening in weekly and monthly experiences too. But what if there are aspects of the annual event that we ought to replicate in more regular ways? What if some aspects of "Winterfest" or the national gathering became part of our dna as church; in worship, learning, and mission? These events are so well done. Like so many continuing ed. events I have attended over the years. Then we leave these best practices behind to return to an untransformed, unspectacular church. What if we began to interpret these annual practices as a way of life? What if we lived like everything post-Easter is an event? What if we lived like this is the new age of the kingdom? What if we lived like the eucharist was the big event? Like the neighborhood meal, the clothing distribution, the after school club, the prisoner-release ministry, and the bowling fellowship was an event? What if we were a non-event, non-prgram church---whom simply lived like everything matters, like evrything counts, like everything is new?
I'd like to gather a team of people who might be ready to be the church offering the best of itself to our world evrey time we gather. I think daily life is the event! Every moment is an event. Every hour is an opportunity to experience the wonder of God, creation, and the gifts found in our relatioships. Let's become a non-event fovcused, non-program driven church. Lets be the church that is driven by the story of Jesus. Lets be the church that is oriented to a way of life, situated in a 21st century context that is ahaped by a first century, biblical worldview. Lts do it now.

"Gracie and me": the book and film that will never be

I'm not usually a fan of oversentimentalized biopics, but Cherie insisted that we go see "Marley and me". Its the film adaptation of the book by the same name authored by journalist John Groghan. My wife read the book. I didn't. We have our own yellow labrador with her own idosyncresies. I don't feel the need to read about someone else's. But the book was well received and I had heard good things about his writing. Witty. Charming. Like a columnist for a major newspaper. He is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
So we went on New Years day. Left the boys at Grammie and PapPap's, headed off to MoviE town for the matinee. Very few people there. Thought that more people would be out on New Year's day catching one of the many decent new releases in the theatres right now. I want to see "Frost/Nixon" about the 1978 interview of former President Nixon by UK reporter David Frost. Nixon was seeking vindication and redemption for Watergate. Frost was seeking a confession of criminality. I also would like to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from an F. Scot Fitzgerald short story, about a man who lives life in reverse. Born elderly he grows younger every year. I'd like to see Seven Pounds starring Will Smith, though I know very little about the film. I've rarely disliked a film in which he has acted. Clint Eastwood has an oscar worthy film out, as does Tom Cruise. Sometimes I'd like to be a film critic for a local paper because I enjoy many different kinds of stories told on screen.
But now to "Marley and Me." I laughed through most of the film. I cried for the last twenty minutes. The story is actually good. Young journalist couple get a dog to try out the nurturing genes. Marley is a male lab. He eats everything. He runs everywhere. He breaks things. He's untrainable. Marley trains them. Interestingly, Marley's behavior is not the center of the plot, like some Disney farce. This is not "Turner and Hooch"or "Beethoven: The Big pain in the neck". This is the story of a man and his wife, his career, his family, and his dog. And it is true. Not so much in its historical truth, although the film follows the book closer than many films based on books do. It is true because it is the story of life as a man with a wife and a career and three kids and a yellow lab. It is the story of his own failures, his own unfulfilled longings, and the surprising ways in which life gives more than we deserve.
I found myself drawn in, because so much of that story is my story too. (Jen Aniston, who plays his wife Jenny in the film, has nothing on my Cherie...smarter, sexier, real-er--is that a word?). I have felt his angst. I have sat in the car in my driveway wondering what the hell I'm doing. I've wondered if I've made the right choices. I have regretted the way I have handled relationships, my career.
And then there is the dog. I could write a book about Gracie May, the lab we love. I could write a chapter on staring. And a chapter on eating things. And a chapter on sleeping. I could write a book about the messes she's made and I've cleaned up. And I could write about her eagerness to be near us.
Gracie has an inoperable lump on her right shoulder that is beginning to impede her ability to walk comfortably. Inevitably we will have a choice about Gracie. As the Groghan's do in their story. Watching the kids and his wife say goodbye to Marley is a forecast of our future with Gracie,a future we typically deny and certainly despise. The death of a beloved pet is no small thing. And "marley and me" tells the tale with a simple beauty and affection that is honest and infectious.
But I am no movie reviewer or film critic. I am no journalist. But I am a storyteller. I write to share a little of the beauty and affection of life with my family,especially with my dog. She is a great dog, despite her often grouchy parents. I am only a husband, a father, and the lover of my own yellow lab. I love takng her for walks. I love watching her sleep. I love the way her fur smells. These are the unforgettable things about your dog. But more than anything else is the truth of the kind of love and affection we receive from her. She is devoted to us like no human can ever be. Its an undeserved devotion. I wonder if God sees our worship of Him as a kind of devotion likened to that of a pet yellow lab.
By the way, John Groghan and his wife and three kids live in eastern PA with their dog Gracie!

My New Year's resolution

I don't make new year's resolutions. Ever. I suck at keeping them anyway, like most of us. Undisciplined as I am, making a resolution is tantamount to making a promise I cannot keep. Why can't I keep simple promises, like to exercise or to pray or to read more or watch less tv, or eat less junk food or make less waste? These are simple things. But I realize that I have not changed my habits in recent years. I am the same I was last year in so many ways. My bad habits have not been replaced by good ones. I have not ben faithful to my good habits. I'm a mess. "The good I want to do I do not do and the evil I do not want to do, I do." Paul had me pegged. Or us pegged. I'm stuck in a way of life that is not consistent with the way of GOD revealed to us by Jesus. I can't do it. I can talk about it. Invite others into it. But I can't practice it with real heart and guts. If God is the potter and I am the clay, God's got some work to do.
It reminds me of how unfair the God of the Old Testament prophets can be. Why didn't God get that he created people who would break covenant with HIM? God may have been relatively clear about His expectations for holiness, i.e., the whole book of the law thing. But I guess God's love for us clouded His ability to understand why we would continue to disappoint. I'm not blaming God for sin and its consequences. That's on us. But why didn't GOD know that we would break promises? If God did know, then God also knew that Jesus was going to redeem us. Jesus was God's rescue plan from the beginning. The entire biblical worldview rests on the claim of the incarnation, then. GOD dwelling in flesh to redeem humanity and save us from sin.
I can live in response to the incarnation. God is dwelling with us, in us, for us.

So, in response I would like to suggest that this blog become a source of connection between us and GOD's incarnate Word. Resolved, that this blog be a sign of God's Word manifest in human flesh.

So I will include several new features in 2009. I weekly reflection. A weekly spiritual reading from ancient texts. A weekly mission guide.

See you in 2009.

Peter's Porch in December

December 20th at 7:30 am we will open our doors again as "Peter's Porch" community center. Our clothing room is full again. Our food room has received a generous gift in order to restock the shelves. Our people are making ready for the simple breakfast.
We are making Chirst known simply by opening our doors and offering free gifts of food, clothing, and personal connection. In the last hour last month, Joanna met a young woman who came to Peter's porch for clothing. We actually took down her name and size information to share with the congregation. People went and bought new clothes for this family!
last month, three young adults of Asian descent came to Peter's Porch. I found out yesterday from Pastor Tom, of Akron Church of the Brethren, that they are refugees from Nepal living across the street! Tom said they need essentials, like linens and towels. And they would like a computer and a guitar.
I'm beginning to feel like Joseph from Genesis; a steward of resources for the mission of the gospel! And so many folks are responding faithfully by giving generously. I hope it continues in February and March. I may suggest that the church calendar and the life of Jesus inspire endless opportunity to give.
If you are interested in partnering with us, donating any gift, we will locate a family who might benefit from it.