Beyond the Comfort Zone

Sam, David and Kyla in front of the Seattle Great Wheel.

One of the things we did in Seattle over the summer was to take a ride in the new Ferris wheel over the Puget Sound, the Seattle Great Wheel.  It only opened June 29th so it was a brand new attraction for the area.  We bought the tickets and as I stood in line watching others, I was thinking that for the money we had to shell out, this ride seemed kind of short!

Our family had our own "car" or gondola and it consisted of two benches facing one another encased in glass.  The encasement was a good idea not only for safety but also to combat Seattle's famous weather.  As you can see in the picture, we were not exactly sweating.

When we got into our gondola, they told us that we would be suspended at the top for a while which makes sense when you consider that they have to load and unload those on the opposite side of the wheel.  I was originally thinking, "That will be nice, we can see a lot up there."

When we got about half way up, I was getting a little edgy.  David kept moving back and forth as he looked from side to side and this would start the car rocking.  At this point, we were suspended over concrete and it was apparent that we wouldn't survive if the bolts gave way.  My older brother's voice from many a roller coaster ride was going through my head, "You know this was built by the lowest bidder!"  My original assumption that it would be too short was way off.  It felt like we were going to be suspended from this death height forever!

Kyla, David and Sheryl from about 200 feet up!

It was easier when we got over the bay. We would probably die from falling into that as well but it seems more comforting being over the water.  I finally began to settle down and relax and enjoy the view.  We could see ships moving around the water.  The Space Needle was also within view.  The Seattle Aquarium was just below us.  Pike's Place Market was a short walk as well.

But when it ended, I discovered that this was not too short nor too long but just the right amount of time.  I ended up enjoying it and was surprised by my anxiety at the beginning.

Fear and anxiety are funny things.  They may strike us at unexpected times in life.  How we react is up to us. I understood that any catastrophe at this point was beyond my control.  I might as well try to enjoy it as best I could.  It seems like we do this in our walk with God.  We like to be in control and when we discover that we aren't, it makes us a little edgy.  We try to re-establish control even in our prayer lives.  We direct God to give us just what we need.  Or at least what we think we need.

What if we prayed to enjoy the blessings we've already received?  We might be more likely to sit back and enjoy the view.

 

Christianity and the Prius Plug In

Sheryl stands in front of our new Prius Plug-In
in Burien, Washington

Those of you who know me well would figure it is past time we bought a new car.  The last vehicle we bought, we didn't incur any debt (savings = more overall purchase power).  Our belief is that we shouldn't pay more for a vehicle by making payments in taking out a car loan.  In the past we've always bought used vehicles but this time we decided to buy new.

Good stewardship is important to us whether we are talking about money or God's creation.  So we decided that our next automobile would have a very high miles per gallon rate.  Sheryl (my wife) began to thoroughly research vehicles that were fuel efficient.  She decided to go with the Prius Plug In.  Unfortunately, it is not available for order by Toyota dealers in Oklahoma.  We were planning on going to Seattle to see my sister and her family anyway, so Sheryl began to shop online for our next car there.  We would fly in and get the car - she even arranged for the dealer to pick us up at the airport!  An added bonus is that we saved money by not renting a car while we were there.

We were a little nervous about making an online purchase this large but since we were going with a reputable dealer (Burien Toyota), we felt like we were doing the right thing. And so that's how we ended up making a large part of our vacation the drive home.

So how is being a good steward of the environment a part of Christian discipleship?

The environment can be a touchy subject.  There are many people who do not support Climate Change.  I tend to go with the majority of scientists on this and believe that emissions do effect the weather (it currently feels like Oklahoma is trying to move from a plains ecosystem to a desert ecosystem).  I hope and pray that I am wrong in this!  My simplest rationale for my belief in Climate Change is the traditional conservative value: hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

But let's take Climate Change out of the debate for a moment.  Tailpipe exhaust does affect human health.  Studies show that children who live in the cities with worse air pollution ratings have higher rates of asthma.  This makes sense in that people used to commit suicide by locking themselves in a closed garage with the car running.

So being a good steward of God's creation has positive impact upon God's children.  The less gas I burn in my car = cleaner air = healthier families.  It's hard to argue against caring for our kids.  As Christians we remember that when the disciples tried to brush off all the little ones when they were crowding around Jesus, they heard their rabbi say, "Let the little children come to me." I try to model this each day - I'll also do my part to make sure they can do so while breathing easily.

Tragic Moments

Flag outside the Piedmont Post Office lowered at half-mast as a
mark of respect for the victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

I recently wrote a piece on what influences us for the Piedmont Citizen.  It was written before the tragic shooting in the movie theater early in the morning of July 20th this month in Colorado.  My article seemed kind of light in the wake of a nation's wrestling with such a senseless act.

When we experience this kind of loss, we are often asking the question, "Why?"  We want to ascribe some kind of meaning to it so that we can compartmentalize it in the sensible section of life.  We would like all of life to be in this section and do our best to either put things there or to ignore them completely.

I've spoken about free will and how I don't think God takes people from this life as much as God receives them.  That can be comforting but there are times we need to rage at the senselessness of what life deals us.

Lamentations, commonly attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, addresses a people that ran into the buzz saw of the Babylonian empire almost 2600 years ago.  Their capital city - their holy city - of Jerusalem including their temple was destroyed.  Their people were killed and carried away.  What kind of sense would you make of this?

Here's the author's take on the violence done to them:
     I am one who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; ²he has driven and brought 
     me into darkness without any light; ³against me alone he turns his hand, again and again, 
     all day long. ⁴He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, and broken my bones; ⁵he has 
     besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; ⁶he has made me sit in darkness 
     like the dead of long ago. ⁷He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put 
     heavy chains on me; ⁸though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; ⁹he has blocked 
     my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked.
                                                                                        Lamentations 3:1-9, NRSV


Although I attribute the brutality to the misspent free will of the Babylonians, it sometimes feels good to rage against someone close to us.  God may fill this role for us and sometimes pastors stand in for God as the human representative.  I've been on the receiving end of a lot of anger before that didn't seem appropriate for the circumstance at hand.  I attribute it to anger at God for some other issue.


Lamentations continues to spit and cuss through the chapter before the author begins to turn back toward hope.  Have you ever cried until you can't cry anymore?  Sometimes we have to get it out of our system, like expelling a poison.  Only then can we look toward something positive.


     ²¹But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: ²²The steadfast love of the Lord never 
     ceases, his mercies never come to an end; ²³they are new every morning; great is your 
     faithfulness. ²⁴“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 
     ²⁵The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. ²⁶It is good that 
     one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
                                                                                         Lamentations 3:21-26, NRSV


My prayer is that the people of Aurora, Colorado may come to this understanding of God's love in their life more quickly than slowly.  The cruel act of one individual has changed their lives for the worse.  It would be easy to become hardened and bitter to the world because of it.  Bitterness is a disease that seems to spread so easily.  


The gunman surely was bitter.  


My hope is that they do not learn from him but rather rise up in spite of him.  But in the meantime, we weep and gnash our teeth with them, just as God surely does.


                                    

Freedom and Faith

As I work on Sunday's sermon, I'm using the text from Mark 6:1-13 where Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth.  The language has always fascinated me from verse 5, "he was unable to do any miracles there".

The Revised Standard Version states, "...he could do no mighty works there,..."  If you look at Matthew's account of this story, 13:58 states, "...he did not do many mighty works there,..."  Scholars believe that Matthew's Gospel is based upon Mark's and it is interesting to see the language change.  Almost as if Matthew was saying, "He could have done them but he chose not to."

I believe we all have free will - our trouble
begins when we use it to hurt others
or ourselves which is sometimes debatable!
Photo by Beniamin Pop of Romania

But both versions agree it had to do with unbelief.

This really allows us to ask the question, how much do we have to do with our own faith, healing and salvation?

John Calvin's famous TULIP referring to salvation includes the following points:

Total Depravity – the idea that all human beings are in a state of sin (total refers to all people rather than all people are totally evil).  People are unable to choose God because their natures are corrupt and choose self.  Only God can grant this grace to an individual.

Unconditional Election – salvation is not based on merit or works but is entirely the work of God in human beings.

Limited Atonement – only the sins of the elect were atoned for by Jesus’ death.

Irresistible Grace – when God desires for someone to be saved, God will make it happen – i.e. overcome resistance or obstacles.  A person cannot resist God.

Perseverance of the Saints – those whom God has chosen for salvation cannot fall away from salvation (once saved, always saved).  Those who backslide were likely not saved to begin with (not those of the elect).

John Wesley followed the tenets of Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch Reformed Theologian of the 16th Century which tended to disagree with the final four points.  As I prepare for worship for Sunday, I looked for an affirmation of faith that incorporated the Arminian understanding dealing with salvation and free will but didn't find anything.  So here's what I wrote.  I invite you to look for the differences in Arminianism and Calvinism:

                    We believe that God is always the initiator in our salvation and refer to this 

                    as prevenient grace.  We have the free will to accept or reject God’s

                    salvation.

                    We believe that salvation is authored by God’s grace.  This is a free gift 

                    uninfluenced by human action or merit.  Our salvation comes through our 

                    acceptance of the atoning gift of Jesus Christ and his subsequent Lordship 

                    of our lives.

                    We believe that the love of God and this free grace through cross and 

                    resurrection is for all people.

                    We believe that while God seeks out all people, God does not force our 

                    belief or faith and that this grace may be resisted.

                    We believe that God gives disciples of Jesus Christ the freedom and power 

                    to resist sin but that this is also freedom to reject God’s grace through 

                    persistent, unrepentant sin.

                    We believe that no matter our choices, God continues to love us and will 

                    always seek after us, offering us mercy, grace and salvation.

You can see that free will is essential to this and that we do have control over our choices - even the choice of grace or rejection.  I think that this shows up in this week's gospel lesson.  Clearly the people of Nazareth resist the grace offered in their midst.

So our struggle really becomes, "How do we resist God's grace in our lives and how can we do this less often?

Thunder Fever and the Need to Contribute

Piedmont is experiencing Thunder Fever just like most of the metro area (and the rest of the state for that matter).  My kids got me a blue Thunder Finals shirt for Father's Day and I put it on for game three of the finals series that night.

Unfortunately, we lost the game.  I hesitated wearing it for game four; wanting to change up my habits in case it had become unlucky.  I mean we shot 62% from the free throw line that night when the season average was 82%.  Twenty percent is a major dip that cost us the game!

Okay, I realize that my new shirt didn't lose us the game.

And since I wanted to show my appreciation to my kids, I wore it again last night.

James Harden, NBA's Sixth Man
of the Year by Keith Allison, wikicommons

But then James Harden shot only 20% in that game after shooting 49% for the season.  Now we are facing elimination on Thursday night.

I along with many other folks around Oklahoma are a little bummed.

So the question is: do I wash the Thunder shirt and wear it again tomorrow or do I leave it in the laundry pile?

Human beings feel the need to contribute to the outcomes that affect their lives.  We don't like feeling helpless.  We don't like simply watching the world go by.

But unless we fly to Miami, buy a ticket and cheer wildly for the Thunder, we are likely not effecting the game play much of our favorite team.  Oh sure, you can talk overall morale of the team being infected by the enthusiasm of the environment they live in but in the big picture, we are not taking those shots.

As a pastor, I see the similarities with God's grace.  We want so much to earn our grace. We want to be worthy recipients.  We want to tip God's hand into acting on our behalf. But in the end, grace is God's to dispense.

In the parable of the weeds and the wheat, Jesus suggests that we are not to determine who is worthy but that we should leave this job up to God.

I've had people ask me "why" in regards to illness or loss in their lives.  Some feel guilty over some sin they had committed and wonder if the two things are connected.

Jesus seemed to answer this as well by talking about the people who died when a tower fell on them.  He said they weren't being punished for their sins.  It just happened.

That's our trouble.  We don't like it when things just happen.  We like to pretend we are in control.

But sometimes superstars miss free throws.

Sometimes referees miss calls.

And for good or bad, I'm along for the ride in spite of the fact that I won't have an effect on the outcome of the next game.

But I may not have time to do laundry before it gets here...

The Holy Spirit at Work

Ever felt like you couldn't catch a break?

Sometimes I resonate with the old Hee Haw song, "Gloom, despair and agony on me!"

But more often, I live with a quiet confidence that God is working through me and in spite of me and all around me.  This Saturday, I officiated at the wedding of Alex Howell and Curtis Getz.  Alex has been in the church since I confirmed her as a sixth grader so it was a special joy for me to share with them.

At the rehearsal, we had some electrical problems - there was a storm the night before and not all of the power was working - you didn't want air conditioning at the church on a Saturday afternoon in June, did you?  Is it okay if the florescent lights flicker on and off? Just pretend they are Christmas lights!

Our Trustees Chairperson, Dan Rempe, came out and got to work.

In the meantime, we had the rehearsal and everything went well.  After we finished, feeling good about the ceremony which is now only hours away, I casually reminded the bride and groom to bring their marriage license to the church the next day so that I could fill it out.

Instead of "Of course, Sam," I received some blank stares.

"You did stop by the courthouse this week to pick it up didn't you?"

"Umm... Curtis just flew in this afternoon."

Curtis serves in the Air Force and they hadn't had time to pick it up.

At this point, it was after 5 pm and I knew the courthouse would be closed.  It wouldn't reopen until Monday.

"We can still have the ceremony and we'll have to pick up the license on Monday.  You'll both have to be there because you'll both need to sign it."

But this didn't work either because he was flying back for duty - leaving on Sunday morning.

Imagine being a young couple just trying to get married on a tight schedule, knowing that relatives were already here from out of town.  What do you do?

It is at this point that we see how connections can work for good.  I believe that God works through our connections - our relationships with one another.  God is working for good in our lives.

Lois Dickerson was there helping out.  She was there because she served the church as a greeter.  She happened to see Alex at church the week before (Alex teaches one of our children's Sunday school classes) and Alex invited her to the wedding.  So Lois came to help out where needed that evening.

Lois's brother-in-law is Judge Ken Dickerson of Piedmont and so I asked for the number and I called him for advice.

After explaining the situation, he said that he knew the Canadian County Clerk, Marie Ramsey.  He would contact her and call me back.

Judge Dickerson called back and reported that she was waiting in El Reno for the couple if they would leave now.  I relayed this information to them and they hit the road (obeying all traffic laws I'm sure).

Amazingly, they managed to get their license.  The electricity was also fixed and in working order for the wedding (yeah for air condition!).  The ceremony was beautiful and everyone was happy.

At the reception, the DJ was a no-show.  But the guests pooled their Ipods and got the music going on their own.  "DJ?  We don't need no stinkin' DJ!"

Curtis and Alex Getz signing their marriage license.

All of this goes to show how things can work out for the good when we work through our relationships.  Some say that this is just humanity at work and I agree but the mystic in me adds that it is also more.  The Holy Spirit works in our lives through the Body of Christ.

It would have worked even if they didn't get the license.  They would have had the ceremony and Alex would have had to fly to South Carolina where they would have had a justice of the peace sign their license.  Messier and not ideal at all but do-able.  But it did work out.  The cool thing is now they have a great story to share with future generations.

This reminds me to remember how God is at work in our lives.  For my good as well as yours.  It also reminds me that connections are important and helpful.

How is your activity within the Body of Christ?

We are stronger with you than without you!

And I believe you are stronger with us than without us.

But that is just my faith talking...

I Spoke Too Soon

I really felt like my previous blog post, "No Guarantees" was late in arrival because General Conference is getting farther and farther in our rear view mirrors.  It had been written but commitments to the church, the annual conference and our United Methodist camps kept me from refining it for publication.  

Now, I wish I had procrastinated in releasing it for another twenty-four hours.  I would have seen the announcement by General Conference Secretary Reist stating:

The Book of Discipline 2012 does not eliminate security of appointment for elders.           The amendments to paragraph 334 that would have mirrored the changes in 337 were not supported by the committee.  They were not voted on in the plenary.  The language of 334.1, “Every effective elder in full connection who is in good standing shall be continued under appointment by the bishop provided that if the elder is appointed to serve in an affiliated relationship in a missionary conference (¶ 586) and that appointment is terminated by the bishop who presides in the missionary conference, then the responsibility for meeting this obligation rests with the bishop of the conference of which the elder is a member.” remains in effect.   

There's already been some hand-wringing by the Ministry and Higher Education committee members since the intent was to eliminate "guaranteed appointments" from the Discipline.  However, we don't operate by intent, we operate by church law.  The bishops interpret the church law for each conference.  The Judicial Council decides if the bishops have done so correctly.

The new language states that the bishops may recommend an elder to transitional leave which is a newly expanded clergy status that was recommended by the Ministry and Higher Education committee and adopted on the consent calendar (Item 358).  

My guess is that the Council of Bishops will rule that an elder put on transitional leave under its (now) expanded role is their appointment.  They are "appointed" to transitional leave.  

So the Judicial Council will be forced to decide if paragraph 334.1 continues security of appointment or not.   

Whether this stands or not, the General Conference did eliminate the security of appointment for Associate Members (Item 352 of the Consent Calendar).

What will tomorrow bring?