Life in general

January Adventure – 2

St. Simons IslandEpworth-by-the-Sea was the venue for January Adventure.  Epworth is located on St. Simons Island, adjacent to Brunswick, Georgia.  It serves as a retreat center of the United Methodist Church, and it holds the ‘January Adventure’ as a yearly renewal opportunity for church leaders.

The median age of the people attending January Adventure was striking.  There were nearly 700 in attendance, and most of the attendees were 55 or older.  I specifically looked for people aged 40 and younger, and I’d guess there were less than 20 in the whole group.

I doubt that age demographic is unique to the UMC.  Other groups are suffering the same situation.  The absence of younger cohorts is surely a call to action.  Otherwise who will take the place of these aging Baby Boomers?

It was sweet to hear “Southern” spoken again.  “Hi sugar,” was told by young and old alike.  “How are y’all?”  “Y’all” works as both a singular and plural pronoun.  When I hear the word it conjures up okra, real cornbread, purple hull peas, and Southern hospitality.

I loved the steaming white grits I got to eat with my breakfast.  The pecan pie I got with dinner on Tuesday was another tasty deja vu.  When I was a kid they called them “Georgia ice cream.”  With a pat of butter and some pepper on them they send me into breakfast heaven.

As we waited for the first session to begin, background music was playing softly.  I’d have expected it to be hymns or spirituals of some sort.  Instead it was bluegrass and fiddle music.  I expected to see Alison Krause walk out on stage.

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Editorials, Food for Thought, Life in general

January Adventure – 1

Barbara Brown TaylorWalter BrueggemanI looked at the notice in a summer Christian Century.  Walter Brueggemann and Barbara Brown Taylor were going to be speaking at at 3–day event in Georgia.  Brueggemann’s topic was Jeremiah, and Taylor’s was about spiritual practices.

I remember being intrigued by the opportunity.  They are both favorites of mine.  But the distance and time made it prohibitive in my mind.  So I had dismissed it as an interesting but impossible event.

In August Bev and I celebrated our 39th anniversary in San Francisco.  We exchanged gifts to commemorate the event.  Her gift came in a shirt box.  It was very light, so I had no clue what was in it.  When I opened the box I was surprised to find the paperwork and all reservations for the Florida event.  So all I had to do was pack my bags and go.

As I write this I am sitting in the airport in Jacksonville, Florida waiting for my connector flight to Houston.  The conference is over, and what is left are some notes and a warm glow.  The conference was a delight to the mind.  Eight hours of lecture gave me much to think about.

More comments will follow in subsequent blog entries.  However, the last three days reminded me of the need I have to receive occasional, self-indulgent refreshment like I just received at the feet of Brueggemann and Taylor.  It is impossible to provide meaningful ministry on an empty tank.

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Church planting, LifeSpring Church, Missional, People

Table Talk

Eucharist 02At LifeSpring Church we believe that everybody should be able to participate as fully as they would like.  So we give people ample opportunity to volunteer to lead congregational prayers, read scripture, and provide the Lord’s Supper meditation, which we call the “table talk.” 

When we started doing this over a year ago, you could see some awkwardness.  We didn’t know each other that well at that point.  Folks didn’t know what was expected of them.  Most of us had grown up believing that such involvements should be reserved for an elite group of leaders.

But now our church community has grown comfortable with our egalitarian approach to worship and participation.  Everyone feels included and appreciated.  We are often blown away by the profundity of what is shared in communion mediations, or we’re moved by the skillful reading of a text.  It’s a really neat process in which to participate.

Yesterday Sean told us about the changes he has experienced in the last two years of his life.  He said that the Lord’s Supper is like a “pit stop” on the Amazing Race television show.  It has served to slow him down and make him think about what is happening in his life and the Lord’s relationship to that.  I was thankful for Sean’s transparency as well as for the eloquence of what he shared with us.  He made the Lord’s sacrifice real for us.

I am glad that LifeSpring recognizes the strength of everyone sharing.  By getting to hear what was on Sean’s heart, my life was improved.  Now I can’t wait to hear what the next LifeSpringer shares.

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Life in general

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The human voice is a wonderful musical instrument, capable of creative and interesting music. The a cappella group, Straight, No Chaser recorded a new version of the Twelve Days of Christmas which is fun and worth watching. I’ve attached it below for your pleasure.

Life in general

Merry Christmas

IMG_2734Our California grandsons had never seen snow, so our son suggested a family trip up to the mountains.  We didn’t know how far we would have to go.  At Mariposa we asked some locals at Burger King where we should go.  “Go to Fish Camp,” they said.  “Tenaya Lodge has a groomed sled run on their property, and it’s a great place to take kids.”

Sure enough, the snow was plentiful and the sled run was groomed and fast.  Caleb, our 5–year-old grandson loved the snow so much he would cast himself into it as if jumping on to a feather bed.  He went down the sled run time after time, grinning and giggling all the way down.  Will, the 3–year-old, preferred rolling snow balls and throwing them at whoever was available. 

Our little snow trip was simple, cheap pleasure.  Caleb went down the sled run on his boogey board, designed for ocean use not sledding.  Will preferred the simplicity of snowballs.  None of this fun cost anything, but the laughter was real and priceless.  Come to think of it, this would make a good Mastercard ad.  “Gas to go to the snow, $40.  Snacks for the ride up, $10.  Sliding down the mountain, priceless.”

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Life in general

Kathy Died

Last Sunday Bev said she wanted to drive up to Lodi to see Kathy.  She said that she was afraid she’d never see her again unless we took this opportunity.  Kathy was in intensive care suffering from the effects of both pneumonia and cancer.  She had been struggling with cancer for years, cancer caused by her long cigarette use. 

It was a good thing that we made the drive.  They removed the respirator on Monday evening.  By 2:00 Tuesday morning Kathy had left this life and gone to the next.  Of the two events, seeing Kathy alive and suffering and learning of her death, seeing her alive was the most painful.  Now that struggle is over.

Kathy was blind, absent her voice box, and not rich.  But having known her I can say that she had great vision.  She could tell from a tone of voice how someone was feeling.  She was gifted in her knowledge of how to deal with people. 

Her mechanical voice, though sometime hard to understand, was still a lovely sound.  With it she told us jokes and spoke about her life.  And though she was poor, she made all of us richer by knowing her.

I will miss Kathy.  She made this world a better place.  But I am grateful that she no longer has to struggle to breathe and be seeing her new world in technicolor.

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Church planting, Life in general, LifeSpring Church

New Barna Book

UnChristianI just bought a new book called unChristian.  I found out about it through an electronic newsletter and was intrigued by the premise of the book.  Author David Kinnaman works for The Barna Group, an organization that provides primary research and tools for churches and parachurch organizations.

My interest in the book began because of a resonance I have with the author’s thesis.  “Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders.”

I just started the book.  More about it in a later blog.  However, below is a CNN interview with Gabe Lyons, one of the writers of the book.  You may also enjoy looking at a site designed to create dialogue about relevance to culture. 

 

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Church planting, Life in general, Missional

Christmas Parade

Santa 01Today, December 1, was the day of Merced’s annual Christmas parade.  The parade route went down Main Street right past Playhouse Merced.  LifeSpring was invited to put up a table inside the Playhouse entry way, right next to the sidewalk.  We all thought that was a good idea, although we didn’t know what to expect.

In a planning meeting it was suggested that we serve coffee or hot chocolate to parade goers.  LifeSpringers also brought homemade cookies to serve, but it was soon discovered that we didn’t have nearly enough.  The parade crowd was huge.  An emergency run was made to purchase more, and by parade end, all of the cookies were gone.

Our team agreed that the event was a huge success.  We gave away 200 drinks.  We gave away even more cookies.  Several LifeSpring invitation cards were taken, and we provided a very positive image of our church community.  Probably the best outcome was the enormous fun that we all had working together to do something good.

After the parade was concluded LifeSpring conversations began about how we would improve on what we just did.  A number of excellent suggestions were made, and we’ll be even better prepared next time.

Food for Thought, Life in general

Forgiveness

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I am linked to a fellow in the Netherlands on LinkedIn dot com.  We’re also connected at Plaxo Pulse.  I’ve never met him before, but today he blessed my life with the video posted here.

I remarked to Bev what a wonder it is that I could have this online relationship without ever having any physical contact with this person.  And had I not had those connections, I would have never been aware of this video.  This is truly an digital blessing.

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Food for Thought, Life in general, theology

Whatever

Whatever 01When our daughter was in high school and feeling omniscient, she had a phrase that she used to repel any attempt to enlighten her or explain some idea. The word was “whatever,” and it was guaranteed to stop any further conversation as she served notice that she had no interest at all in what was being said by her parent. “Whatever” was the ultimate definition of indifference or scorn.  Fortunately, she outgrew this.

Whatever has other definitions. 1. Everything or anything: “Do whatever you please.”  2. No matter what:  “Whatever happens, we’ll meet here tonight.”  3. Any number or kind: “Whatever requests you make will be granted.”

There are some other definitions, but this gives a good idea of its absence of a specific reference.  Whatever is used in interesting ways in the Bible and gives some insight into the kind of freedom that God gives us all. To the disciples Jesus said, “Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.”  By so indicating, Jesus gave his disciples the freedom to choose the towns they would go to.”

The writer, Paul, told the church at Corinth that whatever they did, should be done for God’s glory. The only boundary or limitation that Paul placed on their activity was that it be God glorifying.

The writer, James, took this a step further and said that to knowingly fail to do something something good is sin. So there is an accountability that is laid on us to make good personal judgments and act on them.  It is as if God is saying to us, “Do something good.”

In Philippians 4:8 we are given the freedom to dwell on any and everything that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable or praiseworthy. Permission is not needed. We have carte blanche on these good things. We are also accorded similar freedoms in prayer.  Whatever you ask…” Jesus said.

God gives his people enormous freedom to act on the many good choices around them.  Doing good has God’s endorsement and has already been approved as long as it is for God’s glory.  That’s a no brainer.

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