Honest Doubt

It may come to a surprise to you that your pastor occasionally has his doubts and weaknesses. Let me be the first to say that I certainly do. The first time I buried a teenager I was angry with God. When a tornado went through the parish I served, I doubted God. And there are days, even now, when I wonder if I’ve been faithful to the grace I’ve been given. Theological doubts, weakness in ability and faith, doubting of faith and self-confidence – these are real. And as I have read the spiritual giants and eminent divines of the faith, I realize that they had their doubts too.


John Wesley had this struggle all of his life. Not even a year after Wesley’s heart-warming Aldersgate experience, he wrote these words on January 4, 1739:

My friends affirm that I am mad, because I said I was not a Christian a year ago. I affirm I am not a Christian now. Indeed, what I might have been I know not, had I been faithful to the grace then given, when, expecting nothing less, I received such a sense of forgiveness of my sins as till then I never knew. But that I am not a Christian at this day… For a Christian is one who has the fruits of the Spirit of Christ, which… are love, peace, joy. But these I have not.

It is very easy for those who take up the cross of Christ and practice radical discipleship to get discouraged, for this reason: any intentional attempts at practicing radical discipleship will bring opposition. And sometimes, the battles within the Church are harder than the ones outside of the Church.

Do our doubts in faith mean something is wrong with us? Hardly. One of the ways our faith is made stronger is through self-examination. And the good news is that not only Scripture, but also the experience of those saints who also dealt with struggle are instructive for us. It is a pipe dream to think that life will not have struggles – that’s simply not realistic. But it is realistic to expect God to be walking with us in our struggles.

In fact, God holds us in the palm of His hand - and doesn't let go.

Pax,
Sky+

Torn Between Two Loves

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him. – Mark 12:13-17

I love being an American citizen. I have an American flag and Kentucky state flag that hangs in my garage. My father and two uncles served in the Korean War and World War II, respectively. As I prepare to leave for England, I realize that America, despite its quirks, is a great place to live. We are indeed a melting pot, and our diversity makes life interesting and fun.

I also know that my baptism called my allegiance to Christ above all – even country. I leave for the polls today to vote – something I don’t always enjoy doing. And as I get my keys to get into my car, I will also see my jury summons for U.S. District Court. I have jury duty for 60 days starting December 3rd.

Could I get out of jury duty? Maybe. Do I have to vote? Of course not. One of the privileges of being American is the right not to vote. But citizenship, just like discipleship, has responsibilities too. If we love God, out of gratitude for sacrificing His son we take things on. As the writer of James noted, “Faith without works is dead.” The same goes for citizenship: we need to be involved in our communities. Fire departments need volunteers. Communities and cities need council members, commissioners, and representatives. And out of gratitude for those who have sacrificed for our country, we ought to vote. Even if we write in Mickey Mouse’s name.

I wrestled for a long time about faith and politics. I came to the conclusion a few years ago that Christians ought to make darned good citizens. Yes, sometimes our faith will clash with our citizenship. As I was taught in counseling classes: you can’t ever get rid of conflict – you just learn how to manage it. It’s okay to give the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar. Just be sure you give to God what is God’s.

Pax,
Sky+

Forgiveness and Grace

Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations. – Luke 24:45-47

I am writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven on account of [Jesus's] name. – 1 John 2:12

There is a lot of hurt out there, my brothers and sisters. A lot.

There are families that hurt. While it sounds like a catch phrase, dysfunctional families are a reality. To see your loved ones hurt is bad enough, but to see them do destruction to themselves and others hurts us even more.

There are people who hurt. Dreams are not realized. Poor feelings of self-worth take away our joy. Broken relationships between family and friends become heavy baggage to tote around. Gossipers and busybodies seem to take delight in the misfortune of others. Health concerns and diseases of body and mind make us feel shackled.

We often deal with these things by not dealing with them, but all this does is remind us of our inadequacy, incompleteness, and unworthiness. Yet forgiveness isn’t something we earn or is available only for the perfect – it is for us. Our merit and our worth aren't even dependent on the opinions, grudges, or disdain of others: God created us to be in communion with Him. He claims each of us as his child. He hurts when we hurt. And his forgiveness and grace is available to all.

I met with a man the other day, not a church member, who is terminally ill. He has lived a long life, been through bouts of cancer, and this time has decided to forego treatments and instead let nature take its course. When I complimented him on his faith, he said to me, “God has allowed me to accomplish what I needed to on this earth. For now, I am awaiting further instructions.” I was humbled beyond words.

Augustine once said that we are restless until we find rest in God. I think he's right, and when we do find our rest in God, the baggage of unforgiven sin and the weight of our unwillingness to forgive others are removed. Instead of fearing life (or death), we can embrace it. God is eager to forgive us and our sins, and to share our burdens.

Don’t be afraid to ask God for what He so desperately wants to give us.

Pax,
Sky+

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Some churches would give anything to be able to move their church to a more prominent location. In our case, however, the prominent location is moving to us.

After years of planning and promises, Reidland's traffic is being re-routed for safety reasons. And Reidland UMC will now be on the busiest corner in Reidland and southeastern McCracken county. We are scrambling to make parking provisions, and have hired an architect to see if he can turn what used to be the back of the church into a new front of the church. We now have contiguous property not separated by a highway. Exciting times!

(Click on any picture to enlarge)


The road construction project (now underway) got a lot of press around the church... even the governor showed up! From left to right: James Brockman (church council chair), Jim Wheeler, myself, and Govenor Fletcher.



Plans (so far) can be seen by clicking here. The master site plan poster is in the background as the governor speaks on upcoming highway projects in Reidland UMC's fellowship hall. Pictured with him is County Judge-Executive Van Newberry and Paducah Mayor Bill Paxton.



Groundbreaking took place at the end of the press conference. I am certainly excited... but will be more excited when it's all done.

Pax,
Sky+

What’s Old Becomes New Again

Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord… - Psalm 148:12-13a

I heard on the news this morning that the first of the baby boomers are starting to receive Social Security benefits. Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 (I missed being one by a year). Already, retirees make up the largest demographic group in the United States in terms of age. It will only get larger. Now I could go into what that means for us as a national practically, socially, and economically, but I won’t, as I might need that for newsletter fodder when suffering from writer’s block.

Some facts:

• There are now about 629 million people in the world age 60 or over. Some representative countries:
• China now has 10 percent over 60; by 2050, 30 percent is projected;
• Mexico now has 7 percent over 60; by 2050, 24 percent is projected;
• United States now has 16 percent over 60; by 2050, 27 percent is projected; and
• Brazil has 8 percent over 60; by 2050, 24 percent is projected.

In the United States:

• In 1770s, the birthrate was 7 children per woman.
• In 1930s, the birthrate was 2.1 children per woman.
• After World War II, the birthrate jumped to 3.8 children per woman.
• Beginning in 1946, 76 million children were born over an 18-year period, creating the Baby Boomer generation.
• Of today’s boomers, one-third are well off, one-third will work longer to gain resources for retirement, and one-third are deeply in debt with no pensions.
• In 1900, 4 percent of the population was 65 or older, and 40 percent were children or teenagers.
• By 1990, 12.5 percent was 65 or older, and only 24 percent were children or teenagers.
• Projected by 2030: 22 percent will be 65 or older; only 19 percent will be children or teenagers.
• Today, the average age of a United Methodist is between 57 to 62.

Life Expectancy:

• Through 99 percent of human history, average life expectancy was less than 18 years.
• During the last century, average life expectancy has risen from 47 years in 1900 to 76 years today.
• Currently, there are 78 million Americans past the age of 50... a number nearly equal to the total American population 100 years ago.
• By 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts there will be more than 115 million adults over 50 years of age — a 50 percent increase.
• Currently, there are about 100,000 anti-aging projects underway.

Wealth and Politics:

• Age 50+ adults control more than $7 trillion in wealth; that’s 70 percent of the total.
• They own 77 percent of all financial assets, represent 66 percent of all stockholders, own 80 percent of all money in S&Ls, buy 48 percent of all luxury cars and 74 percent of all pharmaceuticals.
• During the 1990s the percentage of Americans with income of $100,000 or more has tripled.
• Nearly 70 percent of Americans 65 years of age or older voted in 1995.
• Only 33 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 voted.

What does this mean where the Church is concerned? I think it affords us a lot of opportunity. If we as Reidland UMC were to look at our programming ministries in terms of numbers, do you know which program is the largest? Older Adult Ministries. Our OWLS gatherings sometimes have as many as 60 people present. The reality is that, at least in the United States, we are begetting fewer children and our population is increasingly older. It may be that more and more churches will be hiring full-time older adult ministry coordinators. Not that youth and children’s ministries aren’t important, but among the baby-boomers that are rising (and now retiring), many of them have been unchurched their whole lives. Along with evangelizing the young, we may need to expand that to evangelizing the older, too! One day in the not-to-distant future, I may be holding confirmation classes for retirees.

Something to ponder: our church’s main mission could be to excel in ministering to older adults. As the baby boomers retire, there is certainly going to be no shortage of older adults. What if we became “the older adult” church in the Greater Paducah area? We might not be able to hold everyone.

Think further outside the box for a moment. Do you know what group of people has the freest time to volunteer? The most free income and resources? You guessed it – older adults. There is no telling what kind of ministries could be birthed and supported by a church full of such adults.

We certainly need to instruct our youth and raise our children, and no one is saying to ditch those ministries. But it is very hard to argue with facts and data – older adults are the largest segment of our population, and getting larger by the minute. While we have often said that youth are the lifeblood of the church, it may be that we need to rethink that saying. It may be that older adults are the lifeblood of the church: they have so much to offer and share to all of us, and the world.

I think that’s something for all of us to think about.

Pax,
Sky+

p.s. Most of the demographical information came from Ken Dychtwald’s “The Age Wave Is Coming,” his congressional testimony on March 19, 2002, in support of SB 953.

Ever Feel Like This?

From one of my most favorite Saturday Night Live skits:

Reverend Dwight Henderson: World's Meanest Methodist Minister


Rev. Dwight Henderson.....John Lithgow
Secretary.....Nora Dunn
Paul.....Kevin Nealon
Barbara.....Victoria Jackson
Janet.....Jan Hooks
Marvin Hill.....Dana Carvey


Announcer: It's time for another episode of "Reverend Dwight Henderson: World's Meanest Methodist Minister".

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ dictating a letter to his Secretary ] "My Dear Mrs. Randall: Regarding your invitation for Easter dinner - in someithng akin to a nightmare, I imagine myself seated with you and your.. grotesque family, suffering through an evening of what passes for conversation in your household. And the horror of that image compels me to shun your home, Madam, as I would some kind of dread skin disease." Mmm.. "Yours, with best wishes for this holiday season.. blah, blah, blah.. Reverend Dwight Henderson." Oh, and uh.. "P.S. Enjoy your turkey and Cheese Whiz."

Secretary: I'll get this in the mail today, Reverend.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ sighing ] Oh, Rose.. I'm so desperately tired. Why don't we call it a day?

Secretary: But, Reverend, it isn't noon yet, and there's some people waiting to see you, they've been waiting all morning.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Honestly, can there be a job on earth more difficult than mine? Show them in.

Secretary: [ goes to the door and lets a couple enter the Reverend's office ] Uh, Reverend, these are the Marchinsons - Paul and Barbara.

Barbara: Morning, Reverend.

Paul: Morning, Reverend.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ not interested in the formalities ] Yes, yes.. you have a problem of some kind?

Paul: Uh, yes, Reverend.. [ fidgety ] Barbara and I were, were married.. uh.. two years ago.. uh.. and lately.. lately..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Please. Get on with it.

Barbara: Uh, Reverend, our marriage has notbeen going on too well lately.. and before we went into a professional counselor, we thought we would ask you for your advice.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Madam, as a minister of the gospel, of course I recognize the importance of the institution of holy matrimony. At the same time, however, I must tell you that it simply is not a subject which interests me. Next! Next!

[ the Marchinsons are marched out, as the next member of the congregation is brought in ]

Secretary: Reverend, this is Janet Whitmeer..

Janet: Good morning, Reverend!

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Yes?

Janet: Uh, Reverend.. I live alone with my mother..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Yes?

Janet: And, uh.. she's an invalid, and during the day I have to leave to go to work..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ annoyed ] I trust this is leading somewhere..?

Janet: Well.. Reverend, she has a heart condition, and I worry if something should happen.. [ Reverend Henderson mimes playing the violin in sarcasm ] ..while I'm not there. And so I was wondering if perhaps someone from the parish could just drop by and check up on her from time to time?

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ mocking ] Someone? Don't you mean "Reverend Henderson"? Sure, why spend money on a nurse. We'll get Reverend Henderson to do it for free! Sure! He's happy to spend his days running all over town entertaining all our local shut-ins! He's got nothing better to do!

Janet: [ aghast ] Reverend, I didn't mean you.. I.. I..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ upset ] Oh, away with you!

[ Janet is pushed outside, and the next member of the congregation enters ]

Secretary: Marvin Hill.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ perturbed ] Yes..

Marvin Hill: [ carrying Easter basket ] Good morning, Reverend. I'm not here on account of any problem.. although, things haven't been going too well for us since I got laid off. But I just came by to wish you a Happy Easter, and to drop off this Easter basket that the wife made..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ miffed at the annoying gesture ] Puh-leeeeze!

Marvin Hill: ..and to say hello from Joan and myself.. well, actually, Joan.. uh..

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ waves him off ] Dismissed! [ walks away ]

Marvin Hill: Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you. [ exits ]

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ back at his desk ] Rose, you know it's been a few weeks since we've gone over the accounts for the Sunday collections.

Secretary: Well, Reverend, there really hasn't been much to count.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: I see. Well, how much was turned in?

Secretary: Well, actually, Reverend, nothing was turned in. As a matter of fact, nothing has been turned in for the last three Sundays. I think it may be part of an organized protest.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ shocked and disturbed ] I'm afraid you've lost me! A protest against what?

Secretary: Reverend Henderson, forgive my bluntness, but you should be aware that you are not liked by some members of the parish.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: Well, of course. They're cattle!

Secretary: Well, Reverend, the fact is that a great many people find your tone sort of off-putting. The Methodists in this community are used to a more conventional style ministry.. you know, someone who's a lot more polite, and not such a.. butthole.

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ takes it in ] I see. Tell me, Rose.. why do you work for me? You know, I don't pay you.

Secretary: Because.. [ pause ] I love you!

Reverend Dwight Henderson: [ absorbs the sudden information ] Puh-leeeeze! Spare me!

Announcer: This has been another episode of "Reverend Dwight Henderson: World's Meanest Methodist Minister".


Originally aired: April 11, 1987

Halloween Approaches

Be afraid. Be very afraid...

(That's my formerly sweet-looking daughter, btw)

Being Bold with the Gospel

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:18-19

During the past year, I have found myself challenged as never before. I am in the midst of middle age in a denomination that is facing decline. My physical age tells me that I will be more resistant to change. Everything I read in scripture and the reality of things, however, tells me that I need to be ready to embrace change. My father sometimes says, “The ‘good ole days’ weren’t all that good.” The prophet Isaiah said, “Do not dwell on the past.” Touché.

So I’m trying to lighten up. At the end of the month, Grace Episcopal Church is having a “U2charist,” that is, a service of Holy Communion set to the music of U2, whose lead singer Bono is a committed Christian and very active in world benevolences. In exchange for U2’s publishing company allowing the music to be used, they have asked that all offerings go to charity to fight extreme poverty and the AIDS crisis. I have agreed to help plan and participate. Now I have done a communion service set to music many times… but never to rock music. Who will come to it? If the current trend is any indication, a lot of unchurched will show up. And that’s a good thing.

And recently I read of a media campaign that GracePoint Church, a United Methodist church in Wichita, Kansas, marketed in their area. They rented billboards, designed T-shirts, did movie theater advertising, and sent direct mail out in their area with this slogan: “Church doesn’t SUCK!”

A lot of people didn’t appreciate it – and I didn’t even have the nerve to print the whole word "suck" in our church newsletter (blogs tend to make us a little braver, I guess). But the target audience evidently did appreciate it. GracePoint went from 400 to 600 in worship since the campaign began. And one young lady told pastor Bryson Butts, “You know, I was surprised. The worship service DIDN’T suck!” Bishop Scott Jones said that the slogan communicated well with the young. And the Rev. Butts added, “We weren’t risking enough. We weren’t stepping out enough. It’s about taking risks and being bold with the gospel.”

Evidently, it’s working. GracePoint only started as a church in 2004. They now worship 600. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”

What can we do to be bold?

Pax,
Sky+

Who Gives a …?

"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much… And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." – Luke 16:10, 12-13

All that we have is from God – even our money. This is what Jesus is telling us – we have to be faithful with what God gives us.

Is it really that painful? Do we need to warn the offering stewards to beware? [smile]

Who gives in our church? Here’s how it looks through the month of August:

Total Giving, 34 weeks = $249,256.62 - Average Weekly Giving: $7,331.07
Total Needed, 34 weeks = $241,468.00 - Needed Weekly Giving: $7,102.00

There are 156 regularly attending individuals or families (units).

10 units – 6% did not contribute to the budget
47 units – 30% contributed $20 - $500. This represents 5% of the total giving.
84 units – 54% contributed $500 - $3000. This represents 52% of the total giving.
15 units – 10% contributed over $3000. This total represents 41% of the total giving.

And here’s an interesting statistic: 66 units – 42% of our church – are composed of widows/widowers, singles, and retirees. They gave 34% of our total giving.

Over 40% of our budget comes from 10% of our church. And 34% of our total giving comes from retirees, singles, and widows/widowers. Wow!

It is important not to lose sight that God just doesn’t need our money: when we take church membership vows, we vow to give the church “our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.” But how we spend our money, and how we use it for Kingdom work, is also something we should not lose sight of. Where our treasure is found is where our hearts will be found.

Pax,
Sky+

Communications 101: Developing Community

You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoys its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. – James 3:18

I am not a huge Rick Warren fan (author of The Purpose Driven Life ), he is too much of a Calvinist for me - especially when it comes to predestination. But he once said something about cultivating community in a Christian context that caught my eye: “It takes both God’s power and our effort to produce a loving Christian community.” What are those efforts? Warren gives some good advice:

• Cultivating community takes honesty. In other words, speak the truth in love. Don’t gloss over tough issues or pray that they go away. In the end, people like honesty better than flattery.
• Cultivating community takes humility. Being stubborn, being self-important, and being prideful destroy fellowship and community at lightning speed. Humility builds community. In the words of Paul, paraphrased: “Live in harmony with each other. Don’t try to act im-portant, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all.” Being humble, Warren says, is not to think less of yourself; it is to think of yourself less.
• Cultivating community takes courtesy. We have to respect our differences, be consider-ate of others and their feelings, and be patient with others – even those who irritate us.
• Cultivating community takes confidentiality. Only in safe places will people share their hurts, needs and mistakes. God hates gossip… and yes, sometimes a “prayer request” for someone else is gossip. What is shared in your prayer group or Sunday School class should stay there. “Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships.” (Proverbs 16:18)
• Cultivating community takes frequency. In other words, fellowship needs to take place often, because relationships take time; deep relationships take a lot of time. Shallowness in churches is often due to a lack of spending time cultivating relationships. We need community for spiritual health.

Most of all, community requires commitment, just like families require commitment. And in the Christian context, the family of God is the Church. We have to ask ourselves continually: are we committed to cultivating community?

Pax,
Sky+

The Future of Episcopacy in the UMC – Part 5

In an earlier blog, I mentioned that the lack of leadership and direction in the UMC is showing in alarming ways. And I mentioned that while our bishops should lead, we don’t give them much power to do so. And one solution I mentioned (which I wasn’t for) was this one:

Get rid of the episcopacy? Not my vote, and it would be a feat of legislation and lobbying to enact it. However, the fact is that the Episcopal Fund is in dire straits. Only twenty-one conferences remitted 100% of their Episcopal Fund apportionments in 2005. That’s only one-third of the whole Connection.

The good news is that twenty-two conferences remitted 100% of their Episcopal Fund apportionment in 2006. The bad news? According to the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCF&A), the Episcopal Fund may experience an increase of at least 30% for 2009-2012. Reasons for this include:

• economics of health insurance for active and retired bishops
• impact of early retirements
• salaries and benefits of the bishops
• the fact that no jurisdiction reduced the number of episcopal areas

What this means is other funds will necessarily have to be reduced, even our World Service funding. And if the Côte d’Ivoire and other global members of our Connection join us in 2012 - increasing our role as a truly global church - we will face even greater budgetary challenges. Complicating this is the fact that we have decreasing membership and attendance.

As they say, this is not good.

Where I think we are challenged is to show faithful United Methodists that our bishops are worth the funds. I think what that means is that the Study on the Episcopacy is going to have to make a very strong case for bishops AND define their role, both theologically and practically.

In summary, the Episcopal Fund:

• Pays bishops' salaries
• Pays episcopal office expenses, subject to approval by the General Council on Finance and Administration
• Reimburses 67 percent of the costs for episcopal residences
• Provides pension and health benefit coverage for bishops and their families and disability coverage for bishops
• Covers the cost of episcopal travel
• Defrays moving expenses
• Provides pensions for retired bishops and surviving spouses, and minor children of deceased bishops


It’s an old fable: the donkey in the well. A donkey falls down into a well. Everyone tries to figure out what to do. It’s decided that the donkey is old, the well needs to be covered up anyway, it just isn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. Everyone grabs a shovel and shovels dirt into the well.

The donkey figures out what’s happening, shakes off the dirt with each shovel load, and take a step up. Pretty soon, there is enough dirt for the donkey to step up over the edge of the well, and the donkey trots off.

When I heard the fable the first time, I heard the pithy moral afterwards: “Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up. Shake it off, and take a step up.”

But I heard a different take on the moral of the story the other day. It’s this one: When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back to get you.

I heard Sandra Lackore, GCF&A treasurer, say at the last General Conference: “We have a structure that we can no longer afford.” She warned us. Where the Episcopal Fund was concerned, we were advised to cut one Episcopal Area. No one did. And the Church continued to add off-line expenses and increase budgets. We covered ourselves by saying “We don’t want to cut ministry.” But in essence, we are cutting ministry if we are spending less on evangelism and mission and more on ourselves.

We need to give our leadership the ability to lead. We need to elect our very best to be our episcopal leaders. Not the ones who have paid their dues and bided their time. Not the ones who will satisfy whatever caucus needs to be represented. And not the ones who are elected from a sense of entitlement. We need our best and brightest. And we need them soon.

Pax,
Sky+

Communications 101: Clothing Does NOT Make the Man (or Woman)

"Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” – Matthew 25:44-45

Our society places an inordinate emphasis upon attractiveness, attire, and economic prosperity. Studies have shown that men who wear business suits are perceived as more attractive than men in casual attire. Nice for the secular world, but I wonder if Jesus would approve?

Some people bemoan that people dress more casually for church. My response is: since fewer and fewer people are even bothering to come to church, we should welcome folks with open arms, no matter how they are dressed.

I think we have to be very careful with the first impressions we give our visitors: we only get one chance at a first impression. If we betray our thoughts with a glance at manner of dress, an earring on a man, or a body piercing – we may give ourselves away. We are to welcome everyone, regardless of manner of dress.

This story from “One Tip on How Not to Welcome a Church Visitor” makes a good point:

One of our first time visitors had only been in America for three days. She had never ever been in a church on the globe. Her shorts redefined “mini-shorts.” The curves of her butt cheeks were visible. Her shorts were so tight her thong was visible. Her choice of plunge cut and tight fitting blouse was what we see outside of the nightclubs across the street from our residence in Panama. Instead of being welcomed, she was practically shunned. People didn't approach her, or talk with her (I did, which is how I found out about her story). They stared, stealing secret glances, and trying not to get caught. Let's just say it was a socially awkward morning. Five years later, that visitor is still remembered by the men – only because they remember how much skin they saw. They didn’t see the immigrant searching for God. – from the blog Evangelism Coach, June 12, 2007

The author leaves us with some very good questions. Be honest when you answer:

• How does your church react to visitors who dress or look differently than you?
• Can you still engage visitors in conversation when you can’t stop looking at their nose piercing?
• Do you secretly stare at their interesting haircut or choice of hair color?
• How do you react to twenty something in ripped blue jeans?
• Do you secretly wonder if the foreign visitor is legal?

Remember: communications is more than just talking. Our body language and facial expressions tell as much about ourselves as our words. How do we welcome the stranger - or even those known to us who dress or look differently? Do we welcome them as we would Jesus?

Jesus had long hair and didn't wear underwear, by the way.

Pax,
Sky+

Communications 101: Failure to Communicate

One of the biggest myths in the church: Lack of money prevents a lack of excellence in church communications and hospitality. To be honest, that’s not a reason – it’s an excuse. Budgets do not, and never have, prevented progress in communications nor in how we welcome church visitors.

Why is this important? The stakes are high! A church is a living organism. If one leg is not communicating with the other, walking will be difficult and running impossible. Hospitality is important too, to friends and strangers alike. People who come through our doors aren’t made to be here – they come on their own. If we don’t welcome them into the faith and into our fellowship, there may be nothing else to keep them here initially. We don’t meet folks halfway… we meet them all the way. Guests are expected to do nothing; we invite them into fellowship.

Fact: How often have we heard or said, “I didn’t know about that.” Did we read our newsletter? Bulletin announcements? Our emails? And if we chair or serve as secretary of a committee, did we send our minutes to other church entities? The church office? We are considering printing the minutes of all committee meetings so that we can all be in the know. No church meeting (other than personnel matters) is a “secret” meeting – and if we don’t communicate, as a body we will not function well.

Fact: The church calls us to, as well as depends upon, hospitality. Thom Rainer of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary predicts, based on data, that 50,000 American churches will close by the end of 2010. Worse, further analysis shows that most churches are on “life support” – living off previous generations’ work, money, and energy. 80% of the money presently given to congregations comes from people aged 55 years and older. Some of the best givers are widowed men and women! Anyone that is knowledgeable in finance or actuaries knows that we cannot be sustained on inherited faithfulness or inherited money. We must always be creating a new generation of disciples who are faithful in much.

We have to talk and listen. We have to be knowledgeable about our church. And we have to welcome each person who comes through our doors as a fellow sinner in need of grace, redemption, and forgiveness. We are the disciples of Jesus Christ.

Pax,
Sky+