Too Busy

[from the church newsletter 3/26/09]

It is a Lenten discipline that I do not do so well. I get too busy. Too busy for Sabbath. Too busy to pray. Too busy to read the Scriptures outside of everyday work and maybe a hurried morning or evening prayer. Too busy to eat a meal. Too busy to watch a basketball game on television.

As I was traveling back from Lexington earlier this week, I listened to a lot of music in the car. One song (a Dave Matthews song) struck me in particular: “Ants Marching.” The song has a very unique rhythm and cadence, and you can envision the ants marching along. The lyrics, however, are not just entertaining – they are a bit damning:

Driving in on this highway
All these cars and upon the sidewalk
People in every direction
No words exchanged
No time to exchange

And all the little ants are marching
Red and black antennas waving
We all do it the same
We all do it the same way

Are we so busy as to not notice each other – or worse, pretend not to notice each other – as we pass by each other day after day? Are we just ants marching along?

Those that we pass by, they will know we are Christians if we have Christ in our heart and on our face. Let us not meet strangers each day – but find generous friends.

Pax,
Sky+

Guaranteed Pastoral Appointments - A Luxury We Can Afford Anymore?

In United Methodism, all full-connection elders, provisional elders, and associate clergy members are guaranteed an appointment. While I don't have a 2008 Book of Discipline yet, the 2004 version states it this way: : “Every effective elder in full connection who is in good standing shall be continued under appointment by the bishop...” (¶334.1). The history of the guaranteed appointment goes back to 1956, when there were fears that women clergy would not be treated fairly and that pastors might not be able to freely preach the Gospel for fear of being fired. The Discipline then read, “Every traveling preacher, unless retired, supernumerary, on sabbatical leave, or under arrest of character, must receive an appointment.” (¶149, 1956).

I've always worried a little about what this could mean ever since I became the chair of our conference's commission on equitable compensation. By church law, the cabinet, conference, and commission all bear the responsibility of insuring that all full-connection and provisional elders are compensated at the minimum salary level as set by each annual conference. So, what happens if there are more people than appointments? Who pays the compensation (which each elder has a claim upon) if there is no place to appoint them?

Before you say, "No way this can happen," the Western North Carolina conference is facing this very issue. A portion of Bishop Goodpaster's letter to the WNC Conference reads as follows (emphasis mine):

We entered our work together aware of the anxiety and turmoil that fill our society and many of our churches during this time. We knew there would be challenges. Eighteen of our churches decided to eliminate an Associate Pastor position; others, because of the economy, had notified us that the compensation package of the pastor would be lower in July, many at substantial cuts. We have a dozen of elders who will be returning from either Extension Ministry appointments or various Leaves. With the downturn in the value of the pension funds, fewer of our clergy opted to retire this year. And, in response to the continuing call of God, we have a number of Western North Carolina students graduating from seminary and returning to serve Christ in their home conference.

We are not yet ready to notify any person or church about a projected appointment for the coming year. The reality: after working for more than four days, we arrived at an unprecedented moment. Having tentatively “filled” every open and available charge with a clergyperson, there were still more than two dozen clergy (most either full connected ordained elders or provisional elders) without a placement. That, of course, is unacceptable, and contrary to the principle of the itinerancy system that is part of our Wesleyan heritage.

We have now returned to our homes and offices to continue our work, committed to prayer and fasting, and to consultations with clergy and churches as we seek a way forward together. We will gather again during the week after Easter to continue and complete our work. We anticipate being able to share appointment information with you following that April meeting. We ask for your patience, prayers, and understanding. We are living in extraordinary times with never-before-experienced circumstances. We are absolutely confident that God will continue to bless our conference, and will provide a way. - Bishop Larry Goodpaster, 3/20/09 (the whole letter can be read here).

When you have (a) a decrease in the number of pastoral appointments, (b) seminarians who are finishing school ready to serve, and (c) some pastors who have previously served in extension ministries that now are coming back into the pastorate (and guaranteed an appointment), pitted against (1) the situation of churches who have to scale back salaries and drop staff positions, (2) folks who have to work longer and retire at a later age, and (3) a denomination that is losing members... well, the math just doesn't work. Something has got to change.
Options?

• Do away with the guaranteed appointment. Bishops and cabinets are often frustrated by having to appoint ineffective clergy year after year. And now, conference budgets can no longer afford to supplement pastor salaries for the sake of making appointments.
• Lower the conference minimum salary. While that's certainly not a popular notion, you could solve some of the problem of trying to appoint pastors who have a claim on minimum salary by lowering it.
• Limit the number of candidates approved by boards of ministry to the number of elders retiring. That's certainly not a popular notion, though, nor good for raising the next generation of clergy.

I don't have a good solution, and I will be praying for Bishop Goodpaster and his cabinet. But I know the problem will be one not just for Western North Carolina, but for many conferences in the Connection.

That is, unless we start to grow the Church again. That would be the best option.

Your ideas?

Pax,
Sky+

Sweet 16 Established

Click to enlarge bracket.

64÷2=32

Click on the image to enlarge:

My bracket didn't do too badly, but it's far from perfect. There's goes my $1 million from Yahoo...

March Madness

I write this as I am taking some vacation time at the Kentucky Boys State Tournament. Last night was pretty exciting - a record crowd for a 1st round game of 21,408 folks made the atmosphere even more charged. Our own 1st Region team Graves County lost a heartbreaker on Wednesday to 6th Region's Louisville Central 53-31. For those who might not know: Kentucky still has open-division basketball; no classifications. Big schools, little schools, and in-between schools all compete against each other. It wasn't so long ago that I came here to watch Region One's Carlisle Co play in the Sweet Sixteen - a school of about 260 students. There are lots of David vs. Goliath stories to be told throughout the years.

I am uploading my NCAA bracket. I'd love to see Memphis win it all, but I don't think it will hold - and I am going with my family roots and picking Kansas, who is no stranger to the roundball. Best of luck to all on their brackets. You can click on mine to enlarge it.

Sky+

Nice, But It's Still a Change from What I'm Used To...

I said I wouldn't get one - because it was a cliché. Too trendy. It's more of a toy than a tool. I said all of these things about an iPhone. And even though I've had Macs since seminary, I wasn't sold on the iPhone.

Until yesterday.

I had a Treo 650 for years - a great phone, wonderful tool for ministry, great calendaring abilities and contacts management. Email worked seamlessly. If I needed to surf the net, I could. It synched with all my stuff on my laptop and office server. Palm OS was great to use and easy to update. It was a powerful little PDA.

Mine had some age on it. I'd dropped it one too many times. Our cat played hockey with it a few times. No problem, I thought, I'll buy the latest Treo and stuff will easily upgrade. Except that the Treo isn't as supported on the newer upgrades of software as previous Treos were. It can't even sync up with the new version of Microsoft Office. So I studied and decided that for what I needed, a Blackberry Bold was what I needed. I studied it and the iPhone and decided the Blackberry was the ticket.

All was well until the price - the Blackberry was priced $100 HIGHER than an iPhone. And my data plan was going to be LESS than my present one. So, while I can't believe it, the iPhone turned out to be cheaper. And I got it. And it's growing on me; slowly, but it's getting there. I like the music abilities. It talks to my Mac more seamlessly than my Treo did. And I found some apps that are helpful for work, such as MileBug for keeping up with business travel. I'm still not used to typing on it, but I'm trying to be patient. Change doesn't come easy to me.

In a way, perhaps it's a way to practice embracing my Lenten discipline to be more aware of my need to be a disciple in the world. I need to get out of my comfort zones and be a disciple and be the church. I need to be less set in my ways and be open to the Spirit in new ways of hearing, doing, and being in the work of the Kingdom. I need to let go and let God. That means trying new things, and being willing to part with the static and comfortable.

That is, no doubt, my growing edge. How much am I willing to give up for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom? How much are we all willing to give up?

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

Sky+

Ordained Ministry in the UMC - Part II

Someone asked me when I was going to write a book about my thoughts about the UMC. I told him in light of my last post, writing such a book would fall under Category Three of the Magliozzi's theory: "Reinvent Everything." Plus, if I did write a book and got it published, someone might get the idea that I was considering a run at the episcopacy. Yikes.

There are way too many good things already written that need to be heeded. Related to ordained ministry, a document that REALLY needs to be read, studied, and implemented is "Becoming a Pastor: Reflections on the Transition into Ministry." You can download it by clicking here. The Alban Institute did the work, and the Lilly Endowment funded it. That's enough authority for me.

The report looked at 800 beginning pastors in their first call or appointment in parish ministry, a collective endeavor that was named Transition into Ministry. It shows, with damning evidence, the wide disconnects between beginning pastors, seminary education, and denominational judicatories (in the UMC, that would be our Cabinets and Conference Boards of Ministry). The bottom line is that the transition into ministry is an increasingly complex and lonely process which is not just undermining clergy effectiveness, but starving churches of leadership and spiritual direction.

Seminary doesn't always help. The report quoted a book that a Lutheran pastor had written several years ago about his first church (Richard Lischer's Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey through a Country Church). Years of theological and ministerial preparation, along with a Ph.D, had not adequately prepared him for the average church in Southern Illinois (just a hop, skip, and a jump from where I presently live). He made it through, but came to a very shocking discovery. In his words:

Eight years of theological education had rendered us [Lischer and his seminary classmates] uncertain of our identity and, like our professors, unemployable in the real world. After years of grooming, we were no longer sure what it meant to be a pastor or if we wanted to be one. (Open Secrets, p. 40, and "Becoming a Pastor", p. 9)

It is quite possible that we have approached arrogance in our model of educating and training clergy. A cookie-cutter process, psychological evaluations, and theological evaluation of clergy candidates may have their place, but it is not contributing to the essentials that are evidently not being taught: being the local spiritual leader in a community, being able to work collaboratively with a parish that has a broad range of viewpoints and inviting shared vision to church ministry and mission. Seminaries tend to reward folks with self-initiative. Congregations need leaders who can work with people. Before we knock seminaries too hard, most seminary professors are folks steeped in academia, not ecclesia. And in all honesty, at least in United Methodism, our seminaries are really not seminaries - they are schools of divinity/theology.

While I don't want to knock academia, it is possible that we have made it the focus of the learning experience for those called to pastoral ministry. That seems misplaced to me, and I agree with the report: the congregation should be the focus of the learning experience for training clergy. We have probably gotten too academic for our own good. I think we should co-opt the model used for the training of medical physicians: academia AND residency. The report says it better:

Only when both domains of pastoral formation - the seminary and the congregation - recognize and resource one another can the full range of formation be accomplished. (p. 20)

We need to look at ways to approach addressing the inadequacies. And if anyone says that we don't need to do this, ask yourself: are we making disciples for Jesus Christ? So far, the United Methodist Church, since its birth in 1968 from the merger of two denominations, hasn't gained in membership - it's only lost membership. While it might not ALL be due to pastoral ineffectiveness, leadership DOES play a big part.

Pax,

Sky+

Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church

Can you say, "What a mess?"


Twenty-some years ago, I went thru the "process" to become ordained in the UMC. I have since served as a supervising elder (which later was renamed "clergy mentor") for those who were exploring candidates for ministry, those who were certified candidates, those ordained deacons and then on probation (but now we don't ordain folks deacons before becoming elders, and they aren't on probation anymore, they are considered "provisional"). Folks who wanted to be ordained were at first ordained deacons 1/2 way thru seminary, then could be ordained and elder after two years of completing seminary, then it was three years, but now you aren't ordained a deacon (unless you want to be a Permanent Deacon), and then it became two years, and now it can be two or three years depending on your annual conference. In the past few years, I've been on the district and conference board of ministry, and just last week got "re-certified" as a clergy mentor. We have ANOTHER new book. And new procedures and policies. The wheel has been re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reinvented. And it still looks square.

In the UMC, only the ordained can preside over Word and Sacrament. Unless you are a local pastor. Or a provisional pastor. But then your authority to baptize or preside at Eucharist is limited to the parish that you are appointed to. And if you've been a local pastor in the past but aren't currently serving a church, then you are just a lay person. So when your visiting Baptist or Catholic friend asks you, "I heard your pastor wasn't ordained. How does s/he do their job, then?" you can say, "Well, they are appointed, just not ordained." And then you'll get a blank look.

The mess isn't confined to local pastors. The Book of Discipline covers extensively the rules and regulations of ordained ministry, and you find very quickly that the UMC covers the authority of ordained ministry very well. But there is one thing that is greatly lacking: theology. We have no theology of ordination. None. Nada. Zippo. It goes against the basic understanding of ministry and discipleship in general: we have to know WHY we do what we do. It seems like when it comes to the ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, we will try and do just about anything.

The problem is, when we ordain someone, we have no idea what we're doing.

During the recent ice storm, i had some time in the evenings to catch up on "light" reading. One treasure of a book was a book by Tom & Ray Magliozzi (yes, Click and Clack of NPR's "Car Talk"), entitled In Our Humble Opinion. Being a shade-tree mechanic, I loved reading it. But these guys aren't just car greasers - they are geniuses about life.

One chapter was entitled, "Blatant Ergonomic Blunders." They talked about how cars have gone from being simple and functional to being so technologically advanced as to be useless. Tom noted that his 1963 Dodge Dart took three knobs to work and adjust the heater control; since one is driving a car, one doesn't need to be taking their eyes off the road to adjust such things as heat and air. He recently drove a car that had 14 buttons to adjust the car's heat and air - with all of the buttons the same in size and shape, indistinguishable by touch, which meant you had to squint and read the miniature icons on each button to determine its function.

It led Tom to believe that as "advanced" as we have gotten, we are making more blunders than we are advances. After driving 100's of cars, he categorized all of these blunders into these seven (7) categories:

1. Use a technology not because it's appropriate, but because it's there.
2. Be different at any cost.
3. Reinvent everything.
4. Copy nothing; not even great ideas. It's embarrassing to admit that you didn't think of it yourself.
5. Just plain stupidity (noting that baseball great Ted Williams once told a teammate, "If you don't think too good, try not to think too much.")
6. Too many cooks.
7. Oops! Where the hell are we gonna put this?

After reading those, I thought: MAN. THESE GUYS HAVE THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PEGGED. Not just where ordained ministry is concerned, but in general!

More thoughts coming...

Sky+

Worse Than We Thought

When I first heard the initial estimates some people being without power for a month, and of the ice storm clean up taking up to a year, I thought it was hyperbole. Now, I am slowly realizing the reality. Our disaster has been classified as a major disaster. Hurricane Katrina was "only" a disaster. The death toll in Kentucky is up to 33.

The people that have come to the church to eat at meals we have prepared daily are from all walks of life: some are our own church members who are still without power or other utilities, while others come from other parts of the Greater Paducah area suffering the same fate. Some are lineman from telephone, cable, and electric companies from all over the U.S. Others are professional tree cutters. Many of the volunteer groups coming in have eaten with us. And some folks have been gracious enough to simply sit down with folks, listen to their stories, and pray with them. We in the Reidland community have learned a lot about fellowship, community, and Christian servanthood & discipleship. All of us have been humbled.

Some disasters that have spun off from the major disaster have broken my heart. The schools tell us that many children are going home to dark houses that are empty - not just from absent parents, but empty of food. Because of costs incurred by many in the ice storm, those who were already living check-to-check find themselves in dire straits. Also, there are some who are out of work or working fewer hours because their employers are not running full strength, and with less pay coming in and the added expenditures of gasoline for generators and non-perishable food, they have less money to pay the bills that continue to come in the mail. All of this in a sour economy is creating a disaster of its own.

There are disasters spinning off of the ice storm disaster. A Minnesota lineman was killed and another one critically injured while working on a pole trying to restore power. Yesterday, winds of 50+ mph undid some work done, and created new work to do. Trucks have accidentally snagged low-lying temporary electric and communications lines (I've never seen a telephone pole temporarily erected in the median of an Interstate highway, have you?).

So, along with feeding folks one hot meal a day, we are also distributing bottled water and family-size MRE's for those in need. Those in rural areas without electricity are often dependent on wells for their water, and without electricity they have no access to fresh water.

I am blessed that the conference disaster recovery coordinator is a member of my church. Tomorrow, he, along with our bishop, district superintendent, conference director, and conference communications director are going to be here to help us spread the word and encourage outside groups to help us in clean up and in counseling storm victims.

I'm also blessed to live in Reidland. Folks from Reidland UMC, Reidland Baptist, Reidland Church of Christ, and Gospel Mission Church have been so helpful with meals, cleanup, and serving. What a wonderful way to exhibit the Body of Christ!

I know from being in the midst of a disaster before that healing of land, homes, and people is slow. Yet, life continues, and the need for balance and patience is great. But I also know that when things are at their worst, the Body of Christ is often at its best. I continue to pray that this is the case, and hope you will join my prayers.

Pax,
Sky+

Starting the Clean Up

It will certainly be a long haul, but area faith-based work teams began their work today to take a dent out of the mess. The turnout has been initially slim; I think people are still busy digging themselves out before they can think about digging others out. I am still proud of my church; they continue to serve hot meals each day, and treating each person that comes in as an honored guest.

A few of us went to an area veterinarian's home to help him get rid of fallen trees. While several put in a whole day's work, complete with some heavy equipment (and a skilled operator of it to boot!), we didn't quite get done. But there were several joys to celebrate, and as always, this pastor came away with much more than he gave.

For one, three of us minister types worked together: Todd Belt (youth director of Woodlawn C.P.), the Rev. Dr. Larry Lewis (pastor of Reidland Baptist), and myself. While this doesn't strike me odd, I am sure it strikes lots of people odd given the fact that most people think we only work one day a week and that none of us know a hammer from a nail. "Doc" was so impressed he took a picture of us. What a blessing to work with colleagues of different denominations and finding common ground in our laboring together.

The other blessing that I received was watching Doc, a man in his 80's (still full-time at his vet clinic, able to run a chain saw, and as the picture shows, is still able to walk on the roof of his house), drop all that he was doing amidst the tragedy around his own home to meet a family in his driveway concerned about their dog. He got into the car with them, went to the clinic, and delivered bad news to them that their dog had cancer. He wasn't put out, he didn't seem inconvenienced - he was compassionate and gracious. Being the lover of all the things that God created, he lamented over all the beautiful trees that are now so damaged and deformed.

Doc's not your normal veterinarian - he's also a philosopher and theologian and an author of two books (click here and here). But today, amidst being ministered to, he also witnessed to us and reminded us of the wonder and responsibility we have to God's creation, whether it be some one's pet or the wonderful trees that give us life-giving oxygen and wonderful beauty. The cross of Christ doesn't just remind us of the crucifixion - it also reminds us of the resurrection and how we should embody the joy of creation.

Pax,

Sky+

Discipleship In Action

[From Today's Church Newsletter]

As members of this congregation will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?

I know that RUMC gets tired of me saying this every Sunday before the offering in worship. But I also know how generous our church is - and as a congregation, you have certainly offered all of these things in the past week. Removing brush, continuing to build wheelchair ramps, and preparing daily meals has required the service of many people and differing gifts. 

Our own Bill Carr, who serves as the Memphis Conference disaster relief coordinator, is sharing his vast gifts and experience. Melinda Warriner, one of our church staff, is coordinating the preparation and serving of daily meals. Our church youth have been present in so many ways and in varying places. So many of you have stepped up and heard the call.

What lifts my spirits is the participation of area pastors and churches, businesses and individuals, once again working together. Reidland Baptist is very involved with our meal serving. Starting tomorrow morning, we will serve as a meeting place for those who want to begin organized brush and debris cleaning. Golden Eagle Distributing brought us 50 cases of drinking water (I must say it's the first time I've ever been happy to see a Budweiser truck in the driveway of the church!).

Are we blessed? Most certainly. Are we blessed to be a blessing to others? I think that is what God created us to be, isn't it?

Mother Teresa spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast several years ago, and reminded us this:

It is not enough for us to say: "I love God," but I also have to love my neighbor. St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don't love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is not true love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.

It hurt Jesus to love us. We have been created in His image for greater things, to love and to be loved. We must "put on Christ" as Scripture tells us. And so, we have been created to love as He loves us. Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and He says, "You did it to Me." On the last day He will say to those on His right, "whatever you did to the least of these, you did to Me, and He will also say to those on His left, whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you neglected to do it for Me. 

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta, National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, on Thursday, Feb 3, 1994.

Be blessed. And be a blessing. I am very proud of you, RUMC.

Pax,

Sky+

Reidland UMC Serving Meals Daily: 1-4 PM

Folks from Reidland UMC and Reidland Baptist Church are pooling their resources to serve a hot meal daily from 1-4 PM. There are still many without power or means to cook meals, as well as relief workers already in place who can use a good meal. Please spread the word.

Thanks to all of those who are serving, preparing, purchasing, and planning all of the meals. It is a blessing to serve here!

Pax,
Sky+

Up And Running - Kind Of