Confessions of a New District Superintendent

As I write this, I am at an Emerging Leaders Conference for younger clergy. Before some of you snicker: yes - I am aware that I am not one of the younger clergy anymore. I was invited to attend to get a feel of what younger clergy are experiencing, as I am going to become a district superintendent in March. For those of you who are not United Methodist, a couple of definitions for district superintendent can be found here and here.

Several years ago, a colleague of mine told me, "You better be praying about what you are going to do when the bishop calls you to be a superintendent." I poo-pooed that off and assured him that no bishop in his right mind would ask me to be a superintendent. I am too blunt, too critical of church hierarchy, and don't smile enough. I didn't give it much further thought until that very same thing was said to me more recently: "You better be praying about what you are going to do when the bishop calls you to be a superintendent." This person added, "I bet you are going to be asked."

One part of me thought of my previous response. But the contemplative in me reminded me of a time when I was at church camp in college, working on staff, and three young women on staff told me that they thought I should be a preacher. I laughed. I told them what people from my hometown would say. I told them what I wanted to do in life. They insisted, "We've prayed about this."

In discerning my call to ministry, I realized that it is less about what we WANT to do, and more about what we are CALLED to do. It goes all the way back to our baptism: God ordains us (clergy or lay), equips us, gifts us, and graces us with what we are called to do as disciples. And sometimes that takes us to places we will enjoy and will thrive, and sometimes it will take us to places that are difficult and may even suck the life out of us. So after a lot of prayer, a lot of discernment, and a lot of listening to what God was saying, I realized that if I were asked to be a superintendent, I would say yes. And I did.

Bishop Wills, our resident bishop, preached last night at the conference. He is retiring in September and shared with us that while there are some things about being a bishop that are very blessed, it can also be very difficult work. It was honest, it was heartfelt, and parts of it were hard for me to hear. I know that in Methodism, our bishops are really more like archbishops, and our superintendents are essentially bishops. I know there will be distasteful work ahead. I know I will have to make gut-wrenching decisions. And I am well aware that God is calling United Methodism to go in a different direction, for if we don't, my generation could end up burying the denomination instead of serving it.

I know myself well enough to know that my love and my joy in life comes from being a parish pastor. I also know that sometimes, God doesn't call us to go where we want to go. As Bishop Wills shared, it not about ourselves - it is about being faithful.

If any Methodist preacher is honest if asked which story in the Bible is the one they hate the most, it would be Jonah. God calls Jonah to go to Ninevah; Jonah wants to go to Tarshish. We all know the story. And, if most Methodist preachers are honest, we know the sin of lust - we want to be liked, we want the admiration and respect of our peers, we want that "big" church. The true test of our calling is resisting the temptations of the flesh so that we might be faithful.

Some say becoming a district superintendent is a promotion or elevation; indeed, among many United Methodist circles some would say that you "have arrived" when you have been appointed such. I hardly think I have arrived, and I certainly don't think it's a promotion. A grave responsibility? Yes. Necessary? Yes. I am sure there are some things that I will like about it, and some things that I will detest. I just hope that I can be faithful. I feel a lot like the prophet Jeremiah: a bit reticent and young, with an excuse for everything that God might ask of me, but not rebellious enough to not hear what God is saying: "Get yourself ready." (Jer 1:17).

May we all be faithful to our call: clergy, laity... even D.S.'s and bishops.

Pax,
Sky+

Role Reversal

As a very young minister, I remember making one of my first nursing home visits. It was to the mother of a church member suffering from advanced dementia. The family asked me to bring communion one Sunday afternoon to the nursing home and that they would gather the whole extended family there. The woman didn't know anyone: me, the staff, or any of her family. She responded very little to anything anyone said. But as I gave her communion, she spoke very clearly, "You forgot the other part." I asked her which part. "You know. 'We do not presume to come to this thy table...'" Well, I did know... barely. And while I struggled to remember that prayer from my childhood memories of Holy Communion, she helped me get through it. Never missed a word. But right after that, her daughter helped her get back into her bed. She cussed us all a blue streak of words that would have made a sailor blush. Yet her daughter calmly and lovingly laid her down and said, "I love you, Mom." As we left the room, she told me, "Once an adult, but twice a child."

I am finally getting that. Taking care of your children can certainly be trying. But taking care of an aging parent is more than trying - it can be gut wrenching. It is very hard to "honor" mother and father when you have to treat them like one of your children: with respect, but with authority.

As I write this, my father lies in an ICU bed, victim of an intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) more than likely caused by his high blood pressure. It has robbed him of his memories. He doesn't know me or my brother and struggles to make sentences that make sense. My brother says, "His hard drive is fragmented." Yet like the woman I mentioned above, Dad and I sang "Blessed Assurance" and "Church in the Wildwood" (he sang the bass part in the chorus) and he didn't miss a verse. I had to read some of the verses off of my iPhone - but he needed no such help. Such are the mysteries of brain dysfunction and dementia.

My once gentle, somewhat eccentric but kind-hearted father is currently in restraints, and was earlier cussing and yelling at me for torturing him, telling me that I should be ashamed of myself for allowing this to happen. The more he yelled, the more his heart rate increased until it became dangerously high, as did his blood pressure. The pastor in me trained in pastoral care tells me that this is not my father talking, but the disease. The son in me, however, is having a hard time witnessing it, though. Finally, a stronger sedative has allowed him to rest peacefully.

I have no idea what the future holds for my father. How much damage did the IVH cause? Does he heal and get his memories back? Does his dementia get worse? Does that mean living in an assisted living facility or a nursing home? Of course, no one can answer these questions.

Jesus told Peter, "When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." I think of what is going on with my brother and me regarding Dad's welfare and care as "role reversal." But the truth may be that it is simply the circle of life, and just an extension of my call as a disciple: to feed and tend the sheep.

Even if it's one of your own parents.

Sky+

Restoring, Renewing, and Trying Something New - II

Four years ago, I wrote a similar post to this one. It is a reminder to me how we are all on a journey and pilgrimage where our salvation, sanctification, and witness are concerned.


Restoring. About four years ago, I bought a 1991 BMW 325i. It needed a lot of TLC and love, and it was an opportunity to hone my mechanical (and patience) skills. I had a lot of fun getting it restored and drivable, and for the last several years it has served me well as a very reliable (as well as fun-to-drive) automobile.


Two weeks ago, I acquired a 1994 BMW 325i convertible. I've been driving it for about a week. So far, I've done a brake job, replaced a left rear spindle, put new tires on it, and traced down some wiring/computer glitches. There is a long laundry list of things that still need to happen to get it restored that won't happen overnight, but it's a solid car with a good engine and body. I've never had a convertible, and after the next couple of months I will find out if I really want to keep a convertible as a daily driver, but so far I've had a few sunny days to drive with the top down. Like all BMW's, they are truly "The Ultimate Driving Experience" (BMW's motto). Of course, the only way I could ever drive and maintain a BMW is restoring and maintaining one (and that being an older model!) on my own. New Bimmer's aren't cheap. Thankfully, I am still debt-free where cars are concerned.

Both cars have taught me a lot about renewal, restoration, and resurrection. Those aren't just helpful in working on old cars... they are essential in the life of faith!


Renewing. Last week I attended a Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation, sponsored by the Upper Room. Loosely based on a monastic model, each day's rhythm embodies the balance of silence, worship, community, and individual guides. The lectures were incredible, the silence just as incredible, and the worship inspiring and uplifting. I have forgotten how much I love to worship (as opposed to leading worship)! The week also reminded me of the very wise words of my Order of St. Luke mentor Hoyt Hickman, when he sojourned with me as I contemplated life vows in the Order: "Sky, long before you were ordained, you were baptized. THAT is your identity. Any calling you have ultimately comes from that." Last week, the distinctions of ordained and lay were removed (just as in any intentional religious community) - we were all pilgrims on a pathway to more spiritual enlightenment. So refreshing and so renewing!!

Again, as I wrote four years ago, I am also reminded of the need for balance where renewal is concerned. Balance between work and sabbath. Balance between study and doing. Balance between being in the world and being silent and away from the world. To remember to walk and not run on our pilgrimage of faith. To be open to all of wonderful opportunities God presents us yet to be sure we model setting boundaries as well. To be reminded that while cattle are driven, sheep are led. To know that God is not pleased with my exhaustion. To be reminded that sabbath is a command, not a suggestion.

Trying Something New. I have always been a contemplative at heart, but I am beginning to realize that my preferences in life are merely that: preferences. They are not how I am ruled nor indicative of how I should act. And while I might have an introverted nature, it does not remove me from my mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ. As a type "A" person, I don't deal well with interruptions; however, I am also reminded of the words of Henri Nouwen: "Interruptions are my ministry." If I can draw people into the community of faith with my love, grace, and hospitality, I am one step close in fulfilling the mission of discipleship. With the balance of "getting away" and "being in the world but not of the world," perhaps I can be more like Jesus.

So I am going to start praying/communicating with God differently. I am going to be even more silent in our conversations to consider the day's events and what God is trying to say to me. Hopefully this will help me to bridge heaven and earth so I might better understand the prayer of "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven."

Pax,
Sky+

What It's All About

I've been involved in athletics all of my life in some capacity: player, trainer, groundskeeper, coach, official. There are certainly things about athletics that are less than wonderful. However, there are sometimes moments that bless us beyond measure. I wrote about one such moment a few years ago. And I want to share another one with you, with permission from Janice Grimes (one of my church members, and the proud Graves County football mom of Ragan & Reed).

Some context: Graves County and Marshall County high schools are very large high schools that neighbor each other, and are intense rivals in all sports, being District One Class 6A rivals in football.

As you may know, Graves County High School lost one of its students last Thursday after a long battle with cancer. Tori Beth Waggoner was just 17 years old, looking forward to her senior prom, graduation and life, in general.

The football team dedicated their Friday night game against archrival Marshall County to Tori and her family. The team members wore black socks and asked their fans to wear black, symbolizing the designated color of Tori's type of cancer. They also had a moment of silence for her before the standard prayer and National Anthem.

After a hard-fought victory against Marshall County, our players sang their victory song to the crowd, as they always do after a win. Then they all went to center field to hold yet another prayer vigil for Tori.

The announcer invited anyone who wanted to, to come down and join the team and members of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) as they "took a knee" to pray. As the fans flocked the field, I turned to see the entire Marshall County football team running to center field to join in with our team and players to pray!

I was absolutely speechless at what I was witnessing! The rivalry between these two teams is extremely intense, but in times of sorrow, they forgot about it and came together as one to PRAY!

It was a very moving experience for all of us that stood in silence and watched what was unfolding on our football field.

Thanks for allowing me to share this with you. Have a wonderful week!

Janice Grimes

Testimony and Faith

Everyone on the news has made a fuss of Stephen Colbert testifying in front on congress regarding immigration reform. Some pundits loved it, some could only complain about the tax dollars spent. Two congressmen from both sides of the aisle were, in my opinion, fairly rude to him and invited him to leave.

It seems that most of the press left out this part of his testimony, when he left character and testified from the heart:

I like talking about people who don't have any power, and this seemed like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result. And yet we still invite them to come here and at the same time ask them to leave. That's an interesting contradiction to me. And, you know, "whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers" - and these seem like the least of our brothers right now. A lot of people are least brothers right now because the economy is so hard. And I don't want to take anyone's hardship away from them or diminish anything like that, but migrant workers suffer and have no rights.

- Stephen Colbert, Congressional Testimony, Sept 24, 2010

Colbert is a practicing Roman Catholic, and teaches catechism/Sunday School classes to young children preparing for First Communion. He quoted from Matthew 25. Of course, none of the pundits would want to talk about what Jesus said. That's not good enough for politics or the media. It probably galled liberals that Colbert would quote scripture. And it probably galled conservatives that the guy they've labeled a "left-wing comedian" quoted scripture, too.

I personally think Colbert was sharp enough to know that he wasn't being asked to testify from his heart, but to testify in character. But I also think he was sharp enough to work in what he REALLY thought - in the manner that Jesus was alluding to in the Parable of the Dishonest Steward, where Jesus hopes his disciples will be shrewd disciples - at LEAST as shrewd as the rest of the world - in being faithful. Colbert's closing remarks were not in character or part of his schtick, but rather, his faithful testimony as a Christian and citizen.

And for that I say: spot on, Mr. Colbert. You can claim to be an entertainer and satirist. But some of us see your faith, too.

Pax,

Sky+

Only God Can Fix It

Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business. It also is God’s business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought . . . unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy . . . What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort . . . than being able from time to time to stop that chatter . . .

- Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets, 1991

I got a call from an acquaintance the other day, and he was complaining about one of our fellow acquaintances that we knew. “I can’t understand how he can afford to buy a new car every three years, and how he has a house on the lake and takes his family to Europe every other year.” It was a rather odd question that I didn’t know the answer to, so I simply said, “Heck, I don’t know.” And, I added, “Why would you care?” His response was classic, if not disappointing: “Because I want to know!!” So I simply suggested that he call him to find out. “I knew you would be no help! I’m gonna find out what’s up with this!” And that was the end of that phone call.

Now I don’t know if he proceeded to call others to ask the same question, or if he was going to hire a private detective. But what I do know is that he was consumed with knowing someone else’s business. I’m fairly sure it also falls under the headings of envy and covet, and perhaps gossip. I am sure I can be equally guilty of any of those things as well.

The book I quoted from is from a series of books Buechner wrote that were autobiographical. Buechner’s father committed suicide when he was young, and he later struggled in helping a daughter who had anorexia. He found that he had his own demons to confront without worrying about others around him. God would have us be concerned about our own business, rather than the business of others. It doesn’t mean we isolate ourselves from the world, but it does mean that any “fixing” that happens is because God fixes, heals, and metes out justice.

Instead of talking and pointing the finger, let us simply listen and receive the grace of Jesus. It is sufficient!

Pax,
Sky+

Doing Your BEST for the Church

I have had many mentors in my ministry; some of them were unaware that they were mentors to me. One of them is Belton Joyner. While I am sure he doesn’t remember it, we were on the same legislative committee at General Conference 2004. I always found his voice to be one of reason and calm.

He wrote several years ago about how you empower your church staff to do good work. I think this extends not just to staff, but to volunteer church positions as well. Micromanaging ANYTHING is always a mistake, and to do so in the church stifles leadership, discipleship, and the Spirit. Permit me to share the acronym B E S T as the Rev. Joyner explains it:

Believe in the staff. This motivates staff members and releases their potential. By believing in them you engage, equip, and empower staff members to succeed at what they do, and, in turn, your own success increases.

Encourage the staff. Let them know their work is important and personally appreciated by you. Publicly compliment them. Empower staff members by delegating responsibility to them whenever possible.

Share with the staff. Create an environment where communication, creativity, and specific expectations are a clear part of the culture.

Trust the staff. Trust is the glue that holds the staff together. Increase staff members’ freedom and responsibility as trust develops. Don’t get involved in every detail of their work. Trust them to try out new ideas and encourage them if they fail.

You have to give credit where credit is due. We choose people to do a job and then we should allow them to do it! I do my best to “butt out” of stuff unless I’m asked for help, because I know I can’t build leadership if I don’t allow it to develop.

I don’t think any of these things apply just to staff – I think they apply to all church leadership. I hope you will think about all of these things in the days to come. If you are asked to serve on a board or committee, I hope you will prayerfully consider it – and know how I feel about volunteer church positions. I certainly want to help and support all of our church staff and officers – but God gave you gifts that are unique to you! We need them, and I don’t want to stifle them!!!

Pax,
Sky+

Clergy Salaries - Taboo Subject?

It is one of those things that no one likes to talk about - (a) how much does the preacher make? (b) Should the preacher get a raise? (c) Do we ask the preacher to leave the room when we talk about his/her salary?

The answer to the above questions are fairly simple:

a. That figure should be common knowledge and part of the budget (which anyone should be able to look at upon request)

b. If the preacher is doing a good job AND the congregation can afford it, of course

c. No. Not only should the preacher NOT leave the room, he or she should take leadership in not only the discussion of his/her salary, but in the salaries of the paid staff at the church.

However, (b) is not always handled well.

Getting a raise. The scriptures are clear on at least one thing: "The laborer is worthy of his hire," which is mentioned in the New Testament at least a couple of times where the matter is concerned. How much that amount should be is a matter of debate. Where UM clergy are concerned, some pastors feel that because of their education they should be paid at least enough to pay off student loans and debt (which is certainly understandable). At the same time, one does not enter the ordained ministry with salary in mind. Does an ordained minister graduate with the comparable credentials as a physician or lawyer? Yes. But is ministry as lucrative as those other two professions? Of course not. So the comparison holds some water, but not a lot.

Where clergy and raises are concerned, opinions range from clergy who don't ask for a raise (or turn one down)and feel like they are already blessed enough, to those who automatically feel entitled to a raise and take it personally when they don't get it. I am sure some clergy come off as greedy to their congregations, and there is some truth to that. When you take salary, pension contributions, and (in some cases) insurance, housing allowances, utility allowances, and professional expenses... ordained clergy may not be rolling in dough, but they don't always fare so badly either. In some cases, we clergy may make more money than many in our congregations.

In today's economic climate, I think we clergy need to be a bit more sensitive to our congregations' ability to pay and give raises. Granted, every church can be challenged where its stewardship is concerned. But some study about economic realities is in order too. One of the Methobloggers (Rev J) wrote a very enlightening blog regarding his congregation and indebtedness, citing a Dave Ramsey quote about American people and their indebtedness: "It isn't that people don't want to give to church, they can't." Rev J goes on to note that when a monthly payment to non-mortgaged debt takes half to two-thirds of a family's income, there isn't much left to give to God and the Church. So while a biblical tithe might be 10%, some families would be quite faithful and sacrificial if they only gave 1%.

Our Staff-Parish Committee looked at the CPI (consumer price index) for the past two years for our area. From July 2008 to July 2009, the CPI actually DECREASED 2.1%. From July 2009-July 2010, it increased 1.2%. Last year, as a staff we agreed to no raises even before staff-parish met; we knew it was a lean year overall and that our senior congregants did not get cost-of-living raises to their social security benefits; in good conscience we could not ask or accept raises. This year we talked about it as a staff-parish committee at length. I was clear that I didn't want or need a raise, but I hoped we could give the staff at least a cost of living increase. After a lot of discussion, we are recommending a 1.4% increase. Now that has yet to be approved by the church as a whole, but this represents a gracious and compassionate response from our church's personnel committee.

The church I serve is a very blessed one. While we are not rolling in dough, neither are we poor. God has blessed us richly: we have bought and paid off a parsonage in five years, we expanded our parking and playground facilities, and our indebtedness for a church our size is manageable and shows good stewardship. We certainly have our challenges: for one, we need to update our sound and video capabilities in our sanctuary. But I think our congregation approaches budgets and money in general in the way we should approach all things: with grace, with good stewardship, and with God as our priority.

My church is not the norm in United Methodism.

More and more churches cannot pay their apportionments, the pastoral remuneration for many churches is the largest expense on the budget, and yet some clergy DEMAND a raise - at the expense of other ministries in the church. We hear a lot of discussion from the clergy side of things - but I wonder how laity feel about this issue? Do we clergy seem greedy? Do we have our priorities misplaced? Are we paid too much?

At a time when our denomination is shrinking, our budgets are growing, and the sustainability of both is in question, I think these are good questions to ponder over. Any opinions?

Pax,

Sky+

The Future of Episcopacy in the UMC – Part 6

Bishops in the UMC have a thankless, lonely, and impossible job. Anyone who disagrees with that doesn't know much about the episcopacy in United Methodism. My own bishop is currently facing the task of appointing pastors to the three largest churches in our conference. That, along with the task of "servant leadership, general oversight and supervision," and "guarding the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline of the Church" for 203,961 members (2009 figures) of two annual conferences, is not just a daunting task - it is an impossible task.

I am with Russ Richey and Tom Frank, when they suggested in their book Episcopacy in the Methodist Tradition that in the UMC, our bishops are really archbishops, and our district superintendents are bishops in the truest and most practical sense of the word. I wish we would just go ahead and make that name change now. John Wesley's own bias about bishops was everpresent in his writings and actions - using the word "superintendent" instead of "bishop/overseer" (a more biblical word). In a recent column by Donald Haynes, we are reminded that the layout of our church structure was influenced more by Francis Asbury than John Wesley. Even so, bishops slowly lost their power over the years - and while the power to make pastoral appointments is no small thing, the ever-changing reality of a broken itinerancy waters down that power. The Methodist itinerancy was designed for single young men on horseback in a rural/agrarian society. It was not designed for pastors with families, who possibly have spouses who are professionals, and who instead of living in a parsonage own a house. How itinerant can we really be? And how much "power" do bishops have to lead effectively?

Haynes suggested some new paradigms. I find myself in agreement with some and at variance with others:

• More bishops so they can be less bureaucratic, more pastoral and have more ongoing dialogue with their parish lay leadership and their clergy.
We already have this with what we now call superintendents. Let's call them bishops and allow them to function as such. In every sense of the word, superintendents fill that role in the traditional history and intent of the biblical word episkopé.
• Appointments follow a negotiated, consultative process in which local church laity have a voice in selection with the bishop making recommendations and having the right of "veto."
I don't think this is a bad idea either. Who else knows a congregation better than the leadership of its congregation? Forcing congregations to take a pastor because the cabinet/bishop "needs their church" is not servant leadership - it's serving clergy. The intent is wrong and the math is bad - the needs of the many are at stake in servanthood, not the needs of the servant.
• A cabinet of selected clergy and laity whom the bishop uses for advice in appointment-making (eliminating the expensive position of District Superintendent
Just call the superintendents "bishops." As far as what to do with archbishops? We need to elect our best and brightest mind and spiritual souls to this office - regardless of jurisdiction. Who do we trust to discern the Spirit and the will of God? Who can best select our leadership for our churches and areas? Those are the people whom we should elect. I mean, that's what we say the job is in the Book of Discipline. The main thing we have to ask ourselves is this: do we trust God and the Spirit enough to elect a man or woman to that task? If we really don't, let's quit playing games, get rid of the office, and go to a call system.
• Appointments made at any time during the calendar year, and made for four years, not one.
Amen. Longer tenures make for longer pastorates. I had the privilege of studying under Bishop Joel McDavid in seminary (he had retired and was the churchman-in-residence), and at lunch one day I remembering him saying that if you told a church and a pastor they had to make an appointment work for 3-4 years, it might work well beyond that - and the church might even grow. Of course, folks would counter that by saying that long tenures are bad for the appointive system. That begs the question: is the appointive system serving churches, or pastors?
• Use of more local pastors, part-time and full-time.
Amen again. I'm less convinced then ever that seminary-trained clergy are worth the costs of time and money. I might think differently if the Church was growing. More and more disciplines are getting away from the traditional educational model and moving toward a practical approach of training and educating. Why should ministry be any different?
• The tearful, economically driven demise of the Equitable Salary Fund and guaranteed appointment.
Absolutely. While the intent of both of these things was noble, I think the "experiment" has not yielded the results intended - akin to Prohibition in the 1920's and 30's: a great idea but it had unintended and disastrous consequences! The guaranteed appointment should have released pastors to be bold, creative, and prophetic. Instead, it has (for the most part) created complacency and ineffectiveness - at a horrible cost with loss of membership and economic hardship as the results. The Equitable Salary Fund and setting of minimum salaries was intended for missional purposes, but instead has given way to a welfare mentality and impediment to itinerancy. All elders in good standing MUST be appointed, and MUST be guaranteed a minimum compensation. What happens when an annual conference has more elders than they can appoint? And what happens when more money is needed to supplement minimum salaries than a conference can afford?

We could make the job of bishops a lot easier if we had reasonable expectations of them and trusted them. We instead ask them to do the impossible and when they don't deliver, then distrust and disdain set in. After a period of years, the cycle becomes self-perpetuating. Why don't things get any better? I suspect we have ourselves to blame: expecting growth and radical improvement when nothing has changed is unrealistic - and perhaps a little insane!

Dr. Haynes ended his article by reminding us of the seven last words of the church: "We've never done it that way before." I pray we not give in to temptation by repeating them. To quote the Good Book: "New wineskins for new wine."

Pax,
Sky+

Nurturing Community, Encouraging Family

As I've shared in previous blogs, I retired from the fire service in June of 2001 after serving for several years in paid, paid-on-call, and volunteer capacities. It gave me the opportunity to meet many wonderful and devoted folks, and yesterday I attended the funeral of one of these folks, a man named Joe Drewry. Joe lost his life after a brief struggle with cancer. He was 72.

His son Tony asked me if I could participate in the funeral by presiding over the Last Alarm-Bell Ceremony - a part of the liturgy of a firefighter funeral in which we honor the life of the deceased and honor his last call to Eternal Life. I couldn't say no. The good news was that my Class A uniform that I retired in still fit. The bad news was the occasion in which to wear it.

I knew Joe by reputation before I ever met him personally. He was the father of a college classmate, and I was not disappointed when I met him in person. He lived up to what I had heard about him, and more. I've seen men who loved their community, but never one quite like Joe.

Joe was a twin, and he and his brother Jerry began their lives with a rough start; their mother died a day after giving them birth from delivery complications. Their father raised them on his own. More tragedy in his life: he buried his wife 24 years ago, and buried his older son Burt last year. All of those things could have created a very angry and bitter man.

That wasn't Joe. He was one of the most affable men I ever knew.

Joe was a Boy Scout leader. He taught hunter safety classes to children and youth. And he served the Greenfield Fire Department for 52 years, in capacities ranging from firefighter to training officer to deputy chief. He went on a fire call as late as 2009. He also wrote several grants for their fire department, one of them allowing their town to achieve a Class Four insurance rating. That is quite a feat for most municipalities, but an incredible feat for an all-volunteer department in a town of 2000 folks.

At graveside, when he was paged over the department radio and we heard the silence of him not responding, I began to weep. Not just because he wasn't answering, but because I know fewer and fewer people answer such a call to service anymore. Not just to volunteer firefighting, but to service to their communities. After the radio dispatcher gave a period of silence after calling his unit number, she responded that Deputy Chief Joe Lane Drewry was released from answering any more alarms. Her last words were overcome with emotion. It seemed to me not just the end of Joe's life and service, but a death knell to all the Joe Drewrys in the world: those who love their community and give back more than they were given. Those who loved children besides their own to pass on legacy and experience and love. Those who believe it takes sacrifice and investment for their communities to thrive and grow.

The body of Christ, the Church, is far from just an institution - it is a family. The Greek word is oikos, which means household, but even that definition doesn't do the word justice. "Family-like community" might be more accurate. It describes what the family of God should be like. It is part of God's design. It allows us to be disciples and to make disciples. We practice being the Kingdom of God so we can proclaim the Kingdom to all.

Communities are living entities, and like living entities they require nurture and care. Joe, and people like him, are the lifeblood of communities. It is so very similar to the way Christ modeled community life and sacrifice to us. It doesn't have to be drudgery - I cannot recall Joe doing much in his life that he hated. It was certainly hard work, but Joe was in the middle doing it.

I am reminded of a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life Together:

The...service that one should perform for another in a Christian community is that of active helpfulness... Nobody is too good for the meanest (i.e., most menial) service. One who worries about the loss of time that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail is usually taking the importance of his own career too solemnly. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God... [I]t is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God. - from Life Together, reprinted 1954, p. 99

An investment in our community is an investment in the family of God. It is an extension of our discipleship. And it is a practice of our love for brother and sister. I hope folks like Joe aren't the exception, and that they become the rule. We are created to live in community, and not as individuals.

Such is the family of God. So give. Nurture. Encourage.

Pax,
Sky+

"Nurture and Cultivate Spiritual Disciplines and Patterns of Holiness"

"Nurture and cultivate spiritual disciplines and patterns of holiness..." That's not from The Rule of St. Benedict. Nor is it from an objective of a spiritual growth retreat. It is ¶304.1 (b) of the Book of Discipline, the United Methodist's canon law, under the heading "Qualifications for Ordination."

In midst of the numerical decline of much of Protestantism, it seems that we are putting a great deal of emphasis on hospitality, worship, church programming, and communications - and we should be, because those are certainly areas that need shoring up. But when you talk to pastors about spirituality, spiritual direction, spiritual disciplines, etc., you often get a stare in return. I've even heard some say, "That's just too personal." I even heard this one once: "It's all about Jesus, preaching the Word, and getting into the Bible. That spirituality stuff is too Catholic." The smart ass in me considered quoting Scripture to this learned colleague about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, but I resisted. So I simply asked him, "If it's all about Jesus (and it is!), but we can't teach people to pray and be Christologically grouded and formed, who will?" His response was classic: "Well, people should get that at home."

The problem is, I heard that EXACT same thing said when I served on an advisory committee at the seminary I graduated from - by a colleague who should have known better. I had voiced my concern that while we were giving a good theological and historical education, we were doing very little, if any, spiritual formation. To which I was told, "That's not the job of the seminary. Pastors get that on their own." I was much younger at the time and so I kept my young mouth shut. Now I wish I had opened it a little.

But do seminaries engage their students in a conversation about the gravity of choices that they will face or prepare them to make those choices? Does the larger shape of theological education draw their attention to the formative character of the questions asked and answered by its professors? Does the shape of their preparation help them to grasp the difference between a vocation that demands a certain kind of performance from them and the vocation into which they have been called, which requires them to be the kind of people who are possessed by that "basic sense" of what is being asked of them? Are their professors prepared to shape souls as well as intellects? When they graduate, do students have the sense that they have already embarked on that vocation?

As a product of, and participant in, theological education for over three decades, I am inclined to think that the answer to these and other questions is, more often than not, "no." - Frederick W. Schmidt, "What Is Being Asked of You? Canonical Theism and Theological Education", from Canonical Theism, 2008, pp. 273-4.

Schmidt goes on to say that the blame can be place into three areas:

• The quest for credibility from the larger academic community - which preferred historical discussions over faith and spiritual experience.
• The adoption of the university model for graduate education - which drove professors to be more specialized in a few disciplines and led to religious vocational amnesia
• The issues of praxis which diverted the theological task away from spiritual formation towards the importance of leadership, administrative prowness, psychological therapist, and social prophecy

In short, we're teaching pastors a lot about church administration, biblical form criticism, systematic theology (the Barth & Tillich show), social psychology (the Freud and Jung show), and philosophy of religion (the Schleiermacher and Schopenhauer show). I learned these things - and they are certainly important things.

But what about lectio divina? Patristics (the Early Church Fathers)? Prayer offices? Spiritual disciplines? Spiritual discernment? Incarnational theology? Pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit)? Sacramental theology? Discipleship and disciple-ing? Sanctification? I was very blessed by Don Saliers and Ted Hackett, mentors of mine, to develop an interest and passion for these things. But it was self-directed - it was not a mandatory part of the seminary curriculum for United Methodists (or any other Protestants), and to my knowledge it still is not. That leads me to believe we need to quit calling them "seminaries" and start calling them "schools of theology." Good information, but no anchor or undergirding of where these things fit in a life lived with Christ.

If we clergy cannot locate ourselves in our Christian quest and pilgrimage, we certainly cannot lead our churches to see where they are located in the Kingdom of God. We cannot lead with any sense of spiritual or theological authority (only that which is granted by the Book of Discipline!). We cannot tell the Christian story from a standpoint of faith - just from the standpoint as recorded by history.

Schmidt says, most importantly, those who teach present and future clergy must "remember that it is not enough to learn what it is that clergy do. They need to be in touch with what it is that clergy are meant to become. Their own relationship with God, their growth in faith, and the practice of spiritual disciplines are keys to that becoming and to the knowing that accompanies it. In turn, those same experiences are indispensable to the seminarians' own ability to make disciples of others." (p. 285)

If we pastors are mandated to "nurture and cultivate spiritual disciplines and patters of holiness" for our congregations (and we are), then we had better learn them ourselves. According to the Book of Discipline, it's not just "Catholic" - it's Methodist, too. I'm convinced it's Christian to the core.

Sounds like we better get on this. Soon.

Pax,
Sky+

Standard: Does It Make Disciples?

I recently read an operational assessment of the United Methodist Church - a very critical look at our denomination and its effectiveness. In reviewing some of my former blogs, a lot of what I was perceiving (and fearing) was confirmed by the assessment. Rather that gloat, I would hope we would prayerfully consider the changes we need to make to be faithful to God and His Kingdom as United Methodists.

One main observation is that there is too much "distance" between the local church, the Annual Conference, and the General Church. That is probably not a real shocker to most folks in the local church, but I suspect annual conferences and the General Church find this at best hard to believe and at worst are in denial that this is the perception. However, General Agencies and Annual Conference agencies often find themselves competing against each other (ever listen to or read Annual Conference reports?). Plus, some General Church work often alienates or sends mixed signals to local and even Annual Conference work (remember the infamous UMW study on Israel and Palestine?). This serves to confuse folks, and sometimes leaving the person in the pew to wonder, "Is anyone leading us? Is there any rhyme and reason to our denomination?" One particularly negative impression from some interviewed for the assessment even remarked, "[The agencies] 'dictate rather than serve.'" That's not good.

Another observation was one I made a few years ago, that jurisdictions are a "middle entity" that need to be discontinued. This was also mentioned in the assessment: "Our finding is that the costs (in distance and in dollars) may not be justified by the 'benefit' that is delivered by the Jurisdictional Conference structures." Basically, jurisdictions elect bishops; other than that, anything else is redundant to what General Church and Annual Conference structures do. Why not elect them at General Conference, as was the case for many years? Added to the fact that the costs are not worth the benefit, Jurisdictional conferences were birthed mainly from racism. Why keep that vestige around? I don't buy the argument that it's a matter of tradition or heritage: that seems akin to the "Heritage not Hate" stickers I occasionally see on bumpers with the Rebel Flag.

As far as effective leadership, the assessment gives the UMC a bleak future: we have no clarity of mission or responsibility (who does what?), we have lots of distrust of both the leaders and institutional church, and we cannot define competency. One interviewee was quoted to say that the Church "has a systemic allergy to authority." We probably got that honestly, starting with the earliest Methodist preachers who sometimes referred to John Wesley as "Pope John."

I think the obvious question is, "Do we want to make disciples?" And if we do, we have to throw out some of the old standby arguments we used to hold dear and challenge them, like, "Numbers don't have anything to do with ministry." As a friend of mine said, if I have three children and take them to the park, and only come back with two, my wife probably won't settle for me saying, "But honey, just think how much better we can raise these two children as opposed to three!!" And, as Jason Byassee reminds us, numbers aren't bean-counting; numbers DO matter and their upward trend is a sign of church health.

John Wesley certainly wasn't a perfect human being; his marriage was a tragedy and he could be downright boorish at times. But the Method of Methodism was genius, and proven. It involves trust in Christ, vulnerability in spirit, and willingness to be obedient and faithful.

We will have to own up to our mistakes (and I use the collective "our" because we CLAIM to be one in Christ and to be in a Connection). We will have to realize that our pensions might run out. We will have to realize that guaranteed pastoral appointments and salaries, General Church Agencies, and other entities are not realistically sustainable with current membership decline and rising costs. We will have to objectively diagnose ourselves and embrace the reality that we are dying - and do something about it rather than give into the insanity of continuing to do the same thing and expecting things to change.

Don't get me wrong - there ARE good things happening. There ARE faithful folks making disciples. And there are churches in the UMC who are growing. But they seem to be the exception rather than the rule, and we often intellectually dismiss them! "Well, that's not Methodist what they're doing!" Unfortunately, some of these same objections could have been lodged at Wesley himself. What we call "Methodist" is often more about our likes and dislikes, rather than the Method of making disciples.

For clergy, the temptation is to coast and retire. For laity, the temptation is to go through the motions and emulate (but not build upon) what our parents and grandparents did.

Lead us not into temptation, O Lord...

Pax,
Sky+

Chasing Sunsets

Yesterday, I met a fellow biker for supper, and we went on a short ride. It was towards the end of the evening, and we were heading west. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen, and it reminded me of something I wrote a few years ago for a Lenten devotional booklet.

Don't forget to smell the flowers, and watch the sunsets.

Pax,
Sky+

Time for What Is Important

It was God who made the great lights, whose love endures forever;
the sun to rule in the day, whose love endures forever;
the moon and stars in the night, whose love endures forever. – Ps. 136:7-9

Perhaps you’ve heard someone complain, “I have so little time.” Such a complaint is self-incriminating: we all have the same twenty-four hours a day. Our days are as long (or short) as our neighbors’ days. They are as long as the days Jesus experienced.

I’ve discovered the allure of riding a motorcycle; I don’t think it’s a rebellious spirit or flirting with danger – to be safe, you have to constantly scan the road ahead and ride on constant guard, thus leaving your mind little time to dwell in worries, minutia, or self-absorption. It’s an opportunity to slow down and clear my mind of “clutteredness.”

I chase sunsets (at legal speeds). The north star that is constant and sure leads me home at night. Within my quieted mind, I find myself being reminded to thank God for daily blessings that I usually overlook because “I don’t have time to notice.”

What I have been taught is that if I am disciplined enough to observe it, I can find daily blessings in anything I do. Driving down the road, watching the crops grow and mature. Singing silly but joyful songs with our children or grandchildren. Washing clothes and realizing the cleansing and life-giving gift of water. Changing the oil on a vehicle and marveling at God’s gift of intellect that created the engine. Stopping to look at the people around us at work and realizing that they’re fellow brothers/sisters in Christ.

Our busy schedules can allow us to forget the blessings around us. But allowing ourselves to be transformed by God can strengthen us to defeat the enemy of time, and find it instead to be our ally. And perhaps, on occasion, we can take time out to marvel at a sunrise, chase a sunset, and smile back at the moon. All gifts from God.

Sky McCracken
Lent, 2005