While Shawna and I were talking on the carport tonight, she was simultaneously discussing relationship strategy through textmessaging with a friend. I said, "That's why guys don't have a chance. Women consult with each other."
I then thought about the advantage big churches have over small churches for the same reason. For the last four years, our team has talked through everything together. We have avoided many stupid decisions by running ideas by each other during a two hour weekly lunch. We have also thought through the best way to communicate ideas with the congregation. We have offered and valued each other's strength and opinions. Each one of us has unique gifts and we come to the work of the church with particular viewpoints. I will miss many things about serving at Montgomery First. The collegiality and group learning our team shares may be chief among them.
Of course, no church needs to have a lack of such collegiality, mutual respect, idea sharing, and sharpening. In small churches, the conversation must be held among clergy and lay people who truly see the leadership of the church as a team endeavor. Too often, preachers think that their ideas are the best and approach ministry as an effort to convince the congregation to do things their way. I've done it that way in years past, always to the detriment of the church and to myself.
Perhaps we would all do well to recognize that God always offers direction to God's people, but God will not give the totality of vision to any particular person. When we listen to each other with genuinely open hearts, we are, in many ways, listening for the word of God. Bonheoffer said something similar in the chapter on the ministry of listening in "Life Together." He said that the voice of Christ within me is weak, but the voice of Christ within me for my brother [sister] is strong. I need the strong voice of Christ in my brother in order to hear the weak voice of Christ in myself.
I look forward to hearing what God will say to me through brothers and sisters I've not yet met. I treasure that God has spoken to me, taught me, and helped me grow each week through the voice of Lawson Bryan, David Saliba, Jay Cooper (and Karl Stegall, Bishop Duffey, John Blount, Fred Fuller, Jack Allen, Joe Ed Hastings, Jason Borders, too, among others).
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Great Day of Service
Yesterday was one completely amazing day and a dream come true.
Years ago, folks from Montgomery First and Frazer had the idea that the two churches' Great Days of Service created a lot of duplication, and the two could learn from each other if they worked together. Furthermore, we thought that if the city's Methodist churches had one big day for Great Day of Service, then smaller churches that couldn't pull off a big event on their own could join a larger effort.
Two years ago, Frazer, First, and Aldersgate had a wonderful time with Great Day of Service on the same day. Last year, more than a dozen churches in Montgomery had a city-wide event. This year, Great Day of Service expanded throughout the River Region and Wetumpka and Prattville/Millbrook added events.
There's no way to really know how many churches, projects, and people served Jesus in the community yesterday (and in projects immediately before and after). A very conservative estimate would be 20 congregations, 60 projects, and 2,500 people. We would be better Methodists if we counted heads better, but these things get so unruly that it's just better to put the energy into serving rather than statistics.
Only God can measure what he has done with the enumerable human contacts that came from this event. Tim Thompson shared at the Biscuits celebration event that last year a woman came to a free eye clinic and was referred to a doctor who found a brain tumor. The tumor was removed and the lady came back to the clinic this year. I never really imagined that Great Day of Service would save a life in such a literal way. This year, Wetumpka area churches, Prattville area churches, and Aldersgate had Stop Hunger Now Projects. Stop Hunger Now packages dehydrated meals to send to people in extreme poverty in places where people are starving. Each of our projects sent tens of thousands of meals to people whose lives are in danger due to malnutrition. Every time I even think of what this day means to those who will receive these meals, I get very emotional.
There are lots of bad things in the world and we hear about them every day. I'm so grateful that the people called Methodist have figured out a way to lock arms and do something to make a difference. The ripples of the day continue throughout the year--the work of the ministries impacted by the day is greatly advanced for their daily functioning and the people who serve become much more likely to serve all year long.
This past year, I've had to become much less involved in the planning of the day. I'm so grateful for people like Frazer's Butch McPherson, Aldersgate's Dave McKinney, Trinity Weoka's Ashley Davis, and many others who have stepped up and done so much to expand the work.
The past few years I've been blessed to tour around the city and see what happens at many project sites. This year, I went to Nellie Burge, where Montgomery First folks were getting the facility ready for the August launch of Mary Ellen's Hearth, a long-term shelter for homeless women and children. I went to the Stop Hunger Now Projects at Aldersgate and Wetumpka. I also saw folks at Aldersgate packaging shoes for people in need. I opened up at Cloverdale School, where folks got space ready for Bill Campbell's furniture ministry to find a new home, laid carpet for nurseries in the building, and set up a lounge for shared space among non-profits that are incubated there. I went to Montgomery First's fellowship hall, where folks were assembling thousands of things like health kits for disaster victims and sanitary kits for the homeless. I spent some time with ladies who were making dresses for Sew and Grow. I joined a hamburger/hotdog cookout at the Salvation Army (over 200 were served by a Frazer Sunday School class). I also made it to our Habitat for Humanity house, where Brandon, the teenage son ofof homeowner Carla Surles, was busy investing sweat equity on the roof of his mother's new home. That's just a sample. Only God got to see it all.
Thank you to everyone who prayed, and paid, and worked, and planned. Now it's time to get started on Great Day of Service 2013!
Years ago, folks from Montgomery First and Frazer had the idea that the two churches' Great Days of Service created a lot of duplication, and the two could learn from each other if they worked together. Furthermore, we thought that if the city's Methodist churches had one big day for Great Day of Service, then smaller churches that couldn't pull off a big event on their own could join a larger effort.
Two years ago, Frazer, First, and Aldersgate had a wonderful time with Great Day of Service on the same day. Last year, more than a dozen churches in Montgomery had a city-wide event. This year, Great Day of Service expanded throughout the River Region and Wetumpka and Prattville/Millbrook added events.
There's no way to really know how many churches, projects, and people served Jesus in the community yesterday (and in projects immediately before and after). A very conservative estimate would be 20 congregations, 60 projects, and 2,500 people. We would be better Methodists if we counted heads better, but these things get so unruly that it's just better to put the energy into serving rather than statistics.
Only God can measure what he has done with the enumerable human contacts that came from this event. Tim Thompson shared at the Biscuits celebration event that last year a woman came to a free eye clinic and was referred to a doctor who found a brain tumor. The tumor was removed and the lady came back to the clinic this year. I never really imagined that Great Day of Service would save a life in such a literal way. This year, Wetumpka area churches, Prattville area churches, and Aldersgate had Stop Hunger Now Projects. Stop Hunger Now packages dehydrated meals to send to people in extreme poverty in places where people are starving. Each of our projects sent tens of thousands of meals to people whose lives are in danger due to malnutrition. Every time I even think of what this day means to those who will receive these meals, I get very emotional.
There are lots of bad things in the world and we hear about them every day. I'm so grateful that the people called Methodist have figured out a way to lock arms and do something to make a difference. The ripples of the day continue throughout the year--the work of the ministries impacted by the day is greatly advanced for their daily functioning and the people who serve become much more likely to serve all year long.
This past year, I've had to become much less involved in the planning of the day. I'm so grateful for people like Frazer's Butch McPherson, Aldersgate's Dave McKinney, Trinity Weoka's Ashley Davis, and many others who have stepped up and done so much to expand the work.
The past few years I've been blessed to tour around the city and see what happens at many project sites. This year, I went to Nellie Burge, where Montgomery First folks were getting the facility ready for the August launch of Mary Ellen's Hearth, a long-term shelter for homeless women and children. I went to the Stop Hunger Now Projects at Aldersgate and Wetumpka. I also saw folks at Aldersgate packaging shoes for people in need. I opened up at Cloverdale School, where folks got space ready for Bill Campbell's furniture ministry to find a new home, laid carpet for nurseries in the building, and set up a lounge for shared space among non-profits that are incubated there. I went to Montgomery First's fellowship hall, where folks were assembling thousands of things like health kits for disaster victims and sanitary kits for the homeless. I spent some time with ladies who were making dresses for Sew and Grow. I joined a hamburger/hotdog cookout at the Salvation Army (over 200 were served by a Frazer Sunday School class). I also made it to our Habitat for Humanity house, where Brandon, the teenage son ofof homeowner Carla Surles, was busy investing sweat equity on the roof of his mother's new home. That's just a sample. Only God got to see it all.
Thank you to everyone who prayed, and paid, and worked, and planned. Now it's time to get started on Great Day of Service 2013!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Liminality
Seminary is great for learning theological jargon. Some of the words give us power to describe importatnt parts of the human experience before God.
One word I've often used since seminary is "liminal." Liminal means "in betwixt and in between." It means not being in one category or exactly in another. Moses was a liminal figure--he was neither fully Hebrew nor fully Egyptian. He lived at the borders between one culture and another. Even his name was both Hebrew and Egyptian. In an often overlooked detail, the Bible tells us that Moses's tent was set up on the edge of the Hebrew camp.
I've often felt me self on the edge of the camp, neither one place nor another. I'm neither a Yankee nor a true Southerner. I grew up in Pentecostalism yet I'm spending my life as a committed and enthusiastic United Methodist. Much of the fruitfulness of ministry comes from liminality, because we speak as both a member of a community and yet as one who comes from outside.
I'm in a time of tremendous liminality. I've learned that I'm about to be the pastor of a new community, Millbrook First UMC. And yet, I'm still going to work everyday and doing ministry at Montgomery First UMC. I've been dreaming for the future of ministry at one place for four years and I've put all my heart and soul into making those dreams a reality. Now my dreams have moved eight miles north to a place I've yet to visit and a people I've yet to meet.
My conversations are all about transition--gratitude for a people who have loved me, believed in me, welcomed and nurtured my children, and compelled me to grow into the person I've become. The grace I'm receiving right now is beyond description. My cup overflows.
And yet, my work at my current church is all about preparing the way for those who will follow me. It's about remembering and expressing gratitude. Much of it will center on looking backwards. I'm grieving the loss of my connection to my clergy and staff colleagues even as we work together each day.
There is a fruitfulness that comes from times like these, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be. Part of it will be naming and telling the story of the great things God has done in the life I have shared with the good people I've been blessed to serve. Part of it is found in the foundation that will be laid for future ministry.
I'm an impatient person. Once I know where I will be and what I am doing, I want to get there and do it. I suppose that's part of the reason that when I figured out I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Shawna I married her a month later. Though I'm restless right now, I'm also grateful. I'm grateful for anticipation, and for remembrance. I'm grateful for a people who have loved me and received my love, and I'm grateful for a people who I will love and who will love me.
For my Montgomery friends--I'll be just a few miles away. It will be strange to go from being your pastor to being friends in a different way. So I'm also grateful for this time to appreciate you and enjoy being your pastor for just a little while longer.
One word I've often used since seminary is "liminal." Liminal means "in betwixt and in between." It means not being in one category or exactly in another. Moses was a liminal figure--he was neither fully Hebrew nor fully Egyptian. He lived at the borders between one culture and another. Even his name was both Hebrew and Egyptian. In an often overlooked detail, the Bible tells us that Moses's tent was set up on the edge of the Hebrew camp.
I've often felt me self on the edge of the camp, neither one place nor another. I'm neither a Yankee nor a true Southerner. I grew up in Pentecostalism yet I'm spending my life as a committed and enthusiastic United Methodist. Much of the fruitfulness of ministry comes from liminality, because we speak as both a member of a community and yet as one who comes from outside.
I'm in a time of tremendous liminality. I've learned that I'm about to be the pastor of a new community, Millbrook First UMC. And yet, I'm still going to work everyday and doing ministry at Montgomery First UMC. I've been dreaming for the future of ministry at one place for four years and I've put all my heart and soul into making those dreams a reality. Now my dreams have moved eight miles north to a place I've yet to visit and a people I've yet to meet.
My conversations are all about transition--gratitude for a people who have loved me, believed in me, welcomed and nurtured my children, and compelled me to grow into the person I've become. The grace I'm receiving right now is beyond description. My cup overflows.
And yet, my work at my current church is all about preparing the way for those who will follow me. It's about remembering and expressing gratitude. Much of it will center on looking backwards. I'm grieving the loss of my connection to my clergy and staff colleagues even as we work together each day.
There is a fruitfulness that comes from times like these, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be. Part of it will be naming and telling the story of the great things God has done in the life I have shared with the good people I've been blessed to serve. Part of it is found in the foundation that will be laid for future ministry.
I'm an impatient person. Once I know where I will be and what I am doing, I want to get there and do it. I suppose that's part of the reason that when I figured out I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Shawna I married her a month later. Though I'm restless right now, I'm also grateful. I'm grateful for anticipation, and for remembrance. I'm grateful for a people who have loved me and received my love, and I'm grateful for a people who I will love and who will love me.
For my Montgomery friends--I'll be just a few miles away. It will be strange to go from being your pastor to being friends in a different way. So I'm also grateful for this time to appreciate you and enjoy being your pastor for just a little while longer.
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