Are we yet alive?

Never leave a fire burning when you go to sleep. It's not safe. 

You never know when a rogue spark might jump back to life and catch some unsuspecting twig. 

That's why, at night, when the campground settles down and the moon rises, every good Girl Scout (or Boy Scout or any good camper who may or may not be happy)--they know to scatter the coals. Everyone knows that if you want a fire to burn down, you push it apart; you create distance so it'll cool faster. 

...so why is there so much distance in the church? Why is it that the community of faith whose call is to fan spiritual gifts into flame--why is it that so many of us don't know the name of the person sitting next to us? 

If we want to see our churches alive and full of fire, we need to come together and breathe new life on the coals that still burn. We need beg for the Holy Spirit who lit the fire at Pentecost--the Holy Spirit who pulls us together; calls us to CONNECT and encourage.

Because as long as there is a spark, there can be fire. And I want to see the church alive.

The Fault in Our Kitchen

...while making cinnamon toast

Husband: "Wait, you butter the bread BEFORE you put it in the toaster?"

Me: "Of course. What do you do?"

Husband: "I'm not defending my position. You make better toast than me. I'm merely admitting that I know where my fault lies."

Me (clearly delighted with my comeback): "In the stars?"

Husband: "No! In St Andreas." 

Me: "The ocean?" 

Husband: ... :(

Me: "oh. California? I'm bad at geography..."

Husband hugs me

The toaster dings. 

Life is delicious. 

Ironic or Opportune?

It's Sunday evening. Just preached a sermon about opening our eyes to Gods miracles--instead of complaining about what we don't/can't see. I even used Louis CK's comedy bit about Americans who take cell phones for granted: ("I'm SORRY that your tiny device that bounces energy FROM SPACE is moving slower than you'd like..."). Later at home, while working on some curriculum, I came across a quote that warned against preaching and not practicing--"lest we get left behind" --and then, lo and behold--our entire wifi crashes. No internet. 

That means the freshly-written curriculum can't be emailed to the leaders who need it. 

I'll admit that my first reaction was something like "Uuuuugggghhh!!!! I hate this internet!!!" 

...but I quickly realized the parallel between the morning's sermon and the evening's occurrence. ("No. I'm going to stay calm. Internet is a luxury--not a necessity.") And my attitude changed. I drove up the street to borrow wifi and oatmeal from McDonalds and ended up seeing Theresa--one of the ladies from our Tuesday morning ministry. Not only was it a great conversation, but I had forgotten something I was supposed to do, so the encounter saved the day.

All in all, it was a good moment to lean on grace and remember that Sunday sermons are for me, too. We have to be thankful and appreciate what we have.

Huzzah to Pluto and Why this Matters to the Church

Remember when scientists decided that Pluto was no longer a plant?
 
Small and far away, it was once scorned, debated and rejected ...but no longer!

Professors, students, and public members of NOBUM (nerds outraged by unbalanced mobiles; it's not really a thing, but it should be) recently gathered for a public debate where the previous prohibition on Pluto's planetary position was rebuked! Huzzah!

It's a scene of geeky but endearing advocacy (I seriously doubt that Pluto cares about what people think of her/him) but I can't help but think that this scene speaks to the church. Aren't we also called to advocacy? To welcome everyone from the outside edges and to cry 'justice!' on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves?

When the world says 'you do not belong to our classifications!' it is the Church who says 'God's ways are not human ways!' When the world rejects and excludes, the Church finds worth and rallies for inclusion--challenging and rethinking those boundaries.

"Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." ~1 Peter 2:10

"Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ." ~Ephesians 2:12-13

Into the Wilderness

With fall kicking off, we're back to three Sunday morning services (instead of the summer two) and I have to admit: I liked sleeping in, but I did miss preaching three times. Now that I'm not sticking to a strict manuscript, all the sermons come out a little differently--each one feeling organic and alive.

This morning's sermon text was Exodus 16:2-15 where God sends manna and quail to the complaining Israelites. Some themes were pretty obvious (Grumbling/faith, food/God's provision) so I started with some images/artistic depictions of manna. This one made me smile (from the kids' movie Cloudy with a chance of meatballs):

But I kept coming back to verse 10: 

"And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." ~Exodus 16:10

I was captivated by the thought of God's people--gathered and listening to Aaron--suddenly looking into the vast expanse of wilderness when "behold! the glory of the Lord appeared!"

Why would God's glory be in the wilderness instead of with the people? What did it look like? If they had been in their own tents, would they have missed it? Why don't they react? What does this appearance of glory have to do with the manna and the quail? Why have I never noticed this 'glory' detail? Do we rush too quickly to the food stuff and skip it?

This "glory of the Lord in the clouds" theme brought me to a whole different set of images (c.f. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God and 2 Corinthians 3:18 We, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed). I discovered "Your Glory" by All Sons and Daughters and spent a breathtaking hour just marveling over images from telescopes, sunsets, and storms:

(we actually did this as part of our contemporary service--Your Glory paired with slide images).

Sermon prep continued with a poetry search which described 'wilderness' as everything from wild adventure to empty, expansive unknown. I didn't find any direct sermon content,but I think the act of reading poetry helped soften my stance and allowed me to think more fluidly through the text.

(if I find my notes I'll include a snapshot here)

Finally, I settled down with my brushes, cranked up an audio version of Exodus 16 and worked collage-style while the text repeated through several translations (thank you, Biblegateway.com).

• The 'glory' came out a lot like a fire; probably because I was thinking about the burning bush theophany (different Hebrew names are used though--I checked). 
• The wilderness section took a first person perspective. Rather than looking at the Israelites and their story, I wanted my congregation to look into the wilderness where God calls us...
•  the sky was a fairly simple blue, but I did deliberate on whether it should be morning or evening colors (16:7 depicts Moses/Aaron saying 'in the morning, you'll see God's glory' but Aaron speaks to the people before the quail appears 'at twilight' or 'in the evening' according to vv.12-13; Perhaps God's glory comes early? surprising us? It's also likely to be good 'ol source-criticism at work...)

 My favorite detail, however, was the addition of manna. I started to paint little gold dots at the front of the path (you know, to signify one day at a time) but they looked funny by themselves. So I put dots down the whole path. They scaled wrong. By now, my audio bible had played ahead to Exodus 16:31 (The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed) so I checked the cupboard for coriander--which we didn't have--and settled for quinoa. Quinoa looks like mustard seeds (yeah parable reference!) and has the added bonus of obscurity: "Quinoa? What's that?"

This depiction helped me internalize the importance of manna as a daily occurrence--something that took the Israelites step-by-step through the wilderness. Surely, grace and transformation doesn't happen all at once. Surely, God continues to bring us away from our slavery to sin and our complacent dependence on fleshpots in order that, step-by-step, we might bring our faith into the wilderness where God's glory already occurs...

Mustard Seeds

I recently came across two sermons: one by Anna Carter Florence and one by Nadia Boltz-Weber. Both riffed on Jesus' parable language wherein the kingdom of God is compared to something totally ordinary (e.g. "the Kingdom of God is like an oncology nurse who laughs with you at 2am."~Florence "The love of God in Christ is like a rental truck your friend insists on paying for so that your I’m-divorced-now-and-moving-into-another-house move is less difficult for you."~Boltz-Weber "The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed." ~Jesus).

...and I've had my own encounters lately, too.

• The Kingdom of God is where a 5th grader steps into the pulpit and reads "the something river" because 'Euphrates' is hard to pronounce (Genesis 2).
• The Kingdom of God is standing next to a homeless woman singing hymns: loudly and beautifully, in a scratchy but authentic voice.
• The Kingdom of God is standing in a kitchen with two mothers who found something that made them laugh--even in the face of domestic violence.

The kingdom of God is near. And it's here. And it's coming.

Late reflections on the Great Banquet Sermon

I preached a sermon earlier this year where I kicked the written manuscript and did something entirely different (see it here)...but I never finished the reflection.

While painting I noticed that:

• Watercolors don't generally give way to hard stark lines, so the images (and ideas) play themselves out with gentleness. It's a slow, formational becoming--much like Christian discipleship. I suppose written manuscripts work this way too, but writing uses stark words like cut and delete. A painted manuscript allows things to brush and flow together--meaning mistakes aren't erased. They're gently reformed. Redeemed.
• In painting this, I started with the table--and the one at the table who welcomed others in (perhaps because my theology starts with God's hospitality and the church's sacramental call to share that grace with the world?). The empty stool is there to signify welcome, room, invitation.
• We're preparing for Lent, so I put a purple altar cloth on the table. I decided, too, to put a pool of purple/blue surrounding that table (which kind of became a mark of sitting at the table--sitting in the pool of grace which spills over into the world). So when I painted the person sitting in front of the table, I surrounded them with purple too (the image of sanctifying grace, if you will). ...also, I painted this scene out of order (maybe because I'm focused more on 'my church' than on 'the world'?). 
• When I added the person who rejected the invitation and turned away from the banquet (the person in the left corner) their robe was in brows and greys instead of the bright, whitish blue. However, I made the intentional decision to still carry purple gently into that corner because no one, no one, is without God's grace.
• The person in the far right corner--the one invited from the"highways and hedges" who might feel forgotten or far away--that person has the same pool of purple.
• The servant figure inviting the guests definitely has the bright purple connection too (seen more vibrantly, of course). 

After painting, I saw:

• Painting the parable allowed me to see scripture differently. Normally, Jesus' story of the great banquet is seen as sequential, scene-by-scene (the servant invites those who reject the invitation, and then others are invited in, and then even more are invited in). Painting the whole story held everyone in remembrance--together. Yes, there are those who sit at the table, but those who rejected the invitation don't cease to exist (prodigal son, anyone?).  Likewise, it's important to remember than even when we are at the table, there are still others who haven't made it there yet--and there's still room (lost sheep? eh? eh?). 
• There's also something beautiful about seeing the story at a glance and recognizing that we are invited into the scene, too. When you see it, you're invited into the story.
• It wasn't until I finished the painting and stepped back that I realized the characters with the brightest connection to grace--the host at the table, the one sitting and celebrating, and the one going forth to serve--they formed a Trinitarian image. The Father hosts, the Spirit dwells in holiness (indwelling in us), and the Son--the servant--goes forth to invite others in.

In preaching:

• My sermon was very simple: Where are you sitting in this story? Is it well with your soul there? Where should you be sitting?

• Instead of showing the manuscript to my congregation (we don't have screens in our traditional services) I decided to 'enact' or recreate it. I asked for five volunteers and they improvised a 'posture' for each character in the scene:(e.g. "the person in the church who stands as host, actively welcoming others...what might that look like?" My volunteer stood behind the altar, arms wide. "Someone who rejects God, intentionally or accidentally because they're too busy or something has upset them?" the volunteer turned AWAY from the altar, arms crossed...)
• We did this until we had the parable depicted in a freeze-frame scene--discussing the pros and cons of each posture (the person at the table might forget to welcome others in; the congregational host or outreaching servant might forget their own need to sit and celebrate with God; etc...)

Where are you sitting in this story? Is it well with your soul there? Where might God be calling you?

My only lament is that this was not a Communion Sunday.

A Vision from Revation 7

 "I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb... And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God!"

One of our young adultts called to ask if  she could bring a friend to Bible study
...and then showed up with four.

Four college freshman from four different countries.
Japan, Russia, Sweden,  and New Jersey.
(The Jersey girl later admitted that she was from Canada and just didn't like telling people, but the  original girl who brought friends is from Belgium, so we had plenty of languages present).

Even more exciting was that one of the new guests had never held a Bible before. Never prayed before. ... And  three of them weren't Christian!

We practiced hospitality and evangelism tonight in the mix of many different languages, and I hope--I pray--that this will begin something that the Spirit will bring to completion. Praise the Lord!!!

When Mission Saves the Church

This morning, the screens didn't work in our 9am service (you know, the screens that project ALL the lyrics and ALL the liturgy). We did not realize this until 15 minutes before the service began.To make things more complicated, our church office is relocating, so all the office computers and printers were boxed up. This meant we had neither the time nor the equipment to print song lyrics.

However--and this is where I quote Romans 8 and say that God works all things for good--our church has a Tuesday outreach ministry that also happens uses laptop/printer equipment. (we have an incredible team of volunteers that works to help homeless folks acquire birth certificates and IDs--which means printing forms and combing through DMV websites).

Also, because our church did an intricate prayer walk for good Friday, I had previously asked to borrow these laptops and just happened to know the computer password... 

Moreover, this Tuesday ministry has shifted to include a worship/testimony time wherein our music minister leads a few songs (the same songs, in this case, as the Sunday service)...which means the song-sheets already happened to be typed and sitting in someone's e-mail box...

In less that 15 minutes, we had over 200 songsheets printed (with appropriate creeds and misc. liturgy added). The congregation was invited to participate in worship because our church has been actively inviting homeless folks into our hearts. In short, the outreach ministry saved the day.

I realize that worship does not depend on song lyrics.
I'm sure we would have found a way to work it out without the tech support, but this is how the morning went. This is what the Lord provided--and it was so good!

To make things even better, the Romans 8 passage about things working together for good--the passage about nothing separating us from God's love, nothing standing against us--that was the sermon text! It was right and good that such a perfect word should be proclaimed in such an 'imperfect' setting.

Even (especially) when things don't go as planned; Even (especially) when we're challenged to our very depths--God works for good. Worship still happens. I couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried. That's the Spirit.

From the Founder....

Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.                                                                                               ~John Wesley

from his letter to Alexander Mather (August 6, 1777)

(and the above quote led me to this one--which I found profoundly convicting)

' It has been affirmed that none of our present preachers are so much alive as they were seven years ago. I fear many are not. But if so they are not fit for the work, which requires much life. Otherwise your labors will be tiresome to yourself, and of little use to the people: tiresome, because you will no longer serve Christ and the people, willingly and cheerfully; of little use, because you will no longer serve them diligently, doing it with your might. I have several reasons to fear it is so with many of you. But let your conscience be the judge,-- Who of you is exemplary, so much alive to God, so as to carry fire with Him wherever you go? Who of you is a pattern of self-denial in little things? Who of you drinks water? why not? Who of you has not four meals a day? Who of you fasts on Friday? why not? Who of you goes through his work willingly and diligently, and on no account disappointing the congregations? Who visits the people on Mr. Baxter's method? Is your heart in the work wholly, not giving way to indolence or unconcernedness, not yielding to the fear of men? '

(also Wesley)
Conversation at the conference at Leeds in 1755:
See Sutcliffe's manuscript History of Methodism, p. 468

Things I'm thankful for and amazed by at this particular moment:

• I'm thankful that, after an entire day of migraine-force headache, a friend offered to share some dark chocolate and delicious conversation.  My head is lifted (and so is my heart).
• I'm amazed that, after eight weeks of car problems, I was always able to be in the right place. I'm thankful for friends who offered rides--one friend even gave me her keys for the day and let me drive all the way to the other end of town! (and she is only one of several folks who offered to lend their vehicle). I never thought I would take such satisfaction in driving from one meeting to another meeting four blocks down! ...and the convenience of having my own car enabled me to stay late after a meeting. 
• I'm thankful for almost-retired women who stay up until 1:30am--sharing wine and faith. (God bless you Kathy. You are, indeed, tons of fun!)
• I'm thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ who are willing to share stories of loss, stories of growth, and beautiful moments of humility. 
• ...and I'm awed and edified by friends who give honest answers when you ask, "how can I pray for you?'  (Especially when those prayer requests help shape your own prayers. Seriously, every pastor (every person) should pray for these: 

• Focus and clarity of my mind upon the important details 

• A filter that helps to keep me from all the things we could do, but stays on the things we should do.  

• Budget health. May the money follow the vision and lay a good foundation for transformation in lives and communities. 

Painting Pentecost

Text: Acts 2:1-11

My initial painted exploration (painted while the text audio was on repeat):
the proclamation. The light shining in the darkness. The Spirit making a way

Pivotal moments in the sermon:

• "The Spirit reminds us that God works beyond our language and understanding. There was a sound LIKE rushing wind and a phenomenon LIKE tongues of flame, but these are similes. Just like all of our understanding can only give us a glimpse of God."
  
  (but)
  
• "...perhaps the Pentecost miracle wasn't that fire came down from heaven or that the sound of rushing wind filled the place. ...perhaps the miracle wasn't even that people started speaking in languages previously unknown. Perhaps the miracle was that God's word--God's message--was HEARD. Understood.
  ...in a world where the church is perceived as judgmental, hypocritical, and homophobic, perhaps we need to ask ourselves what words--what messages we're proclaiming (regardless of the language).
  
  (so)
  
• "...the Spirit is poured out on all who are present. ALL hear the call to share God's wondrous deeds! We SHOULD use our words--limited though they may be, the Spirit will carry them to completion."

Therefore.... the whole church was invited to come forward and paint words--words of God's mighty deeds that we feel called to share and proclaim. (or, in recognition that the Spirit moves beyond our human language, people were also called to simply put paint on the canvas--to mark presence and participation.

I called in some favors (made good use of gifts) from the congregation and the painting was turned into an altar runner that will remain on the communion table throughout the season of Pentecost:

Reflection: there was something very pastoral about sketching an outline that the congregation came alongside and filled...   And, btw, I initially intended to do a simple line off the dove (like in my painted reflection above) but the banner took on a life of its own. The final flame image was much more free and vibrant. (just like the Holy Spirit blows where it wills).

....Oh, and we also did this in both services:

Dear Fabulous Brass Player,

Pentecost Sunday is June 8th .

As you (might) know, the Acts 2 Pentecost story depicts the Holy Spirit pouring out on gathered believers in the form of rushing wind and fire.  It was a blazing moment of unexpected Holy disruption.

...so what better to express “rushing wind” than the use of wind instruments? What better to depict the dramatic entrance of the Holy Spirit than brassy fanfare? And what better to celebrate that moment of unexpectation than an unannounced quintet who sneaks into the service and plays from the back of the worship space?

Singing Art into a Sermon

Text: John 14:15-21

Admittedly, this sermon was shaped less by exegetical art than by a conversation with high school student. She sings in the praise band, so I'll claim music as the mode d'art, but the conversation went like this: "…you say 'we love you God' in your prayers and most of the praise songs talk about our love for God, but I wonder--do I really love God? How can you actually love a God you can't see or hug?" (She didn't know the lectionary texts I had been considering, but her question solidified the text and the direction of the sermon).

As preparation, I spent a good deal of time listening to music--songs/hymns about loving God (or general songs about love that popped into my head).

...and I ended up using a song as part of the sermon:

Father, I adore You

And I lay my life before You

How I love You

Jesus, I adore You

And I lay my life before You

How I love You

Spirit, I adore You

And I lay my life before You 

How I love You

I started with the first stanza, Preached for a bit (pushed the question of loving God. Not just God loving us, but us loving God...is love an action or a feeling?) and then used the second stanza to mark a shift to the sermon body (five ways we can love God: Obey God's commands, wonder and marvel at God, spend time with God, love God's people, and practice the presence of God--recognizing that the Holy Spirit is with us even if we can't hug God). The third stanza beautifully captured and reflected the final image in the sermon.
 

I was concerned about the perception of singing from the pulpit. I didn't want people to think I was showing off, but I also wanted to sing it well (didn't want my voice to crack in the middle).  I'm so used to diving in with some sort of opening line that taking a breath to sing--it felt so strange! Then, once I started singing, I was immediately self-conscious about all kinds of things I hadn't thought through.
Do I look up? Close my eyes? Sing faster? ...is this ME singing to God? Or does the song simply exemplify/frame the message?  Should I have warned people or set the song up? Should I have practiced this?
(I closed my eyes and tried to make it my authentic prayer, slowly settling into my voice and the acoustics).

It felt incredibly vulnerable.

...and it definitely caught people off guard. Some jerked their heads up. Some smiled. (someone later confessed: "at first, I thought you had made a mistake or something.")

The transition from speaking to singing was very strange (I cut straight--no mention or build up… as if the song itself took the place of transitional sentences to the next thought) but it kept me very present in the message.

The song's structure brought out the fullness of the text's  Trinitarian references (Jesus speaks of asking the Father to send the Spirit") and the connection between love and obedience/surrender was absolutely perfect ("if you love me, obey my commands"). I didn't intentionally seek this song out, but it dialogued flawlessly with the sermon I was already writing. This sermon would not have worked if I had decided to sing and then sought out a song…..

...but the best moment of the whole sermon happened in the contemporary service. I sang the final stanza, said "amen" and started to walk off the stage but the music director had me stay. He changed the final song (on the spot) so that the whole congregation sang the song together--expressing and practicing the sermon itself:

"Father/Jesus/Spirit we adore you
And we lay our lives before you
How we love you."

---

"When you put biblical truth to the songs used in churches, you’ll have the congregation leave singing the sermon. You’ll have God’s thoughts, things that are God-breathed, stuck in their heads. It’s sad to think about a really catchy tune paired up with bad theology because that could, honestly, do a lot of damage in church." - Laura Story

Palm Sunday with Figs

Lectionary Text:  Mark 11:1-11 (and vv 12-14)

After reading the Scripture several times, I kept coming back to these images:

• Jesus' triumphant entry ( branches/clothing tossed down, crowd shouting hosanna!)
• The cursed fig tree in the verse after the entry (tree had leaves but no fruit)
  ...which is particularly interesting when paired with the Spring fig tree referenced in Mark 13

Reflection from the painted exegesis….
I was caught off-guard while painting the palm branches, because I had to paint the END of the branch.

(I was already thinking about the shape of the fig tree and realized, hey, these branches have no roots!)
no roots.…
no fruit...
 

And the act of painting fruit; starting with bright greens and slowly adding the figgy-purple (you can't really see the color transitions from this picture) kept bringing fullness-of-life thoughts to mind.

(thus the shout-out to the Holy Spirit and the Nicene creed)

Because of course the Holy Spirit is at work in Holy Week. And working in shriveled branches to bring us to the fullness of life. That's the hope of Easter, right? And the tension of Holy Week?

As a side note, I did a lot of googling for figs and really loved this fig farm on tumblr

In search of the reverse-Selfie

Working on a sermon about Acts 2, I found myself thinking deeply about koinonia (the deep fellowship Christian community we see at the birth of the church) and I started thinking about what that community would look like--how we would see it today...  and I imagine that social media would look different, too.

"less of me, more of others" is NOT what we see typically see on facebook, but I wonder if there IS such thing as a "reverse-selfie" or an "anti-selfie." --the art and discipline of seeing past yourself in order to see others. 

Or what about a profile picture that looked more like Jesus than our own face?
(actually, scratch that. The theology is good, but if someone actually did that, I would probably write them off as lame and kitschy...unless it was doppelganger day--and even then, your Jesus better not be blonde)

Does this thing (this anti-selfie thing) have a name?

• "groupie" doesn't work (a valid hashtag on instagram, btw) because that would just be collective self-absorption (say cheese, American culture!)

•   Rabbi Michael Levy tackles the subject and suggests the word "otherie":

"When you pay attention to yourself, you have less mental energy to pay attention to the feelings of others...

The Torah itself urges us to be love the stranger, because we too were strangers and slaves in the land of Egypt. After experiencing misfortunes, we have the potential to notice others in distress and reach out to them.

As you try to stand in another person’s shoes, you begin to notice something else. Your stereotypical beliefs about people, which you may not have realized were stereotypes, begin to disappear....the world would be a better place if we could bring ourselves to picture the situations of others, rather than becoming entranced by photographs of ourselves."

            (but "otherie" feels isolating and this is a phenomenon where "the other" becomes "friend")

• Alan Wherry (whoever that is) suggests "youfsie" or "yousie"
  
  (but that runs dangerously into the type of co-dependance found in Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift songs--yes, I just put those girls in the same category)

• My so-far favorite suggestion comes from Matthew Bishop who points to (but did not pen) the word "unselfie."
  
  (this phenomenon exists--as people holding up protest signs or words of encouragement--but when girls put on obvious amounts of make-up in order to hold signs that say "you are beautiful," that still feels like a selfie to me. It's disguised, but it's still a selfie.)

Despite my lack of verbiage, I'm still enamored by the beauty and importance of koinonia in our modern culture--not just seeing others, but serving them. loving them:

"Fellowship isn’t when we get together at church to enjoy the company of people we like, or who are like us. The Greek word koinonia means an extraordinary sharing, a radical hospitality that isn’t mere friendliness, but is the warm embrace of those who aren’t like us, whom we might not like, cutting across social and economic boundaries." ~Rev. James Howell

Unfortunately, #koinonia also seems to be some sort of fish...

Love Revealed

God is love.

...(and so) God first loved us. 

(therefore) Jesus fully reveals love on the cross So that we can see (God is love).

...(and because God loves us)
we love one another. ...and our love turns others to Jesus

(because God first loved us)
 So that they see (Jesus fully reveals love on the cross)

(because) God first loved them 

(because) God is love

~1 John 4:7-21

Experience in Grace and Race

Someone posted this on facebook and I find it really powerful.

It's incredible to see people standing up against prejudice, but this project reverses typical expectations....

I definitely want to use it sometime for black history month or some sort of #peoplebeingawesome series....

The Great Banquet

...wrote an entire sermon about the importance of the servant in Jesus' parable. 

I was fascinated by that 'in between status' of one who is part of the household and yet also goes out to bring others in (c.f.the servant in Luke 14:15-24 and "those who hear" in Revelation 22:17). I wanted to push that image of hospitality/evangelism. In fact, I was all ready to preach it, but I just couldn't sleep. ...and something hit me.

Something said 'don't push--be open' and I realized that--for myself--I had been pushing so much (working so much) that I, myself, hadn't even bothered to sit at the banquet. I had refused God's hospitality in order to check off my own excuses. 

So the sermon became a question--or a series of questions (Where are you in this text?
How is it with your soul in that place? -and- Is that where you need to be right now?)

And the manuscript--my eloquently articulated textual manuscript--became this:

I'm proud of the product (I actually brought this--only this--into the pulpit with me) but the process itself was revelatory. I recorded some notes/thoughts, but I'll have to upload them another time. Revelations have been uploaded (as of 9/8/14)




 

Not a Should

"Is there any digging in you need to do at this point -- an intention you would like to reclaim or a practice you want to renew, not as a "should" that weighs you down but as a passage deeper into your path?" (asked the leader of the Lenten retreat

not a should.
not a should. 

Jesus Christ, you FREE us for joyful obedience....
But I confess that I am not always joyful (or obedient, for that matter).

Sometimes I'm grumpy.
In fact, lately I've been often grumpy.

And the list of 'shoulds'.... they nag at me
(leering out from behind the list of 'need-to-dos' and the 'forgot-to-dos')

I shudder at 'shoulds.'


...but breathing?
I forget.

and service?
                obedience?
                                  discipline?
                                                  

 ... these are not 'shoulds'
They are opportunities. space. room.
Filled by grace. (with grace)
In God, life is breath. 

Is.
Not should.
God IS. 

(I forget that sometimes too) 

Christian response to unChristian witness

World Vision recently took a neutral stance on homosexuality--deciding they would not discriminate against Christians in legal same-sex marriages in terms of employment, (neutral and legal being the operative words there) but many people have threatened to drop their sponsorships.

("More alarming than the frustrating homophobia is the fact that people are willing to make starving children the victims of a socioreligious debate." ~Kristen Howerton, Huffington)

...what's beautiful, though, is that I just overheard a phone call where the person basically said, "I heard people are dropping children. I'd like to sponsor another one. It makes me angry that Christians would turn their back on kids"

I'm proud of the man who made that phone call.

Make the Ordinary Come Alive

Some day, I'd like to do a sermon series (or an art display) on the incarnation.
And I think it should definitely include this poem....

Make the Ordinary Come AliveBy William Martin, Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

but it is a way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting

tomatoes, apples, and pears.

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.

A Sabbath Confession

Lord,
I know that sabbath is rest.
I know that you call us to re-center our time and our identity and our work ethic in You.

....but sometimes I feel like 'sabbath' is my excuse to be lazy. a retrospective name for procrastination
....sometimes 'sabbath' is a collapsing-curl-up on the couch or an eternal-clicking-into-the-internet

(something that spins me out of control instead of into it)

....but sometimes (also) the boundaries of deadlines and sermons seem much more pressing (and much more depressing) than that fourth commandment.
                         stress cries, "I don't have time to sabbath!"
                                                       ...and the words hang heavily. exhausted.

Sabbath itself seems like another one of those disciplines that need work in my life.

                                                                                                     

So I swing from one side to the other:

from 'laboring toiler' to 'sloth'
from 'exhausted' to 'unproductive'
...and each pushes me frantically (and guiltily) into the other

until

I realize 

that I can't do it.

not alone.

Lord teach me Your ways. Search me and know my sins--on both sides.

hem me in, behind and before and lay your hand upon me.

Lord, please free me from guilt and show me how to work in the Center. in the Still. 

in knowing, seeking

You.
(not me)
Amen.

Ash Wednesday

And Lent begins...

with the stillness of almost-falling rain.
with the smoldering embers of palm leaves turning
turning into dust
(dust to turn us out of it)
Lent begins.

"Yes!" said the young adult peering into the newly-blackened can.
"These ashes are authentic. None of that ziploc-purchased sterility that comes late in the mail. Our ashes will be real--and we will share them."
We will share authenticity with others.

...because Lent has begun.
And we, ourselves, are turning.

Joy

One of the surprising delights about marriage was discovering that my husband likes to dance around the house. Nothing formal or choreographed, but it's not uncommon for him to spontaneously pop into a room where I'm working, do some sort of spin or air-guitar move and then leave--without a word.

He did this tonight while I was watching netflix (it was a shoulder-to-toe wiggle--not really sure what to call it) and the following dialogue ensued:

Me: "How is it that you can be entirely goofy and adorable yet simultaneously manly?"

Husband (without missing a single beat): "It's the cammo."

...and sure enough, he was wearing army-print cargo pants covered in old paint splotches. I laughed so hard! And then I thanked God for ridiculous moments in life.

Membership Vows in practice

Remember those "five practices" that were such a big deal a few years ago in the UMC? (salty service, radical hospitality, etc...) 

Well Bishop Mike Coyner from the Indiana conference connected them to the five membership vows-. Check it out....

1. Our promise to support the church by our “presence” is a part of our effort to offer “Radical Hospitality” to all persons.  My promise of “presence” is not fulfilled just by my showing up at the church; no I am promising to make our church a place where everyone’s presence is invited, expected, and welcomed.
2. Our promise to support the church by our “prayers” is a part of the practice of making our church a place of “passionate worship.”  I am promising to pray for my church, its leaders, its people, and its mission in such a way that demonstrates my desire to see my church become a place of passionate, heart-felt worship.
3. Our promise to support the church by our “witness” is all about engaging in Intentional Faith Development.  For me to be a good witness – whether that be in sharing my faith with another person, or carrying a sign to march for justice – must grow out of my own intentional growth in grace and holiness.
4. Our promise to support the church by our “service” is about joining and leading the church in Risk-Taking Mission and Service.  It more than just serving on a committee in the church, it is taking the risk to help our church serve beyond its walls.
5. Our promise to support the church by our “gifts” is about moving beyond offerings and support of the church budget, all the way toward engaging in Extravagant Generosity” and leading my church to be extravagantly generous beyond paying its own bills.

Visit the full article here: http://www.inumc.org/epistles/detail/43418

Using Bread Machines in Worship

The only thing better than the taste and smell of freshly baked bread is incorporating those elements in worship. We did that this past Sunday and it was a wondrous celebration of Word and Table. Our Christian tradition has no shortage of resources about bread (we used the Luke 13 parable of the leaven and the "Great Thanksgiving for Thanksgiving or other meals" from the United Methodist Book of Worship). However, practical tips about setting up bread machines during worship were a little harder to find... so here are some things I learned:

• For scent purposes, you probably want 3 or 4 machines (we had two working in our contemporary service and could barely smell them in our large worship space. One was 'ok' for the sanctuary narthex, but I would've wanted 2 in there also).
• Check the cycle times on your bread machines.
•  The 'knead' cycle or the 'punch' cycle are noisy, so avoid those during worship. You want the BAKING to occur during the service (or just before).
• Some machines have silencing options, but most of them beep when finished. We did not find this distracting during the service, but we also explained it to the congregation, so it wasn't a surprise.
• Test your bread machines ahead of time!!! Even if you don't do a full bake cycle, press the buttons and 'start' your cycle. Nothing is worse than calculating all your times, filling all the machines, and then getting a surprise error message.
• Give your machines plenty of space--If your recipe doesn't have enough water and/or the machine is old, the machine might move during the knead cycle. I tested one machine and it rocked its way off of my kitchen counter! On Sunday morning, I set the machines on the floor and then put them on tables during the final rise and bake cycles.
• Make sure you're not plugging multiple machines into the same electrical circuit--especially if your breakers tend to trip. We flipped through breakers and figured out exactly which plug went to which breaker switch.
• If you're using fresh bread for communion or as part of the service:
• Make sure you leave enough time for the bread to cool. For our 9:00 service, we set the machines to go off at 9:35 and the bread was still steaming when we broke it open for communion! It was breathtaking, but still a touch warm.
• Have volunteers ready to remove the finished bread (and the kneading paddles that often get stuck in the bread). ...and make sure they know how the machines work. Some baskets need to be turned or wiggled 'just so.' In a perfect world, your volunteers would be the people who owned those machines. 
• When we moved from the sermon to the communion liturgy, I simply asked if our fresh bread was ready and one of our volunteers yelled 'yes!' and brought two loaves forward on a wooden cutting board (covered with white cloth). It was an informal procession.
•  For bread removal, don't forget to have oven mits, cooling racks, plastic spatulas and wooden spoons ready.
• Mix the dry ingredients ahead of time. All I had to do was measure water, dump in a large ziploc of bead mix (see below), and add yeast. Ta dah!! It cut down on mess and time.
• If you're NOT using fresh bread for communion, you can still invite people to 'taste and see' the goodness after the service. We had a bread maker going in the narthex, so I removed the fresh loaf after the benediction and invited people to continue the worship experience on their way out of church... (or if you have leftovers, make sure to invite people back to the altar to consume the elements. They won't last long!)
• Please, please, remember to offer a gluten-free option. Even if it's wafers instead of bread, you'll be surprised how many people are usually excluded from eucharist because of food allergies.

Our Bread Machine Recipe for Communion

(compiled from all the different machine books, this recipe yields a slightly crumbly crust, but it tears easily for intiction):

Mix Ahead of time:

•  3 cups flour
• 1.5 TBS sugar
• 1.5 TBS dry milk
• 1 tsp salt

To add later (check your machine for which order they go into the basket):

•  1.5 TBS butter. 
• 1 cup and 2 TBS water.
• 2 tsp yeast (I used bread machine yeast)--make sure it doesn't touch water

Kingdom Parables

 And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ ~Luke 13:20-21

BakerWoman God

by Alla Bozarth-Campbell

Bakerwoman God,

I am your living Bread.

Strong, brown, Bakerwoman God.

I am your low, soft, and being-shaped loaf.

I am your rising bread,

well-kneaded by some divine and knotty pair of knuckles,

by your warm earth-hands.

I am bread well-kneaded.

Put me in fire, Bakerwoman God,

put me in your own bright fire.

I am warm, warm as you from fire.

I am white and gold, soft and hard, brown and round.

I am so warm from fire.

Break me, Bakerwoman God!

I am broken under your caring Word.

Bakerwoman God,

Remake me.