Coming Up Sunday, January 3

On Sunday, we begin the new year with a new sermon series: SPIRIT. During the first six Sundays of 2010, we will look at our shared vision for the upcoming years, as presented in our new strategic ministry plan. S.P.I.R.I.T. is an acronym for key parts of our ministry together.

This Sunday, we begin with "S": Share the Gospel. We will focus on the story, found in Acts 8, of Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Philip encounters an important man -- the keeper of the queen's treasury -- reading the prophet Isaiah. This man, a eunuch (which placed him outside of the bounds of Judaism, which frowned upon such treatment of the physical body) is frustrated that he cannot understand a specific prophecy in the Bible. Philip shares the gospel with him, explaining that Jesus fulfills the prophecy. The eunuch is so excited, seeing some water, he desires to be baptized.

This story sets a wonderful example for how Christians are called to share the good news. It reminds us that no one falls outside of God's love, or of God's reach. Regardless of foreign nationality, political position, or previous acts of bodily transformation, the eunuch is welcome to seek God and become a Christian.

More than this, though, the story reminds us that we can play a part in this. The eunuch demonstrates his desire to learn about God by reading from the scriptures, but Philip's role is to help him understand his reading. In different times and places, we are each meant to act like Philip, drawing on our own knowledge of the Bible and our faith experiences to lead someone else closer to God. We may not anticipate these moments of faith sharing, but we must be prepared for them. More than that, we must be on the lookout for such opportunities.

Sad News about DisciplesWorld

Last week, DisciplesWorld announced that they would cease publishing the magazine and maintaining the Internet website, with it's daily news updates, at the end of 2009. Given the good variety of the magazine, and its editorial integrity, this is a disappointment in the life of our denomination.

Unfortunately, the news was not entirely unexpected. The magazine has struggled with funding -- it always has been a self-supported, not-for-profit entity -- from its beginning eight years ago. For a time, it looked like subscriptions were increasing, but those numbers have decreased in the past couple of years. Also, the magazine has benefited in recent years by a couple of large charitable grants and individual donations. Depending on such money to meet expenses, rather than advertising and subscriptions, was not a viable long-term financial solution.

I know that I will miss the magazine. While I think it took a couple of years for the editorial staff to find the magazine's voice (which is understandable), I think that DisciplesWorld coalesced around a solid vision. They saw strength in trying to represent the diversity of our denomination; they believed they had a role in pushing the regional and general ministries to be more transparent in their work. They were comfortable raising difficult and sometimes painful issues, confident that readers would appreciate their work.

It's Been a Good Weekend

A brief word of thanks for the great weekend, despite the limitations imposed by the weather conditions. As a congregation, we juggled our plans (want to make God laugh... mention your plans). Unlike many other churches, including some south of us, we had electricity, and tolerable road conditions, which allowed many of us to worship together this morning, and to have our concert this afternoon. And I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who gathered today -- there were many more people than I expected.

And, of course, it's good to spend time with family, especially when they've had to travel through winter weather to visit. I'm glad my mom, brother, and my brother's girlfriend were able to make the trip (even if the unexpected cooking yesterday stretched my pantry to the brink).

Many people were involved in making decisions, and doing things to make today possible.

Brooks, Leigh Anne, Nathaniel, and I were able to reschedule the concert (and squeeze in some rehearsal time). The reception that had been planned to follow Saturday's concert morphed into a light lunch between worship and the concert -- many thanks to Linda and Karen for spearheading that, and for all who helped including Cathy and Edna for baking.

Given the compressed schedule, I was pretty busy today. For myself, I wish I had had a bit of time to enjoy being at church, instead of just trying to make sure many of details got taken care of (but sometimes that can't be avoided). I wish I had more time to talk to everyone who was there, but so it goes.

Still, I think it was a really good day. I don't say this in order to take pride in my part of the day -- though I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm mostly pleased with my contributions. Mostly, though, I think it was a good day for us to be together, to worship together, and to celebrate a bit of this Christmas season together. And I'm grateful to have been a part of it.

Concert Postponed

Tonight's concert, "The Memory of Christmas," has been postponed due to the winter weather. It will take place following Sunday's service, beginning at 12:00 noon. We will have some refreshments available between the service and the concert, and during the concert intermission. Hope you will be able to attend.

(Re)Thinking Church Administration

I've been catching up on some articles from past issues of The Christian Century recently. I came across an interesting piece on church administration by the former president of Union Theological Seminary in New York; he encourages pastors and congregations to view administration as part of their essential ministries.

Louis Weeks writes:

The fact that effective leaders and healthy congregations usually go together is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that pastors and laypeople often dismiss the very work that keeps them vital: the myriad of mostly invisible jobs that constitute administration. How meetings are run, how new leaders are apprenticed, how the books are kept, how communication is structured, how events and programs are implemented and evaluated -- all of this is crucial to congregational life, but rarely understood as ministry. (from "God is in the details" by Louis B. Weeks, The Christian Century, vol. 126, no. 2, p. 10)

This is an interesting insight, I think. So often, churches are quietly (or not so quietly) criticized for their bureaucracy. Even most Christians believe that 'bureaucracy'-- the impolitic equivalent of administration -- is something that the church should be embarrassed about. Administration is what distracts us from our true ministry. It's about pushing paper, instead of prayer or pastoral care. We'd rather not think about it.

But administration encompasses much of the church's ministry. Administration doesn't offer prayers, but it does share prayer requests. It doesn't preach, but it can allow people opportunities to prepare for sermons by studying upcoming scripture lessons -- or it can allow people to revisit sermons after worship services. Administration doesn't save souls, but ensuring that we share information with visitors, have an updated website, communicate with the press,etc. can let people know how seriously we take our faith, and what the faith is exactly that we're taking seriously.

Administration is not everyone's gift. But it needs to be one of the congregation's gifts. It's not all that our faith is about, but it will help us share our faith with others. It will help us to discern where we're going as a congregation. It will help us mentor our newer leaders more effectively, not to stifle the work of the Holy Spirit, but to create an environment where the Holy Spirit can flourish in their leadership. It's something to think about, as we prepare to enter the New Year.

Stewardship Idea

As we continue our pledge season, in order to plan for next year's budget, it is interesting to consider non-traditional means of raising money for the church. 50-50 drawings, bake sales, bachelorette auctions, renting out the building for various activities -- the list goes on (and gets much weirder).

But I've never seen such an audacious idea as this one. To be sure, this is a for-profit venture, not a church-sponsored thing. But as this article asks, one wonders about how many people will be interested in something like this. $9.99 is not exactly chump change.

Then again, if you're "spiritual but not religious" and not affiliated with a church, there may be times when you feel like asking for a prayer, but you don't know who to ask. Here, in the faceless void of cyberspace, armed with an email address and a credit card, you can reach out to meet that need -- and get a personalized confirmation email in return. So maybe there is a market here. Or in evangelistic terms, maybe there is a spiritual need here that Christians -- particularly church-going Christians -- should recognize and be aware.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Perhaps you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the Christmas season, with the lengthy to-do lists, the extra cooking, shopping, cleaning, decorating, etc. If so, there are three basic ways you can respond.

1) Ignore the stress. Carry on. If you can do this, good for you. You don't need anything from this blog entry.

2) Lash out at Christmas. You too can be like the Anglican bishop who hates most Christmas-related hymns, and you can write a book complaining about how wrong they are. Or you can read his book, Why Wish You a Merry Christmas. Or you can get the gist of his argument by reading the article here. If this is you, I hope that you feel better. But please remember that most people don't want to hear your cynical comments this time of year. (Bad-mouthing "Away in a Manger"? Give me a break.)

3) Take a break from all of the Christmas-related activity to smile at something unrelated. Here is a recent gem from the Muppet Studio, a new rendition (a skillful, appropriate for all ages, homage to the original video) of "Bohemian Rhapsody." If this is you, click on the video, and enjoy. Then get back to your to-do list.

Coming Up Sunday, December 6

This Sunday, we will continue our Advent series on the first part of G. F. Handel's Messiah. Last week, we considered the happy prophecies of Isaiah 40 that open the work. This week, we have the more confrontational -- or even violent -- prophecies of Malachi 3 that follow.

Here are YouTube clips of this week's selections (nos. 5, 6, and 7 if you're following along in your own personal Messiah score at home). The Bass recitative, "Thus Saith the Lord":

The Bass aria, "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming,":

And the second chorus, "And He Shall Purify":

In this scripture, the prophet tells how God will help his chosen people by purifying them of their sinfulness, particularly the Jewish religious leadership ("the sons of Levi"). This is an important corollary to last week's consolation to Israel -- while they may take comfort that God is coming, they should be aware that part of God's coming will be painful and even confrontational.

This is something that we tend to forget as Christians. We always imagine a benevolent, nurturing God -- the protective "Mother Hen" who protects us and loves us unconditionally. We forget that sometimes so-called "tough love" is necessary, especially if we need to be shocked out of our delusions or addictions. I am convinced that God will use any means necessary to reach out to us and to save us from our own sinfulness. Sometimes God will nurture; sometimes God will prod.

US Military Tombstones

There was an interesting brief discussion on one of the Disciples email listservs this week, related to a photo of President Barack Obama at Arlington National Cemetery on Veteran's Day. A copy of the photo is here.

Someone recognized that the headstone visible on the right has a Disciples chalice on it. When I last visited Arlington, I too noticed some unusual markings on headstones. I had believed -- wrongly, as it turns out -- that there were three main markings on the headstones, a Christian cross, a Jewish Star of David, and a Muslim star and crescent moon. It turns out that there are 39 emblems that the government will inscribe on military tombstones, including several denominational symbols like the Disciples chalice and even a Atheist symbol (I did not know that there was any such recognizable symbol for strident non-believers).

Faith and Film, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

On Friday, our monthly "Faith and Film" series continues with the classic 1962 John Ford movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The film, sometimes called "the last western" is about the transformation of the American west from the "wild west" to the modern west. Here is a (grainy) copy of the trailer:

The film, which stars John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Lee Marvin, was added to the National Film Registry in 2007. It has important themes about the relationship between myth and fact in the creation of identity, about the relationship between liberty and law and order, and about the often-unseen dirty work that upholds our so-called civilized society. It's also just a fantastic movie.

You may recall that Gene Pitney recorded a hit song called "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" when the film was released. Oddly enough, the song was not actually a part of the movie, so if you want to hear it, you'll either have to dig out an old 45 or click here.

Coming Up Sunday, November 8

On Sunday, we will continue our look at the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. In particular, we will consider God's promise of the Holy Spirit to guide and nurture Christians, given in Acts 1:1-5.

Sunday is also the first of two Sundays for the fifth special offering for the Disciples Mission Fund, the Thanksgiving Special Offering. This offering supports Disciples-affiliated colleges and universities, seminaries, and seminary related institutions. You can read more about it, and hear some interviews with students, here.

Of course, we will also enjoy a luncheon with a soup challenge between our membership teams. Plan to stay after worship and cheer on your team cooks and enjoy soup and dessert.

Seeds of Faith on Wednesday

The next "Seeds of Faith" will be on Wednesday evening, November 4, from 6:00-8:00. There will be dinner (pizza), a brief prayer service, and this month's lesson time will be spent helping to prepare for this weekend's Yard Sale.

"Seeds of Faith" meets monthly on the 1st Wednesday of the month.

Introduction to the New Testament class, Tuesday night

The next session of the Introduction to the New Testament class will be on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00. In this class, we'll finish our discussion of Paul by looking at Romans, Philippians, and Philemon. Romans is Paul's magnum opus, his most detailed explanation of what Christianity means, Philippians is his famous letter from prison, and Philemon is a person letter to a friend seeking forgiveness for a runaway slave that has converted to Christianity.

DisciplesWorld - November/December

We received the new issue of DisciplesWorld this week. The cover story is a feature on John the Baptist, but the remaining articles cover a hodgepodge of topics, including a couple of reflections on the General Assembly.

The article on John the Baptist is excellent -- you will probably learn many things from it, including a bit about the Mandaeans who revere John as God's greatest prophet. Other features explore an education ministry for Palestinians and a Missouri church's summer outreach project to provide sack lunches for kids in a community where 60% of students in public schools qualify for reduced-price or free school lunches. There's also an interesting piece on the benefits of funerals for those mourning the death of a loved one.

There are multiple articles that I would describe as personal essays. Unlike recent issues of DisciplesWorld, I found them to be of a real "hit or miss" quality. One strong piece considers the nature of leadership, paying particular attention to a young woman who founded a web-based company that allows people to make micro-loans around the world. There's also a couple of interesting pieces about letting go of control -- one by a woman reflecting on dealing with significant medical problems, one by a minister about attending church between pastorates. I found the other essays to be more disappointing, particularly one lamenting how the authors found General Assembly to be unfriendly to religious pluralism. Bashing a widely held Christian theology of atonement in the name of reconciliation among faiths is an odd approach to religious dialogue and tolerance.

As a matter of local interest, the poem on the inside back cover is by Maggie Sebastian, pastor of First Christian in Wheeling, whom some may know.

Soles 4 Souls

Our Red Fireballs membership team is encouraging members of the church to donate new and used shoes to the Soles 4 Souls drive being led by Jay Carpenter, Vice President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter at Mt. Union College.

Soles 4 Souls is a five-year-old organization, created after the tragic 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia, that collects shoes to distribute to those in need, particularly after natural disasters.

Here is a video promoting the effort:

We will be collecting shoes and monetary donations to support the Mt. Union "Raider Relief" effort through November 15.

Coming Up Sunday, October 18

Our celebration of the "Month of the Ministry" continues this week as we consider the ministry of outreach. It is essential for faithful Christians to not only develop their personal relationships with God and with each other; they also need to reach out with Christian love and charity to meet the needs of the wider world.

Jesus did this throughout his ministry. Not only did he help people build better relationships with God, he also quietly reached out and helped those in need around him. If they had questions, he would answer them. If they were sick, he healed them. If they were hungry, he multiplied the loaves and the fishes. And then he suggested that his disciples were to do likewise.

"When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked you clothed me," says the Lord. "When did I do that," the disciple asks. "As much as you have done to those in need, you have done to me."

We will also celebrate our outreach ministries, in the Fairmont community and in the wider world.

Faith and Film, "Amazing Grace"

On Friday, our "Faith and Film" series will continue with the 2006 film "Amazing Grace," which retells the story of how slavery was abolished in the British empire in the early 1800s. Here is the trailer:

The film starts at 7:00. It should offer us an opportunity to consider how our faith can impact the larger society for the better.

Thinking about Communion

This morning I came across an essay reflecting on celebrating Communion on World Communion Sunday. It is written by a United Methodist minister, who obviously celebrates the Lord's Supper once a month. It is interesting, I think, for us to see how others view communion -- especially the logistics of communion -- when they do not gather at the Lord's Table every week.

Read the essay here.

Perhaps this is one of the blessings of our faith tradition. By celebrating Communion every worship, and by involving the deacons and elders so fully, we have made the sacrament a central part of our faith practice. In some ways, we have incarnated Communion, making it a part of who we are. I imagine we don't think about it as messy or neat, well-ordered or not -- it's simply who we are and what we do.

Successful Church Innovation

Earlier this evening, I saw the beginning of the Blue Angel's meeting to participate in our Strategic Ministry Planning process. I was thrilled with the turnout, and I am confident that many good ideas were discussed. And I am sure that the Green and Red teams meetings will be good when they are held in the next few days.

This evening, I came across an article about innovation in another congregation's children's ministry. While the beginning of the article is interesting, I was struck by the six bullet points at the end of the article, which seem to me to be "spot on" in describing what a successful progress in ministry entails.

As our planning process continues, as we strive to determine where we will concentrate our efforts in the years ahead and then as we work to make those dreams reality, I hope we keep these six bullet points in mind. Pay attention to what's important. Watch and learn. Be patient. Experiment. Be willing to make mistakes. Celebrate progress together.

The Words on the Bibilical Page

I really enjoyed Tuesday's class session of "Introduction to the New Testament." I thought that everyone was engaged with the material, which is a great thing. I was happy to see so many people and to have so much discussion.

Reading this morning, I've come across a couple of articles that comment about something that I've spent some time explaining in the class -- how complex the process of creating an English translation of the Bible is. There's two different phases of complexity -- first, the process of determining what the Biblical texts originally said in their original language, which is a process of careful reconstruction; second, the process of translation.

In the past few decades, there have been strong disagreements over English translations, particularly regarding gender usages in the Bible. Most often, conservative translators say, God is described as "he" in the Greek of the New Testament -- as opposed, I guess to "she." More accurately, God is represented by a 3rd person, masculine, singular pronoun; the masculinity of that pronoun can refer either to God's masculinity -- "he" -- or that the word for God, deos, is a masculine word in the Greek (as opposed to feminine or neuter). There's also controversy rooted in the way the plural is used in Greek. A plural masculine of believers, say "brothers" (adelphoi), can mean either a group of males or a mixed group of males and females. The technical translation of "brothers" is correct, but it omits the recognition that the plural is really gender inclusive. This is particularly problematic when using what become job titles in the church -- were all of the church leaders in the New Testament males?

Anyway, the impact of the translations on practice and theology are immense. So translations are fought over intensely. Here is a brief essay on some of the battles over translation, produced by the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School. And here is an article about the conservative reaction -- I think to the current process of creating an updated version of the New International Version (NIV) -- to translate the Bible conservatively (whatever that might mean).

The issue/controversy over translation will never go away. It's something that people of faith will have to struggle with until the end of days. But it's interesting to see how the debate ebbs and flows. And it's an interesting "newsy" thing touching on the "Introduction to the New Testament" class.

Seeds of Faith on Wednesday

The first "Seeds of Faith" of the fall will be on Wednesday evening, October 7, from 6:00-8:00. There will be dinner (pizza this month), a brief prayer service, and then a lesson. This year's lessons focus on some of the different Christian denominations. We will begin with our own denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

"Seeds of Faith" meets monthly on the 1st Wednesday of the month.

Introduction to the New Testament class, Tuesday night

The Introduction to the New Testament class will meet on Tuesday evening at 7:00. This session will be the first of three on Paul and his letters. After discussing a little about Paul's biography, we will briefly look at letter writing in the ancient world. Then we will focus on 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians.

It would be helpful to read the scripture lessons before the class.

West Virginia Regional Assembly 2010

Details are coming out about next year's Regional Assembly, which will be at First Christian Church in Weirton. More information is available at the Region's NewsWire here. I hope a few of us will make the trip, at least for part of the time.

2009 Reconciliation Special Offering

This Sunday, we will collect the fourth special offering that supports a broader ministry of the church, the Reconciliation Offering. This offering sponsors the Reconciliation Ministry of the church, which seeks to address the social divisions -- particularly race and nationality -- that plague the church.

Earlier this week, the regional office announced that the Northeastern Inter-Regional Fellowship (of which the WV region is a part, along with other regions of the Northeast and Canada) has received a grant from Reconciliation Ministry to sponsor a week-long seminar for high school students next summer. Other information about the offering is available here.

Coming Up Sunday, October 4

We will begin our celebration of "The Month of the Ministry" by celebrating the ministry of worship at Central Christian. We will recognize and thank those who have led us in worship over the past year.

We will celebrate World Communion Sunday along with countless other churches around the world. As much as our theology and practices, as well as geography, separate the members of the church universal, we are still called to be one in Christ, members of one body with Christ as the head. This day we covenant with other churches to celebrate communion as a reminder of our hope, and God's desire, that we will all one day truly be one in Christ.

And as mentioned earlier this week, we will remember one of our founding theologians, Thomas Campbell, who sought a way to find unity among Christians divided. Jesus famously prayed for his followers in John 17 that "they all might become one." Campbell wondered if our greatest sin as Christians might be the innumerable obstacles we have put in the way of that goal.

The sermon is entitled "One," and it will talk about all of these things, emphasizing one church, one Christ, one God. The scripture is taken from Isaiah 57 (one of the passages Campbell cited in his "Declaration and Address"). The central focus will be this: What one thing is the point of worship?

Central Christian on Ch. 19

The October schedule for Fairmont Public Access Ch. 19 includes a 13-minute piece on the Habitat for Humanity project in Mannington that several of us have been volunteering on occasionally. The program includes footage and interviews shot one day while we were volunteering.

The program will be shown at 12:00 Midnight and 12:00 Noon each day in October.

Thomas Campbell's Vision

This weekend, we will celebrate several things:

• The first Sunday of October, the Month of the Ministry
• World Communion Sunday, an ecumenical effort for all churches, regardless of how often they celebrate communion, to gather at the Lord's Table this day
• The 200th anniversary of Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address," a founding document of the movement that became the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Perhaps the least known of these is Campbell's "Declaration and Address," published near the end of 1809. This document, intended to form a non-sectarian Christian Association of Washington, PA, was an attempt to reform some of the excesses of the denominational churches, particularly their refusal to recognize each other's ministry as legitimate.

You can read Campbell's "Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington" (PA) here.

Campbell was not a disinterested theologian. He was stripped of his standing as a Presbyterian minister because he refused to follow the instructions of his presbytery regarding who could and could not receive communion. Campbell believed that the presbytery's restrictions around the Lord's Supper were wrong, and could not be justified by the description of the sacrament in the New Testament.

As he worked through this, he came to believe that all denominations suffered from the same basic flaw -- they divided the church of Jesus Christ. Campbell believed that Jesus' prayer in John 17, that all his followers might be one, meant that the division among the church was not a divine wish, but a human creation.

The solution of this, which Campbell lays out in the "Declaration and Address," is to move away from denominationalism. Campbell believed that geographic Christian Associations, founded on the Christian practices of the early church described in the New Testament, offered a way toward the unity of believers.

Ultimately, Campbell's efforts were pretty unsuccessful. The Christian Association of Washington lasted only a few years. The movement to end denominations eventually just added to the number of Christian denominations.

On the other hand, some of the key elements remain and shape Christianity. The restrictions surrounding the communion table have been reduced over the past 200 years. And churches work together in ecumenical organizations, from local ministerial associations (like the Greater Fairmont Council of Churches) to larger organizations (the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches) to mission efforts (like Church World Service).

So we will celebrate Campbell's legacy this weekend. Some of us will travel to Bethany to visit the home, college, and town that Thomas Campbell's son Alexander built to further develop and teach this Restorationist theology. It should be a good weekend.

What if a congregation was totally honest?

Churches talk a lot about hospitality. Most take it seriously, at least toward people they like. Some are sincere and try to welcome all comers -- some are even good at it.

But often, church members tiptoe around visitors. Sometimes this is in the name of hospitality, wanting them to feel welcome and comfortable. Sometimes this is because they are afraid the visitors might find how what they -- the congregation -- are really like.

Here's an idea of radical hospitality -- What if a congregation told a visitor what they were like up front? This is the idea from a recent post on another blog.

What would our honest self-disclosure be? Would it be disturbing? Funny? Disappointing? Real? Would others like find it appealing or appalling? Hard to say. After all, some people prefer phony smiles to real-life complexity. But I think most people would like who we honestly are. But it's hard to put that kind of honesty into hospitality.

DisciplesWorld - September/October

The latest issue of DisciplesWorld arrived this week. This issue focuses on Disaster relief, as we pass the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, there is coverage of the recent General Assembly, including editor Verity Jones' opening reflection and several letters to the editor (one wonders how many such letters the magazine received about the Assembly).

In addition to the articles on disaster relief, which do a good job at sketching the logistical challenges and spiritual opportunities of such work, I recommend the article on chaplaincy. Many people misunderstand the many different types of ministry that chaplains do, in many varied environments. There is also an article about several congregations that have supported Boy Scout troops for long periods of time (as we approach the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Boy Scouts of America).

There is also an interesting personal essay from a retired pastor, reflecting on the murder of his brother. It is a poignant piece of writing, and one which should stimulate discussion. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is a frankly awful essay purporting to show Biblical support for health care reform. I will not not comment on the politics, which can be debated, but just point out that the scriptural interpretation, on the whole, is poor, mixing reasonable interpretation with some Biblical tunnel-vision, with some misunderstanding of the Roman economic system to boot.

Coming Up Sunday, September 6

This week marks the final Sunday in the "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series," focusing on the film "Public Enemies." The movie, based on the story of how the FBI tracked down notorious bank robber John Dillinger, is a hard-nosed gangster film. The film stars Johnny Depp as the legendary hold-up man, as famous for his seemingly impossible jailbreaks as for his robberies. Here is the trailer:

The gangster film is a famous subgenre of American movies, looking at those who try to operate outside of the law. In many respects it is similar to the Western, which also featured outlaws and marshals who made their own rules in the chaotic Wild West. Such movies have long fascinated Americans, who love rooting for the hero who follows his own moral compass.

The closest Biblical analogy to this type of story is an obscure tale from the life of David before he became king. (Yes, I couldn't let the summer pass without a look at the Jewish monarchy.) After being threatened one too many times by Saul, David flees from the Jewish kingdom and survives as a rogue tribal leader whose troupe robs people living on the frontier. I've written about this time in David's life previously on the blog.

In modern language, we would call David either a mercenary -- if we are kind -- or a terrorist. He acted outside of the (Jewish) law; he acted outside of the Jewish kingdom. In the end, he becomes king. But if things had happened differently -- if another tribal leader had become king -- David would have probably been known only as a criminal. David slew Goliath, and then it all went to his head and he became a bandit. He stole; he killed. He broke his word (to the Philistines) when it was in his interest.

This Sunday, we will come full circle in our series. Having first thought about cosmic good and evil, now we will look at personal good and evil. Who is good? Who is evil? Who decides?

Coming Up Sunday, August 30

The "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series" continues this week with "Julie & Julia," the recent film based on the best-selling book about a woman who blogs about her experience cooking every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook in one year. Here's the trailer:

The movie, written and directed by Nora Ephron (perhaps most famous for "Sleepless in Seattle," which she wrote and directed), is an odd film that falls outside of typical Hollywood genres. Ephron is famous for her romantic comedies, but this movie is really a twin biography. There are laughs and some romance, but mostly it is about the kinship between two women who never meet.

It seems logical to pair this movie with the book of Ruth, which falls outside of the typical Biblical genres. While it fits into the history of Israel, it is mostly about the kinship of two women, in-laws, who became the backbone of a family.

Ruth famously leaves her own family to continue to live with her mother-in-law, even after her husband dies (and there is no male sibling for her to marry per the custom of the times). She chooses her family. Julie Powell, in the movie, is dissatisfied with her professional identity, so she creates a new one on the Internet, as someone following in the footsteps of Julia Child.

The sermon Sunday will focus on these women's efforts to define their own identities, which is almost as odd a concept today as it was 3000 years ago.

Hmmm...

I came across an interesting video, and thought I'd share it.

Coming Up Sunday, August 23

The "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series" continues on Sunday with the third summer movie, "The Hangover." The R-rated comedy, now the second highest grossing comedy of all time (not accounting for inflation), is the surprise hit of the summer. It tells the story of a weekend in Las Vegas gone horribly wrong -- the hook is that no one can remember what happened on the fateful night.

Here is one of the trailers:

Where did the live chicken come from? Who knows. The film mines lots of laughs from the completely unexpected, such as the random appearance of Mike Tyson singing along with a Phil Collins song. And there are lots of laughs (many from inappropriate humor) in the film.

How does it relate to the Bible? I could tease you and make up some outlandish tale, though drunkenness plays a role in several Biblical stories, such as the end of the story of Lot. More than this, though, drunkenness is a prominent theme in the prophets, who accuse the Hebrews of being too intoxicated to recognize what's really going on. Jeremiah 23 is just one such passage.

Can the same be said of us? Have we gotten so comfortable with our lives, including our lives of faith, that we've become intoxicated with our blessings, blinded by our wealth, hungover with our relative power? Do we all need a strong cup of coffee (or a whole pot) to wake up to reality?

Coming Up Sunday, August 16

The second film in our "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series" is the Pixar/Disney computer animated "Up." This film, which tells the story of an elderly widower who goes on a quest to fulfill his late wife's dream, is an unexpected buddy picture, featuring a relationship between the old man and a young Asian boy scout. Here's the trailer:

On Sunday, we will consider some Biblical "up" stories, including the most famous one, the Transfiguration (found in Luke 9). These stories, like the movie "Up," are a special kind of personal journey stories, in which characters go up mountains in order to receive revelations or learn something about themselves.

In the Luke story, the revelation is for Jesus' disciples, rather than Jesus. Jesus is raised off the ground and joined mid-air by Elijah and Moses. And just in case the disciples misunderstand the meaning, the voice of God speaks to them, identifying Jesus as God's son.

We will talk a little about the opportunities we have to receive these epiphanies from God, about our own trips to the mountaintop.

Some People Will Do Anything Not to Go to Church

Slightly disturbing story about the lengths a 7-year-old boy went to in order to avoid going to church. Let's go to the videotape:

At first, I thought the boy drove the car from church to go home. But it appears that he took the car from home:

Makes you wonder. Or maybe just chuckle.

DisciplesWorld - July/August 2009

The new issue of DisciplesWorld has arrived, and I'm excited to say that it's a strong issue, filled with interesting articles. It also marks the beginning of a reimagining of the magazine, with a new tagline: "your world, your faith, your life." (Personally, I'm not much into taglines, but evidently they must appeal to some people because they seem to pop up everywhere nowadays.)

The theme is "Celebrating Disciples Diversity," which is timely given that the recent General Assembly was in many ways a blatant attempt to do just that. (Given that it was my first assembly, I'll leave it to others to judge how successful the attempt was -- though I will say that I heard grousing from some who said that only some diversity was celebrated.) The magazine does an excellent job of trying to model this diversity in its coverage -- featuring articles or sidebars with a taste for Disciples racial, gender, age, economic, and social diversity. With limited space, it's impossible to represent such diversity fully, but I think the editors did an excellent job given such limitations.

I won't describe much about the articles, except to recommend them for their thoughtfulness. They will stimulate thinking and discussion, especially editor Verity Jones' excellent cover article. Jones both applauds our diversity and raises an inconsistency it points to -- what does it mean for a church that talks so centrally about unity among the church, but whose churches often fall into racial/national categories? Is it enough to be a big umbrella? Or as Verity puts it: "How can this crazy, hodgepodge of a denomination hold together when core faith beliefs are at stake?" (This is, by no means, an idle question.)

Also of note in the issue, Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, has an article talking about the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council I blogged about a few days ago. It covers much the same ground -- even has the same scripture -- as the letter she sent to congregations.

Ron Allen, a Disciples seminary professor at Christian Theological Seminary, has an article on theological diversity among congregations. It is a laudable attempt to approach the issue with a fair and equal hand. He attempts to draw a spectrum of theological interpretation apart from the usual conservative/liberal dichotomy, which is helpful, suggesting a difference between "the multi-authority approach" and "the single-authority model." While I appreciate the effort, Allen's analysis is incorrect because "the single-authority model" (which is obviously not Allen's personal preference) is just as reliant on multiple forms of authority as "the multi-authority approach" -- adherents usually protest (much too loudly) that they don't, but it is obvious that they too rely on extra-Biblical traditions and experiences; they're just different from the extra-Biblical traditions and experiences given credence by others.

If I had to take a stab at what Allen is trying to get at, I would suggest that the dichotomy he is pointing to are between people who believe the Bible is the Word of God and those who believe the Bible is the Words of God. More aptly, and Allen might appreciate this given his academic focus, the difference is between those who believe the Bible is the logos of God versus those who believe it is the logoi of God. The former, the logos of God, suggests that people believe the scriptures are part of God's revealed reason; the latter, the logoi of God, suggests that people believe the scriptures are literally God's specific revealed words.

If all of this has your head spinning, then let me just suggest you skip the article or read it with a great big shaker of salt.

Later in the magazine, there is an excellent reflection on coping with the death of a child. My instinct is that it is also somewhat applicable to dealing with other forms of grief, so I recommend it. And if you know someone who is grieving, you might pass it along to them.

The closing piece, by Lillian Daniel, is an excellent source of "food for thought." She raises the intriguing question of how we approach our faith -- are we tourists, or are we adventurers? Tourists, she writes, sightsee, take pictures, and then go home. Adventurers have experiences that are much less controlled or predictable. I highly recommend you all read it.

DisciplesWorld is also sponsoring a couple of new online endeavors. The editors have begun a blog about the magazine, "Between the Lines." They have also created a social network for interested people, "The Intersection." Who knows what will become of these things, but no one can accuse them of sitting still or being behind the times.

The Church of the Future

I came across this intriguing article when another religion blog, Church Marketing Sucks, mentioned it. (Interesting site about church outreach, though not for the uninitiated I don't think.) The writer considers the shape of the church in 25 years, 2034, at least as relates to the use of technology (the focus of the magazine, Collide, it appeared in).

I find the discussion of church sizes particularly intriguing, though probably premature for 2034. Congregational size will likely change over the next few decades, mostly due to the fact that it will become more challenging to financially support what many believe to be the basic neighborhood church: a building and a full-time pastor. Churches wanting to do this will need to be a certain size, which means that smaller congregations will feel more and more squeezed financially, maybe to the point that they either need to become very small or larger.

However, the author's comments about multiple church campuses may not only be prescient (I do think that it is a trend we will see much more of, because of so-called branding, in the next 20 years), but the solution to the squeezed churches. What if several small congregations pooled resources for one pastor who preached to them simultaneously using video communication? This pastor could visit each congregation over a period of Sundays, yet be present in all of them every Sunday. Intriguing, to say the least.

Coming Up Sunday, August 9

The "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series" begins this Sunday, relating recent films to faith. First up, the mega-hit sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which has earned almost $400 million at the domestic box office since its release in June.

The action movie pits earth in the cross-hairs of a cosmic war between good and bad robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons. This is another form of the age-old "Good vs. Evil" story, many of which appear in the Bible.

In fact, religiously speaking, we have a particular kind of "Good vs. Evil" story related to the end of the world: an apocalypse. At the end of time (or at least at the end of a period of time), there will be a cosmic struggle between good and evil; in this war, evil will be permanently defeated. After this, in the words of Revelation (or The Apocalypse according to John), there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

But the peaceable kingdom, where there will be no more war or death, does not come without a fight. And this worldview permeates a significant part of how we view life. We believe that no lasting good change (ie. transformation) can come without significant struggle. This is often how we view national history (stories of noble sacrifice), personal improvement (no pain, no gain), relationships (I asked her four times to marry me), and sports (win one for the Gipper).

Is this a good way to view faith? Do we have a choice?

Birdies, Birdies Everywhere -- Tweet, Tweet

A funny little story about the frequency of people posting to Twitter from the General Assembly, including Sharon Watkins, the General Minister and President.

I don't tweet. I have no interest in tweeting. I also have no interest in downloading an application so that you can track my location (via GPS on my cell phone) at all hours. But some people are using such things in their ministry. Makes you think.

Mission (Re)Alignment

Over the past several months, a committee of the general church has been meeting to discuss ways in which our shared mission and ministry could be better and more clearly organized. This group, officially called the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council, submitted recommendations to the General Board in April. This past week, Central Christian received a letter from General Minister and President Sharon Watkins updating the process.

The letter, displayed on the bulletin board at church, highlights nine proposals from the committee, most centering around increased communication between different ministries and offices. Notably absent is any of the earlier proposals to radically reorganize the structure of the church's general ministries.

So it may appear that the entire effort, still ongoing, is a bit of a failure. It may seem that the outcome is typical of so many church meetings -- an agreement to have more meetings.

Underneath this process, though, is a very encouraging sign. One of the main goals is to empower broader mission in every congregation. Initially, I believed that this was empty rhetoric, but over the past months I've come to believe that it is the primary motivation behind many of these discussions. More than this, I believe that this discussion, to imagine individual congregations being empowered for such ministry, is an exciting prospect for our congregations in the future. If we can find ways to share our collective knowledge, such as what we've learned about reaching out to political refugees or sending medical aid to Central America, then we don't just have to rely on Global Missions to do things -- members in individual congregations can reach out in service themselves.

More information about the Mission Alignment Coordinating Council is available on Disciples.org.

General Assembly Wrap-Up

Owing to some Internet connection issues and some long days, I was unable to post entries the final days of the Assembly. Still, I'd like to make a few more observations.

Overall, the Assembly was a great gathering. Others suggested that it was very different from previous Assemblies, with a very different (and shorter) schedule, and a much different feel. On one of the Disciples email list-servs to which I belong, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the style of preaching over the four evening worship services -- evidently it too was different.

From my perspective, I thought there was a huge effort to be inclusive of the broad diversity of Disciples, including (but not limited to) our theological diversity, our racial diversity, our age diversity, our aesthetic diversity (particularly in music), and our cultural diversity. The music was surprisingly varied, although it frequently sounded the same because it was performed by the same musicians (which meant that older hymns felt a bit like more recent praise music).

On the other hand, the schedule was very busy, and the business sessions were far too long (and often unnecessarily so -- if you've submitted a written report, maybe highlight a couple of things and then just take questions, but report after report featured extensive comments). Mostly, this was because each session was filled with things other than business -- lengthy Bible study/reflections, 30 minute lectures on Disciples history (I'm not making that up). These could be nice touches to remind people of the reason for the business, but they took FAR too long. Much more successful were the small touches by Rev. Ayanna Johnson, outgoing 1st Vice Moderator, who offered a pastoral and human presence in the business meetings, particularly in her prayers. (I went to school with Ayanna, and I was thrilled to see her brilliantly fill a tough position -- and thrilled to see someone under 30 serving in a major and visible leadership role in the church.)

The business sessions achieved very little, from my perspective, as far as our congregation is concerned. The new ministry guidelines were passed, despite objections from many (including a region that said they would be virtually impossible for them to implement). Certain procedural things were worked out, including plans for the 2013 Assembly. Perhaps the resolution on transparency will allow more visibility of the General Board and its activities -- time will tell. Perhaps the resolution declaring that we are a Global Mission Church will have positive effects felt throughout the church -- right now, I see most of the tangible effects in the regional churches. The other resolutions, offering solidarity with one group or another, will likely affect nothing. But I'm sure people felt good about themselves when they voted for them.

The preaching at the Assembly was an interesting mix of things. I enjoyed the opportunity to hear all of the preachers, though the best sermons I heard during the week were not in evening worship. I had the opportunity to hear Fred Craddock preach at a downtown Indianapolis church Sunday morning; despite his age, he still had a message to share in his inimitable gentle way. And while I did not appreciate all of the add-on stuff in the business sessions, the Bible Study (really sermon) on Saturday morning from Jose Morales was phenomenal; I purchased a DVD to share with the congregation sometime this fall.

I got to catch up with friends from around our church, to hear about their current ministries and activities and to share ours. I met some new people and learned a few things. I spent some time (whenever I could catch a few minutes) in prayerful contemplation of our future -- why I had to go to Indianapolis to hear God speaking about some things I don't know, but God spoke there just the same.

General Assembly - Day 2

Another full day at the General Assembly. There were more people around today (at least it seemed much more crowded). And I've now run into several people from the West Virginia region, including most of the regional staff.

The business meeting for the day was fairly uneventful. Several more reports were received from ministries of the General church, including the Board of Publication, Church Extension (which featured a skit -- a nice way to liven up talk about dollars and cents), and Higher Education (HELM), which featured their now-anticipated skit. (Even though I'd never been to an assembly, I'd heard about the HELM presentations.)

Three resolutions were considered by the Assembly today. A resolution sponsored by the Disciples Peace Fellowship about the importance of pacifism based on our desire for Christian unity was referred to the Council on Christian Unity for further discussion. A change in regional borders -- moving one congregation from one region to another based on proximity to other Disciples congregations -- was approved. A motion to consider changing the times of future assemblies to an alternating summer/fall schedule was defeated.

In the afternoon, there were several guided discussions about our churches and our future together, adapting a model developed by a group called World Cafe. These discussions, called the Wholeness Cafe, were interesting, if a little too long for most people (including me). I found the process exciting for a couple of reasons.

First, I met a young women of college age who spoke about why she really liked being a Disciple. She talked about how she appreciated that she was responsible for her faith in our church. No one was going to give her a list of rules or heavy-handed expectations. Instead, she had to develop a moral compass based on her faith. She spoke of how she felt empowered to ask tough questions, and nurtured by her congregation to look for answers. Often as a pastor, I hear about how no one wants a faith like she described -- they just want people to give them answers. It was exciting to see someone passionately talking about a much more vibrant faith.

Second, towards the end, our groups were supposed to come up with a BOLD (their capitalization) idea for the church based on our discussions. Our group came up with a proposal that, I realized after a few minutes, we are already on our way to beginning at Central Christian -- to find ways to invite people outside our church to non-Sunday morning activities. Given that it was not at all my proposal to the group (by that time, I was too tired to do much heavy thinking), it feels like we might be on a good path.

Our evening worship was about sin -- not a terribly uplifting topic, but a necessary one given the theme of the Assembly: "For the healing of the nations." The worship was mostly comforting, though I suppose challenging to those who, unlike myself, are not of a Calvinist bent. Certainly the sermon was a solid exploration of the issue, if a little long for many people's tastes. (Personally, I was okay with it, but I heard lots of discussion about it.)

I continue to run into friends and acquaintances here. Discipledom is a very small world sometimes. I am amazed how many people I have met is such a short time (as a pretty new Disciple myself) over the years. It is invigorating to connect with them face to face again.

I also had a brief conversation with Larry Grimes, the new Director of Church Relations at Bethany College (after many years as a professor there). We spoke about my plans to organize a trip to Bethany in the fall (as you may have noticed in the August newsletter) and I learned that there are several special events, including a talk by Dr. Grimes, on the Saturday I announced, corresponding to the 200th anniversary of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address. So we can join in the celebration with our trip.

General Assembly - Day 1

Day one of the 2009 General Assembly is over. It's been a hectic day, but a good one.

The first business session (one of four) lasted for three hours this afternoon. The main part of the session was the "State of the Church" presentation by the General Minister and President Sharon Watkins. It was an interesting presentation about the progress of Disciples in the past couple of years, including some stories about exciting things happening in some of our congregations.

Additionally, there were reports from the ethnic Disciples ministries -- NAPAD (North American Pacific Asian Disciples), National Convocation, and Hispanic Ministries -- and the Council on Christian Unity.

Only a couple of items of business came before the session. A resolution passed encouraging greater openness in the business of the General Assembly and General Board, particularly in their meetings.

The time and place of the 2013 General Assembly was also approved. This assembly will be held in Orlando, FL in July of 2013.

Tonight, we had an uplifting worship service, featuring a good sermon by Cynthia Hale, a pastor from the Atlanta area. She was raising the roof, preaching "You Are a Piece of Work" (and what a wonderful thing it is to be a piece of God's work). The music has also been a pleasant surprise -- it has been mostly excellent, with only a couple of exceptions.

Personally, I've been running into all sorts of people that I know. Some from West Virginia, but many from all over the US now (amazing what a small world the Disciples church can be). It took me a long time to get out of worship tonight, talking to everyone. It's been a joy to reconnect with them and see how they're doing. I imagine I'll spend a lot of my free time doing that the next few days.

More information on the assembly, including photographs, is available at the Disciples web page and the DisciplesWorld website.

General Assembly

General Assembly is this week. I have arrived (a couple of days early to enjoy some family time) safely and without incident, and I will do my best to post regular updates from the assembly. This is a time for the larger church to gather (through its representatives) to worship together and conduct some important business.

For those unable to attend the Assembly, the large worship services and the opening business session will be streamed LIVE online, so that you may be able to get a taste of what's going on from the comfort of your own home. Information, including times, is available here.

Other information is available here, including details of all of the business being conducted at this year Assembly.

Coming Up Sunday, July 12

This Sunday, we will continue our study of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonian church. Having looked at Paul's extended introduction to the letter the past few weeks, now we will consider Paul's specific recommendations to the church.

This week's sermon has developed in a different way than I expected, so I have changed the scripture lesson and the sermon title from what has been published. Now the text will be 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, and the title is "Speak Softly...". The lesson focuses on connected instructions from Paul -- not to engage in unhealthy relationships among themselves and to live quiet, hard-working lives.

Both of these directions seem concerned with preventing the Thessalonians from drawing the attention of the governing officials. Paul is greatly concerned with encouraging the church in the face of growing persecution -- including the threat of more persecution in the future. So he tells them to not draw attention to themselves, to live simply and productively. He also tells them not to do things that will lead others to gossip about them, especially in their relationships with each other (an allusion, likely, to sexual relationships, or even the appearance of sexual relationships).

We live under very different circumstances than the Thessalonians. Christians dominate the American culture, so there is rarely danger of persecution for religious practice or profession. And 2000 years of teaching have convinced the wider world that all this talk about Christian love is distinct from romantic and/or sexual relationships. So the question arises: Are we still supposed to keep our heads down and live quiet lives?

On Sunday, we'll consider what our reputation as Christians is today and whether we should be happy with that general reputation or not.

A Quincentennial; or Happy Birthday, Jean Cauvin

Today marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of noted theologian John Calvin. It is difficult to overstate Calvin's influence theologically, particularly in the United States, where our religious thought -- regardless of denomination -- is heavily shaped by Calvin.

Born in France (as Jean Cauvin; the Anglicized version is John Calvin), Calvin gained prominence as a religious and political leader in Switzerland, where he often found himself at the center of controversy. At one point in career, he was forced to leave Geneva due to a theological dispute, although the Genevan church eventually invited him back with open arms.

A prolific writer, Calvin wrote commentaries on almost every book in the Bible, published many sermons, wrote hundreds of letters, and authored several theology books. His most noted work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, was a complete summary of his central theological views. First written when he was in his 20s, Calvin revised and expanded the text five times during his life (each version was published). At its heart, the book presents a theology where an omnipotent God dominates virtually all aspects of life. This led to Calvin's famous belief in double predestination, in which God determines from the outset which people will be saved and which people will be damned.

More important, though, is the emphasis that this puts on a divine purpose for each human life. A God who controls all aspects of the world also controls what each created being should do in that world, argues Calvin, meaning that each person has God-given tasks to discover and perform. This view of "the meaning of life" has become instilled in American psyches (in particular), deeply ingrained even apart from religious belief. (Just think about how often it occurs in popular media.)

My theological thinking is heavily influenced by Calvin (and by his great predecessor Augustine), though I usually admit that grudgingly because Calvin seems like such an unlikeable fellow. Brilliant, yes, but also the last guy you'd ever want to invite to a party (or anywhere else).

There is some media coverage of today's anniversary, but less than I'd imagined there would be, and less than a figure of Calvin's stature and influence deserves. But here are some articles marking this day:

• Peter Steinfels in The New York Times
• William Klempa in the National Post (a Canadian publication)
• an AP article also published on the DisciplesWorld website
• and an essay by Serene Jones (Disciples theologian and now president of Union Theological Seminary) on Belief.net

Pastor Josh Answers Your Questions: Yes, I Am Back from Camp; No, I Did Not Kill Billy Mays

It's been a long time since I've posted, due mostly to a very hectic few weeks. Over the next few days, I hope to write about some of the activities of the past few weeks, including my vacation and two regional camps. But there seems to be one burning issue that requires my attention.

No, I did not kill Billy Mays.

I did not know that the famous infomercial pitchman had died unexpectedly when I mentioned him during Sunday's sermon. True, I had not planned on mentioning him -- though the image of Billy Mays pitching Jesus is certainly intriguing -- but it certainly seemed appropriate given the sermon title and subject matter.

Now even my mother has requested that I not mention her by name during future sermons, as have many others.

I suppose that this is one way to make my sermons shorter. If I can't mention anyone by name, I might stop mentioning people altogether. Or maybe I can only mention people by name after everyone knows they're dead. But how long do I have to wait before I can talk about them after they are dead? And if I have to wait for people to die before I can talk about them by name, what am I supposed to do about Jesus?

These are the things no one explains to ministers before they become ministers. Eerie things will happen in your sermons from time to time. You'll talk about someone, only to find out later that something terrible has happened to them, such as suffering a pulmonary embolism. Or you'll make a passing joke about football loyalties, only to accurately predict the outcome of the Super Bowl three months in advance (Nov. 2006). Is it coincidence? Is it the Holy Spirit? Is it the spirit of someone's bookie?

Who knows? Needless to say, I imagine that I will not stop mentioning people during my sermons. And frankly, I'm not sorry that I mentioned Billy Mays on Sunday, though I'm saddened by the untimely death of anyone.

I had a friend in college who earned a ton of money selling knives while he was in college, which is how Billy Mays got his start as a pitchman. My friend turned away from sales, though. Now he's a Catholic priest. (That's not a joke -- he was ordained in May.)

And Paul was a pitchman too, except that his product was in no way a gimmick. He was offering people something that would dramatically improve their lives. Often, he was reaching out to people (Gentiles) who were not predisposed to understand what he was talking about, which meant that he first needed to show what the problem (lives of sin) before he could demonstrate the solution (redemption). The analogy could be pushed too far, but it's fair to say that Paul always used himself as a model recipient of Christ's love.

I don't think that Paul ever offered to double the offer if they called in the next ten minutes, though. Just pay shipping and handling.... (If Paul had thought of it, he probably would have used it. Of course, can you imagine how much shipping and handling would have run you in Paul's day?)

I hope that I've cleared that up.

What? You have another question?

[listening to question]

No, there's not another camp I can go to this week. You're stuck with me here.

Coming Up Sunday, May 31

Sunday is Pentecost, the "fiftieth day" after Easter, which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church.  On that day, according to the story in Acts 2, the apostles went out to preach the gospel to a crowd of people from many nations.  Those gathered heard the story, "each in their own language," a feat attributed to the Holy Spirit.  And, the story concludes, 3000 people were converted that day, exponentially increasing the number of Christian faithful, following Christ's instructions to make disciples of all nations.

During worship we will celebrate the Holy Spirit in the world and we will consider how we carry out  Christ's great commission to evangelize today.  Churches today are often criticized for caring more about tending to their own needs rather than spreading the gospel.  Declining membership and participation have forced many congregations into a peculiar survival mindset where they focus almost exclusively on keeping the members they have rather than boldly seeking to share the enduring and saving message of Jesus with a desperate world.  Worse, they forget that their service is meant to leave a legacy to those Christians who will follow in later generations.  

At the outset of the Civil War, in his 1861 annual message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln suggested that the war had significance beyond that time: "The struggle of today, is not altogether for today -- it is for a vast future also."  The same could be said of the struggling churches; one eye must always be toward the example of faith we will leave for future generations.

This Sunday we also collect the special Pentecost offering to support new churches throughout the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  The New Church Ministry provides training, resource support, grants and other services to new congregations throughout the denomination.  More information is available here.

Coming Up Sunday, May 17

This Sunday we will begin the conclusion of our focus on "faith stories" by talking about identity.  Almost everyone has stories about their faith -- how and why they became religious, how and why they became less religious.  As we accumulate these stories, we gain a spiritual identity, a conception of how we relate to God and how we live out our faith (or try to live it out or fail to live it out).

The challenge, though, is that we do not entirely control our identity.  Often we are influenced by other people's identities for us.  Other people who know us -- and even some who do not -- have stories about us too, from which they draw conclusions.  In their own minds they put together conceptions of us, which they may share with others, or even with us.  Eventually, we may adjust our self-conceptions based on what other people think of us (actually, we do that pretty often).

Jesus himself faced these issues.  There were lots of stories floating around about him during his lifetime, including some pretty negative ones.  So one day, he asked his disciples what other people were saying about him -- who do they say I am?  Then he asked the disciples what they thought -- who do you say I am?

We face these questions too about our own individual identity and about our identity as a church of Jesus Christ.  We need to take seriously what other people say about us -- how they define us -- both good and bad.  Sometimes they see things about us that we don't recognize about ourselves.  Sometimes they have terrible misconceptions about us, which we may need to work to clear up.

RETREAT!

Finally, a long overdue reflection on Saturday's congregational retreat.  For starters, I was very, VERY pleased with our retreat.  I believe that all who attended found the time together relaxing and refreshing, which was the main goal.   I also believe that we had some fruitful discussions, about ourselves and about Central Christian.

There were minor hiccups along the way (despite planning to caravan, we still should have had printed maps available for all cars, including those that wandered through random parking lots playing follow-the-leader).  And why a CD player that played a CD roughly twelve hours before decided it couldn't read the same CD still eludes me.  But the rough edges are sometimes the charm (or at least the humor) of an experience.

Silly things aside, though, I thought it was a very positive experience, and I have heard lots of favorable comments from those who attended the retreat.  We had time to relax, we had time to eat (and eat and eat and eat... given all the food we took, we could have stayed all weekend and still have been well fed).  We had time to talk to each other, as a large group and in twos and threes throughout the day.

We had a couple of good discussions.  Each of us had the opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves and about our childhood, which included a little about our faith development.  Later in the day, we had a discussion about where we think the church is now and where we might direct our energies in the future.  Nothing concrete was decided (it was not the time or the place for that), but we have begun defining our present context, our challenges, and our opportunities.

To the Ad Hoc Committee, which planned the retreat, let me offer a big "thank you" and congratulations on a job well done.  To those who could not attend, I hope that you will talk to those who went to the retreat, ask about what we did, and make plans to attend the next congregational retreat (to be held sometime next year, I imagine).

DisciplesWorld: May 2009

The latest issue of DisciplesWorld is available in the Narthex, having arrived earlier this week.  And, in my spare time (actually while riding the exercise bike at the gym), I've read through it.

There is an interesting editorial at the front of the issue about the current effort, sponsored by the General Minister and President's office, to bring more accountability and efficiency among the various ministries of the General Church.  I have my reservations about the effort, which I have shared with the appropriate people, though I know that those involved have put a lot of effort into their study and proposals.  But I was fascinated by the editorial's insistence that they put more effort into making these ministries "transparent."  Perhaps it is a trait of the younger generation, but I'm a firm believer of transparency in ministry, as obviously Rebecca Woods and Verity Jones are too (both are on the younger end of the spectrum too, though I don't know either of their exact ages).  Interesting for us to consider in all scales of the church's work, from congregational to international activities.

The cover story is about "the sandwich generation," a generation that is now frequently offering significant care for multiple groups: their own aging parents and their (perhaps underemployed) adult children, who might have children of their own.  This is an issue that will get more and more attention in the upcoming years.  Uncharitably (showing my youth) I would suggest that this is partially because the sandwich generation has always been rather myopic.  But truly, the nature of multi-generational families has changed from previous generations, mostly because our lifestyle expectations have changed.

Today's families tend to be led by adults who are all wage-earners, which is to say that all of the parents below retirement age, whether married or not, tend to work, which creates enormous pressures in how much support you can offer to others in your family.  It creates additional stress and fatigue.  Further, we tend to expect to live a certain lifestyle at all ages, and our families tend to support this tangibly, which adds additional financial and time pressures.  Yes, people are living longer, but they're also living in their own homes longer, which is probably the greater strain.

I wish that the article delved a little deeper into the subject.  As I read it, I just thought of the number of people I've known in my life -- many of whom have passed away -- who did the same things as the so-called sandwich generation because they had no choice.  Grandma moved in because there was nowhere else for her to go, despite the strain it brought on the family.  One imagines that the stress of living through the Great Depression was harder on families than what we face today, but instead of talking about stress or "how we each made time for ourselves" they generally talked about perseverance and sacrifice.  Maybe I've not talked to enough of them.  

On the other hand, knowing how difficult situations are for many people who are included in "the sandwich generation," including many people I know and love now, I'm glad that this issue is beginning to be talked about.  As someone not yet included in any "sandwich generation" I often wonder how best to support those who are facing the emotional challenges of caring for many other's in their family, especially when the heaviest burden seems to fall on them.  From articles such as this, we may better learn how to tangibly offer love and support to the caregivers.

Also of interest in the issue is a photograph toward the back of the magazine from the Wheeling area, where three Disciples churches (Wheeling First, Wheeling Island, and Bethany) raised money to support the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which raises money for child cancer research.  A 12-year-old is shown getting his hair cut off (part of the tradition); I happen to know from his pastor (though the magazine doesn't say) that he was an active fund-raiser in the effort, so I'm glad they printed Jacob's picture.

Lastly, though this may be more interesting to me than many of you, the closing columnist (new to the magazine this month, Lillian Daniel, a UCC pastor now in Chicago who's making quite a name for herself) writes about finding God/Jesus while eating out.  I read an article a few months ago about how most churches do a bad job of reaching out to single adults; here's a single female minister who not only admits that she eats out a lot (part of being single), but finding theological insight in the situation.  A theology of the Lord's Supper that includes McDonald's -- very interesting.

Faith and Film, Friday at 7:00

A reminder that "Sergeant York," the May selection in our "Faith and Film" series, will be shown on Friday evening at 7:00.  This film, based on the true story of World War I hero Alvin York, is a great reflection on the moral quandary between Christian teachings about peace and obligations that may lead to war.

The 1941 movie stars Gary Cooper, in an Oscar-winning performance (one of two wins among nine nominations).  Directed by Howard Hawks, you can read more about the film here (WARNING: Don't read the plot synopsis if you don't want to know what happens in the film until you see it).  And you can read more about the real-life Alvin York here, on a site sponsored by the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation.

Cabinet/Leadership Meeting on Wednesday

On Wednesday at 7:00 we will have our next Cabinet/Leadership meeting to discuss the direction of Central Christian.  The meeting will foster open discussion about any issue/topic that people feel we need to consider.  The issues I will raise at the meeting include worship -- including comments/reactions to Holy Weeks services -- and Christian Education, where we have several things to discuss.

The 2009 Scott Lectures: Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address

Last week, I attended the annual Oreon E. Scott Lectures at Bethany College, "Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington."  Three speakers, from each of the main branches of the Stone-Campbell movement, considered the historical and theological context for Campbell's publication and its modern consequences and challenges for us today.

It is ironic, though sadly understandable, that a religious movement dedicated to unifying Christians has itself split into three (or possibly even four) branches over the past two centuries.  There have been conservative and liberal splits in the movement twice (with a third developing).  The main branches are the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ (often known as the a capella Churches of Christ because they do not use instrumental music in worship), and the Independent Christian Churches.

While the splits have been very real, there is a long-standing effort to maintain connections called the World Convention.  In recent years, efforts have increased, particularly in the area of cultivating knowledge of the Restoration Movement churches heritage.  There have been conferences and joint publications, including the 2004 Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (an excellent resource).

Three scholars, from the various traditions, who have a long involvement in this effort shared lecturing duties at the Scott Lectures: Paul Blowers, Doug Foster, and Mark Toulouse.  Aside from the interesting intellectual perspectives each brought in their formal lectures, the best part of the two days for me (and for many I talked to) was the informal response of each of these scholars to the other presentations.   It was obvious that these men respect and like each other -- in fact, their camaraderie was infectious, leading to upbeat discussions.

Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address... was a document about the need for Christian unity that Campbell wrote to justify the formation of a non-denominational Christian Association in Washington, Pennsylvania.  You can read about it here or try your hand at reading the entire document here.

Coming Up Sunday, April 26

On Sunday, we will continue our Easter celebration, focusing on Jesus' personal teaching about our need for time to reflect and pray.  In the midst of his ministry, and at the beginning of the disciples' ministry in Jesus' name, Jesus took time to go away to a private place with his disciples.

The concept of sabbath has taken a real beating in religious circles over the last 100+ years.  A day of rest used to be virtually dictated by law and by social norms -- stores were closed, few jobs required work on Sunday, and some Christians even followed the practice of doing no work (not even cooking) on Sunday.  Times have changed.  Virtually everything is open on Sunday, which requires many people to work and gives all of us the opportunity to run our errands and work on our to-do list.

The increasing hectic pace of our lives does not eliminate the need for rest -- even though it may limit our opportunities to rest.  If we cannot commit to a day each week where we do no work, can we still find times of rest, moments of sabbath, in our busy lives?   What does sabbath look like?  How can we follow Jesus' example to take time away from our responsibilities?

Worshipping with God in Church

During the sermon Sunday, I briefly suggested how difficult it would be for us to recognize God if He suddenly appeared in our midst during the middle of worship.  Perhaps I even hinted at the irony of this for faithful Christians, who speak of how God is always with us, but get scared that God might become too present for us.

Little did I know that the humor newspaper The Onion was going to explore a similar theme this week.  See today's news article, "God Makes Surprise Visit to Local Church."  Very funny, in a wry sort of way.

Good Friday Service, April 10 at 7 pm

We will remember Christ's crucifixion with a special Good Friday service focusing on Christ's seven statements spoken from the cross.  Several members of the congregation will offer brief meditations on each of these "Seven Last Words of Christ."

Regional Summer Internship Available

The Regional Office has released information on the Tad Fitzsimmons Youth Ministry Internship.  This internship, with a stipend plus room and board, is for three weeks, serving at the regional camps and a few days at the Regional Office.

Anyone who is at least two years past high school graduation is eligible for consideration, with preference given to someone considering a call to ministry.  Applications are due by May 1.

Information is available here.

Maundy Thursday Service, April 9 at 7 pm

Our Holy Week pilgrimage continues on Thursday evening with our commemoration of Christ's last night on Earth.  We will remember his celebration of the passover with his disciples, where he memorably washes their feet.  On the anniversary of the first Lord's Supper, we will share in Communion.

Then we will have a service of tenebrae, remembering Christ's actions through the evening, from the upper room to the garden of Gethsemane to the trial.  There will be several Scripture readings and special music as the darkness descends upon us.

Bible Study, Wednesday, April 8

Don't forget the special Holy Week Bible Study on Wednesday evening.  As part of our "Telling the Gospel" study, we will take a look at the Passion narratives in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  There are interesting similarities and differences in how each of the gospel writers tells the story.  Come having read at least one of the Passion narratives.

Bonus points to the person who finds the streaker among the stories.  (No, that's not a joke.  There's a naked young man running around in one of the narratives.)

Wednesday, April 8 at 7 pm