soapbox moment

Friday morning I went home to Bedford to have lunch with Mom.  I met her at Goose Creek Framing where she has a studio to do her artwork.  As we were leaving a woman from town came in and we were introduced.  She asked, “So Loren are you home for the summer?”  As you can imagine I have grown quite accustomed to people mistaking me for a high school or college student but I have never had this question presented to me, so I tried to respond graciously, in a way that would not embarrass this refined southern lady.  “Oh no, I am just in town for the day” was my reply.  But, my mother, bless her soul, always wanting show pride in her little Presbyterian preacher stood a little taller and said, “Loren is the minister of the Presbyterian Church in Appomattox; she has been there for two years.”  Flabbergasted but ever-poised, I have to give the woman credit; her jaw did not drop to the floor at this announcement.  Instead she asked how old I was and stumbled over a sentence of, “well… I would love to hear all about your life.”  I assured her that it was a relatively quiet one.  She then commented that she would love to hear a message from me sometime. 

Not that I should ever compare myself to our Lord and Savior, but I have to wonder if this is how Jesus felt, returning to his hometown.  Did Mary walk with him through the marketplace, anxious to introduce him to her neighbors, hoping they had heard of all of his great work?  Did people comment on how he had changed since they last saw him or inquire how old he was?  Did he fight the urge to be blunt with them, rather than humbly and simply answer questions, “No, I am no longer doing carpentry with my Father.”  “No I have not returned home for good, just passing through.”    Did he hear whispers behind women’s hands as he walked to the synagogue?  Did he hear the men in the market stalls swapping stories about his family, his childhood, rumors of his current ministry?

www.concordpastor.blogspot.com

  As we soon discovered in the gospel of Mark, accepting that God’s power was at work in Jesus was not easy for the people of Nazareth to wrap their minds around.  Surely, the people have heard of the miraculous things that Jesus had been doing in the surrounding villages, we all know that good gossip travels fast in small towns.  But perhaps stories of healings, exorcisms, and bringing a little girl back to life had a better ring to them than the Word that Jesus preached! Everyone wanted to see miracles but not everyone was ready to hear about the amazing and yet unsettling good news those miracles proclaimed.[1]

We are told in the gospel of Luke what Jesus said in his hometown to make his old friends so offended.  Luke tells us that when Jesus came into the synagogue he was handed the scroll of Isaiah, which he unrolled to where it read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Is. 61:1-2).”  Jesus then returned to his seat saying “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  While it may have been reasonable to accept Jesus as a man with the gift to heal, maybe even a prophet, his obvious proclamation that he was the Messiah was ludicrous![2]  

Jesus, obviously hurt by their rejection and lack of faith left his hometown to spread the good news to people whose ears were more open to hearing it, perhaps to people who did not have preconceived notions of him, people who did not know him in the first thirty years of his life.  Beverly Zink-Sawyer reminds us that perhaps we should put ourselves in the shoes of those villagers.  She begs the question, “How quickly would we accept our next-door neighbor as a ‘miraculous teacher’, let alone the reputed Son of God?” Perhaps this is a call to consider who we consider ‘worthy’ of teaching us.  Katherine Huey asks, “How do we even begin to look at one another with the eyes of God, to see in the most unexpected of people, those whom God has chosen to lead?  Would we really have chosen the youngest one, the one without the flocks to be anointed as the next king?  Would we really open our hearts and minds to a hometown, homegrown boy, we’ve known all of his life?  Could anyone of importance really come from here?  Who and what are we failing to see, what and whom are we missing?”[3]

www.pcusa.org

When I read these questions I thought of our churches in Appomattox.  I thought about how this congregation, without a doubt chose the youngest one, and a woman to boot!  I thought about Rev. Rusty Small of Liberty Baptist and the facts that he is indeed a homegrown boy who people in this community have watched grow up.  Perhaps in these ways Appomattox is already ‘light-years ahead’ of Nazareth.  But I have to wonder if the risk is greater for us as part of the younger generation of pastors, to be run out of town, if we make a mistake, if what we practice and preach challenges the status quo?  I think about our denomination and our conviction that we as Christians are a “priesthood of believers,” that we are all responsible for preaching the gospel.  But, do we really enable our members to live into such a call; particularly when we are a denomination that has high standards for theological education for its ministers.  Not that I think this is all wrong, I am the first to question a pastor’s theological background, I am the first to fall into the trap of pride pertaining to my seminary degrees.  Over the past week our denomination’s General Assembly has convened.  At GA there are a number of YAADs present; these are young adult advisory delegates and they range in ages 17-23. As I have followed some of the commentary on GA, I’ve seen some snide comments about YAADs and their love of coming to the microphone on the floor.  My question is when did it become wrong for a person to put their voice behind their beliefs?  If 25 and older this behavior is acceptable, but any younger and it is merely attention seeking?  Who is to say that Jesus can’t work through ordinary people?  Do we stand in judgment of the evidently blind Nazarenes or do we hold up a mirror in front of our faces?

 Perhaps the truth is that we Christians find ourselves in the place of the Nazarenes, rejecting Jesus and to that end, the world’s population calls our bluff and rejects us! Rev. Rick Morley puts it bluntly in his recent blog post that “Christianity in the West is in trouble.”  In America 25% of adults have left the religion of their youth and do not claim any religious affiliation.  Rev Morley argues that the central problem is not “secularism, pluralism, or the lack of a good bass guitarist in the praise band.  The root of the problem,” he writes, “is trust.”  Overwhelmingly and alarmingly the truth of the matter is that people do not trust the Church anymore and why should they?  Consider the reports that we have heard on the news in recent years.  The Roman Catholic Church has been embroiled in one sexual abuse scandal after another.  We have evangelical pastors who have railed against homosexuality in their preaching but who have been found to seek male prostitutes or have relationships with teens in their churches.  We have high profile church leaders making sweeping statements about hurricanes being the result of homosexuals and abortions. And if I may be so bold on my soapbox to say a word of our own denomination, we argue incessantly about the definition of marriage while one in six people created in the image of God go hungry!  We vow to create 1001 new worshiping communities in the over the next 10 years when we can’t maintain the churches we have, more rural congregations are closing their doors every day!  “Who would entrust their spiritual health, or the spiritual health of their children to the church? Honestly, the fact that anyone trusts us these days is quite remarkable!”[4]

“Jesus certainly faced questions of trust when he returned home.  The congregation questions where he gets this authority from because they know of his humble beginnings.  But Jesus has to earn their trust, to keep going; he has to keep teaching and changing peoples lives. He has to die on the cross, he has to rise again.” In Morley’s blog he reminds us that if we as the church are going to survive we are going to need to do a few things.  The first of these is to fall on our knees in humility, making it clear that we recognize that the church has made horrendous mistakes in its distant and recent past.  We have to continuously repeat that while we are an institution with inspiration by the Holy Spirit, we are also humans who are fallible and will fail again. We must try to win back peoples’ trust and to do this we must remember who we represent.  When we look bad, we make God look bad!  Morley says, “We don’t need to update our website or write some more praise choruses, we don’t need to look more hipster and grow a soul patch.  We need to gain people’s trust, and only then will they consider anything we have to say.” Third, we must remember that God is faithful.  Jesus struggled to get the people to trust him, but he was found most worthy of the trust that people put in him because God is ultimately in charge. Finally, we have to accept that not everyone will come to trust us or God.  Some will receive us with open arms and some will reject our message and God.  Jesus knew this and prepared his disciples for this.  And when we get rejected, we are to wipe the dust from our feet and keep going.  Morley closes with these profound words. “Until we start showing the world that we are capable of humility and some degree of trustworthiness, it will be us who are covered in dust.”[5]

And so I believe our challenge for today is to make the shift from being the community who rejected the teachings of Jesus, to the disciples who become representatives for Jesus.   Jesus not only left Nazareth, but he sent forth his entourage two by two to expand his ministry, to be his field agents in the world.  The disciples were sent out and enabled to do amazing things through the power of Jesus.  Richard Swanson writes, “This is no rootless wandering, the disciples do not look like itinerant preachers, they are sent out to attach demons and heal.  Like Jesus and John the Baptist before him, the disciples are sent out to call for change (Provoking the Gospel of Mark).” Katherine Huey urges us that our call is to do the same, “as those sent with power and authority to heal, to attack demons that plague our society and the world God loves, to share the good news.”[6] 

It would seem that Jesus gives us very little in the way of material things for our journey.  Discipleship is a call to lead a simpler life it would seem, the clothes on our backs, the sandals on our feet, a stick for protection or more likely to lean on, and our most valuable resource, each other.  In truth, we don’t need much, material things become crutches, security blankets that we cling to and hide behind.  In the sending out of his disciples the message from Jesus is clear, you don’t need to depend on these material goods, depend instead on God to give you what you need.  Eugene Peterson translates Jesus’ words this way: “Don’t think you need a lot of equipment for this.  You are the equipment.”  And Henry G. Brinton provides us with the imagery of serving Jesus by doing something tough, by performing the Lord’s work in hard to reach places.  He says that we have to “leave the comfortable road of conventional wisdom and face the rocks, logs, and any other barriers that society might throw in our way.”[7]  I would and to this the barriers we might throw in our own way! 

And so as the church of the 21^st century, we must cut through the tension and make sense of where we are at this pivotal moment in history, and where we are going.  How do we open our ears to the prophetic voices of those whom we may not have expected to hear?  How do we make the shift from the community that denies the truth of the good news, the community which people are leaving and shaking the dirt from their sandals as they go, to becoming the disciples that travel with the message of the gospel? Amen.

Project Burning Bush, 2008

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[1] Katherine Huey, www.ucc.org, internet accessed 7/2/12

[2] Thomas L. Butts, www.textweek.org internet accessed 7/5/12

[3] Katherine Huey

[4] Rick Morley, www.agardenpath.com internet accessed 7/5/12

[5] Rick Morley

[6] Katherine Huey, www.ucc.org internet accessed 7/5/12

[7] Katherine Huey

Mission Possible II: Rebuilding Pulaski

As I sit here on my own front porch watching the slowly setting sun, my skin is a few shades darker and my eyes, well, they feel a little bit more tired, but I smile, because this week these eyes have witnessed God's hand at work in wonderful ways.  

The planning and preparation began months ago.  Myself and some other colleagues in the Presbytery of the Peaks Cluster One Churches wanted to engage our youth in mission work.  We are all smaller congregations with a few youth and our hope as we began "Mission Possible" last year, was to begin to build relationships between our churches' teens so that we could sow the seeds God's love in them in a positive way.  We wanted them to understand that the Church needs them, they are indeed the present of the church, not just the future.  With that in mind, we set our sights last fall on Pulaski, VA.  A community that little over a year ago was ravaged by a tornado.  Pulaski is in our Presbytery and we felt it important to go and support the community in its efforts to rebuild.  "Mission Possible II: Rebuilding Pulaski" was born. 

Sunday afternoon we loaded up our team of 9 youth and 8 adults and made the 3 hour trek to beautiful Dublin, VA.  About 5:30 we pulled down a long tree-shaded drive to New Dublin Presbyterian Church.  We were greeted there by the most genteel and generous people you will ever meet.  After Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman gave us a tour of church we gathered and broke bread with the membership of NDPC and heard from some of their members about recent mission trips in which they had participated.  Following this was a time for our group to get to know one another better.  Our membership was in fact from a variety of churches with youth from Cumberland, Guinea, Farmville, and College churches with adults from their churches as well as myself from Appomattox and 2 from Buffalo Presbyterian (we also received generous financial & material support from Bethlehem, Buffalo, Douglas, and Eureka Baptist.)  We played some games which were filled with much laughter and smiles as we all began to learn each others names and break the ice.  We finally had some devotion time before bed.  

Monday morning we loaded up and went into Pulaski and got our work assignment and arrived on site.  Our assignment was pretty straight forward: shovel lots of dirt into wheelbarrows and haul said dirt to fill in around the house and put down seed for grass.   In addition to this we also had a garage that needed footers to be dug out more and prepared for concrete to be poured.  Monday was a pretty hot day so we preached a lot of 'hydrate!' and it paid off, no one got too hot or ill from the heat.  Our lunch was provided both days by Our Daily Bread, which is in part funded by the presbytery's 2-cents-a-meal collections. Rev. Andrew was the deliverer of these delicious meals for which he was instantly labeled hero for eternity!  Our lunch breaks were taken on the back deck of this home in the shade and the kids would line up along the ramp there which became "the child gauntlet" when one needed to pass through.  We were definitely ready for our showers at the YMCA by 3pm and we packed up just before the afternoon rain shower began.  After we were cleaned up we headed out for dinner, MK's Pizzeria.  We really enjoyed the local cuisine, it hit the spot!  That evening we were giving passes to the Pulaski Mariner's Baseball game.  We really enjoyed ourselves, the game was great (Mariner's won)!  The boys finally went out into the parking lot and managed to get a foul ball!  Unfortunately, someone's car in the parking lot also caught one!  We were actually recognized by the announcer at the game, which was a special moment for us as a group to be welcomed by the community.  In our evening devotions one of the girls mentioned that she had noticed it appeared that a teenager lived in the house and it made her realize just how easily it could have been her family who had lost their home.  It was great for me to see them really making a connection.

On Tuesday, we returned to our work site to finish what we started. Even though we were doing same work, I never once heard a complaint and we actually felt like the second day went much faster than the first, even though we worked a bit longer.  I think it says something about the maturity and dedication of the young people and the adults as well that we got into our rhythm and worked to see results, rather than grumbling about the task at hand.  Shoveling dirt may not have been as glamorous as building a home, but it was just as important and meaningful for the family we were helping. About lunch time we received word that our General Presbyter's husband was in the hospital.  We immediately stopped our work, circled up, and offered prayer.  This brought tears to my eyes to think of how connected we all are, sharing support, pouring out love, sending waves of it home to them.  Later in the afternoon a few of us got to go do some painting on a house a few blocks over.  We did not get as much done as we would have liked but we met a few of the neighbors there who were so kind as to go bring us some paint stirrers and paper towels when we discovered we did not have any.  After another smooth trip to the YMCA we went to Patty's Kitchen for dinner, another local favorite.  I am so thankful for these two restaurants for allowing us to make reservations and bring a tired but somehow still rowdy group into their restaurants!  

Tuesday night when we got back to New Dublin Pres (did I say how awesome it was that we were able to stay there!?)  we had some scripture passages from 2 Corinthians (8:1-9:15 & 9:1-9) for the kids to reflect on.  I divided them into two teams and they had about 45 minutes to come up with a skit for our Pulaski Peace Theatre (come on it is a good play on Masterpiece Theatre)!  They did great!  These kids to have just met each other worked extremely well together and accepted input from everyone.  We had a good mix of ages too and I was pleased to see that this did not hinder them from giving us a thoughtful interpretation of the scriptures and how they applied to our work in Pulaski.  They had begged us to let them play outside so following the skits they went for a walk down to the end of the lane while waiting for darkness to fall and then (given permission) they went out to play in the graveyard. A couple of the other adults and I thought it would be fun to scare them while they were out there, and while we probably were not very good at sneaking up on them, we had an excellent time trying!  To close out the evening we popped some popcorn and watched Finding Nemo before bed.  

We closed this morning with devotions and Rev. Tom Robinson, pastor at Farmville PC talked a little bit about the inspiration he felt from the trip.  I believe we all felt that a spark had been started to revive our efforts to bring our youth together more often, to do more activities along with mission work.  It seemed like the kids were receptive to this idea.  I believe some of the girls were already making plans to get together over the weekend.  Before coming home today, the Tornado Relief folks had also cleared it for us to go to Randolph Water Park so the kids got to go swimming before we returned home.  The park had a great little beach area for smaller children, a lap pool, and most tantalizing of all a 38 foot spiraling water slide!  What a great reward for some hard work!  

While I am sad that none of the young people from my church could attend this trip for various reasons, I am so thankful that after all of the planning, I was able to go.  I love doing this kind of ministry with youth, it really rejuvenates me and my passion for the church.  I could not have asked for a better group of teens and adults to go with.  I don't think I have ever seen a trip of this nature go so smoothly.  The truth is a felt the Holy Spirit as she took the form of calloused hands and aching muscles.  I tasted the bread of life in each meal we had together and I saw the Body of Christ each time I had to climb over the "child gauntlet" to get to afternoon meal.  I saw the face of Christ in each person as we worked side by side.  We didn't have enough tools all the time for everyone to be working at once, but we all made sure to take turns to give each other a break.  As we worked we cheered each other on for a job well done and we laughed and talked the entire time, which made the work seem light.  In these three days I saw a hope for the church as all of us, of various ages and genders worked together. If one did not feel confident in knowledge of a particular task, we followed the direction of the person who did.  If one needed sunscreen, band-aids, hats, gloves, or water...there was a ready shout of, "I got it!"   Why can't our larger congregations, our presbyteries, and our denomination at large get along with each other as this tiny-microcosm of Presbyterians did?  We were all from different backgrounds, all at different levels of skill, all at different places in our journey of faith, and yet we were able to accomplish something, however great or small it was, together, without letting our egos get in the way.  Not for our joy, but for our neighbors, and not for our glory but for Gods glory! If these kids are to be the "future of our church" we are headed in the right direction!  What's more important is that they are the present, so we can all begin taking our cues from them, right now!Amen. 

"Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."-- 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

I Have Hope

Below is a copy of the homily I preached this morning at the Community Lenten Service that is hosted by the Appomattox Co. Ministerial Association.  To give you some context, the gathering is held at Appomattox Christian Academy so the congregation is made up largely of children K-12.  I wanted to share something that would be relevant to them.  There are also usually several pastors there and maybe a few people from the community sprinkled in.  I will preface this with the honest truth that there are a lot of wonderful organizations and efforts being made by many different people in the music industry that I could have drawn upon as an example for this message.  Jars of Clay's Blood Water Mission and the  40 days of water  challenge that people are taking throughout Lent come to mind (www.bloodwatermission.com).   As does David LaMotte's work in Guatemala building schools and his newest endevor with the book White Flour (www.davidlamotte.com, www.pegpartners.org).  All of these things were swirling in my mind, and I encourage you to look them up as well.  In the end, I had to speak from the heart and share something that gave me great passion and has inspired me (all of the above do so as well), something I was very familiar with.  So, take it or leave it...but I hope you take it. 

ACMA Lenten Service

March 14, 2012

 Psalm 15, 2 John 1:4-6

I Have Hope

As I stand here before you, students, colleagues, and members of the community, I am sure you are thinking to yourself, “Who is that young girl up there in the t-shirt? Why is Pastor Loren dressed so casually?  What in the world was Rev. Lo thinking when she got out of bed this morning?”  When do pastors usually look like this, maybe on Saturdays!  I assure you I mean no disrespect,  all I can say is that I hope as my homily continues this morning you will begin to understand.

Ever since I was a little girl, once I realized I loved something, that was it, I loved it for life!  As a little girl I had one doll, Princess, who went everywhere with me.  She now has a special resting place in our home.  I had one favorite skirt that I wore every Saturday until I wore it out.  I’ve had the same best friend since I was seven years old.  I know this is beginning to sound like a good Lord of the Rings narrative…one ring to rule them all!  But let me give you one more example: I have loved one band since I was 14 that was larger-than-life inspiring to me. 

I bet you all, especially my young friends up front here, have musicians that you love; an artist or band that makes you belt out their songs in the shower.  Maybe you have a song list that you play over and over again on your iPod.   When I was 14, which was actually 14 years ago, not just last week…I listened to the first Hanson album every single day.  As I grew up, so did the members of my favorite band, who were in fact the same age as me, and their music evolved too.  In 2007, this band of three brothers released an album called The Walk.  And they did something really special with it.  They decided that instead of just writing songs about great meaning in life, they would do something that had great meaning in life.  They decided to go to Africa and learn more about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  They visited villages, schools and hospitals.  They met with researchers and played with little children.  They sang with a children’s choir there and recorded their voices on this album, The Walk. The Hanson brothers put out their first single from that album which was entitled The Great Divide, which featured the children singing in their native language “I have hope.” 100% of the proceeds from that single went directly to one of the hospitals they visited in Africa. 

That ties up their humanitarian efforts into a neat little bow doesn’t it?  But that isn’t all that happened.  After this trip to Africa the band went on tour and before each and every show across the country they held a walk, in which everyone was encouraged to walk one mile barefoot, to have just the tiniest of experiences of what it is like to live without(www.takethewalk.net) .   This trek raised money for AIDS, clean water, and education charities as well as providing shoes for the poor.  For every fan that attended these walks, Hanson gave a dollar.  And more often than not that dollar was matched by the fans.  Hanson teamed up with Toms Shoes.  If you don’t know about Toms Shoes as a company, look it up (www.toms.com).  For every pair of Toms you buy, another pair goes to a child in need.  It’s hard to believe that good can come out of corporate America these days, but it does! To date, over 50,000 miles have been walked for this cause.  Because here’s what happened, Hanson fans the world over started organizing their own walks in their own communities!  So now, maybe my attire starts to make a little more sense!  Every time I put on this t-shirt from The Walk tour and I slip my feet into these Toms, I am reminded that I have the power to make a difference in the world.  That Christ has called me to be his hands and feet in the world and that means I can do something.  

It is safe to say that not all of the people we put on pedestals in this country deserve to be there.  We have to choose our role models wisely.  I wouldn’t say Snooki is the best role model, or Chris Brown, or the majority of politicians on Capitol Hill. We have to be careful about who we support/listen to/follow on Twitter/Iike on Facebook.  These things are a reflection of our character.  I know that these guys that I told you about are faithful; I know that they believe in their Creator.  But they don’t have to say it, or write it blatantly in their music… its more about how they live their lives.  I admire them so much for living authentically.  They are bearing witness to Micah 6:8 with their very souls, S-O-U-L-S and soles S-O-L-E-S.  Micah 6:8 tells us that the Lord requires of us to do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.  In walking with God we are called to walk with our neighbor, to see the spirit of God that dwells in each person.   And I believe that this is what our walk with Jesus Christ is all about—living a life worthy of Christ’s glory.  Jesus didn’t just sit in the temple to read the Torah or to teach his disciples.  He taught in motion, until his very last breath on the cross, he lived his words.  How fortunate are we that we can have our ultimate role model in Christ; by God’s grace, we are given the opportunity to try time and time again to be witnesses and disciples of Christ. 

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the story of the Road to Emmaus.  This is one of my favorites because it is only when the disciples lived out the teachings of Jesus by breaking bread with a stranger that their eyes were opened and the recognized Jesus standing before them.  We see Jesus’ face most clearly when we engage with other people, sharing God’s kingdom in random acts of kindness, one mercy at a time.  The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians: “you were called to freedom brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.   For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

Jesus’ movement was grass roots to its core.  Change doesn’t have to be a monumental thing.  Don’t think that because you are one person you can’t create change in the world.  My friend David LaMotte says that “you change the world each time you take a breath.”  The gesture doesn’t have to be grand, it just has to be from the heart and reflect God’s glory.  Jesus does not promise that this will be an easy task.  To take up the cross and bear it with him is painful, the burden is heavy.  But the reward of our faith is so great.  It is true that we don’t deserve the grace we are given, but our lives can be a response of thankfulness to that grace in the way we live.   As we continue on this Lenten journey, this pilgrimage, this walk, let us remember that Lent doesn’t have to be a time when we take away something, but maybe it is a time when we take on something!  I challenge you today to think of the ways you can be a cause of change in your world. I have hope.  Amen. 

Confessions

What I know today is that sermons are tiring and I am so glad that so many amazing pastors and profesors have posted their work online and in blogs for me to discover, be inspired by, and yes even to "borrow" for my own purposes. My sermon this week focuses on Mark 1:4-11, The baptism of Jesus. I decided to go with the theme of how radical this movement of John and Jesus was. How we are called to get out of stuffy symbolism and get messy in ministry.

I'm not sure if I know how to do that in sleepy Appomattox. The slow pace has lulled me somewhat into complacency. If only my words could rocket people forward and I could stay behind and take a nap!

How can I light a fire under my congregations proverbial butt without burning my fingers on the matches? The big picture looks like this: we grow the congregation spiritually... then we find ways to intersect that with the needs of the community...and that equals growth for both. But the ideas on how to make that come to fruition look more like tangled Christmas lights. Hmm...if you plug them in, "voila!" they are easier to unsnarl.

So here it is--we've been baptised into this movement. God has called us beloved and sent the Spirit to empower us! There is no excuse then to sit idly by. It is going to be messy and tiring, but that is the whole point, right? To change, to challenge a humanity that will be forever damaged? But...how... ?

Occupying Advent

I've been thinking a lot over the last week or so, as I am sure my other collegues have, about Advent.  Advent is the season in which we prepare for, and joyfully anticipate Christ's birth within us.   Each year as we think about Advent at church we try to remind ourselves and the masses not to become sucked into the trappings of shopping and wrapping and decking the halls, but to slow down and center our hearts and minds on the coming of Christ. 

I have read several articles, blogs, and tweets about the downfall of America's economy and the disgust regarding Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.  I agree that the hype of the shopping season is overwhelming, especially since we practically skip over giving thanks these days and move straight from Halloween costumes to Santa costumes.  I could stand in the pulpit and focus on these things.  Yes, it is true that there are starving children all across the world that could use the money we spend on gifts and that is horrific.  Yes, it is true that consumerism runs rampant and that is not the point of Christmas at all!  However, as the pastor of a small congregation who is providing for my household (thanks in part to the terrible economy and job market) I confess that I absolutely DID go out shopping on Black Friday because I could not afford to pay full price for Christmas gifts this year!  And while gifts are not the point of Christmas, showing love to my family and friends in tangible ways is a special moment and tradition for me. And I am not ashamed of that! 

Then of course there is the arguement that comes up each year regarding saying "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas."  I worked in retail for four years and I grew quite accustomed to saying "Happy Holidays."  I have no qualms with this because in saying this phrase, Christmas is included! Why shouldn't we be sensitive to other faith traditions that celebrate holidays at this time?  Isn't that the point of living in a country that 'welcomes' religious freedom?  I don't find it insensitive to my own faith tradition to say this.  I would argue that this phrase does not take the Christ out of Christmas because in fact, Jesus would probably be more than tolerant of, dare I say accepting of the celebration of various religious traditions this time of year.  After all, he was Jewish! 

I guess my question is, where is the balance?  How can we keep our selves from swinging the pendulum from one extreme to the other, all out consumerism vs. total Christian piety? How do we somehow fight the consumerism economy, yet maintain our cultural traditions... and still keep Jesus at the center of our holiday festivities?  Here are just a few ideas that have been brewing in my mind.  One, shop local as much as you can this year for Christmas gifts.  Or, consider giving money in honor of someone to the organization of your choice, buy fair trade items or join with your friends and family and shop for an angel tree.  For some of us, being faithful stewards of the gracious gifts God has given to us simply means that we cut back on the lavishness of our gift giving to those we care for and demonstrate our love in other ways.

As for keeping Christmas Christ centered, this takes more intentionality.  In order to occupy Advent, we need to slow down during this season not speed up. This is easier said than done, is it not?  I'm not saying you should boycott all Christmas parties or vow not to travel this year, but rather spend some intentional time reflecting on the hope that the birth of Christ brings into our world!  Maybe this means you start an advent wreath tradition in your own home or dedicate time each day to prayer.  Maybe this means that as you put up your Christmas tree you thank God for something with each ornament you hang.  As you wrap those gifts consider why the shepherds came to Jesus' side, and why the wisemen brought gifts to him.  The answer I think you will find is two-fold.  Love, love for the child there in the manger and love for the God who loved us so much that he sent his only son.  And second, Hope, in Jesus we catch a glimpse of hope that the world can and will be changed.

Thin Places

Since the beginning of time people from all walks of life have been fascinated by places where the veil between our world and the world beyond is thin.  There are many places in Europe where legends and descriptions of thin places exist, such as Glastonbury, England and The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.  Places such as this make me think of Stonehenge and other places shrouded in mystery.  Images of these sites make me want to re-read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon.  I believe that people are hardwired to long for the presence of God, to seek places in their lives where God’s presence is palpable; holy ground, thin places.  We learned this from Moses, who needed assurance from God that his presence would go with him; he wanted to meet God face to face. 

Montreat, NC is one of these thin places for me.  I was able to spend just a few short days there a few weeks ago while attending a Wee Kirk Conference as part of my continuing education.  For me, the five hour drive to get there is nothing but a blip in time and the higher into the mountains of North Carolina I climb, the more my spirit elevates as well.  As I drove through the beautiful stone gate of Montreat, I thought to myself, “I hope I always feel this way when I come up here.”  There really are no words to describe my feelings, I’m giddy like a child and yet overwhelmed with a sense of peace at the same time. 

On my second day there, we had a free afternoon.  The weather was a perfect 70 degrees, a gentle breeze and a clear blue sky.  The trees were bursting with every hue of goldenrod, flame, and crimson imaginable.  I have never seen it so beautiful; I spent the entire day outside thanking God for the beauty of creation and bringing me to the place that my soul calls home.  Indeed, when sitting around Lake Susan I feel as though I am resting in the curve of God’s smile. 

I was not ready to come down from the mountain after just two days.  I could have lingered there, in that thin space between heaven and earth where the Holy Spirit seems to dance so freely.  I heard God’s voice lifted in song; I learned of God’s wisdom in the words of my peers, I smelled the aroma of Christ on the wind. 

And as I made my way home, down from the mountain, back to reality, I began to wonder, what your thin places are?  Do you have a place in God’s good creation where you feel the mighty presence of God?  How is your soul nurtured there, how is your spirit fed?  Some would argue that since God is everywhere, the entire world is a thin place.  That it is not the physical place itself but the people that are there.  It is true that God is everywhere, but I know for a fact that there are times and places where God creates just the right combination of elements to make his glory known to each of his children.  Each time I have made the pilgrimage to Montreat, I have found myself on holy ground, where that perfect, mysterious, veil was lifted; where I my faith was renewed and my spirit rested with my Creator.

Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, in the fortieth year, Moses said, “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain; turn and take your journey.’”

The Little Engine That Could

 Below is the article I wrote for our church's upcoming newsletter.  My goal for the coming year is to encourage members to explore their spiritual gifts, to trust in the gifts God has given them for serving the church and also that we might deepen our relationship with the trinity.  There are many things going on around here, particularly with the demolition of the property next door to the church and the installation of a much needed parkinglot.  My intention is to create a postitive atmosphere that has this small rural church saying, "We are able to do big things!" 

Remember the heart-warming children’s book, The Little Engine That Could?  In the story a long train must be pulled over a high mountain peak.  Several large engines are asked to pull the train but they all refuse.  When the request is passed on to a small engine, she agrees to try!  The little engine successfully tows the train over the mountain, all the while repeating the motto, “I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can.” 

Of course the lesson for us is that we can do anything we set our mind to, we simply have to try.  The little engine could have said, “No I am too small, I will never make it.”  But instead she put herself out there and committed to trying to achieve what seemed impossible.

How often do we convince ourselves that we are not worthy of the task God sets before us?    The lectionary texts over the next few weeks follow the life of Moses.  When God speaks to Moses through the burning bush he has all sorts of excuses for God!  “Who am I, Moses asks, that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”  Surely God has dialed the wrong number!  Moses fears that the people will not believe him, what if they think he is crazy!  God does not allow Moses to escape from his mission but rather reminds him that Moses will not be alone, God will be with him.  Finally, Moses argues that he has never been eloquent, slow of speech and tongue.  God counters this excuse saying he will provide the words for Moses to speak.  Moses begs the Lord to choose someone else but God refuses.  Moses is the one God has chosen; an ordinary man for an extraordinary task.  It is time for Moses to become The Little Engine that will lead his people from Egypt and into the Promised Land.  Moses needs that mantra, “I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can!”  Moses needs to trust that he is able to accomplish his calling because God is working through him!

We are not so unlike Moses, finding excuses to keep us from answering God’s call in our lives.  If the Lord God can work through a man with a stutter surely he can work through you!  If God can call to the pulpit a petite blond who looks more like an adolescent than a preacher, there is no telling what God can do with you!

Paul talks about the varieties of gifts that each of us are given, that we as many members make up the one body of Christ.  In the weeks and months to come I want us to consider what those gifts are that we have and how we can use them to do God’s work in the world.  Those individual gifts that we have, fused together in the context of the congregation are what make this church strong!  My prayer is that we will begin to see ourselves as the little engine that could, pulling ourselves over whatever mountains stand before us saying, “I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can!”  Knowing full well that just as God promised Moses to be with him, God promises to be present with us too.