Grounded in Vision

This collage has been hanging above my computer in my home office since the day I moved in. It has given me focus all year as I meditated with each of the phrases and images. It has helped me hear the Spirit’s wisdom, and remember who I am and who I’ve been called to be as your Regional Presbyter.

In Houston, I participated in a number of spirituality visioning groups led by my friend and colleague, the Rev. Pat Clark. Her work with us focused on listening through our right brains by using images and journalling. Over the years I had made a number of these collages. We’d spend an hour or two contemplating a Bible verse or phrase, paging through magazines and cutting out the images and words that seemed to capture our attention or imagination, and glueing them to our poster board. Every time I made a collage I felt captivated by the aura of kindergarten. As the group of us worked together we’d laugh at pictures, make snarky comments, share pictures with each other and just play together with a childlike spontaneity. And after our artwork was completed, we shared our creations with each other with a sense of gratitude and curiosity … What truths, what insights, what imaginings would these collages reveal to us in the coming weeks and months? Each collage was the focal point of our group work and homework for two to three months as we journaled, prayed, met regularly, and let the Spirit speak to us.

This collage was specifically designed as I prepared to begin my work with you. Pat called our group together just before I left to make one more collage. Most of the images are mine; they were chosen because, intuitively, I felt they had something to say about my call here. Others were chosen by each of the other members of my group, as a gift, as a remembrance, as a blessing. And, over the year, they spoke to me, quietly and persistently … reminding me of the call that brought me here, keeping me grounded and focused during some very “weighty” times.

It’s important, especially during times of great change or of crisis, to balance the weightiness with whimsical play, with quiet, with curiosity, and with a smile … trusting that God has so much more yet to reveal to us if we look, listen, and wonder.

How Do You Measure a Year?

The next few posts are adaptations of the presentations I gave at both Monmouth and New
Brunswick presbytery meetings durning September. …

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand, moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?”
From “Season of Love” the opening song of the musical Rent

It’s been one full year since I started serving you as your Regional Presbyter. During the story of our lives, some years are just 525,600 minutes; we’ve turned the pages and the story continues. Other years, however, mark huge change; new chapters are written, old chapters close. This was one of those years for me, personally, and it is integrally related to you. Besides the new job, the move from Texas to New Jersey, buying a house and selling a house, visiting congregations, and getting to know so many of you … This year you have walked with me through one of the most critical and memorable years of my life. My mom’s illness, which began as she and my dad drove home from my installation in January, culminated in her death on August 23. Throughout this time I have been truly moved by your support, your flexibility, your generosity, your prayers, your cards, your emails, your Facebook messages, your texts. My gratitude is overwhelming. And because we have walked this journey together, I now announce to you — I am no longer your “NEW Regional Presbyter.” You are now an integral a part of me: my history, my story, and my family.

“Like-Mindedness” in the Church

The PCUSA is in the midst of turmoil across the country.  We have brother and sister Presbyterians who find that our theological center has shifted too far for them to remain in the denominational family.  At a meeting, yesterday, one pastor talked about the attractiveness and, perhaps, faithfulness of moving to a denomination where the essential or central beliefs of the church are well-defined.  ”It fits us; it fits me”  I understand that longing.  It’s why I’m Presbyterian.

For me, the woman who was born asking “how come?”, I “fit” in a denomination which has it’s center in Christ, but which values many different interpretations as we read scripture, engage a changing culture, build our relationship with Jesus Christ, and give witness to the resurrection in real and life-changing ways.  I don’t think it’s a secret that I usually approach scripture from position which is more progressive, less traditional, more metaphorical, less factual, more narrative and wholistic, less legalistic and literal.  It’s not only the way I approach scripture, but the way I approach life … God has gifted me with the ability to see new possibilities and the big picture, to be creative and imaginative, to get deeper and broader and wider in understanding and interpreting what’s going on in life and culture.  But there’s a shadow side to that, of course … I need to be around people who are more attuned to detail, who are grounded in a heritage and history which can illuminate where we are by where we’ve been, who are good at “conserving” the values and ethics and understandings of God and Christ and Church.  I need to be around people who are gifted differently than me, in order to be better … more faithful.  I need my more conservative sisters and brothers in the church to keep me grounded.  And, I’m convinced, they also need me.  It’s this challenge of each other that keeps us growing spiritually, intellectually, faithfully, and compassionately.  And that is what leads us to be reformed and always reforming.

The strength of the Presbyterian Church, I believe, is that while our center is clearly in Christ, we are also convinced that faithful followers of Christ can differ — sometimes in very substantial ways.   It pains me to think of some of our sister congregations leaving the PCUSA … not because of property issues, endowments, membership or institutional stress on presbyteries … but because I feel we’re losing a piece of what makes us strong … a piece of what keeps us faithful.  We’re losing the strength of our diversity in Christ.  We’re losing the gifts of those who are of a different “mindedness” than me … who can challenge me … who can hold me accountable … who can complement me.

As Christians we should constantly seek the “like-mindedness” of Christ … and the best way to do that is to be in relationship with people of all minds as we strive to know Christ better together.  My pastor friend who is “discerning” whether to stay or go, agrees … that’s why it’s important to go with graciousness and respect and to stay in relationship … it’s just a different level of relationship … as sister denominations instead of sister congregations.  I understand that … but I don’t have to like it.

Another Real Thing I Don’t Believe In …

So, a few months ago I wrote about prayer and about how, when I prayed specifically for a family to be living in our Texas home before the end of 2011, we miraculously had a buyer and a closing date on December 30!  I don’t believe in the kind of God that changes the universe because one or more of us pray about what we’d like, yet there’s something very real about getting specific with God in prayer.  There is another theological concept that I cannot fit into my understanding of God and the world, but that also seems to have a hold on reality … spiritual warfare.

My theology is grounded in the sovereignty of God, the goodness of creation, and the love of Christ which surpasses even the challenge of death.  I understand the inevitable and intrinsic temptation of humanity, the idolatry of self-control, the self-centeredness of greed and more.  I have trouble with a super-hero understanding of God as the victor over a force that is somehow outside of God and a real challenge to God’s supremacy.  Not to mention, I am not comfortable with militaristic or warlike images.  I am an idealist who likes to think of myself as a pacifist … I don’t like to “fight” or “battle” or “wage war.”  And yet, I’m about to write a post on Spiritual Warfare … why?  Because sometimes in the work of the church, there is no better explanation for the realities we face.

In the work of new church development and congregational transformation, especially, pastors and church leaders are often confronted with battles that seem insurmountable.  Church planters face conflicts not only in the church, but at home.  Transformational pastors deal with congregational members or staff members who seem to become possessed by “demonic” forces.  Yes, I know, this all sounds overly dramatic … but let’s just roll with it for a moment.

A United Methodist colleague at a new church development conference once told me that the realities of Spiritual Warfare in church planting cannot be denied.  She told me it didn’t fit with her theological framework either … but suggested I start with the laws of physics.  We all learned, didn’t we, that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?”  She explained that when we work for the establishment of the Kingdom, that there is a huge change or shift in reality … it’s what we’re striving for … and that we should expect  there will be a force coming at us that will want to restore the status quo.  It’s more than just inertia … which doesn’t want to move … it’s a force, against us, wanting to bring us back to what it had understood to be equilibrium, status quo, or the way we know.

In the work of the kingdom, we should always expect that as we change systems … congregational systems, family systems, political systems, etc. … that we will get “push back.”  Sometimes that pushback is more than “a little”.  Sometimes, and especially if we’re not ready for it, it swings back at us and knocks us off our feet.  Maybe it’s an elder who sabotages a session’s decision, maybe it’s a staff member who fights back against a change in worship, maybe it’s an illness that takes the opportunity of most stress on the pastor to rear its ugly head.  After awhile, as we keep moving into God’s desired future … the resistance perseveres.

The best strategy for dealing with this kind of spiritual warfare is to 1) know it’s coming.  Be on the lookout for where resistance is most likely to come from … but be ready, too, for it to come in the most unlikely forms.  2) Tell your leaders, as you move forward in mission, to be ready for conflict, for resistance, for a little messiness as we move ahead.  Use the time to build community and keep yourselves focussed on your mission and ministry and the promise of the Kingdom.  And 3) bathe your church, your leaders, and your own leadership in prayers — prayers for strength, prayers for perseverance, prayers for wisdom, prayers for health.

We know, of course, that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and that nothing is impossible with God.  During times of great change in a congregation, it’s important to remind ourselves of that, be ready for the resistance, and keep focussed on Christ.

The Basics: Bread and Water

This week marks fourteen weeks since my mother was first admitted to the hospital.  Since February 15th, she has been in the hospital, in rehab, in a nursing care center, back to the hospital and now back in the nursing center.  She is battling infection … and recently we heard that she is undernourished, dehydrated, and otherwise weak.  She has been infused with severe antibiotics through her IV every six hours since she arrived at the hospital 14 weeks ago.  The doctors are treating each symptom as it appears, they adjust medication, and they try to keep a balance between side effects.  But on her last hospital admittance they were focussed on food and water: the basics.

What’s frustrating for me, besides being 1685 miles away, is that treating the symptoms can be so time consuming and weary … and we’re still not dealing with the fundamental disease.  In my mom’s case, we’re not sure what the fundamental disease is or if there really is one.  It’s a highly complex combination of diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, asthma, chronic immune deficiency and more, none of which is likely to be “cured” but managed.  And then, in the middle of managing … we realize the basic needs of food and water had been neglected.

I am always surprised by the way life’s themes repeat themselves in so many different contexts.  For me, my mother’s disease is a metaphor for the challenges of life in the church today.  I’m aware that so many of our congregations are consumed with treating symptoms:  building maintenance, declining membership, budget issues, finding volunteers for committees, paying the pastor, etc.  And I wonder if we are, like my mother’s doctors, trying to keep things balanced and well enough to get through another day or another week or another month … while we avoid talking about the longterm prognosis and/or don’t realize we are under it all … starving and thirsty.

The underlying issues of the church are complex, layered, and interwoven:  Aging membership, declining membership, changing culture and demographics, etc.  What if today, though, instead of being consumed by all the symptoms, blood tests, and medications, we focus primary on the basics: the bread of life and the living water … prayer, engagement with scripture, authentic community, inspired worship.  If our congregations are too busy managing symptoms and prescribing more programs … are we so busy we forget to drink from the well or nourish our souls.  My friend and colleague, Stan Ott, says that the leadership of the church needs to spend time “being the people of God” before we can “do the work of the people of God.”

Does your session spend time engaging the Scriptures together?  Do you pray for each other, your church and the world?  How much of your meeting time is spent in “being the people of God” before you “do the work of the people of God”?

“I s’pose y’all ‘r wonderin’ why I’m dressed like this.” [28 Members Strong]

Over the next few months, I will be telling the story of one congregation on the east side of Houston.  The congregation, St. James Presbyterian Church, is small, struggling, and ultimately extremely faithful.  If I ever write a book about them, it will be called “Twenty-eight Members Strong; the Story of One Missional Congregation.”  The following post is a revision of an article I published in “Connections“, the newsletter of the Presbytery of New Covenant in October 2009 (p.6).  

The session meeting was just at the two hour mark, the self-imposed time limit of the group, when an elder wearing full biker regalia (including the leather vest, patches, boots, leather pants and a “dew rag”) said, “I s’pose y’all ‘r wonderin’ why I’m dressed like this.”  Frankly, I wasn’t wondering at all.  Three out of nine of us had ridden our motorcycles to that particular Sunday afternoon meeting.  Granted, I was in a t-shirt, jeans and boots, not full leathers, but that’s what I love about this congregation, people come as they are to session meetings.  To me the biker clothes seemed sort of natural, in a wierd way.  The elder continued, “I have a confession to make; a few months ago I was ready to leave this church.”  The church is small and struggling for survival.  They can afford their building, but not an installed pastor.  The congregational leaders are overworked and tired of keeping the old programs running.  Some wonder what kind of future the congregation has.  In fact, the session’s had “the future of the church” as an agenda item for the last eight months.  Frankly, there are times I wonder why so many people stay in church situations like this. 

The session was listening, and the biker went on, “But now I feel God is callin’ me in another direction, and I really need the support of this congregation to make it happen.”  Let me share some back story here.   The elder’s biker name is “Scooter”.  He has been a part of the biker community for decades.  Over the years Scooter’s life has been totally transformed by the love of Jesus Christ he experiences week after week in that small Presbyterian congregation.  He was, literally, saved, by the grace of Jesus, and he can talk about it.  Now, he feels his call is not to run to a larger, more program oriented church, or even to a “Christian” motor cycle club, but his call is to help God in Christ transform the lives of his brothers and sisters who ride.  He explained that while most bikers are a lot like me … people who just like to ride … there are others who’s lives are “really messed up” and involved in a way of life which is often on the other side of the law, and filled with “stuff you can’t even imagine.”  

Scooter sees himself as a minister … I call him a missionary … to the biker world.  He is chaplain, visiting in hospitals and homes, listening and comforting, leading funerals and even an occasional wedding.  But, more importantly, he shares the good news of Jesus Christ in his life and in his words.  He wanted help from the session to buy some “Biker Bibles” to hand out to those who need and want them.  He wanted prayers.  He wanted a pastor to turn to when things seemed more than he could handle.  He wanted fellow disciples to walk with him in this journey.  And the session responded with support and love and prayers.  Within a week, he was already reporting over $200 had come in for Bibles and one woman in the club had her prayers miraculously answered.  Already, within one week of him publicly affirming his call, he saw tangible signs of grace.

Is there a future for this church?  I hope so.  But, it might not be one of programs, buildings, salaries and staff.  I asked the session that Sunday afternoon, “If the call of this congregation isn’t so much to maintain the current programs, but it is to support the lives and call of each member/missionary, what needs to change?  How will this congregation design itself to do that well … really well?”  I think, when the congregation discovers the answer to that question they will also discover a vibrant and life-filled future.

 

Monmouth Presbytery Mission Priorities and Goals

The mission statement for Monmouth Presbytery is:  to equip ministers and congregations to strengthen God’s people for ministry in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Last month, the Mission Council, met for a day-long retreat at Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church.  After some thoughtful and bold conversation about the blessings and challenges of the presbytery, the Council agreed that we, as a presbytery, need to focus on Building Trust and Building Community over the next year or more.

As we face the challenges before us, it is imperative that we trust each other, knowing that no matter how different our opinions or our styles or our decisions are, that we are united in our love and commitment to Jesus Christ.  This will not be easy.  There have been many reasons that trust has been broken in this presbytery.  Feelings have been hurt, deeply.  Relationships have been strained and broken.  It will take a commitment from every member of the presbytery to take the bold steps of repentance when necessary, going the extra mile, and working through conflict.  It will take stepping back and praying together when the going gets tough.  And it will mean making room in our busy schedules to build community with each other.

How can we trust people we don’t know?  We need to get to know our colleagues, not just pastors, but elders.  We need to reach across the typical dividing lines of age, race, theological ideology, etc. etc. and make friends with each other.  We need to support each other, encourage each other, comfort each other and challenge each other.  We need this, so that we can trust and value each other as the very difficult issues confront us.

As a presbytery, too, we’ve reaffirmed our commitment to the spiritual and missional health of each congregation.  We know that without healthy and vital congregations, there is no healthy and vital presbytery.  We are here to serve you, as you serve your communities.

The Mission Council commits to helping build trust and community by

1. Follow through on session visits.  By March just about all of our sessions should have been visited by a representative of mission council.  The visit includes showing the DVD produced last summer, listening to the concerns of our sessions, and answering questions the congregations have about the Presbytery.  We will be compiling the comments and issues raised in those visits and we promise to not only listen, but do something with the things we learn.  We will report back to the presbytery and to individual congregations as appropriate.
2. Create a Process for Gracious Discernment.  There is much anxiety in the the PC(USA) these days about who’s leaving and who’s staying now that we’ve changed our ordination standards to allow GLBTQ individuals to be ordained if the session and/or presbytery confirms their call to ministry.  We want to start right away and bring leaders together who are on all sides of the controversy to work on a policy that would help a congregation through the discernment process and, if the congregation is of one accord, would allow for “gracious” dismissal of a congregation.  We are hoping never to have to use the policy, but we believe that the process of creating one, will allow for wounds to be healed, relationships to be grown, voices to be heard, etc.
3. “Change the Conversation” around Per Capita.  We have a per capita problem.  See my blog post for a larger analysis of the problem nationally.  In our presbytery (Monmouth) nothing seems to churn up feelings and escalate hostility between pastors and congregations more than a conversation around payment of per capita.  So it’s time to change the conversation, to imagine a different way, perhaps, of supporting the financial realities of being part of the Presbyterian “family”.  We will begin to ask the tough questions and face the tough realities.
4. Congregational Grants and Consultants.  To put some funding behind our words of support for congregations, the mission council is working through MDSC to provide matching grants to groups of congregations who would like to work together and need resourcing or consultation.  The motion to create the matching grant program passed the presbytery last night.  And we anticipate that by our June meeting a process will be communicated through which you and your congregation can apply for some of the yearly funding.
5. Unbinding the Gospel.  I am encouraged by the 27 pastors from Monmouth and New Brunswick presbyteries who joined me and Martha Grace Reese on a conference call a few weeks ago.  15 pastors from Monmouth are considering forming a small group of leaders to study the book, Unbinding the Gospel, over eight weeks sometime this spring.  If the congregations decide they want to proceed with the full congregational program, we may be able to form some coaching groups for large and small congregations with Lilly Grant Funding.  This would be a huge boost for the presbytery.
6. Developing Connections and Relationships.  We will intentionally look for ways to encourage teaching and ruling elders to gather together for fellowship, study, support, encouragement and mission.  Rob Carter, our Moderator, has some ideas about how to do this, but we don’t need permission from the presbytery to start gathering.  I know of two gatherings of colleagues after the presbytery meeting last night.  One of them was at my house!  Any chance we have to BE the people of God together and not just DO the work of the people of God, we will be blessed.