Ordination Questions – Humanity & the Need for Divine Grace

2.) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?

I entered ministry holding together two views of humanity. First, we are created in the image of God (the imago Dei). In fact, the Psalmist marvels at the way in which humans are created “a little lower than God…and crowned with glory and honor.” In other words, we are created for goodness and wholeness in the exact image of God. Yet on the other hand, one need only to watch the evening news to see that our world is broken and disjointed. As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Things are not the way God intended. In my ministry, I have seen the heights and depths of both views. I have seen the mystery of God’s good creation cradling infants in my arms to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and I’ve seen the brokenness of our world in the struggle of a husband and wife whose marriage collapses under the stresses and strains of life.

This tension between the original goodness of God’s creation and the reality of evil and brokenness in our world is the place where we live. Far too often, I have found that people put these in the wrong order. Instead of seeing the imprint of God’s gracious presence in their lives, far too many Christians have heard this message, “You are a despicable, worthless creature, but God might just be able to do something with you yet.” Instead, the wonderful gospel message we are called to share is this, “No matter how you might feel, no matter what you have gone through, you are one of the crowning achievements of God’s good creation! Even though the Fall is lived and reenacted daily in the lives of women and men, the good news is that God will stop at nothing to repair what is broken in your life. The story of Jesus is the story of God’s great reclamation project of our world. God is continually working to form each one of us into the imago Dei. God is actively at work, graciously restoring you to wholeness.”

Grace is the gift of God’s ongoing reclamation of the world, and I have seen this in the lives of those people I serve. I have seen it in a woman recovering from addiction as she joined the Church by professing her faith in Jesus. Immediately she was surrounded by a new family that loves, cares, and prays for her. In that scene, I don’t simply see someone added to the membership rolls; I see the work of God’s new creation happening right there in our midst. I have seen it in a community asking me what has gotten into our members, “I don’t know what’s going on over there, but something’s different.” That is far more than more workers being added to our depleted ranks; that is the very work of God’s new creation happening in our midst. Sin and brokenness are real, but God’s love came first. Through the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, our world is being transformed. That is my understanding of what grace is all about.

Ordination Questions – Experience & Understanding of God

Inspired by the commissioning responses of Andrew over at Thoughts of Resurrection and the ordination responses of Andy at Enter the Rainbow, I’ve decided to post a few of my own. This has been taking up a lot of my writing time, so I thought at least my blog wouldn’t go silent in the meantime. So, feel free to comment, make suggestions, ask questions, etc. These are all rough drafts and will most likely change in some form or another.

1.) How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God? Oftentimes, ministry is like the weather in Oklahoma. If you are not happy with what’s happening at any given moment, all you need to do is wait and it will change! Three scenes scattered from my last three years of ministry illustrate this perfectly: a quiet evening at home with my family is interrupted with the news of a motorcycle accident involving a teen from our congregation who was broken but survived, I am awakened by a late night call with word that a beloved matriarch of our congregation is dying in the hospital intensive care unit, and an evening visit with community members at the local high school football game is cut short in order to be with a family at the funeral home when the body of their loved one arrives.

In the middle of life, in the very midst of ministry, I have learned to experience and understand God in a new way. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” Looking back at my answers immediately following seminary, I see a very complex doctrinal portrait of God focused on God’s Triune nature, creative power, redemptive purposes, and eschatological vision. Even though I still hold strongly to these commitments, the very practices of baptizing both young and old, offering God’s grace at the table, speaking words of both comfort and challenge from Scripture, sitting with the dying, and leading worship for the bereaved have helped me move more closely to the simplicity beyond complexity. It is no wonder that the first letter of John to the “beloved,” eventually states the simple fact that, “…God is love.”

At times, I am overwhelmed by the sheer mystery and complexity of our Triune God, but through the free gift of grace, I have experienced God’s abiding presence and abundant peace in the midst of the storms of life. Through countless experiences watching God at work in the lives of others, I am more and more convinced of God’s transforming love. So even with a full appreciation of God’s complexity, I have a simple trust that God’s eternal self-giving love descends to us in the incarnation, seeking to reach out to save those who are hopeless, helpless, and hungry.

It is this simple loving presence in the world that motivates my ministry. It is God’s subtle, yet increasingly real work in my life that sustains me through the ups, downs, and surprises of service. The fullness of God’s love is the fullness for which I’m willing to lay down my life.

Who Owns Your Church?

This weekend, I had the privilege of helping clean profane graffiti off the sidewalk in front of our Church. A friend from the Church and I spent time Saturday morning working to get it clean with a power washer, paint thinner, and a wire brush. On one hand, I was angry that someone would do this in our little slice of Mayberry, but on the other hand, it made me realize that we can no longer pretend that the Church has a privileged place in society as it once did (Post-Christendom) even in rural America.

Not long ago, I read a post or an article about someone saying the trash on their church lawn reminded them of the messiness of the world and was a call and reminder of the mission to which we are called outside our doors. Believe it or not, this statement gave me the strength to pray we could reach the kind of people who would spray paint on a Church sidewalk with the good news of God’s Kingdom.

Even as I was breathing this prayer, a little boy from next door walked up to see what we were doing. He proceeded, without blinking, to recite the profanity written across the street at the school, and asked if we had seen it. When we said no he proceeded to give us a parable. He said, “Who owns this Church anyway?” I tried to explain that it is like the school and it is owned by a group (since he likely had never heard of a denomination). He said, “No our principal owns the school.” Maybe so! That’s sure the way it’s structured from a third-graders perspective, isn’t it? He then said, “I know who owns it anyway,” and then pointed at my house across the street. “That guy over there owns it.” My buddy was laughing, when I told him I was “that guy over there.”

A few minutes later, I invited the little guy to the Church I “own.” He ran in and asked his grandmother, and lo and behold showed up yesterday morning – on the second row, with his feet propped up on the pew in front of him, like he owned the place. During our welcome, when we go around and shake hands, he was up on stage running his hand through the flame of the candles!

Who owns the Church anyway? Jesus said to save your life you must lose it. To save the Church, maybe we need to lose it. If so, I can’t think of a better way than by handing over the keys to a little poor third-grader who lives next door with his grandma. Sounds crazy…almost like a parable.

Church of Nature

Buffalo Mountain I was reading an article yesterday in Ladies’ Home Journal (yeah, yeah, don’t ask) about the “Church of Nature.” In this article, a concerned mother saw her downcast son on a Sunday morning very upset about having to go to Church. She asked him why and he said, “I’d rather be watching our tadpoles.” Immediately she had a revelation and decided that every now and then they’d play hooky from Church and take the kids down to a nearby river to explore the “Church of Nature.”

I don’t really have much to say about the article. I’m not going to spend any time speculating on the underlying theological and philosophical commitments of the author. Instead, I want to think about the Church. Is your Church so boring for kids that they’d rather watch tadpoles? Do kids beg their parents not to come to Church?

More than anything, this reminded me of my childhood. I grew up in a little Southern Baptist Church in rural Oklahoma. As soon as I read this article, I was reminded of how we weren’t forced to make a decision between being outside and going to Church. Many times I can remember our Sunday School teachers, far wiser than many church education experts, deciding it was too beautiful to stay in our classroom. Instead, they would say it was time for a nature walk, and we’d take off down the little country road behind our church. The teacher would say something like, “When we get back we’ll talk about all the things we see that God made,” and during our trip we’d throw rocks off the bridge, catch crawdads, and play in the water.

After worship, during church dinners, we kids would barely stay inside before going out to play in the little branch running through our property. We’d catch crawdads again, try to splash each other with rocks, and build dams with rocks and pine needles. Of course, these miniature Corps of Engineer projects would often undergo forced dismantling at the request of our wiser elders after a brief lesson on erosion!

I can also remember leaving worship after a particularly vivid sermon on having the faith of a mustard seed, the kind that could move mountains. None of us had ever heard of Tom Wright, and so we didn’t “know” that this was referring to the temple mount. Instead, we’d all stand in the parking lot talking as we’d look across the road at Buffalo Mountain and marvel. Someone would inevitably say, “Wow, can you believe that if we had enough faith we could move that mountain?” We’d be astounded by God’s power, really astounded, and then go home. Who wouldn’t want to go to Church and experience that?

I’m not sure where the person who wrote that article went to church, but it sure wasn’t where I grew up. Maybe she went somewhere too sophisticated and busy talking about God’s care for the environment to really get out and love it like God does. Too bad.

Off-Road Disciplines

Off-Road Disciplines I have been on a self-imposed book buying moratorium as I wait to begin my D.Min. program. Something tells me that I’ll be buying a lot of books during my time in that program, so I should save my book money for those. However, my trips to the local libraries just aren’t enough. I guess I’m too used to ordering stuff from Amazon.com at the drop of a hat! So yesterday when I went to Tulsa to take my truck back for a recall, I stopped by Cokesbury and bought a new book: Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders by Earl Creps.

So far, I am very impressed with this book. When I read books, I often think of the kind of person who would really benefit the most from reading it. For me, this book is an excellent introduction to postmodern/emerging concepts for those conservative or evangelical clergypersons who might be suspicious of these movements, but are still passionate about reaching people influenced by postmodernity in a missional way. To be honest, this book seems to be written for an older audience. I’m pretty sure the reason this might fit those types well is related to Creps’ socio-cultural context, which I mention a bit below.

Let me offer you a few great quotes from my early reading, as I’ve found myself underlining quite a bit so far. In the first chapter, Creps talks about the need to move from a centralized model of leadership (the big, authoritarian pastor model) to a model where Christ is at the center of our lives in missional communities. Unfortunately for us, he believes this shift is often, if not always, motivated by death of our dreams and ambitions.

A missional life, then, experiences the centrality of Christ as our failures expose the illusion that we merit the center position. Failure, among other forces, reveals this illusion for what it is, crucifying it and giving us the chance to invite Christ to assume the central role in practice, instead of just in doctrine (p. 10).

He continues later in the chapter with what I believe is the biggest danger for those of us who care about reaching people for Christ in creative and culturally-sensitive ways. Emerging Church “techniques” imposed on a community can easily devolve into what he describes here,

We like to transform things technologically, thinking of ministry as an instrumentality, ourselves as the CEO, the Holy Spirit as a sort of power cell, and the church as an object we modify. In so doing, we risk creating not much more than a hipper version of irrelevance (p. 14).

He closes this chapter with a challenge that speaks to me in a way that is painfully clear,

In it all, God calls me out of the center that He alone rightfully occupies, to let go of things I treasure, to meet Him among the marginalized where He is always most at work. I will meet Him there most profoundly if the transformation of my inner life is at stake (p. 14).

I really relate to a lot of what Creps is doing in this book. He is operating out of the Assemblies of God tradition and runs the D.Min. program at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, so I imagine he has many of the same challenges as those of us in mainline denominations who are used to doing things a certain way – especially those of us with more “conservative” theological pedigrees. No doubt he has plenty of challenges unique to his setting as well. In any case, I’m looking forward to continuing my conversation with Creps through this book, and I pray that God will continue to mold me into the missional leader I am called to be.

Lest You Think You’re Unimportant…

Just in case you think you are unimportant as a pastor to the growth and attitude of a congregation, read this excerpt from Bishop Willimon’s weekly message,

In visits to countless congregations, and in my own pastoral experience, I have come to the rather frightening conclusion that pastors are a decisive element in the vitality and mission of the church. To be sure, as we have said repeatedly, the pastor is not to assume all ministry in the church. The baptized are the chief ministers in the name of Christ. Pastors are to lead through service rather than dominance. The Holy Spirit is the source of all ministry. But having said all that, we still must say that the pastor is decisive. The pastor’s mood and attitude sets the tone for the congregation, conveys hope and energy to the people, hurts and heals, binds and releases. Sometimes, as a pastor, I wish it were not so, but it is. What Jesus wants for the church must become incarnate in a pastor or, in my experience, it does not happen.

I recall a distinguished church growth consultant who, in a workshop on congregational development, spent more than an hour listing all of the factors that were relevant to the vitality and growth of a congregation. There must have been more than two score of such factors listed. Then he led us in discussion. The first person to speak was a layperson who asked, “But don’t you think the pastor is a key factor in all of this?”

The consultant replied, “Oh, certainly. If the pastor’s leadership is lacking, you can discount everything that I have listed on the board. All of these factors contribute to growth. But if the pastor is inadequate, none of the factors that I have listed make any difference.”

Lest You Think You’re Unimportant…

Just in case you think you are unimportant as a pastor to the growth and attitude of a congregation, read this excerpt from Bishop Willimon’s weekly message,

In visits to countless congregations, and in my own pastoral experience, I have come to the rather frightening conclusion that pastors are a decisive element in the vitality and mission of the church. To be sure, as we have said repeatedly, the pastor is not to assume all ministry in the church. The baptized are the chief ministers in the name of Christ. Pastors are to lead through service rather than dominance. The Holy Spirit is the source of all ministry. But having said all that, we still must say that the pastor is decisive. The pastor’s mood and attitude sets the tone for the congregation, conveys hope and energy to the people, hurts and heals, binds and releases. Sometimes, as a pastor, I wish it were not so, but it is. What Jesus wants for the church must become incarnate in a pastor or, in my experience, it does not happen.

I recall a distinguished church growth consultant who, in a workshop on congregational development, spent more than an hour listing all of the factors that were relevant to the vitality and growth of a congregation. There must have been more than two score of such factors listed. Then he led us in discussion. The first person to speak was a layperson who asked, “But don’t you think the pastor is a key factor in all of this?”

The consultant replied, “Oh, certainly. If the pastor’s leadership is lacking, you can discount everything that I have listed on the board. All of these factors contribute to growth. But if the pastor is inadequate, none of the factors that I have listed make any difference.”

Can a Robe Obscure the Gospel? Revisited

My good friend Robert posted this as a comment on my Can a Robe Obscure the Gospel post. I really enjoyed reading it, and thought it might go unnoticed there, so with his permission, I’m reposting it here:

The 2-point charge in this very rural area helped me with that decision. The smaller church encouraged me to dispense with the robe from the beginning; it only took me about 3 months to catch on and leave the robe off. The larger church told me from the first that their pastors wear robes in the pulpit, and that they would be happy to buy a robe for me if I did not own one already.

I’m one that believes in the value of clerical collars for weekday wear, although that was new in the communities I serve. The only time I wear a clerical collar in the pulpit is when I have no other clean white (I tend toward white clergy shirts more often than black) shirt in the closet or I am participating in an ecumenical service (such as Baccalaureate) – where a robe or alb in this rural area would tend to exaggerate the differences with the pastors from the other local churches.

I have introduced the white alb for celebration of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion at the larger church (and for Baptism only at the smaller church). Both churches are happy with the alb. Oh, there are some who think it looks awfully “Catholic” – which is fine with me, being a bit of an Anglo-Catholic myself. And both churches were especially pleased with the addition of my red Order of Saint Luke scapular for the Sacrament(s).

By the way, the smaller church which likes me in a suit rather than a robe on Sunday mornings, absolutely wants me in a robe for funerals and weddings. Is that because those are “official” church services, or perhaps because they long for that connection with the universal church of the ages for those important passages in the lives of us all? If so, does that mean that Sunday morning worship is not really “official” or not really important? Has Sunday morning just become a time for some singing and a comforting lecture from a non-threatening neighbor?

Now, the black alb (yes, I know that is a contradiction in terms, at least based on the origin of the word “alb”) for Good Friday services has not proven as popular. . . yet.

Do robes and albs get in the way of the message? Yes, sometimes they do for some people. Business suits get in the way for some people sometimes, too (particularly $1,500 well-tailored suits that smack of the “prosperity gospel” or the “city slicker here to fleece the local folks”).

It may be that robes and albs are more important to me because I grew up in a church that considered such garments a mark of apostasy from the “true religion.”

Do golf shirts and khaki Dockers get in the way for some people sometimes? Yes, they do.

Where I serve right now, the only dark suit – the only suit of any color – the only coat and tie, in the church on Sunday morning would be in the pulpit. Does that make the suit, the coat and tie, an outmoded costume or uniform worn to express continuity with another place and time? Sure does – just as the robes and albs do. I just believe it is more important to show that connection with the Church over the last 17 or 18 centuries, than over the last 7 or 8 decades. For others, it is more important to reject either of those connections, each of which brings to mind as many tragic events as powerful and positive events.

For me, each situation should be considered, and we should remain flexible and open to change as time goes by even in the same church and community.

But those who reject robes and albs because they are costumes and carry some “baggage” with them, should be aware that WHATEVER we wear in the pulpit, or on the street (clergy collars originated among Anglican – not Roman, clergy so that they could stop wearing cassocks on the English streets just a couple of centuries ago or so), is a costume and sends a message to at least some observers.

Rural Megachurch…Who Knew??

I came across this article today about a Church in the rural town of Bergman, Arkansas (population 407). They began with 31 members and have swelled to include nine towns in northern Arkansas. This congregation is now averaging approximately 1,000 people each week with 60% of the people making the ten mile drive from nearby Harrison, Arkansas (est. pop. 12,700).

Pastor Shannon O’Dell says, “When church is done right, they’ll drive from anywhere…” Apparently for Church to be “done right,” according to O’Dell, the Church needs to be “pastor led,” rather than congregational or democratic in polity.

“If there is one thing I could say to the rural church it is: The reason they don’t grow is that they are structured un-biblically,” he commented. “Families in power want all the power in the small local rural church with no responsibility — you’re so trapped you can’t move forward.”

Although the structure is certainly top-down, it seems like the ministries function more from a paradigm of broad involvement and participation. Perhaps it is congregational in practices and discipline, rather than congregational in control,

After doing most every job himself the first two years of his pastorate in Bergman — “secretary, preschool, youth, and sometimes music” — O’Dell said his primary responsibilities now include sermon preparation and mentoring (formerly known as counseling). “The rest I give to my staff who always confidently and competently get the job done.”

In the end, it seems that O’Dell has a missional focus and a passion for transformation. You may not agree with his leadership philosophy and top-down rhetoric, but you can certainly agree with his passion to reach out missionally to rural America.

“If God called you to the backside of the desert in Africa, your peers, family and friends would celebrate and support you. Why is it we don’t even think about going to the backside of rural America to watch God build an emerging church for His glory?”

Questions: Could he do this while serving a two-point charge? Could his leadership style mesh with UMC polity? What do you think about this in particular is it a one in a million deal or is it repeatable? Is this what God expects from rural (or any other) congregations? If we say no, are we just using that as an excuse? If we say yes, can it happen anywhere?

Lessons from Megachurches

I received an email from a parishioner asking me about The Progressive Christian magazine. I had received some announcements about it in several mailings, so I thought I’d check out some of the articles. One in particular caught my attention.

Usually, one doesn’t think of progressive Christians being the biggest supporters of megachurches, so I was surprised to see an article by Dr. Scott Thumma, Learning from the Megachurches: An Emphasis on Vitality, Not Size. He shares a lot of good thoughts. You’ll want to read the whole article, but here are the bullet points he makes:

Don’t strive for size; strive to serve God.
Know your audience and speak their language.
Make it appealing and welcoming, then make it serious and challenging.
Church is more than just a “Sunday thing.”
Create participants rather than members.
Get new attendees involved.
Connect the congregation.
Growth in the faith isn’t just for new Christians; it’s for the saints too.
Empower people to identify and live out their calling.
Whatever you do – do it with quality.

I think these are all worthy of a few moments of reflection wherever it is that you serve. Rural, urban, suburban, and small towns could all learn something from these points.