Many of us find ourselves in great turmoil this day. Our lives are busy. Eurocup has reduced our semester from a gentle walk through the park into an endurance run. There aren't enough days. Our finals and credits and state exams all run into each other like a train derailment. We have more exams than friends and even those of us who are not students feel the push and pull of this world.
And in that dark garden that morning, Mary approaches the gardener. Now - I fully sympathize with Mary. I hate approaching strangers here in Ukraine to ask for directions or help. I know it's going to be an awkward encounter as they try to understand my accent and as I try to understand the words they speak to me. I can imagine the thoughts going through Mary's head as she asks the most awkward question ever, "Excuse me, have you seen the body of my dead friend?"
When I was an exchange student in Russia I lived with an older woman who was still a member of the communist party and an avowed athiest. On Easter Sunday we traveled to Moscow together. In the train she began telling me her favorite story from childhood. Her grandmother used to tell her the old slavic story of a brave and fearless leader. He was leading his tribe through a dark and lonely forest. He knew exactly where they were going and knew exactly when they would get to the safety of their destination. As the night went on they burned through all of their torches and had nothing left to light to show the path to safety. The people became terrified in the darkness and began to lose trust in their leader. They began going off in their own ways and being eaten by wolves and killed by the other dangers of the forest. The leader, in a final act of sacrifice and determination reached into his own chest and pulled out his own heart. He lit it on fire held it up as a final torch. It lit the way through the final steps of the forest and into the safety of their destination. As they entered the safe and bright place the leader fell over in exhaustion and died.
Lena looked into my eyes that Easter morning and said, "I have always wanted to follow such a man. And you Christians believe that that man is your Jesus of Nazareth. When I repent, I will repent sincerely."
And Jesus - whom we have known for so many years, stands before us and we simply can't tell who he is. We hear the stories of our childhood and do not realize until we are adults that those stories were about Jesus. We see the teacher or the classmate and we make small talk - but we do not notice that it is Jesus standing before us. He is the gardener that we question. He is no longer dead - He has risen.
Христос Воскрес! ВОІСТИНУ ВОСКРЕС
These are not merely words. This is who we are. As John Paul II said, "We are an Easter people and Hallelujah is our cry."
When the world is ready to take us down, and when the world hates us so much and rears its ugly head; What is our cry?
Do we shout and complain about how bad the world is or do we cry Hallelujah - He is risen. As an Easter people, every day is a celebration. Even the terrible ones. Even the exam ones. Even the bad news ones. Hallelujah is our cry.
My failures are substantial and you can count the number of whip marks on Jesus back that I am responsible for - but still this day; in my weak and human voice I can still cry out Hallelujah, He is Risen. Because we are an Easter people.
And we can stand up against all the evil in this world and we can point to that empty tomb and cry out - do you see that he is risen? Do you see the empty tomb?
And we can stand up against all the evil in our hearts and we can point to that empty tomb and cry out - do you see that he is risen? Do you see the empty tomb?
We have walked this path with Jesus - we have climbed the hill with him, we have stood at the cross with him, and we have stilled in the tomb with him. And we rise with him.
We watched as they stripped our king of his robes and mocked him. We watched as they placed a crown of thorns on our king. And with our king we have triumphed over death and the grave.
The last time I was in Ukraine I followed from afar as my best friend from college slowly succumbed to cancer. I thought that when he died that I would be devastated. I thought that it would crush me to lose someone so close and to be so far away. And when he died I was certainly sad - but more than that my heart was filled with peace. Is this all that death can do? Can it only take us out of the pain and suffering of our daily lives and release us into eternal glory in heaven? Is that the death that we spend billions of dollars to evade? Oh Death, where is thou sting?
We celebrate that our King has won the victory over death. We celebrate who our King is and what he has accomplished.
That's my King.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Laity
All of the power rests in the hands of the laity.
As we begin our comical romp through legislative exercise known as General Conference, I would like for everyone to close their eyes and repeat this simple mantra. (You can pray it if that's more in line with your theology.)
All of the power rests in the hands of the laity.
Our Bishops will not save the church, our General Agencies will not save the church, our pastors will not save the church, and our other layers of administration will not save the church.
God wants to save the church. My heart rests easy in this knowledge. I have seen the Holy Spirit sweep across congregations of the United Methodist church and have witnessed the manifold ways that Jesus uses (even the bureaucracy of!) the United Methodist church. I believe that Bishops, District Superintendents, Pastors, and the rest of the professionally religious want to save the church. Although the shrinking numbers has created a lot of burn-out, a large majority of the men and women I have worked with in the church are desperate to turn things around.
So - that leaves the laity. The good intentioned, undervalued, unsung heroes in the pews.
Here are some thoughts for and about laity - and how we (yes, I'm technically a lay person!)can change our beloved denomination.
1. Love your pastor.
Whether you have a good, bad, black, white, male, female, tall, short, friendly, awkward, charismatic, or dull pastor. Love your pastor. The attitude that new pastors must survive their first weeks in a new congregation is caustic for all involved. Not only do pastors and their families suffer tremendously - but the congregation spends time deciding if they like what God has for them or not. This is idiotic. We believe in an itinerant system. God calls pastors. The Bishops and District Superintendents discern God's will for all of the churches in their area. They assign pastors as God directs. If you want your pastor to pass a beauty contest before coming to your church - please choose any of the other denominations who choose to pick pastors in that fashion.
You will find it very hard to hate someone you have prayed over every day.
2. We must find something to fill the void left by the United Methodist Women.
Let's get very honest. The United Methodist Women was created to give bored housewives something to do all day while their husbands worked. Not only did it give them something to do - it gave their lives purpose and meaning. They were changing the world through international mission and making mean Jell-O salads. They drove the mission and ministry of the United Methodist church. They were involved so strongly that they felt a sense of ownership and pride in the ministries of the United Methodist Church.
Today, the young women who should be filling these over-sized shoes left by the last generation are pursuing promising careers in law, medicine, politics, and a whole host of other fields. One of our United Methodist women almost became president a few years ago. Women who stay home, generally, choose to stay home. The United Methodist Women was created to solve a problem - and that problem just simply doesn't exist anymore (and I'm certain that there are fascinating article about how the UMW literally worked itself out of a job). As much as I would love to see a new generation of young women take up that mantle - it's just not going to happen.
So we need to find a problem the world has and create a solution. One possibility might be the 8% of Americans who are currently unemployed. Instead of sitting at home all day - perhaps the United Methodist church could join in ministry with them and help them find meaning and purpose for their lives while they work to find employment. We could have volunteer positions where people spend 8 hours a day visiting the shut-ins, gardening around the church, writing letters to new families in the community. The currently unemployed could earn a good reference, a new community, and a sense of meaning and purpose. The church could earn unimaginable benefits.
3. We must return to our roots. The United Methodist church is rooted in the lives of the poor. We were the church who would accept the people that no one else would accept. We were the church that spoke out against the evils that created and sustained poverty. We cried out against the evils of alcohol because the families of alcoholics were crippled by a lack of food and finances as money poured down his gullet. We screeched against labor conditions which left providers in the graves in their thirties.
Today our churches are solidly middle class and the social issues that tend to surface most often are social issues that effect our privileged existence. We don't seem to care what the minimum wage is.
As laity, we must reach out across the economic divide. One of my favorite families came to church after incessant bothering by an older neighbor. She was well to do and they struggled to make ends meet. But she insisted that those kids go to church and to church they go. Now, those kids go to visit her in the nursing home. She didn't start a charity to help the kids - she loved them and wanted the best for them.
4. Redefine Leadership
Why does leadership in the church revolve around service to a committee? Why do pastors get to do all the fun ministry? Young leaders in the church need to be put in instantly visible positions of leadership and service. They need to be in hospital rooms visiting the sick, outside of churches greeting new guests, and out in the streets serving food to the homeless in their own communities.
Young servants in the church need a good place to serve. As laity, it's our job to help them find a good and healthy fit.
-----------------------------------------------------
All the power rests in the hands of the laity.
God is calling all of us to move forward. This is a new day and the church will not be saved by those being paid to save the church. Our denomination will only thrive if the laity step forward and accept a new challenge.
As we begin our comical romp through legislative exercise known as General Conference, I would like for everyone to close their eyes and repeat this simple mantra. (You can pray it if that's more in line with your theology.)
All of the power rests in the hands of the laity.
Our Bishops will not save the church, our General Agencies will not save the church, our pastors will not save the church, and our other layers of administration will not save the church.
God wants to save the church. My heart rests easy in this knowledge. I have seen the Holy Spirit sweep across congregations of the United Methodist church and have witnessed the manifold ways that Jesus uses (even the bureaucracy of!) the United Methodist church. I believe that Bishops, District Superintendents, Pastors, and the rest of the professionally religious want to save the church. Although the shrinking numbers has created a lot of burn-out, a large majority of the men and women I have worked with in the church are desperate to turn things around.
So - that leaves the laity. The good intentioned, undervalued, unsung heroes in the pews.
Here are some thoughts for and about laity - and how we (yes, I'm technically a lay person!)can change our beloved denomination.
1. Love your pastor.
Whether you have a good, bad, black, white, male, female, tall, short, friendly, awkward, charismatic, or dull pastor. Love your pastor. The attitude that new pastors must survive their first weeks in a new congregation is caustic for all involved. Not only do pastors and their families suffer tremendously - but the congregation spends time deciding if they like what God has for them or not. This is idiotic. We believe in an itinerant system. God calls pastors. The Bishops and District Superintendents discern God's will for all of the churches in their area. They assign pastors as God directs. If you want your pastor to pass a beauty contest before coming to your church - please choose any of the other denominations who choose to pick pastors in that fashion.
You will find it very hard to hate someone you have prayed over every day.
2. We must find something to fill the void left by the United Methodist Women.
Let's get very honest. The United Methodist Women was created to give bored housewives something to do all day while their husbands worked. Not only did it give them something to do - it gave their lives purpose and meaning. They were changing the world through international mission and making mean Jell-O salads. They drove the mission and ministry of the United Methodist church. They were involved so strongly that they felt a sense of ownership and pride in the ministries of the United Methodist Church.
Today, the young women who should be filling these over-sized shoes left by the last generation are pursuing promising careers in law, medicine, politics, and a whole host of other fields. One of our United Methodist women almost became president a few years ago. Women who stay home, generally, choose to stay home. The United Methodist Women was created to solve a problem - and that problem just simply doesn't exist anymore (and I'm certain that there are fascinating article about how the UMW literally worked itself out of a job). As much as I would love to see a new generation of young women take up that mantle - it's just not going to happen.
So we need to find a problem the world has and create a solution. One possibility might be the 8% of Americans who are currently unemployed. Instead of sitting at home all day - perhaps the United Methodist church could join in ministry with them and help them find meaning and purpose for their lives while they work to find employment. We could have volunteer positions where people spend 8 hours a day visiting the shut-ins, gardening around the church, writing letters to new families in the community. The currently unemployed could earn a good reference, a new community, and a sense of meaning and purpose. The church could earn unimaginable benefits.
3. We must return to our roots. The United Methodist church is rooted in the lives of the poor. We were the church who would accept the people that no one else would accept. We were the church that spoke out against the evils that created and sustained poverty. We cried out against the evils of alcohol because the families of alcoholics were crippled by a lack of food and finances as money poured down his gullet. We screeched against labor conditions which left providers in the graves in their thirties.
Today our churches are solidly middle class and the social issues that tend to surface most often are social issues that effect our privileged existence. We don't seem to care what the minimum wage is.
As laity, we must reach out across the economic divide. One of my favorite families came to church after incessant bothering by an older neighbor. She was well to do and they struggled to make ends meet. But she insisted that those kids go to church and to church they go. Now, those kids go to visit her in the nursing home. She didn't start a charity to help the kids - she loved them and wanted the best for them.
4. Redefine Leadership
Why does leadership in the church revolve around service to a committee? Why do pastors get to do all the fun ministry? Young leaders in the church need to be put in instantly visible positions of leadership and service. They need to be in hospital rooms visiting the sick, outside of churches greeting new guests, and out in the streets serving food to the homeless in their own communities.
Young servants in the church need a good place to serve. As laity, it's our job to help them find a good and healthy fit.
-----------------------------------------------------
All the power rests in the hands of the laity.
God is calling all of us to move forward. This is a new day and the church will not be saved by those being paid to save the church. Our denomination will only thrive if the laity step forward and accept a new challenge.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
I've been journaling a lot this week. I don't have a computer with me - so I just use an internet cafe from time to time. My English ability is diminishing the longer I live overseas. It's really painful and I can sense that my use of my first language is less vivid and engaging than it used to be.
I feel that I should probably work on blogging more. When I'm back in Ukraine I might try to blog every day for 30 days straight. Part of me feels that my thoughts aren't important (which didn't seem to stop me from writing when I was in college!) and part of me feels that I need to write just to stay sharp.
For the first time, I read today of the "White Marches." After John Paul II had been shot, millions of Polish citizens dressed in white and rushed to the city-center of Krakow to pray for their Pope.
While many wide-eyed, uninformed Americans hope that the next Pope will be US born - I honestly can't imagine our people making such a show of affection for any current leader in the Catholic church in America. Karol Józef Wojtyła saved the Polish people in many ways. His election as Bishop saved the Catholic church in Eastern Europe. His bold actions helped many Christians embrace anew the Catholic Church.
Spiritual leadership is essential. As the United Methodist church moves toward General Conference, one piece of legislation has been given the unfortunate moniker of promoting a "United Methodist Pope." We have a tremendous number of bishops in the UMC, and with few exceptions, it seems that none of them are terribly effective at what they are called to do.
This isn't their fault. It's the fault of the system. It would be interesting see a chart that examined the number of days a Bishop spent in his or her Episcopal area compared to days spent outside of it. Most of our Bishops spend an incredible amount of time in the air. They move from meeting to meeting, from speaking engagement to conference, from office to mission trip. It would be interesting to see the above mentioned chart compared to growth in the Episcopal area they serve.
I would be willing to put forward a guess that the Bishops who spent the most time "on the ground" in their Episcopal area managed to grow the local churches most efficiently.
Every Bishop should be part of a church planting team in the Episcopal area they serve. They should feel the pavement under their feet and meet the people they are ministering with.
It seems to me that our most effective spiritual leaders are those with a compelling personal narrative. The Bishop who has overcome adversity, worked to begin new ministries, or fearlessly stood up for an unpopular cause tend to be the Bishops that can encourage clergy to rally to the cause of their call.
When electing new Bishops - and even in finding a possible "United Methodist Pope" we must look for men and women who have served God fearlessly and well - and not for a popular CEO personality with lots of Skymiles.
I feel that I should probably work on blogging more. When I'm back in Ukraine I might try to blog every day for 30 days straight. Part of me feels that my thoughts aren't important (which didn't seem to stop me from writing when I was in college!) and part of me feels that I need to write just to stay sharp.
For the first time, I read today of the "White Marches." After John Paul II had been shot, millions of Polish citizens dressed in white and rushed to the city-center of Krakow to pray for their Pope.
While many wide-eyed, uninformed Americans hope that the next Pope will be US born - I honestly can't imagine our people making such a show of affection for any current leader in the Catholic church in America. Karol Józef Wojtyła saved the Polish people in many ways. His election as Bishop saved the Catholic church in Eastern Europe. His bold actions helped many Christians embrace anew the Catholic Church.
Spiritual leadership is essential. As the United Methodist church moves toward General Conference, one piece of legislation has been given the unfortunate moniker of promoting a "United Methodist Pope." We have a tremendous number of bishops in the UMC, and with few exceptions, it seems that none of them are terribly effective at what they are called to do.
This isn't their fault. It's the fault of the system. It would be interesting see a chart that examined the number of days a Bishop spent in his or her Episcopal area compared to days spent outside of it. Most of our Bishops spend an incredible amount of time in the air. They move from meeting to meeting, from speaking engagement to conference, from office to mission trip. It would be interesting to see the above mentioned chart compared to growth in the Episcopal area they serve.
I would be willing to put forward a guess that the Bishops who spent the most time "on the ground" in their Episcopal area managed to grow the local churches most efficiently.
Every Bishop should be part of a church planting team in the Episcopal area they serve. They should feel the pavement under their feet and meet the people they are ministering with.
It seems to me that our most effective spiritual leaders are those with a compelling personal narrative. The Bishop who has overcome adversity, worked to begin new ministries, or fearlessly stood up for an unpopular cause tend to be the Bishops that can encourage clergy to rally to the cause of their call.
When electing new Bishops - and even in finding a possible "United Methodist Pope" we must look for men and women who have served God fearlessly and well - and not for a popular CEO personality with lots of Skymiles.
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