Weeping over Jerusalem

It is special to get to be in Jerusalem, but it often leaves me sad. First, just the history of conquests (so many in the name of some religion) and the centuries of rebuilding and more destruction and more rebuilding leave you wondering about all the violence and hatred people are capable of. And then there's the ever-present tension of all the faiths wanting the hottest real estate in religion, the temple mount. Finally, there also something about the sadness in the people of the streets that just kind of soaks in.

So, by the time we got to the Dominus Flavit Church on the Mount of Olives, I was more in the mind frame for the place than I realized. The Church, built in the shape of a teardrop, signifies Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. The reading was from Matthew 23 where Jesus said, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her young under her wings. But you would not."

Maybe I was just tired from all the walking we did today. But as we left there and walked down by the Garden of Gethsemane to the Church of the Agony (supposedly at the place where Jesus prayed and was arrested), I just wanted a Redeemer to show up and remove the sadness of the place. And believe me, I was longing for the kind of redeemer Judas was most likely hoping Jesus would turn out to be: a redeemer who was ready to use power and might to whip the place into shape.

Sometimes when you feel some of the brokenness of the world, you simply want it fixed. You don't want a plan, or good intentions, or promises, or a chance to demonstrate your faith. You just want the sick made well, and the lonely to laugh out the cackel of companionship. You want shalom delivered on a silver platter.

But it sure doesn't happen that way. Jesus walks the way of suffering and turns and asks "When are you going to figure it out?" (I think that quote is in there somewhere!:) And that's what I was feeling in the church of tears today.

What revived me for the rest of the pilgrimage, you ask? Surely you asked... A young woman, dressed in garments that indicated she was probably a novitiate for the Carmelite nuns, sat quietly in prayer throughout our time there. There it was, a juxtoposition of chaos and grace.

Down the hillside it dawned on me, I had the chaos, thinking about the chaotic evil of the world, and she had the grace, calmly placing life under God's control. I remembered a verse learned in childhood and suddenly realized for the first time that it has a much broader band of application: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Such is life in the hands of God.

How Could You Be Disappointed?

I know, "count your blessings." But I was disappointed when we got to the top of Mt. Nebo this morning and it was socked in with fog. Besides no astounding view, we couldn't even find Moses grave! The picture is from about a thousand feet down, as we went down the road toward the Jordan valley - desolate land, but still shepherds out there with their flocks of sheep.

We did go to Madaba and visit the church with the mosaic of Jerusalem, the earliest known map of the Holy Land. What I realized today was how I've framed my conception of the Holy Land from the political boundries of today. In the early days of Christian pilgrimages, Palestine included much of Jordan as well as what is now known as Israel and the West Bank. Holy sites and early churches were built at sites all over the land, including Madaba and Nebo.

Speaking of early Byzanine church ruins, I was surprised to find some at Bethany Beyond Jordan, the site many scholars say is where John the Baptist did his baptizing. The photo is a wide shot of the area. Under both shelters there are ancient ruins of churches, indicating early acceptace of this site as authentic. This site is just a few yards from the Jordan River. What impressed me here was the muddy ground, the sticky kind of mud that clings to your shoes. At one point I scraped over an inch off each sole. What a place to get baptized! If it had not just rained we probably wouldn't have known this. No wonder Naaman complained about having to bathe in the muddy old Jordan, it looks muddy and yucky.

In Jerusalem tonight. Listened to "The Holy City" as we rode in this evening and that experience always gets me. How could anyone be disappointed with that?

Winter in Jordan

It only snows in Jordan a couple of times a year, they say. Well, what are the odds…yes, we began the day in Amman with snow flurries. That finally changed to rain as we drove down to Petra. Then the sky cleared for us as we walked through the Siq (the narrow gorge you walk down to enter Petra). Then the fog moved in. And as we drove back into Amman, it was snow, snow, snow. The weather threw a lot at us, but the day was a homerun as far as I’m concerned.

I’d looked at Petra a lot on web sites, but none of the pics did it justice. In the middle of nowhere, a bedouin tribe called the Natabeins, built in the first century BC a trade city. The city structures are all gone, (due primarily to the great earthquake of 749 AD) but the tombs and funeral buildings they carved in the sandstone are amazing.

The hike through the Siq is about 1 ¾ miles. You could pay to ride a donkey or a donkey pulled cart, but we’d heard about how the animals are mistreated there and did not want to support that with our trade. Besides the hike was the best way to experience it, slowly.

The rain had made the colors in the rock stand out even more. But best part, as I’ve heard others say as well, was the last turn in the Siq when the magnificent “Treasury” façade came into view. The Treasury was all carved from one rock. Erosion and humans have defaced many of the mythological figures carved there, but still the craftsmanship is evident and impressive.

Waiting to see how long it snows tonight in order to set our itinerary for tomorrow. Either way, we will be going to Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked over into the “promised land.” I just realized, I’ve already seen more snow in Jordan in one day than I have in Sumter in five years. Who would have thought it.


(Note, this post was made for Jan 22 but the Arabic Google wouldn't let me post it, so it's here a day late.)

Primary Predictions on Issues at GC

What will be the most significant issue we deal with at General Conference in April? Will it be issues from the Ministry Study, the Report from the Council on Bishops setting the stage for Regional Conferences, our stance on homosexuality, finding a place to stay in Fort Worth, Judicial Council elections, authorizing a new hymnal, or what?

An important issue that really isn't on the table has been raised in some emails being circulated and commented on by several church leaders. It regards the changing make-up of the General Conference with the continuing increase of Central Conference delegates.

This year, the delegates from outside the US will compose 30% of the total, up from 20% in 2004. In 2012, the Methodists of the Ivory Coast will have about 58 delegates instead of the 2 they have for 2008. If the trend continues, by 2016 delegates from overseas could be a majority.

The sensitive, but critical issue behind the numbers is not representation, but cost. This year's GC is projected to be significantly overbudget, due in large part to the cost of transporting Central Conference delegates along with the cost of interpreters. As the numbers increase for future GC's, the cost will escalate. These are costs that will be apportioned among the US annual conferences, since very few of the Central Conference churches are able to pay any apportionments at all. Presently, there are no proposals to address such a looming financial crisis.

Yesterday I spoke to the Florence District pastors about General Conference issues. From their responses to the issues I outlined I had two observations. The first relates to the adage, "The only politics is local politics." In other words, really the only real thing people are interested in are the issues they perceive that will affect them. And in terms of GC it was: what decisions are going to affect apportionments and what decisions will affect the way pastors are deployed for ministry (are we going to change sacramental authority?)

Secondly, most pastors have little idea how Gen Conf gets its work done. After our lunch, several pastors expressed appreciation for learning how the legislative committees of GC operate as they deal with the petitions. I wonder how much such a lack of awareness about our process contributes to a feeling of "disconnect" between the local churches, pastors and the general church.

Finally, one pastor asked, "What is the biggest issue facing our church, and what will General Conference be doing about it?" My response: The biggest issue is to fulfill our mission, Making disicples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And General Conference will do very little about that directly. What GC will do is make decisions that will enable or hinder the local churches in fulfilling our mission, but ultimately the responsibility is on us.

Grandma Evangelism

Sometimes you think of the right thing to say, when the moment is over. Yesterday, on my way home from teaching about Need Oriented Evangelism I thought of the illustration that would have helped. It's one I've used in sermons and other classes.

I was trying to show the point that small churches don't have to think only in terms of "programs" to address people needs in their community. It works just fine when one person takes some initiative, or when "two or three gather in Christ's name" to be the church for someone else.

The church I served last, in the upstate, was a relocation and restart. A small congregation of about 50 moved from a declining mill village location to a new site a couple of miles away, but right in the middle of several growing sub-divisions. It was also right in the middle of several large established churches. The mostly elderly congregation had little to offer in terms of programs and classes, especially when residents could easily "shop" for what they wanted in the nearby churches.

What it did have was several Grandmas' with a desire to show God's love. When new residents would visit the church, the Grandmas would swoop in and connect with the children. They staffed the nursery, and told the parents, "You go worship while we take care of the kids." Many of the new residents were relocated to the area by their jobs, meaning the family grandparents were in other states. The substitute Grandmothers connected with the children, sometimes seeing them during the week - some even attending little league games.

With such connections in place, families began to join. It was only a trickle of one or two families at first. But those families soon brought new friends along with them. Within a couple of years there was a a solid base of members upon which to build. Now the church has about 500 in worship each week, so the evangelism of the Grandmas' keeps bearing fruit.

Needs Oriented Evangelism simply means that the discovered needs of "the stranger in our midst," "the least among us," and the one facing life without Christ trump the perceived needs of the church. Thus whatever church looses its life for Christ's sake, will gain it.

Baptism Reaffirmation and Need-Oriented Evangelism

This Sunday the lectionary takes us to Matthew's account of the baptism of Jesus. We started a few years ago having in the service the Congregation Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant on this Sunday. At the close of the service, people are invited to come to the font, and place their hands in the water to reaffirm their baptism. They can also take one of the smooth stones from the font, to carry with them as a reminder of the gift of God's covenant.

Last year I had two or three people come to me after the service saying how meaningful it was. A couple of them asked why we haven't done this before, and I'm pretty sure they had been at previous reaffirmations. My point is, it's all in God's timing. Previously they weren't at a point in their journey where baptismal reaffirmation meant something to them. But that year, the message of God's love, the symbolism of cleansing and rebirth, or the significance of forgiveness and a covenantal life touched their point of need and yearning.

We all need to remember this, so we don't grow weary in well doing. The best apple pie ever cooked means little to someone with no appetite. The best gift of all, a relationship with Christ, will go untouched by those so full of this life that there's no room for anything else.

Tomorrow after the worship services I'll drive to Clover to lead a workshop on Need-Oriented Evangelism (N-OE). People have needs. How do we identify and connect with their needs as a portal for a) demonstrating God's love through our service, b) establishing a relationship, and c), introducing them to a life of discipleship in Christ? (There's my workshop in a nutshell!)

The bias of N-OE, which basically comes out of Natural Church Development, is programmatic. The quick fix is to do some sort of survey of the community to discover the dominant common need (child care? after-school programs? divorce recovery? etc.?) and then to create a program administered by the church which will lure the targeted population in.

The idea is that those who respond to the program will thus appreciate what the church does, and join. (I've noticed there is little attention given to what to do if the public responds. How will they be introduced to the life of the community of faith, and how will they learn what it means to give one's-self over to a life in relationship with Christ?)

This is a large church orientation which can be frustrating to churches with an average church worship attendance of about 200 or less. Churches of that size can muster the resources to do the necessary program, but it takes a significant commitment of the energy in the congregation to make it happen. Success is not guaranteed. Thus if it doesn't work, doesn't bring in new people, a failure mentality sets in and provides a basis for that self-defeating comment, "We've tried that before."

For a large church, the commitment to a new program calls for a much smaller percentage of their resources (people and money). So if it doesn't work out, they can more easily chalk it up to experience and move on to the next promising opportunity.

How does all this tie in with baptismal reaffirmation, you may ask? We really don't need programs to do N-OE if we are faithful to living out our baptismal covenant. Baptism commissions us to serve in Christ's name. On that basis, church members can develop a sensitivity to the needs of others and then a) respond to them by demonstrating the love of God through service, b) establish a relationship with them, and c) introduce them to a life of discipleship in Christ, with or without the church having an official program for it. Amazing, isn't it?

I sometimes wonder if the purpose of church programs is to keep us busy and give us the feeling we're doing something while we avoid personal engagement in the life of discipleship. So, to not grow weary in well-doing, I will pray that this Sunday will be God's time for another someone in the fellowship to discover their baptismal calling, and to say, this is meaningful and I want to help make a difference, and maybe there's a need God's calling me to pay attention to, and....well, guess that's why we call Him the Living Water.

Support Systems

Spent some time this week working on a way to connect some people with each other, all of whom are going through significant personal change. I want them to have the opportunity to support each other. Then spent time on the phone with a person in crisis across the state. In response to my questions, it was clear there was no support system of friends, and the person really wanted a recommendation of someone just to talk with.

So, here's a reminder to me and anyone who reads this. Have you worked on your own support system of friends lately? Called to check on them, or just to chat a minute? If you have a network of people you can call on, I know a lot of people who would consider you wealthy beyond measure.

Epiphany

T.S. Eliot’s famous poem, The Waste Land, begins with the words, “April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire.” He was wrong. January is crueler by far. It mixes hope with reality, a more volatile combination....

The realities of January convict us with our limitations and failures. The hopes of January convict us with what could be. That is a powerful combination, January or anytime, because together they demand we admit our need of a Savior. And suddenly, Bethlehem’s famous son is insufficient as an infant in a manger.

We need the Son of God, who boldly strides through our darkened and doubting hearts with redemption and real transformation in his hands. We need the divine Word-made-flesh to upgrade our earth-bound hopes with visions of the earth receiving its king. Babies are disarmingly cute and welcome us close into the warmth of love. But babies cannot stand in the gap for us, protect us from that which would undo us, direct us in the fray of conflict, or sacrifice on our behalf.

No wonder the ancient Church established the season of Epiphany following Christmastide. Epiphany means to “show forth” and re-tells the gospel stories in which the divine nature of Jesus shines through His humanity. In this Jesus of Nazareth, we see revealed the living God of purity, justice, and grace, who calls us to worship him in spirit and in truth....

Full article posted at my Checked Luggage blog here.

Convincing others we really care.

Yesterday afternoon I participated in an event at the county courthouse. One of Trinity's members, Jack Howle, was being installed as the Chief Public Defender for the 3rd Judicial Circuit. Last year our state legislature passed the Indigent Defense Act of 2007 to coordinate and standardize the public defender offices across the state, and to give the give the public defenders a more equitable status with the solicitor's office. Our own Rep. Murrell Smith was instrumental in getting it passed. It was a needed reform of the system and I understand it has become a model for other states.

Jack was the right man for the job and I felt honored to bring the invocation and benediction. Jack has been the Chief Public Defender in Sumter for ten years and has many more years experience in the field. He is calm and consistent and has a quiet determination to do what is right. Every Tuesday he is at my early morning men's Bible study and is very active in our church. Those who need the services of a public defender are fortunate to have such a dedicated and experienced attorney who sees his work as a call to ministry through his baptism.

Jack's comments after the swearing in acknowledged family and colleagues and the work of the public defenders office. What stuck with me were some of his closing words when he said that the general public often has a erroneous and negative view of the people who must rely on public defenders. Jack said that they are simply people for whom the circumstances and choices of their lives have put them in a position to depend on the expertise of others they cannot afford. "The most difficult part of this job," he said, "is convincing our clients that we really do care about them."

Jack, of course, was talking about the public defender's role, but I immediately thought about the role of the church. How good a job have we done convincing people that we really care about them? It doesn't matter to them if we can share the way of salvation if they perceive that we really don't care about them. What's the old saying? No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

Jesus is not a commodity that we can package, market and distribute to others. Jesus is known in a relationship of grace that is passed from heart to heart. Instead of evangelism and church growth programs, maybe we need to back up and re-train ourselves on being truly caring people. Perhaps we need to pray for hearts of compassion, and then the ability to break apart the stereotypes of the church so that the world can see through us that God indeeds cares. To what lengths are we willing to go to convince others that because of Christ, we actually, really, do care about them?

Broken Things

Been a busy week, this first week of 2008, and with the writers on strike I've been hesitant to cross the picket line and make a post. Actually, writing just hasn't been on my mind. In addition to the usual first of year administrative stuff, seems I've spend a considerable amount of time listening to people dealing with significant brokenness in their lives. Broken health, broken friendships, broken relationshps, broken hearts. Talking with a friend this evening about brokenness in our lives I remembered an article I wrote several years ago about Broken Things, which I've posted in its entirety on my Checked Luggage blog. It includes this paragraph:

On any given Sunday the congregation is full of people who are privately holding on to broken things in their lives. They may be struggling with conflicts at home, pressures at work, disappointments in themselves, or uncertainty about their world and their future. We know it’s OK to admit physical broken-ness and ask for prayers. But to place any other type of broken-ness in the box feels like admitting weakness or failure – things that reveal just how human we are.

It is so tough to admit to others that we don't have it all together. And we expend so much energy keeping up the mask of that "all togetherness" with each other. How courageous, how beautiful and how humbling it is when someone says, "I've got something I need to talk about," and they trust you with their wounds.

Sadly, too many times we even try to keep our brokenness from God. But remember what God told Paul when Paul prayed for his "thorn in the flesh" to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (1 Cor 12:9)

God knows our brokenness. In becoming one with our human nature, Christ took on our woundedness, even as we are wounded. And here's the question, If God's strength is made perfect in our weakness, then why are we so determined to hide our weaknesses, and why do we work so hard to portray ourselves as people (and churches) of great strength? I guess we still think it's all about us, when it really is all about God.