Outside the Boxes

Letting Go …

2011-01-09T21:27:00.001-08:00

Hi there:

After several weeks of discernment, I've decided it's time for me to let go of my blog.

I've lived too much of my life "out there" for the world to see. I need a little time to pull within and cultivate more depth on my own spiritual journey.

I have loved the opportunity to communicate with your regularly over these past weeks/month/years. I'll miss that.

Thank you so much for inviting me into your home and hearts. May God's peace be with you this day and always.

Peace,

Craig

One More Week…

2011-01-02T22:25:00.001-08:00

Hi there!

I'm glad to see you stop back by. I wish I could tell you that I've figured out exactly what it is that I want to do with my blog in 2011. The fact is I'm not quite there yet. I still need a little time to explore my options. I'll do my best to get started again a week from today (Monday, January 10). In the meantime, be good to yourself and have a GREAT start to the new year!

Grace & Peace,

Craig

Taking a Break

2010-11-24T23:15:00.001-08:00

As I sat down yesterday morning to write, I realized just how tired I have become. I have been writing blog entries six days a week and sermons on the seventh day for quite some time. It's now time for me to take a little break from my daily writing.

I want to take some time this Advent season to think about ways I might continue my sharing in some form via the Internet. I'll post something on New Year's Day to let you know where I'm at in my discernment process. In the meantime, I want to thank you for taking the time to check in with my blog. I hope our time together has been helpful.

May you have a blessed Advent season and a very Merry Christmas!

Peace,

Craig

Back Up Plans

2010-11-23T08:07:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 35-36

When I was a senior in high school, I thought I had my future all planned. I thought I would graduate from high school, attend Whitworth College (a private Presbyterian college that was just 20 miles from home), get an degree in elementary education, and spend my career teaching near home. After all, no one in my immediate family had ever left the area. I figured I had no reason to leave either.

For several months I relaxed because I knew I had a plan in place for the future.

In March of that year I participated in a piano competition in nearby Spokane. The adjudicator was a music professor from Pacific Lutheran Unviersity, a private Lutheran university across state. He liked my playing and asked if I could make him a tape before he left town in a few days. I did. "I'll see if I can get you a full ride to attend the college where I teach," the professor said. He didn't quite get me a full ride, but he did get me a scholarship that paid for over half of my college expenses.

I was shocked the first few days after all of this unfolded. All of the assumptions I had made about how the world was supposed to work – and what my role in the world would be – were shattered. I ended up moving 6 hours from home, getting a degree first in secondary education and then theology, and eventually moving to far off places like Denver and Los Angeles.

I learned an important lesson about life through all of this: things don't always unfold in the ways you might accept. The quality of one's life is determined by how you adapt to those changes.

In today's reading from Numbers, we are reminded the Israelites had initially been introduced to a set of Laws that included the teaching that if a person killed someone then that person's life would be taken as well. Everything seemed cut and dried.

Over time, however, they realized things were not quite so black and white. There were instances where someone took a life accidentally. It would be inappropriate to treat them like those who had intentionally taken a life: hence the need for asylum-cities where those who had taken a life accidentally could live.

That evolution in the Law was yet another reminder that life doesn't always unfold in the ways we expect. Often, we need back up plans to help us deal with emerging circumstances.

As you step back and look at your life today, I would ask, "How flexible are you? Are you someone who creates a plan for how life is to unfold and then rigidly adheres to that plan; or are you someone who can do what the Israelites did at God's urging – adapt to unfolding circumstances?"

Til next time …

Perspectives

2010-11-22T07:55:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 32-34

When I was in seminary, one of my professors was a member of the Lakota nation who had been ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The professor, Dr. George Tinker, was a valuable resource to those of us from middle-class, European American roots because he helped us see things in surprising new ways. This was particularly true in how he helped us read Scripture in new ways.

Take a passage like today's from the book of Numbers. Most of us in seminary had grown up considering just one side of the story as portrayed in the passage. We saw the distribution of land, for instance, as an exciting time to be celebrated. "After all," we thought, "the Israelites had been traveling for years in the desert (and had already been geographically displaced in Egypt for hundreds of years before that!)" - so we simply assumed now it was their time to get their due.

"Now wait a minute," Dr. Tinker would say, "I can understand one group of people celebrating the new land they were about to receive. But what about those indigenous people who were already living on the land? Don't forget that what was perceived of as one people's gain was also a HUGE loss for another group of people."

Dr. Tinker went on to note that one of the challenges Christian communities have in reaching out to many Native America peoples is that many of the Native Americans relate more to the experience of the displaced people rather than they do to the victorious group that moved in.

Ever since he challenged us with that awareness, I have been much more cognizant of remembering there is always more than just one perspective on any topic that comes before us: the challenge for us it to take the time (and have the humility) to remember that.

Perhaps there is a situation in your own life where you have been "reading" the events in one particular way and feeling justified in resting in one particular conclusion. While such a sense of certainty can be comforting to an individual from her or his particular point of reference, perhaps that perspective is leaving another aspect of the human experience out. As you seek to broaden the conclusions in which you rest, take comfort knowing that we are not alone as we broaden our perspectives; such efforts ultimately bring us closer to the One who can see it all.

Til next time …

Giving Back

2010-11-20T08:24:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 30-31

One of the few times that many of us are asked to sit down and think about what we give back to God is during the annual stewardship drive that's held in our faith communities each year. At that time, many of us prayerfully spend time considering what portion of our blessings we would like to devote to the various ministries being done in God's name.

Today's reading from Numbers got me thinking about what it would have been like to stop and think about stewardship in the context of our daily lives as well. In the passage from Numbers, for instance, the Israelites were carefully instructed what to give from their "proceeds" after their conflict with the Midians.

That story got me to thinking about what it would mean to be more intentional about giving back to God a portion of the proceeds that appear unexpectedly in the middle of our own lives.

What would it mean, for instance, if work and/or school was unexpectedly cancelled for the day due to bad weather - giving me a "free day off". How might it look to devote a portion of that day to cultivating my relationship with God and God's creatures?

What would it mean, for instance, if I won the lottery or was informed of an unexpected inheritance I received from a departed loved one? Would I keep it all for myself, or would I return a portion of the proceeds to something that strengthens the presence of God in the world?

What would it mean, for instance, if I developed a new skill or talent? Would I keep the mastery only to myself, or would I find a way to use that talent to give something back to others?

All of these questions invite me to think about stewardship in a new way – a way that transforms stewardship from being something we think about once a year to something we think about each and every day of the year!

As you go forth into you day today, keep your eyes open to those resources that come into your life and consider ways that you could return a portion of those blessings to God.

Til next time …

Flexibility

2010-11-19T07:50:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 27-29

There are lots of folks out there who – when talking about God – suggest that one of God's most important qualities is that God is unchanging. There is a popular phrase, for instance, that says, "God: the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

While there are some references in the sacred readings of our faith that can be interpreted to suggest such a belief, there are certainly other passages that call such a belief into question. Today's passage from Numbers provides a good example of one such passage.

There was a law established among the Israelites that suggested only a man's son (preferably the eldest) could inherit property. The implication behind that Law was that it was established by God's instruction. In today's passage, however, we hear the story of Zelophehad's daughters who come to came to Moses and Eleazar (the priest) and informed them that since their father died without male heirs they wanted to inherit his property.

Such a request would require change and flexibility.

Moses and Eleazar knew that such a change in the Law would require a higher authority – so the story tells us they took the women's appear directly to God.

Guess what happened?

We are told that God said: "Zelphehad's daughers are right. Give them land as an inheritance among their father's relatives. Give them their father's inheritance."

That story provides an important lesson for those who call themselves followers of God (be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or others). If God is flexible and can work with others to affect the best possible outcome, then shouldn't we be as well.

I would encourage you to carry this story with you in your hearts today. If you find yourself in a situation where your first tendency is to appeal to a rigid and/or dogmatic way of being, remember the story and God's flexibility and entertain the possibility that perhaps you could be flexible too.

Til next time …

How We Use Things

2010-11-18T08:22:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 24-26

Early in life I learned an important lesson: almost anything in life has the potential to be used for good or bad. It's up to the individual – through his or her set of choice – to decide whether something will be used for "good" or "bad".

The most obvious example of this principle is a knife.

A knife can be used to slice open a loaf of freshly baked bread and spread butter on a piece of bread. That's a good thing. In the hands of another, however, that same knife could be used to maim or kill one of God's creatures. That's a bad thing.

It all depends on how that knife is used.

There's a part of today's reading from Numbers in which this lesson is evident.

In today's passage we hear the story of Phineas. We first hear about Phineas after many of the Israelites have participated in what Eugene Peterson paraphrased as an orgy that was a part of the worship of the god Baal Peor. To make matters worse, once the leaders were confronted about their behavior, one of the Israelites – a man by the name of Zimri – continued to flaunt his behavior in front of the group with a Midianite woman named Cozbi. Phineas was the one in the story who punished Zimri and Cozbi by killing them. Within the context of the story, Phineas was seen as the one who helped call Israel to a sense of faithfulness and fidelity to God.

Fast forward several thousand years to the United States. A white supremacist group that is part of the larger Christian Identity movement (sic!) named itself Phineas Priesthood. Among other things, the group's goal was to put an end to those who participated in interracial relationships through acts of intimidation and violence.

Sadly founders of the group took a piece of our sacred writings that was originally used to teach faithfulness and fidelity and used it to justify acts of violence against those they perceived of as different.

I wish I could say this was the only time our sacred writings were used to justify such offensive behaviors. Sadly it's not. There are thousands of examples where our sacred writings have been used to perpetuate VERY bad things.

All of this reminds me of the importance of checking in with ourselves about how we are using resources in our life. Today, I would invite you to consider if there is some piece of your life that started out as a positive thing – a thing meant to motivate or inspire you to live in right relationship with God and others has become twisted and is now being used as a tool to intimidate or devalue others.

Til next time …

Doing the Right Thing

2010-11-17T08:34:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 21-23

As I read about the encounter between Balak and Balaam today I couldn't help but chuckle and remember a conversation I had back in high school with a former classmate. I should probably begin by clarifying what story about Balak and Balaam I am referring to. I'm referring to the one where Balak got ticked off at Balaam because he asked Balaam to reveal the message God gave Balaam - and Balak didn't like the message God gave Balaam.

When I was in high school, I had a conversation with a Mormon friend one day about the differences between our faiths. I had been friends with Christopher for quite a while so the conversation was good natured for the most part. After listing some of the more superficial differences, Christopher finally got around to naming one of the more obvious differences. He said something like, "And another thing – you guys pay your preachers so that they'll say what you want them to. We don't pay our leaders so they speak the truth."

I remember being taken aback by Christopher's accusation. That's because I remembered lots of times when my pastor said things that I/we did not want to hear but needed to be said. Over the years, however, I've remembered that conversation many times. And I realize there CAN be a temptation for those of us who are in ministry to do what Christopher said – make our first priority pleasing the people who pay our salaries and not paying attention to God's leading.

"After all," some might cynically observe, "you get paid the same whether you take risks or play it safe. Why NOT play it safe?"

That's a question every spiritual leader must answer for him or herself. There certainly are many out there who would say, "Come to think of it, you're right. Why NOT play it safe?" I can't answer for everyone, but all I can say is this. There is no worse feeling in the world than knowing you've ignored the leading of the Spirit in order to settle for the path of least resistance. Nor is there, conversely, a better feeling in the world knowing that (in spite of the short-term trials one faces) that you are ushering in an area of spiritual health and vitality in the world. The only question is whether or not you'll find the patience, the strength and the courage to get from Point A (the status quo) to Point B (the future to which God is calling us).

Perhaps there is a situation in your life where you are struggling to know what to do: take the path of least resistance, or do the right thing. If that's the case, remember the example of Balaam and draw strength from it. Remember that you may not always be popular with everyone for doing the right thing, but you will have the joy of being in right relationship with the One who matters most.

Til next time …

Understanding the Incomprehensible?

2010-11-16T08:11:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 18-20

One of the greatest spiritual challenges I believe we face as human beings is coming to terms with the fact that we are never going to understand why things "work" the way they do.

Rather than face this reality, many folks feel compelled to create reasons for why things happen the way they do. And if they can't arrive at a satisfactory explanation themselves, they often use the standard: "Well, it's a part of God's plan and we can't question it."

Take today's story from Numbers, for example. The author(s) of today's passage were faced with a specific historical circumstance: Moses and Aaron – the individuals who led the Israelites out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land – failed to live long enough to get to the Promised Land themselves. This reality was a little embarrassing to live with. So in communicating their story, they identify the reason why Moses and Aaron failed to make it to the Promised Land. It was because of Moses and Aaron's insolence at Meribah.

For years I wrestled with the fairness of this situation. I couldn't understand why these two faithful men – both of whom had committed FAR larger screw ups before (i.e. Aaron participation in the creation of the Golden Calf and Moses' destruction of the first set of the Ten Commandments) – were being penalized in such a HUGE way for one simply act of indiscretion.

When I was younger I even worried that if God punished these men so harshly for their understandable mistake that I was REALLY in for it given my own propensity toward much bigger glitches (at least they seemed much bigger in my mind since I made them).

Eventually, I came to realize that a huge part of our human experience consists in trying to make sense out of the incomprehensible. We have to create, for instance, a reason why a young neighbor boy was killed in a traffic accident, or why our aunt was stricken with Alzheimer's, or why our spouse can find a job for the life of him/her!

While the creation of such answers can help in the short term, I've found that over longer periods of time those answers can eat away at our soul. They can contribute to a simmering rage that eventually gets aimed in God's direction – the One whom we are often told is "responsible" for all that happens.

As you negotiate the series of challenges before you today, pay attention to the interpretive lens you put on. When you find a part of yourself trying to make sense out of some incomprehensible occurrence, try something new. Instead of asking the question "Why did God allow this to happen?" instead ask yourself, "Where is God in the midst of this?" That shift in perception might take your relationship with God to new places today.

Til next time …

Taking Risks for Others

2010-11-15T08:13:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 15-17

Lots of my loved ones who have known me for most of my life tell me I'm unusual because I have the ability to live life without regret. "When you see something you want," more than one loved one has been known to observe, "you go for it!"

I guess I can see what they mean.

When I was in my late twenties and interested in getting a firsthand experience of politics, for instance, I quit my job as an educator and ran as an unknown for the state house of representatives. When I was thirty-one and finally opened myself up for the first time to a call to ministry; I packed my bags, moved 1,700 miles away, and started seminary – without having a clue about how I would pay for it. And when I received a call to uproot my life and family to serve a church 1,200 miles away in Los Angeles; I did that too.

Let's just say I'm not someone who is intimidated by the thought of taking a risk.

In fact, if I were to step back and take an assessment of my life – there is only one thing that I would have LOVED to do in life that I haven't done in life.

That one thing?

Being a parent.

I can't imagine a more enriching experience to go through than being a parent. If I were to die today, that would be the only regret I would have about my life.

When I told one of my friends this, my friend made a wise comment. My friend said, "You may not have had the opportunity to parent in a traditional sense. But look at your parish ministry. You get to encourage, support, and nurture not one child – but a whole group of God's children. So don't feel too bad!"

That comment helped a little. Ever since then, I've started paying more attention to the parallels to the roles of parent and pastor. Today's story from Numbers provided me with another parallel to add to my list. In the culminating chapter of today's reading, we hear a story about how God was angry at a group of Israelites for complaining about their situation. As a result, God unleashed a plague on the group that was intended to wipe them out.

Now anyone in their right mind in a position of leadership would have run 100 miles an hour in the opposite direction of the congregation in order to reach safety. No one would want to put their life at risk defending the people who – by all accounts – had brought this upon themselves!!

Well, perhaps I should say no one in their right mind EXCEPT a parent of someone in the group or someone in a pastoral role to the group. Sure enough Aaron (cast in role of pastor) put his own life at risk when he grabbed the censer and ran into the middle of the congregation in order to stop the plague. Thanks be to God for loving parents and pastors who do such remarkable things in order to look out for the wellbeing of God's children in their care.

You may not have biological children of your own or have the word "Reverend" or "Pastor" in front of your name, but chances are a piece of your call is to do similar things: take a risk in order to defend the safety and wellbeing of others. If you find yourself in such a moment, resist the urge to complain and instead celebrate the situation as an opportunity to be an instrument that helps others discover God's all-consuming love for them.

Til next time …

Breaking the Cycle

2010-11-13T09:05:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 12-14

For many years now, I have looked up to Moses as a spiritual guide and mentor. There have been lots of reasons for that. For one reason, I can totally relate to how Moses responded to God's call to speak on God's behalf. Moses responded by resisting that call since he didn't feel up to the task. Another reason I can relate is that Moses was awfully impulsive. His act of violence against the Egyptian because of his mistreatment of the slave was a good example of that. The most important lesson Moses taught me in my ministry was that it doesn't matter how important you (or others) think you are – chances are you'll never get to cross over into the Promised Land. Good leaders all pass the torch to the next individual.

As I read today's passage from Numbers, I realized there was yet another thing that Moses can teach me – if I'm open to the learning. The new lesson is this: often, it is up to the individual who may feel wronged in a situation to break the cycle of blaming and set things right (if and when that is possible).

Today's passage began, for instance, with Miriam and Aaron complaining that Moses was getting preferential treatment from God. This ticked God off and caused God to lash out against Miriam and Aaron. And yet who was it who came to Miriam and Aaron's defense? That's right. Moses.

And later in the reading, we are told that the Israelites were vehemently complaining against God. This was the same group of people that had just threatened to pick a new leader. And how did Moses respond to the people? He responded by defending them to God.

In each instance, Moses understood that an essential part of being a faithful person is breaking the cycle of animosity – and being an agent of reconciliation in order to set things right. That's an important lesson for me to hear this week.

I wonder today if there might be a situation in your life where you feel wronged in some fashion: a circumstance where you feel totally justified in lashing out against another. If you have some a place in your life, take a deep breath and remember Moses' example. By spiritually grounding yourself in God's love and grace, you can break the cycle of verbal and spiritual violence and help get things back on track by doing nothing other than simply adjusting your attitude.

Til next time …

Asking for Help

2010-11-12T07:35:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 9-11

As those of you who have read my blog for some time know, one of my favorite topics is "leadership". It's something in which I've been interested since I was in elementary school.

When I use the word "leadership", I've noticed that some folks treat the topic as if it is just one monolithic bloc. It's not. The concept of leadership actually contains many smaller components within it. One aspect of leadership, for instance, involves a person's ability to inspire others. Another aspect has to do with administering things. Still another dimension involves management. There are so many components involved that it's impossible for a "good leader" to master each aspect.

Like most leaders I have some aspects of leadership that I'm good at and other aspects that I'm not. One of the areas that I consistently struggle with involves my ability to delegate. I still have some old tapes in my head that suggest a "good leader" is someone who does all the work him or herself.

Because of that, I sometimes find myself in the same place that Moses found himself in today's reading: completely overwhelmed. When the Israelites got sick of eating manna every day and started complaining, and God heard those complaints and started to get ticked off – Moses reached the same breaking point that I sometimes have found myself. Moses cried out, "So why dump the responsibility of this people on me?!"

As soon as Moses uttered those words, guess what happened.

God sent help in the form of seventy persons to assist Moses.

In that moment of the story, I am reminded about a basic truth that I keep forgetting in life. When we feel completely overwhelmed and frustrated, all we have to do is ask for help. Such help may not appear instantly. More often than not, however, that help materializes. The hardest part in the entire process is finding the courage to ask for help.

Maybe you are in a place in your life where you feel totally overwhelmed. Perhaps you've been trying to shoulder all of the burdens alone. If that's the case; remember today's story, take a risk, and ask for help. You never know. That much needed help just might appear!

Til next time …

Offerings

2010-11-11T09:53:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 6-8

Today's passage contained a very detailed list of what each leader decided to present in the process of dedicating the Altar. Nahshon, for instance, decided to bring offerings that ranged from a silver plate weighing 3-1/4 pounds to a young bull. The other eleven leaders brought gifts that were very similar.

The passage got me to thinking about what it is that I would bring in order to participate in that process of dedication.

As I thought about this, I realized that my contribution wouldn't be a material good like a silver plate or a young bull (though some have accused me of offering up some bull at times); my offering would be an attitudinal one. Here's the contribution I would make.

As someone who regularly participates in Co-Dependents Anonymous, the very First Step challenges me to hold onto the following awareness: "I am powerless over others" and that "my life has become unmanageable." On some days, that can be a tremendously challenging admission to make – for I feel that I am on top of the world and fully capable of managing things, thank you very much! On other days, I feel tremendously beaten down and am more than happy to surrender my illusions of control to God.

Over the last year, with God's help, I have grown tremendously in my willingness to make that admission each day. That is a good thing – because in this society so many things send us the message that the sign of a "good leader" is "being in control". The longer I live – and the more time I spend in ministry – I realize I have to reject those pressures. There are so many variables beyond my control. To fail to acknowledge this would be unreasonable. While the notion of having things beyond my control used to scare the soup out of me, today – at least at this very moment – I feel like I can let go of some of the outcomes before me and trust in the transformative presence of God to see things through.

So if I were asked to participate in that process of presentation that is what I would bring: the honest admission that I am powerless over others and that my life has become unmanageable. That is my gift.

Today I invite you to think about what it is that you would present to God. Have fun exploring that question!

Til next time …l

Being Direct

2010-11-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 3-5

I was raised in a wonderful household who – let's face it – had it quirks (just like every other household). One of the things my father (who was of Norwegian descent) and mother (who was of German descent) taught me very subtly was that if I had an issue with someone I should never be too direct. I should always begin by dropping hints to the other person. I should never tell the other person exactly what's wrong. That was considered rude! Instead, I should be patient and allow time for the other person to pick up on the hint I dropped and then make the necessary changes to right the situation. That's how life was supposed to work.

If I loaned someone some money, for instance, and they forgot to pay me back; the next time I was around the person I could say something like, "Do you want to grab a burger at Red Robin's. Oh, I would love to but money is really tight right now so I guess I'll have to take a rain check."

The other person was expected to make the connection between my statement and the fact that they forgot to repay me. Then the other party would repay me.

While I know my parents' intentions were good, their way of being has gotten me in trouble more times that I can count. It also helped make each of their four kids prone toward passive aggressiveness. This is a problem I'm still working hard to rectify 25 years after leaving their home.

So where do many folks like my parents pick up this approach to problem solving?

One of the sources would be in passages like today's from Numbers. In that passage we are given a long set of instructions that explains how a man (and yes, the passage only addresses situations involving a wronged man!) is supposed to come to terms with his suspicion that his wife has cheated on him.

In a healthy relationship, the individual would ask his or her spouse (or perhaps another party who is involved) what happened. While there is a chance your spouse may lie, at least you have put responsibility for truth telling where it belongs: with the involved parties.

Instead of taking such a direct approach, however, today's passage advocates for a ritual that is expected to reveal the truth for the parties involved.

All of this makes me wonder where you are at with all of this. Are you someone who is able to directly engage issues and deal with the concerns at hand, or are you someone who stands back and hopes to influence outcomes indirectly? Instead answering that question in your mind, watch yourself throughout the course of the day. Let your actions today answer the question for you.

Til next time …

Counting

2010-11-09T07:18:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Numbers 1 & 2

Each faith community I've been part of has its own unique practices. Some of these practices are easily understood; others are not. The challenge for those folks who arrive in these faith communities (both laypeople and clergy) is to decide which of the practices are worth trying to understand and which practices are not.

Let me give you an example of one situation I ran into years ago in one of the faith communities I was a part of. In this particular church there was a tradition of taking two separate counts of folks who were at church on a given Sunday. One count was for the adults, and one count was for the children.

When I first learned of this practice, I thought it was EXTREMELY odd. They didn't separate the money the children put into the offering plates when they counted the offering, I wondered, so why would they separate out the children from the adults in their attendance count?

I sat with my question for several months and tried coming up with my own answer to the question. "Maybe they do that in order to help them complete the end of the year denominational reports that ask for demographic information regarding the composition of the faith community," I thought to myself. "Or perhaps they are trying to build a case for increasing next year's youth budget by tracking the number of youth," I reasoned. When I finally got around to asking the sensitive question, the answer I was given was that it had simply always been done that way. They weren't about to change it.

The whole time I was part of the community that practice made me VERY sad.

Why?

Because it sent a message that the youth of the community were not as important as the adults. It played into the notion that if you want to know how many people were REALLY there, you shouldn't include the children – or, at the very least, you should put a hyphen next to the grand total and warn folks that the number included children. Yikes!

I was reminded of this experience when I read today's opening chapters from the Book of Numbers. That's because much of the opening words had to do with tallying the number of Israelites in various tribes/communities. What struck me was how limited the scope of their counting process was. "The sum total of the People of Israel," the passage specified, "twenty years old and over who were able to fight in the army, county by ancestral family, was 603,550. The Levites, however, were not counted by their ancestral family along with the others."

If someone was asked how many Israelites there were, they would have been told 603,550. That count would have sent the message that women, children, the differently abled who were not able to fight, and Levites – among others – were not counted/included. How sad.

Sadly there are lots of ways in which individuals are still not counted today. When most communities count the number of married couples, for instance, they don't include same-gendered couples. And when many communities list their population, they typically overlook many of the homeless individuals in their count of the population. The list of those who don't "count" could go on for quite a while.

Today, I would encourage you to open your eyes to the way you move through the world. Pay close attention to those that you count/see (i.e. those who matter) and those that you don't.

Til next time …

Remembering When

2010-11-08T07:27:00.001-08:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 26-27

When I was younger, I had a habit of moving quickly from one drama to another without giving much thought to what had happened before. If I had a big test in chemistry coming up, for instance, I would pour all of my energy into preparing for the test. When I finished the chemistry test, I would realize I needed to memorize a piece of music for my next piano lesson - so I would spend lots of time memorizing the piece. When I finished memorizing the piano piece, I would recall that I needed to read a novel for my sophomore literature class so I would disappear from the world for a while until I had completed the novel.

That way of being was fairly constant for me during my early years as I constantly moved from one drama to the next.

Over time, however, I began to develop a new approach toward life: one that had two parts to it that had previously been missing.

First, I eventually became more proactive and began to anticipate things that were coming up and prepare for them so they weren't crises by the time I got around to them. Second, I began to take a little time when I was feeling overwhelmed and totally inadequate to remember those times I had made it through circumstance I thought were beyond me. When I was reading the novel at the last minute, for instance, I would remind myself that I got an A- on the big chemistry test. That memory would increase my confidence and help me remember that I DID have what it takes to make it through.

Today's passage reminded me of that shift in my approach toward life. In today's passage - as the Israelites are being informed about the series of expectations that were laid out for them – there's a moment when we are told God reminds them what they had already made it through as a way of encouraging them. "I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians." That statement reminded the Israelites that – no matter how challenging the circumstances before them were – they would be okay.

As you face the myriad of challenges before you, I would encourage you to find time today and remember a challenging time in your life where you particularly felt God's presence and support. Hold on to that memory tightly and use it to give you confidence - knowing that you have what it takes to make it through!

Til next time …

Mileposts

2010-11-06T07:42:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 24-25

I'm usually someone who goes barreling through life at full speed. I rarely take opportunities to stop, look back, and reflect on what's happened between Point A and Point B. In fact, in my entire life I've probably done that just twice: on the occasion of my 10^th high school reunion and on the occasion of my 25^th high school reunion. Other than that, I've pretty much kept my nose to the grindstone and focused on either what's currently happening or what lies ahead.

Today's passage from Leviticus presents quite a challenge for people like me because it suggests that both the individual and community organize their lives in recognizable periods of seven years. That's especially true when it comes to major things like purchasing land and acquiring help. And not only is the individual supposed to keep track of seven year periods, the individual is also supposed to keep track of how many seven year periods have gone by – for on the passage of the seventh collection of seven-year periods the community is supposed to declare a year of Jubilee! The Jubilee represents a time of renewal and return for individuals throughout the community.

I can certainly see the wisdom in organizing one's life around identifiable blocks of time and taking the time to evaluate one's life in relation to such periods of time. It's just hard for me to slow down and actually do it.

As I think ahead to significant events that will be happening in the next couple of months, I realize there are some wonderful mileposts ahead. On Wednesday, for instance, our oldest dog Biggie will turn 7; on the 29^th of this month, I will mark the 9^th anniversary of when Mike and I met; and on January 25, I will observe the seventh anniversary of my ordination. These events are wonderful opportunities for me to slow down, pay attention to what has happened, and use this time to spark a period of thanksgiving and renewal in my soul.

Of course it's not just the Israelites and people like me who can benefit from taking the time to acknowledge such mileposts – you can certainly benefit from recognizing such mileposts as well. Today I would invite you to make time to review your life and see if there are any significant markers ahead that could be used to invite you into a period of reflection and renewal.

Til next time ….

Defects

2010-11-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 21-23

If I were to tell you that I was born with a sense of being different, a lot of my regular readers would assume that I was referring to the fact that I was gay. That is not exactly what I mean. You see I was born with a more obvious sense of difference that was apparent from day one: I was born with club feet.

In case you aren't familiar with that term, it meant that I was born with "deformed" feet. In my case, my feet were turned backwards. I underwent a couple of procedures at the local Shriners' Hospital in Spokane during the first year of my life to get the problem fixed. First, they spliced both of my heel cords in order to bring my downwardly turned feet up a bit. Then they broke my ankles so they could turn my feet forward. I ended up wearing casts and corrective braces for a good deal of my first year or so.

By the time I reached the end of my second year, I felt as normal as any other child. Few of my classmates in school even knew about my "problem" from kindergarten on. That's because by third grade I was wrestling, by fifth grade I was playing tennis, and by sixth grade I started playing football. I excelled in each of these sports. It wasn't until I reached my sophomore year of high school - when I had to go through another series of corrective surgeries - that many of my classmates learned about my secret.

During those formative years of my life between the ages of two and fifteen I learned an important lesson about life. I learned I didn't have to be defined by what some might have called my disability (or what others might term the fact that I was differently abled). I gave everything I had and accomplished as much as I could.

You can imagine my surprise when during my sophomore year of high school – about the time when I had my last set of corrective surgeries on my foot – I embarked on a program to read the Bible in a year for the first time. It wasn't long into that reading program when I stumbled upon today's passage which goes to great lengths to talk about the limitations that should be placed upon those who are "defective". "Tell Aaron," God is quoted as saying, that "none of your descendants, in any generation to come, who has a defect of any kind may present as an offering the food of his God."

Reading that passage was a deeply traumatic experience for me since I had spent 15 years trying to prove to others (and myself!) that I was just a good as everyone else. Then along comes a passage of Scripture that would seem to suggest that I wasn't!

So how did I resolve that inner turmoil that came from such a passage?

Well, over time I realized that the intent of the passage was to suggest that God's desire was to call forward our very best. In communicating that intention, the human vessels who conveyed that message assumed that "the best" meant simply one's physical condition. I came to believe that "the best" had more to do with one's heart and desires than simply one's physical appearance. While I may not be considered perfect by the standards of orthopedic surgeons, in my spiritual journey I could aspire to be authentic and whole – and in that way I could offer my best, club feet and all! That gave me a great deal of comfort.

You may not have been born with club feet, but chances are there is perhaps a way in which you have been made to feel "defective". That defect might have an external manifestation, or it might just be internal. Regardless of how that "defect" manifests itself, today I would encourage you to work on coming to terms with that. Know that whatever condition you find yourself in, all you need to do is be willing to offer the fullness of yourself (exactly as you are). You can then rest assured knowing that that offering (and the one who presents it) is just fine.

Til next time…

Holiness

2010-11-04T08:13:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 18-20

Today's reading contains some of the most familiar (and most misused!) words in all of the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament. In the debate regarding the rights of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) individuals, for instance, some individuals have used Leviticus 18 over and over as their primary reason it's okay to deny LGB individuals their basic human rights. Leviticus 18:22 reads: "Don't have sex with a man as one does with a woman. That is abhorrent" (The Message). That is perhaps the most familiar passage in today's reading.

Many of the same individuals who quote Leviticus 18:22 in the debate over LGB people COMPLETELY ignore Leviticus 19:33 in the debate over the rights of "illegal aliens". Leviticus 19:33 reads: "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born" (NIV).

So what are we to make of the 630 laws contained in the holiness codes? Are the edicts simply words intended for us to pick and choose to meet our personal agendas?

No. I don't think that's it at all.

"If not, then what's the purpose of those words?" you might wonder.

Well, I think the answer to that question lies in Leviticus 20:7. That verse reads: "Set yourselves apart for a holy life. Live a holy life, because I am God, your God."

To use a concept I talked about earlier this week, I tend to think of holiness more in light of righteousness (i.e. right relationship) more than I do in light of purity (i.e. right behavior). To use the passages I quoted above, does abstaining from same sex behavior automatically mean a person is in right relationship with God and others. No. Does treating a foreigner well automatically mean that you are exhibiting healthy relationship with God and others? No. You could simply be profiting from the foreigner by using the foreigner as a source of cheap labor. In other words, I believe living into a sense of holiness is much more complicated that most folks on talk radio who toss around passages from Leviticus would like us to believe.

Today, I would invite you to think about the issue of holiness? Do you define it primarily in relationship to behavior, or do you view it more in light of one's relationship with God and others?

Til next time?

Scapegoats

2010-11-03T08:20:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 16-17

Contained within today's chapters from Leviticus lies the origins of the concept we know today as scapegoat. "When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar," the passage explains, "he will bring up the live goat, lay both hands on the live goat's head, and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel, all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. He will put all the sins on the goat's head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness."

Some folks might listen to this verbiage and say, "What a strange and unusual concept for a primitive people to practice!"

I don't think the concept itself is all that strange and unusual. And I definitely don't think the practice is all that primitive. I say that because here in the United States we have a similar practice in which we engage. The only difference between the way we and the early Israelites engage in the practice is that we don't use a goat – we use our elected officials to serve as our scapegoats.

Every so often, we gather in voting booths; assign blame; and then send the designated scapegoats off into the wilderness in hopes that the act will absolve us collectively of our responsibility for the problems we are facing. We hope the next batch of elected officials will meet our expectations. When they don't, we simply repeat the cycle all over again just 2 years later.

Lost in the process of sending out the goat/elected officials into the wilderness is important soul searching about the ways in which we have contributed to the problems we face.

Today, I would invite us all to examine the circumstances of our lives (and the condition of our world) and ask ourselves, "Are there situations in which I have preferred to identify a single scapegoat on which to heep the blame in order to absolve myself of all responsibility?" If you find such a situation, use that awareness as an opportunity to step in and break the cycle of blaming. See what you can do yourself to restore health and vitality to the systems in which you participate.

Til next time …

Individual & Community

2010-11-02T07:30:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 13-15

Every Election Day I grow a little nostalgic because it takes me back to the year 1998 when I ran for the Washington State House of Representatives (the equivalent of California's State Assembly). I had been a political junkie since I was 12 – so the experience of running for office was quite an adventure!

There were so many lessons I learned from that experience. One of them had to do with the important of balancing the needs of an individual with the needs of a larger group/community. Let me tell you a story about how I learned that lesson.

Very early in my campaign, a woman got involved with my campaign. For the sake of anonymity I'll call the woman Susan. I knew early on that Susan had very strong feelings for me. She knew I was gay, but on some level it never seemed to register with her. As a result, she sought out every opportunity possible for us to be together.

I have never in my life seen someone as devoted to an effort as Susan was. She poured hundreds of hours into the campaign. While I always tried to be careful and certainly do nothing to lead her on, I also never directly confronted Susan about the situation.

As time passed, I was confused why the campaign wasn't generating more volunteers. I occasionally talked about it with Susan (who by now was the campaign's volunteer coordinator), and she said she couldn't figure it out either.

While we had a great run and a respectable showing, my biggest regret from the experience was that we never were able to get the number of volunteers I had hoped for.

After the election, I learned why that was.

Susan would tell many potential volunteers that their help wasn't needed; we had the work covered. "If we ever had a need for your help," she would say, "I'll get back to you."

She didn't.

Throughout the months of the campaign, she used the lack of volunteers as an excuse to create time for us to be together.

What I learned from this experience is that by not dealing with one person's issues (and accompanying behavior), I was not only being irresponsible. That's because one person's issues can be so deep that they affect the life of many others. A good leader knows that and deals with that. I wasn't a good leader - as I chose the path of least resistance and tried to look the other way.

In this day and age that emphasizes the supreme importance of the individual; it's so easy to forget the basic truth that one life often affects the wellbeing of others. That's why it can be so important to deal with individual circumstances. If you don't, the situation can get out of hand and impact the lives of others.

That message comes through loud and clear in today's reading where we read a long list of ways to deal with situations where one individual becomes ritually unclean. As you read about the various situations, it eventually becomes clear that the author(s)' goal isn't simply to isolate one person during their time he or she is unclean; rather, the goal is to ensure the individual's issues don't spill over and infect the condition of others.

I would invite you to carry that learning with you today. When you encounter situations with individuals that are challenging, be aware that the situation has implications that will touch the lives of others. Use that awareness to inform your response to the situation.

Til next time …

Purity & Righteousness

2010-11-01T07:51:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 11 & 12

When I was in seminary, I learned an important lesson about two different streams that were contained in aspects of the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament.

The first stream had to do with the pursuit of purity. The emphasis of such passages had to do with preventing individuals from coming into contact with those things that would defile the individual's body or mind. If you did (or in some cases, did not) do certain things, you were considered pure; if you did not (or in some cases - did) other things, you were considered impure. Once lines were crossed, very specific rituals had to be performed in order to restore an individual to a condition of purity.

One of the primary characteristics of such passages is that they are incredibly directive since everything was black and white. If you touched an object, you were impure: so DON'T touch it. If you did not wash your hands after encountering an object, you were impure: so WASH YOUR HANDS. That's the way passages dealing with issues of purity were handled.

The second stream of Scripture had to do with the pursuit of righteousness. This stream has a very different feel to it. Instead of being linked to a physical condition like purity, passages focusing on righteousness had to do with a state of being – or perhaps I could say - a quality of the heart.

You might, for instance, not touch a forbidden object (meaning you were pure) – but in your heart you are consumed with lust or desire for the object (meaning you aren't exactly righteous).

Issues of righteousness are much more complex for an individual because they involve one's inner life. Those issues prevent complexities for the community since it is difficult for one person to make judgments about issues involving righteousness involving another since they can't fully know the heart of the other person.

Lots of Jesus teaching tended to emphasize the latter stream of Scripture – the emphasis upon righteousness. One of the best examples would be Jesus' teaching about adultery. There Jesus suggested a person might not actually physically commit and adulterous act (meaning the individual is still technically "pure") – but if the person looks at another with lust, the person is in dangerous territory. Same with Jesus' teaching on killing. You might not actually have taken someone's life, but if you have hatred in your heart toward another, you are on shaky ground.

If we are not careful, we can lose ourselves in the academic aspect of the discussion/debate between purity and righteousness and forget what really matters: both streams of Scripture were intended to draw us into a healthier relationship with God. They simply represent different approaches to getting there.

Today, I would ask you which stream you find yourself identifying with/gravitating toward. Are you someone who focuses on right relationship with God as established through the principles of purity, or do you seek right relationship more through the principles of righteousness?

Til next time …

Claiming YOUR Ministry

2010-10-30T09:05:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 8-10

Most folks might be unaware of this, but tomorrow (October 31) is the day officially designated as Reformation Day. That means it's a day when we celebrate the contributions of those pioneering folks like Martin Luther who helped make the Reformation possible.

In progressive communities we also use the occasion to remind folks that the Reformation wasn't just a one-time event that we remember; rather, the Reformation is something that each generation is called to participate in for themselves as they continue to claim their faith in ways that are relevant today.

With all of this in mind, I've thought quite a bit this week about what it might mean to re-form our communities – both in historical and contemporary terms. There was one aspect of the historical Reformation that I think creates a wonderful bridge for us to use as we cross over into modern times and think about how those principles of reformation can guide us today. That principle is the priesthood of all believers.

You see when it came to the issue of religious/spiritual leadership, for centuries faith communities clung to examples like the one lifted up for us in today's reading from Leviticus. They thought of religious/spiritual leaders as ones who were clearly set apart from ordinary folks in a variety of ways – including the sort of intricate rituals spelled out in Leviticus 8. This sense of being set apart was originally created in order to establish a sense of order in the community and create a healthy degree of respect for those leaders.

Over time, however, something unfortunate happened as a result of this. People began to see ministry as something done "for them" by "others". It helped cultivate a culture of apathy (i.e. "I won't worry about that, I'll have the religious/spiritual leader take care of it for me"). It also contributed to the notion that there were places where religious duties were expected to be performed (i.e. at church) and places where religious duties were not to be performed (places like the "real world").

It's no wonder that by the 16^th Century some folks were feeling a little restless about the spiritual direction of their faith communities. They longed for new ways of being that would recognize two things: (1) the active role that ALL people should take in the development of their faith, and (2) the expectation that the expression of our faith would spill over into ALL areas of our lives.

With that in mind, today I have a challenge for you in holding true to the principles of the "priesthood of all believers."

Today I want you to spend time thinking about what YOUR ministry is. You may not be an ordained, licensed, or commissioned minister – but there is no doubt in my mind that you are engaged in some expression of ministry.

Get creative in identify that form of ministry. It doesn't have to be a ministry tied into an institutional expression of "the church" (i.e. serving on a committee or holding a position). Rather, your ministry might be fully immersed in the real world (i.e. being the one at work that people come to with their problems, or the passion with which you parent).

Whatever place and whatever form your ministry takes, find the opportunity this Reformation Sunday to give thanks for the ways God has worked through YOU to touch and change the world!!!

Til next time …

Setting Things Right

2010-10-29T07:42:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 4-7

When I went through my coming out process, I found the first two months represented the hardest time for me. I felt extremely vulnerable and exposed. Because of that, I was quick to lash out at others.

One of the individuals who received the brunt of my angst was my mother. She was very slow to come around in terms of extending her acceptance. No matter what I said – no matter what resources I made available – she resisted my every effort. Occasionally in the midst of our arguments my frustrations would boil over and I would say something that I didn't fully mean.

Over a period of time, I realized the accumulated effect of my behavior on her, and I wanted to do something to make it up to her.

I spent several days looking for the perfect object that would express my sorrow. One day I found it. In order to understand my purchase, you need to know that my mother loves Teddy Bears. They are a symbol of warmth and love to her. Besides that, she says, they're cute. That day I stumbled upon a stained glass circle. Inside the circle was a picture of a Teddy Bear. It had a cap on its head, and the bear was playing with a ball. I bought it immediately. The bear represented the warmth and love I wanted to reclaim in our relationship while the cap and ball represented my desire for things to return to normal.

My gift worked wonders. It helped show my mother that I put my relationship with her before my desire to be right. To show her appreciation, she hung that bear in the kitchen window – just above the sink – where she sees it every time she washes dishes. I also get to see it every time I visit their home as well. Each time I see that silly bear I smile for it reminds me of the importance of taking the time to say I'm sorry.

Today's passage from Leviticus contains lots of instructions for how people were supposed to express their sorrow for the ways they damaged their relationships – with God and with others. Of course none of those ways were as warm and fuzzy as a Teddy Bear. Nevertheless they were important because they stopped people in their tracks and invited them to think about ways they could repair broken relationships.

All of this makes me wonder about you. What things do you do in your life to express your regret or sorrow when you break relationship with God or another? Those rituals or symbols can be very important instruments that help you get back on track.

Til next time …

Making Sacrifices

2010-10-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Leviticus 1-3

As I embark on my reading of Leviticus, I realized today that I'm coming into some of the most culturally-bound material of the Scriptures that is perhaps least accessible to modern readers.

Why do I say that?

Well, you don't have to read much further than today's passage before you start tuning some of the material out. The portions of the passage that detail how priests are to slaughter animals and spread their blood around the altar, for instance, are especially offensive to our modern sensibilities and are extremely likely to cause us to tuned out the material.

So what – if anything - do passages such as today's have to offer us on our spiritual walks?

The answer to that question would vary somewhat depending upon one's theological approach. There are many traditionalists, for instance, who would suggest that all of this talk about sacrifice (and how those sacrifices atone for our sins) establishes a context for what Jesus did for us when he surrendered his life on our behalf. As someone who thinks outside the box, however, this is not the route I travel.

I tend to read the material and think of it as a challenge for us to make sacrifices of our own that say, "My relationship with/connection to God IS important – and I'm willing to devote a serious amount of time and resources to nurture that relationship!"

When I talk about making sacrifices, I don't use that phrase within the context of atonement theory (i.e. "we're giving these things to God in order to make up for our shortcomings"). No, when I talk about making sacrifices, I mean that we are going out of our way to make choices that suggest our relationship with God is so important to our lives that it impacts (dare I say, even detracts from!) other aspects of our lives.

Let me give you an example of what I mean.

Five years ago – when I needed a new car – I had a lot of options about what I could buy. I made a conscious decision that the car payment I took on would be smaller than the amount I pledge to my church. This decision helped ground me in what is more important in my life. The result of this is I had to do some extra shopping around to find something that fit this parameter. It also meant that I passed up some of the bells and whistles that I could have included in my purchase. I have never regretted that decision, however, as it has helped keep me spiritually grounded.

It's easy for us these days to think to ourselves, "God is loving and grace-filled – so I'll start by devoting my time and resources to things that I want/enjoy and devote to God whatever happens to be left over. God will understand." That can happen in the way we spend our time. That can happen in the way we spend our money. Today's reading invites me to challenge that laissez-faire attitude and perhaps push myself to express my gratitude by putting God first.

Today, I would invite you to think a bit about those sacrifices you make that express the depths of your gratitude and your desire to help meet the needs of God's creation. Do you find yourself devoting to God things that accurately express the depths of those feelings, or do you simply return to God what happens to be left over after you've tended to the other areas of your life?

Til next time …

Discernment

2010-10-27T08:26:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 38-40

Last Saturday, I attended a meeting for representatives from local churches in the Northern Association of the Southern California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ that was held in Atascadero (boy, what a mouthful!). One of the topics we spent considerable time on was discussing a shift in the way the United Church of Christ is thinking about the way it goes about authorizing people for ministry.

For the past several years, individuals who participated in the process were called Students In Care. The name implied we assumed those on the path toward authorized ministry were students in seminary who were preparing to serve local churches at the end of their process of authorization. Now, the denomination has acknowledged that not all individuals who want to be authorized are seeking placement in a local church. In addition, we are also acknowledging that not everyone who feels a call has attended/or will attend seminary. Thus we are exploring ways of acknowledging other ways people prepare themselves for the practice of ministry. Each of those changes is important.

There is one more layer of the discussion that I found even more intriguing.

In the old model, it was assumed that everyone who began the process of authorization for ministry was expected to see it through. Now, the denomination is stressing that the process should be a time for deep spiritual discernment. Therefore those who begin the process should be open to the possibility that at the end of their time the individuals may decide they do not want to be authorized for ministry. Therefore, they have renamed what we refer individuals involved in the process. Rather than call them "Students In Care" they will be called "Members in Discernment".

We were even told that this emphasis on discernment is something that shouldn't be stressed just for those individuals interested in the possibility of being authorized for ministry: that emphasis should extend to everyone in our local churches since – as Protestants who believe in the old Reformation adage of "a priesthood of all believer" – everyone in our local church has some sort of call. Our job is to help them discern it.

That might sound good in theory, but the question remains: what is discernment?

I usually describe discernment as the process whereby we discover our call (or God's leading in our life).

So how does one go about discerning one's call?

There are a variety of ways to do that. None of them are easy by today's standards. In fact, I wish I could have an experience like the Israelites in today's reading where - when God wanted them to travel, a cloud would lift from over their Dwelling; and when God wanted them to sit still, the cloud would remain over The Dwelling. If only it were that easy to discern things in our lives!

My question for you today is this: what process(es) do you use to discern God's leading in your life? For those of you at Woodland Hills Community Church, look for opportunities to explore the issue of discernment together in coming weeks/months.

Til next time …

Spiritual Gifts

2010-10-26T07:51:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 35-37

Over the last several years I've learned that lots of folks make one particular assumption about the price of living together in community. "If you want to participate in the life of a community," they say, " then you are going to have to end up doing all sorts of things that the group needs but that you hate doing!"

I am unusual because I totally reject that line of thinking. In fact, it is that very assumption that has done more to undermine the life of our local churches than anything else. I make the radical assumption that communities thrive when people are asked to contribute the things they LOVE to do!

Each time I bring that way of being into a community, I find there are lots of folks who are initially suspicious of that approach. "It sounds good in theory," some say, "but it's not practical. After all, if we organize ourselves around people doing what they are passionate about – who on earth would ever take out the garbage, crunch numbers to create a budget, or care for the screaming babies?!"

I never argue when I hear that response – I just try to let a little time pass and allow people to grow into my way of being. I do that because I trust that eventually a shift will start to take place in the community. Slowly people will realize, for instance, that there are people with the spiritual gift for servanthood who love caring for the community through acts of service – acts like taking out the garbage and vacuuming. There are folks with the gift of administration who love transforming numbers on the page of a budget into a vision for the community's future. There are folks who have the spiritual gift of helping who love to comfort a screaming baby until it calms down.

The problem is that those of us who live in community aren't patient enough to let the process work organically. We get in a hurry and plug people into open slots without a second thought about whether their gifts match the community's need. Consequently we end up putting people into positions they don't enjoy and then later wonder why they suddenly stopped participating in the life of the community.

Given my assumption that spiritual community should be a place where people explore and develop their passions, it's no wonder I was fond of today's passage – for in that passage we hear a little bit about Bezalel and his role in the community. "Moses told the Israelites, 'See, God has selected Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. [God] has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skills, ability, and know-how for making all sorts of things…" In other words, the community was called to honor Bezalel's gifts and put him in a position where he could use those gifts to build things for the community. What a concept!

Perhaps over a period of time, you have allowed those communities that you participate in to plug you into a slot based upon the group's need and not your own spiritual gifts. As a result, you might be feeling a little bit disconnected. If that's the case, spend some time today contemplating your gifts – those areas in life where you come alive with joy and passion. Once you find such areas, consider pursuing opportunities to put those gifts into action!

Til next time …

Being Lead

2010-10-25T08:02:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 32-34

From the time I was in middle school, I have been a leader of some sort. In 5^th grade, I was elected to my first public office: secretary of my class. Ever since then I've held a leadership position of some sort.

When I first started leading groups, I had a very narrow definition of what a good leader was. I thought a good leader was someone who laid out his or her agenda for the people, got the people on board, and then enacted that agenda. All of the emphasis was placed upon me to be clever and take folks where I thought they should be lead. In other words, leading was all about ME.

That model of leadership worked for a while. By the time I reached my early thirties, however, I realized that such a model of leadership would no longer work for me. As my faith grew and my life experiences accumulated, I realized that while I often thought I knew what was best for myself and the group – the reality was that I didn't. There had been so many times in my life when I was more concerned about stubbornly holding on to MY agenda than I was about meeting the needs of others.

My control issues were so great that I mistakenly assumed "letting go" – or being flexible– meant that I was abdicating my responsibility as a leader. So I held on tighter to my agenda.

It wasn't until I entered parish ministry in my mid-thirties that I began to realize that there was only one way I felt called to lead. That way was predicated on being flexible and allowing myself – and the community's I serve – the ability to follow God's leading and not just my own.

On my good days those things are relatively compatible. On other days, however, my leading is more reflective of my ego and agenda than it is God's. The goal that I have established for myself, however, is to continue to grow in my ability to get out of the way as much as possible and let God lead in and through me.

Because of my lifetime struggle to understand what it means to lead, I can relate to Moses' frustration with the challenges of God leading. In today's reading, for instance, Moses cried out: "Look, you tell me, 'Lead this people,' but you don't let me know whom you're going to send with me. You tell me, 'I know you well and you are special to me.' If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans!"

So many times in my life and ministry over these past eleven years, I found myself crying out the same thing. "Let me know what's going on!" In retrospect, I am often God didn't. For the places where God has led me and the community's I served have been beautiful places that I would have probably never chosen to go on my own – since the journey initially would have looked too scary and too difficult.

So how about you? How do you do with this notion of responding to God's call even though you have no idea exactly where that call will take you?

Til next time …

Sabbath

2010-10-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 28-31

As Mike and I approach the start of our second decade together next month (we met November 29, 2001 – but who's counting?), I have thought a lot about those things that make me a good partner and those things where I have room to grow.

I am pretty good, for instance, about giving Mike space when he needs it. I am also very good about communicating what's going on with me (maybe too good, he might say). My sense is that he appreciates those things on most days.

I do have areas where I definitely need to improve. While I'm good about communicating what's going on with me, for instance, I often forget to include time for Mike to share what's going on for him. And my biggest deficit is that I don't make enough time for us to be together. As someone who's prone to being a workaholic, I have trouble setting boundaries and making sure that we get our time together on a semi-regular basis.

Why is time together so important?

It's because that time together helps you stay in rhythm with each another. That time together doesn't have to be an official "date", or a big event. It can simply be intentionally going to the store together or taking the dogs for a walk together. Over our years together I've found it's not important what you do; it's most important that you make time to do it together as you try to keep your relationship connected and alive.

In many ways, that is the same point God was trying to communicate to Moses and the Israelites in today's passage when the issue of the Sabbath came up. Lots of folks think about the importance of Sabbath being of its benefits on the individual entity (i.e. it's a time of rest for a person, or it's something you observe as a gift to God). I don't to think of it that way. I see the Sabbath as a time that benefits the relationship (or connection) between God and an individual. If you don't intentionally spend time together on a regular basis, you WILL begin to drift apart.

As we head into the weekend – a weekend that contains their Sabbath time for many people – I would encourage you to think about your Sabbath in relational ways. How will you approach your Sabbath this week in order to help you grow in your understanding and experience of God?

PS. I'm making the long drive to Atascadero for a UCC Association meeting tomorrow so I won't be able to write. I'll hope to see you back here on Monday morning.

Til next time …

Removing the Distance

2010-10-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 24-27

When I first discovered the emerging/emergent ways of being within the Christian movement, there was a huge rush for me initially. I felt that rush because the emerging/emergent Christian communities expressed many of the visions I had held for years that went against much the traditional church was teaching – particularly when it came to ways of being community.

You see for centuries, most institutional Christian churches acted as if there were levels – or layers – in the community that stood between individuals and God. Most Protestants would say that it's only Roman Catholics that have such levels or layers. That is completely untrue. The truth is we Protestants have just as many levels. Instead of calling our levels "popes" and "bishops" we call ours things like "councils" and "committees". Each of these entities function for the same purpose; they were created in order to control or manage things.

Now don't get me wrong. I understand there is a certain degree of control or management that needs to exist in order for a group of people to function as a community. Light bills, for instance, have to be paid – so we need finance committee to empower someone to write a check. Sadly, however, in many faith communities these practical needs have been used to justify the creation of other mechanism so that other areas of the life of the community are being controlled to unhealthy degrees. This has had an unfortunate consequence. It has made many of the lay people in our faith communities feel completely disempowered. Eventually, they get tired of putting up with other people's efforts to control them, and they walk away. Then we wonder why our churches are declining?!

I was frustrated with today's reading because it seemed to feed into this process of disempowerment. We were told, for instance, that God said to Moses: "Climb the mountain to God, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihus, and seventy of the elders of Israel. They will worship from a distance; only Moses will approach God. The rest are not to come close. And the people are not to climb on the mountain at all."

Talk about disempowerment!

I suppose some would say this was one of those practical moments where it was most effective for Moses to commune with God in a way where there were as few distractions as possible. That's why the leaders and people were told to stand off at a distance.

Even if that's the case, I think as people of faith we are called to be honest with such assumptions and challenge them when people tell us to remove ourselves. For the last thing I believe we want these days are faith communities whose purpose is to put a distance between God and the people. Faith communities should be all about drawing people in to a direct experience of God – a TRANSFORMATIVE experience of God.

Today I would encourage to examine your life for areas where you have been content to allow distance to exist between yourself and God – areas when you've allowed others to mediate or negotiate the presence of the Divine for you. If you find such areas, challenge yourself to be open to taking a different approach. Take the risk of encountering God in new places and in new ways!

Til next time …

Digging Below the Surface

2010-10-20T08:57:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 21-23

Over the last several years lots of folks ask me why they should bother reading the rules contained in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament. "After all," they suggest, "they are culturally bound pronouncements that don't make any sense within the context of our time and our culture."

On one level, there is some truth to that assessment. On another level, however, such an approach misses an important point.

Let me use an example from my teaching days to help spell out why I think reading such passages has value.

As some of you know, I taught English and Social Studies in a juvenile detention center for six years. Because it was an extremely dangerous environment, we had to be very strict (and explicit) in spelling out our expectations of the students. One of the most basic rules was that a student couldn't get out of his or her chair without permission. On the surface, this may sound excessive– but the rule was necessary because the students could have easily acted out against each other if they were able to move around freely in the classroom. In other words, the purpose of the rule was to ensure the students' safety.

One day we had the fire alarm go off. Most students instinctively figured out that they needed to stand up and get in line in order to make it to a place of safety. There was one student, however, that didn't get in line. When I asked him why, he said: "The rules say 'Don't get up without permission'. You didn't give me permission to stand up so I'm staying seated!"

It was a great example of someone learning the rules, but entirely missing the point of those same rules. It was a reminder for me to spend some time with the students helping them understand some of the reasoning behind the rules.

There are lots of religious fundamentalists who make that same mistake when they read the scriptures. They become so obsessed with the literal expression of a rule back in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament that they entirely forget to ask why that rule was communicated in that particular time and place. If we dig below the surface and ask ourselves that question, we begin to move away from a rigid and moralistic approach to our faith – toward a living and breathing application of the principles of our faith that can guide us no matter in what age we live.

Today I would invite you to examine those rules that you've decided to live your life by. Are there some of them where you've become so focused on the rule itself, that you've lost sight of the underlying principles and perhaps become somewhat rigid and inflexible?

Til next time …

My Worst Habit

2010-10-18T21:18:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 18-20

Like most folks, I have quite a collection of bad habits. I have a tendency, for instance, to waste too much time surfing the web when I should be reading more constructive materials. I am constitutionally unable to say no to most forms of junk food. And I won't even mention my affinity for consuming too much caffeine. We would be here for days if I went down that path.

Most of those bad habits don't get me in too much trouble. There is one bad habit I have, however, that is incredibly dangerous.

I have an inability to say "No!" to people when they come to me with requests. It doesn't matter what the request is – it might be a request for help putting together a flier for an event; assisting with a transportation need; or a request to buy cookies from a girl scout – you name the request, and I'm likely to meet it.

This habit gets me in trouble more than all of my other bad habits combined. That's because my inability to say "No!" often makes me feel completely overwhelmed and as if I'm in "it" (whatever the particular "it" happens to be at any given moment) alone.

My awareness of this challenge is one reason I so appreciated today's reading from Exodus. In that passage, we get a piece of a conversation Moses had with his father-in-law Jethro. In that conversation Moses reveals to Jethro that "the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up," Moses then concluded, "they come to me!"

Lot of folks would think such an admission is praiseworthy.

Not Jethro.

That's because Jethro has a healthy sense of perspective. "This is no way to go about it," Jethro observed in response to Moses' crazy life. "You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you – you can't do this alone."

What wise words for Jethro to pass along to Moses – and to you and I as well. We CAN'T do everything alone. That simple truth is a great principle to guide us through our days.

I would encourage you to find opportunities throughout your day today to watch yourself as you engage the world. Are you always saying "Yes" to requests - acting as if you can meet everyone's needs on your own; or are you able to break that bad habit and say "No" – or at least, "In order to meet your request, I'm going to need YOUR help."

Til next time …

Systems Thinking

2010-10-18T08:07:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 15-17

I was talking with a friend the other day about my blog entry from last Thursday. My friend was curious why I spent time talking about addictions (i.e. alcoholism) and family dynamics so much – especially in the context of a blog about spirituality.

"Do you do it because you had a family member who was alcoholic?" the person finally asked.

The answer to that question was no. His question did provide me with a wonderful opportunity to explain why I did that.

Toward the very end of my time in seminary I accidentally stumbled upon a way of thinking called family systems theory. It was a way of thinking that tries to move groups beyond the traditional ways of thinking into exciting new ways of thinking. Let me unpack that statement for you.

In traditional ways of thinking, leaders in a community thinking mechanistically. If you were to think of an organization such as a church like a car, for instance, when one part of the car starts acting up – all you need to do is replace the individual part and the problem goes away. Now that thinking might be fine for a car, but it can be dangerous to carry that principle over into the life of a community.

Let's say, for instance, that a person in a community begins to act up. Traditional thinking is that you only address the individual involved in order to get him or her to change his behavior. You pretend no one else is involved in/affected by the situation.

In family systems theory, you don't think mechanistically – you think organically. Instead of seeing each individual as an isolated part of the machine, you see each individual as a connected piece of the whole. As such, you assume that each individual's behavior has the ability to affect the overall functioning of the group. This means when one part of the system starts acting up, you don't just look at the individual involved – you look at others in the community as well to see how they are contributing. That's why in last Thursday's entry, for example, I didn't just talk about the behavior of the alcoholic father; I also addressed the behavior of the spouse and siblings since their behaviors were contributing to the situation since they were enabling the father's decision to continue to drink.

At this point you might see why I would be interested in family systems theory, but still be a little confused about how the issue of addiction ties into all of this.

Well, a few years ago I stumbled upon a book called "Kicking Habits". It was a book about systems thinking within a church context. In making its point, the book suggested that one reason change is so hard in local churches is because individuals get just as addicted to the status quo as other individuals get addicted to substances like alcohol or food. That's why it is so incredibly difficult to make changes in churches. You aren't just fighting something as superficial as personal preferences – you are actually facing an addiction.

So that explains my interest in addictions and systems thinking. But why talk about all this stuff right now?

Well, yesterday in our church we had difficult news to share. Last year it was discovered that a former employee of the church had inappropriately diverted rent that was paid to the church by a user group from the church's bank account into the individual's own bank account. A legal process was initiated in order to recover a portion of those funds from our insurance policy. That process is now culminating with an arraignment that is scheduled for early November – meaning it was finally at a point in the process where we could make the information known.

When I was first informed about the tragic situation, I was curious to see how the faith community would approach the issue. Would they resort to traditional thinking and focus all their energy on blaming either the employee or a few lay leaders; or would they think more expansively and look at the system as a whole so they could determine what changes the community needed to make in order to prevent such occurrences in the future?

Through this year-long process, I learned the community chose to respond in the more expansive way. In addition to appropriately holding the individual accountable for the individual's choices, the faith community saw the problem as a systemic breakdown. It has already begun the hard work of fixing a system that was broken. This made me VERY happy!!!

So what's all of this have to do with today's reading?

As I read the culminating words of today's chapters, I smiled when I got to the part about the battle the Israelites got into with Amalek at Rephidim. In the culminating words of that chapter, we learn that the determining factor for their success (or at least so they thought) was whether or not Moses was able to raise his arms. When he raised his arms, the Israelites had success; when he tired and lowered them, the Israelites started to struggle.

Some would read that and assume this supported the traditional, mechanistic way of thinking about community – that the community's success or failure was entirely dependent on just one person (Moses). The story didn't end there, however. For when the community figured out what was happening, others got involved to help out the community. Aaron and Hur, for instance, decided to hold up Moses arms so that his arms could remain in the air and benefit the people. In other words, they thought organically/systemically and used their individual roles to benefit the whole.

Today, I would ask you to think about one area in your life where there might be a problem. When you find that area, look at how you are approaching its resolution. Are you treating it as an isolated issue that you can handle on your own, or are you willing to explore the communal dimension of the issue and invite others into the process?

Til next time …

Away for Friday & Saturday

2010-10-14T21:44:00.001-07:00

Hi there. This Friday and Saturday I will be away attending a training for members of the Southern California-Nevada Conference's Committees on Ministry at Pilgrim Pines. I'll be back with you on Monday. Folks from WHCC, I'll see you on Sunday. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Living into New Ways of Being

2010-10-14T09:29:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 12-14

Over the years I've worked with lots of folks whose lives were affected by a family member's alcoholism. In almost every instance, I have heard a variation of the same story.

Folks will tell me that at first it was hell. Over time, however, each member of the family/system figured out a role to play so his or her family could make it through the ordeal. The son, for instance, learned that his role when his father came home drunk was to carry his dad to bed and let him sleep it off. This helped keep the problem out of sight. The daughter learned that when her dad came home drunk and argumentative, her role was to prevent other family members from arguing with her father. This kept the peace. The mother learned that her job was to call her husband's employer and make up an excuse why her husband wouldn't be coming in to work that day.

Usually in these scenarios there is one member of the family that is forced to take responsibility for the overall functioning of the family/system. As long as that individual agrees to play that role, the family/system worked just fine (or so they thought). Eventually, however, that person in the leading role reaches his or her breaking point. He or she becomes consumed with anger or resentment that he or she has to assume all the responsibility for the family's well-being.

The truth is that the individual is not trapped. He or she could make a different choice at any time and let go of carrying the responsibility for others.

You would think it would be an easy decision for the person who plays the leading role in the family's/system's drama to make the decision to let go of their role and invite others in to the process. In truth, it is a hard decision. For there is a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the individual to quit rocking the boat and revert back to the previous way of living.

This temptation to slide back into unhealthy ways of being is something that jumped right out at me in today's story from Exodus. For in today's story, we hear are told how the Israelites were able to break free from the bonds of slavery in Egypt and obtain a new sense of freedom as the journeyed into the desert.

You would think they would be thrilled by this development, right?

Wrong.

Almost as soon as they hit the desert, they started complaining about their new life. They even started longing for the good old days in slavery – when life was familiar and comfortable. They wanted Moses (the primary actor in their drama) to take them back to slavery in Egypt. How sick was that?

All of this reminds me that the process of change is a painful – and long-term process. At each juncture, it is easy to want to give in and resort to one's old ways. If you find yourself in the midst of living into a new way of being in your own life, be aware of this tendency to revert to old ways of being and catch yourself. Remember that just because a way of being was easy doesn't mean that it was healthy.

Til next time …

Exhausted

2010-10-13T08:13:00.001-07:00

Hi there. I am physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted today so I won't be writing. I should be back tomorrow. Have a great one!

Addictions

2010-10-12T07:21:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 9-11

One of the most challenging elements contained in all of Scriptures is the way the story of the plagues is told in today's passage from Exodus. I say that because the story tells us that at each turning point in the story it was God who hardened Pharaoh's heart so that Pharaoh would ignore Moses' plea to let the people go – thereby unleashing the next horrible plague upon Egypt. It's uncomfortable to entertain for even a moment the notion that God could be responsible for bringing such pain on the people of Egypt.

So if I don't like to think of God as being responsible for causing the plagues due to God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart, what do I think caused Pharaoh's remarkable stubbornness?

Here's what I think happened.

Those of you who have participated in a Twelve-Step movement know that the First Step (or stage in recovery) involves coming to terms with the following statement: "We admitted we were powerless over [fill in your form of the addiction here] – that our lives had become unmanageable." There are two concepts contained in that step that I think represented what was going on for Pharaoh.

First, I think that like many of us Pharaoh could not accept the fact that he was powerless over the series of events that were unfolding before him. As the people went from one plague to another, it was more important for Pharaoh to cling to the misguided belief that at any point he could simply assert his will and bring the plagues to an end. He held on to that belief in spite of the evidence around him. Second, Pharaoh was unwilling to admit his life was unmanageable because such an admission would have reflected poorly upon him and his leadership. Sure he looked around and saw the carcasses of the dead animals, the boils, the destruction from the hail, the work of the swarms of locusts, the paralyzing darkness, and the bodies of the firstborn. But did Pharaoh REALLY see any of those things? Or did his need to maintain the illusion of control cause him to look through those things? That is the question.

I suppose what I'm suggesting is that Pharaoh – like many of us – spent time in the throes of an addiction. In his case, his addiction was to control. The series of plagues that were unleashed upon Egypt represented a sort of "bottoming out" process for Pharaoh that was needed in order him to admit he was powerless - that his life had truly become unmanageable. Sadly, a whole nation had to go through this "bottoming out" process with Pharaoh before they could get on with their lives.

It's easy to look at Pharaoh and say, "Why didn't he snap out of it earlier and spare the Egyptians the pain and suffering?" I would caution against being too hard on Pharaoh – for lots of us live with our own addictive thinking and behavior. We can be every bit as stubborn as Pharaoh – every bit as unwilling to admit we are powerless over some aspect of our life, and that our lives have become unmanageable. Today, I would invite you to explore what it is that you might be so addicted to that it would take a series of plagues to get you to open your eyes?

Til next time …

Self-Imposed Limitations

2010-10-11T06:58:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 6-8

When I was first grappling with my call to ministry, I had a huge obstacle to overcome. That obstacle wasn't what many people assume it was. Let me set up my situation, and then identify what that primary obstacle was.

I was raised as a member of the United Methodist Church. My family had been Methodist for several generations. Growing up, I knew that the UMC had a policy against ordaining people who were openly Gay or Lesbian. As I grew into an understanding of who I was (a gay man), I figured that this meant I could never be ordained as a parish minister.

Let me stop there for a moment and talk about the primary obstacle I faced on my path toward ordination. Many folks hear this and assume the primary obstacle I faced was the denominational policy that excluded me from consideration for ordination. While the denominational policy certainly was one obstacle, it wasn't the primary obstacle.

So what was the primary obstacle?

The primary obstacle was my decision to buy into the thinking behind the policy. I spent years questioning my value and worth because of the policy: not only as a candidate but as a human being. Because of that, I didn't even think of pursuing ordination in other traditions that were inclusive. In other words, the greatest obstacle before me was between my ears. I was imposing limitations upon myself because of the way I thought about myself.

Thankfully, God was stubborn and hung in there until I was able to recover from the religious abuse I suffered at the hand of the UMC. Eventually I realized I was a gifted, capable person whom God could use to touch the lives of others.

Of course I wasn't the only one who felt inadequate when it came time to answer God's call. In today's reading we learn that Moses (the greatest figure in Hebrew Scripture/the Old Testament) also felt inadequate. When God first called Moses by saying, "Go and speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he will release the Israelites from his land," Moses fought that call. He said, "Look-the Israelites won't even listen to me. How do you expect Pharaoh to? And besides, I stutter."

Moses reason for concern was different than mine – but the obstacle was the same. It was the same self-doubt that stemmed from between Moses' ears that caused him to think he wasn't capable of answering God's call. Once again, God was stubborn and refused to let Moses off the hook just because he thought of himself as incapable.

This issue of self-imposed limitations is an important issue because so many of us these days think poorly of ourselves. We think to ourselves, "I could never answer God's call. I'm too – (and you can fill in the blank here with your own limitation). You might think of yourself as either too old or too young; too skinny or too heavy; too poor or too rich – you name it. Whatever your self-imposed limitation is, today spend some time thinking about how your life might be different if you finally gave in to God's persistence and answered that call that you've been avoiding. Not only would you be better for it - the world would be as well.

Til next time …

Conceptualizing God

2010-10-09T08:00:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 3-5

For the last few years I lived in Denver, I was involved in what was called the In Care Committee for the Metropolitan Denver Association's Ministry Council (something other association's call the Committee on Ministry). In my capacity as a member of the In Care Committee, my job was to work with individuals on their path toward ordination to ensure they were ready to serve in some form of ministry.

We would meet with the individuals who were in care at least one a year and track their progress. At the end of their time of preparation, the individuals would then present their ordination paper to the committee, and we would question the candidate about their paper.

It seemed that most of us who served on the committee developed some questions that we would pose with some degree of regularity. Phil, for instance would ask a question about the relationship between of autonomy and covenant within the United Church of Christ. Steve would ask a question about pastoral care. Even I had a question I would ask with some regularity.

That question?

It had to do with the issue of theodicy (i.e. a form of the old "Why do bad things happen to good people?" question). You see lots of us progressive folks spend a good deal of our time talking about God in warm, fuzzy terms – in relation to words like "love", "grace", and "mercy". I would ask the candidate, "If you flip on the television and see a nature show where a predator like a cheetah is chasing down and killing an antelope, how do you explain that uncomfortable scene where one creature is feeding upon another creature as a part of this thing we call life? Why does it have to work that way?"

It was an admittedly clumsy question designed to get the candidate to push him/herself and account for aspects of creation (and by implication the Creator) that don't fit into our warm, fuzzy boxes. While there are certainly lots of aspects of what we call God that are warm and fuzzy, life has a way of reminding us that pieces of our experience transcend all boxes we create to capture both the creation and the Creator.

I thought of this as I read today's chapters from Exodus and was reminded of the phrase God used to describe Godself: "I-am-who-I-am". God didn't call Godself things like "I-AM-WHO-YOU-WOULD-LIKE-ME-TO-BE", or "I-AM-WHO-YOU-WOULD-PREFER-ME-TO-BE", or "I-AM-WHO-YOU-THINK-I-AM". Instead, we are told God used the phrase "I-AM-WHO-I-AM".

Today, I would invite you to spend some time sitting in prayer and/or meditation and opening yourself up to the expansive pieces of God that might not fit into your current ways of thinking about/experiencing God. While such time might initially seem scary or threatening since it might challenge long-held assumptions, in the long run it will open you up to a deeper connection with God – a connection that exists not on our terms, but more on God's.

Til next time …

Unexpected Outcomes

2010-10-08T07:44:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Exodus 1-2

In every relationship or association, there is a turning point – a moment when things could either get significantly better or significantly worse. What ultimately matters in those moments is how the individuals involved handle that turning point.

I often think back to one such moment that occurred early in my ministry. The community I was serving had just finished its annual stewardship campaign and was in the process of drafting the budget for the following year. There were two competing visions that were raised up for how that draft should look. One vision was that we should adopt a balanced budget; the other vision was that we should adopt a deficit budget. The proponents of each vision took rather rigid positions that threatened to divide the community.

The community had a history of not dealing well with conflict. Some folks in the community either left if they didn't get their way while others tried to avoid conflict at all costs. So as the conflict over the budget continued to simmer, lots of folks got anxious – not knowing if the community was ready to take on such a dicey topic. There were some who worried the conflict would split the community and cause the progress it had experienced to disappear.

Ironically, just the opposite happened. By having the conflict take place out in the open and empowering everyone in the community to participate in the conversation (not just the proponents of each position) the dynamic of the community began to shift. Things began to get better – significantly better! – after that conflict: all because they had the courage to deal with controversy in healthy ways. Talk about an unexpected outcome!

In today's passage, we heard the story of another unexpected outcome. After there was a transition in Egypt's power structure, we are told that the new leaders who came in didn't have the same ties to the Israelites as did the former leaders. In addition, they were threatened by the number of Israelites in their presence. The new leaders responded by cranking down on the Israelites and working them harder than ever in an attempt to eradicate them.

So what happened?

We are told: "But the harder the Egyptians worked them the more children the Israelites had – children everywhere!"

That twist in the story is just one more reminder that we human beings shouldn't be too quick to write the ends of our stories – for often the outcome is often much different than we might anticipate.

Perhaps there is a storyline going on in your life that you are rushing to finish. Maybe it involves a difficulty that you are facing that you are convinced will bring you (or your community) down. If that's the case, take a moment and remember the unexpected outcome that happened to the Israelites. Then open yourself to the possibility that there might be a wonderfully unexpected outcome to your story as well.

Til next time …

Thursday, October 7, 2010

2010-10-07T10:27:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 48-50

My maternal grandmother – to whom I was always close – moved into my hometown the summer before I entered the 8^th grade. From that time until I graduated from high school and left for college, I was my grandmother's primary caretaker.

My grandmother was in remarkably good physical shape during the final years of her life. Her greatest challenge was that she wrestled with Alzheimer 's disease. This meant that it was a challenge for those of us who loved her to watch her mentally deteriorate before our eyes.

Shortly after I went away to college, my folks moved my grandmother into a group home where she continued to exist for another six years. She finally passed away at the age of 85 in 1991.

In the days between my grandmother's death and her funeral, I didn't expect that the funeral would be all that difficult for me emotionally since in many ways we had been saying goodbye to my grandmother for years. On the day of the funeral, however, I was surprised to realize that my emotions were every bit as strong as if my grandmother had died suddenly from a heart attack.

The experience taught me an important lesson about grief: grief is unpredictable. You have no way of knowing exactly what it will look like or how it will feel until you are in the midst of it.

Unfortunately, our society has yet to learn this lesson. Most folks act as if there is a predictable cycle or pattern to the grief process. In its most cruel form, some get impatient with folks who don't "complete" the grief process (if there is such a thing) in a timeline considered acceptable. People will judge some by saying things like, "You still haven't gotten over your loss? You should have by now."

I appreciated today's passage from Genesis because it gives us an example of how Joseph dealt with his grief around losing his father. He took time off, he participated in the rituals/travel he needed to, and he gave himself the time he needed to process his feelings.

Perhaps you have experienced a loss in your life that you are still living with and (on some level) are judging yourself for not handling the grief in ways others might expect. If that's the case, cut yourself some slack. Don't judge your feelings – honor the. Then realize that grief is a process that (1) looks different for everyone, and (2) has no specific timetable attached.

Til next time …

Pharaoh Like Figures

2010-10-06T07:38:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 45-47

Each of us has someone in our life that has gone the extra mile to help us make our way in life. That was certainly the case with Joseph. As I've spent the last couple of days immersed once again in Joseph's story, I was particularly drawn to the role that the Pharaoh played in Joseph's story. First, the Pharaoh gave Joseph a position as his personal assistant shortly after he arrived in Egypt. (For the sake of making my point, I'll conveniently skim over the part where Pharaoh took Potiphar's word over Joseph's and imprisoned him for 2 years on false charges). Then Pharaoh rewarded Joseph for interpreting his dreams by making Joseph the second most important person in Egypt. Then Pharaoh not only gave Joseph wealth – he allowed Joseph to pass the goods onto his family when Joseph called them out of Canaan. Time after time, the Pharaoh was the agent in the story that moved things along and allowed God's blessings to reach Joseph and his family.

One of the people in my life who played such a role was my mother. At every critical stage in my development, she was the one who was willing to make personal sacrifices in order to share the wealth of God's blessings with me. Let me give you just one example.

I had three siblings who were significantly older than myself (7-10 years older). My mother had long dreamed of taking painting lessons as she had a deep well of artistic talent within her. She could never afford to take such lessons when the kids were home, however. When my sister graduated from high school, my mom thought, "This is finally my chance to do something for myself and take painting lessons" – so she started taking lessons in the summer of 1978.

That fall I was scheduled to start the fifth grade. That meant I could begin learning my first musical instrument – the saxophone. I wasn't too excited about the saxophone. Instead, I kept talking about how much I wanted to take piano lessons.

Guess what happened?

My mother set aside her dream of learning to paint so my parents could afford to put me in piano lessons.

That personal sacrifice paid huge dividends for me – for it was through my music that I first began exploring my call to ministry. Who knows where I would be had not I had the "Pharaoh-like" figure in my life that was willing to make personal sacrifices in order to support my development.

Today I would ask you to think about the person (or persons) in your life that played a role like Pharaoh for you – the person who helped make things happen for you and put you in a position to become the person you are. As you remember those persons, take a moment and give thanks for the blessing of that individual.

Til next time …

Accepting Responsibility

2010-10-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 42-44

Maybe it's just me, but over the last several years I've noticed a change in the American psyche.

When I was younger, it seemed that when something would go wrong; people were apt to step to the plate and accept responsibility for what had happened. Once someone accepted responsibility, it was easy to move on and try to figure out ways of getting back on track.

Today, it seems as if it's nearly impossible for folks to step to the plate and accept responsibility. We pour all of our energy into explaining why we (or our allies) aren't responsible for whatever problem exists. This means it takes longer and longer to get around to fixing problems because we spend more of our time and energy blaming others rather than examining ourselves and seeing what role we played in the developments.

I was particularly aware of this dynamic with the recent BP oil spill. Much energy early on was invested in trying to figure out who was to blame for the disaster. Was it the Obama Administrations fault for not responding sooner? Was it the BP Executives fault for not ensuring the safety of the rig? Was it the workers on the oil rig who were negligent? The list of parties individuals wanted to hold responsible for the event was nearly endless. About the only party left out of the blaming process was the American consumer – whose endless thirst for the consumption of oil drives the process in dangerous ways.

A good deal of the debate about who was responsible occurred while the oil was still spewing into the waters. That was a frightening reminder to me about our aversion to accepting responsibility and moving forward.

Thankfully, there are folks who break that cycle, step up to the plate and accept responsibility, and begin moving things along toward resolution. That's true now, and that was certainly true in the case of the story of Joseph and his brothers contained in today's reading.

For a good part of the story, Joseph's brothers had allowed themselves to fall into the blame game. They blamed their bad feelings toward Joseph on the fact that their father favored Joseph over them; they blamed Joseph and his arrogance for their decision to sell Joseph into slavery; and they even blamed God at points in the story when things unexpectedly turned up in their bags that weren't supposed to be there.

It took a while, but eventually they got around to accepting responsibility for their actions. When Joseph accused Benjamin of stealing the silver chalice, Judah – speaking on behalf of the brothers –said: "We're all in this together, the rest of us as guilty as the one with the chalice." In that moment of truth, the dynamic in the story FINALLY began to change.

As you move through your day today, pay attention to how you when things go off track. Is your first instinct to invest time and energy trying to figure out who is to blame; or are you able to step to the plate, figure out the ways in which you might have contributed to the situation so you are freed up to begin taking corrective action?

Til next time …

Talents

2010-10-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 40-41

I half-heartedly joke with loved ones that I am a person who has very few talents. I don't cook, I don't have an eye for fashion or interior design, I'm not good with my hands, and I have little mechanical ability. You name the talent –chances are I am lacking in that area.

There are two things with which I have been blessed that have gotten me by over the years. Each of those talents is very different from one another. The first talent I have is that I am a good accompanist on the piano - one that over the last 30 years has been able to inspire the groups I play for to sing better than they ever thought they could by getting them to lighten up and express themselves. It's an unusual gift for me to have since I was classically trained – and many classically trained musicians have a difficult time accompanying others since they tend to focus more on the printed music before them than they do on the dynamic relationship between the printed page, the pianist, and the singer(s)/instrumentalist(s). The second talent I have is my intuitive ability to work with people. Another way of saying that is that I'm a people person. I'm good at reading folks, saying things in ways that people can hear them, and understanding the dynamics at play in many group situations.

While I have been given lots of kudos over the years because of these talents, I have a hard time receiving compliments in these areas because I don't feel that I can honestly take credit for my work. These things are simply things that come to me.

Because of my experience with these talents, I can relate well to Joseph in today's passage. After word of Joseph's ability to interpret dreams gets out, there is a moment in the story when Joseph is brought before the Pharaoh - who then said to Joseph, "I've heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it." Instead of letting word of his reputation go to his head, Joseph responded by saying, "Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh's mind at ease."

That moment of clarity about his talent was a beautiful thing – one that reminds and inspires me to put my talents into perspective as well.

Today, I would encourage you to use Joseph's story as a tool to motivate you to explore your own talents. What are those things in your life that you do well that come naturally or intuitively? When you find such talents, take a moment and give thanks for them and the way they flow through you to brighten the lives of others.

Til next time …

Double Standards

2010-10-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 37-39

While I mean well in many circumstances, there are times in my life when I fail to live up to the standards I espouse for others.

A great example of this comes to issues of leadership. I spend a whole lot of time and energy talking with others about my strongly held conviction that leadership is largely about sharing whatever power and authority one has with others in order to empower them and build a strong, broad-based community. On most occasions, I try to follow that vision.

There are certainly those times, however, when sharing my power and authority seems either inconvenient or inefficient to me – so I revert to traditional ways of leading and unnecessarily assert my own power and authority.

When I slip and this happens, I am usually quick to defend myself by saying, "Empowerment is USUALLY a good thing. However, in this PARTICULAR instance I did not have the luxury of being able to do that."

When other people around me do the same thing – assert their power and authority over others – I am extremely quick to point that out and decry their actions. I rarely slow down and give them the benefit of the doubt – the same benefit of the doubt that I so often ask for. In other words, I act as if it's okay for me to occasionally deviate from that vision, but it's not okay for others to occasionally deviate.

This reminds me that I'm just as prone as the next person to fall prey to the age old thing known as "the double standard".

Today's reading in Genesis gives us a beautiful example of a double standard. In that passage, we hear the story of Tamar – the daughter-in-law of Judah who was widowed. Judah responded to Tamar's loss by promising her his son Shelah's hand in marriage. Judah went back on the deal, however. So in order to produce the child she wanted; Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute, slept with Judah, and became pregnant.

When Judah found out the unmarried Tamar was pregnant, how did he respond? With love and compassion?

No! He responded by saying, "Get her out of here. Burn her up!"

He was so quick to recognize and judge her sexual activity outside of a marital relationship, yet he completed overlooked his own sexual activity outside of a marital relationship. That is a classic example of a double standard. Luckily, Tamar was clever enough to expose that double standard before it cost her her life.

While you may not be practicing/holding on to a double standard in your own life that is quite as dramatic as Judah's, chances are there is one lurking somewhere in your life. Today, I would invite you to spend some time searching out your double standard and then committing yourself to getting rid of it.

Til next time …

Framing God

2010-10-01T06:55:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 33-36

Like many folks it's easy for me to succumb to the old "Why me?" response when the going in my life gets rough. Luckily, today's story from Genesis provides a counter from such an approach.

Early in today's reading we encounter the story of how Shechem raped Dinah, Jacob and Leah's daughter. Dinah's brothers responded in the way many individuals might – by seeking vengeance not only against Shechem but against the entire community in which Shechem lived. It would appear they took such radical action without informing their father Jacob – for when Jacob heard what they had done, he lost it.

At that point in the story, it would have been easy for Jacob to slide into full-blown "Why me?" mode. He could have cried out, "Why did MY daughter Dinah get raped? Why did MY sons act so impulsively? Why did MY family get put in such a precarious position now that they have ticked off our neighbors? Why ME?"

It certainly would have been understandable for Jacob to respond by asking any (and all) of these questions.

Instead, Jacob responded by doing something else. After conversing with God and developing an action plan, Jacob responded by framing his actions in the following way: "I'm going to build an altar [in Bethel] to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I've gone since."

What an amazing way to frame God in a moment of crisis. Not as one who was the cause of the trouble, or one who allowed the trouble to happen; but rather as the one who answers him when he is in trouble and sticks by him everywhere he goes!

There's a great lesson in there for all of us regarding how we frame (or think about) God when the going gets tough. Today, I would invite you to think about that question for yourself. When your back is up against a wall and anxiety threatens to take over your life, how do you frame God?

Til next time …

Thursday, September 30, 2010

2010-09-30T08:12:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 30-32

One of the things I LOVE about reading the sacred texts of our tradition consistently throughout one's life is that one's experience of the stories varies greatly over time – depending upon the things that happen to you in your life between readings. Each of those experiences greatly informs our subsequent reading of the text.

Take, for example, the work I've done on codependency over the past twelve months. In focusing on what it means to have healthy relationships (with one's Higher Power, with oneself, and with others), I've come to pick up on unhealthy things that I completely missed before.

Let me use a piece of today's story about Jacob as one example.

Since Jacob/Israel is one of the great patriarchs of the nation of Israel, I grew up reading the stories about Jacob/Israel making certain assumptions about the man. "Sure he participated in cheating his brother Esau out of his birthright," I would think to myself, "but it was part of a larger process that led to the establishment of the nation of Israel – so I guess his actions weren't all THAT bad." I never realized how deeply I was buying into the whole "the ends justify the means" argument, but I digress.

Today, however, as I was reading the portion of the text where Jacob is returning to his homeland and receives news about his brother Esau's approach, I had a sort of epiphany about Jacob.

When he was informed about Esau's approach, what was Jacob's first thought? Was it, "Boy, I did my brother wrong and he's still probably understandably angry with me; I need to figure out a way to apologize and make things right"?

Nope. That wasn't Jacob's response at all.

Instead, his first response was fear for himself. He then responded not by preparing an apology, but by dividing up his property so Esau couldn't destroy his belongings in one fair swoop. He then went on to strategize ways of trying to buy off Esau's acceptance. Not once in the early stages of receiving the news about his brother did Jacob ever step out of himself and think about the well-being of another. How frustrating!

The good news in the story – I suppose - is that God can still work through self-absorbed individuals like Jacob (and certainly at times myself) to accomplish great things. That good news, however, shouldn't completely trump a lesson buried within the text: don't be as self-absorbed as Jacob; look outside of yourself and have compassion/care for others.

Today I would invite you to find time and reflect on your ways of being in relationship with others. As you reflect on your ways of being in relationship with others ask yourself, "Is God able to be present in situations in which I'm present IN SPITE OF the ways in which I conduct myself; or is God's compassion/care for other evident BECAUSE OF the way I'm conducting myself?"

Til next time …

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

2010-09-29T07:44:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 27-29

There are lots of sneaky, under-handed games that get played out in the field of politics. One of the sneakiest and most-underhanded is something known in political circles as push polls.

Push polls are instruments designed to influence voters by using hypothetical charges against one's opponents that are subtly wrapped into the poll itself.

Let's say, for instance, that John is running for office against Barbara. John goes out and hires a firm to do some polling to determine how close the race is. When the polling company calls voters, in addition to asking a direct question like "Are you voting for John or Barbara?" they will sneak in a deceptive question like, "Would it influence your vote if you learned that Barbara stole a million dollars from one of her previous employers?"

The question that is asked most often has no basis in truth. And because of its wording, John's campaign usually is not held liable for slander since his campaign never actually said Barbara stole a million dollars. John's campaign simply planted the seed in the back of voters mind by asking the question. This is one of the dirtiest tactics in American politics.

While the court system has tried to reign in some of this unethical behavior, lots and lots of unethical candidates have won election to office based on the use of this practice. It's just not right that those who engage in unethical behavior so often seem to get rewarded.

I was reminded of this practice as I read today's passage from Genesis. In that passage, we hear the story of how Rebekah teamed up with Jacob to unethically steal the birth right from Esau. Every time I read that story I get riled up that Rebekah and Jacob got away with their treachery.

"What kind of a lesson is that to include in the Bible!?" I wondered for years.

Little by little over the years, my perspective on the matter has shifted somewhat. Instead of assuming that God had explicitly endorsed Rebekah and Jacob's unethical behavior – as if God were behind their awful plan – instead I see how God found a way to be present behind the scenes and still be there to help achieve a positive outcome. Despite his moral shortcomings, for instance, Jacob still became the father of the twelve sons whose descendants formed the tribes of Israel.

That shift in thinking helped lower my frustration level and begin to see things differently.

Perhaps there is an area in your life where it may seem as if someone is being rewarded for the unethical ways in which the person conducts him/herself and it has frustrated you to no end. Instead of looking at the situation in the short-term, I would encourage you to find a way to step back and look at the situation from a long-term perspective. Maybe - just maybe – there might still be a chance for a positive outcome that can come from the bad situation.

Til next time …

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

2010-09-28T06:50:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 24-26

There are lots of ways individuals can be motivated to build or pursue relationships with individuals in our lives. When I first met my partner Mike, for instance, there were two things that first caught my eye: his physical appearance, and the fact that he was wearing a UNC sweatshirt (which I interpreted to mean that he was a big sports fan - much like myself). When I met Andrea, one of my closest friends for the past twenty-one years, I was drawn to her by her amazing sense of warmth and humor. And when I encountered Anne, one of my clergy colleagues here in the Valley whom I've grown closest to, I was drawn to her sense of passion for social justice and her love of parish ministry.

While each of the significant relationships in my life began under slightly different circumstances, in each instance I've found that the things that initially compelled me to spend time and energy with an individual are often the things that come to shape the ensuing relationship.

As I read the series of stories about Abraham and Isaac, I was particularly taken with the story of how Abraham's servant came to choose Rebekah as the one who would be Isaac's wife. The servant could have been superficial and chosen Rebekah based upon her physical appearance. The servant also could have shown himself to be shallow and chosen Rebekah because of her family or social status. Thankfully, the servant didn't use either of those yardsticks. He used something deeper than either of those things.

So what measuring stick did he use in making his choice?

The servant used the sorely underutilized standard of hospitality to discern which young woman was the right one for Isaac. This spirit of hospitality was shown through Rebekah's offer to care not only for the servant for the camels as well. What a wonderful yardstick to use when deciding whether or not to invest one's time and energy in a particular relationship.

So what about you? What quality or qualities do you look for when deciding whether or not to invest your time and energy in building a relationship with another person?

Til next time …

Monday, September 27, 2010

2010-09-27T07:26:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 21-23

I was blessed to attend a seminary (The Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO) that had a variety of faith traditions represented on campus. In addition to the usual assortment of mainline Protestants, there were Roman Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and Buddhists in attendance. This gave me insights into my studies that I would otherwise never had had if it the student population had been more homogenous.

One of my friends – Daniel – was Buddhist. Daniel introduced me on a deeper level to a Buddhist concept known as detachment. Detachment in their tradition is associated with the word renunciation – which he said means something like a determination to be free.

When I first heard about the concept, I was a little hesitant to embrace it. "Who would want to go through life without attachments or passions?" I wondered. It did NOT sound appealing. As I've grown older, I grown into a healthier realization of what Daniel might have been trying to convey. He wasn't suggesting you don't care about others or things. Rather, you aren't attached to them to the degree that if things don't go your way, you don't get completely thrown off kilter.

I could see Abraham practicing the principles of detachment in a couple places in today's reading. First, he had to practice the principle when Sarah demand that he get rid of Hagar and Ishmael since she viewed them as threats. Second, Abraham had to practice the principle of detachment when he heard God call him to sacrifice his son Isaac on a nearby mountain.

On the surface, each of those stories is incredibly disturbing since they seem to treat people like Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac as if they were nothing more than objects that could be tossed aside at a moments notice. That's how I read the stories for years.

Because of the way Daniel enlightened me about the concept of detachment, however, I began to open myself to read the stories a little differently. I began to look at them as opportunities to love God and others so completely that you let go of the outcome of the situation/relationship. You don't let the status of those relationships with loved ones dictate your connection with God (i.e. if anything happens to so and so I would be so devastated that I would lose my faith). In other words, you achieve a level of consciousness (or God-consciousness) that has a level of stability and peace that eludes most of us who remained attached to people or things.

So how open are you to the concept of detachment? Do you see such a determination to be free as a cold way to move through the world; or do you see it as something that offers you the opportunity to open yourself to whatever unfolds without trying to control or judge it?

Til next time …

Saturday, September 25, 2010

2010-09-24T23:06:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 18-20

Over the course of the next 37 days, we will live through what I consider to be the most difficult days of the year.

"And what exactly is it that makes these next 37 days so difficult to live through?" you might wonder.

Well, the next 37 days stand between us and the General Election here in the United States. That means that between now and November 2 we will be bombarded with messages that will appeal to two things: (1) our fears, and (2) our self-interest.

Our airwaves and mailboxes will be stuffed with campaign literature that suggests that life as we know it will surely end if such-and-such a candidate wins the election, or if such-and-such political party has the majority of seats in the legislature. We'll also absorb campaign messages predicated upon the belief that the only way a candidate can win your vote is to appeal to your raw self-interest. "Vote for me and I'll lower your taxes!" "Vote for me and I'll help protect your job!" "Vote for me, and I'll protect your freedom from (and you can fill in the blank here with any group you might feel is a threat). The days between now and the General Election will be full of things that degrade our common humanity.

"So what's the alternative?" you might wonder. "Doesn't our system represent the very best of what's available to us?"

Absolutely not! In fact, there is another way that was spelled out in today's reading from Genesis that is far superior to anything we could create. As Abraham was getting ready to say goodbye to his visitors, we are told that God reassured Abraham about his role in the future with these words: "I've settled on [Abraham] as the one to train his children and future family to observe God's way of life…"

And what exactly is meant by the phrase "God's way of life"?

The author(s) of the passage tells us very clearly. God's way of life means we "live kindly and generously and fairly." What amazing words to describe the kind of lives to which God calls us - "kindness", "generosity", and "fairness"!

As we live through the next 37 days of incessant mudslinging and accusations, I would invite you to recommit yourself to living not by a nation's or a political system's way of life – but rather by God's way of life.

Til next time …

Friday, September 24, 2010

2010-09-24T07:46:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 12-17

Once again this week there was a story that broke of a pastor's misdeeds. It wasn't just any pastor that was involved – the scandal happened to involve the pastor of the largest church in the state of Georgia! It seems that the individual had coerced three young men into sexual relationships.

Individuals have responded to the story in different ways since the story first broke. Some have pointed out the hypocrisy of the pastor since he spent years railing against "homosexuals" – all the while engaging in same-gender behavior himself. I can certainly understand those who are frustrated with the pastor's double-standard in this area. Others have used the situation to rail against Christianity all together - saying it's one more example of the old "say-one-thing, do-another approach" that marks some Christians.

I try to be a little more careful in my response to situations where a pillar of a community is exposed for being something less than what we would consider faithful.

Why is that?

I suppose it's because early in life I picked up on a theme that runs throughout the Scriptures as it pertains to the great leaders of our faith. That theme is that every great leader has moments in her or his life when they fail to live up to the fullness of their call. Take Abram/Abraham from today's reading, for instance. Here is the man that is identified today as the ancestor of not one but three of the world's greatest faith traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the span of just five chapters, we are told this honorable man (1) lied to the Egyptians about the status of his relationship with Sarai to save his own bacon; (2) slept with a woman (Hagar) other than his wife (Sarai) in order to produce off-spring; and then (3) completely ignored an ugly situation when tension arose between Sarai and Hagar. The first two of those situations would get any leader on the front page of most newspapers these days.

In spite of these short comings, Abram/Abraham still went on to participate in remarkable things that redefined the course of human history.

"So what are you suggesting, Craig?" you might wonder. "Are you saying it was okay that the pastor in Georgia did what he did?"

Not at all. If the allegations are true, it was inappropriate for the pastor to use his power and position to coerce minors into inappropriate relationships. He should face the full consequences of his actions. I want to make that part very clear!

What I am saying instead has two parts. First, don't be too quick to gloat about other people's short comings. We all – including the greatest matriarchs and patriarchs of our faith! – have short comings. Second , don't be too quick to write yourself and your contributions to the world off because of your shortcomings. If God can use stubborn, fearful, willful people like Abram/Abraham, Sarai/Sarah, and Hagar to do amazing things – chances are that God can work through someone like me and you as well.

Hold on to those thoughts today as you negotiate your way through a world full of incendiary headlines and hypocrisy.

Til next time …

Thursday, September 23, 2010

2010-09-23T09:00:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 6-11

As some of you know by now, I was raised in a small town (population of less than 3,000 at the time) in Eastern Washington. There was little diversity in that town. The lack of diversity was true not just in racial/ethnic terms – it was true in almost every facet of life. This meant there was a lack of diversity in spiritual belief and practice. The consequence is that I was raised with the impression that there was only one way of thinking about and celebrating God.

Then I went off to college across state to attend a private school in Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma was more than 100 times bigger than my hometown, and it had much more diversity represented. This diversity included diversity in thought about – and experience of – God.

I remember my first quarter at college very well. The college was an undergraduate institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I learned many things in my classes that first quarter that challenged some of the traditional things I had been taught growing up.

At first I didn't know what to do. I went through a stage of denial – thinking these people didn't know what they were talking about since they were saying things that went against my beliefs. I didn't care what fancy degrees or titles they had in front of their names – they were wrong! Next, I went through a stage of anger – wondering why no one back home had bothered to teach me such important things. Finally, I rushed through the stage of acceptance and landed smack dab in a stage of cynicism. I thought, "Boy, you have to be pretty stupid to hold on to childish beliefs that you were raised with and be willing to ignore the evidence that calls such beliefs into question!"

Over time, I grew to have a HUGE amount of respect for one of my history professors – Dr. Phillip Nodrquist. He was a brilliant man who knew his areas of study backwards and forwards, and he was a tremendous human being who contributed so much to society!

Then one day I learned something shocking about Dr. Nordquist. Not only was he a Christian, but he participated regularly in the life of his local church. I was shocked. As someone who held on to a huge amount of cynicism about Christianity, Dr. Nordquist made me wonder, "Can you be a well educated, thoughtful, caring, compassionate individual AND be Christian?"

To make a long story short, I learned the answer to that question was "Yes!"

At a time in my life when I was ready to walk away from the faith with which I had been raised, it took just one person to encourage me to hold on to that faith and NOT give up. What a difference Dr. Nordquist made for me.

In today's reading, I was reminded of the difference that another individual made in the course of our faith – we heard the story of Noah. And in today's story, it wasn't just a cynical, arrogant eighteen year old that was ready to toss in the towel: it was God who was getting ready to give up on humanity. Along came that one individual, and voila – God's relationship with humanity was restored. At so many junctures in our stories, that's all it takes: one person to come along and help get things back on track.

On some days, I might take a less challenging course and simply ask you to think of the one person who came along and made such a dramatic difference for you in your life. Today I'm feeling a bit more rambunctious. Today, I'm going to ask you to live into the notion that for someone out there on the planet – you are that one person who is preventing someone from giving up on life and/or humanity. Find the time to center yourself in that overwhelming realization and ask for the continued strength to be that presence in another's life.

Til next time …

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

2010-09-22T08:02:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Genesis 1-5

As I've developed in my role as worship leader over the years, I've grown in commitment to an emergent value that sometimes gets me in trouble. Before I share what that emergent value is, let me take a moment and explain the traditional approach so it will be a bit more clear why that emergent value can get me in trouble.

For many years in our mainline churches, a high premium was placed on "excellence" in worship. By this, I mean it was expected that each and every element of the service was supposed to be well-rehearsed and go off like clockwork. It didn't matter what element of worship we are talking about – it could be the children's sermon, the choral anthem, or the banners hanging on the wall – everything was supposed to be excellent by purely objective standards.

Over the past 10 years, however, the assumption has been called into question.

"Why would anyone question that?" some might wonder. "Shouldn't we always aspire to give God our best in our worship service/service of celebration?"

The second of those questions get at the heart of the controversy.

You see there is a COLLOSAL difference between establishing a goal of giving God THE best and giving God MY best. If a faith community pursues THE best, this means that lots of people (and their gifts) are left by the wayside because they aren't considered "good enough". Some people aren't asked to speak during worship, for instance, because they sometimes stutter or use fillers when they get nervous. Other people aren't asked to join a song leading team or choir because their voices aren't good enough. Or some aren't asked to help make banners because some of the limitations in their creative abilities might cause visual discordance in the final product.

In other words, lots and lots of folks who are dying to contribute THEIR best to the worship/celebration experience are completely left out because THEIR best doesn't equal THE best. One of my foundational values in approaching worship is to help create a spiritual community that is healthy enough to receive each and every offering that is given.

So what does this have to do with today's reading?

Well, I was reminded of my vision as I read about the story of Abel and Cain in today's passage. Lots of folks assume that Cain got in trouble with God because he didn't offer God THE best. I'm not sure that's the case. Abel, for instance, was praised for giving "choice cuts of meat". In my book, that means he was praised for giving HIS best – the best of what he had available. Cain, on the other hand, got off track not because he didn't give THE best – Cain got off track because he wasn't even willing to give HIS best.

The story of Abel and Cain invites us to think about the way we approach our lives. What is the goal that drives you? Are you driven by the pursuit of excellence in the abstract; or are you driven by the goal of giving YOUR best? Understanding the difference between those approaches can strongly impact the way you lead your life (and the effect you have one others!).

Til next time …

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

2010-09-21T07:04:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 20-22

Last August 30, Mike and I picked up our dogs after I finished leading the Sunday worship service; put few bags in our car; locked the front door of our townhome in Aurora, CO; and drove 1,045 miles to our new home in Woodland Hills, CA. In the 387 days that have followed, much has changed.

Mike has made a career change – moving from the field of human services to commercial real estate. I made the decision to address my long-ignored issues of codependence by getting involved in a Co-Dependents Anonymous group. Mike has acquired a new car, and Mike and I have abandoned some routines in our relationship (AKA "ruts") that no longer worked for us.

So why did we suddenly take on so many new things in our life? Was there something magical in the water in Woodland Hills, CA that empowered us to make these dramatic changes that was lacking in the water in Aurora, CO?

The answer is, "No!" We didn't make these series of substantial changes because of something superficial like the water – we made those changes because the dramatic shift in the circumstances of our lives seemed to give us permission to make changes. There was no way, for instance, that we could pretend that we were continuing with business as usual after the move. Everything was different. This sense of difference gave us the opportunity to stop in the middle of our activities and ask ourselves, "So how would I like to accomplish this task in this new environment. Do I want to continue long-held patterns, or do I want to try something different?"

In a surprising number of cases, our answer was, "We want to try something different."

It's too bad that it took something as dramatic as a move 1,045 miles to get us to try something new. Technically, we could have certainly tried some of the new things in our former environment. There's something about us human beings, however, that makes it difficult for us to make dramatic changes when we are in the midst of the status quo.

As I finished reading the Book of Revelation today, I must say that I saw that same dynamic at work in the vision constructed by its author. The book was written in the context of a status quo that meant there were certain givens in their daily life: the Roman Empire was in place and controlled many facets of their lives; the Christian faith was a movement of outsiders that was extremely vulnerable; and those who made a commitment to follow Jesus often paid the price with some form of persecution. They couldn't imagine a world that was different unless the foundations of the world were shaken and a New Jerusalem descended from the heavens (see Revelation 21).

My experience over the last year and my reading of Revelation makes me wonder: "Is the only way that real change happens - through dramatic and unsettling changes around a person that forces him/her into a new reality (a new Jerusalem, if you will); or is it possible for an individual to grow into significant change without such upheaval?"

I suppose the answer to that question varies from person to person. How is it for you? Are you comfortable initiating and living into dramatic change that grows out of the status quo; or do you need the world as you know it to end first?

Til next time …

Monday, September 20, 2010

2010-09-20T06:55:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 18-19

I had an "Ah ha!" moment today as I was reading some of the final chapters of the Book of Revelation. That "Ah ha!" moment had to do with why I've never connected much with the book. Let me give you a little background to set up that "Ah ha!" moment.

Some of my blog readers might remember from earlier entries that the way I arrive at my daily reading schedule is that I'm using Eugene Peterson's The Message/Remix: Pause. That edition of The Message has a daily reading schedule that includes a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and a reading from the Greek Scriptures (New Testament). I've spent this year focusing on the Greek Scriptures, and in two days I'll transition into focusing on the Hebrews Scriptures.

At the end of each reading, Peterson raises a few questions to help the reader process the information that was just read. At the of Revelation 18, Peterson wrote: "How does the reassurance that God will pay back everyone who has caused his people to suffer change the way you see injustice around you now?"

As I finished reading the question, I immediately thought to myself: "It doesn't change the way I see injustice around me one iota."

Why is that, you might wonder? Why doesn't Revelation's imagery of terror and destruction scare the heebee jeebees out of me and make me want to promise never to do anything bad again?

I suppose that's because my relationship with/connection to God isn't predicated on a reward and punishment system. When I engage in an act of service, for instance, I don't think, "Boy, I'm doing something really good. This will get me into heaven for sure." Nor when I'm doing something that causes me to "miss the mark" (i.e. sin), I don't think: "Uh oh, I better stop this right now or I'll burn in hell."

Instead, I orient my life and my decisions around whether or not my thoughts and actions are bringing closer in relationship/connection with God. The closeness I feel in relation/connection to God when I make healthy decision is – at least for me – "reward" enough. The distance I feel in relation/connection from God when I make unhealthy decision is "punishment" enough. That – I suppose – is why I don't relate to much of the traditional reward/punishment imagery used in Revelation.

So how about you? What are the motivations that drive your decision making processes in life? Are you motivated to do "good" things by the promise of lavish rewards and avoid "bad" things by the fear of torturous consequences; or are their other things that motivate you to lead the life you do?

Til next time …

Saturday, September 18, 2010

2010-09-18T08:13:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 15-17

Staying with this week's reading schedule has been a HUGE challenge for me. I find it challenging because the God of wrath and judgment portrayed so graphically within the pages of the Book of Revelation is barely recognizable to me. The God of Revelation seems so much different than the God of compassion, mercy, and grace that I've spent a lifetime getting to know.

So what could account for the kind of portrayal of God and Jesus contained within the pages of Revelation?

The traditional view of John suggests that Revelation was written by John the Apostle when he was exiled on the island of Patmos during the reign of Domitian. That means the "vision" would have come to an individual/community that had (1) lived through tremendous persecution, and (2) was now tucked away and seething with anger and resentment against those responsible for their plight. Given that background, it is easy for me to understand how such a "vision" would have emerged: a vision of judgment, and a vision of restoration in particular.

The challenge for readers of Revelation is to keep the specific historical/social context in mind and not get too swept away with this one revelation. It's important to integrate the other aspects of God that we know so well with the images contained in Revelation.

This reminds me - once again - of a theme that I've mentioned frequently during the course of my blog. That theme has to do with how our individual locations can shape our perceptions of God. If we grew up with an absent father, for instance, we can make God into our perception of the ideal father we never knew. If we grew up with a parental figure that was angry and vengeful, then guess what? We might tend to mold God into a parental figure who is primarily angry and vengeful. And if we are hungry for acceptance and a strong sense of community, we might even shape God in ways that are consistent with the beliefs of the faith community that offers us acceptance and community.

In other words, as finite human beings many of us are going to grasp on to one-element or dimension that most works for us and hold tight to that one dimension. While that approach is completely understandable (and I'm just as prone as the next person to be "guilty" of this) the important thing to remember is that God is so much bigger than the one dimension we cling to. God is bigger than just judgment. God is bigger than just vengeance. God is even bigger than the expansive notion we like to think of as love. No matter what or how we think, God is bigger!

My challenge for us today is to take time to rest in the presence of a God who transcends all boxes we might stuff God into. And as you encounter difficult images of God contained in places like the Book of Revelation, take comfort in three important words: God is bigger …

Til next time!

Friday, September 17, 2010

2010-09-17T06:53:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 12-14

The very first job I had out of college taught me an invaluable lesson about life – a lesson that is buried within today's reading. Let me take a moment and set that lesson up for you.

My first job out of college was a teaching position where I taught English and social studies to youth who were incarcerated at the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center. The kids in my classroom ranged in age from 11-18, and the average length of stay in the facility was just 2 weeks. The stay of each child varied greatly, however, since at the time Eastern Washington did not have a long-term lock up facility. That mean in some cases, individuals were with us as long as 9 months!

Of course I never knew exactly how long a student would be with me when the youth first arrived in my classroom. Everything depended on how the individual's court case went. That meant I could make no assumptions about how long the individual would be around. I had to be present to the individual each day – not knowing if it would be his or her last day with us.

In the process of maximizing my sense of presence with each child, I invested a great deal of myself in the classroom relationship. While it may have been naïve to expect that the two week's the individual spent in my classroom would completely turn around the life of each youth, on some level I thought that it could. Needless to say, I was disappointed when a child would get released, re-offend, and appear back in my classroom a few weeks later.

At first I would take this personally – as if it were somehow proof that I was an ineffective teacher. As time passed, however, I realized how unrealistic it was for me to expect that I could single-handedly turn an individual's life around in just two weeks. There were so many other factors involved in the individual's life that drowned out the messages I was sending. I learned that I alone couldn't save each student.

When that reality first occurred to me I went through a mini-crisis in my teaching. "If I can't save the students," I asked myself, "what's the point?"

Over the course of my six years teaching there I arrived at a two-fold answer to that question. First, I realized that not every student re-offended. There were some who got the message through their experience of being incarcerated – and maybe I played a small role in helping the child get it. That helped. Second, I realized that when you make a difference in someone's life, if doesn't always look like you would expect. I expected that making a difference in someone's life meant they would not re-offend. Later I learned that making a difference in someone's life looked different in each case. For some, it meant that for the first time in the individual's life they actually looked forward to coming to school and learning. For other, it meant that the individual forged a positive relationship with an adult male role model whom they could trust and look up to. And for still others, I'll never know what it looked like because they never told me what it looked like for them.

The lesson I learned was this: don't get frustrated and give up just because it seems as if your efforts aren't working. Hang in there – for you never know exactly what a difference you are making.

In speaking of those who died in the practice of their faith, the author of today's passage wrote these beautiful words of affirmation: "None of what they've done is wasted…"

I know there are days when you feel like I felt during my teaching days in the detention center –you wonder what difference your life is making. If you are having such a day, take a step back and remember those wonderful words of promise and affirmation. None of what you have done will be wasted! Live into those words and draw strength from those words.

Til next time …

Thursday, September 16, 2010

2010-09-16T08:35:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 10-11

Today's reading touched on one of my HUGE frustrations when it comes to the way that some traditional/orthodox Christians approach sin – particularly as it relates to issues of responsibility/accountability.

If you pay attention to the way the Religious Right talked over the course of the last three decades, they became obsessed with what they considered to be sin. What they really focused on was what most people would consider sins committed by INDIVIDUALS. 90% of these "sins" they focused on were related to sex and sexuality. About all they talked about publically for thirty years were things like same-sex behavior and abortion.

I suppose I might have paid more attention to their conversations about "sin " if they had been consistent in their approach and talked about other individual "sins" – things like greed, gluttony, gossip, arrogance – that were non-sexual in nature. In most instances, however, they completely ignored those other topics so they could turn their laser-like focus to their favorite issue: sex, sex, sex. Their one-dimensional approach wasn't a solid theological (or even biblical!) approach, but it sure did get them a lot of money and power. From a human perspective, I can see why they failed to change their tune: it worked.

In today's reading, however, the words from Revelation challenge us to move from an approach that emphasizes INDIVIDUAL sin (and the effects of sin only on the individual level) into the realm of COOPERATE sin. "The angry nations now get a taste of your anger," the author(s) wrote. "The time has come to judge the dead, to reward your servants, all prophets and saints, reward small and great who fear your Name, and destroy the destroyers of earth."

What particularly caught my eye there was the notion that the "destroyers of the earth" would be held responsible/accountable.

When I hear the language about the "destroyers of the earth" I think, for instance, about those individuals AND groups whose ecological practices/policies "destroy the planet". This would include those political candidates and parties who refuse to acknowledge global climate change and the effects our patterns of consumption have on the environment. When I hear about the "destroyers of the earth" I also think about those who promote tax policies that shift the burdens away from the corporations (many of whom exploit workers by moving jobs from one location to another based simply upon the consideration of where they can get the cheapest labor or biggest tax breaks) and onto the backs of the working class. When I hear about the "destroyers of the earth", I also think about those such as political candidates and web/televangelists who acquire their power by exploiting the general public's fear of marginalized groups (i.e. immigrants and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people). Each of these individuals/groups represents – at least for me - those who are the "destroyers of the earth". I wish the Religious Right would spend some time addressing these sins – but let's just say I won't hold my breath as some of the individuals/groups are a part of the base that props the religious extremists up.

So as you read Revelation these days, how do you experience the visions of responsibility/accountability? Do you view those words primarily on the individual level, or do you view those words on a more balanced plane – where both individuals AND groups are held accountable/responsible for their effects of the actions and beliefs?

Til next time …

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

2010-09-15T07:34:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 8-9

One of my family members is currently living through a nightmare. This family member has a twenty-one year old who is living with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.

The twenty-one year old has gone through a stunning transformation – from a personable student-athlete in middle-school to an angry, belligerent young man who can't hold down a job. As the addictions have taken over the individual's life over the past six years, the twenty-one year old has lived through hell. He has been beaten within an inch of his life on the streets, he has served time in jail for assault, he has endured the loss of respect from family members from whom he has repeatedly stolen, and he has spent many a night on the streets.

As I look at the situation from the outside, it's hard for me to understand why the individual refuses to change. I find myself wondering, "Why would someone continue in his/her behavior when that behavior is obviously destroying his/her life?"

I ask this question because I have been fortunate to have never wrestled with a chemical addiction myself. I don't understand why someone would ignore the obvious need for change and continue down a path toward destruction.

That same dynamic is evident in today's passage from Revelation, for in that passage we are told about a series of nightmares unleashed on humanity. Given the horrors of those nightmares, you would think that folks would wake up, get a clue, and change.

Sadly, they don't. "The remaining men and women who weren't killed by these weapons went on their merry way," the author indicates, "didn't change their way of life."

Those haunting words are a reminder of how difficult it can be for us human beings to make changes – especially some of the most dramatic changes that are holding us back or keeping us connected to situations that are destructive and life-denying.

Today, I would invite you to take an inventory of your own life and see if there is a part (or perhaps even parts) of your life in dire need of change. If you find such an area, remember today's reading from Revelation and remind yourself, "It doesn't have to be this way." That simple realization might propel you on to new – and more life-giving places.

Til next time …

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

2010-09-13T21:54:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 4-7

If I were to walk into a room, find a sheet of paper, pick it up, and start reading; it would be difficult for me to make sense of what I'm reading unless I have a context for those words. Let's say, for instance, that the piece of paper I pick up reads as follows: "(1) eggs, (2) butter, (3) milk, and (4) brown sugar."

If I read that those words without knowing the context, I could arrive at several difference conclusions about the meaning of those words. I could say, for instance, that the words are part of a shopping list and represent a list of unrelated items that need to be purchased from a grocery store. That would be one logical conclusion. I could also say that those four words are part of a recipe that identifies items that come together to make something tasty. That would also work. I might even suggest that perhaps the words represent a list of what someone is allergic to. That could also be yet another possibility. Without knowing the context of the words, it would be dangerous for me to decide what the exact purpose of the list was.

There's a similar dynamic involved in today's reading from Revelation – for at face value we don't know exactly what the context of those words is. We don't know, for instance, whether those words are a form of poetry spelling out one person's dramatic version of the world. We don't know for sure whether those words were meant to be a subversive political message that was communicated through coded language. Nor do we know for sure if those words were intended to predict a literal unfolding of the future. Lots of folks have different takes on the matter.

There are those, for instance, who read today's passage quite literally – and conclude that when Revelation 7 says, "I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel" that it means there will only be 144,000 individuals who will be sealed/saved.

I think it would be a mistake to read that passage literally. It's hard for me to imagine God limiting God's unlimited love to such a concrete – and limited - number. There's got to be another context for those words.

All of this has me wondering about the ways you and I might be prone to take things out of context as well. Perhaps we overhear a portion of a conversation that a loved one is participating on the phone, or we glance at an open email on a friend's computer, or we arrive at a table in the middle of our friends' conversation and make assumptions about what the words they are saying mean without knowing exactly what it is they are talking about. That can be very dangerous.

Whatever the specific circumstance is for you, I would advise you to slow down and take some time before you jump to conclusions – conclusions that may misinterpret the meaning behind the words you first encounter.

Til next time …

Monday, September 13, 2010

2010-09-13T07:35:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Revelation 1-3:22

The codependence I have lived with over the years gets expressed in a variety of ways. Codependence can sometimes be expressed for me as an inability to say "No" to others' requests. The consequence of this manifestation is that it causes me to take on way too many commitments. Codependence can also express itself in my life by making me appear wishy washy to others. In my effort to please everyone, it can seem impossible to take a stand – since any stand will risk offending someone.

Each of these manifestations of codependence is certainly challenging, but neither is the most challenging expression of codependence for me. The most challenging expression for me is my inability to hold others responsible for their own decisions.

You see in my efforts to be liked by others, my very first tendency is always to blame myself for something that has gone wrong. If I give someone directions to a place and they get lost, I tend to automatically blame myself for giving bad directions. I never think, "Maybe the individual didn't listen closely to the directions as I passed them along." If a church event doesn't meet expectations, I tend to conclude, "Maybe I should have worked harder to get the word out." I rarely think, "Maybe the individual didn't know about the event because they didn't read the bulletin, look at the website, read the newsletter, or listen to the verbal announcement in church."

In my process of recovery, I have begun to work on re-wiring my thinking. I'm trying to get over my tendency to think everything is my fault and begin to hold individuals responsible for their role in things as well. This is difficult work for me to do!

So what gets me motivated to do the work?

Two realizations. First, I realized that - statistically speaking - it is impossible for everything in the world to be my fault. That helped. Second, I realized that if I truly love others as much as I say I do, then I need to do the loving thing and hold them responsible for their actions (or – in some cases – inactions). It does individuals and organizations no good in terms of their growth if I'm always there relieving them of their responsibility in things. In fact, it does the opposite: it stunts them in their development.

As I read today's opening chapters from Revelations, I was reminded of this point right away. That's not easy for me to admit, because Revelation isn't my favorite book in the Bible. The triumphalist images used throughout – and the foreboding sense of "you've been bad so now you're going to get it" – don't speak to the God of love and compassion that I know. Nevertheless, I vowed to myself that I would hang in there and read Revelation.

Toward the end of the passage, I stumbled upon wonderful words that put the book (and my recovery work around holding others accountable) into perspective. "The people I love," John begins, "I call to account – prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at the best." Those words are a wonderful way of putting the goal of Revelation into perspective. The goal isn't to portray a God of fear or retribution; the goal is to get our attention and prod us so that we can live our best lives. That goal I can feel good about.

So how do you do with this notion of accountability? Are you okay with the notion that others (including the God of our thinking) should relieve individuals from their sense of responsibility; or do you prefer that individuals accept responsibility for themselves?

Til next time …

Saturday, September 11, 2010

2010-09-11T07:18:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Jude

I have to admit to being a little nervous today about the various forms some people's anti-Muslim sentiments will take on this – the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The recent controversies involving the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero site and the media firestorm around Terry Jones' threat to burn copies of the Koran have whipped anti-Muslim sentiments to a level I haven't seen before. How tragically sad!

It's on just such a day that the reading of Jude seems so appropriate – for the small book starts with exactly the words I needed to hear this morning. "Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!"

Yesterday morning those words proved especially prophetic for me. Just as I started to worry about the energies that would be released today, a friend sent me a flier for an interfaith peace vigil to honor the victims of September 11 that will take place today from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM at the Islamic Center of Southern California located at 434 South Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. The event is a wonderful opportunity for those of us worried about the possibility of hateful events occurring today to channel our energies toward positive ends. In other words, it's a chance for one four letter word (h-o-p-e) to beat out another four letter word (f-e-a-r). What a wonderful opportunity that is!

Chances are you are facing some circumstance this September 11 that is triggering some degree of fear or anxiety within you. It might not be a political or global situation. It might be something much more personal in nature. Whatever your concern is, listen once more to those wonderful words and make them the center of your day: "Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!"

May it be so.

Til next time …

Friday, September 10, 2010

2010-09-10T07:28:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 2 John 1 & 3 John 1

I spent many years during my twenties and thirties being an activist for a variety of causes. During this time, I would work my regular 40 hour a week job and then volunteer another 20 or so hours.

I loved doing much of the work for it felt good to be around other passionate people who cared for many of the causes I did. I also loved having a sense that I was helping change the world in many positive ways!

By the time I reached my early thirties, however, I began to hit a brick wall. The years of working so many hours had begun to take a toll. I was also losing some of my optimism when it came to having a sense that I was making a difference in the world. I also started developing a HUGE martyr complex (i.e. "Why don't others CARE about the issues as much as I do, and why don't they DO as much as I do? I guess I'll just have to work harder to pick up their slack"). Let's just say, by the time I reached 32 it wasn't a pretty picture.

So what happened? How did a well-intentioned person get so far off course in his desire to make a difference?

I can't answer for everyone who has been in that position, but I can answer for myself. A part of that answer can be found in today's reading from 3 John 1. In observing the community, John wrote: "Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They've made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love."

I love the connection John made in that first sentence– the one where he connected their acts of service to their faith. That's what I was missing when I was doing my work in my twenties and thirties. When I did those acts of service, my actions were motivated primarily by my desire to impose my values and perceptions of how the world should be onto others. In other words, my acts of service were all too often driven by my need to control others. It's not surprising that I eventually became angry and bitter when others resisted my efforts to control.

In the middle and latter part of my thirties, I began to make a shift in the ways I engaged in acts of service. I began to think of my acts of service much differently. I began to see them as a natural expression of my faith. Over time those acts of service became less about my desire for control and more about something else: love. Love of God. Love of neighbor. That shift has helped increase and sustain my desire to give something back to the world.

So how about you? What motivates your acts of service?

Til next time …

Thursday, September 9, 2010

2010-09-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 John 5

I was talking with a member of the church I serve recently about issues of Justice and Peace. The individual said, "It's so discouraging these days. Having the conflicts in the Middle East continue, dealing with the economic challenges of the recession, thinking about the long term effects of global climate change… The list of problems seems endless. It's depressing – almost enough to make me want to give up hope."

I can certainly understand why the individual felt that way. The list of challenges we face these days IS overwhelming – and given the intransigence of many of our leaders (in terms of their unwillingness to reach across partisan divides and start putting the wellbeing of the planet before the demands of their own political parties), I can see why it might be tempting to contemplate throwing in the towel.

So why not do it? Why not throw in the towel?

Well, eac person has to answer that question for her/himself. All I can do is offer my take on why I refuse to surrender my sense of hope. The reason I refuse to give up is that for me – the central tenet of my faith is this: "One life can make a difference."

I mean this on two levels. First, I mean that Jesus – the one whom I recognize as Christ – came and affected a change in God-consciousness and manner in which millions of individuals relate to God: even across the span of two millennia. That's the first way I mean "one life CAN make a difference"!

The second level has to do with how individual followers of this God revealed through Jesus have profoundly affected the course of human history. I look at the way some of those followers (the abolitionists) put an end to the practice of slavery; I look at the way some of those followers (the suffragists) expanded the power and influence of women; I look at the way some of those followers (the human rights activists) have expanded the civil rights of African-Americans and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender people. All of these examples show me what a difference individual followers of Jesus can make.

While there were certainly periods when such individuals did not represent the mainstream "Christian" position (i.e. for decades mainstream "Christian" folks were the ones who instituted slavery, who denied women the vote, and who advocated withholding basic human rights to many groups), the AMAZING thing about our faith is that it teaches us if you hang in there and hold on to your foundational principles long enough, you CAN change the world! You can even change the course and practice of this thing called "Christianity" – sometimes the most difficult institution to change of all!!!

With that in mind, I am bold enough to think that it will be the actions of individual followers of God who will change the atmosphere of hopeless and despair that seems so pervasive these days. These followers will provide the impetus to get us out of Afghanistan. These followers will provide resources (and a sense of moral direction) that will help point us toward a more equitable and vital economic system in the 21^st century. These followers will generate a culture of care for our natural world that will put an end to the ways we abuse our planet.

In fact, most days I can't wait to spring out of bed and do my part in helping turn things around! That's why it's easy to read the words from today's passage that say – "The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith!" – and believe it!!

So how about you? In the face of the multitude of challenges we face these days, how have you responded? Have you given in to despair and hopelessness; or have you found ways to connect with "the conquering power" that can empower you to do your part in bringing the problems of the world to their knees?

Til next time …

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

2010-09-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 John 4

Have you ever had the experience of reading something and finding yourself agreeing 100% - yet sighing as you put down the reading material and thinking to yourself, "If only it were that easy." I have that experience every time I read today's passage from the 4^th chapter of 1 John.

The 4^th chapter of 1John is probably the second most famous chapter dealing with the topic of love in all the Bible. It ranks behind only 1 Corinthians 13 in that regard. Some of the wonderfully stirring words contained in the chapter read: "My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God," the author observes. "The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love – so you can't know him if you don't love."

On the surface, I completely agree with those sentiments. In reality, however, I have a challenge living into those words. Every time I read them, for instance, I can't help but thinking of a person whom I'll call Brian. Brian was a student of mine while I taught in the juvenile detention center. He had been locked up because he shot and killed his neighbor. Brian was one of the most difficult people I have ever known to get along with. He had been raised alone on a remote piece of property with his father – so he had virtually no social skills. No matter how hard you tried to engage him, Brian would never respond. Not to humor, not to praise, not to supportive words – not to anything. Practically every other word out of his mouth was a four letter word, and he LOVED to make fun of others. He also had the coldest eyes I have ever seen in a living human being. To make matters worse, he and his attorney managed to manipulate the legal system. This allowed Brian to get off for the murder with only a couple of months served!

Looking back on the few weeks I taught Brian, I ask myself, "Did I love Brian?"

The answer is complicated. On one level I can truthfully say yes. I did love Brian when I looked at him and saw a wounded child of God. In other words, I loved him on the abstract level. When it came time to interacting with Brian on the concrete level – did I love him? Nearly twenty years later, I still I don't know if I can truthfully answer that question with a resounding yes. Sadly, today's passage doesn't draw a distinction between loving someone in the abstract and loving someone in the concrete. From its perspective, love is love.

Have you ever encountered someone like Brian who pushes every last button you have? If so, I wonder how you have managed to reconcile your experience of such a person with the sentiments contained in today's passage. I hope we'll all use those wonderful – yet challenged words from 1 John 4 to draw us into deeper levels of consideration of this thing called love.

Til next time …

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

2010-09-06T21:36:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 John 3

Every time I think I could not possibly more shocked or appalled at what some folks do in the name of Jesus, I find that I am wrong: some self-professed follower of Jesus manages to find new ways to further shock and appall me.

Case in point: one Terry Jones – pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL.

Mr. Jones announced recently that he has declared September 11 "International Burn a Koran Day." His goal is to exploit the painful memories that linger from September 11, 2001 and use them to inflame anti-Muslim prejudice around the globe.

How sad. How horribly, horribly sad.

I find it ironic that if individuals from another country and/or another faith tradition were to sponsor an "International Burn the Bible Day" that Mr. Jones and his followers would probably be the first ones to complain about such acts of religious bigotry.

My dilemma, then, is to figure out how to respond to Mr. Jones. Do I respond to his actions fueled by bigotry and hatred with my own expression of hatred and bigotry aimed in his direction; or do I search my heart for some other response?

Thankfully, I have the words from the third chapter of 1 John to help guide me in my discernment process today.

"My dear children, let's not just talk about love," the chapter states, "let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living, truly living, in God's reality."

So what does practicing real love look like in this situation?

Practicing real love can take numerous forms. One form it took for me was to show my solidarity with my Muslim sisters and brothers by joining things like the Facebook page titled "People of Faith Opposed to the Burning of the Qur'an." Another form it took was in my decision to resist the temptation to say hateful/hurtful things about Mr. Jones – and instead hold him and the Dove World Outreach Center in my prayers so that their hearts might be changed.

In this highly charged (and highly politicized) environment, I would ask you to find time today to consider various ways you can practice real love by responding to Mr. Jones' inflammatory words and actions. It's especially important to find the time to do this in the days leading up to September 11 as the levels of fear, distrust – and sadly even hatred – will undoubtedly continue to escalate in many of our communities.

Til next time …

Monday, September 6, 2010

2010-09-05T21:44:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 John 1-2

Having been raised in the Inland Northwest, I grew up in a part of the country that had white supremacist and separatist groups peppered throughout the country side. When I first heard of the existence of these groups, I simply clumped them together in my mind as if they were all affiliated with the outrageous KKK.

As I grew up, however, I realized that wasn't the case. Many of these groups claimed different roots. What shocked me most was that several of these groups tried to present themselves as if they sprung from the Christian tradition. I learned an entire branch of these groups came from what is called the Christian Identity movement. One of the most visible of these sects during my teen years was a group called the Aryan Nations.

The presence of such groups taught me an important lesson: not every person or group that claims a connection to the God revealed through Jesus is what they claim to be.

So how do we discern whether or not an individual or group that claims to be committed to following Jesus' way is actually serious about their claim?

A portion of today's reading is helpful in providing a way of determining that.

"Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister," the author begins, "is still in the dark." The author continued: "It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by darkness."

Clearly the groups of which I spoke earlier were in the business of propagating darkness. It wasn't hard to discern that given their hateful rhetoric. There are other individuals and groups, however, that also hate that can be much more difficult to catch. This is particularly true during election cycles when individuals and interest groups emerge purely to breed fear and distrust toward others. That fear and distrust can easily turn into hatred – the ultimate form of darkness.

As we move beyond the Labor Day weekend into a season when the election cycle begins in earnest, I would encourage all of us to keep the words from 1 John in mind as our guide as we try to discern which individuals/groups propagate light and which individuals/groups propagate darkness.

Til next time …

Saturday, September 4, 2010

2010-09-03T22:53:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 2 Peter 1-3

Nearly every person I know has a strained relationship with at least one member of his or her biological family.

Some will admit to this; others won't.

I am one of those individuals who will admit to it. My relationship with my sister is less than satisfying for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons have to do with long-standing jealousies; other reasons have to do with the fact that we are so much alike.

For the better part of twenty years now, we have shoved each other into our pre-conceived boxes and refused to budge much in terms of our attitudes and actions toward one another.

Our intransigence with one another stems from the fact that we are both convinced that we know the other so well that we can predict what the other will say or how the other will respond. Some times this is true. More often than either of us would like to admit, however, it's not. Nevertheless, we keep trudging on year after year locked into our same patterns of assumptions – refusing to open ourselves to the notion that maybe – just maybe- the other person might have matured a bit and perhaps even (gasp!) changed.

"It's been twenty-years of tension in our relationship," I tell myself. "Why would I expect anything to change after all this time?!"

Because I refuse to open myself to the possibility of change, our relationship has been stuck in neutral for many years.

Just as I feel entirely justified settling into my relational rut, along comes a passage like today's passage from 2 Peter and tells me the thing I least want to hear. "[God] doesn't want anyone lost. [God's] giving everyone space and time to change."

"If God has the patience to allow everyone the space and time to change," the question becomes, "then wouldn't that mean God wants us to give each other the space and time to change as well?!"

You would certainly think so.

The hard part for me is taking that question from the abstract and putting it into the concrete circumstance of my relationship with my sister. Just because the dynamic in our relationship hasn't changed in our relationship for the past twenty-years doesn't mean that it won't. I have to dig down deep and draw on my faith to believe that anything is truly possible. Even more so, I have to want the change in our relationship to happen more than I want to be right about my assessment of our relationship. That's the hardest part for me!

Today I would ask you to search your heart and see if there is someone in your life with whom you are struggling: someone whom you don't want to give either the space or the time to change. Someone whom you would prefer to simply write off.

If you have someone like that in your life, remember the words from today's passage and see if perhaps you can discover what I believe is one of the most important qualities of any relationship: patience.

Til next time …

Friday, September 3, 2010

2010-09-02T21:14:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 Peter 3-5

Over the years, I've noticed that I tend to live my spiritual life in three stages. I wish I could say there was a logical sort of progression that propels me from one stage to another, but I can't. I've noticed that I tend to jump from one stage to the next – often in seemingly random order.

"So what are these three stages?" you might be wondering. Well let's see if I can spell them out for you.

When I lead my life from stage one, I am focused exclusively on those things that I want out of life. This means that I tend to see the entire world through the lens of personal preference; that's about all I consider. I should note that I don't believe the first stage is inherently a bad place to come from. After all, there are times when an individual needs to pursue her or his wants or needs as a means of self-care. If a person spends too much of your time in the first stage, however, it greatly stunts an individual's spiritual growth.

The second stage of my spiritual life takes me to a place where I am primarily tuned into the will of the community. When I'm in this second stage, I find myself spending a lot of time taking the "temperature" of the group in order to help build consensus within the group. I find that I have to quiet my own voice in order to ensure it blends with other voices in the community and doesn't drown them out. In my leadership position, I also spend a good deal of time trying to quiet other domineering voices in order to help the group achieve a sense of harmony.

Occasionally, I have moments of absolute clarity/bliss when I reach the third stage in my spiritual development. This stage is where I find myself successfully discerning the leading of the Spirit and work to align my own life in this direction as well. The third stage of this developmental process is the hardest because I not only have to bring my own voice into harmony with others, but I also have to work to balance the preferences of the community with what I believe is the leading of the Spirit. This is a tremendously difficult thing to do since it requires holding many egos and agendas in check.

Some of the words in today's reading from 1 Peter reminded me of these stages. Those words also helped clarify what stage I should seek to spend the bulk of my time. As Peter talks about the issue of suffering, for instance, he wrote: "Think of your sufferings as a weaning from the old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way."

This is akin to leading your life from a stage one.

"Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want."

As you negotiate your way through your day today, I would ask you to consider in which stage you spend the majority of your time. Do you spend the bulk of your time in stage one – pursuing/demanding your own way; do you spend the majority of your time in stage two – playing peace-keeper and working to build consensus in the community; or do you spend a good deal of your time in stage three –aligning your life with the movement of the Spirit?

Til next time …

Thursday, September 2, 2010

2010-09-01T21:07:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: 1 Peter 2

Lots of folks will read the language that culminates today's passage from 1 Peter – the language about Christ using "his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way" (1 Peter 2:24) – solely through the lens of classical atonement theory. By this I mean they interpret the verse to mean the primary work Jesus did was to sacrifice himself so that his blood would pay the price for our sins/transgressions.

That's certainly one way of thinking about the work of Christ.

I tend to think about the work Christ accomplished with the verse just before (1 Peter 2:23) and just after (1 Peter 2:24b) the section I began by quoting. 1 Peter 2:23 reads, "He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right." 1 Peter 2:24b reads, "His wounds became your healing."

Let me tell you why I tend to think of it this way, and how this way might differ from a more traditional position.

As an ordained spiritual leader of a faith community, I am asked to wear at least two VERY different hats during the course of my days. One hat I'm asked to wear is an administrative hat. By this, I mean I am charged with making decisions that drive the organizational/structural life of the faith community. The other hat I wear is a pastoral hat. By this, I mean I am charged with providing loving and grace-filled care for those individuals within our faith community.

While there are many times when it is possible to wear both hats simultaneously, there are other times when it is impossible to reconcile those hats – and I am forced to choose which one to wear. Let me give you an example of one situation where the two hats proved incompatible with one another.

There was a time when I worked closely with a lay person who was charged with providing leadership for the community. The individual was going through a great deal of turmoil in the individual's life. It started showing up in a variety of ways. The individual started getting into interpersonal conflicts with other members of the community. Eventually, the individual started pulling back from participation in the community life all together.

Lots of folks interpreted the individual's actions as if they were a reflection on the life of the community. More specifically, they thought the individual was disgruntled with my leadership of the community.

I could have chosen to break confidentiality and clue folks in on what was really happening with the person. I chose not to. Not only would such a breach of confidentiality been inappropriate – it would have violated the very essence of my call to be a pastoral presence. I chose, therefore, to keep my mouth shut (1 Peter 2:23) and let people in the community think what they wanted – even if that meant they thought less of my as an administrative leader. I ended up getting wounded (1 Peter 2:24b) in order to let another person have the time and space that person needed to heal.

I don't mean to make myself sound like a saint here. Believe me I'm FAR from sainthood! And besides, lots of folks make those same sorts of sacrificial gestures all the time in a variety of roles. Parents often take some heat for their children during their children's maturation process. A well-established co-worker will sometimes protect more vulnerable colleague in order to help their colleague through a learning curve at work. The list of examples I could give is endless. What matters in all of this, however, is a sense that what it means to be Christ-like is to make oneself vulnerable for another as a means of empowering the other individual on their journey toward wholeness. That – in many ways – is the lens through which I see Christ's work for us.

So how do you wrestle with the challenging notion of atonement theory? Do you see it in its most literal sense (i.e. Jesus' blood paid the price for us), do you see it in a more figurative sense, or do you avoid it all together? May your exploration of that question take you to new levels of understanding in your faith life.

Til next time …

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

2010-08-31T21:20:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading today: 1 Peter 1

I had a few moments to kill today, so I sat down and started flipping channels. There was nothing on any of my favorite channels so I decided to continue further down the listings and see what new viewing experience I might stumble upon. Right away I saw a listing for a program that I had never seen – so I turned to the channel.

The program I stopped on was Glenn Beck's television show. He had been in the news a good deal the past week due to the event he sponsored in Washington, DC so I thought it might be interesting to see what he was up to.

I managed to watch about 3 minutes of the program before I found myself reaching for the remote. What frustrated me during those 3 minutes was the way he was talking about some people's reaction to the event he organized.

He set things up in such a way where he said, "Some people have said that the group I pulled together was made up of extremist wackos." Then he would show a serene picture of a grandmother from Iowa. "Now let me show you a picture of the group that made this accusation." Then he would cut to a mob scene from an undisclosed location.

"Others have said my event was attended only by uneducated, rabid white racists." Then he would cut to interviews with an articulate twenty-something white woman, and a well-informed African-American man. "These are the people who made the accusations," he would say. Then he would cut to the audio of a spastic white man ranting against Beck on the air.

Beck's "analysis" got old after a while so I turned the channel.

I know there are some moderates and conservatives who would suggest that folks on the other side of the political spectrum do the same thing as Beck – take things out of context. I suppose that if you flipped into programs like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert for just 3 minutes (like I did with Beck) it would probably seem that way.

Lost in the steady stream of accusations is the fact that the way we deal with life these days is incredibly broken. We have allowed ourselves to get to the point where we resort to name-calling and innuendo to discredit those who have the nerve to disagree with us. We also tend to focus our energies on the personalities involved and ignore the real issues. All the while we get further and further off track.

I suppose that is why the words from 1 Peter struck a chord with me today – words that promised "the day is coming when you'll have it all – life healed and whole." I LOVE the way Peter talks about what it means to have it all. He equates having it all to having a life healed and whole. A life that doesn't depending on sound-bites taken out of context to prove a point. A life that transcends the superficial labels we impose on one another in order to justify our decision to marginalize "them" (whoever the "them" of the moment happens to be).

I long for such times!

As you move through your day today and encounter those voices that push your buttons and make you feel ready to resign yourself to live a life that is diseased and broken, remember the words from 1 Peter and aspire to something more.

Til next time …

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

2010-08-30T21:31:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: James 5

The last five months have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. While that's been true on several fronts, there's one area in my life where that's been particularly true. That area has to do with a special celebration the local church I serve has undertaken.

On January 15, 1961, our church welcomed a guest preacher. It was a gentleman who happened to be celebrating his 33^rd birthday that day. You might have heard of our guest preacher – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This January 15 will mark the 50 anniversary of that special experience – Dr. King's very first appearance in the San Fernando Valley!

In order to celebrate the occasion, our church wanted to pull together a series of events that would be open to the general public. Our thinking was it would be a great opportunity to collectively recommit ourselves to the vision that Dr. King lifted up for us all. So last March we started pulling together folks from throughout the community to start the planning process for the celebration.

Since we first started the planning process, there have been lots of ups and downs.

We started our planning process by dreaming big. We explored the possibility of bringing in keynote speakers for the weekend like First Lady Michelle Obama or the President and General Minister of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Geoffrey Black. Both individuals politely declined our request. That triggered a change in our thinking as we began to prepare for a smaller opening dinner event.

Then we started pursuing the idea of pulling together a Saturday morning service project that would tie in with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on January 15. We explored the idea of working along the canal that snakes through large portions of the Valley. The logistics of such a project soon became overwhelming so we started exploring other opportunities.

We even had visions of pulling together the first march on MLK weekend in the Valley. Despite some curveballs that have been thrown our way, thankfully that dream is still alive.

While it has been impossible to realize all of the ideas we first brainstormed last March, there will still be a wide range of events offered to the community that weekend.

All of this has taught me the importance of being balanced in my approach to projects such as this. Several times in the roller-coaster planning process, I've had to stop and connect myself with the sort of energy the book of James points us toward. "Take the old prophets as your mentors," James advised. "They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course!"

Through the planning process I've learned to do a better job living into the wisdom of those words. For while things may not be unfolding in exactly the manner I would have anticipated, there have been plenty of wonderful surprises along the way that have convinced me that the final product will be even better than the one I was anticipating last March.

Perhaps there is a project or a relationship that has been causing you extraordinary levels of frustration – so much so that you are on the verge of giving up. If that's the case, take a few moments and think twice about your decision to throw in the towel. Ponder the gifts that might reveal themselves if only you have the strength to "stay the course."

Til next time …

Monday, August 30, 2010

2010-08-29T21:37:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: James 4

The past five weeks have been a very intense time for me. In that period of time, I have lived through the loss my best friend Eric and ministered with families through the losses of John, Daria, Leo, Ginny Lou, and Kyle. Death has been more present in my life these days than at any other period.

Some of my loved ones have asked how this wave of losses has affected me.

There isn't one simple answer I could give to that question. The best way for me to answer that question has been to say, "It has better taught me how to live in the moment."

As someone who was a classic overachiever in life, I spent most of my early years living with my attention always focused on the future. I was obsessed with planning for the future. That advice has served me well – up to a point. The advice has its limits, however.

Those limits were pointed out in today's passage from James, where the author stated: "And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, 'Today- at the latest, tomorrow—we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money.' You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing." Strong words, indeed.

As you negotiate your day today, I would invite you to find moments to slow down and ask yourself, "What tense am I living in at this moment – the past, the present, or the future?"

If you find yourself answering either past or future, stop and ground yourself in the present. As difficult and challenging as life can be at any given moment, remind yourself there's a reason they call this moment "the present". It truly can be a gift – if you are open to that possibility.

Til next time …

Saturday, August 28, 2010

2010-08-28T08:54:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: James 3

Twenty-two years ago, I was fascinated with a cultural phenomenon that broke into the homes of many Americans.

That phenomena?

The television show "Roseanne".

I call it a phenomenon because it went places that most Americans were unwilling to go at the time. It showed people engaging in conversations – actually talking about topics that hadn't been discussed publically by most shows of the time. It helped put to rest the notion of the perfect, "Leave It to Beaver" family that had dominated the airwaves for decades. In other words, the television show was "real" in ways that other television shows hadn't been. For those reasons I loved the show and its controversial star.

While I loved many, many, many things about the show – there was one aspect of the show that I didn't necessarily love. The aspect had to do with the star of the show's propensity for saying the very first thing that came to her mind in order to get a laugh. There were many times when that first thought that came to her mind was appropriate – for it helped cut through the niceties and get to the tough work that needed to be done. There were other times, however, when the first thing that popped into her head was incredibly devaluing of other people and circumstances. If I were to summarize the problem I had with Roseanne's way of behaving, I would say I felt it undermined our ability to discern what was helpful and what was not helpful. Saying the very first thing that popped into your mind became the only thing that mattered.

In the past twenty-two years since the show first aired, folks have picked up on that theme and run with it. In fact, in many cases we have come to admire folks who always "speak their minds." As a result, we have individually and collectively paid quite a price for embracing such an across-the-board approach.

When we listen to talk shows, for instance, many of us are no longer bothered when shock-jocks feed us a steady stream of derogatory language about a person or a group of persons. We accept it as their First Amendment right to do so. When we listen to political programs, we no longer value information. Instead, we tend to fall prey to the individuals who simply talk the loudest or make the boldest claims. Even when we talk with friends or family members these days, our focus is now primarily – if not exclusively – focused on those unfiltered thoughts or feelings we feel as if we need to get off our chest. Little attention is given to what sort of effect those unfiltered words might have on our loved one. I could go on and on listing the effects of completing losing sight of our filters, but I won't. I'm sure you get my point.

Thankfully the book of James is there to invite us to think about the ways in which those filters can still be of value. As the author so wisely notes, "A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it!" Wise words indeed!

I don't think those words are encouraging us to completely censor ourselves and avoid anything that is difficult or uncomfortable talking about. Far from it! For I think words of truth-telling can be an incredible way of "accomplishing nearly anything." What those words do remind us of, however, is that those same words have the ability to "destroy anything" as well. We have to be wise enough to sit back and weigh the power of our words and ask ourselves, "Am I about to use these words to accomplish something or destroy something?" Once you ask yourself that question (and honestly answer it), that question can put the rest of the conversation on an entirely different plane.

Today as you go about your business and interact with people, ask yourself that question often: "Am I about to use these words to accomplish something in the relationship, or am I simply using them to destroy?" That question might save you – and your loved ones – a lot of grief.

Til next time …

Friday, August 27, 2010

2010-08-26T21:41:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: James 2

The notion of connecting the faith one professes with how one lives took on special significance for me today as I read an article on the front page of Yahoo news. The story was about a gentleman named Ken Mehlman.

Mr. Mehlman gained some degree of fame during the 2000's because of two positions he held. He served as campaign manager for former President George W Bush's re-election campaign in 2004. The very next year Mr. Mehlman took the position of chair for the Republican National Committee.

While holding each of these offices is in itself a notable achievement, what struck me about Mr. Mehlman was that he used his position to oppose equal marriage rights for members of the LGBT community. Not only did he publically oppose equal marriage rights - he became a master at exploiting other people's fears in this area to garner votes for his candidates.

Guess what happened this week?

Mr. Mehlman disclosed that he is a gay man.

On some levels, the disclosure shouldn't surprise me. That's because the world has lots of people who say one thing and do another. The sad part, however, is how the disconnect that Mr. Mehlman lived caused untold pain to tens of thousands of people.

The book of James does a brilliant job addressing what happens when we allow ourselves to buy into this disconnect between one's faith and one's actions. "Separate faith and works," James says, "and you get the same thing: a corpse."

That imagery is indeed very powerful.

It would be easy for me to get on my high horse and attack Mr. Mehlman – but I shouldn't do that. That's because I - like everyone else on the planet - have moments in my life where there is a disconnect between the faith I claim and the life I live. Instead of wasting my time raging about Mr. Mehlman, I should re-channel that negative energy into positive energy by focusing on my efforts to bring my own faith in line with my actions.

So how about you? How consistent are you in living by the principles of the faith you profess?

Til next time …

Thursday, August 26, 2010

2010-08-26T09:55:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: James 1

I am SOOOO excited about hitting the book of James in my reading schedule – for James is one of my favorite books in the Bible! I like it because it takes an incredibly direct approach to resolving the old faith vs. works debate – so direct that it often makes many folks uncomfortable. As someone who understands his call in life to be that of "comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable" – the book fits right in with my walk.

As I was reading today's passage at the beginning of the book, I was reminded of what I believe is the quality that most reveals the depth and maturity of an individual's faith.

That quality?

HUMILITY!!!!!

Let me tell you a story that reveals why I think humility is so important.

Several years ago I belonged to a non-profit organization that was wrestling with a controversy. As is often the case in organizational life, the controversy involved money. More specifically the issue was whether or not the non-profit should adopt a deficit budget.

There was one of the leaders in the community who felt very strongly that being a good steward of God's gifts meant that an organization should never (I repeat, NEVER) adopt a deficit budget. There was another leader in the community who felt that being a faith-based non-profit meant that we absolutely should pass a deficit budget. Doing so – by its very nature – meant that the organization was stepping out on faith.

Let me hit the pause button for a moment in my story and make an editorial comment. I felt that folks in each camp had legitimate points in their favor backed up by solid theological grounding. So in the early stages of the controversy I felt comfortable that God would be present and work through whatever decision was made.

Now let's hit the play button.

Instead of staying focused on the issue at hand, over time the controversy took on a very personal nature. So much so that the participants began to believe that God could only work through THEIR side. Various expressions of anger and intimidation became the norm in the organization. Even more importantly, the energy around the issue began to shift until the primary focus become more about individuals getting their way and less about what was the more faithful response to the specific situation before us. The moment that shift occurred, a devastating sense despair kicked in for me – for now it felt like no matter what decision was made, we had lost our way.

In other words, I sensed what the author of James was talking about when he wrote: "God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life."

Ever since that controversy, I have been passionate about my commitment to cultivating humility in whatever community I find myself. In that time, I've noticed something interesting about the way I perceive the world. I no longer lead from a place that is focused primarily on WHAT is done. I now come from a place that focuses on HOW things are done (i.e. from a place of humility or arrogance). That is the lens through which I see the world.

Today, I would invite you to make that shift in the way you interact with/perceive of the world. Instead of placing your attention on whether or not you agree or disagree with someone, ask yourself to examine the ways in which the other person (and perhaps yourself) moves through the world. Do they/you move through the world asserting/demanding their/your way; or do you move through the world in a way that exudes the sort of humility that I believe is truly a fruit of the Spirit.

Til next time …

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

2010-08-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 28

I've been introduced to the Buddhist concept of detachment by a number of my friends over the years. The first time I heard of it, I was a bit skeptical of its merits. I couldn't understand how the notion of cutting oneself off from what I considered normal connections to people and things could be helpful. It seemed as if achieving such a goal would make a person listless – totally devoid of the joy of life that I considered essential to being a well-adjusted person.

The older I've gotten, however, the more I have been able to understand (or at least entertain an openness to) the notion of detachment.

So what has my life experience taught me over the last twenty years that has made me more receptive to the notion of letting go of my attachments to things?

Well, I've learned that sometimes the things I become (overly) attached to are sometimes the very things that detract from my enjoyment of life. Early in my relationship, for instance, I found that if I wasn't careful my love for my partner could easily take me to places of jealousy and suspicion. The sports teams (Texans, Astros, Rockets, Cougars and Dynamo) that often bring me enjoyment can also be the very things that bring me to the brink of despair when they underachieve. Even my attachment to things that I project might happen in the future can sometimes be a distraction in that they cause me to lose sight of what is happening in the here and now. Those life-learnings are why I'm more open to thinking of detachment as a good thing.

That notion of detachment is contained within today's passage from Matthew. In that passage, we are told the story of the disciples encounter with the risen Jesus. When the women first encounter Jesus, they found themselves doing what virtually every one of us probably would have done in their circumstance: trying to cling on to their beloved friend whom they thought they had lost.

And how did Jesus respond to their show of affection?

Did he encourage them to hold on tight and lose themselves in the effort of trying to maintain the comfort of what they had already known?

No.

Jesus said to the women: "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

In other words, he encouraged them to literally detach from the comfort of what they had already known/experienced so they could be freed to move on to the next stage of their journey.

I think there is a lesson there for all of us. The passage invites us to examine those circumstances in our lives to which we have become overly attached. So attached, perhaps, that the things that once held great value and meaning for us is now preventing us from moving on to the next stage of development in our spiritual journey. If you find one such area in your life today, I would encourage you to open yourself to the possibility of detaching and moving on – to perhaps bigger and better experiences.

Til next time …

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

2010-08-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 27

When it comes to explaining the role an individual's sense of perspective plays in recording events, lots of folks use the example of how two witnesses to the same car accident might describe the same event in completely different terms. It's easy for us to understand that point when using an example like that. It's much more difficult for some to apply the same concept to the sacred writings of our faith. They want to believe the sacred writings of our tradition were told in a way that was completely objective.

And yet if you read the Scriptures closely, you get lots of examples of the Gospels telling the same story from different perspectives. Take the final moments of Jesus life on the cross, for example. Today's passage from Matthew tells us that while Jesus was hanging on the cross, there were two criminals that hung near Jesus.

"How did those two criminals respond to the scene unfolding before their eyes?"

Well, the answer depends on which gospel writer(s) you ask. The 27^th chapter of Matthew, for instance, tells us that "even the two criminals crucified next to [Jesus] joined in the mockery."

If you flip over to the 23^rd chapter of Luke, however, you'll get a different version of those final moments. The author(s) of Luke wrote: "One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed [Jesus]: 'Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!' But the other one made him shut up: 'Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him – he did nothing to deserve this."

Hmmm...

"Why the difference between the two accounts of how the thief responded?"

There are lots of ways one could explain it. One way has to do with the theological agenda of each Gospel writer. The Gospel of Matthew, for instance, is most interested in portraying Jesus as the fulfillment of Scripture – as someone who stands in the stream of a larger religious tradition. That's why they wouldn't suggest that either of the criminals – the ultimate outsiders! – would affirm Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke, on the other hand, is more invested as portraying Jesus as a social reformer and advocate of the disenfranchised. It's no wonder, then, that the author(s) would be comfortable putting words affirming Jesus in the mouth of a criminal.

The point behind all of this is that the perspective from which we tell a story goes a long way in shaping how we tell that story.

Keeping that point in mind, I would invite you to sit back and examine your own past and your own social location today and get a feel for where you are coming from. Then ask yourself, "How does my story influence the way I tell Jesus' story?" Have fun exploring the various layers of that question.

Til next time …

Monday, August 23, 2010

2010-08-22T19:32:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 26:31-75

A few years ago, I stumbled upon an approach toward understanding congregational life that impressed me a great deal. The approach was called Appreciative Inquiry. The method took traditional approaches toward analyzing congregational life and turned them upside down.

Here's what I mean by that statement.

For years, most folks thought that the best way to reflect on the health of a faith community was to look at the organization and find its areas of weakness. Once those areas were identified, church leaders were told to work on those areas and improve them. "Once you do that," the leaders were told, "your church will thrive!"

Along came the Appreciative Inquiry folks and said, "What a minute! Why should the members of a congregation devote their limited time and energy to those areas they aren't any good at? Why don't we reverse traditional thinking and ask our leaders to identify those things at which the congregation excels – and focus our energy on making those good areas even better!"

As regular readers of my blog already know, I'm a tremendously optimistic person who tends to be drawn to the positive. I suppose why this approach made sense to me. The only concern I have with this approach is that by focusing primarily on our strengths, we run the risk of completely losing sight of our weaknesses. That would be dangerous. For I believe very strongly that healthy individuals (and organizations) have a balanced sense of both their strengths and weaknesses.

Today's passage from Matthew reminded me of the importance of being balanced in our self-awareness – for in the passage we hear about Jesus experience with the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus trusted the disciples enough to leave them alone in the garden not once, not twice, but three times! And each time the disciples let Jesus down by falling asleep.

Rather than focus his energies on berating the disciples for their shortcomings, Jesus instead pointed out the competing natures of the men. "There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God," Jesus began. "But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."

While Jesus was obviously aware of the limitations of his disciples, he made a point of seeing the good in them as well. That's an approach we would be wise to remember.

As you go through your day today and run into people full of wonderful strengths and frustrating weaknesses, remember Jesus' ability to hold the good and bad pieces in balance. In your good moments, aspire to do what Jesus did – identify the individuals' strengths and work to bring out the best them. In doing so, you'll have the added benefit of perhaps bringing out the best in yourself as well!

Til next time …

Saturday, August 21, 2010

2010-08-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 26:1-30

I never found the reading of plays to be easy for me. The inclusion of stage directions often made it hard for me to concentrate on the storyline and stick with the action. Every once in a while, however, I encounter a play that is so powerful that I am able to overcome those distractions.

One of the first plays I really connected with back in school was the play "Our Town". The themes were so universal that it drew me in and as someone who was raised in a small town, it was easy for me to picture myself in the community described in the story.

There was one moment in the play that has stayed with me for nearly 30 years. It was the play where the protagonist, George I believe, was asked to pick one day from his life to look back on. He was warned, however, not to pick a day that was too important – for such a day would be too painful to view. As it was, it was hard enough for George to stand back and view just an ordinary day as he was filled with regret at the way he failed to recognize the significance of each moment as it unfolded.

The notion that it is hard for us to live in any given moment and recognize its significance is an idea that gets played with in today's passage from Matthew. In that passage the disciples are gathered together in Bethany for what will be one of their final moments together. A woman steps forward to honor the moment for what it is. In order to do that, she felt compelled to anoint Jesus' body.

Instead of being impressed with the woman's ability to recognize the moment for what it was, the disciples did what many of us often do. They treated the moment as if it were like any other. In fact, they went one step further and criticized the woman for wasting resources. The perfume with which she anointed Jesus "could have been sold for a lot and the money handed out to the poor", they noted.

It would be easy for me to stand back and be critical of the disciples for failing to recognize the signficance of the moment. If I did that, however, I would be a huge hypocrite – for I am someone who frequently fails to live in the moment. As a result, I am prone to missing the significance of some moments as well.

So how about you?

Are you someone who can live in the moment and recognize the importance of what is happening to you; or are you prone to be like the disciples and myself – apt to be distracted by the past/future and therefore likely to miss the significance of what is happening around you?

Til next time …

Friday, August 20, 2010

2010-08-20T07:04:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 25:31-46

There are lots of ways to characterize different types of Christian community these days. You could say some are "liberal" and some are "conservative"; some are "traditional", some are "contemporary" or "emergent"; some are "high church", some are "low church". The list of descriptors is seemingly endless.

Another way you could characterize churches is to describe them by where they place their emphasis. There are some faith communities, for instance, that their emphasis on their members having the right beliefs. These sorts of communities tend to emphasize a belief in things like the virgin birth, the physical resurrection of Jesus, the inerrancy of Scripture, etc. Communities organized along these lines are said to emphasize orthodoxy (or right belief).

There is another branch of Christian community that emphasizes something besides right belief as foundational; they emphasize right action. By this, I mean they put the emphasis on people who profess a faith going out into the world and actually put those beliefs into action (i.e. help the poor, educate those in need of education, etc.). The term for emphasizing right action is orthopraxis.

Of course the issue of right belief or action isn't as cut and dried as I just made it sound. Most of our actions, for instance, either stem from (or are informed by) our beliefs. The difference between the two types of Christian community, though, is what they emphasize.

In today's reading, Jesus' makes it pretty clear on which side he leans – and it might surprise some of the folks who believe that an emphasis on right belief is the only way. For when Jesus talks about the process of separating individuals into two camps (the sheep vs. goats), it wasn't the individual's beliefs that were used in the discernment process. It was the individual's actions that were used.

In explaining to the sheep why they were welcomed with opened arms, Jesus said: "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me." He didn't say, "I was hungry and you (thought about feeding) me, I was thirsty and you (thought about giving) me a drink, I was homeless and you (thought about giving) me a room, I was shivering and you (thought about giving) me clothes, I was sick and you (thought about stopping by) to visit, I was in prison and you (thought about coming) to me." Big difference!

On some levels, it would be so much easier to live in a world where only our professed beliefs mattered. It only takes seconds to say the right thing after all. In the world that Jesus points us toward, however, we don't have the luxury of resting on our professed beliefs. We are challenged to live out our beliefs.

My question for you to ponder today is this: "If someone were to watch you today from a distance and simply observe your actions, what would those actions suggest about your faith?"

Til next time …

Thursday, August 19, 2010

2010-08-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

What I'm Reading Today: Matthew 25:1-30

The summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college, I went back home for the summer and started searching for a summer job. The first week I was home I found an advertisement for a position helping an environmental activist group. The job was going door-to-door doing community education and outreach. I thought the cause was important so I started pulling together my resume to prepare for the application process.

When my father learned what I was up to, he went ballistic. He knew I planned on getting an education degree and working as a school teacher down the road. He was convinced that if I worked as an activist that I would get labeled by potential employers and be unable to get a job as a public school teacher. It also might hurt my cause in case I was ever nominated to a position on the Supreme Court – but I digress.

We went round and round for hours the night I told him I was applying. He expected me to defer to his judgment since he was my father (and an expert on public schools since he was on the local school board); I expected him to respect my commitment and passion for the cause.

As it turned out, I ended up getting another job – so in some ways our conflict that night was a moot point. In another way, however, the conflict represented a turning point for me. Here's why I say that. My father represented a rather tradition approach toward life (i.e. get a long-term goal in life, prepare assiduously to obtain that goal, and don't let anything stand in your way). I represented a somewhat unconventional approach (i.e. pursue your passion, take a risk, and let the chips fall where they may). That conversation was one of the first times in my life when I stood up to my parents and quit trying to write a script for the future. I was willing to take a chance and let the future unfold the way it would.

This issue of risk-taking plays a prominent role in the second of two parables that Jesus puts forward in today's reading. The reading contains a story about a man who leaves money with three different individuals. The first two individuals took a risk and ended up doubling the original amount. The third man didn't take a risk (i.e. he buried the sum he had been given) and simply maintained the original amount.

The more I read that story, the more I realize what's really going on in the parable. The parable isn't simply about trying to increase our resources or advocating a particular approach toward life (i.e. a risk-taking approach is always better than playing it safe). No, the story is about the assumptions we make behind the scenes that cause us to adopt the approach we do toward life.

The man who buried the money, for instance, assumed that the "investor" was a rigid, perfectionist who would hate to be disappointed. This belief produced a fear-based approach toward life that prevented the man from being able to take risks. The two men who took a risk and doubled their original amounts assumed that the "investor" was a generous soul who would support them regardless of the outcome. These perceptions encouraged the individuals to feel confident in taking such risks. That – I believe – it what the story is about: how the way we think of God influences the choices we make in life.

With that in mind, I would ask you how you perceive God. Do you see God as a rigid, perfectionist who instills fear in you and causes you to play it safe; or do you see God as a supportive, encouraging investor who would want you to take risks in life? That is a question for you to explore today.

Til next time …

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

2010-08-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 24:23-51

For a long time, there has been a stream of conservative Christians that have been totally obsessed about the Second Coming of Jesus. They have written dozens of books interpreting the signs and speculating about when such an event will occur.

Every time I see one of these books, I can’t help but smile. I wonder to myself, “For a group that publically prides themselves on how well they know Scripture, how can they be so clueless?”

You see there are lots of statements that suggest no one will know when those “end times” will occur. There are at least three explicit statements to that effect in today’s reading alone!

• “But the exact day and hour? No one knows….”
• “You have no idea what day your Master will show up…”
• “Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up…”

I don’t think Jesus could have been any clearer in his language. And yet the industry (and I use that word very intentionally) of those who try to predict that time persists. Ugh!

All of this got me to wondering why some folks are so drawn to the notion of a Second Coming and the end times.

There are a lot of ways I could answer that. There is always the “these folks are unhappy in their current lives and are focused on finding a way out” train of thought. There would also be the “knowing a secret that no one else knows makes me feel more powerful than others.” I could go on and on speculating about reasons why some are so drawn to this concept.

For me, the notion holds no allure because I try to live in the moment and be fully present in my relationship with God. I don’t have to worry about when God might show up – for I believe God is already here! I figure by focusing my attention on my relationship with God in the here and the now, the rest will take care of itself.

All of this talk about the Second Coming and the end of days gives us the opportunity today to think about what verb-tense you spend most your time thinking about in regards to your relationship with God. Do you spend most of your time in the past tense – replaying past moments; do you spend most of your time in the future tense – anticipating what might happen; or do you spend most of your time in the present tense – cultivating a practice of awareness of God’s presence?

Til next time …

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

2010-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 24:1-22

On most days, I am an extremely positive upbeat person. I’m the kind of person who can typically find a silver lining in any grey cloud. “Bring on those gray clouds, baby,” is my usual response.

This morning, that ability is seriously being called into question. Let me tell you why that is.

You see my partner Mike and I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the past 10 days. Ten days ago we got excited when a federal judge lifted the ban on same gender weddings by declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

For the first time in our 9 years together, we thought we would have the opportunity to get married. A week later, things got frustrating when the same judge who lifted the ban decided not to immediately allow same-gender marriages to resume in California; he gave opponents a week to make their case.

“That’s okay, it’s for the best,” we told ourselves. “It will allow opponents to be heard so that marriage can really resume on August 18.” We started making plans to file the paperwork for our marriage on Mike’s birthday (August 27).

Then, just yesterday, the Federal Appeals court decided to suspend the decision indefinitely. This means the earliest any action can be taken will be next year. There’s a chance that it might take longer as the case works its way to the Supreme Court. Ugh!

As someone who has been out for 18 years, I have lived through many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many frustrations and setbacks in the struggle for basic human rights. Sadly, I’ve had to get use to the fact that while members of the LGBT community are expected to contribute to society in the same ways everyone else is expected to contribute (i.e. jobs, taxes, and civic responsibilities/duties) we get a fraction of the legal rights. I don’t like that reality, but it’s one I’ve learned to live with. And yet no matter how patient I try to be, I – like everyone – have a breaking point. I felt like I was teetering very close to that breaking point last night when I first heard the news.

And what words lay before me this morning as I brought my anger and frustration to my time of devotion?

Words from the 24th chapter of Matthew that point its audience toward the culmination of days. The culmination of times won’t be pretty, the author(s) of Matthew suggest. “It will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat…” As one of the dogs who has felt attacked, I can certainly relate. And expressions of love? There will be “nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.” This morning I know all too well how that must feel.

Just as I was about to lose myself into the darkness of the clouds, along came the very words I most needed to hear. “Staying with it – that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry…”

While a part of me could have used warmer, fuzzier language that reminded me of the depths of God’s love for all of God’s children, I realized those words are enough. That’s because those words are grounded in the sort of stark reality I (and tens of thousands of other Californians) are feeling this morning. The words are not Pollyannaish words that would overlook our pain or frustration. Not at all! In fact, they recognize the presence of that pain – and yet tell us to hang on through the pain. Something better is ahead.

Perhaps you have been facing your own experience of debilitating pain. The pain could be emanating from any number of directions (i.e. the recent loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, economic frustrations, etc.) If that’s the case, hold on to those culminating words from the passage: “stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry.” By enduring the pain and setbacks, you will find a way to let something else besides the pain and suffering be the end of your story: hope and love!

Til next time …

Monday, August 16, 2010

2010-08-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 23

As our nation grows increasingly diverse, lots of historical practices have been called into question. That’s because those practices were based upon the assumption that our country was homogenous (i.e. people of European descent who were Christian). This process of calling long-held practices into question makes some people extremely nervous.

One such practice is asking people in civil situations to place their hands on a Bible while taking an oath. This practice is used in several different circumstances. Public officials – like Presidents of the United States – are often sworn into office using a Bible. Individuals testifying in court cases have also traditionally been asked to place their hands on a Bible as they promise to tell the truth.

More and more folks are calling these practices into question as the number of individuals in our country who are not Christian continues to increase. “How appropriate is it for a person from another faith tradition to be asked to take an oath using a resource from outside their faith tradition?” some have asked.

In addition to that valid question, there are reasons for questioning such a practice that come from within our Christian tradition as well. Today’s passage provides a good example of one of those reasons. “You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his [or her] fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he [or she] swears with his [or her] hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance,” Jesus is quoted as saying. “Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands?”

”And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise.”

The Jesus concluded: “God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.”

That teaching reminds me of how often we human beings get caught up in all of the rituals and trappings in our daily lives, and completely lose sight of what’s really important. What if, for instance, all those individuals who get so worked up at the prospect of public official not using the Bible to take oaths diverted all of the energy they expended into protesting such possibilities and redirected those energies into living lives of integrity and truth themselves: in their business practices, in their families, in their hearts. What a difference that would make!

Today, I would encourage you to spend time to see if there is a practice or routine that you engage in that has become more about the routine than about what it was meant to represent. If you find such an area, try changing up your routine and seeing if that helps you get back to those things that really matter.

Til next time …

Saturday, August 14, 2010

2010-08-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 21:23-22:46

I’ve never been a fan of talk radio. I suppose I dislike it because of its generally bombastic nature. Most of the hosts seem more focused on creating ratings for their shows rather than educating /helping their listeners. Those are a couple reasons why I don’t listen to talk radio.

Because of my decision to avoid talk radio, I missed a big controversy that arose out of one such show last Tuesday. The host of the program – Dr. Laura – took a call from a woman named Jade who wanted advice on how to deal with racist comments made by her husband’s family and friends. Jade was African-American and Jade’s husband was European-American.

In the process of responding to Jade’s question, Dr. Laura went off on a tangent. She got fixated on what she perceived to be a double standard. She couldn’t understand why it is okay for those within the African-American community to use the n-word with one another while it is unacceptable for folks from outside the African-American community to use the word. In the process of trying to make her point, Dr. Laura used the n-word 11 times.

I know that in coming days there will be those who will lose sight of the inappropriateness of Dr. Laura’s language and become fixated on having another conversation: whether or not a double standard exists between racial/ethnic groups. That’s too bad. And a portion of today’s passage helps me understand why such a secondary conversation is totally missing the point.

You see, in today’s passage Jesus lays out one of the foundational principles of his ministry: the Great Commandments. Jesus said: “’Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs: everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

Here’s where that principle comes in.

When you interact with others, the Great Commands suggest you don’t just put yourself first. You put love of God and others first. Therefore, when you say or do something – you don’t first consider whether or not you have a right to say it. You consider the impact of what you might say. If it causes unnecessary pain to others, don’t say it. It’s that simple. End of controversy.

While you and I can’t control whether or not radio talk show hosts can embrace the spirit of the Great Commands and act/speak accordingly, we can control whether or not we embrace those commands. I would encourage you to carry those two commands with you today (and every day!) and use them to guide your words and deeds.

Til next time …

PS - For those of you who live in/near Woodland Hills, you are invited to join me for a 3:00 PM showing of “Eat, Pray, Love” at the AMC Promenade 16 today. Afterwards, those of us gathered will go out for coffee and discuss the film.

Friday, August 13, 2010

2010-08-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 21:1-22

Today’s passage contains one of my very favorite stores about Jesus. Hearing that, you might try to predict what that favorite story is. In doing so, you’d probably try to stick with the stories that get a lot of press.

For instance, you might say, “One of Craig’s favorite stories about Jesus must be the story of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem.”

You’d be wrong.

“Okay, how about the story of Jesus kicking the moneychangers out of the Temple? That’s a good one. That’s got to be it, right?”

Wrong again.

“So what’s left?”

The story of Jesus cursing the fig tree.

I realize it’s a rather odd story to identify as one of my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a story that rarely gets talked about. Second, it seems to be a teaching story where the moral to the story outshines the incident itself.

I can certainly understand why folks would have a hard time with my selection. The reason I love it, however, is because it reveals a very personal, VERY human side of Jesus that we don’t often get to see.

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the story begins by saying: “Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree alongside the road, he approached it anticipating a breakfast of fig tree.”
I’m so there. I’ve been in that situation a thousand times (though usually not with fig trees). Let’s continue with Jesus’ story.

“When he got to the tree, there was nothing but fig leaves. [Jesus] said, ‘No more figs from this tree – ever!’ The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick.”

Once again I can totally relate! Jesus went into a situation expecting a certain outcome, the outcome didn’t happen, so he expressed his frustration by impulsively lashing out at the source of the frustration. That’s me!! That scenario plays out often in my life. One of the most frequent parallels is when my touch screen Blackberry Storm freezes and won’t respond to my attempts to answer a phone call – but I digress.

Now lots of folks lose that very human moment in Jesus’ life because of the way the author(s) of Matthew immediately use that situation to set up a teaching moment that uses the story to emphasize the power of Jesus. NO MENTION whatsoever is given to the fact that Jesus – like each of us – had a moment where he acted impulsively.

So – since the author(s) of Matthew chose to ignore Jesus’ impulsive nature – is there a lesson we can learn from that?

For me, the lesson lies in what we do with those impulsive moments in our life when we perhaps aren’t at our best. Jesus could have taken that impulsive gesture and simply stormed off. He also could have used his display of power to threaten the disciples (i.e. “Stay in line or you’ll be next”). He didn’t. He transformed that moment and used it as a teaching moment.

Each of us has the same opportunity in those moments of reactivity when we say or do something out of character. We can either try to cover it up and move on; or we can do something radical – like use that impulsive moment to accomplish a greater good (i.e. perhaps humble ourselves and apologize or use it as an excuse to address an underlying frustration that helped set you off).

Carry that awareness with you today and see if you can use it to inform the way you conduct yourself today.

Til next time …

Thursday, August 12, 2010

2010-08-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 19-20

I know some of you wondered what happened yesterday that got me so freaked out that I wasn’t able to blog. Since you were so patient with me yesterday, I thought the least I could do is provide a few words of explanation.

I had an amazing turn of events over the last couple of days. Each of the things that happened to me was relatively small (in and off themselves), but it was the combination of things that pushed me to my breaking point.

Things started for me on Saturday evening when I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of a friend’s baptismal experience that happened on the beach in Santa Monica. When I waded out into the water to be a part of the event, I forgot to leave my Blackberry behind. Consequently, my phone got wet and died. Not only did I lose my telephone service – I lost a good portion of my Internet access, my calendar, and my GPS service.

This pushed me into my second area of frustration.

I had been without a reliable computer in my office for months and had grown completely dependent on my personal lap top. Wouldn’t you know it - the lap top died a couple of weeks ago. This forced me to run out and get a new lap top.

The new lap top has all kinds of wonderful bells and whistles, but none of them were speaking to each other. I was forced, for instance, to create 3 separate calendars and lists of contacts. In a moment of frustration, I decided it was time to invest in software that would allow me to get all of the programs speaking to each other. After a sizeable investment of time and money over the weekend, as of yesterday morning, the programs were still not speaking to each other.

That was okay because my replacement cell phone (and it’s accompanying calendar & contact list) was supposed to arrive yesterday afternoon, right?

Well, the phone arrived all right – but it didn’t activate correctly so several necessary features were inoperable. I couldn't access email, I couldn't use the GPS feature, and I had no browser.

Then, as I was driving to a pastoral visit that evening, the “check engine” light went on in the car. I took it to the dealer first thing yesterday morning, and they said the electrical problem could be several hundred dollars. I wondered how I was going to get through the week with an individual in serious condition at a hospital and two memorial services to pull together for this weekend.

Needless to say, I was in melt down mode.

Thankfully over the course of the day, several of these situations resolved themselves. First, the dealer called back and let me know that the car’s electrical repairs were covered by the extended warranty I had purchased when I first bought the car. Then, after spending two hours on the phone speaking to technician, I finally got the missing features installed on my cell phone. Finally, I stumbled upon software online that I could download and get all of my calendars and contacts synchronized for the first time in my 8-1/2 years of ministry. No fooling!

I can totally understand now the depth of Dicken’s famous words from A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Tuesday was certainly that for me.

So what does all of this have to do with today’s reading?

Well, I couldn’t help but smile as I read the section where “the mother of the Zebedee brothers” asked if her sons could receive the seats of honor in Jesus’ presence. Jesus’ response to the mother’s request was simple: “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”

The implication – of course – was that someone who desires to be close to Jesus ought to be willing to pay the ultimate price. The irony I’ve found is that sometimes the biggest prices we pay in following Jesus aren’t moments when our lives are literally on the line. Often the moments lie in those quite moments of accumulated frustration when we struggle to reconcile our desire to show up and be the presence of Christ - with all of the obstacles that present themselves along the way: sometimes even as the result of our own practice of ministry. Oy!!

Today, I would ask you, “What do you consider some of the more challenging things that cause you to wonder if you have what it takes to drink from the cup?”

Til next time …

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

2010-08-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Today, my stress levels are off the chart as I'm balancing computer problems, cell phone problems, and car problems among some other major stressors. I'm having a hard time concentrating and forming coherent thoughts so I'll have to pass on today's entry. Thanks for any prayers/positive thoughts you might send my way!

Til next time...

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 18

Each of us has learned ways of coping with difficult people given the limitations of our personality. Some folks, for instance, deal with difficult people by completely avoiding them. Others deal with them by trying to beat them to the punch and become more agressive/abrasive than they are as a means of intimidating the difficult person or keeping him/her in check.

At different stages of my life, I have employed at least two different strategies – neither of which is all that healthy. And wouldn’t you know it, both of my coping strategies were taken on in today’s passage from Matthew.
The first strategy I have used is to talk with others about the nature of the conflict. I told myself that by doing so I would get fresh perspectives on (and perhaps even new ideas for solving!) the conflict and have the added benefit of getting support and encouragement from others. Such an approach made sense to me at the time. The only problem was that such an approach never encouraged me to do the most important part: sit down with the difficult person and actually work things through.

Along comes today’s passage that encourages me to set my passive-aggressive tendencies aside once and for all. “If a fellow believer hurts you,” Jesus said, “work it out between the two of you.” Jesus goes on from there to draw out a backup plan in case the one-on-one conversation doesn’t work. Each step of his plan, however, is predicated on the thing I spent years avoiding: open and honest communication.

And if losing my preferred way for dealing with difficult people wasn’t bad enough, Jesus went on to discredit my second favorite method. My partner Mike says I’m a master at playing the “If the shoe fits, wear it!” game. What he means by that is that when I’m in the presence of someone who has wronged me I prefer to speak in generalities about the offending behavior without specifically mentioning names. This feeds my passive-aggressive tendencies and still allows me to feel as if I’ve address the problem.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. If someone borrowed money from me, promised to repay it at a certain time, and broken that promise; I’ve been known to say (either to an individual or a group in which the individual is in), “Don’t you think it’s important that people a person honors his/her word by following through with his/her commitment.”

There are lots of problems with such a passive aggressive approach. In addition to the fact that the whole approach is predicated on avoiding the issue at hand, such an approach is often tremendously ineffective because some of the people who engage in inappropriate behaviors are the ones least able to see that behavior in themself. They will complain loudly if someone else does something to them. If they do the same thing to another, however, they will be completely oblivious to consequences of their own behavior.

That’s exactly what happened in today’s story about forgiveness. A king forgave the huge debt of one of his servants who couldn’t afford to repay the debt. And how did the servant respond to that act of grace? He immediately went out and attacked an underling of his who owed him a much smaller debt. The servant was completely oblivious to the hypocrisy of his actions! Eventually the king had to step in and directly expose the servant’s hypocrisy. The servant probably would have never made the connection on his own.

Once again, the lesson in dealing with our fellow human beings is this: “be direct”.

Chances are that you have at least one difficult person in your life. If you don’t, give me a holler and I might be able to help you find one – but I digress. One you’ve found that difficult person, look for opportunities to practice the sort of approach that Jesus encouraged. Be direct and name your concerns in a spirit of love and grace. Your new approach just might chance the whole dynamic of the relationship.

Til next time …

Monday, August 9, 2010

2010-08-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 16-17

One of the things I love about the sacred writings of our tradition is their amazing complexity. That complexity is evident in so many places – one of which is how we go about thinking of who Jesus is/was.

In the 16th chapter of Matthew, for instance, we are told the story of Jesus’ question to the disciples: “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s eventual answer – “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God” – uses language that suggests Jesus is special, or unique.

Just one chapter later, however, we hear a story in which a man requests healing for his son that is battling what we today might describe as epilepsy. As he made his request, the man noted he tried getting help from Jesus’ disciples but they couldn’t help him out. After Jesus healed the man’s son, the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t do what he did. Jesus replied: “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously.” His answer suggests that Jesus didn’t think of himself as being all that special/different than the disciples. Jesus felt others should be able to do what he did.

So which way is it? Is Jesus special/different than us, or not?

That is a question that theologians have been wrestling with for centuries. The complexities is why we have a range of answers to that question ranging from “Jesus is totally special and unlike any of us” (what some call “high Christology”) to “Jesus is no different than you or I” (what some call “low Christology”). Of course, there are answers to the question that lie between these two extremes.

The challenge for people of faith who identify as Christian – then – is two-fold. First, what answer do I come to regarding that question; and second, in what ways do I hold on to my answer.

Over the last couple of centuries we have paid a whole lot of attention to the first challenge – the part where we formulate an answer to the question of how special Jesus is.

During this same period of time, however, we have paid very little attention to the second challenge – the part that has to do with the ways in which we hold on to our answer to the question. As a result, there is sometimes a HUGE amount of arrogance to the ways in which people hold on to their answer to the question.

Some of those with a high Christology say, “Of course Jesus is completely unique. Anyone weirdo who doesn’t think so is not – I repeat, NOT - a Christian.” Some of those with a low Christology say, “Objective historical/sociological studies tells us that Jesus had to be just like you and I. Anyone who thinks differently is a superstitious moron who probably believes in the Easter Bunny too.” It’s no wonder we struggle to build unity amongst the body of Christ!!

In recognition of the complexity of the questions before us – and in a call to lead a life that truly reflects the values of Jesus – I would encourage you to re-visit the question of who Jesus was today. As you arrive at your answer, immediately ask yourself: “How does the answer I’m resting in affect the way I see others (both other Christians and others in general).”

I believe the answer to THAT question will reveal even more about what each of us truly believes about Jesus.

Til next time …

Saturday, August 7, 2010

2010-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 15

There were a lot of things that I learned in seminary that were of tremendous value to me. There was one thing they failed to teach me, however, that would have been particularly helpful as I struggled to come to a better understanding of my call. Let me take a moment and explain that thing they forgot to teach me.

During my seminary years, most folks talked as if there were just two kinds of calls to ministry. One call was to parish ministry (i.e. serving a local church); the other call was to serve outside of a local church (i.e. serving as a chaplain, teacher, non-profit director, etc.). I was clear that I felt called to serve in a parish – so I thought that was it: all calls to serve a local church were the same.

Wrong!!

Over the years I have learned there are lots of different types of call to serve local churches. Some, for instance, feel called to serve local churches as interim ministers. Others feel called to serve local churches and build a particular type of ministry (i.e. a social justice ministry or a ministry of spiritual formation).

I too have a more specific understanding of my call that it has taken me years to figure out. I feel called to serve local churches on the brink and help them find their way back to a position of health and vitality.
Since no one talked to me about different kinds of calls to parish ministry, early on I thought that my call was to interim ministry. Now, I’ve figured out ways in which these calls are different.

In each of the situations I’ve worked, I’ve discovered there is one message that a struggling local church MUST come to understand if they have any hopes of making it. They must understand that at any given moment in their ministry, they have all the resources they need in order to become a healthy and vital community.

This is a difficult message for people in struggling communities to hear (much less believe). They have gotten so use to thinking, “If only we had more members, then we’d have enough volunteers to create wonderful programs.” Or, “If only we had more money in the bank, then we could do some exciting things.”

Those sorts of messages are exactly the kind of things that threaten the future of a local church. It’s only when the individuals in a local church learn to celebrate and use what they already have – and not focus on what they think they lack - that they can truly begin to turn things around.

I was reminded of that principle as I read today’s passage from Matthew. In that passage we heard the story of Jesus’ feeding of the 4,000+. Early in the story, we hear that Jesus – moved by his sense of compassion – told the disciples to feed the people.

And how did the disciples respond?

They said what folks in struggling churches say all the time. “Gee, we’d love to do it but we don’t have enough resources to be able to do that.”
Jesus had the world’s best comeback ever! Instead of buying in to their scarcity-based thinking, Jesus simply asked a question: “How much bread do you have?”
In other words, he shifted their focus away from what they lacked and moved it toward what they had. And wouldn’t you know it: God was able to use what they had to accomplish things they previously would have thought impossible!

Of course the principle I’m talking about doesn’t just apply to local churches. It applies to the lives of individuals as well. The more we focus on what we lack, the more we lose sight of what God is able to accomplish through what we DO have.

If you find yourself in a place of habitual scarcity-based thinking, today I challenge you to leave that thinking behind. Spend time in prayer/meditation today giving thanks for all that you do have, and trust that God can find ways to work in and through you to multiply those resources exponentially.

Til next time …

Friday, August 6, 2010

2010-08-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 14

I often chuckle inside when I hear someone characterize the Bible as a collection of ancient documents that is completely irrelevant for today. I chuckle because the issues the Scriptures speak to are so similar to the issues we face today. Let’s take the story about what happened to John the Baptist that is contained in today’s passage.

The story of John the Baptist’s demise turned on one critical moment. Herod was having a party and – in the midst of the revelry – made a promise to give Herodias’ daughter anything she wanted in return for her lively performance. She asked for the head of John the Baptist.
Now if Herod was thinking clearly (i.e. not drunk), he would have felt comfortable saying something along the lines of “Actually, I meant ‘anything you want – within reason.’ Your request went beyond the bounds of what is reasonable so just ask for something else.”

Herod didn’t do that, however. He gave the young woman her request.

And why did he do that?

The passage explains his motivation by saying, “Unwilling to lose face with his guests, he did it – ordered John’s head cut off and presented to the girl on a platter [emphasis added].” In other words, Herod went along with the request because he wanted to fit in and give the majority of the people what they wanted.

That same storyline was played out just a couple of days ago here in California when Federal Judge Vaughn Walker was in a position much like Herod’s. He had presided over a trial exploring the constitutionality of Proposition 8. It would have been extremely easy for Judy Walker to listen to lots of voices clamoring around him – reminding him that the majority of voters had passed the proposition so therefore he should simply go along and give the majority of those who voted on November 3, 2008 what they wanted. Lots of other judges might have done that: they might have been unwilling to lose face and gone along with popular opinion to simply get along.

Thankfully, Judge Walker veered away from Herod’s example and had the wisdom to do what he felt was right instead of what was popular.
Few of us may find ourselves in the position of being either a regional ruler or a federal judge. While we may lack those impressive titles, each of us still has the ability to profoundly affect the lives of others through our own day-to-day actions.

In the midst of our daily interactions with others, we too face moments when we have to decide the sort of thing Herod and Judge Walker decided: will I do what’s popular, or will I do what’s right? That’s a choice each of us must decide for ourselves in that moment. My prayer for today is that each of us draw upon the strength of the Spirit so that we are willing to lose face and do what’s right rather than what’s popular.

Til next time …

Thursday, August 5, 2010

2010-08-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 13

One of my frustrating personality quirks is that I tend to move through life at a rapid pace and expect to see immediate results in those areas in which I invest energy. If you think I’m bad now, you should have seen me early in my ministry. Yikes!!

When I would counsel a person, for instance, there was a part of me that wanted to see the other person immediately integrate the things we had talked about. If they didn’t, I’d consider the session unproductive. And when I worked with a committee or group of leaders, I imagined the group would start using the concepts we had explored right away. I interpreted any delay in the process to mean that I had failed miserably in my capacity as spiritual leader.

Then something interested happened in my ministry that changed the way I perceived things.

I had been working with a person in the community I served for a few years and had invested a good deal of time and energy trying to help the person get to a better place in life. All of a sudden a misunderstanding occurred between the individual and some of the leadership in the church. The person disappeared from our community overnight.

I took the person’s disappearance very personally. I figured that I had somehow failed the individual. “I had failed to be as sensitive to the person’s needs as I could have been,” I told myself. Other times, I would tell myself I had failed to help the person develop a broad-based support network in the community that could have helped the person stay connected to the community during the person’s time of frustration. No matter how I spun the tale, I remained convinced that the person’s decision to leave our community was all about me. (That would be my gi-normous ego speaking there.)

Over a year passed, and guess what happened? The person re-appeared and re-established a connection with our community.

In the days that followed the person's re-appearance, I talked with the person about what had happened that caused the person’s sudden departure. It turned out the reason for the departure had little to do with our community. It was primarily about issues that lie within the individual. During the year that passed, the person had done some difficult work and felt comfortable returning to the community.

There were two learnings that I drew from that experience. First, I realized I HAD to get over my “It’s All About Me”-complex and remember that at any given moment in a person’s life – there are lots of factors that affect their decisions. That was a good start.

Second, I had to remember that sometimes people need a little time and space in order to work things through. Sometimes that time and space happens when folks stay together; sometimes that time and space happens when folks separate. All that matters is that folks find a way to work things through.

Jesus was a master at understanding the second lesson in particular. He was able to give people space in order to work things through at their own pace. Take today’s series of parables/teachings. When his disciples asked Jesus why he used such methods to teach, Jesus replied by saying: “Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories,” Jesus concluded. “ - to nudge the people toward receptive insight.”

Sometimes it feels as if I’m the only one who’s impatient in the world. Chances are, however, I’m not. Maybe you have been dealing with a situation where patience (or the lack thereof) has been an issue for you as well.

If that’s the case, I would encourage you to remember Jesus’ words in today’s passage and find a way to give the other person/other situation you are frustrated with a little time and. The time and space you give the other may be exactly what they need in order to receive that “receptive insight”.

Til next time …

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

2010-08-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 12:22-50

Over the first 43 years of my life, I have heard lots and lots and lots of children’s sermons during worship. Some of these are more memorable than others.

One of my favorite children’s sermon that I’ve seen done several times involves someone taking a tube of toothpaste and squeezing it out into a separate container before the children. Once the tube is completely empty, the presenter will ask the children how they should go about putting the toothpaste back inside the tube.

Inevitably the kids giggle and say something like, “That’s silly. You can’t put the toothpaste that you’ve squeezed out of the tube back inside!” The presenter will then say, “You’re right. That’s not only true about toothpaste – that’s true about words as well. Once you speak the words inside your head, you can take those words back. So be careful about what you say!”

Jesus makes the same point in today’s reading from Matthew. “Let me tell you something,” Jesus began. “Every one of those careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”

Those are powerful – and challenging – words for me to hear. That’s because as an extrovert I am prone to think aloud. I often am not as careful with my words as I could be. As a result, there have been times I have paid the price for not being as careful as I should.

Perhaps I’m not the only one with that problem. Maybe you have struggled with control over your own words. If that’s the case, today I would invite you to be more aware of your use of words. Ask yourself, “Are my words bringing a sense of salvation/wholeness to myself and others; or are they moving me (and others!) in the opposite direction?”

Til next time …

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

2010-08-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 12:1-21

I was talking with a friend recently about the way things have unfolded in the state of Arizona following the passage of SB 1070. SB 1070 is the bill that has been labeled by some as the anti-immigration bill. My friend and I were specifically talking about the call that some have felt to travel to Arizona, publically protest the bill, and get arrested.

“I admire the conviction these folks have that motivates them to spend hundreds of dollars to travel to Arizona and put themselves in the position of getting arrested,” my friend began. “There is one thing that troubles me about this.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I’m not sure how their actions are helping resolve the issues involved in this important debate.”

We then spent some time talking about what my friend meant by that observation. My friend expressed her concern that the high profile public demonstrations might further polarize the issue and make it less likely that individuals from across the political spectrum would be willing to sit down and talk. She also asked an uncomfortable question: “How many of the folks who have traveled to participate in the protests go home and actually live in solidarity with undocumented folks in their own communities?”

My friend’s first point about the role one’s actions play in the bigger picture stayed with me as I read today’s passage from Matthew – for in that passage we hear Jesus quote the prophet Isaiah in talking about the ways in which Jesus was called to be.

“Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I’ve placed my Spirit on him; he’ll decree justice to the nations,” the passage begins. “But he won’t yell,” Isaiah noted, “won’t raise his voice; there’ll be no commotion in the streets. He won’t walk over anyone’s feelings, won’t push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph, the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.”

As persons who live in a world full of injustice at seemingly every turn, I would encourage you to carry with you Jesus’ powerful words. While some might misinterpret those words as a call to passively accept the status quo, they are so much more (as the lives of individuals like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. – individuals who embraced the spirit of that vision - reminded us). Those words are the recipe for transforming the world in a manner that recognizes both the sacred value of every person (even those with whom we disagree) and the integrity of relationship between all of God’s children.

Til next time …

Monday, August 2, 2010

2010-08-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 11

It’s kind of an odd thing for a pastor to say on his blog, but I’m not a fan of walking into many of the Christian bookstores I see around these days.

And why is that?

It’s because of the image of Christianity that many of these bookstores project. Walk into many and you will see things that make our faith incredibly commercially appealing. You’ll see porcelain plates, a variety of keepsakes, and royal pictures of Jesus in every direction. If you listen closely, you’ll also hear muzak piped in that is pleasant (but mind-numbing). In other words, when you walk into many Christian bookstores, you’ll be bombarded with sensory experiences that suggest our faith is a sanity faith – one that perfectly embodies the middle/upper middle class values.

That’s not the sort of faith Jesus has called me to embrace. I tend to see Jesus as a rebel who pushed the envelope: one who would challenge shoppers to divert the money they might spend on porcelain keepsakes and use it instead to feed the poor! The disconnect between who I understand Jesus to be and the commercial presentation of Jesus in these bookstores make it difficult for me to spend much time in them.

Jesus’ words to John’s disciples today reminded me of my difficulty. When John’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the one they were expecting, Jesus replied by making it clear what he represented. “Go back and tell John what’s going on: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. Is this what you were expecting?”

When was the last time you saw a porcelain plate in a Christian bookstore with images of “the wretched of the earth learn[ing] that God is on their side”? But I digress…

Today, I would ask what sort of things you expect from following this Jesus. Do you expect to follow a triumphant military figure that will lead you to victories over all your foes (real or imaged); or do you expect to follow the one who will take you to places where the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the dead, and the wretched hang out?

Til next time …

Saturday, July 31, 2010

2010-07-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

What I’m Reading Today: Matthew 10

During the week that I spent in Denver, I had lunch with a clergy colleague that was doing her sabbatical on something called the Enneagram. For those who don’t know, the Enneagram is a system that identified nine basic personality types. I suppose you could think of it as a cousin of sorts of the Myers-Briggs Personality test.

After talking with her about her studies, I was motivated to go back to the motel we were staying and take an online version of the test to see what personality type I was. The test revealed that I was a 2 – a typed called among other things “The Helper”.

There is a lot that I could say about traits of my personality type. The easiest way to characterize the type, however, is to say that Helpers are people who put the wants and needs of others before their own. Their goal in life is to give – and receive – unconditional love.

That part sounds great, doesn’t it?!

The only problem with 2’s is that by always putting other people’s wants and needs before their own, people such as myself become out of touch with their own wants and needs. If they ignore those wants and needs too long, 2’s can become unhealthy and find themselves expecting other people to read their minds, anticipate their wants and needs, and then meet those wants and needs. When others can’t read their minds, 2’s can often respond by becoming controlling or manipulative in their desperate attempts to have their wants and needs met.

As I read a few books about the nine personality types in general (and my type in particular), I walked away from my vacation experience committed to doing something I have rarely done in my life: getting in touch with my wants and needs, and then taking the risk and actually asking to have those wants and needs met.

I received unexpected encouragement on my path when I read today’s passage from Matthew. In that passage, Jesus is quoted as saying: “We are intimately linked in this harvest work… Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger.” And then there was the sentence that hit me like a ton of bricks. “Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help.”

The notion of accepting someone’s help being as important as actually extending help is a new concept for me. I would much rather focus on the other person and their wants or needs than admit I have wants and needs myself. If I took time and actually examined my wants and needs, I suppose I would have to face the truth I spend lots of time trying to avoid: I’m not a perfect, self-contained unit. I need help – from God and from others!

So where are you with the notion of accepting help from others? Do you find it easy to do, or is it something that challenges your basic ways of being? If you don’t have an answer to that right away, watch yourself through the course of the day and observe how you deal with your own wants and needs as they emerge.

Til next time…