I spent some time yesterday talking with a friend about the essential unity of creation. In the midst of the conversation, I couldn't help but think of this performance from my favorite television show - Glee. It beautifully captures the essence of what such unity might look and feel like. I hope you'll carry the energy from this video with you into your day today.
Til next time...
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For those of you who would like to support the vision & ministry of Woodland Hills Community Church (the faith community I serve that continues to encourage me to minister outside the box), please click on the link just above.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I had a GREAT time at the Sacred Ground conversation group last night as usual. Once again, please know you are invited to join us each Tuesday evening at the Starbucks at Topanga Canyon Blvd and Dumetz Road at 7:00 PM for an evening of wide-open, passionate conversation! One thing did come up in the conversation that I thought would be helpful to share with you.
At one point in the conversation, someone asked the participants why they came to church? They asked the question because some of us were not in a place where the traditional theology offered in mainline churches appealed to them.
The participants then shared some of the reasons they did come to church. One reason that came up more than any other was because of the extraordinary people in the church.
At this point, one of the participants looked over to me and said, “Over the years I’ve realized most pastors have a goal or vision in mind for the congregation. It usually takes a while for us to figure it out. Pastor Craig, would you speed that process up for us and share your vision for us.”
I thought it might be good to share the answer to that question with those of you who weren’t there to hear the response. I do so not because my answer was particularly clever, but because it might be helpful for more folks to know my goal.
I started my answer by referencing the old joke about the person who died and went to heaven and was being shown around his new digs by St. Peter. When they came to one wing, St. Peter leaned over and whispered, “Don’t make a noise as we pass through this wing.” The gentleman asked, “Why not?” “Because this wing is made up of the fundamentalists,” St. Peter explained, “and they like to think they are the only ones up here.”
“What I’ve noticed,” I said after completing the joke, “is that in some progressive communities that same principle applies.” Some progressive folks, for instance, are drawn to church because they want to explore the intellectual aspects of life. Other come because they are passionate about their commitment to issues of peace and justice. Still others come for social reasons.
Sadly, there are folks in each camp who act like the fundamentalists in the joke – they think their reason for coming is the only valid reason. If they come to church for the intellectual stimulation, for instance, they then insist the church then establish an identity primarily as an intellectual community. Others who are driven by a passion for peace and justice counter by insisting the church be known primarily as a peace and justice church. Still others who come for social reasons then insist the church primarily be known as a social center.
My goal as the pastor then is to throw open each group’s doors and let them first recognize the existence (and needs) of the other groups, and then eventually help them come to the point where they can celebrate (and not be threatened by) the presence of the other groups.
Whatever it is that draws you into spiritual community is okay. No matter what initially draws you to church, however, my goal is to use that attraction to draw you into a deeper experience of God.
This means if the intellect was the reason you first showed up, engage your intellect: but use that intellect to deepen your experience of God. If you showed up because of justice and peace issues, that’s great! Just make sure to use your pursuit of justice and peace to enrich your experience of God. And if you showed up because you enjoy the company with others, that’s okay too. Just allow yourself to arrive at a deeper experience of God through the blessings of these life-giving relationships. While there would be dozens of different reasons as to why folks come to church, there would be one primary goal: that each person have a deeper experience of God while they are participating in the life of church.
So there you have the goal or vision of my ministry spelled out in pretty straight forward terms. I hope it helps. My fervent prayer is that each of us will use that initial interest/passion that drew us into spiritual community to grow deeper in our experience of God.
Til next time…
At one point in the conversation, someone asked the participants why they came to church? They asked the question because some of us were not in a place where the traditional theology offered in mainline churches appealed to them.
The participants then shared some of the reasons they did come to church. One reason that came up more than any other was because of the extraordinary people in the church.
At this point, one of the participants looked over to me and said, “Over the years I’ve realized most pastors have a goal or vision in mind for the congregation. It usually takes a while for us to figure it out. Pastor Craig, would you speed that process up for us and share your vision for us.”
I thought it might be good to share the answer to that question with those of you who weren’t there to hear the response. I do so not because my answer was particularly clever, but because it might be helpful for more folks to know my goal.
I started my answer by referencing the old joke about the person who died and went to heaven and was being shown around his new digs by St. Peter. When they came to one wing, St. Peter leaned over and whispered, “Don’t make a noise as we pass through this wing.” The gentleman asked, “Why not?” “Because this wing is made up of the fundamentalists,” St. Peter explained, “and they like to think they are the only ones up here.”
“What I’ve noticed,” I said after completing the joke, “is that in some progressive communities that same principle applies.” Some progressive folks, for instance, are drawn to church because they want to explore the intellectual aspects of life. Other come because they are passionate about their commitment to issues of peace and justice. Still others come for social reasons.
Sadly, there are folks in each camp who act like the fundamentalists in the joke – they think their reason for coming is the only valid reason. If they come to church for the intellectual stimulation, for instance, they then insist the church then establish an identity primarily as an intellectual community. Others who are driven by a passion for peace and justice counter by insisting the church be known primarily as a peace and justice church. Still others who come for social reasons then insist the church primarily be known as a social center.
My goal as the pastor then is to throw open each group’s doors and let them first recognize the existence (and needs) of the other groups, and then eventually help them come to the point where they can celebrate (and not be threatened by) the presence of the other groups.
Whatever it is that draws you into spiritual community is okay. No matter what initially draws you to church, however, my goal is to use that attraction to draw you into a deeper experience of God.
This means if the intellect was the reason you first showed up, engage your intellect: but use that intellect to deepen your experience of God. If you showed up because of justice and peace issues, that’s great! Just make sure to use your pursuit of justice and peace to enrich your experience of God. And if you showed up because you enjoy the company with others, that’s okay too. Just allow yourself to arrive at a deeper experience of God through the blessings of these life-giving relationships. While there would be dozens of different reasons as to why folks come to church, there would be one primary goal: that each person have a deeper experience of God while they are participating in the life of church.
So there you have the goal or vision of my ministry spelled out in pretty straight forward terms. I hope it helps. My fervent prayer is that each of us will use that initial interest/passion that drew us into spiritual community to grow deeper in our experience of God.
Til next time…
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
What I’m Reading Today: Galatians 1
When I was a lay person, I remember thinking to myself, “I admire the way a pastor thinks and acts – but they are lucky. They don’t have to deal with the same day-to-day challenges the rest of us face. They don’t have to face things like difficult co-workers, budgetary shortfalls, unreasonable expectations put on one by one’s boss, and the like. It must be so much easier being insulated from sorts of challenges.”
I smile now as I remember thinking that - for the reality is that much of our life is spent dealing with exactly those sorts of challenges. In addition to the “spiritual matters” that I typically deal with, for instance, I’ve worked with our lay leadership to hire and train not one, not two, but three new employees in just the past four weeks. So much for not having “normal” day-to-day concerns
So if pastors face the same day-to-day challenges as the rest of us, how do they find time to stay (at least in their best moments) spiritually centered?
In many ways, the answer to that question is a lot like the answer to the question, “How does someone become healthy?” By this I mean that the answer has several parts. Instead of doing things like eating right, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep that have to do with our physical health, we try to do things that impact our spiritual health: things like regular prayer/meditation, daily devotional time, the cultivation of relationships outside of our ministry site, and the like. One of the most important spiritual disciplines for me has been my work with a spiritual director.
Lots of folks wonder what a spiritual director is. They ask if it’s simply a counselor or therapist that burns a candle and plays Yanni in the background. That’s not exactly it. A spiritual director is someone who can help us take the details of our daily life and look deeper – to discern God’s presence in the midst of the daily demands. In other words, they help cultivate our ability to stay connected with/to God 24/7. Every 5 or 6 weeks I travel to Altadena to tend to this piece of my spiritual life. Today is that day for my session. Needless to say I’m excited!
All of this raises the question: “What do you do on a regular basis to tend to your spiritual life?” It’s an important question that has the ability to move our faith outside the box of a 10:00 AM Sunday morning worship service into each and every aspect of our daily life.
Til next time…
When I was a lay person, I remember thinking to myself, “I admire the way a pastor thinks and acts – but they are lucky. They don’t have to deal with the same day-to-day challenges the rest of us face. They don’t have to face things like difficult co-workers, budgetary shortfalls, unreasonable expectations put on one by one’s boss, and the like. It must be so much easier being insulated from sorts of challenges.”
I smile now as I remember thinking that - for the reality is that much of our life is spent dealing with exactly those sorts of challenges. In addition to the “spiritual matters” that I typically deal with, for instance, I’ve worked with our lay leadership to hire and train not one, not two, but three new employees in just the past four weeks. So much for not having “normal” day-to-day concerns
So if pastors face the same day-to-day challenges as the rest of us, how do they find time to stay (at least in their best moments) spiritually centered?
In many ways, the answer to that question is a lot like the answer to the question, “How does someone become healthy?” By this I mean that the answer has several parts. Instead of doing things like eating right, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep that have to do with our physical health, we try to do things that impact our spiritual health: things like regular prayer/meditation, daily devotional time, the cultivation of relationships outside of our ministry site, and the like. One of the most important spiritual disciplines for me has been my work with a spiritual director.
Lots of folks wonder what a spiritual director is. They ask if it’s simply a counselor or therapist that burns a candle and plays Yanni in the background. That’s not exactly it. A spiritual director is someone who can help us take the details of our daily life and look deeper – to discern God’s presence in the midst of the daily demands. In other words, they help cultivate our ability to stay connected with/to God 24/7. Every 5 or 6 weeks I travel to Altadena to tend to this piece of my spiritual life. Today is that day for my session. Needless to say I’m excited!
All of this raises the question: “What do you do on a regular basis to tend to your spiritual life?” It’s an important question that has the ability to move our faith outside the box of a 10:00 AM Sunday morning worship service into each and every aspect of our daily life.
Til next time…
Monday, January 25, 2010
What I’m Reading Today: Romans 15 & 16
Several years ago, I went to a presentation done by missionaries from New Zealand at my home church. Most of the information they shared was relatively standard. There was one thing that they said, however, that fascinated me. It fascinated me so much I’ve remember it almost thirty years later!
In talking about their use of the Bible with the indigenous people, they said that one of the indigenous people’s favorite passages was the first seventeen verses of the first chapter in the book of Matthew. Those are the verses that spell out Jesus’ genealogy.
“Why those verses?” someone asked. “Those are verses most of us usually skip over when we read them.”
“They liked those verses,” the missionaries said, “because they showed the indigenous people that God cares so much about humanity that God pays attention to the branches of their families.”
That was a good lesson for me about how some of the details in scripture that seem unimportant can be significant in other ways.
Today’s culminating words from Romans 16 are a good example of this. Paul takes several verses to say hello to a variety of people ranging from Phoebe in verse 1 to Olympus in verse 15.
“And why are those ‘thank you’s’ important?” you might ask.
Because they are reminders that any effective ministry should have lots and lots of people involved.
In my first parish I underestimated the important of that fact and did WAAAYYYYYY too much of the work myself. That approach was wrong. I’m trying to change that and get more people involved early in the ministry at my second church.
That insight can be of help to you in your day to day life as well. You can examine your life and see if you are prone to what I would call a “lone ranger” approach where you do everything by yourself, or if you find ways of reaching out to others and getting them involved as well. Something to think about.
Til next time…
Several years ago, I went to a presentation done by missionaries from New Zealand at my home church. Most of the information they shared was relatively standard. There was one thing that they said, however, that fascinated me. It fascinated me so much I’ve remember it almost thirty years later!
In talking about their use of the Bible with the indigenous people, they said that one of the indigenous people’s favorite passages was the first seventeen verses of the first chapter in the book of Matthew. Those are the verses that spell out Jesus’ genealogy.
“Why those verses?” someone asked. “Those are verses most of us usually skip over when we read them.”
“They liked those verses,” the missionaries said, “because they showed the indigenous people that God cares so much about humanity that God pays attention to the branches of their families.”
That was a good lesson for me about how some of the details in scripture that seem unimportant can be significant in other ways.
Today’s culminating words from Romans 16 are a good example of this. Paul takes several verses to say hello to a variety of people ranging from Phoebe in verse 1 to Olympus in verse 15.
“And why are those ‘thank you’s’ important?” you might ask.
Because they are reminders that any effective ministry should have lots and lots of people involved.
In my first parish I underestimated the important of that fact and did WAAAYYYYYY too much of the work myself. That approach was wrong. I’m trying to change that and get more people involved early in the ministry at my second church.
That insight can be of help to you in your day to day life as well. You can examine your life and see if you are prone to what I would call a “lone ranger” approach where you do everything by yourself, or if you find ways of reaching out to others and getting them involved as well. Something to think about.
Til next time…
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