Dave's Faith Blog

Imagine the Possibilities!

2010-10-25T01:45:00.003-05:00

For the 2011 Stewardship kickoff dinner we were asked to reflect on the question "What could Faith Outreach do with unlimited funds?" Here is the response I offered to the congregation...

What could Faith Outreach do with unlimited funds?

Wow, unlimited funds!

I suppose Dr. Jenny Chapman could stock and staff a full service clinic in Haiti? Maybe even build a hospital?

I suppose we could fill several South African preschools with books and music? Wouldn’t that just fill Miss Shan’s and Nancy Hamilton’s hearts! And while we were at it we could assure adequate care for the children in eGoli’s HIV/AIDS orphanages? Kaylynn Campbell would be ecstatic!

I suppose we could eliminate the debt for the Presbyterian Home for Children? Maybe even start an expansion? That would bring tears to Anne Whitfield’s eyes!

Every child at Morris Elementary could go home with food for the weekend. Whitesburg Elementary could have full after school care and tutoring. Libba Nicholson and Sara Curtis’ dreams would be fulfilled!

Maranatha could have up-to-date facilities and year long programming. Gene Joiner and a long list of us would see dreams fulfilled.

And just how many Habitat houses can Doug Franklin build?

This is just a short list of dreams come true for only a few outreach ministries that are near and dear to Faith Church.

Now the chances of us achieving unlimited funds are pretty remote. But you may have noticed that each one of those ministries have people that are passionate about them. People that understand these are things that God is calling and equipping them to do. Actions they undertake just because they love God and want to share God’s love with others.

That’s my dream. My dream is that we can nurture folks along in their faith so they can grow into the servanthood that God wants for them. My dream is to develop that sense of calling in each of us so we can establish team based ministries that don’t over burden or burn out a few. Respite care and Downtown Rescue Mission worship are very successful examples of such ministries. They rely on teams of volunteers and require essentially no money. My dream is that we don’t spend all our “church” time within these walls. My dream is for us to be joyful givers and a sent people and to understand how that comes as a natural response to God’s grace; not as obligation.

To get to that point, I’m afraid, will require us to pledge something more precious than money. We are going to be required to pledge our time and ourselves. We will be required to challenge ourselves to step out in faith to seek, learn, and try. Are you ready?

This entry prompted me to look back at this one: http://davesfaithblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/imagine.html from June 2009. Not that much different.

Church Scars

2010-10-09T11:18:00.003-05:00

During the visit from our South African friends I had the pleasure to be their driver for their trip to Cullman. Besides the Ava Maria Grotto we also visited a Catholic shrine down there. It was a most impressive place; huge, beautiful, spiritual. But it left me with a very uncomfortable feeling I can’t put my finger on. Obviously I must still have some unresolved Catholic issues from my youth. I have had these feelings before; see “Pew Time.”

I have also been struggling with my attitude toward Faith Church. Struggling with some scars and resentments left after the great turmoil. That is going to happen when a family of faith that has been so deeply instrumental to my faith development acts so uncharacteristically un-Christian. It shook my foundations. Even now as we move forward, I know there will be scars that get reopened. Will we be able to work through those scars or will they prevent Faith Church from becoming what God wants it to be? I suspect church scars are the deepest for just that reason. The relationships where you trust the most, open up the most, and love the most are the ones that cut the deepest.

I have also been attending one of Rev. Maricarmen Castro’s small group meetings. I have truly enjoyed these meetings. The meetings are still young, fresh, and full of Christ’s love and promise. I can see how they can be welcoming oases for many folks struggling with their faith or their church. But my pessimistic side can also see how, as these groups grow, they will be subject to the same human temptations that often turn churches into less than hospitable places.

And finally I have been attending Jerry’s Companions group. It has only been a brief time as it just started, however I feel very at home there as it is full of folks I have known for a long time and trust easily. We have been discussing God’s grace. The daily reflections concerning God’s grace in Companions as well as God’s holiness and grace in the Old Testament for Maricarmen’s group have highlighted the many, many instances of grace I have experienced. Experiences of grace I have had through friends, family, Faith Church, mentors, Maricarmen’s group, and other churches in the Presbytery. But I am also reminded of many instances when we, and I, turn away from grace; instances that are part and parcel of the human condition.

So, how do we deal with our scars and the wounds that are still to come? Yes, there will be wounds to come, because we can’t stop loving. If we stop loving we die.

It all rests in God’s grace. The grace that:

Brought me to Faith Church and found my faith.
Brought Marilyn and I together.
Nurtured me through raising a family.
Sustained me during Faith’s turmoil.
Brought me to a Rescue Mission worship that showed me true service.
Took me to Big Cove First Light for a message I needed to hear.
Found me in a Companions group that has quickly become a place of grace and healing.
Found me naturally making the Catholic “sign of the cross” as we remembered our baptisms by placing our hands in water.
Brought me to participate in a baptism that reminded me of our unity through Jesus Christ.
Urged me to connect with Maricarmen’s missional group of other scarred and searching folks.
Brought substance to the concept of incarnationally loving others in that group.
Brought me, as I was struggling with this entry, to a Sunday of serving communion to folks I love as well as ushering to folks I have grown distant from.
Reminded me why I love those folks too!
Repeatedly keeps me at Faith Church for whatever God has planned there.

It all rests in God’s grace. The list goes on and on each day. And the question is the same each and every time, “Do I accept this grace or do I turn away?” Like the prodigal brothers (Luke 15:11-32), what happens after the text? Do we accept the grace given and find forgiveness or do we reject the grace to live separated from God?

What will you do today with the graces you will be given; accept them, turn away from them, share them?

Missional Church: Small is Big

2010-09-08T22:50:00.004-05:00

I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion last evening about what “Missional Church” means. This was a joint discussion with a group visiting here from the eGoli, South Africa Presbytery. The discussion was led by Pastor Maricarmen Castro and three of our eGoli guests.

Maricarmen started off with some definitions as she tried to contrast the meaning of missional with what most of us in church think of as missions. In my experience this has been a difficult challenge and last evening was no different. The major difference is that each of us is individually called to be a missionary in sharing the Gospel; it is not just the Pastor’s or the Church’s job. This was summed up well with the concept of taking the Gospel outside the church, not just inviting others into the church. The other key point was that sharing the Gospel missionally is not to be confused only with acts of service in our efforts to combat social injustice and poverty. As you can tell from my description this concept is hard for us to grasp and convey, particularly to those steeped in church tradition. But I think it might become clearer if I tell you what I heard unfolding in the following discussions.

Questions from the floor centered on two things, the first being “How do we do this?” To me this revolves around our feeling inadequate to explain and teach the Gospel. The second question centered on “How do we get our church to do this?” To me this revolves around us still thinking in terms of this being a church program. One gentleman’s question about how to convince his church to continue in an effort when there were only a couple of individual “successes” generated a good deal of follow on discussion. As this was playing out it became obvious to me that, in true American fashion, we were thinking BIG. Individually we were thinking we are not equipped to convert anybody. Corporately we were striving for the big program.

The answer popped out to me; in the Missional Church small is big! God is not asking us to convert anybody. He is only asking for us to share “what we’ve seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20) Individually we are called to share what having a relationship with Jesus has done in our lives, period, God will do the rest. You can’t convince your church to change or to continue seemingly inefficient ministries with grand rhetoric. But you can tell the simple story of how you’ve seen God change lives. Our stories are as small as the boy who faithfully offered five loaves and two fish (John 6:9) and with that Jesus fed 5000! It is as small as Maricarmen’s challenge to doing something nice for a neighbor and watching how God can use that.

So be God’s messenger. Go out and do something SMALL and let God do the BIG lifting!

Revolution or Reawakening?

2010-04-04T06:16:00.002-05:00

Our Sunday school class is just finishing up our study of the book, “The Irresistible Revolution,” by Shane Claiborne. A very interesting and thought provoking read!

Claiborne basically relays his spiritual journey through stories that have shaped it. Admittedly Claiborne’s journey is much more intense than the average Christian. He also phrases many ideas and questions in shocking, thought provoking ways. I think Claiborne can rightly be considered a prophetic voice for Christians today in much the same way as the prophets of old were to the people of Israel. In Claiborne’s autobiographical approach to this prophecy, the early chapters have a deeper more cutting edge ring to them. It is an edge that possibly turns off more folks than it really should. However, for those open and brave enough to continue reading, the last three chapters find a message that is mellowed by experience and more practical in tone but still just as prophetic. This experienced tone makes it an even more compelling prophecy that is just as dangerous to ignore as it is to acknowledge. This puts us readers in a very challenging position.

Chapter 11 challenges both professing Christians and secular altruists with some compelling words.

Just as “believers” are a dime a dozen in the church, so are “activists” in social justice circles nowadays. But lovers are hard to come by. And I think that’s what our world is desperately in need of – lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about. We are trying to raise up an army not simply of street activists but of lovers – a community of people who have fallen desperately in love with God and with suffering people, and who allow those relationships to disturb and transform them.

Chapter 12 challenges particularly American Christendom to meaningfully reassess how we do church today. From the mega churches that turn Christianity into a neatly consumable, schedulable product to the fortress mentality churches that are defending dogma and tradition to the last dying member, “Church” in America today is dying. In my mind these approaches treat “mission” as something that is done to somebody else. Claiborne and a number of other sources these days are calling for a reawakening to the ways of the 1st century Church. This is a much more organic approach that works through building relationships that intertwine and reach throughout the community. This approach treats mission as a partnership where all parties grow. This chapter has particular application at this time in Faith Church’s life. In our healing process we need to struggle with the question of what kind of church does God want Faith Church to be; this, or that, or some hybrid?

Chapter 13 brings us back to unity. This is somewhat ironic given Claiborne’s often shocking approach but is certainly biblical and demonstrates Claiborne’s growth. This chapter emphasizes that we are not alone in any of these struggles. God is ever present and we need to be humble and respectful to each other.

…we have to remind ourselves to stay anchored in the church, for we need roots and wisdom.

It seems to me that God could surround us with elders as we bring new energy into an aging body, but it will take tremendous courage from old folks to dream new dreams and allow a new generation to make their own mistakes. And it will take great humility from the new generation of the church to listen to the wisdom of our elders and know that we can learn from other’s mistakes.

In one word, from over two centuries of history and from at least one wise Pastor, it all boils down to Agape.

A Story ...

2010-02-26T03:42:00.001-06:00

A man, let’s call him John, has just settled into his new life. He could be new in town, starting a new job. He could be divorced and starting fresh. He could be part of a young couple or a young family. He could be newly retired, unemployed, or widowed. There could be many reasons why he has reached the point of being settled in a routine that gets him through the daily must do’s. Now it’s time to branch out and seek out other things and other people.

One of the many places John could look is to volunteer at something? After all he’s always felt like he should give something back or make things better for folks less fortunate. He doesn’t even consider a church. He’s had bad history with churches. They’re either judgmental or hypocritical or both; no that’s not on the list. So John goes online through VolunteerMatch.org and finds a HUD sponsored community learning center.

John settles into a routine of volunteering at the center one night a week. He helps different clients with computer skills. Some kids working homework, some adults learning computer skills, some seniors with emails and researching medical info. He has a number of regulars that he actually looks forward to seeing. One night a group of three new volunteers shows up. The center does have a big turnover in volunteers so John doesn’t think much of it.

The group introduces themselves, they’re from XYZ Church. OK, John has seen a number of church people come and go. They usually are a Youth group that only comes once as some kind of “project”. Or others come for a while, don’t seem to act any different than any other volunteer and lose interest after several weeks. But there is something different about this group? Before they start their work they form a circle and say a prayer? John notices these folks really try to get to know their clients. They talk and laugh. At the end of the evening before they leave they form another prayer circle, a couple clients actually join them.

The weeks go by and the XYZ people become regulars. They generally have a nice chat with John each evening. They ask John if he is involved with a church. He says no, waiting for the “sales” pitch, but it never happens. The XYZ folks always start with their prayer circle and they always invite clients to join, but never push. John notices them really getting to know their clients. Many times he sees them praying with their client and frequently hugging and tears are shed occasionally. John notices their clients smile a lot more than most?

After a couple months John joins in the prayer circle …

Thankful for a Cloud of Witnesses*

2010-02-21T03:34:00.002-06:00

Once again I am brought to a feeling of thankfulness for the place Faith Church has been in my life. I read this posting in a blog that I follow; http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/?p=644.

I like following this blog because it is written by a woman that is deeply Christian. Yet, somehow, she can walk that thin line where she has credibility and influence on the lives of very spiritual people that have become fearful or disenfranchised from the Christian church. Exactly the place where Christ’s church needs to be these days.

In this particular posting she talks about our children and where they learn about their faith in a kaleidoscope world but one that has, seemingly, black and white rules on where faith can be discussed. I was compelled to share this comment:

As “sad but true” as it is, our children are amazingly adaptable at being who they need to be for different people they come across. Perhaps that’s even truer in today’s world where they are constantly coming in contact with people with different worldviews. Our children, and my wife and I, have been blessed with a strong faith family. A church that not only teaches but develops strong relationships. This affords our children access to a large group of faith mentors they can turn to when those difficult questions come up. Questions they don’t necessarily feel comfortable talking with us about. And it gives my wife and I an incredible sense of comfort knowing they have that “large cloud of witnesses.”

This is one of the things that Marilyn and I value most about Faith. It has been, and I pray will continue to be, one of Faith’s bedrock missions. Once again, Thank You Faith Church!

* Hebrews 12:1

Ressurection

2010-01-23T03:02:00.004-06:00

2010 has started out to be a downer of a year; apparently? In the last week I have seen a lot of discussion on things that are dying.

Obviously there is the earthquake in Haiti.
A new blog acquaintance who’s Grandmother has passed away, which made me think about my Mom and Dad.
Another blog acquaintance ruminating on the slow decay of a couple small steel towns near Pittsburgh, an area and experience I’m familiar with.
A blog post commenting about three different focal missional groups reacting strongly to changes they are experiencing.
And of course there is looking back over the last year of Faith Church that could have gone either way and is still precarious.

Yet each one of these also carries with it a strong sense of new life!

There was a parallel story of how a town devastated by the 2004 tsunami has rebuilt better than before.
The grieving granddaughter passed on stories to her young daughters about the great life of their great-grandmother. And I remember how my daughter at five years old still had a sense of what she needed to deal with losing her Grandma.
The blog of the decaying town focused on the coffee shop that offered a spark of life through “splashes of color” and a community garden.
The missional movement blog commented about how things we hold onto too tight, trying to keep them the same, makes it all about us instead of the mission. Which made me think, if these are truly organic movements then some things die to give way and nourish the new things.

Most folks simply learn to accept these ups and downs as part of the circle of life. But as Christians shouldn’t we have a much more positive outlook? Christianity itself is rooted in the fundamental belief that out of death rises new life! Christ died and is risen! Paul continually talks about dying to sin and being reborn in Christ!

Faith Church has at least stopped the decline and has a lot to look forward to as we do the hard work of nourishing the things that will bring new life in Christ. There may be some pruning necessary as well but we will all discern those things together, when the time comes, as the Body of Christ.

Agape,
Dave

PS.
These are just some of the many “new life out of old things” I’ve noticed. Maybe sometime I’ll give you my thoughts on the US Post Office or NASA…

Comfort in the Aftermath?

2010-01-17T10:23:00.003-06:00

In the aftermath of a disaster like the Haitian earthquake where could comfort possibly come from? Does it come from the millions maybe billions of dollars in aid beginning to be amassed and directed toward relief? Does it come from the multitude of relief organizations as well as the US Army responding and gearing up for future response? Does it come from the billions of prayers offered up for those suffering, affected, or responding? Does it come from the words of the Gospel shared by relief workers?

I was struck by this news article from Reuters, “Hymns, Children's Cries Fill Haiti's Night,”.

"The chanting and clapping, mainly by women, echo from hill to hill, street to street, as Haitians pray for their dead and ask God to spare them more suffering after an earthquake that has killed thousands and flattened much of the capital.

While the widespread singing provides comfort, the jarring shrieks and sobs of injured children -- some lying in the street clutching bloody gashes -- are a haunting reminder of the untended suffering in Haiti." - Reuters

The faithful inclination of the Haitian people (predominantly Catholic) to reach out to God in a uniquely Haitian way moves me.

The shear enormity of such a disaster overwhelms. It certainly overwhelms those physically affected. But it also overwhelms the rest of us who feel the natural human desire to help. Yet we all respond differently to that initial reaction. Some simply cannot deal with it and block it out. Some create some protectionist rationalization that allows emotional detachment. Some jump in full bore. (Those that have prepared for that will be of benefit, those unprepared may not? But that might just be my personal rationalization?) Some respond out of guilt, or a sense of reciprocity or karma.

As Christians our first and foremost response should be prayer. We pray first that God covers those affected with his grace. We do this out of a sense of and acknowledgment that God is sovereign over all. We know that God did not cause this. Yet we know in a fallen world, separated from God, that these things happen and God will use these events to bring us back together with him. We also know that a significant part of God's grace on those affected will be worked through us, his church established through Jesus Christ. We therefore secondly pray for instruction on what each of us individually and as a church are supposed to do.

It is through this comfort of God's sovereignty and unity in the church that Christians are able to function so effectively in times such as this. In this faith comes comfort that the donations of a single pair of shoes or the simple act of assembling a hygiene kit are adequate responses in overwhelming times. It is this prayer for discernment made in faith that those with the gifts of resources, or those with the gifts of organization, or those with the gifts of healing and comfort are given their marching orders in God's army. All these things flow together within God's church to allow all of us to feel his comfort and become a world wide force that provides comfort in overwhelming times. It is also in times like these that individuals and churches are drawn in to recognize their individual missions even after this catastrophe has passed. This is reflected in the work of thousands in developing denominational disaster response teams, such as the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Agency or the Catholic Relief Services or any of the many other denominational organizations. These larger groups again demonstrate how God flows individual gifts and efforts into a world wide responsive force.

So I urge you to use this opportunity to develop a relationship with Jesus. Talk or pray with him to find out what you are supposed to do right now and take comfort that whatever that may be is enough even for something as overwhelming as this. I also urge you to continue developing that relationship to learn what Jesus wants for you in the future and to find your place in his church that continues to provide assistance and comfort even after the news agencies grow weary of reporting this disaster.

Blessings of the Peace of Christ,
Dave McGhee

Dave's Top 3 Questions for Faith Church 2010

2009-12-30T05:27:00.011-06:00

The New Year is time to take stock of the past and look forward to the future. Here are my top 3 questions for Faith Church moving into 2010. There are only 3 but they are big questions. Three questions of discernment I feel are fundamental for Faith Church to reconnect with it's foundation of benevolence and move forward to growth in less traditional ways.

1) How do we provide the training necessary to nurture folks in their understanding of and growth in mission? Exploring what mission means. What the bible says about mission. The importance of mission to what it means to be Presbyterian. Developing a deeper personal sense of mission. Developing the tools necessary for discerning what God’s call to mission is for each of us personally and as a congregation.

2) How do we transform ourselves into a congregation that reaches out to the new generations of folks that see no need, or simply don't have the time, for a church home or anything beyond a personal spirituality? The experience of Maricarmen, the presbytery’s new minister of New Church Development, is a wonderful new resource available to us.

3) How do we engage ourselves in demonstrating Kingdom living to our local neighborhood? Recent actions by the Huntsville Housing Authority as well as community reaction to them have deepened divisions within the Huntsville community. Huntsville schools are undergoing increased growth along with shrinking budgets and significant demographic changes. How do we respond in action and partnership?

Please pray with me over these questions over the coming year. What are your questions?

Agape,
Dave

Pew Time

2009-12-30T00:23:00.002-06:00

Over this Christmas weekend I’ve racked up a lot of “pew time.” I’m not saying the amount of time one spends in a pew has any correlation to ones holiness or degree of being saved! However I’ve had the opportunity to experience several different forms of worship this weekend that have been quite enlightening and refreshing. Of course I attended Faith’s Christmas Eve service and traditional Sunday worship; unfortunately I missed our contemporary worship. I have also been attending our 12 Days of Christmas Prayer devotionals. All of these worship experiences have been wonderful, spiritual, and fulfilling! But probably the most eye opening was my attending two Catholic Masses with my brother who has been visiting this Christmas.

Now I have attended Mass with my brother before when he’s visited, but this visit included two Masses within 48 hours. You may or may not know that I grew up Catholic and had drifted away from “the Church” after I left home; until Faith Church found me. However, attending Mass twice within 48 hours along with the recent tension we’ve had at Faith over our style of worship put these visits in an entirely different light.

There was very little in the Mass in the way of word, action, or song that I could not accept or rejoice in as a fellow Christian! Oh, I had to watch myself with “trespasses” rather than “debts”, and who could argue about kneeling in the presence of the Lord? I did have to deal with some personal baggage when it came to making the “Sign of the Cross.” But that was only dealing with my personal issues from leaving the church in the first place and recognizing my trouble with that sign was a remnant of rebellion that has no place in my life anymore. I did have to deal with the fact that I was not welcome at the Communion Table along with some theological differences about exactly what Communion means. But I recognize those issues are as much theirs as they are mine and that in the Glory After that will all be cleared up. In the meantime I can be a polite guest and respect their customs. And I can tell you I experienced Communion just as much as they did!

All this just drives home to me even more what a waste it is to argue over differences in worship styles! We are called to celebrate our relationship with the Lord in worship. There are ways of celebrating that are unique to each of us. But we are also called to celebrate each other’s relationship with the Lord. As the PC(USA) Book of Order (G-4.0401) states: “Thus the fellowship of Christians as it gathers for worship and orders its corporate life will display a rich variety of form, practice, language, program, nurture, and service to suit culture and need.” We should respect each others choices and rejoice in the Lord “all ways”.

When I joined Faith I made a statement to the congregation that I had found a relationship with Jesus and that I could have gone back to reconcile myself with the Roman Catholic Church. But I also said that I felt I needed to stay at Faith where I was surrounded by the love of the people that had brought me into that relationship to continue to grow. That statement has been tested in recent years, and a couple more times in the past, but it still holds. It holds because Faith Church is bound together by the love of Christ! Faith Church, by grace, always seems to re-find that core truth; even if sometimes it takes a while longer. As long as Faith Church remembers and rests on the rock of Christ’s love it will thrive. There will surely be pieces of baggage we’ll need to deal with but I am looking forward to rebuilding upon that foundational rock in the coming year!

Joy, Both a Feeling and an Action

2009-12-27T02:22:00.002-06:00

This is my offering to Faith's "12 Days of Christmas Prayer" devotions this year...

Joy, Both a Feeling and an Action

Opening Prayer: Lord God, open our hearts and minds that we might come into greater communion with you in this time of prayer and reflection. Amen

Philippians 4:4-7 (New Revised Standard)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As Christians I think that is the feeling we feel when we talk about Joy, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Yet that is often a feeling that eludes us. But if we read earlier in the passage we find that it requires an action on our part, to rejoice! Rejoice, the action verb of joy. We are to rejoice, revel if you will, in the fact that the Lord is near and approachable. We rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas, Emmanuel, God is with us.

From the Blog: Solitary Broomtree
“There are times when rejoicing is down right easy – when finding joy in the Lord is almost a natural response. We receive good news about the health of a loved one, and we praise the Lord. We get reacquainted with an old friend we haven’t seen in years, and we rejoice in one another’s company. Our family arrives for a visit, and we rejoice in their safe travels.
[…]
And finally, there are those times when rejoicing seems counterintuitive – almost insulting or inappropriate – like when a loved one dies. Or when they receive dire news of a terminal illness. Or when we learn that our position in the company is being eliminated, and we’ll be out of a job. Or when someone we care about is convicted of a crime and sent to jail. What is there, at times like these, to rejoice in?
[…]
Rejoicing in the Lord isn’t about finding a treasure in life’s trash heap of bad news. It’s about being joyful because of our relationship with God. It’s about giving thanks for the hope that we have in God’s love for us, proven in Jesus Christ. If all of our hope is found there, and “the peace which surpasses all understanding” emanates from Him, then we will be filled with joy in the Lord regardless of our present circumstances.”

But wait, it gets even better than that!

Zephaniah. 3:17 (New Revised Standard)
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

God rejoices in US! What more could we ask for to give us that feeling of joy?

Silent Prayer

Closing Prayer (read together):
Lord God, Abba Father, you came to be with us to share new hope in the form of a tiny baby. That baby grew up with us to lead us in your ways. And finally that baby sacrificed himself for us that we may be free to rejoice in you eternally. Halleluiah, Amen!

Advent 2009 – Faith and Hope!

2009-12-17T20:52:00.003-06:00

It’s been well over a month since I posted anything to my blog. So many things have been happening at work, at home, with family, at church, and spiritually.

This year Faith Church most certainly embodies the feelings of anticipation and hope that Advent brings! With our new pastor, Pastor Tom, in place, the Fellowship Hall reopened, and folks comfortably back in two worship services, things are starting to feel more normal. There is now an excitement about the tough work the Lord has ahead for us to complete our healing and discern our call for moving forward! I have seen so many parallels between Faith’s journey and the journey of God’s people in the bible this last year. The up and down relationship with God, the feelings of exile, and now the sense of something new coming just as those that were graced with the awareness that the birth of the little Christ child signaled a momentous new beginning revealed in such a humble setting. (No Tom, I do not think you are the second coming, but your arriving here in record time is surely a God thing. :-)

Spiritually my biggest event is that I decided to heed the call to become an Elder. I wrote about that struggle back in August (8/7, 8/12). Wow, that long ago? Faith responded by electing me! Training has been abbreviated this year but the North Alabama Presbytery training day was fantastic! Houston discussed the PC(USA) Book of Confessions and you haven’t lived until you’ve heard Rosemary rap about the Book of Order! Rosemary also shared some of the actual beauty of the Book of Order infused in the first 4 chapters; a beauty that I recognized when I read it during my discernment (9/6). We also had a short talk from Maricarmen the presbytery’s new minister of New Church Development. I believe we all have a great deal to learn from Maricarmen about church transformation! We also had some training at Faith with Pastor Tom. It is going to be a joy to work with him as well as the other elders and deacons!

My other spiritual adventure has been launching the Faith Reach website. Faith Church started with a call to mission and that call is as steadfast as God’s love. We are called to reach out to those outside our walls as well as within. Faith has been active in many ministries yet it has always been hard to keep track of them without having to hunt down Frank. I felt the call to offer my time to set up Faith Reach as a place where information on those ministries can be easily found. It is intended to be a place of information, encouragement, and education in mission. The Faith Reach website has also recently led to starting a Faith Facebook fan page! Establishing this website and researching its ministries has shown me the vast array of outreach and mission opportunities available! The next logical step is to find an avenue to provide the training necessary to nurture folks in their understanding of and growth in mission. That is something I am looking forward to working on with Tom, Frank, and Philip over the next year!

May we all be enveloped in the warm glow of hope over this Christmas season and prepare ourselves for the work God would have us do in the coming year! And to start us out right please consider attending the 12 days of Christmas Prayer series starting Christmas Day!

Can We Part Friends?

2009-11-01T01:35:00.014-05:00

Things are looking up for Faith right now. We have a new pastor coming, the Fellowship Hall will be reopening imminently, and the budget is more stable. With a new and much anticipated sense of normalcy present there are also strong forces to restart a contemporary worship service and un-blend the traditional service. I have spoken several times in this blog about my support for multiple format worship services. Particularly September 2009 and November 2008 and maybe a few more times in between.

I suppose this entry's title should more correctly be "Can We Part as Brothers & Sisters in Christ?" I have concerns that we are not quite ready to part into two services in a healthy way. I get the sense right now that the parting is based on dividing rather than multiplying. I could be wrong and I pray that I am, but I would like to pose several questions each of us needs to prayerfully consider.

Are we multiplying with a sense of new mission to address a need?

Are we dividing to get back to something we are comfortable with?

Who would you invite to the service you feel more connected to?

Who would you invite to the service you feel less connected to?

Are you willing to serve the service you feel less connected to? Usher? Read? Child care? Flowers? Sound booth? Media operator? Attend? Children's sermon? Setup? Cleanup?

Are the plans inclusive or exclusive?

Do you look forward to a regular "joint" service as an opportunity of sharing, experiencing, and learning?

Can or should this wait just a little longer to give God and the new pastor a chance to work on healing our hearts so we can part as Siblings in Christ?

Some important things to pray about!

Agape,
Dave

The Spirit just keeps on showing up...

2009-10-25T03:07:00.002-05:00

I think this prayer is going to become a personal thing with me...

"Lord, it is so easy for us to lose sight of your vision for us in the world. You have required that we do justice, but we are more comfortable when it’s “just us.” You have required of us a kindness, but we are most at peace with our “own kind.” You have asked us to walk humbly beside you, but our self-centeredness refuses to keep the pace. Forgive us. Amen."

From: http://www.pcusa.org/missionyearbook/Oct/25.htm

The Spirit just keeps on showing up...like a guided missile...

Studying the Word of God

2009-10-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

My thoughts have been turning to bible study lately. Bible study will play a pivotal role in reestablishing Faith’s identity. Without studying the Word of God we can’t know the Will of God. Without knowing the Will of God how can we expect to form an identity that seeks to follow and glorify God?

Now I will admit right here that my knowledge of the bible and my skill and diligence of studying it are seriously lacking. My knowledge has come in fits and starts along the way, being mostly driven by third party commentaries or books that essentially tell you what the bible says. Actual study of the Word itself has mostly been prompted by mentors from Church for which I am grateful. And I honestly must say it has improved with the use of online study tools and search engines that help me find the connections needed between the various parts of the bible. Adding a prayer that the Holy Spirit guide me on seeing what I need to see has been the most important addition to my process!

I believe the older generations in the church take for granted that the younger generations have the same knowledge and understanding of the bible that they do. And they over estimate the degree of understanding that the younger generation, as a whole, have of the bible. I believe that leading and/or participating in bible study with the younger generations is a key gift and responsibility the biblically mature hold within the church.

While I’m in a confessional mode, I also regret the way that the University of Faith Sunday School concept panned out. Sunday school classes were seriously flagging already at that time and it was an honest attempt to restructure in a way to provide the variety of options that the current enrollment seemed to desire. The team understood that it was ignoring the social aspects of Sunday school but was not staffed to address them. It turns out those social aspects were the driving force of the Sunday school hour. The following discipleship groups were an attempt, I believe, to re-gather and re-mix the membership into groups around a common study. This effort had mixed success but has lacked staying power also. Both of these efforts should be considered constructive attempts, with successes and failures, which should inform future efforts to get a handle on the social/study dynamic within our congregation.

Just like in worship, one size does not fit all when it comes to bible study; probably even less so. Here is a metaphor. Think of the Word of God as rain that falls on the Earth. Just like rain it falls on every individual at some point. Everybody enjoys a rainy day sometime and when an individual responds to the rain it is like a personal bible study. As people collect the rain they gather together in little tributaries or small groups; you can’t help but share the Good News. The groups then gather together into brooks, creeks, small rivers or congregations and worship together. As these creeks and rivers join they form larger rivers or denominations. And finally these large rivers flow into the ocean which is Jesus’ Church Universal on Earth. The Word of God runs through a cycle of Living Water! So each of those groups (individuals, small groups, congregations, denominations, and the Church Universal) responding to the Word are each of different character and an important part of the whole cycle.

So as a church we should be encouraging this flow of Living Water. We should be encouraging personal bible study, particularly for those that are new to it, or even afraid of it. We should be encouraging group studies. Sometimes this means channeling them as in studies among elders, or deacons, or mission teams so these groups can come into communion with the Word and each other enabling their ministries. Sometimes this means encouraging groups to form on their own seeking their own level. And as a congregation we encourage by sharing the Word in our worship.

Personally I feel the Sunday school hour should lean toward introduction to different levels of bible study, a welcoming nurturing approach to usher folks into both the study of the Word itself and the community of Faith and eventually some small group. Small group studies of more committed folks can better handle the difficulty of supporting alternate meeting times.

I personally feel it is important for the different leadership teams within Faith to have bible study time in addition to committee meeting time. How can we lead if we aren’t connected as a group to the Word?

And finally, I also believe that varied styles of worship usher different folks into the Word. I feel these different worship styles should flow together regularly as a whole. Perhaps that should be on Communion Sunday rather than every Sunday or a fifth Sunday?

All of these different tributaries work together culminating in a church community that is reflecting the Kingdom of God. How do we nurture and encourage meaningful bible study? We’ll have to study on that…

Agape,
Dave

Hope!

2009-10-11T22:40:00.004-05:00

I went to the informational meeting held by the Interim Pastor Search Committee (IPSC) today. They are recommending that we call the candidate they have selected as the “Designated Pastor”! The congregational meeting is next week, October 18th.

There are two primary differences between an Interim and a Designated Pastor.

An Interim may only serve 1-2 years; a Designee may serve 2-4 years
An Interim cannot be called as the permanent pastor; the Designee may

The primary reason for the recommendation is the time factor. The possibility of becoming permanent was a distant second. The difficult work required of us during this transition encompasses three major areas.

Coming to terms with our history
Discovering a new identity
Developing new leadership

During the time of discernment and interviews the IPSC along with the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry (COM) concluded that Faith’s transitional work could take two years or more. The Designated Pastor option provides the time, stability, and continuity of trained leadership required for this work before us.

We are now a short time away from being able to start in earnest the difficult work of healing that Faith has been praying for! Praise God! And praise the presence of the Holy Spirit during this process!

Watch for today’s meeting notes to be made available on Faith’s website. A letter detailing the candidate and nature of next week’s meeting will be mailed this Wednesday.

Agape,
Dave

I'm not going to say the M-word...

2009-10-04T21:09:00.005-05:00

The following are some very good conversations by some "notables" in the M-word area. A bit high-brow at times but the speakers do try to identify jargon when they can’t avoid it. I think these are particularly appropriate for Faith right now. Not because we are at one end of the spectrum or the other. Actually we're probably nowhere right now. But we are in a phase where we are trying to reestablish our identity and are being pulled by these forces. And at the same time trying to find a pastor that will help us achieve ... what?

The key to listening to these is not to side with one idea or the other. The key is to also remember our circumstances (history, people, place, and present) and to try and discern what combination of bits and pieces of these ideas is God trying to put together in a unique way at Faith?

Part 1: http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/stetzer-and-fitch-missional-conversation/

Part 2: http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/can-megachurches-be-missional/

Part 3: http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/telling-an-alternative-missional-story/

The last part is where the rubber hits the road; how do we allow ourselves to experiment with actual examples without tearing ourselves apart?

(Of course the answer to that is easy to say but hard to do. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to imitate Jesus and keep God's Kingdom first.)

Watch, Listen, and pray...

Agape,
Dave

Who Ever Said That Unity Means Being The Same?

2009-09-06T14:23:00.004-05:00

We folks of Faith Church are an odd lot!

When it comes to worship we seem to be on this road of everyone having to worship together all the time and we all have to like the same type of worship service? However, when it comes to outreach or ministry, it is impossible to get more than a handful or so to come together in any particular ministry? When it comes to worship, if the service or the message aren’t to our liking we tune out or leave? When it comes to benevolence the outreach budget is heavily biased with directed giving rather than a general benevolence fund?

Wait a minute - maybe we’re not that odd after all? Isn’t that the way of the world we live in? We all want what we want and we want everyone else to want the same thing? We all want to belong but we don’t want to change who we are? We all want to feel good about ourselves and help others, but we want that on our terms? I’m sorry but these behaviors reflect a “me first” attitude, and I’m as guilty as anyone. Yet, we are all in church because, deep down, we know there is something better. And somehow we all ended up in a place called Faith Presbyterian Church. So what is this place called Faith? Who are we? Who should we be?

The Church created and headed by Jesus Christ, in its worship, and mission, is supposed to be our best imitation of what God’s Kingdom is like. It’s supposed to be the place where we bring each of our God given individualities to multi-faceted worship of our one true God. And the Church is supposed to be the place where we bring each of our unique, God given talents together to help each other carry on God’s outward mission to this world. It is one of those paradoxes that we are supposed to show a “visible oneness” of being a united God’s people at the same time as we demonstrate the uniqueness of the Christian faith that recognizes the diversity of people in the world. From the Presbyterian constitution:

G-4.0203 Visible Oneness
Visible oneness, by which a diversity of persons, gifts, and understandings is brought together, is an important sign of the unity of God’s people.

G-4.0401 Variety of Forms
The church in its witness to the uniqueness of the Christian faith is called to mission and must be responsive to diversity in both the church and the world. Thus the fellowship of Christians as it gathers for worship and orders its corporate life will display a rich variety of form, practice, language, program, nurture, and service to suit culture and need.

So, how do we accomplish this? We do this by living up to the mission we are called to and modeled by Jesus, the head of the Church. That mission is to spread the good news of the Gospel and be humble servants. We start by rebuilding Faith Church’s identity by being servants to each other.

We start by communicating and understanding what each other needs in order to worship and serve God in a meaningful way. We demonstrate that in a mutual combined and blended worship.

We start by engaging as a community in the internal and outward missions and prayer of the church. We demonstrate that by getting personally involved through participation, either working in nurture, prayer, and outreach efforts or sharing in the decisions of how our outreach dollars are spent.

We start by engaging in the personal and communal study of God’s Word, preparing ourselves for the spreading of the good news. We demonstrate to each other the continual nature of learning and understanding the Word by studying with and teaching each other.

As we do these things we will recognize our common foundation in the resurrection and reestablish our common identity as Faith Church. Once we have regained that foundation and identity then we will be able to offer varied styles of worship services, not as divisions but as offerings of service and support to others. Once we have regained that foundation and identity the outreach life of Faith church will thrive, grow, and not be the burden of a few. These things will then be rooted in an eternal foundation with a common and current identity, not a nostalgic one.

Easier said than done, you say? You’re right! We cannot do this alone. Through what power can this be achieved? The Presbyterian constitution says it best:

G-3.0103 The Holy Spirit
God’s redeeming and reconciling activity in the world continues through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who confronts individuals and societies with Christ’s Lordship of life and calls them to repentance and to obedience to the will of God.

G-3.0400 Called to Risk and Trust
The Church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ.

I strongly urge everyone to read Chapters G-3 & G-4 of the Presbyterian constitution also called the Book of Order; http://www.pcusa.org/oga/boo/boo-online.htm.

Agape,
Dave

"Grounded" in the Holy Spirit!

2009-08-15T04:19:00.005-05:00

This is a repost of a Note from Joanna Caldwell on Facebook. Healing IS taking place in the life of Faith Church. Amen.

The Holy Spirit and Coffee
At the GMA Conference, I was introduced to the best coffee ever: "Land of a Thousand Hills" coffee. I'd never had coffee two days after it was roasted before! The aroma was deliciously tantalizing and it tasted every bit as wonderful as it smelled. It's also coffee with a conscience and not just because it's "fair trade" coffee where the workers receive a living wage. This coffee is evidence of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit! Coffee? Yes! The flyer I picked up at their table tells the true stories of two young women whose families were brutally hunted down and murdered during the 100 days of genocide 10 years ago by a man named Jean. The country was so devastated by the violence that when everything was over, the government turned to churches to bring healing and reconciliation. Through the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit working through them, these two young women FORGAVE the man who massacred their families and now they are working side by side with him growing coffee beans. So as I drink this coffee, I'm thinking about the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit and I wonder, if these young women and the hundreds of others like them, can forgive the people who murdered their families, how can we have any excuse to refuse to forgive each other for canceling our favorite church programs, changing the style of worship, hurting our feelings, or anything else? Jesus told us to forgive our brothers (and sisters) without limits. We have been forgiven much, we have no grounds to refuse to forgive others.....in fact, just the opposite, my coffee grounds remind me that by the power of the Holy Spirit, anything is possible.

Reposted with permission.

Full Court Press

2009-08-12T05:36:00.002-05:00

In my last entry I related that I was having a hard time dealing with repeatedly bouncing between good and bad news about Faith; struggling with the realities of power and money in the church; and discerning if I’m called to be an Elder. I even found myself searching for other churches. Well God was doing a full court press on me last Saturday and Sunday. Three things came together that have started to put things in perspective.

First on Saturday, I started reading the Book of Order. Over and over again, it stressed the sovereignty of God, and the call to unity as a church in mission, worship, and fellowship; all the while stressing diversity and openness to the continual reformation of a church and its people.

Secondly on Sunday I felt a strong pull to attend the contemporary service at Big Cove. Not necessarily seeking a new church but just to see what was there. Well it was apparent I was meant to hear their message that day! They had just started a series on Acts and happened to be covering Chapter 2 about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. They talked about the transformative power of the Spirit to change people in ways they could never hope to change themselves. They talked about the need to expect and look for this power to change the circumstances of any problem.

Thirdly I went on to attend Faith’s Sunday service. It was a wonderful service! Being Disability Sunday, the focus of the worship was on the abilities and disabilities we all have. The sermon text, John 4:5-27, was about the Samaritan woman at the well. Despite the woman’s many “disabilities” of sin, infidelity, prejudice, and ignorance, Jesus patiently ministered to her. He ministered to the tiny point of faith she carried, "I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." (John 4:25)

It was at that point I couldn’t help but realize the disabilities we at Faith are experiencing right now! The disability we all have of wanting “our” service, “our” church, back rather than seeking the presence of the Holy Spirit in God’s worship and church. The disability of disharmony and disunity we are all experiencing as we seek what we want rather than what God wants for us. The disability those of us that “see clearly” have when we are fed up with those that “don’t see” and we all discount the power of the Spirit to transform all our visions and actions into His plan. Disabilities just like any others that need to be met with love, making way for the transformative power of the Spirit.

These three have come together in my mind as a sort of Trinity. The Book of Order, particularly Chapter 3, informs us about God’s plan for the Church. The Disability Sunday worship demonstrates our brokenness and Jesus’ unfaltering love for us that we are supposed to imitate. The Pentecost message tells us where the power comes from that will transform us into the church God wants us to be.

Pretty amazing to experience all that in one weekend!

What is your tiny point of faith?

A Difficult Day of Discernment

2009-08-07T00:03:00.001-05:00

I have been struggling to figure out if I am being called to become an Elder at Faith Church. It is evident in the many previous entries in this blog that I have tried to see both sides in our conflict and keep my eye on where God wants to direct us. I go from positive days to negative days regularly and with increasing frequency. Today was a difficult day.

Today I received more evidence that we are a divided congregation. The details are irrelevant, they are the same issues that have plagued us and seem not to want to go away. It’s just that when you try to stay focused on the positive and then the negative jumps back in view it hurts all over again. I suppose today could be described as a Scrooge moment. The way ahead appeared very clear and bleak, unless we do something to change that. That something must rely exclusively on our dependence on God. Yet the ponderous weight of earthly power seems stacked against experiencing that dependence.

At the same time as I am struggling with the call, I also find myself searching the web for another church. I wish I could say this was for research purposes to see how others are doing things; I cannot. I was searching for a place to go.

It sometimes seems clear that if I cannot find enough faith in Faith’s future to accept a call to be Elder, then it is time for me to move on. Other times, if I put my faith in God, it seems I need to stay and accept the call. That is difficult, because I’m not sure if that is to see Faith through these tough times and keep pointing to God on the way or is it to help others see God’s grace in hospice as we wither away.

And to make this decision even worse, the time to make the decision is either before or just after we anticipate getting an interim Pastor. Just like God to force the decision to be made in faith and not based on visible evidence.

I have many more thoughts and questions. But I’ll lay those down at His feet for tonight and try to get some sleep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOfoXDymFZA

Today was a difficult day.

Life at Faith These Days - Part 2

2009-07-18T03:32:00.006-05:00

In Part 1 of this blog entry I told about several good things happening at Faith these days. However, I was also telling you about my friends that are really wrestling with what has happened at Faith and where Faith is going.

Bad things have happened at Faith. Things that have been done by people still at Faith. Things that were allowed to happen by more people still at Faith. There is no escaping this. My friends, and I, and many of us struggle with many questions.

"How many times are we to forgive our brother (or sister)? Jesus' answer is understood to mean indefinitely....as many times as they sin against you. What happens when we let the sun go down on our anger? (in other words we hold a grudge and refuse to forgive, work it out, let it go) We give the devil a foothold....each time."

"What is THE commandment Jesus gave us? To love each other like he loves us and gave his life for us... The kind of love defined in 1 Corinthians 13."

How can we have missed that we failed this commandment? Why is it so hard to follow this commandment? How do we come back together as Christians when we know we have sinned? How can we come back together as Christians with people that don't know they've sinned? How do we deal with our feelings of injustice and that sin must be punished? How do we recognize, confess, and deal with our sinfulness?

My friend found the verses that encapsulate the problem and the answer; Galatians 5:19-23. "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy...I warn you as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

The first thing that popped in my head as I was reading my friend's note was the parable of the sower. Read Matthew 13, yes the whole thing. I did and I believe I will be reading it a number of times now.

Here is where I am now in finding my way through all this. After I found out Steve was leaving I was angry. But the Spirit quickly put me in the place where the only thing I could do was to forgive and forget the past, wipe the slate clean and hand it to God. That meant forgetting the hurts of the past and not seeking punishment or retribution. A good parent knows you cannot punish a child for something that happened two weeks ago. BUT that does not mean ignoring new transgressions! So I promised myself to try to address things as they happen. This keeps me from imagining or embellishing things in the past or listening to rumors. I am trying to focus on now and moving forward.

Reading my friend's note and having those parables placed in my head I understand much clearer. Faith is God's garden. It is our job to tend the garden. But God is still the one in charge. There are good patches and bad patches and patches that need cultivation. I've been all three! There are also weeds in the garden, but it is not for us, at this time, to pull them up and risk the budding plants (As seen in Part 1 of this blog entry). Jesus tells us in Mathew 13 that the weeds will not hear the Word and will remain weeds. God will take care of that in his time.

BUT, the gardener in me says, if one of those weeds pops up a seed head above the other plants it's time to take care of it; before it can spread. But how? My friend said it best…

"Loving each other doesn't mean we only speak sweetly to each other saying only "nice" things. Speaking the truth in love can be hard to say and hard to hear, but it's the attitude of the heart that is important when we speak the truth in love. […] We love because God first loved us so it makes sense to me that our focus needs to be on loving and knowing God more. As we know God better, we learn how to love and we are filled with GOD'S LOVE which is different from human love. God's love is 1 Corinthians 13 love. It is a love that is sacrificial, unconditional, dying to self, submitting to God and one another. That is the love we are to extend to one another. Bible study, fellowship, and worship are good things to encourage this."

I have a couple more comments to the Session on life at Faith these days before I finish. I encourage the Session to actively watch for the seed heads and deal with them in a loving and timely manner. I also applaud the Session's efforts in dealing with our budget shortfall in a timely manner. Finally I encourage the Session to understand that the budget is not the problem, it's a symptom. The problem is our spiritual budget. It is easy to get distracted by the easier problem of the money budget but we have a lot of folks hurting and confused and in need of spiritual guidance through these times.

As my friend pointed out; "We've heard excellent, pointed, sermons from Warner, Bob, and Kerry [and Mel] but I haven't felt the pall lift over my heart and I think I am not alone. I think in order to heal from this grief we're in, we need an opportunity to make an active corporate response." I agree, but I don't think we're there yet, and it may be awhile.

Agape, (As Rev. Grigsby would say.)
Dave

I hope my friend doesn't mind my quoting much of their note. My friend was worried about presenting these things. I'll take the heat.

Life at Faith These Days - Part 1

2009-07-17T04:17:00.004-05:00

It's been a month since I blogged. Life at Faith has been getting better! Last Sunday was amazing!

Worship was fantastic! I had dropped my daughter off at the airport for the adventure of a lifetime; a semester studying in Costa Rica! I then went on to worship. There were many more folks than usual! There was a delegation of folks from Africa that were in town and came to worship with Frank! That morning and previous evening the church had just hosted two mission teams crossing paths to and from the Gulf coast. Our contingent of folks was back from a South Africa trip! Some friends from work that have been church hunting showed up at Faith that day! The music (all the music) hit a chord with me! Kerry's sermon was fantastic! I wept.

I have been working hard to put up a new Faith Reach webpage; http://hs.presby.org, and it is reaching a stable point and is generating a bit of excitement! The page sprung as a personal response to a list of tenets that Faith's Outreach committee is working to.

A team ministry that oversees the total missional arena at Faith
A team ministry that lifts up, communicates policies and interprets
A team ministry that develops, approves, oversees and implements a budget
A team ministry that links members with complementary gifts with ministry of service
A team ministry that manages a dynamic relationship with 15 to 20 local ministries
A team ministry that provides a Theological foundation and understanding of missions
A team ministry that serves as a primary bridge interfacing with laity, church and world
A team ministry that will provide leadership for Faith into the mission era
A team ministry that uses sound infrastructure, accountability and regulates implementation.

The site has three major thrusts. A news and invitation feature that keeps folks informed on opportunities to get engaged. A series of background pages on different ministries that Faith is involved in. A blog where Faith folks can share their stories and experiences of reaching out with God's kingdom.

My vision is not only to inform Faith members, but attract seekers, and attract non-religious seekers to Faith's work through Faith's friendships. The latter then provides the opportunity to usher them into a relationship with Christ in God's time. Much the way Faith ushered me into that relationship. I strongly feel Faith's future depends on involving people in Faith's ministries and THEN involving them in Faith, not the other way around.

One of the other facets is that I'm funneling the announcements and blog stories to Faith's friends on Facebook through my account there. I've been found by a number of Faith folks already!

BUT... Faith church is still hurting.

I hear reports of some folks complaining about the contemporary music in worship. Which is OK, but not actually during worship disturbing other worshipers!

I talk frequently with a friend who is struggling with the changes at Faith and the way those changes were brought about. They are hanging in with Faith but the hold is tentative and seeking indications of forward movement again.

And I just heard from someone who is really hurting. Someone who has been distancing themselves, painfully, from Faith because of their need to find an active youth program for their child. (They made it clear they were not placing specific blame on Kerry!) This is a situation we all have responsibility for. A situation faced by a number of families at Faith who have made the hard choice. Oddly, or by design, that connection was reestablished though the outreach into Facebook. A bittersweet highlight of that effort's purpose.

(More on this later ...)

Big Tent?

2009-06-16T01:17:00.005-05:00

Unless you're Frank or Bob Hamilton I bet you only have an inkling of what the "Big Tent" is, if you have any idea at all. http://www.pcusa.org/bigtent/ We do such a poor job of communicating...

I didn't really know anything about it until my RSS feed from PCnews started coming alive in early June. Now this is normally a pretty slow, and boring, news feed. Unfortunately much like the general impression PCUSA gives on a normal basis; yawn. (Sorry, but its the truth.) But the stories that started coming from the Big Tent show a new, exciting, and engaged PCUSA!

Here is a link to this June's PCnews archive. Take a look at the articles coming from the Big Tent, there are many and they are still coming. I think you'll be surprised; hopefully pleasantly.

http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/june.htm
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/bigtent.htm

Bob Hamilton actually went. Ask him about it!

Dave

Imagine!

2009-06-08T01:08:00.005-05:00

In my April 24th blog I talked about imagining what we would like Faith church to be rather than trying to “solve” our problems. This is a method that several sources recommend for broadening our perspective and really tapping into what God wants Faith church to be. So, how do I imagine Faith’s future?

I imagine a Faith church that has recaptured its past vision for outreach. Outreach that manifests itself in a wide variety of hands-on community involved service efforts. Outreach efforts that have local, regional, national, and global impact. Outreach efforts where members are encouraged to work together with non-members. Outreach efforts where Faith teams also join in the work of other faith-based and secular services. But …I also imagine these outreach efforts are rooted in something much deeper than just doing good works! These efforts do not just answer the call to serve the poor. These efforts also answer the call to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

I imagine these efforts are supported through study groups at Faith. Study groups that tie these efforts to Jesus’ call in the Word and Holy Spirit. Study groups that learn to grow in faith through service and be more effective. Study groups that share what they’ve learned from their teammates and those they serve. Study groups that pray for each other, their non-member teammates, and those they serve. Study groups that invite non-member teammates to join in and understand why we do these things. Study groups that hold retreats to relax, rejuvenate, and celebrate Christ’s work through them; inviting all teammates, member and non-member alike.

I imagine a Faith church rich in interaction with each other; member and non-member. Interactions that love each other as the children of God we are. Interaction through bible study that challenges each of us to grow in faith. Interaction through fellowship that celebrates our life in Christ together. Interaction through prayer that supports each other. Interaction through service to each other in good and difficult times.

I imagine a leadership that discerns, guides, and architects the direction of Faith church in becoming the church Jesus Christ desires. A leadership that nurtures Faith’s members along their spiritual paths toward discipleship and identifying their spiritual gifts. A leadership that empowers Faith’s members to use those gifts in the work of forwarding the church. A leadership that is rooted in our Presbyterian reformed past but embraces the leadings of the Holy Spirit to continue reforming into our future. A leadership that provides boundaries and gentle correction to maintain the focus on being Christ’s church.

I imagine all of this culminating each week in worship that brings the church back to where it begins and ends; God. Worship that returns our work to the one responsible for it all. Worship that refuels the church to begin again each week. Worship that is vibrant and diverse reflecting the needs and experiences of all those drawn together to worship God. Worship that does not limit our experience of the God that is limitless. Worship that models how we should live each day as disciples in the community of Christ.

That is how I currently imagine what Faith church can be. Now do I have the lock on what the vision for Faith church should be or the ability, knowledge, drive, and energy to make this happen? Hardly! God’s the only one that can make this happen. And he’ll do that through all of us together working in community on his plan. So, what do you imagine? Enrich the vision of how Faith church can model the kingdom of God by bringing your dreams to the table!

Identity

2009-05-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

Several of us have been having an interesting round of emails over the last couple weeks. It started out as a simple inquiry into the possibility of starting up a bible study for the summer.

What we discovered is that we're all feeling uncertain about our future and we have all been seeking for ways to reconnect in this time of transition. We also discovered that Faith church has been moving in the right directions to rebuild its Christian identity!

1) There are already a number of summer bible study opportunities going or in the works.(http://presby.org/pages.php?page=09/05/25/9575930)

2) There are already a number of fellowship and outreach opportunities planned for the summer. (http://presby.org/share/Goings_On.pdf) The hotdog dinner last night was a good experience for all! (And I was pretty good with my WeightWatchers.)

3) And, for all the consternation about it, we are seeking to come together as a body in a common worship service for the summer.

Now I am actually in favor of having different and varied worship services that respond to our individual needs to glorify and experience God. BUT, in this time of transition we need to re-establish our identity as a community in Christ and that is rooted in worship, fellowship, and service together.

Faith church has been moving in the right direction. But a new Faith church will not just appear to be either everything you want it to be or back the way it once was. We all need to take the first steps to join in our common journey. I urge you all to hang in there with Faith and the summer worship schedule. We NEED this temporary time to come together. I also urge you to seek out others in need of fellowship in Christ through study and fellowship groups. Please urge your personal network of friends to hang in there too, encourage them to participate in worship, and point them toward the various studies available or start up others.

As both Dr. Pope and the Apostle Philip used to say, "Come and see." (John 1:46)

See you Sunday,
Dave

Shame, Exile, Hope

2009-05-15T01:25:00.004-05:00

This week a friend told me that her and her husband were going to start looking at Presbyterian churches and that they would be coming to Faith sometime in the next couple of months. I have to say I felt ashamed. I think I now understand how a teenager in a divorcing home or with an alcoholic parent feels when a friend asks to come over.

I had to be honest and told her this: Well, you've caught us at a really bad time. We've just run off our Pastor. It will be months before we get an interim pastor and probably more than a year before we get a new one. We used to be very active in community outreach but that has really slacked off in recent years and we can't seem to get it kick started again. We seem to be constantly bickering about making changes even though what we're doing now obviously isn't working. When she described what they were thinking they needed in a church it sounded like a perfect fit with a Presbyterian church! Just probably not ours right now.

On the other hand, I knew that they had a history and a special relationship with Maranantha and I had no trouble passing along the invitation to this weekend's Open House! Particularly after Wednesday's supper with the new Maranantha staff! What an energetic team! Maranantha has been blessed!

I just finished a book, "The Prophetic Imagination," talking about the prophets during Israel's history. Their double edged sword message of criticism and hope. I very much feel like Faith is in exile right now. And I also know there is much to be hopeful about at Faith! I've talked about it many times in this blog. As with Israel, God has not abandoned us, we've given up on God. But also like Israel, its a long road back. Maybe its time for a summertime study of the Exile and the Prophets (Jeremiah and Isaiah)? Anybody interested?

I also just started another book "Beyond Maintenance to Mission." Here are two quotes from the Preface: 1) "Congregations exist for the sake of mission. This fundamental truth about the church is easily set aside in favor of what appear to be more urgent agendas." 2) "The 'mission' of a congregation may eventually shrink to preoccupation with holding worship services and paying bills." ... Sound familiar?

So friend and friends, if your ready to roll up your sleeves and do a lot of Jacob wrestling with God, Faith is the place to be right now. God will be there, I'm just not sure if we've hit the low point in Exile yet?

Friend, best wishes and prayers on your search for a church! I may be joining you next year? But I need to be at Faith right now.

Breath of the Spirit

2009-04-25T06:34:00.003-05:00

As you would expect, I am a blogger therefore I follow blogs. There are a number of blogs that I follow regularly. (By the way, Google Reader is a great tool for this!) Within the last week or so I keep seeing themes in the various blogs that I follow that just seem to be aimed straight at Faith and it's situation ?!

An important one deals with transformation out of conflict: http://pres-outlook.net/blog/Spirituality-Transformation-and-Conflict.html. This is full of wisdom for our situation and points us in God's direction to seek true transformation from the conflict we are going through.

And last night I saw this one: http://tribalchurch.org/?p=1145. This one is particularly poignant for Faith church and has a double meaning! It has great insight into a besieged Pastor and her church. But MORE IMPORTANTLY, it introduces an intriguing concept of discerning God's will for our future by IMAGINING what that future might be! Rather than remaining trapped trying to figure out how to get out of our current condition it suggests using metaphors to identify and explore possible futures! Now, that sounds transforming to me!

We all need to remember we are not at the helm holding the rudder! The best we can do is keep the sails raised where God can blow us where he wants us! [That's a metaphor ;-) ]

Surely the Spirit is at work here and I just have to pass some of these along to someone...

Can you feel the breeze?
Dave

PS: Additional blogs were pointers for pastor nominating committees: http://tribalchurch.org/?p=1107, and some ugly statistics about the Presbyterian church: http://tribalchurch.org/?p=1135.

Housing

2009-04-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

Over the last month there has been a lot of discussion about the Huntsville Housing Authority’s plan to decentralize low-income housing. This has always been a touchy subject and always will. Here are a number of links to news stories about this plan and one to the Housing Authority's website.

March 19
http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-housing-authority-takes-over-apartments,0,532925.story

March 24
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/123788616524050.xml&coll=1

March 30
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1238404510266290.xml&coll=1

March 31
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1238490924174180.xml&coll=1

March 31
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/03/huntsville_housing_authority_r.html

April 9, 10
http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=10160306

April 10
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/04/huntsville_public_housing_purc.html

April 16
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1239873308200620.xml&coll=1

http://www.huntsvillehousing.org/

April 16
http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-public-housing-city-council-mtg,0,6665575.story

I have no desire to debate the pros and cons of this subject in this forum. I do, however, feel the need to ask several questions.

What does this mean to each of us as Christians?

What does this mean to Faith Church?

Is God positioning us for some purpose?

How are other churches responding?

Interesting questions of discernment for the near future…

Follow the Leader, Be a Leader

2009-04-17T02:52:00.004-05:00

Two of our Presbyterian Moderator’s (Bruce Reyes-Chow) latest blog entries have captured my attention more so than usual. They have captured my attention because they seem to have sprung right from the pages of our own report on the emerging culture discussions we had last summer (http://www.presby.org/share/EC_Report.pdf). But I know his blogs and our report have both sprung from the much larger moving of the Holy Spirit. Amazing!

Mr. Moderator’s one blog, “Why social media gives visitors all the power,” talks about how much we have overlooked and underestimated the power of the new internet media. This media is a strong avenue for putting Jesus’ message and our individual church responses to that message out for public review. As our report states: “The emerging culture is information savvy and hungry. Weekly bulletin, email, monthly newsletter are good. The website should be more than just an advertisement to newcomers. In today’s world it should be the communication hub of Faith [Church]; an outward sign of a healthy active congregation. Faith [Church] would do well to support the connection between our responsibility of witness and the emerging culture’s need for experience through the use of blogs. Combining cold information and personal witness by blogging mission and other activities will spur personal involvement.”

Mr. Moderator’s other blog, “Why a naked Easter just might be a better Easter,” talks about how we underestimate the worship experience. He says, “Gone are the days when people are willing to bear with the service and rightly so. We should all set and strive to meet high exceptions for our worship experiences.” Our own report states:

1) When discussing worship we tend to consider it as a tool to attract newcomers.
2) We need to approach worship as a personal and corporate response to God of those present.
3) We need to celebrate our experience of God by telling our stories.
4) We need to be open to a wide range of worship experiences to relate to other’s responses and keep worship fresh, alive, and renewed.

These thoughts on worship imply to me (or scream?) that we should be considering even more opportunities and styles of worship to support our folks in worship that is meaningful to them. Instead we and many shrinking congregations seem to want to retreat to a single worship and worship style in a “fortress” mentality?

I also get a general sense that Mr. Moderator would concur with our report’s thoughts on mission? I just can’t quote or reference anything in particular right now.

Another area of our report that I would love to see how Mr. Moderator feels about is that of leadership. It seems that if we are to make much progress in these previous areas then a shift in our leadership style is needed. Our report reaffirms the Presbyterian structure of government and leadership! But it does suggest more latitude in its implementation. Rather than a Session that seems to have to approve every little thing, the report suggests that defining the boundaries for the church’s activities to operate within offers a more “emergent friendly” environment. From our report, “Further guidelines and boundaries for team formation need to be developed to empower the emergence of teams and free Session and Diaconate to discern, architect, and guide the overall spiritual direction, mission, and nurture of Faith Church and its members.” Of course the Session retains the responsibility of oversight and the right of “course correction” as needed. Of course mistakes will be made, but too much rigor also risks the loss of opportunity. Leadership is an important and difficult balancing act.

In these times of denominational (and congregational) turbulence I’m reassured that following the lead of the Holy Spirit and the leaders the Spirit creates will reaffirm Jesus’ example of leading by serving.

Together

2009-04-05T02:25:00.003-05:00

Together, that is the only way for us at Faith church to move forward from this point. We must move forward together in Christian unity! If not, we are lost!

Faith has wandered away from the Christian unity that Christ has called us to. We are all, every one of us, guilty of allowing this to happen; either by what we’ve done or what we’ve failed to do, and by permitting this illness to grow.

This sounds like a lot of fire and brimstone, especially coming from this author, but let’s step back and take a look. Faith church has a history of rich diversity of opinions and actions. But this diversity has always been rooted in a common commitment to Christ and in Christ’s call to make disciples. I dare say Faith church has actually been a model of how Christian unity is supposed to work. Read this article, “Christian Unity”, based on Ephesians 4:1-16. Now doesn’t that sound like the Faith church of old?

I believe it is widely accepted that in the later stages of Dr. Pope’s illness and the longer than normal period of interim pastors that Faith church got complacent in “doing church” and spiritual growth slowed. When Pastor Steve arrived he challenged us to look at ourselves and examine the possibilities for renewed spiritual growth. Somehow that’s when things went amok and we stopped treating and communicating with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ!? Let me say it again, this detour has not been the cause of any one person, or any one group! We are all, every one of us, guilty of allowing this to happen.

So how do we move forward together from here? First, reread the “Christian Unity” article and Ephesians 4:1-16. How does this affect your vision of our future as a church united under Christ’s love? Second, we must relearn how to discuss things in Christian love. Following Faith’s “Relational Covenant” is a good guide. Thirdly, we must take heed of Pastor Kerry’s sermon of March 29th to seek and offer forgiveness, not blame, and to become friends again. Finally, we need to move forward in Christian unity; which does not mean uniformity. Using Ephesians as a yardstick sounds like a pretty good start.

Following the leadings of the Holy Spirit and bathing in the grace of God Faith church will get through this, together!

Saddened

2009-03-24T18:49:00.007-05:00

I heard about Pastor Steve’s resignation today and it deeply saddens me.

I personally have learned a great deal from his teaching and preaching. Through his missional vision my eyes have been opened to a way of living as a Christian that is much broader than I could have imagined and fills a long felt void even though I am still only just taking some tentative first steps. Further research into this missional approach has unveiled that there is a definite movement afoot, and not just the musings of a single man.

I have never understood the ferocity of ill feelings toward Steve? When these ill feelings (I’m being kind) started, I went to Steve to discuss them. I found a man truly in love with Jesus and passionate for the path he was walking. Yes, I also found a man that is occasionally less than diplomatic and sometimes so focused that some social graces were misplaced. Misgivings we all have. But I saw nothing that deserves the ill will I’ve seen expressed? Steve, I’m sorry you’ve been treated so poorly.

I do not blame Steve for leaving and I wish him and his family well! But his leaving solves none of Faith’s problems and we are still a congregation divided!

Faith has much work to do before we will be able to agree and call on a new minister. As sometimes happens, perhaps Steve’s presence (not Steve himself) has become the ember that keeps a fire burning and his leaving will provide the opportunity for things to cool down and recovery to begin? I have my doubts. Following Faith’s Relational Covenant will be imperative if any real reconciliation is to come about. The covenant is a simple set of rules of conduct. In general, I would say reconciliation is possible but the road is going to be long, hard, and paved with prayer.

My optimism for a good outcome has been severely damaged. As I understand it, a sizeable group of folks have opted to withhold their pledges until Steve leaves. I personally find this misguided and I pray I have misunderstood! This seems to fly in the face of pledging by faith in God and disagreeably uses worldly mammon to force an outcome rather than working through it in a Christian manner? This type of action that risks the existence of Faith church to exact a particular outcome rattles my trust to the very core! Right now I am disappointed and I am having a very hard time seeing a way toward forgiveness, restored trust, and reconciliation! This is not the Faith church that “loved me like the child of God I didn’t know I was.”

I’m sharing these feelings in the spirit of rule seven from the Relational Covenant; “Share our personal experiences about the subject of disagreement so that others may more fully understand our concerns.”. I have not yet figured out what to do with these feelings other than lay them at Jesus' feet. I know God is sovereign and the Spirit has been and will continue at work at Faith. It is going to take a great amount of praying for me to find God’s way through this. I will continue trying to follow the Spirit’s guiding to help Faith find its way and see my 2009 pledge through. But I’m not sure what the outcome will be?

Relying on Him, His will be done,
Dave

These are my personal opinions and are not associated with any particular group or groups.

Multi-Generational

2009-03-22T05:47:00.001-05:00

In the last year we’ve had a lot of discussion about connecting with the emerging culture. Those that got into the study will tell you this wasn’t about dis-connecting from the older culture! It was about conveying an understanding the emerging culture is different and the need to make some concessions to reach them. Concessions that are really very superficial because the real message of God’s love is conveyed through our love as Christ’s followers.

So there has been a lot of emphasis on connecting with the younger culture. However, with the deaths of six of our older members this year along with the fact that most of our new members lately have been older (I believe), we’re also reminded of the need to carry the message to the older generation. This older generation includes folks that are becoming isolated because of the deaths of their contemporary friends, or because of health restrictions. It also includes aging Boomers that may be starting to face their own mortality for the first time. Life isn’t like the retirement commercials!

So when we talk about caring for the elderly and aging, are we talking about taking care of our own? Or are we reaching out missionally to all those in need of Jesus’ message?

Committees

2009-02-21T12:09:00.001-06:00

I’m in both an honored and dubious position. Two different committees want me.

The problem I’m having is not which committee to serve on, but am I called to serve on any committee? Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect and gratitude for those that are called to fill those positions! Committees are a fundamental part of the Presbyterian way and are the nuts and bolts of the everyday operations. It’s that everyday focus on one aspect of church life that prompted me to turn down the request to serve on Session last year and makes me reluctant to attach myself to a committee now.

My experience, at work, home, and church has showed me I have a gift for seeing how things interconnect across boundaries. These boundaries are often artificial and established by people to make things, understandably, more manageable. The two projects I’m currently most interested in have arisen from just such insights to interconnection. It is also these two projects that are making me attractive to these two committees. However, this gift, and the unknown of where it and the Spirit will lead me next is why I’m leaning toward addressing my commitment to these two projects and not to a particular committee(s).

It may seem like I’m splitting hairs here. Being on Session is a definite solid commitment for three years and I made the right choice there. A commitment to a committee is less rigid but signing on to two committees because I’m interested in two projects doesn’t ring fair and honest with me. But if I make my commitment to helping launch these two projects I am more than willing to attend the committees that they fall under. I just want to make it clear that, for now at least, it’s these projects that are my focus. Now if I’m just worried about semantics and this means I’m “on” the committee, so be it. I just want to be clear about expectations.

I suppose this loyalty to a project rather than “structure” is showing my leanings toward the emerging culture attitudes in this regard? Something we need to be more aware of these days. Ah, the joys of being born at the transition!

Maybe the two committee Chairs can live with this committed non-commitment? :-)

Losses!

2009-02-14T01:34:00.002-06:00

Whoa, the loss of four great men in only a couple months; John Martin, Ernest Hooper, Norm Schlemmer, and now Bill Richardson! Great in the sense that each of these men is a great example of the Christian life we’re offered in following and becoming disciples of Jesus. Men whose Christian lives spoke across the generations.

Some interesting observations came to mind during their memorial services regarding the place of these men and Faith Church in the context of sharing the Gospel with an emerging culture.

A large percentage of our newest members seem to be in the older generation. A reminder to us all that serving and sharing the Gospel with this generation is not to be taken for granted.
These men’s lives are a reminder of the rock solid love of God that the emerging culture needs to hear and understand.
A reminder that there is no retirement from the Christian life and sharing the work of Christ in the world.
These men seemed to move freely between Faith’s worship services, both traditional and contemporary. I’m sure they had their preferences but the worship of God was the purpose and in these men it showed.

As we move forward together in faith, in the life of Faith Church, we would do well to remember and share these men’s stories.

They will be missed!

Fire!

2009-01-31T20:13:00.003-06:00

Early Saturday morning Faith’s Fellowship hall caught fire. Fire Inspectors have determined it was caused by an electrical short in the attic.

We have much to be thankful for!
No one was injured.
Damage is restricted to the Fellowship Hall.
Structural damage appears to be restricted to the roof.
Insurance will take care of it all.

So much for worldly matters, now how do we put this in a Kingdom perspective?

Just so we're clear on the basics, this is not a punishment or judgment on anything or anybody. As Pastor Steve said just last Sunday, God hasn’t been in the “smiting” business since the Old Testament. Jesus is the new deal or covenant, remember?

The real question is what good will God turn this into, as He always offers. How do we sync up with God on discerning that good? Will this remind us of our many communal blessings? Will this be the catalyst to help bring us past our current difficulties and back into unison again? Can we see this as a unique opportunity for reconciliation and seek God’s will together? Is it pure coincidence this is the same weekend we hear from our consultant on our congregational health?

Frankly in awe and praying hard!
Dave

Steppin’ Out Summary; Dave

2009-01-20T02:59:00.004-06:00

The previous 5 blog entries show an email conversation that I had started. It’s shown in “blog order”, i.e. start at the bottom. (They’re numbered.) I’ve included edited versions of them here because I feel it has been a very important conversation. Important not just in terms of our WHES mission but also for Faith's mission as a whole, for discernment, and for Faith’s leadership development. (I’m defining leadership here beyond our ministers and officers to include any member that takes an active leadership roll in the mission of the church.)

The thing that strikes me the most from this conversation is not about the form or shape of the WHES mission but what form of mission leadership will develop at Faith?

The traditional leadership model has come from the corporate world. It takes one strong leader to spearhead a project through to success. In the church we’ve replaced the name “manager” with “committee chair” and we’ve wrapped words like “call” and “vision” around it. Even the corporate world is now using those terms. But the bottom line is that it all falls onto one strong leader to make a project successful.

One of the problems with this model is that it can easily lead to overwork and burnout for those few leaders. This is particularly true in a church setting because, like it or not, church is largely a part time job for most of us. Another problem is the potential narrowing of the vision to one person’s.

But times are changing and I believe many young leaders are not engaging simply because of the level of commitment required; real or perceived. Young leaders of today do not want the full responsibility of leadership to rest entirely on their shoulders. They are much more comfortable with a team approach. Much of this comes from a more balanced perspective on life. It is no longer acceptable for one’s life to be entirely consumed by one job. Yes, it still takes vision and leadership to get things done but it is more of a team leadership that is shared and shifts from person to person as needed. This can actually be more efficient, balanced, and rewarding. It enriches the vision because it encourages individuals to contribute to the vision. It fosters a people through which the Spirit can act. An outline of this model can be found in Faith’s own “A Covenant for Shaping Our Future”. (A copy is at the end of the Emerging Culture Report; http://www.presby.org/share/EC_Report.pdf )

I recently saw an interesting blog, http://missionalorder.com/successful-or-fruitful , asking the question, do we want to be successful or fruitful? The point being that the goal of church leadership isn’t necessarily the same as corporate leadership.

So the question is, which kind of leadership will Faith adopt? In actuality both forms of leadership will be needed. For short term urgent goals a point person is required. But for long term, sustainable, Spirit led leadership the team approach should win out. Members would grow, in both faith and experience, from showing up for a work day, to becoming part of a leadership team, to identifying visions and kicking off new initiatives.

So maybe my calling is not a particular WHES mission? Maybe it’s more a calling to get Faith members to look at calling, vision, and leadership differently than the world around them dictates?

Discernment is a tough job. Again, though, isn’t it the journey that brings the fruit?

Still listening for the Spirit,
Dave

Steppin’ Out 5; Person A

2009-01-20T02:58:00.000-06:00

[Person B], thank you for your sensitive, insightful, and compassionate observations about the WHES community. Dave, since I answered your initial question of me about whether Dave Ramsey or Crown has a suitable material, part of me says I should sit back and listen to you two prophets hammer it out. (And that is said as a compliment, not cynically.)

The other part of me needs to observe that something happening always takes someone with a vision and a commitment to try to make it happen. […] Yes, Dave, in my day, a person would go to the missions committee and ask permission to set up a task force, ask for a budget, and develop a schedule to present to the session. Today, if you care enough, you can ask Frank and others to help you identify people to call together to see if they want to be part of a team to make it happen and go from there, hopefully led by the Spirit.

And it is not just missional projects. Repeatedly, we have had young couples join the church when someone cared enough to recruit some and train them to recruit others and then also make the church friendly to them; we have had college classes when someone cared enough to get others involved with them. The session has repeatedly declared we need those things to happen, so a person with a vision is not lacking. A person with a passion and the persistence to make it happen is too often lacking.

Steppin’ Out 4; Person B & Dave

2009-01-20T02:51:00.002-06:00

[The below is a response from Person B with my answers highlighted in italics within the body. – Dave]

Dave,I have three comments to make...

1) What is it that WHES needs? There is a diverse cross section of people who are zoned for WHES...those that sell food stamps to get unregulated cash, those that live sparsely but within their means, those that have their house paid for and are managing their money just fine. [This description of the WHES district is something I did not have an understanding of. My ignorance could be a symptom of a general communication problem?] Who is it that we should reach, how, and why? [Good questions that I believe we are just beginning to explore with an initial focus on WHES itself?] What I see in your response is the desire to be in community with a population that is different from ours. To fellowship and seek Christ through the diversity and commonality. [These are less desires than natural responses to a "missional" call as I understand it; if I understand it correctly?] This takes a great deal of trust and understanding...a great deal of relationship. [I agree and building that trust has to start somewhere and will take a lot of effort to develop.]

2) We currently do not have that kind of relationship with West Huntsville. I am not saying that we can't, but at the moment we do not. It will take someone with a passion and a calling, that feels the importance of this to establish that relationship and help FPC and West Huntsville find ways to come together. Without a point person, who will foster and formulate, cajole, kick, and pray, the larger relationship will not materialize. This is the way of it...someone must be called to be the light and for a time guide us into a fuller relationship. [This HAS been the way of it. If our study of the emerging culture has any merit then the most likely future of such efforts are through a team approach. A team of folks must catch the vision to move it forward. A single champion is not sustainable and as such has a greater chance to disappoint and have negative impacts. (Throughout the recent study of the emerging culture I've often wondered if this actual call to team action is really calling a bluff?)]

3) From my reading of the past few emails, I have to ask if you are being called to such a relationship and to such a leadership role. [I do not feel called to a traditional champion role. I do not feel the call to quit my job to devote myself to be such a champion and I'm still a few years away from retirement for that to happen soon. I do feel I am called to continue to explore this whole idea of being missional, and WHES in particular, in a public way. Both to promote dialog and understanding as well as painting a vision in hopes that a team of Faith folks might catch it in a team manner. I do not feel I have the people skills (or the correct work hours) to be on the front line of communication with WHES persons.] Please pray about this...no one else seems to have the same conviction as you at this point in time and so no one else can (or probably will) put your vision into action at this time. I will be praying for you and how we can help you as you seek to fulfill this ministry. [Thank you! I and Faith can use all the prayers we can get!]

Steppin’ Out 3; Dave

2009-01-20T02:50:00.001-06:00

I agree, in our broken world, there is only so much we can do. In engineering or physical terms there is always a question of benefits vs costs. And if that were the only reason we tried to do this, it would be frustrating and disappointing. And this is exactly what I have been struggling with for the last couple of years. If I'm starting to get the whole missional and even Presbyterian thing straight, are we not supposed to offer the good news of the Gospel and do it in a way that connects with people's lives? We get no guarantees that we'll see the benefits. As Houston has pointed out; plow, plant, pray. This is very tough for the engineering minds you and I have!

I could make the argument that having the mindset to plan, budget, and save is even dwindling in the middle class, particularly the younger generations. The bottom line is that no hope (or a "whatever" attitude) leads to no planning.

If we did this the traditional way, we would try to teach Crown or Ramsey to the WHES folks. In the missional approach we should realize we're all on this journey together and have different experiences to bring to the table. With economic coaching, peer sharing, a lot of spiritual leadership, and an immense involvement of the Holy Spirit, we would all benefit greatly! Even if our physical conditions don't improve much. The objective is to "Explore together how God wants us to think about money", not, "We need to show you how to handle your money." The second is doomed to failure because no one should be casting stones.

If we should decide to venture down this path, I suspect we Faith members that participate will also need a great deal of spiritual leadership to help us change our views, expectations, and motives. It's likely we would need additional sessions where we meet as Faith, without WHES. Dare I say counseling sessions? This is not for the faint of heart and not to be entered into lightly.

Whoa, I never know where He is going to take me!?

Struggling in prayer,
Dave

Steppin’ Out 2; Person A

2009-01-20T02:49:00.000-06:00

Dave, Crown Ministries has a version called "Urban Crown Ministries" which is designed to appeal to urban blacks. It was produced in conjunction with the Urban League, a fine-old civil rights organization. As I reviewed it, it would appeal to middle class and wealthy blacks, who are the foundation of the Urban League.

My opinion of both Crown and Dave Ramsey is that they require a middle-class mindset. With some justification, poorer members of the American society, no matter their race, live from crisis to crisis and do not have the mindset to plan, budget, save.

It would not take much effort to put together a financial primer. Based on my experience trying to help poor people develop some financial stability even in the best of times (for them) […], I am not sure it is worth the effort. In my opinion, the best triage you can provide is to collect a listing of the all the resources available in Madison county for people in economic crisis and present it in a community forum at WHES.

Person B, you have some experience working with poorer members of society, also. Do you have an opinion or suggestion?

Steppin’ Out 1; Dave

2009-01-20T02:44:00.004-06:00

I saw [the Discipleship Group] page in the newsletter. I've been having some thoughts about the Dave Ramsey or Crown Ministries class.

Is there a version of either of these classes that has a primer or, for lack of a better word, a triage scope? I keep thinking about the continually souring economic news as well as the economic status of the folks that generally make up West Huntsville Elementary. (See first link below.) Is there a class that would be appropriate to hold at WHES for Faith members as well as WHES parents? Something that focuses on basic money management (scriptural of course) that spans the economic gap? Something that can bring both sets of folks together to share experiences?

It looks like Asbury is offering something this January. (See second link.) But the outline strikes me as something exclusively for Asbury "class" members that are basically well off, like Faith. If we remain inwardly focused I would expect our class to look similar.

http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/new_exp/community_data/workforce/emp_current.html

http://www.asburyumc.ws/ministries/fpu.htm

Food for thought…

Dave

12 Days of Christmas Prayer – It’s a Wrap!

2009-01-05T15:07:00.005-06:00

The 12 Days of Christmas Prayer was a success! 20 people responded with attendance at some point during the 12 days, with a handful of faithful regulars! It was a time of spiritual calm, nourishment, and renewal during a holiday season that sometimes has other overtones and a wonderful way to celebrate our unity in the Christ child with prayer for the mission and ministry of Faith Church. Thanks to all who supported this effort through prayer, leadership, and attendance!

As previous entries have talked about, it was a walk with the Lord to get this whole idea off the ground. Thank you especially to those that felt the call to lead a session! The Holy Spirit was present throughout; from the preparation and decisions, to the wonderful prayer time, to the overwhelming sense of unity in Jesus, to the quieting of the errant fire alarm! (I might also point out the preparation was done completely by email without the need for another meeting to attend in a busy time of year.)

The secular festivities of the season are over. Time for a short respite for those folks that are task driven and will soon be working on the next thing. But it’s also a low time for many, with families dispersed again and the dreary winter weather. What have we learned from this experience?

A new blog friend had this to say about the post holiday time:

I’ll keep praying that in the post-christmastide haze, the clouds of today shall not keep me from following yonder star.
“star of wonder
star of night
star with royal, beauty bright.
westward leading, still proceeding
guide us to thy perfect light. “

Isn’t that what this whole experience has been about? Whether we are consumed with hustle and bustle or prone to melancholy, we’ve reconnected with the true light of the world, Jesus our Christ.

As Steve points out in the Epiphany session:

Isaiah 60:1-3: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Carry on in the Light and carry forward the Light to others!

12 Days, T-36 Hours

2008-12-25T03:11:00.001-06:00

It is early Christmas morning. Christmas Eve candlelight is still ringing in my ears. Singing “Silent Night” in candlelight with an accappella verse thrown in is a moving event! All the Christmas preparations are complete, or they don’t matter anymore. Christmas is here! The tiny Savior is born! And with Him a great hope!

The preparations for the 12 Days of Christmas prayer are also complete, or they don’t matter anymore. The schedule has been laid out, the location set, and a list of leaders prepared. My name is on that list too many times, but that is the way it is.

I’m a bit nervous about how this project will play out, but not overly so. It was never intended to be my project anyway; but His. If this were all mine, I would have bailed long ago! There has been way too much uncertainty in this for my taste. My previous post talks about the walk. But each step has been in the Lord’s hands and everything has fallen in place.

There is nothing left to do but show up and see what He has in store for us.

And that has been the point of this project, the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival and our preparation to receive Him. We’re supposed to make that preparation before Christmas during the Advent season. But, as usual, we humans have heaped a lot of other meanings and expectations on top of that and created a time of great stress for ourselves.

The intent is to take the time “after” to do what we should have done “before”. But it’s not really “after”? There is an actual tradition of the 12 days of Christmas beyond the partridge song. In my tradition, the period of time between Jesus’ birth and when the Wise Men arrived. Can you imagine how the Christmas story really played out? In today’s world there is very little that captures our attention for 12 days…

Emmanuel, God with us. Joy to the World!

Presbyterian Crossroads

2008-12-20T14:17:00.006-06:00

This is a devotional written for one of the 12 Days of Christmas Prayer described in earlier posts. Come join us at Faith church 12/26-1/6!

The Mastercard Commercial I’d like to see:
(Jim Moss, Presbyterian minister, South Carolina)

Amount spent each year in Europe and the United
States on pet food: $17 billion

Cost per year to achieve basic
health and nutrition for the entire world: $13 billion

Amount spent
on perfumes each year: $12 billion

Clean water for all the world:
$9 billion

Amount spent on cosmetics in the US: $8
billion

Basic education for the world’s children: $6
billion

Total amount the US spends on Christmas each year: $450
billion (or 16 years worth of food, water, and education for the
world)

Initial cost of the US Government bailout of failing
financial institutions: $700 billion (or 25 years worth of food, water, and
education for the world)

Coming to grips with the alarming
disconnects of our consumerist society: Priceless

I don’t actually know a lot about the nuances of the Presbyterian Church and I haven’t really paid attention to its particular controversies. (All churches have their own set of controversies.) Two things have always struck me about the Presbyterian Church however. One, the Presbyterian Church prides itself on social justice issues. Two, the Presbyterian Church is a more cerebral church.

I guess at this point I need to start using “PCUSA” to be concise in meaning; and typing.

When you heard the statistics I used earlier I bet you were thinking a number of things. Like, “Why is this happening?” Or, “Why doesn’t someone do something?” Or, “How can I help?” But I bet you didn’t really think about why you should help? That, to me, is one of the things that puts the PCUSA at a unique crossroad in the diverse family of people and denominations that make up Christ’s church. PCUSA attracts folks that are socially conscious, altruistically want to help, and don’t understand why this world is so messed up. But PCUSA has the charter to usher those folks into the understanding that the world is messed up or “fallen” because of our separation from God. The understanding that God has a plan and that plan calls for involvement in social justice, not for social justice’s sake but as an expression of Christ’s compassion. Action that leads not only to mortal relief but more importantly to life everlasting!

I think its PCUSA’s cerebral nature that is one of those things that brings it closer to the doorway between the world and God’s Kingdom. It is a natural transition, a welcoming portal, and PCUSA has a 300 year history of doing it well. But PCUSA is at another crossroad. It, like so many other denominations in the US, is declining. In many ways I feel it’s the academic rigor that is causing internal scholastic debate and an inflexibility that is hurting the calling of the church. We aren’t fire & brimstone but we have our own versions of rigid thinking. PCUSA is at the crossroad of trying to figure out how to soften the barriers that keep folks from getting to the solid core; Christ.

The typical worldly response to trouble is to tighten up to regain control. But that can have negative effects. The internet is full of folks talking about splitting off of PCUSA. It’s also full of folks that are committed to the PCUSA but see the need for changes in focus. I believe much of the Missional church movement comes as a response to this. And we’ve seen this issue in our own congregation.

The most biblical response to being at a crossroad is to pray. Pray for discernment of God’s will for PCUSA and Faith church. Pray for the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit in these times of transition. Pray for a church that embraces action as an expression of Christ’s compassion.

Let us pray…

WHES Christmas Program

2008-12-11T04:55:00.010-06:00

If you didn't show up for the WHES Christmas PTA meeting & Christmas program you missed a lot of polite children, some adorable little snowmen performers, a wonderful rendition of "The Blitzen Boogey", and some great cookies! Oh yes, you also missed one of Faith's own playing a wonderful Santa! (It was not me even though I have the "stature" for the part. )

Faith's primary job was to provide the cookie snacks and man the refreshment table after the program. And there were ample cookies! And good ones too! There was even enough to leave some in the teachers lounge for the next day! (Ms. Johnson wanted them in the Office. I'm not sure who won?) We also dropped off another bunch of books that Faith collected. Libba and Bob had everything under complete control! My biggest job was to lay down napkins so Marilyn could load them with cookies. Tough job...whew! Thank you! Thank you, for everyone that contributed!!!

It was also a time to connect with our partners. A number of us finally got to put faces with names for folks like: Barbara Johnson - Principal, Jean Oakle - Director of Parent Initiative Second Mile, Mary McDowel - Parent Initiative Second Mile, and Darlene Mann - PTA President. It was also time to meet and mingle with the parents and students. We could have used a few more folks that have that "mingle" personality but Kerry and the Youth did a wonderful job! But even for those of us like me that are more socially challenged, it was still a wonderful chance to exchange hellos and smiles with many and rachet up that comfort level.

We also shared some paint swatches to pick a color for our in-the-works project of fixing up the Parent Portable. Check-in with Libba if you're interested in helping out.

Kerry took some phone video that she will load on the youth website so keep checking faithyouthgroup.com! You may even be able to figure out who the Secret Santa was?!

12 Days Check-in

2008-12-09T04:02:00.001-06:00

This has been an interesting walk so far!

You get the kernel of an idea and you show it to some folks and what do you get? “That’s a great idea! I’m behind you!” Then nothing…

OK Lord what do I do now?

So He gives you a few ideas and you piece together a little more to help get the idea across. You spread the net a little wider to see if you can generate any momentum and get some ideas flowing. “That’s a great idea!” “I’ll help any way I can, just let me know.” “I’ll be out of town.” You do get some more encouragement but not a lot of concrete help. It’s starting to look like it will be all on your shoulders or nothing. It’s starting to sound like my plan not God’s?

OK Lord what do I do now? How do I know if it’s a bad idea? Or not time? Or just move forward in faith?

So you put together an announcement to have sent to the whole congregation; still with a lot of holes. You send it to some folks for review first. “You need more information..” Well, you’re at the end of your rope and are just about to pack it in. But you wake up with the right thing to add, and then find that someone has sent you an email with some help too!

OK Lord, I have a congregational announcement out there that is incomplete and begging for input. What if no one signs up? It’s in your hands now.

(In the meantime, the pressures of a looming deadline at work as well as your own preparations for the holidays are weighing heavy!)

On the way to work listening to 91.3 you hear three songs that could easily provide the devotion for three of the topics! A backup plan!

And that is where we are now…still walking…
Checkout: http://presby.org/pages.php?page=08/11/30/6479050

******************************
I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty here, or singling anyone out, and I’m not twisting arms. I myself feel convicted here because I see myself in a lot of those responses! It’s sometimes a relief that I have an out because of a prior commitment. I would like to help but don’t know how. I’m too busy to even think about that.

But I am getting a tiny glimpse of the Kingdom! You’ve heard the phrase “Engage brain before running mouth”? Well that simple glimpse is “Talk with God before answering.”

Sorry if this offends anyone. That is not the intent. I’m just reporting some insights into human nature that I’ve seen, but more importantly, some insights into how God works and his plan.

Keep walking!

12 Days of Christmas Prayer?

2008-11-19T03:57:00.002-06:00

It’s a week before Thanksgiving and Christmas is just coming on my radar screen. Thanksgiving too for that matter! We all know and have experienced the trials and tribulations of “getting in the spirit” so I won’t bore you with more of the same. Except that this year will be worse for me given I have a big project at work due December 16th.

I’ve always wanted to get more in tune with the true Spirit and take Advent more seriously. It always escapes my grasp. In recent years I’ve regularly joked that I should celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 6th. I’m a Fed and December is the time to use up your “use-or-lose” vacation time, so I usually get to take at least the Christmas week off. It’s only then, after Christmas Day itself, when I get to separate myself from the hubbub and reflect on the amazing gift of the birth of our Savior. Many others face the same situation, or worse, many face the sometimes severe post holiday blues during this time.

I just had a thought that may be good for both Faith Church and me? What do you think about having a community prayer session each day during the “12 Days of Christmas” (12/25-1/6)? I’m thinking each day could focus on a different aspect of our life in Christ at Faith. Yeah, it may end up only being 11 or 10, but this should be simple and there shouldn’t be much prep except the outline and getting a daily volunteer to provide a short devotional to set the tone each day; something in the nature of a bible verse, or a musical choice, or a centering prayer; even the anniversary slide show. Given Faith’s year and looking forward to the next, this seems like a good idea?

A short community prayer time during this period to separate ourselves from the crush of the world and focus on the Kingdom would be a welcome relief. What do you think?

Faith and the Emerging Culture

2008-11-09T15:06:00.002-06:00

Hello,
Sarah Curtis asked me to give you a five minute talk to encourage you to read the Emerging Culture report that was given to Session in early September. I was thinking wow, five minutes! There is so much in that report what can I say? Then I decided I needed to tell you a story…

26 or so years ago was when I first came to Huntsville and Faith church. Now if you think I’m introverted now, you should have seen me then! I grew up Catholic and had moved away from church when I left home for college. I was not looking for a church home when I came to Huntsville. But through a friend of mine who came to Huntsville too and worked for Norm Schlemmer, I was introduced to the Faith singles group.

They were a great group of people and did a lot of interesting things. In particular were Maranatha retreats. I loved Maranatha, but I had a real problem with the worship service. I usually found some place else to go during worship. Everybody was OK with that and still accepted me and didn’t push me. They did what Faith does. They welcomed me for who I was and loved me as the child of God that I was, but didn’t know yet. The rest is history as they say.

Well, my story is the emerging culture story. Faith’s story is the emerging culture story! The emerging culture story is not about multi-media, and using the worship service as a marketing tool! It’s about connecting with people, all people, and loving them as the children of God that they may not know they are and ushering them into a life with Christ on God’s timetable.

The report is available on Faith’s website.
Thank you.

WHES, Next Steps?

2008-11-08T04:45:00.001-06:00

With the successful initiation of a partnership with West Huntsville Elementary School (WHES) on our anniversary weekend, the question falls to what’s next? For sure, Libba Nicholson our coordinator is working with WHES on some of the things identified during the weekend and planning some follow on activities.

Two analogies come to my mind when thinking about the longer term possibilities. The first is emerging from a mountain pass and seeing a new frontier overflowing with possibilities. The other is like a kid walking into an immense candy store…with only a dollar in his/her pocket!

With the candy store being the wealth of choices and Libba being the single dollar, we’re not going to be able to buy much candy! (Although Libba is more like a 10 dollar bill!) Libba, by herself, cannot coordinate and guide the effort. The question is how do we organize to approach this missional opportunity? The first Presbyterian answer is to form a committee. Let’s not go there! There are good and bad committees but this brings to my mind a business like approach simply determining tasks and finding bodies to fill them. But if we are called to a missional approach, we are being called to build relationships.

Both the emerging culture study and Faith’s own “A Covenant for Shaping Our Future” indicate a community based team approach is what’s called for*. This type of team approach promotes building community with others through bible study and work while trying to discern what that work is called to be. I believe such a team of WHES volunteers is what’s called for to steer the WHES efforts, support those in the ministry, and usher new folks into the ministry. (Love, Grow, Gather, Send)

But wait!

We are supposed to be partnering and building relationships with WHES; faculty, students, and parents. How do we include them, or perhaps more appropriately include ourselves in what they are doing? Can we merge with existing team efforts thorough some of WHES’s other church partners? What other possibilities are out there if we can get past just getting the job done? What will we learn about ourselves? What will we learn about those we want to serve? It’s about the journey with Christ on the way.

This is a new frontier. Libba and Frank are our lead scouts. But if we are truly called to this effort it is an effort that requires a community of disciples. I for one do not have the guts or gifts to commit to such an effort alone!

* See the Emerging Culture Report, particularly Appendix V.

Coming Together

2008-11-02T02:57:00.002-06:00

“Wow, what a glorious sound.” Director of Music Bill Hovik hit the nail on the head regarding last Sunday’s anniversary combined worship service! As an usher I would also say it was good to see the sanctuary full (mostly full), and to hear the volume raised! That brings me to a topic that is mostly shrouded in rumor and yet rattles the very foundations of Faith church; “one worship service”.

First the facts as I know them. As of August, at least, there were no official plans to move to a single worship service. I checked with the head of the Worship Committee on that at the time because I had heard those rumors as well. They were tasked with finding a comfortable mix, or equally uncomfortable mix, for Faith’s typical combined services. Those services are only the usual fifth Sunday and special holiday services.

The second fact is that the Emerging Culture class was not offered simply to prepare the congregation for the move to a single multi-media worship service. It was a Spirit led class meant to explore the world that Faith is immersed in and to inform the further mission of Faith Church. In fact the Emerging Culture Report found that this is a contentious subject and a major motive for changing the service is generally to entice new folks to attend Faith. The report also suggested that this motive is not what God intended or Jesus demonstrated and we need “to approach worship as personal and corporate responses to God of those present, not anticipate newcomer’s responses.”

Now that is not to say there aren’t a lot of folks that think we should go to a single service. But there are also a lot of folks that think we shouldn’t. The problem is we don’t really know the desires for sure because we can’t talk about it given it is such an emotionally charged topic! I personally am in favor of tabling that discussion to a later date. We are not in a healthy enough state to discuss it and the threat is fueling fears and mistrust on both sides. I think we should declare a cease fire. Instead, we should focus on missional aspects of our church life. Aspects about which there is strong support and agreement for at Faith. It was offered in the report that this was the intended avenue for bringing new folks into the church; not just Faith but the Christian Church as a whole.

Now as our missional approach starts attracting new members, or regular attenders, we will have to revisit how we do worship at some point. I encourage all of us to be carefully considering our motives for changing or not changing our worship formats. Are the reasons God’s reasons or our own? What are the aspects of worship that really allow you to connect with God and give him praise? Are you willing to support alternative formats or times because they help others connect? Not nameless potential visitors but fellow Christians with whom we are working at Faith to forward God’s Kingdom. Stop worrying about winning or losing and search your hearts in prayer to find what your response to God is in worship. When we have done that we can come together as a community in Christ and determine our worship landscape!

Going Public?

2008-10-30T02:11:00.001-05:00

I’ve asked the Session for permission to put a link to this blog on Faith’s website!

A far cry from “Hugging Introverts” back in February 2007, those of you that have supported me know this is a big step. But I feel that the blog entries I have been moved to write are individually helpful and encouraging to individuals struggling with some faith questions like I have. Taken as a collection I feel they are illustrative of, at least some aspects, of a Christian journey. I have tried to keep the entries objective and balanced and usually approach controversial points through questions rather than statements.

This is a big step for the Session too! This is more than simply approving an article for the website. It is approving a blogger and a continuing series of entries. It is approving the openness of comments to those entries and the dialog that will result. It is establishing a precedent that could lead to other blog links. The decision must be a deliberate one.

For the Session it is an issue of control, trust, and being open enough to allow God’s story to be told in many voices. For those of you that have read the Emerging Culture report, this decision will directly address recommendation 6a; “Define guidelines and boundaries for publicly viewable information and blogs. Foster open group and team communication.” And I hope my recent entries on the West Huntsville Elementary activity illustrate the “connection between our responsibility of witness and the emerging culture’s need for experience through the use of blogs. Combining cold information and personal witness by blogging mission and other activities [that] will spur personal involvement.”

So I don’t expect approval soon or without discussion but that’s OK. I am not a routine blogger and generally don’t write unless I feel the Spirit move me. I don’t want to write just to get something out there. So I also want the Session to hear out the Holy Spirit on this decision.

In the mean time, forward the blog address to whomever you wish and please pray for the right decision, whatever that may be.

Peace, Dave

Building Trust

2008-10-26T05:07:00.002-05:00

I attended the breakfast and work session at West Huntsville Elementary School (WHES) yesterday morning. Along with about 60 other folks from Faith, Principal Johnson, and several of her teachers! Madison County Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie also attended. After breakfast and opening comments, prayer, and singing we fanned out to do some hands on work. There was some landscaping cleanup in the front of the school, some library work, and some assessment of needs for the “Parent Portable”. With that many hands, the work went quickly. It was a very good morning!

In the opening comments, Frank, Ms. Johnson, and Mr. Gillespie emphasized the partnering aspects of this new relationship between Faith and WHES. This partnering relationship is something Faith needs to consider carefully and understand.

More than a few folks seemed disappointed that we couldn’t accomplish more yesterday morning. Everybody saw needs and wanted to run out and get this, or do that, right then. Those urges are good, showing that hearts are in the right place, but we need to keep in mind the broader purpose of God’s plan in this partnership. In these very early stages it’s about building trust between the partners!

As someone said, WHES is Ms. Johnson’s house! You wouldn’t want someone coming into your house telling you what you need to do. We need to build the dialog and trust to determine together how we can help most. As an example, the portable needs some interior painting. I suspect WHES parents are hard strapped to find time to contribute a lot of help to WHES. Perhaps we need to go that extra mile to meet with the parents responsible for the portable to pick a color, on their terms? Now picking a color isn’t a huge thing and maybe they would simply be happy to have it painted, but it is an opportunity to build some of that trust between partners. Gain that bit of trust and there might be a parent or two that show up to help?

Mr. Gillespie has a small budget to help out in this effort. But it isn’t a blank check. It’s just good stewardship to coordinate efforts to best prioritize and allocate those resources. Again, that’s part of building trust in this partnership. Gain that bit of trust and next year may have a bigger budget?

It’s also about building trust at Faith. Trust between each other and our trust in God’s plan. We all get impatient and start to exercise our own wills. We need to keep in mind whose work we are doing!

Now I’m not suggesting we slow this down to a Presbyterian crawl! I am suggesting that in this early phase we work carefully to build trust between all four partners; Faith, WHES, the County Commission, and God. It is through those trusting relationships that the Holy Spirit works and God’s plan is unveiled. It is also through those trusting relationships that God’s story is shared!

“What’s this ‘Missional’ thing again?”

2008-10-04T10:45:00.001-05:00

In my last post about partnering with West Huntsville Elementary School (WHES) I used the term “missional” several times without explaining it. We’ve been using that word at Faith for a several years now and Dr. Stager has explained it numerous times. But if you’re like me it’s still having a tough time sinking in. What is the difference between being “missional” and the core values of missions, outreach, and benevolence that Faith was founded on and still has at its roots today?

First and foremost, mission goes hand-in-hand with witness. God wants us to reach out and tell others about Him. Mission is following Jesus’ example in delivering that witness message. We are called to help the poor. But more importantly we are called to reach out to the poor-in-spirit and deliver God’s message of hope and salvation. A Fortune 500 CEO, a soccer mom, or a homeless family could be equally poor (or rich) in the Spirit. Mission is about building relationships that allow us to witness. We build relationships with those we serve. We also build relationships with those we serve with. And we build relationship with God when we pursue His work. All of these relationships allow us to nourish and be nourished by the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Often we forget, or are just learning, the relational nature of witness and mission. The world we live in is increasing in a benevolent attitude. The result of faster news, increased wealth, and the example set by many churches. But the world is also extremely fickle! Today’s effort is lost in tomorrow’s news. The world uses benevolence as leverage; expecting this or that in return. The world uses benevolence to further power or class distinctions; “We need to help those people.” To the Christian, this drives home the point that what we physically do has little and fleeting impact on this fallen world. Anyone who has been personally involved in mission work will tell you it’s the personal and emotional connection between individuals that provide fertile ground for the Spirit to act and change lives; both lives! For all of you who have experienced this connection I am eternally grateful for your blessings and, frankly, somewhat jealous.

To me the largest difference between being missional and doing mission is that we are working with people rather than simply ministering to people. Faith has practiced being missional to varying degrees over its 50 years. I think the recent emphasis has been because we do have those core values we may be ready to embrace this newer missional church movement more fully and take our mission to a new level. To more deliberately pursue this witness-mission partnership, not just for small groups but for the Faith family as a whole! I hope and pray that this will lead us to better training and mentoring, better discernment, better matching of activities with individuals in different stages of spiritual growth, better discipleship, more real witnessing. One first step in this direction is the “Mission 101” class that will be offered by University of Faith, led by Frank Broyles and others, the first three Sunday’s in November! I’ll be there, will you?

We have such a wealth of physical and spiritual resources at Faith. Much of it is untapped, waiting for the vision of our part in His Kingdom on earth to come into focus. If we let Him, where will He lead us?

West Huntsville Elementary School (WHES) Partners

2008-10-04T10:42:00.001-05:00

I attended a luncheon meeting at Faith last Friday (9/12/2008). The purpose of the meeting was for a number of folks from Faith to get to know Barbara Johnson, the Principal at WHES, and also a chance for her to get to know some of us. It was a time to coordinate some details of an exciting opportunity coming up in our life at Faith. But first, here is some of what I learned.

We’ve been sending a small group of folks over to WHES to read with the kids for 5 years now; time flies! At one point some of the women at Faith went to WHES to hold a tea party. WHES has a program in place to teach kids manners, and social skills and the tea party was a great way to reinforce those skills through practice. I learned that back in May of 2008 Faith made a decision to move our work with WHES in a “missional” direction. Since then you may remember the summer book drive we held that was very successful. And even more recently we have been collecting health clinic supplies.

Ms. Johnson is a pretty amazing woman! She’s been in the Huntsville City School system for 30 some years. She has taught a number of years at WHES, moved on as assistant principal at another school and returned to WHES as principal a few years back. She said she would not want to be anywhere else at this point in her career. Ms. Johnson is openly Christian, full of love for the kids and full of energy. She is a powerful advocate!

WHES has some tough and encouraging statistics. The neighborhood is very transitory. WHES starts out each year with about 260 students and ends with about 260 students; they are not the same students. They have a staff of seasoned as well as young teachers. Less than 5% of their students have a traditional family background, although that number is growing with an increase in the Hispanic population. WHES operates an “Even Start” preschool program for 3, 4, and 5 year olds. The WHES parents send the kids to school with “the very best that they have” but they often need a bit of help. And each Kindergarten class holds graduation in the Butler High auditorium as a tangible sign of the goal desired for each child! WHES has a number of strong community partners that provide support in many ways. Check out WHES and its newsletter at their webpage: http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/schools/elementary/westhes/index.html .
And don’t miss Keenan providing an excellent introduction in the school video at http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/schools/elementary/westhes/West_Huntsville.wmv .

On October 25th, as part of Faith’s 50th Anniversary weekend we will be spending Saturday morning at WHES. It will start out at a breakfast at 8:30. There will be a short time of celebration for both our 50th anniversaries. And then we’ll have the opportunity to work alongside WHES on a number of tasks that will help the school grounds and a “Parent Portable” that serves as a center and meeting area for parent involvement. Watch for more details and check out Faith’s website, http://presby.org/pages.php?page=08/08/09/1958726 , for anniversary details and contacts. This is a great opportunity to jump into a budding missional relationship with the WHES community. I’m going to give it a try, how about you?

What a week for Faith! - May 15, 2008

2008-05-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

First, the Session held a Monday evening special session meeting. The meeting was to discuss the recent youth and advisor policy and some of the actions and issues surrounding it. No need for the details here but the evening was a very difficult one. People were hurting, angry, frustrated, and remorseful. The redeeming and grace filled part of the evening for me was that we were talking and listening like a loving family! (Albeit an upset one.) The Session admitted making some mistakes and laid out a course of action to adjust the policy and work toward reconciliation. It’s up to all of us to support our Session and help them fulfill their promises. If we approach this honestly and faithfully we will end up with a sound implementation plan that will significantly enhance the safety of our children as well as forming a stronger Christian bond between us all.

On Wednesday the University of Faith team found out one of the previous classes wanted to get back together in their old form during Sunday school hour. I personally found this disappointing. The UofF team has tried very hard to listen to the expressed needs and establish an open and flexible Sunday school hour. The survey comments collected after the first quarter indicated the majority of folks were pleased with the arrangements. The decision by this class came as a surprise to me. I wish they had been more forthcoming in the survey process to allow the team to make other adjustments. I understand the desire for nurturing Christian relationships and, in that regard, this is a good thing. I guess I, and I think the team, had different objectives for the Sunday school hour. Sunday morning worship and Sunday school time is the prime time for us to invite and welcome guests into our Christian family. We felt the flexibility and variety would be an asset to providing a more comfortable entry environment for our guests rather than trying to mix into a well established group. I felt the small community group opportunities would be more effective at times other than Sunday morning. I guess we didn’t do a very good job of promoting other avenues for what I call nurture groups. It was just too big a job for the UofF team alone. Well, I know I have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Akaloo class and will pray for guidance during the summer session in discerning the future shape of UofF and the Sunday school hour. We could always use some more input, help, and teachers!

Looking forward in Faith, Dave

Going Missional

2008-04-19T18:52:00.001-05:00

Dear Friend,

I couldn’t help but notice your distress the other evening when the topic turned to being a missional church. I agree that if anyone is saying that Faith church does not or has not had missions, outreach, and benevolence as a core value they are absolutely wrong! However, I don’t think anyone is saying that. I think the recent emphasis is that because we do have those core values we may be ready to embrace this newer “missional church” movement and take our mission to a new level.

I’ve been around Faith a long time. Not as long as some! I know benevolent giving is a strong value here. Actual personal involvement in service or mission at Faith, in my experience though, has been primarily driven by individual efforts. Some of those efforts have been broader and stronger than others. The broader the effort, the more inspiring it has been to us all. Faith has supported corporately the environment for those efforts but the efforts themselves have really been individually driven. Faith has also taken great pride in Frank’s efforts, and should. But I have sometimes questioned if we are relying too much on Frank and, in essence, saying, “Good, that’s taken care of.”

Early on in my faith journey, as well as my life at Faith, I went on a CASA weatherization team. Sounds simple enough; however the “house” we were assigned was literally a shack! Here we were putting plastic over windows while there were 1” chinks in all the walls!? The futility was overwhelming for me at the time!

I remember a Habitat for Humanity trip where there were way too many volunteers with inadequate supervision. The result was a support beam that had so many nails it had to have been weakened and useless. I am coming to understand that physical service and its effect on underlying problems are minimal in a fallen world. It is the spiritual support, relationships, and bringing of the gospel and its comfort that is at the heart of Christian service. This is a difficult understanding for me and I’m still trying to absorb it all; after all, I’m an engineer who wants to fix things. Without this understanding we are nothing more than a civic service club and likely doing service for the wrong reasons, i.e. personal gratification.

During the Katrina disaster, I heard that Eric Vroom was down at the Gulf and had relayed back that there was a big need for shoes. I wrote a short email and searched on the internet for just about any shoe company I could find and spammed them. I really didn’t expect much, but to my utter amazement the next day the administrative assistant of a VP for Shoe Carnival called. The VP was down there with a semi full of shoes, “Where would you like them delivered?” !!! I was stymied and put them in touch with Frank. I’m not sure much happened with it because I don’t think we were prepared for that. But it opened my eyes to such amazing possibilities!

I’m still trying to make sense of all this, but I personally feel that by embracing this missional church movement Faith can move something that is near and dear to its heart to a higher level. By becoming corporately involved in mission efforts, rather than simply supportive of them, we can truly become more focused and effective in the work the Lord really wants us to do. I hope and pray that this will lead us to better training and mentoring, better discernment, better matching of activities with individuals in different stages of growth, better discipleship, more real witnessing. We have such a wealth of resources at Faith; from willing servants, to contractor experience, to proposal writers that can chase grants, to business managers, to teachers, to health workers, to engineers, to loving caring faithful people. Much of it is untapped, waiting for the vision of our part in His Kingdom on earth to come into focus. If we let Him, where will He lead us?

Thank you so much for expressing your opinion! It has helped me to wrestle with mine and put it down in some semblance of coherent thought! I have been grappling with this for some time and will continue to.

Hopeful, Dave

Ushering

2008-04-13T08:08:00.003-05:00

Ushering
Dave McGhee 9/2/2007

I just started reading the book “The Dangerous Act of Worship,” by Mark Labberton. I’m only through Chapter 3 and it has been very enlightening! The whole premise is that we play it safe when it comes to worship. We’re looking for the comfort food. Worship, and here it’s defined as our everyday relationship with God, should be an outward looking affair. Not just between each of us and God, but between all of us.

Now this is a bit tough for an introspective like me to comprehend! There are good things about places of comfort, and introspection, and meditation. Why do we have to mess that up? Then it struck me, it’s all about ushering!

This whole point of being a Christian is following Christ. It is therefore a journey. We all like to stop and take a rest in the comfort zones but we are not supposed to stay there. The other point about this journey is that there is a long trail of folks on this journey. We are all at different points in that journey. And we are all called to help usher those that come after us! And accept ushering from those before us!

This concept of ushering makes more and more sense as I look back over the latest developments in our church.

Missional Church - I'm starting to get the idea of the outward or missional nature of worship and service. However, I still wrestling with whether a lot of mission work is done from a sense of helping "those" people vs a sense of community or ushering.
Sunday School - A good bit of the Sunday school discussion has been about what "I" need. There has also been a good deal of "what do others need" or there wouldn't be discussion. I can't help but think a sense of ushering would add a thread of continuity to the chaos? I think its starting to creep in.

I'm getting more excited about a sense of journey now! This is going to be interesting!

Peace, Dave

Faith Foot Care?

2008-04-13T08:03:00.000-05:00

Faith Foot Care or “Wholeness Through Podiatry”
Dave McGhee – 5/3/2007

Faith Church has had some challenging times over the last five or so years. There have been many changes in leadership, staff, and membership. Much of the challenge stems from the fact that Faith was so stable for so long and then faced with so many changes at once. In that time Faith has stepped up to working through those changes at the same time as maintaining the day-to-day operations.

Much of the process for change has required Faith to take a good look at itself. We have looked at our history, our programs, our future, ourselves. We have done that all in the context of seeking God’s will for Faith Church. Such periods of introspection are necessary in understanding who we are and who God wants us to be. It is also sometimes difficult to break out of that introspection and start looking outward again and moving forward.

Much as we are all part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-26), Faith’s body has many parts. We all know Faith’s history and reputation (heart), we have a strong vision to serve God (soul), we have established new leadership (head), we have an able, creative, and servant hearted membership (hands). We are, however, having some difficulty finding our feet with which to move forward. Some of our feet are sure and strong, but some are tired, some sore, some tender, some unsure. We need to rejuvenate and develop strong sure feet. For that Faith needs your help!

Faith needs to hear about some of our success stories. Not just the top level overview, but the nitty-gritty details. How was God’s will recognized? How did support for the call grow? What kind of approval did it need? What were some of the obstacles? What worked? What didn’t? These are the “in the trenches” stories all of Faith’s membership, particularly Christian “tenderfoots”, need to hear. Not as boastful pride, but as practical how-to guides. These are the stories Faith needs to hear to develop and nurture strong feet. Faith’s history with Christ is the rock (Psalms 40:2*) which make our feet certain.

Faith also needs to hear the fresh ideas from new members and those new to the faith. Where is God tugging at your heart? What are the new songs? (Psalms 40:3*) Even if it is an old song, new voices are always welcome!

So, if you have a success and how-it-came-to-be story to tell, Faith needs to hear it! If you are hearing God’s call to something new, Faith needs to hear it, even if you’re not sure exactly where it belongs! Is it an active vital ministry, a strong and connected Sunday school class, a past achievement that stands out, an idea for a new ministry? Tell your story, by word of mouth, by Sunday school presentation, by newsletter article, by email.

*”The Bible in Basic English”

Living “Waters” Will

2008-04-13T07:55:00.002-05:00

Living “Waters” Will
Dave McGhee – 2/27/2007

A good friend of ours recently had to deal with the pain of having a parent in the situation of needing a living will. While such a document exists, there was contention among the family members about implementing it. Such a time can be extremely stressing on a family. Many issues can be brought to the surface, some old, some new, some unresolved. Issues and emotions can run the gamut; love, suffering, guilt, anger, fear, religion, healing, money and many more. All this can be compounded further by the fact that we humans often assume that others feel the same way as we do.

I began to wonder what instructions I would leave in a living will. Until this point my thoughts have been like many others. I don’t want to suffer if there is no hope. I don’t want my quality of life to be miserable. I don’t want to have a healthy mind trapped in an incapacitated body unable to communicate. I don’t want to be a “vegetable”. I don’t want to be a burden to my family. God wouldn’t want me to suffer like this. What if the doctors are wrong and I could pull through? It’s not right to take a life. I don’t want to die! Too many thoughts to make any sense of!

Then God touched my heart with an idea.

I am a child of God. I am here to serve and glorify the Lord. My Lord is always with me and will not forsake me [Isaiah 41:17]! I know God would not want me to suffer. But I also know He never promised that I would not [2Corinthians 4]. It occurred to me that if my situation can in any way provide a conduit for the grace of His “living waters” [John 4:10, 7:38] to flow and for God’s plan to unfold - that is the road I must take.

In today’s world we are often forced to make snap judgments. Often for no reason other than we are impatient beings. We do not take the time to consider our actions, pray for guidance, or allow God’s plan to unfold.

Given these thoughts and revelations I would have to say that my wishes would be these.

I would want my family to know the Lord is with me and I will be OK! That tear on my unconscious cheek may well be a tear of joy!
I would like the decisions that need to be made to be made as a family with the guidance of a Pastoral Counselor*.
I would want my family to search out God’s will and to look at this time as a time of healing for all. That will may, or may not, include the healing of my body. I know it will include the healing of all our spirits.
Romans 15:5-6, “5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

While this isn’t enough to constitute a complete living will, I know I would want a living will based on these things. I think the Lord and I have a few more conversations on this subject coming. How about you?

* “Pastoral counselors are trained in both psychology and theology and thus can provide psychological as well as spiritual guidance to patients and families in health care settings.”

FW: Gas Prices

2008-04-13T07:42:00.005-05:00

FW: Gas Prices
Dave McGhee 6/6/2007

We’ve all gotten the emails, the ones advocating a boycott of gasoline dealers, brands etc. in one form or another. The same ones Snopes.com characterizes as a long running urban legend chain dating back to at least 2001. They usually appear every time gas prices rise. My daughter forwarded one to me early this year. Normally I ignore those things, but when it’s your daughter, you give some careful thought to your reply; or no-reply. Here is how I replied:

As satisfying as the suggestion you sent may seem to someone who wants to strike out at somebody they think is to blame for gas prices, I think they are on the wrong track. Americans are free-spirited and gas hungry and always have been. The author of the forwarded comment was right in that we need to change our habits.
In my opinion, it is our habits of consuming too much gasoline that need changing. We drive big gas guzzling cars, drive fast, take drives impulsively, and carpool far too little. Even if gas were cheap, we still consume way too much for a healthy environment.
In addition to the fuel saving tips at this web site, http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml, I still prefer the "campaign" I suggested several weeks ago; "At or Below!" If everyone drove sensibly and drove at the speed limit or 5 mph below the savings in gas would be significant. Significant to our pocketbooks, for the message to the energy companies, to our environment. Not to mention our safety on the road.

How do you decide between gas, money, safety, time? And there it is! That point where different needs compete with one another! Well its all about stewardship, isn’t it?

“Stewardship is about making choices, as individuals and in community. It is more than giving money to the church. Stewardship is about being faithful disciples, caring for and managing all that God has given us. Stewardship is not just one part of Christian discipleship; it involves every aspect of life in all the stages of life. Stewardship is the grateful response to God's grace and goodness. It requires a consideration of how our choices affect us and others, of how we can be good caretakers of the created world, and of how we can best serve God as disciples of Christ.” (http://www.pcusa.org/stewardship/)

“The money I save I could donate to a good cause.” – not bad.
“With the time I save I could spend more time with my family.” – admirable.
“I could donate a pre-paid gas card to a service organization.” – creative.
“I could use the extra time to make my needed phone calls.” – efficient.

The stewardship responses are as varied as we are unique as God’s children. That is, if we take the time to consider this as an opportunity for stewardship and response to God. That may be the biggest payback from slowing down; using the extra time to start that conversation with Jesus you’ve been meaning to get to, and Jesus yearns for.

Some of my clearest moments have been cruising to work with a Christian radio station playing. Oh, one other thing, you need to put the cell phone down…

It's simple, It's stark!

2008-04-13T07:37:00.002-05:00

You wrote:

Subject: Thanks for the LetterThough I may not be a Christian believer, I do appreciate you thinking of me. I do believe in God, but can't see that he intervenes in earthly matters. I still have my "fish bowl theory" of God, where he set the universe in motion, but simply watches but doesn't intervene. Maybe the sunami was the neighbor kid tapping on the glass. :-) If God was truly interactive, he would recognize that he made me to be a skeptic on all matters and would give me a break if I am skeptical of the elaborate premises of all organized religions. I also find it impossible to believe that a God who loves us, would send us to burn in hell for eternity just because we are skeptical that Jesus was the Son and that he died for our sins. I love my new dog. When she does wrong I spank her but would not dream of truly hurting her, much less burn her. I take the whole concept of Hell as the Church's fabricated "stick" to keep people scared and in line. Thanks again,

*****,
Sounds like you’re operating under the common misconception that God punishes or rewards people for what they do. Unfortunately this idea has been used for centuries by kings, cultures, religions, and some parents to, as you say, “keep people in line.” I don’t know of anyone that can tow that line. (I grew up Catholic and they can hold their own with any Baptist in a brimstone throwing contest!)

That is not what I have come to understand about a loving God that sent his son for us. Jesus was/is the “New Deal.” All that is being asked for anyone to “do” is to decide to turn toward God and he was gracious enough to send Jesus to follow on the way. It is that simple! It is that stark! Like we say in loads, “F=ma, everything else follows”; turn toward God, everything else follows.

Is God interactive? Absolutely! It’s not the plagues, floods, and earthquakes of the Old Testament, it’s the constant presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in my life everyday. God’s ultimate concern is for our spiritual well being, physical circumstances are in the noise. When I screw up (regularly) they are right there. They aren’t throwing me in a pit or even “spanking” me. They pick me up, put an arm around my shoulder, and say, “That didn’t go so well this time. How can we do better next time?”

Enough! I’m getting too preachy! Suffice it to say, God knows your skepticism, he knows your heart, he only wants the best for you.

Peace, Dave

John 3:16, “The Message,” “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

Laughter as Prayer

2008-04-13T06:38:00.001-05:00

Laughter as Prayer
Dave McGhee November 4, 2005

At Wednesday night bible study we were discussing a vision of what it would be like to live in Jesus’ presence all the time. Our small group was attracted to the phrase “laughter comes as naturally as breathing.”(1) Two very exemplary women shared that they would like to laugh more and frequently felt anxious. I thought that odd because I could not imagine not having laughter in my life. I was moved to offer them a suggestion. “If you are feeling anxious and want to laugh more, you first need to learn to laugh at yourself. Sit down with God and have a good laugh.”

The next morning I was thinking more about that idea and the thought that laughter really is a prayer. If you can honestly laugh about yourself and whatever troubles you, you are telling God that you trust Him and recognize your silliness in worrying. But the laughter has to come from the right place.

There are many kinds of laughter. Many of today’s comedians use a very caustic kind of humor that is usually at someone else’s expense. There is also making fun of someone else in order to build your self up. Traditional ethnic jokes fall in these categories. There is also a way of laughing at yourself that is self deprecating and tearing yourself down. This is not prayerful laughter!

When you truly learn to laugh at yourself you are learning to laugh very humbly. You are not learning to laugh at your core being, which God made, but learning to laugh at your behavior. For those of you that are parents, I’m sure you remember times while watching your children, seeing them do something that embarrasses them terribly. But you just can’t help from laughing. You know you shouldn’t but you just can’t help it! Your laughter doesn’t spring from thinking them foolish or worse. It comes from an honest feeling of compassion for their pain but knowing that they will soon forget all about it. That’s what laughing with Jesus is like! You run to Jesus crying your eyes out feeling miserable. He snatches you up in strong loving arms. Safe in His arms you continue crying. You then feel his chest heaving beneath you with constrained laughter, you get angry a bit, and before long you can’t help but laugh yourself. Soon your tears of sorrow have turned to tears of laughter and neither of you can stop!

Laughter is also one of the ways the Holy Spirit works within us and allows us to hear what God is saying. Laughter can break down the hardest heart. It knocks us out of our attempts to solve our own problems and opens the path of communication with God that will lead us to the true solution. Laughter is the spark of creativity!

So, when things get tense go sit down with Jesus and have a good laugh! You just may end up peeing your pants!

1 “Soul Shaping,” D.J. Rumford, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1996

Listen

2008-04-13T06:29:00.002-05:00

Listen
November 12, 2005

Dear *****,

Please forgive me for being so remiss in getting this to you!

A while back you mentioned in Sunday school about a fellow down the street. You said he dutifully went to church with his wife, that he was an intelligent engineer who has done a lot of reading about Christianity, but just couldn’t accept the idea. You also said that he liked to discuss it with you but that you couldn’t convince him.

I was that guy once; until somebody invited me to listen to the sermons.

I think I can tell you several things about your friend…
• There is a longing in his heart. He would not be searching so hard otherwise.
• There is a fear too. That accepting Christ will require him to reject parts of his life. (This is true, but not the parts he thinks. Logic is OK.)
• He listens very intently to the sermons but weighs each statement against his own “internal model” continuously throughout the sermon.
• He suspects Christianity is a crutch people use when things aren’t going well.
• He’s very logically trying to determine the validity of Christianity.

And there is the rub; Christianity is outside of logic. Not illogical, just something bigger than logic. There is no way your friend will ever be able to prove logically anything about Christianity, one way or the other.

I was at that point when a friend asked me to try an experiment. It was actually two experiments that go hand in hand. The first is when going to church, listen to the sermon. Not critically or point-by-point, but empty your head of all expectations and objectives. Just listen to the “message,” in its entirety as if it was being delivered to you. The second experiment is to assume, or hypothesize, that the message of Christianity is real. Again, let down the defenses, the rationalizations, the fears. This is a different kind of experiment; you are in it, not just observing. After all, the point is, “How does the hypothesis affect me?” Live, for a time, listening, watching, expecting, and searching for Christ. Don’t be judgmental. Don’t weigh it against what you think should happen. It’s very much like brainstorming where you can’t judge the ideas as you go. After a substantial period of time (a month?), look back and gauge how you experienced Christ’s presence and how others around you experienced Him. Ask others how they have experienced you.

That’s how I found Christ, or I should say how someone taught me to open the door for me to meet Christ.

Hope that helps *****. I have faith it will. It’s hard to remember something so long ago. The hymn “Amazing Grace” talks about the “hour I first believed.” Sometimes I think He wants us to remember the hour before that; so we can help others.

In my prayers,

Hugging Introverts?

2008-04-13T06:14:00.002-05:00

Have You Hugged an Introvert Today?
Dave McGhee - 2/12/2007

Let’s face it. Churches are not very introvert friendly.
Participatory worship, potluck suppers, public singing, mission outreach, committees, praying out loud, evangelizing, witnessing, and (Oh God help me!) small groups and youth group ice breakers! These are some of the things that will send an introvert, or shy person, trembling hurriedly to the exit.

First, I really don’t like the term introvert. It’s too clinical, too much of a label, and in our society has too many negative connotations. I prefer to use the adjective “introspective”.
Obviously churches are predominantly occupied by people that love being around other people. Introspective people are much more comfortable either with well known friends or large anonymous crowds. Including new people within their comfort zone is very difficult. Yet, God draws introspective people to church! In communion with God and God’s people is where we are supposed to be. [1 John 1:1-3(NIV); Acts 2:42(NIV)]

But do we drive people away from communion because they are different than us? Hugging an introvert is probably the wrong thing to do! A friendly smile, a quick handshake, and a “We’re glad you’re here!” is all that is necessary. It’s not our job to proactively “break them out of their shell.” It’s our job to be receptive and responsive as God moves us all toward communion. This slow approach is difficult for many fast moving people-people, or extroverts.

On the other hand, do we introspective folks push ourselves away from communion? I know I’m impatient and get frustrated when I see someone that can’t slow down to “smell the roses.” It’s our job to use our gifts to paint that rose so it becomes real and noticeable, even to “an extrovert.” Take that step and invite that next person into your comfort zone; at the pace you and God decide. Find your own way of sharing your quiet walk with Jesus.

The Toronto Observer had an article that was very informative. I was convinced of my thoughts above before I read this article. When I read the article I was amazed how close to home it hit!

I am also convinced that one way for churches to open the door to introspective folks is via the internet. Not as a preaching tool, but as an interactive means of communication. Faith’s website that allows two way topic conversation is a start, although it doesn’t have much of a following yet. I should say “was,” I just noticed that feature has been turned off!? Email discussion groups are another possibility. I’ve been experimenting with the Young in Christ Sunday school email group. I have found this very rewarding in both expressing and growing my faith. Reciprocity has been very slow to grow but God has placed several understanding people along the way!

I found this verse through a web based concordance (I had never heard of Philemon before?), “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” [Philemon 1:6 (NIV)] Reread that and check out who the beneficiary is!

See you in church! Or on-line!

Why This Blog

2008-04-13T06:02:00.001-05:00

Why This Blog
Dave McGhee 7/29/2007

It has been pointed out that most blogs are probably not visited much and that they primarily meet the need of the blogger to express themselves publicly. An astute and mostly accurate observation! So why am I launching this experiment?

I would definitely classify myself as an introvert. In my old age and maturity I am functioning more extrovertly, but that is not my basic nature and it drains a lot of my energy. We introverts have to vent somehow though! I have found in the last few years that writing helps me organize my thoughts and has helped me greatly to express and grow my faith. You may say, “That’s what journaling is for.” And you would be correct. However, I have found that out of this journaling occasionally something really good comes forth. Something I feel that God has pressed on my heart to write down and send out! If it were just my journaling I would not be so bold to put it out on a blog! The articles I have come up with I have prayed about quite a bit and have tried hard to capture what I feel God wants me to say.

Galatians 6:1-10 along with other passages have some good advice on this subject. I would summarize these as a call to test our beliefs so that we are not deceived, either by ourselves or others. These verses also call us to gently seek guidance from our “brothers” and “instructors”. So by putting these blogs out there I am hoping to get feedback about my journey. I would be lying if I said I didn’t take pride when someone compliments one of my articles (maybe too much so, but that’s another subject). But I’m also looking for the “gentle restoration” in Galatians 6:1.

I consider Faith as my faith family. Even given that, being an introvert, these are not things that I can discuss easily face-to-face or verbally. Small groups and telephone calls are not my thing. An introvert needs to “chew” on things for awhile. I truly believe that some form of web based communication between Faith members would be a good thing; a means of extending and expanding our sense of community. Not as a substitute but as valuable augmentation. I don’t know of any other Faith blogs and if I am being called to plow the road, so be it. (Well, Pastor Steve has one now!)

I am trying very hard to structure this experiment so that it is not just me projecting outward. I very much want this to expose a new avenue for two-way communication. To offer ideas which have helped and grown my faith while also offering an avenue for others to connect with and find their own path; not to me and not to Faith, but through us to the faith in Jesus Christ that binds us.

In His service,Dave