Plans, Projections, and Providence

As most of you can tell, I have not been active here on my blog for a while. That mostly has to do with the energy expended preparing for Easter, but it also has to do with my own lack of focus. Since the middle of January, I have been dealing with the possibility of a move to another appointment in June. This past Monday, I was told my projected appointment.

This has been an unusual few months for me. For a while, I had plans to stay in this appointment until my oldest son and perhaps his younger brother finished high school. Of course, that was/is secondary to fulfilling my call here in this church, of equipping this congregation to make disciples in a growing community. I thought everything was going according to plan. When the PPRC began to fill out the advisory response form (the congregation's sense of whether I need to be reappointed here), I realized my perceptions of where we were in this mutual ministry did not reflect reality. Normally, I would have sensed that sooner; grief for my brother has thrown me for a loop in more ways than one.

I had to face the possibility that my plans for my ministry in this place might not happen in the way that I thought. Needless to say, that was not what I wanted for me or my family. For a couple of months I have dealt with this, trying to discern whether I wanted to fight it through and stay or yield to perhaps a greater wisdom. Within all of that is the fear that all United Methodist clergy have of what happens if we do move-- the next church, schools, community, spouse's career.

It took some time, but I found peace in not following my original plan; I remembered equipping people for ministry is my specific call to wherever I serve-- not just an India Hook specific plan. So for the past few weeks, I have been looking forward to March 31 to see what would be our next step as a family.

This week I am preaching Luke's Walk to Emmaus story. It is an Easter evening story of Christ's hidden presence with two of his followers in the chaotic and anxious days following the death of our Lord. I have taken some comfort in this story over the past couple of weeks; for there are times when life does not go according to our plans and dreams--- when we feel abandoned, unsure and uncertain about the lifepath ahead of us. There are times when we are certain we walk alone, for we do not perceive the presence of Christ.

Yet, even in our clouded or mistaken perceptions, as churches and as pastors and as families, Christ walks with us. The days ahead of adjustment to leaving behind our plans, friends, and our familiar ways will not be easy. But we do not go alone. We go into a new future--a new way of being-- with our Lord who walks with us in unseen, but not unfelt ways.

Peace.

The Voice That Troubles Our Calm Waters

Much has been made recently of the need for Obama to renounce or disown his pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Rev. Wright has been quoted extensively for sermons that are racially charged or attack America. Yesterday, Obama took on this controversy and explained why he will not disown his pastor. You can read his remarks online or in any of today's newspapers.

As a preacher, I find this controversy an interesting commentary on what the media and many in the public think preaching should and should not be. I have only heard a couple of 10 second sound bytes from the Rev. Wright's sermons. Context is important in conversation and especially in preaching. Wright could have been in the midst of illustration or expounding upon a point. As my dear mother-in law said: "we shouldn't judge a preacher by one snippet of one sermon."

But for the sake of argument, let's say that these snippets do speak to Rev. Wright's preaching and furthermore, his beliefs. Throughout our Jewish-Christian heritage there have been those who have religious or moral reasons stood against the rising tide of power or nationalism. The Old Testament of the Bible recounts stories of how Isaiah and many others were tortured for speaking/preaching unpopular sentiments. Even in our recent history, Martin Luther King and Dietrich Bonhoffer died as a result of speaking an unpopular Truth. I am not prepared to say that Rev. Wright is in that line of preachers and prophets, but he does speak from the tradition of those who have come before. The prophetic voice challenges us to consider who we are and how we treat one another as God's children.

Preaching itself has many functions. There are times we are comforted and encouraged by God's word. But if our preaching is only comforting and encouraging, if it always agrees with our politics and opinions on life, then we miss the totality of God's word. Good preaching should make us think and reflect on what we believe and why we believe it in light of God's word. It should encourage us to denounce our lost pathways and instead follow the ways of God through Christ (for those of us who are Christian). Preaching should challenge us to look at the idols we all follow and call us to follow God's way, truth and life. If Obama embraced everything his preacher said I would be troubled. As a preacher, I don't think I would be fulfilling my call if there were people who agreed with everything I preached all the time (even Mamma Deacon). If preaching truly challenges, we all will be made uncomfortable from time to time.

I fear that Rev. Wright's sermons have struck a nerve with many not because they are political ammunition, but because we as a nation and as individuals are uncomfortable with the secret, shameful thought that he may be right. His voice troubles the calm waters about what we believe in this country about power, race, justice, and nationalism. Comfort, security, power and wealth serve as idols with far too many in this country. The truth is there are those beyond our circles of life who are poor, ignorant, uncomfortable, unhealthy, and unworthy because too many in our nation need to hold onto the secure, comfortable, profitable status quo.

So perhaps Rev. Wright's sermons could be summarized in another way:
Which do we love more God or our country? Our way of life or the way of Christ?

Thus endeth the sermon.

Heritage Cross Pictures

Here are some pictures April B. took of the cross. The scaffolding is still up as David is still working on the lights, so these pictures avoid the scaffolding. The light fixture in the bottom picture will be removed. The first picture is the view from the pulpit--over my head. When we have other pictures from other places in the sanctuary, they will be posted. Thanks April for the pictures!

The Heritage Cross has been installed

Last year I wrote about transforming heritage, the journey of constructing a cross for the sanctuary at India Hook from a tree on the church property. Today, the cross was installed by the members of the Garland Construction Company. It took most of the day, 5 men, 30 feet of scaffolding, a round of sloppy joes, and a block and tackle with a chain to hoist the 400 pound cross to its place suspended from the ceiling. Tonight, the trustees made the final decisions on the lighting. This Sunday, Miss Sherwood Cannon will join us as we dedicate the cross made from the tree she planted over two decades ago. I hope to post pictures later in the week.

I spent most of the day with the Garland crew witnessing their knowledge and skill. I joked about my selfish interest in making certain the Cross was secured properly in its place 35 feet over where I stand each Sunday. Mr. Wilson, the woodworker, was also there. His comments about working with the wood for the cross and woodworking in general were enjoyable.

During a break I had an insightful conversation with some the crew about Jesus' journey up Calvary with His cross. I listened to these men who make a living carrying lumber, working with wood and putting it in the right place safely; I found their thoughts enlightening. There was plenty of speculation---maybe the cross was made of dried wood (perhaps even used many times before)...maybe the crossbeam was not much wider than his hand (for its functionality despite all the horrible imagery that entails). Regardless, as they struggled with this decorative cross today, I believe we all thought about the One who endured his own solitary struggle to carry his own cross uphill.

The Heritage Cross is already serving its purpose even before its first Sunday.

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

The James Family Super Computer is back in business. Now let me get out of the way so the stampede of children can download and update their music.

The Old Man gets to re-download his stuff first: One of the albums I found prior to the computer crash was "Salvation in Lights" by Mike Farris. Church member and friend Gary Green introduced me to it during a sound system check in the sanctuary. Good stuff.

Brother, can you spare a computer chip?

I got word from the Geek Squad this week that the James Family Super Computer's hard drive is melting (my term, certainly not theirs). I called Dell to see if it is still under warranty; the technical support agent's name I think was Bubba. I don't think Bubba was from around here. At any rate, it sounds like I can either ship the system to Antartica for repairs on Dell's dime (at least a month's time without the computer) or they will ship me the hard drive and "talk" me through the repair/installation of the hard drive myself.


Mamma Deacon hasn't stopped laughing at that one. We are reminded of the television commercial about the guy sitting at his kitchen table with a dull butterknife at his chest talking on the phone with the doctor who is instructing him on how to perform the necessary surgery. If this "repair" takes more than a hammer, two flat head screwdrivers, and a ratchet set with several pieces missing, I am in trouble. Holding tools while someone else does the repair work has never been a problem---actually using them myself in constructive ways does not seem to be my gift. My guess is my repair of the computer is likely the last option.

If it becomes viable, tickets to view the event will be sold to offset the cost of the year of psychotherapy I will need after the deed is finished.

Houston, we have a problem

It looks like I am giving up computer use for Lent. The James Family Super Computer has crashed. Mr. Scott to the bridge!