conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

biennial news: two

ABCUSA Board Continues “Adaptive Change” Process

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 06/25/07) -- The General Board of American Baptist Churches USA, meeting here this week, took another step in discussing an ongoing process of “adaptive change” to better position the denomination for the future.

General Secretary A. Roy Medley told board members that the process is designed “to help us become more nimble and effective in how we carry out the work of this great denomination as we move into our second century.”

He noted that more than a year ago the General Executive Committee identified four areas of special concern—leadership, structure, the representative process and relevance. At a meeting last November, the General Board discussed the early draft of a reorganization proposal and returned it to a writing team for refinements.

At its Monday session here, board members raised questions, concerns and positive points about the plan, which focuses on the church’s “missional” nature and reaffirms the importance of local congregations. Some speakers urged that the latter point be addressed further to show how that reaffirmation would take place.

In considering the reorganization issue last year, the General Executive Committee agreed upon a number of priorities, leading with “protecting and securing the local church as the fundamental unit of mission.” Other major points of consideration included: respect for diversity and inclusiveness; improving the ABCUSA’s financial position in various ways; enabling better oversight of ministry and mission outcomes; committing to clear accountability in all circumstances; determining how best to provide central office functions; and resolving or at least moving the denomination forward on the issue of homosexuality.

The additional feedback from the current General Board meeting will be factored into a process that envisions a formal vote a year from now by the board on an “adaptive change” plan and a second vote before the proposal is presented to the denomination’s 2009 Biennial meeting.

biennial news: one

Medley Urges American Baptists to Go Forward from Centennial

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 06/25/07) -- American Baptist Churches USA, preparing to celebrate the denomination’s centennial, opened its annual General Board meeting here this week with a celebration of its history and current mission work.

General Secretary A. Roy Medley told the board’s first plenary session that “on the occasion of our centennial celebration, God is calling us to ‘arise and shine’ and be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

Medley addressed about 100 board members and staff on Sunday night in Washington’s historic Shiloh Baptist Church, before the denomination’s Biennial convention and its “Centennial Day” next weekend.

“It is an awesome thing to recall,” he said, “that 100 years ago, here in Washington, our spiritual predecessors gathered to create the Northern Baptist Convention. Here at this century mark, we gather to recall God’s faithfulness, and a century of ministry that has been expansive, prophetic and evangelistic.”

Other speakers described the church’s response to Hurricane Katrina and to the tornado that leveled Greensburg, Kan., earlier this year. Board members also looked to the future by honoring pastors and congregations of a new group, the American Baptist Congregations of the Southwest and Hawaii.

Medley traced briefly the history of American Baptist Churches USA, noting that,“Over the years we have been instrumental in planting and strengthening congregations. We have been in the forefront of welcoming immigrants and planting churches among them, and offering needed ministry and advocacy, whether they be Scandinavian, German, Italian, Haitian, African, Asian or Latino.

“We participated in founding the Baptist World Alliance, the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, and most recently Christian Churches Together, because we believe in the unity of the church and cooperative ministry with other Christians.

“At this beginning of the second century of this body, this movement, this denomination, this family, this band of sisters and brothers, this community of disciples, we look to a future that will be marked by significant opportunities for ministry and that will call for ongoing significant change.”

Medley also described his visit in April to the Republic of Georgia, and noted that there are now about 60 Baptist congregations in that country. Worship there “was rich,” he said, “whether in the cathedral, in a chapel, in the ruins of an ancient church, or on a mountaintop.”

He concluded by thanking the board members “for your commitment to the body of Christ and its expression called American Baptist Churches. Thank you for the gift of your talents, wisdom, resources, skills and prayers in leading us into this second century of our life.”

The honoring of pastors and congregations in the new group marked the denomination’s effort to encourage congregations that chose to remain American Baptist following the withdrawal of the Pacific Southwest region a few months ago. Pastors honored with their congregations were Dr. Alonso A. Cooper, University Avenue Baptist Church, San Diego; the Rev. Stanley A. Crews, Monte Vista Baptist Church, Phoenix, Ariz.; Dr. Joseph H. DeRoulhac, First Baptist Church, Redlands, Calif.; Dr. William E. Godwin, University Baptist Church, Palm Desert, Calif.; the Rev. José T. Guerra and the Rev. Chuck Shawver, Living Hope Baptist Church, Bakersfield, Calif.; the Rev. W. James Kilinsky, One in Christ Church, National City, Calif.; and Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., First Institutional Baptist Church, Phoenix.

Board members also voted to commend Coach C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers University for her Christian witness during the controversy over remarks about her basketball team by radio personality Don Imus.

American Baptist Churches USA traces its origins to a split with churches in the South before the Civil War. Northern churches continued in an informal association for more than half a century through their societies for publication and for home and foreign missions. A call in 1906 by the Chicago Baptist Association “for more denominational unity” led to the formation of the Northern Baptist Convention in Washington’s Calvary Baptist Church on May 16-17, 1907. Many of this week’s board meetings are being held at Calvary.

The denomination’s first president was New York Gov. Charles Evans Hughes. It later renamed itself the American Baptist Convention and then American Baptist Churches USA.

and we're gone...

I am leaving the office...I may check e-mail in DC. I hear we have wifi in the room. But there you go! See y'all out and about.

PEACE!

what? no linkage!?

Sisters and brothers of the ether, I will be packing and cleaning and schlepping and buying seersucker all day. No linkage this morning...alas, it is too true. You have my sincere regrets.

I am told that there is wireless at the hotel. I'll blog there if the mood strikes. But you know, I am sorta on vacation while at the convention.

Adieu!!

this is fun...

1. Randomly pick a song from your music library.
2. Find the lyrics.
3. Go to Google translation and translate the lyrics from English into German.
4. Take the new German lyrics and translate them into French.
5. Take the new French lyrics and translate them into English.
6. Post the NEW English lyrics and have people guess the original song.

Twenty twenty twenty four going hours, I wants certain tranquilizers to be, in order to make none, where in all

OH I want to be given by the tranquilizers keep fair to me at the airport place on an airplane haste of haste haste, before I go spirit-disturbed I mean to fingers order can that I cannot order my oh-brain OH OH OH OH

Twenty twenty twenty four hours I which can be gone certain of the tranquilizers to be want, in order to make none, where in all OH, which I want to be given by the tranquilizers to fair to place me in a seat roll me on an airplane haste of haste haste receive, before I go spirit-disturbed I mean to fingers to order can that I my brain OH OH OH OH

Twenty twenty twenty four not going hours to order can, wants I certain tranquilizers to be, around to make none, where in all o OH, which I want to be given to fair, me by the tranquilizers in a rolling seat receive to place me at the exhibition haste of haste haste, before I go move I mean to fingers order can that I do not mean oh-toes order can OH OH OH OH

Twenty twenty twenty four hours I which can be gone certain of the tranquilizers to be want, around to make none, where in all o OH, which I want to be given to fair, me by the tranquilizers in a seat too place, which rolls me, receive at the exhibition haste haste from haste, before I go moved, can I do not mean fingers not to order that I do not mean oh-toes order can OH OH OH OH

Ba-Ba-Ba-bam-Ba of Ba-Ba-bam-Ba that I want to be given by the tranquilizers
Ba-Ba-Ba-bam-Ba of Ba-Ba-bam-Ba, which I want to be given by the tranquilizers to
Ba-Ba-Ba-bam-Ba of Ba-Ba-bam-Ba, which I want to be given by the tranquilizers to
Ba-Ba-Ba-bam-Ba of Ba-Ba-bam-Ba, which I want to be given by the tranquilizers

a new beginning...again and again...a new teleology?

Has anyone else heard of the notion of "whitewater culture?" As I understand it, essentially means a culture that is fundamentally based on change. Change is the ever-constant norm. Some pundits somewhere suggest that Western culture, especially contemporary American culture is a "whitewater culture." All is in flux. There are no institutions, communities or even lifestyles that can maintain a consistent culture...morality, ethos. Our ethos is change. All that inhibits change of any sort is, interestingly, prohibited.

I know, stasis is bad...or something. Undesirable? Progress is not the same as change. It is only one kind of change. But have we come to a point where we can no longer discern that difference? It such a strange question. Culture is culture, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

I am wondering more and more if we are addicted to change in our culture. I wonder if, like so many before us, we have found ourselves in an unhealthy culture...a fallen state once again. Theologically, I know that we are always in a fallen state...and in a risen state.

If whitewater culture is the fallen state, then what is the risen? Still water? Living water moves...it is the promised water of Christ. But it is not whitewater...well...I dunno. What do others think?

Shoul the church change as often as the culture? Ofter alternative after alternative? Or should the church be an alternative...a place of quietude? Changelessness...but not regressive...somehow.

mandodoxy: a brief respite

Preaching is personal counseling on a group basis.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick

I will be missing two weeks of lessons. This is a shame, but a necessary step. I will be leaving on vacation on Thursday! Huzzah. The lovely wife and I will be leaving for DC. There I will enjoy/endure the American Baptist Churches Biennial. It lasts through the 2nd of July. Then we'll hang out in DC for a few days with friends. From there, if all goes according to plan, we'll stay a night in Doswell and then spend a day in Williamsburg before flying back to Chi-town on the 7th. I explained this to the mandoguru.

He was, as expected, happy to hear of my trip but saddened that I will be missing lessons. Perhaps I'll take the mandolin with me an noodle away at Prince William or Kitchen Girl between sessions. We'll see.

Mandodoxy takes constant discipline. And the most important piece of that discipline is not reinventing the wheel, attempting to create new picking patterns when the one given works just fine, so well in fact that anything else is error.

Interesting to ponder. I will endeavor the discipline.

the sermon...

Sermon: Proper 7 (12) Year C 2007
Community Church of Wilmette
June 23, 2007

1 Kings 19:1-15
Luke 8:26-39

The truth of God is always cast in history. It is manifested in the shared life of humanity and all of God’s creation. Faith, religious life, is inescapably human. It is thus inescapably political, economic, communal and personal. It is all the above all the time. The stories we have been given this morning are both clear examples of this existential reality. In these stories the mystery of faith in God encounters the hard reality of life. There is no escape from the world…for God or for God’s people.

Faith is never an escape. For the world is God’s creation and the created are God’s utmost concern.

Last week we heard the story of Naboth’s vineyard. This is the story of how, with Jezebel’s encouragement, Ahab has Naboth killed and then takes Naboth’s vineyard. It is an ugly story about tyranny and power run amok. This morning, we find ourselves presented with a later moment in the same Elijah narrative. Elijah has just finished his big showdown with the prophets of Baal. The God of Israel has brought an end to the drought. Baal has been proven powerless and Baal’s prophets have been slain. But instead of celebrating some great victory, Elijah is on the run. Jezebel has killed all the prophets of Israel in retaliation…all except for Elijah.

But that’s not the beginning of the story. There is so much more to know. So prepare your minds, your imaginations. We need to go back in time by about one hundred years before Elijah…back to the time of King Solomon.

King Solomon (961 – 922 BC)

The Kingdom splits between north and south.
Israel – north
Phoenicia and Syria are political sparring partners
Judah – south
Egypt is a political sparring partner.

There is a steady string of skirmishes and outright civil war between the two kingdoms.

Our story from I Kings takes place in the northern kingdom, Israel. Israel is much less politically stable than Judah in the south where the Davidic dynasty continues unabated.

Jeroboam I (922 – 901 BC)
Nadab (901 – 900 BC)
Baasha (900 – 877 BC)
Elah (877 – 876 BC)
He is murdered.
Zimri (876 BC)
He rules for seven days.

Because of the on-going civil war with Judah and aggression from Syria, the intrigue and upheaval is intense. It culminates with a coup d’etat as Omri, a powerful general, assumes the throne.

In some ways the dynasty that was established by Omri is the most positive thing to happen in the Northern Kingdom. Omri is politically astute, economically savvy, and a fine military strategist. Even well after his passing, when Assyria had conquered, Israel was known as “the land of Omri.”

One of his astute political decisions was to have his son, Ahab, marry the Phoenician princess, Jezebel. This sealed a political and economic alliance between the economic empire of Tyre (Phoenicia) and Israel. This was a wise move according to many. Phoenicia was a powerful economic force in the region, and securing a relationship with them secured Israel’s position against Judah.

Omri’s rule comes to an end somewhere around 869 BC. His son, Ahab, assumes the throne.

Ahab (869-850 BC)
Jezebel was his queen.
Phoenician
A political marriage, an alliance made between Israel and Phoenicia
The state religions were different.
Israel – Yahweh
Phoenicia – Baal (a fertility God)

Under Ahab, things seem to fall apart somehow.

Religious strife
Economic strife with a separation of rich and poor

There had always been a kind of syncretism in the Kingdom of Solomon between the worship of Yahweh, the Israelite God, and other “native” religions. Solomon would also set up altars in his palace for the gods of his wives. But the public face of Israel had always been the worship of the One God in the Temple. So, in one sense, what Omri and Ahab did was completely in step with the history of the monarchy…with one important exception. Baal worship became the public face of the monarchy. The anointed of God, Ahab, begins to worship another god along side Yahweh. Jezebel brought her own prophets with her and set them in the positions once held by the prophets of Yahweh. This proved to be the tipping point.

As the economic disparity between the wealthy and the poor was increasing, political pressure from outside the Kingdom was increasing. The aristocracy in the Northern Kingdom had become, at least in the eyes of the authors of I Kings, greedy and tyrannical. It was supplanting one faith for another, and handing over national identity to foreign interests.

Baal worship comes to symbolize one way of life…an idolatrous and tyrannical way of life.

The worship of the God of Israel comes to symbolize another, where righteousness is asked of all who follow God, and not just the poor or the common folk. The demands of faith upon all adherents, upon all Jews, were the same. This is why, if you recall, the slaying of Naboth is such a horrible act. Ahab, the king, does not live as God has asked him to…and if anyone is supposed to uphold the covenant it is the King who is the anointed one of God!

This is the situation in which Elijah comes to the fore. Elijah, as a historical figure, comes into prominence toward the end of Ahab’s reign. He is, like many of the prophets, attempting to call Israel back to its covenant agreement with God. He is reminding them of their identity….who they are, whose they are.

Their identity is not centered in the political relationships with other nations.

Their identity is not centered in the economic decisions made by the aristocracy.

Their identity is centered in the worship of God…in the covenant.

And that identity is what informs all other decisions. Elijah is not asking the King and the people to pretend that God is not interested in politics, to ignore the economic and political realities of the day. Elijah is reminding them that God asks the Israelites to participate in a certain way, asking for them all to be righteous in the sight of God. They are to be a light unto the nations. This has always been their calling as a people, as followers and adherents to the holy Covenant.

In this way, the faithful are inescapably political.
In this way, the faithful make economic decisions.
Tyranny has no place.
Idolatry has no place.

God stands in the center where peace and righteousness reside. This is where the faithful are called to stand.

So, Elijah makes his stand…and then he runs. Elijah makes his way into the cave in our story this morning. He has been “zealous for the LORD.” But as much success as he thinks he has, he has to flee for his life. He goes to Mt. Horeb, the same mountain that Moses went to encounter God. He goes to the source of faith. There is chaos and violent wind. These things announce the coming of God. But when God is present nothing else can speak. There is “the sound of sheer silence.”

This passage has been translated in multiple ways: a still small voice, a fine silence, a gentle whisper, as the sound of sheer silence…All are attempting to get at the same point…When God is present, nothing else can stand. Nothing else speaks. Elijah encounters God’s all-encompassing presence on the mountain. Unlike Baal, Yahweh is not simply a fertility God. Yahweh is the One God, the God above all Gods. It is this experience that calls the Psalmist and the poet, enthralls the mystic, and encourages the prophet to call people to the edges…for the center of life and faith is not where we often think it is.

The political call of God may very well be to the edges of society. This is where Elijah encounters God. This is the place from where Elijah speaks. He calls people away from the centers of power, of strength. He calls the people back to righteousness…to the place where God’s voice is heard.

It is in this same way that Jesus encounters his own vocation, his own engagement with the powers of the world.

The loss of national identity encountered in our story from I Kings is mirrored by the encounter with the demoniac. The man has lost his identity. When asked his name, he simply says “Legion.” His identity is fragmented, chaotic. It is, as far as Luke wants us to know, a political and spiritual madness. He has been driven out to the furthest reaches of society. And it is there that he meets God. Jesus goes to that place to find him.

And in the spiritual rescue, there is the political rescue. What need does an Israelite town have for a herd of pigs? Well, to feed the Roman military. Luke is a writer…and makes a writer’s choice.

“What is your name?”
“My name is Legion.”

The demoniac’s identity is centered in the identity of the oppressor. It is centered in the identity of the occupying nation. And this is as much of a sign of madness as anything else.

So, Jesus calls out the demons. The man is healed from his madness. And once again he finds his true center. He finds it in God…the God who has met him at the edges and drawn him back to center in himself and in God.

Sadly, as the story suggests, this may not cure him of the social stigma he has endured. He now endures another. Communities will tolerate the things and people that name their illness much more easily than they will tolerate the things and people that name their salvation. The devil that you know…

The demoniac wants to follow Jesus now. He wants to stand with him wherever he goes. And as lovely as that may seem, it is not what Jesus asks of him. “Stay.” He says. “Stay and tell the others.”

Perhaps Luke, like the authors of I Kings, wants us to know the political ramifications of God’s work in the world. God has not abandoned politics. Far from it. And God has called us to engage as well.

We engage in politics by telling all that God has done for us. This is a political act as challenging as any. It re-centers the political conversation. It re-centers our identity, individually and collectively.

And as we tell our stories again and again, more connections will become clear to us. The areas of our lives we once believed to be godless will prove to be “holy habitations,” Mt. Horebs and Carmels, places where idols are cast aside and God brings an end to drought.

We will find ourselves at the edges of society, naming the ills that we all carry, the demons that possess our society.

And by finding ourselves at the edges, we proclaim God as the center of all things.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

satreday...

Wow...

Still working on the sermon, have a birthday party to attend, meetings tomorrow...Thank God for chocolate chip cookies.

The lectionary readings for tomorrow are that "still small voice" passage from I Kings...and something about a guy named Legion from Luke's Gospel.

1 Kings 19:1-15
Luke 8:26-39

I am really intrigued by the history of the northern kingdom, Israel. It was such a chaotic mess...and then Omri comes along and fixes it. But it is just those efforts that get the Omri Dynasty, Ahab specifically, in so much trouble with the prophet Elijah. Utterly fascinating.

Both these passages are political...entirely political. The intersection of faith and politics is a very interesting topic...one of great interest with the Presidential election on the horizon.

fix it!

Dern it all to Hades and back through Kalamazoo! Shitte. I simply cannot keep all of the pieces in order. I make lists. I juggle. I multi-task. I do all these things at the same time as necessary. And yet I cannot get the damn ducks in a row.

Quack.

How's a simple little Baptist like me supposed to cope?

HA!

the bong...

Few things are more pleasant than a village graced with a good church, a good priest and a good pub.

-John Hillaby

Last night is just what I needed. It was great to see friends, to let loose a liitle. Cafe Bong is a great little hole in the wall. It is the Platonic ideal of the dive bar. We even shorted out the juke box when we unplugged our equipment last night. Very exciting stuff. It would have been more rock 'n roll if we had blown the fuse during the concert, but that just ain't gonna happen with us. You don't often hear about the mando blowing the electric.

Maybe someday.

There were several good things that happened last night. I got to blow off some much needed stress. (So relaxed right now...) The barkeep was thrilled with the turnout. We're going to try to come out there at least once a month...maybe a regular Monday or Tuesday night gig. That would be fantastic. And another band was present. We are going to try some double bills. The Sons of Susan are a great "tin pan alley" band. Some of you might recall that I played with them for a bit. Their regular mando player, Joe, is a nice guy...and, yes, we play the instrument very differently. It's not about better...it's about different. So he and I spoke about a double bill and some shared tunes. I would pull out the bouzouki to accompany his mando. He has this century old "A" mandolin that is so sweet.

Thanks to all who showed up last night. You know who you are. I'll see you all soon!

Oh, and if you are up on current slang, tell me what the hell "twee" means! I looked it up. I am not sure that it means what the on-line dictionary says it means. I am an old man. Help me out.

Okay, well, I need to get ready for a meeting. I have a coffee date with one of the village trustees here in town. I have been thinking about some of Ref's networking choices. I think that they work well here even though there are 32,000 Wilmettians and not 150. The community lines are very similar.

Peace!

just some musing...

Prayer does not change God, but it changes the one who prays. ~Søren Kierkegaard

I am waiting for the rain. The disembodied experts on the radio tell me that we are experiencing a bit of a drought. Further south in our country, the drought is even more severe. The land is cracked in places. Trees are wilting. This is a pretty dramatic picture…a wilted tree.

In the little yard of the parsonage, I see cracks in the soil. I do water the plantings, the little border gardens of herbs, roses and marigolds. But a garden hose is no substitute for rain. With rain, the heavens seem to open. Clouds gather around, and they release their burden of water upon the earth. And she will drink deep in times of such drought. The water will simply vanish into the soil, unless, of course, the ground has grown too hard.

Those of us who grew up near farms or rivers know what happens when the ground is hardened by drought. The earth, in spite of her deep need for the rain, cannot absorb what is given. The heavens open. Rain comes. But it simply bounces off the hardened clay and topsoil. The water will run down gullies and streams into the rivers and out to the sea. The drought continues in the midst of a flood. Disaster upon disaster.

Sometimes our spirits have this same character. Our lives are dry. There is a drought of one kind or another…of love, affection, or liberty. There are times when we welcome the rain, welcome healing and nurture from God and others. Our spirits thrive again. There are also times when bitterness and cynicism can set in. The things that wound us are too great. The spiritual drought becomes extreme and it seems nothing can quench our thirst for God and for healing. Grace, like the rain, simply runs off the surface. Our hearts, as the scriptures say, have become hard in these moments.

Strangely perhaps, this is when we need to pray most. This is when we need admit our own powerlessness, our bitterness, and our cynicism to ourselves and to God. We have to hold it out and ask God to take it away from us. The injury, the hurt that has caused such bitterness is simply more than we can bear.

And, for a while, our prayer will seem to have no effect. We will still sense abandonment, an absence of God. But this will pass. Our bitterness and cynicism will pass as our hearts and souls finally soak in some of God’s grace. This is gradual…and often difficult. It requires rigorous honesty on our part. We will see ourselves in new ways. Our lives will become reordered. We will change.

Such drought brings a change to the land. Things that once grew in fertile soil no longer grow. Floods carve out new riverbeds. But new life can come. New life will grow amidst the remnants of the old. God’s grace does not undo what has harmed us. It is not magic. Instead, God’s grace and healing transform us through these droughts. This is often where we experience the greatest transformation.

I am waiting for the rain. The disembodied experts on the radio tell me that today the rain will come. And I sit here, among the cracked soil and withered trees, waiting for the rain. I pray to God that I will be ready for grace when it comes.

May our hearts never grow hard. May we know and receive God’s grace when it comes. And when we cannot, may God give us strength to change.

cool...

This blog finally hit the one hundred thousand mark...

Number of visitors: 100,026

Thanks guys.

wednesday linkage

Grant me the treasure of sublime poverty: permit the distinctive sign of our order to be that it does not possess anything of its own beneath the sun, for the glory of your name, and that it have no other patrimony than begging. - St. Francis of Assisi

Once again you have stumbled upon another issue of Wednesday Linkage. I hope that you have been using the RSS feed. Lordy, but you wouldn't want to miss a single issue! Heh. Okay, so there is a lot here to take in. We have conversations about spirituality, social justice, utopianism, news of women in the pulpit (This is news?) and Baptists in Palestine, as well as some introductions to new faculty. So slide up a chair and stay a while!

around the university

Welcome the new faculty!

At St Cyprian Orthodox Seminary: Fr. David Hudgins - Pastor, St Joseph's Chapel
At the Phillips Brooks Episcopal Seminary: Mompriest - Barbara Kingsolver Chair for Midwestern Spirituality and vocal coach.

Engage in some interesting conversation!

Mike Clawson of up/rooted fame hosted Hemant Mehta of I Sold My Soul on E-Bay fame. You can read a good summary here at Conversation at the Edge. Christian and atheists playing well together. Interesting stuff.

Hemant reiterated what Jim and Matt found: he said that not one person came up to him to initiate conversation in all his church visits. If he spoke to people they would talk with him but they didn’t initiate the conversation. One person said “I’ve been in several countries and it’s the same way - do you think that’s human nature?” My problem with that is - I thought followers of Jesus were supposed to do better than let ‘human nature’ determine their behavior. If Jesus was curious and noticed people and gave them attention - which is what I see in the Bible stories about him - shouldn’t his followers be the same way?

Cliff is talking about salvation and the heart. He's taking it out of the realm of experience and emotionality. Interesting stuff.

“Christ Himself revealed to us the method. He told us that not only are we capable of exploring God but we can also live with Him, become one with Him. And the organ by which we can achieve that is neither our senses nor our logic but our hearts.”

Larry shared some thoughts about the recent Jubilee Conference. Go here, here and here. Larry's not much for utopianism.

I believe in the resistance the vigilance and the effect these things can have to better the world, I find it dubious the expectation of the achievement of the ideals I doubt there will be utopia. Of course in part I believe this because I do not believe that what we long for can be achieved by human effort alone. There will be no utopia only the eschaton. Ultimately we can only receive as gift those things of ultimate value we wish to achieve.

Mompriest is still talking about George Herbert and poetry in general.
AKMA posted some great photos to celebrate twenty-five years of marriage.
Dave says not to hire an internet person for your political campaign.
Amy is righly fretting about the upcoming Biennial. I am looking forward to meeting her finally.
And, lastly, the Young Fogey shared this quotation on how to encourage a liberal inquirer to Christianity:

I ... recommend that you get an icon of Mary the Theotokos with Christ as an infant and spend some time before it in quiet meditation on her life and consider your issues in this context. She is the all-pure one and can guide us, who are equal to her in nature, to righteousness and true submission to the will of God.

I hope that you take your time, become an inquirer and enter into the liturgical cycle. Work these things out within the communal context of the body of Christ. Don't be an isolated person that our modern individualist society attempts to unnaturally impose on us!

sermons
Mompriest
Rev Ref+

baptist news

First Baptist, Decatur, calls a woman pastor to its pulpit.
Human beings are not to blame for global warming.

Messengers did not object to the basic claims contained in the global-warming resolution: that global temperatures have risen for decades as Earth emerges from the Little Ice Age, “scientific evidence does not support computer models of catastrophic human-induced global warming,” and major steps to reduce greenhouse gases would unfairly impact the world’s poorest people.

Ruth Graham has passed. Blessed be.
Police seize Baptist church in Gaza.

the video

Put your drink down first.

a prayer...

Thanks to you ever, O gentle Christ,
That you have raised me freely from the black
And from the darkness of last night
To the kindly night of this day.

Praise to you, O God of all creatures,
According to each life you have poured on me,
My desire, my word, my sense, my repute,
My thought, my deed, my way, my fame.

$&^#&^$*&#%^!!!

It's happened again. No money in the account. Five times...now. I am going to a cash only system. So, don't talk to me about money or anything.

This is horrible. Horrible.

reefer and conditioned air

Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.
- William F. Buckley, Jr.

Last night I went out with some friends to see Trish's show, Reefer Madness. It is playing at Mary's Attic in Andersonville. Yes, the Handbaggers have done it again. It is a fabulous show. It's only a two night engagement. So, tonight is your last chance to see this "staged reading." If there is a genre called "furious camp" this is it! Funny, funny, funny!

In other news, we have finally hit a set of warm summer days. The last couple of days have been in the 90's. Lovely warm. I don't know what has happened. Have I hit some threshold now that I am in my late 30's. I've always preferred cold weather. Not this year. I have been pining for the warm and even sultry weather summer can bring. Trish and I have not yet turned on the A/C at Chateau Ouilmette. Good stuff.

Well, I need to return to my coffee. Mmm.

a gig!!

One Of The Girls

9pm
June, 21 2007 at Cafe Bong
5706 N Clark st, Chicago, 60660
Cost : FREE

Cafe Bong's Grand Re-opening! Cheap Drinks! Good Folks! One of the Girls! "You can't go wrong with the Bong!"

sermon: grace upon grace: god's own polyphony

Sermon: Proper 6 (11) Year C 2007 (lectionary)
June 17, 2007
Community Church of Wilmette
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler

Grace Upon Grace: God’s Own Polyphony

Prayer: Open our hearts, Lord God, so that we may hear your Word through these words. And in all things give us the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

When in our music God is glorified,
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried,
Alleluia!

I know this will come as no surprise to anyone, but I love music. I am utterly hooked on the stuff. I sing. I play instruments. I love to dance. I will listen to music for hours on end. It is an all-encompassing artistic romance for me. So, it should also come as no surprise that it was music that had a principle role in my conversion to Christianity. Faith and art are, for me, of one piece. I don’t really know how to separate them out from one another. And this has colored my conversion since the very beginning.

William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, the sixteenth century composers, likely just as much to do with my conversion as anyone living with us now. Year after year in college and afterward I would have sung their music, and other music inspired by and written for the Christian faith. Chant, hymns, anthems, praise choruses. I had an opportunity to play and sing through so much music. And it all has its part in my conversion. But when all is said done, it is Byrd and Tallis…the great masters of polyphony, who shape and guide my faith with their own expressions of faithfulness.

Polyphony is a fascinating musical form. I know that some of you here likely know more about it than I do, but I hope you’ll bear with me for a moment. You see, polyphony is, at its core, the expansion of and elaboration upon a simple musical theme…like a chant. The melody is altered, rearranged and even shared between a variety of vocal parts. Sopranos will sing the melody and somehow, the composer will hand it over to the altos. The altos will hand it to the tenors. Now, of course, the tenors are loathe to part with the melodic line, but will, thanks to the strength of the composer, have to relinquish it to the sopranos once again. Every now and then, a brave composer like Byrd or Tallis would grace the bass section with the melody. Sadly, this is a rare occurrence.

But in the end choral politics matter not. Counter melodies are brought into the mix. Harmonies take on lives of their own and become melodies, complimentary melodies adding to the beauty and texture of the overall piece. Tones are layered upon tones, melody upon melody. Grace upon grace.

The words of faith, scripture, prayers, ancient creeds and confessions of faith, too, are stretched, single spoken phrases stretched so far that they are almost not recognizable as language. The listener must pay attention. The singer must remain constantly aware of what it is they are singing…not just a series of vowel sounds, but actual words. The lyric, the words are as important to the composition as the notes are. The words “I believe” or “Alleluia!” are expanded and ornamented over measures and voice parts and even then the piece only hints at the depths of emotion and faith expressed in the simple phrase “I believe,” “Alleuia!”

How often making music we have found
a new dimension in the world of sound,
as worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!

No art form exists without the artist. This is such a simple statement that it borders on the absurd. But it is important to recall in our current age when everything is labeled “product” and can be mass-produced. Music, visual art, statuary, pottery…theater and dance are no less subject to the whims of our consumer culture than a Twinkie. Consumerism dehumanizes when it is taken too far. So we must make a conscious effort to recall the human being, to bring her to the fore of our conversations about art.

It is a danger for all of us to become so caught up in the “how” and “why” of life that we forget entirely about the “who.” Our selves are “the who.” God is “the who.” We forget people, persons, divinity and humanity. It is an easy trap to hole up in our heads and in the technicalities and forget that all art, all faith is expression of human experience – experience of the banal and the divine. The Pharisee from our Gospel passage seems to suffer from this trouble. Yes, he is kind and hospitable to Jesus. But his curiosity is a technical one.

He wants to speak to Jesus the teacher. He wants to see how he thinks, how he gets his ideas and notions. His is a charitable place, but it is a heady place. It may not be soulful, heart-felt or faithful.

We can be like the Pharisee.

We weigh and balance, measure and set goals, plan projects, create institutions, set boundaries, and organize, organize, organize. We cannot help it. These are necessary activities, we say…but they are all for naught if we do not remember ourselves and others in the process. If we dehumanize the entire endeavor, then we destroy any hope of anything good, anything godly arising from our work. We become like Simon – graceless.

“I believe” writes James Jordan of the Wesminster Choir College, “that within every artist is contained, deep with in the soul, a fundamental set of truths; without it, he or she would probably not be an artist. I do believe that persons who do not practice expression have them, too, but they continually slip away if not used. Hence, the reason why people sing and play and have a basic love of music and the arts. Innate sensibilities about fundamental profundities of life: birth, re-birth, struggle, separation, trust, compassion, hope and the contemplation of the end of one’s life, death. To quote the old hymn, ‘Give me some of that old time religion.’”

Jordan’s words are powerful. They remind me of the purpose behind all faith, the truth behind all art, the reality of the believer, who is the faith artist. Faith is never simply a set of precepts. There are techniques, disciplines, surely, for painting, singing and, yes, even for faith. Doctrine has this place in faithfulness. And the Pharisee rightly reminds us of this. But the Pharisee takes this too far. He questions Jesus when Jesus does not shun the sinful woman. He says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him – that she is a sinner.”

Jesus recognizes the sin, but he forgives her. She has come before God in an act of faith. Her expression is generous, passionate, heart-felt. She recognizes Jesus for who he is. She praises God. She asks for forgiveness with her tears…and her act of hospitality. She has shown love where Simon the Pharisee could not. Her faith heals her very soul. Passion and technique go hand in hand. One thrives only when the other is present.

Thus the sinful woman joins the song. Her life has become one of the many melodies written in God’s polyphony. Jesus opens all eyes to the truth of her faith and the injustice that is borne witness by Simon’s. When Simon would not have let her in his house, Jesus goes so far as to proclaim redemption. She joins other women and men, other artists, in the proclamation of faith.

So has the Church, in liturgy and song,
In faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue,
Alleluia!

In every work of the artist, we praise the Divine Artist* . We are God’s own polyphony, God’s creation, a work, a craft…We are art. We are God’s expression. We are God’s polyphony, each life a melodic line of forgiveness offered and received – grace upon grace.

The individual human being, the sinful woman, the many women and men who followed Christ, even Simon the Pharisee, is part and parcel of a community of song. The polyphony that is community is upheld by each line, each rest, each note dissonant and resonant. Their voice, the phrase that is their life, is essential to the composition as a whole. Without them, the composition would be incomplete.

And here we find ourselves at the beginning of the work, revisiting the theme. It is here we encounter conversion, our ongoing healing and transformation in Christ. In this way we encounter each of us as an artist, a Byrd or Tallis. We become grace for one another – grace upon grace: God’s own polyphony.

Thanks be to God.

*“It is Francis’ love of nature, epitomized in the Canticle, which has most endeared him to modern Christians, to the neglect of other aspects of his spirituality. Yet his love of all created things was simply an extension of his deep love of the Creator. His biographer, Thomas of Celano, wrote of him not many years after his death:

‘In every work of the artist he praised the Artist; whatever he found in the things made he referred to the Maker. He rejoiced in all the works of the hands of the Lord and saw behind things pleasant to behold their life-giving reason and cause. In beautiful things he saw Beauty itself; all things were to him good. ‘He who made us is the best,’ they cried out to him. Through his footprints impressed upon things he followed the Beloved everywhere; he made for himself from all things a ladder by which to come even to his throne.’”

george herbert speaks

Thanks to the seeking one for this:

Joy, my Life, my Crown !
My heart was meaning all the day,
Somewhat it fain would say,
And still it runneth muttering up and down
With only this, My Joy, my Life, my Crown !

Yet slight not those few words ;
If truly said, they may take part
Among the best in art :
The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords
Is, when the soul unto the lines accord.

He who craves all the mind,
And all the soul, and strength, and time,
If the words only rhyme,
Justly complains that somewhat is behind
To make His verse, or write a hymn in kind.

Whereas if the heart be moved,
Although the verse be somewhat scant,
God doth supply the want ;
As when the heart says, sighing to be approved,
“O, could I love !” and stops, God writeth, “Loved.”

This poem describes what it's like to try and write a sermon for Sunday...

quick blog...

I just got home from Wisconsin. Trish is showering and I am getting ready to change to go to AKMA's house for a bit. There is a rough draft of a sermon competed. I'll post it in the extended link for those who want to see what the "before" picture is. I'll post the completed sermon some time on the morrow.

Pax.

Sermon: Proper 6 (11) Year C 2007
June 17, 2007
Community Church of Wilmette
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler

Grace Upon Grace: God’s Own Polyphony

Prayer: Open our hearts, Lord God, so that we may hear your Word through these words. And in all things give us the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

When in our music God is glorified,
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried,
Alleluia!

I know this will come as no surprise to anyone, but I love music. I am utterly hooked on the stuff. I sing. I play instruments. I love to dance. I will listen to music for hours on end. It is an all-encompassing artistic romance for me. So, it should also come as no surprise that it was music that had the principle role in my conversion to Christianity. Faith and art are, for me, of one piece. I don’t really know how to separate them out from one another. And this has colored my conversion since the very beginning.

William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, the sixteenth century composers, likely had more to do with my conversion than anyone living with us now. Year after year in college and afterward I would sing their music, and other music inspired by and written for the Christian faith. Chant, hymns, anthems, praise choruses. I had an opportunity to play and sing through so much music. And it all had its part in my conversion. But when all is said done, it was Byrd and Tallis…the great masters of polyphony, who shaped and guided my faith with their own expressions of faithfulness.

Polyphony is a fascinating musical form. I know that some of you here likely know more about it than I do, but I hope you’ll bear with me for a moment. You see, polyphony is, at its core, the expansion of and elaboration upon a simple musical theme…like a chant. The melody is altered, rearranged and even shared between a variety of vocal parts. Sopranos will sing the melody and somehow, the composer will hand it over to the altos. The altos will hand it to the tenors. Now, of course, the tenors are loathe to part with the melodic line, but will, thanks to the strength of the composer, have to relinquish it to the sopranos once again. Every now and then, a brave composer like Byrd or Tallis would grace the bass section with the melody. Sadly, this is a rare occurrence.

But in the end choral politics matter not. Counter melodies are brought into the mix. Harmonies take on lives of their own and become melodies, complimentary melodies adding to the beauty and texture of the overall piece. Tones are layered upon tones, melody upon melody. Grace upon grace.

The words of faith, scripture, prayers, ancient creeds and confessions of faith, too, are stretched, single spoken phrases stretched so far that they are almost not recognizable as language. The listener must pay attention. The singer must remain constantly aware of what it is they are singing…not just a series of vowel sounds, but actual words. The lyric, the words are as important to the composition as the notes are. The words “I believe” or “Alleluia!” are expanded and ornamented over measures and voice parts and even then the piece only hints at the depths of emotion and faith expressed in the simple phrase “I believe,” “Alleuia!”

How often making music we have found
a new dimension in the world of sound,
as worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!

It is also important to say that no art form exists without the artist. This is such a simple statement that it borders on the absurd. But it is important to recall in our current age when everything is labeled “product” and can be mass-produced. Music, visual art, statuary, pottery…theater and dance are no less subject to the whims of our consumer culture than a Twinkie. Consumerism dehumanizes when it is taken too far. So we must make a conscious effort to recall the human being, to bring her to the fore of our conversations about art.

It is a danger for all of us to become so caught up in the “how” and “why” of life that we forget entirely about the “who.” Our selves are “the who.” God is “the who.” We forget people, persons, divinity and humanity. It is an easy trap to hole up in our heads and in the technicalities and forget that all art, all faith is expression. The Pharisee from our Gospel passage seems to suffer from this trouble. Yes, he is kind and hospitable to Jesus. But his curiosity is a technical one.

He wants to speak to Jesus the teacher. He wants to see how he thinks, how he gets his ideas and notions. His is a charitable place, but it is a heady place. It may not be soulful, heart-felt or faithful.

We can be like the Pharisee.

We weigh and balance, measure and set goals, plan projects, create institutions, set boundaries, and organize, organize, organize. We cannot help it. These are necessary activities, we say…but they are all for naught if we do not remember ourselves and others in the process. If we dehumanize the entire endeavor, then we destroy any hope of anything good, anything godly arising from our work.

“I believe” writes James Jordan, “that within every artist is contained, deep with in the soul, a fundamental set of truths; without it, he or she would probably not be an artist. I do believe that persons who do not practice expression have them, too, but they continually slip away if not used. Hence, the reason why people sing and play and have a basic love of music and the arts. Innate sensibilities about fundamental profundities of life: birth, re-birth, struggle, separation, trust, compassion, hope and the contemplation of the end of one’s life, death. To quote the old hymn, ‘Give me some of that old time religion.’”

Jordan’s words are powerful. They remind me of the purpose behind all faith, the truth behind all art, the reality of the believer, who is the faith artist. Faith is never simply a set of precepts. There are techniques, disciplines, surely, for painting, singing and, yes, even for faith. And the Pharisee rightly reminds us of this. But the Pharisee takes this too far. He questions Jesus when Jesus does not shun the sinful woman. He says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, e would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him – that she is a sinner.”

Jesus recognizes the sin, but he forgives her. She has come before God in an act of faith. Her expression is generous, passionate, heart-felt. She recognizes Jesus for who he is. She praises God. She asks for forgiveness with her tears…and her act of hospitality. She has shown love where Simon the Pharisee could not. He faith heals her very soul.

She joins the song. Her life has become one of the many melodies written in God’s polyphony. Jesus opens all eyes to the truth of her faith and the injustice that is borne witness by Simon’s. When Simon would not have let her in his house, Jesus goes so far as to proclaim redemption. She joins other women and men, other artists, in the proclamation of faith.

So has the Church, in liturgy and song,
In faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue,
Alleluia!

The individual human being is part and parcel of a community of song. The polyphony that is community is upheld by each line, each note and rest. No one, no matter how wide their orbit around the community may be, is outside the faith. Their voice, the phrase that is their life, is essential to the composition as a whole. Without them, the composition would be incomplete.

In every work of the artist, we praise the Divine Artist. We are God’s own polyphony, God’s creation, a work, a craft…We are art. We are God’s expression. It is the great act of faith that

To continue with the metaphor of performers and performance, unless you have a spiritual life of your own, the spiritual life that is the community of composition and performance will never be available to you.

This is not to say that we are to always be happy and thrilled to be alive otherwise the Church is not available to us. Hardly! A healthy spirituality recognizes peaks as well as valleys. It knows doldrums and storms. And it is able to name it. Peace, sadly, is a rare event in our spiritual journeys. It is the end of our journey, and the very reason we are on the spiritual quest in the first place. And, if we are honest, the peace we seek is the journey itself.

the weekend...

Okay, y'all. I have a graveside service tomorrow (in Wisconsin) and a sermon to finish. I am out of here for the weekend. I'll likely post the sermon on Sunday per my ususal. I hope you all have a great weekend. The weather here is outstanding.

Peace!

-Tripp

P.S. Willow Creek is advertising at Cubs games now. Wow.

why?

Why is it that the first thing I forget to do when I need it most is pray? Someone answer that for me. Yeesh!

Bless, O Christ, my face,
Let my face bless every thing;
Bless, O Christ, mine eye,
Let mine eye bless all it sees.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding be upon you all this day and every day.

And may God have mercy on my soul for forgetting...always forgetting.

da lutherans

I had a very nice meeting with a fellow pastor here in Ouilmette. Our congregations are going to share worship this summer one Sunday down in a park by the lake. We were planning the liturgy and fellowship over breakfast this morning. It was just plain ol' lovely. I am truly excited about the whole endeavor.

"That they may all be one..."

a gig!

One of the Girls (myspace) have a gig...next Thursday, June 21. I'll get the details to y'all as soon as I have 'em. But this is great news!

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

can it be?!

Ireland is a country of about 5 million people and 4.9 million of them are musicians. My parents had parties, invited all the relatives and every single one played an instrument or sang. And I listened to Elvis. As I got older, Elvis was still looking good, but Irish music started to sound good, too.

Sheila Hynes

Can it be? Well, maybe! I think One of the Girls might have three gigs in the works for the summer if all goes well. That would be lovely.

Friday, July 20 for the Midwest Emergent Church conference?!? Yeah, who knew? But it's a good idea and it may be a fun gig. When I know more, I'll let you all know. Tra la la and Jesus. I knew I was on to something!

Sunday, July 22 at the Community Church of Wilmette (Notre Dame d'Ouilmette, as I like to say) for the Ice Cream social like last year. This gig will begin about 6pm-ish. Tom, Sean and I will play. Bring your guitar, drums, flutes or whatever you got. Sit in with three of five of One of the Girls! Bring the kids. If it rains, we'll play in the basement of the church. It's not the same as frolicking in the "greenie grass." I admit it. But ice cream is good anywhere. I make no such promises about the band.

Friday, August 24 with Dirty Water just like on St. Patrick's Day! So come on down to the Town Hall Pub...that is if we can all get our shitte together to play this gig. It could be so very cool.

Can you tell that I want to play again? I am really chomping at the bit to be playing again. Really. Chomping.

eight things about me: a meme

Here are the rules...

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3.At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here they are in no particular order.

1. I will always get the chocolate milk shake...unless there is a good, and I mean dern fine, peanutbutter and chocolate icecream to choose from. Yum!

2. I am resistant to novocaine. You know how the shot would make your lip fat and stuff before the dentist would drill. I found out, after many painful dental visits, that was the case. I had assumed that the fat lip thing was supposed to happen after you got home. That's what always happened to me. I assumed it was a result of the very painful procedure...like fillings made you numb. Ah well. Live and learn.

3. If one's arms are proportional to one's body, measuring fingertip to fingertip across your back should equal your height. I am 5'10" tall...But according to my arms, I should be 6'3". I have long arms.

4. I love, and I mean love eggplant. Mmmm.

5. I am allergic to cilantro. Tastes like soap. Makes me queasy.

6. I wanted to be a train engineer as a child. "Woot! Woot!" I absolutely love trains. I have pictures of me on an old steam engine. I have a catalog for Lionel trains on my desk at work. Some day I will have a good ol' Lionel set. Smoke and all!!!

7. I have never read To Kill a Mockingbird or Catcher in the Rye.

8. I want a dog. But I can't have one. There are three (3) cats in the house. I want a big dog...like a Burmese Mountain Dog or something.

Here are my eight: Megan, Fogey, Larry, Mae, Jane, Travis, Justin, Kate

spam humor

I keep getting these (fake/spam/fictional/false) messages about my viagra or valium order today. Viagra and valium. Are these drugs working at cross purposes? I was just wondering.

wednesday linkage

I discovered later, and I am still discovering right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Is it Wednesday already? Holy cow, but this week has flown by. The weekend was full. Theater and baseball and lovely weather. It was loverly. But that matters naught! It is time for Wednesday Linkage! Let's get to it. It's been a lively week online and in the ever-changing suburban landscape.

around the university

Micah is talking about the buildings still locked up at VA Tech.
The Young Fogey linked here: Ezra Pound and Confucius on foreign policy.
AKMA remembers Richard Rorty.
Megan, Cristopher and I are taking a bit of a break, but Sr. Julie has written about Sabbath in our stead: go on a retreat.
Thomas has written a review of Rush's new album.
Susie tagged me.

some interesting stuff

Trouble Brewing in Wilmette
The Africentric Church
The Scorn of the Literary Blog
The New Athiests

We commonly hear that only a tiny percentage of Americans don't believe in God and that, as a Newsweek poll claimed this spring, 91 percent do. In fact, this is not true. How many unbelievers are there? The question is difficult to assess accurately because of the challenges of constructing survey questions that do not tap into the prevailing biases about religion.

sermons

Steve McNeely posted his sermon "outline" from Sunday at his congregation's website. Read on!

I find it strange that many people of faith do not like to hear talk like this. They want God to be as knowable and manageable as Job’s theology tried to make God, but God will not fit into their little box. My biggest issue with fundamentalism is that it does not respect the mystery and majesty of God. It knows too much about God,pretending to absolute truth.

The Rev Ref+ has his up as well.
Laura+ preached.
Would anyone like to recommend one? Leave a link in the comments section!

the video

companionship

Carlos Zambrano did it on the mound and at the plate, tossing eight lights-out innings and hitting his second homer of the season, which proved to be the decisive blow in the makeup of a snowed-out contest from April 11.

Last night I went out with some friends to see the Cubs and the Astros play. It was a great deal of fun. We were way up in the nose-bleed section, but Wrigley is small enough that we could still see everything...and we had a lovely view of the lake. What could be better?

One of our conversations was about spiritual companioning. I don't remember exactly what started it. I think I was musing about the search process at North Shore that is, I believe, on-going. Anyway, I was speaking to Mae about pastoral care in the hospital being different than it is in the congregational setting. I seem to be navigating a sliding scale between "spiritual companioning" and "professional friend." A pastor, obviously, is not hired to be someone's friend. I think most would agree with that. The church is a colection of friendships and other relationships. The pastor will engage that in whatever way comes. It's a very organic process. Some pastors will make tons of friends. Others will not. Neither approach is more successful than the last. In either case, I find myself gravitating toward the idea of spiritual companioning (or here). It can be friendly. And friendships will develop. Certainly. But it is a friendship with a certain purpose...a context.

Anyway, I am just musing on that today...in the midst of a lot of other work.

Y'all have a grand day!

mandodoxy: the holy land

When I was younger, I felt it was my duty to wake people up. I thought poetry was asleep. I thought rock 'n' roll was asleep.
- Patti Smith

The mandoguru has returned from the Holy Land. No, not Israel. Ireland. For the mandolinist, Ireland is the Holy Land. Some would argue that Italy should be. Vivaldi was a genius. This is true. Some would say that the Great Smokies or some other southern US locale should be so dubbed. But alas, that would be derivative. No, Ireland is the Holy Land. Scotland, Wales, and Even Canada are impressive. God uphold Nova Scotia! But the Holy Land is Ireland.

The mandoguru attended a wedding or something like that. And, per usual, sat in on a few sessions at a local pub. When you are a guru, such things happen. There he sat. There he played. And who would saunter in to the pub but Patti Smith...punk goddess. He introduced himself during a break and chatted with her a bit. "Sociable." he says.

She liked the music. She liked the little band gathered for the session. So, and I am not making this up, she asked them to open for her. She is touring with her band promoting her new album of cover tunes. The mandoguru (may his strings always hold tune) and the other session-mates played for about 20 minutes to open the concert at an "arena" in Ireland! Holy cow. The Holy Land, indeed.

In an homage of sorts, I went to Duke's last night to hear The Sons of Susan, Baba Manouche, and to see if David Bowie or that guy from Rusted Root would walk in the door. No such luck. The music was lovely. But no Bowie. No Root. Alas.

The journey continues.

sermon: the unexpected guest

Sermon: Proper 5 (10) Year C
June 10, 2007
Community Church of Wilmette

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-24, Luke 7:11-17

The Unexpected Guest

Hear now a story from long ago…a story of prophets and gods, kings, queens, and a poor widow. This is the tale of the unexpected guest.

The widow and her son are hungry. They have not eaten. There has been no food. The drought has been lingering for years and there is simply nothing left in the cupboard. Some of their neighbors say it is because God no longer dwells with them. Others say that it is a curse since Ahab, son of the great king Omri, has abandoned the worship of the One God. He has defaced the Temple. He has abandoned the people. And for this they all suffer. One man’s folly…

Some say the One God is at war with another god.
Some say nothing. They are dying of thirst.
All await a prophet, someone to bring good news…and rain.
If only it would rain.

The prophet, too, is thirsty. The stream he lives by, the wadi provided to him by the One God, has dried up now. The ravens no longer feed him in the morning or in the evening. He is now as lost as the next person…a beggar until God speaks. He has been waiting for God to speak. Once a prophet. Now a beggar.

And when God speaks, he moves. It’s what the prophet knows. There’s little else he can do. He has been listening to the voice of God for so long now, following and reciting and proclaiming. He does as he is bidden…

…He will go to the town to live.

As God promised, the prophet meets the widow by the gates of the town. She does as God said she would do, but the prophet, nonetheless, is an unexpected guest. He is a puzzle to her, begging from the poor in a time of famine. There is not enough for her or for her son. Still, she offers what she has. She gives hospitality.

And rich is the reward! The beggar becomes a prophet. “The jar will not empty, the jug will not fail!…not until there is rain.” And for a moment, there is relief. The house is home again.

This is the tale of the unexpected guest. And it has no end.

People stream across our borders. They flee political and economic droughts. And here they encounter a drought of another sort. They encounter a drought of compassion. Politicians wrangle with one another. They contemplate walls, laws, and appropriate enforcement.

People are poor. Dare we have compassion upon them and allow them in?

Poor nations around the world are shouldering debts they will never be able to pay. Nation keeps nation under the yoke of poverty. And to what end? To whose benefit? None benefit.

Can we have compassion upon the poor and destitute within our own borders? Can we be instruments of compassion in their lives, stopping on our way to heal and to give life? Can we find jobs for them? Can we help craft a community, a society that recognizes it’s own poor as worthy of compassion and grace? Will we recognize our own prophet beggars? Or will we allow other systems, ungodly systems, to define their place in our society?

It is as if we are all beggars in a time of famine.

We are not prophets. We are not hospitable widows. We are simply waiting for rain. We are trying to stay alive somehow, by hook or by crook. We keep the stranger at bay. The unexpected guest is dangerous, we say.

They want to be fed.
They want a place to stay.
They want jobs.
They place demands upon us.

God’s grace is like this. It always sounds like a demand to those who are called to bring it. God’s grace is unexpected. The widow is not looking for the prophet. And yet he comes as a beggar, a guest in need of hospitality.

“When the Lord saw her he had compassion upon her and said, ‘Do not weep.’”

Godly power is compassion. It shows no partiality. Are we prepared to offer up this kind of compassion?

When God encounters suffering, it is the nature of God to take compassion. God does not ponder the questions of asset management, convenience, loyalty, and purity.

In the end, the One God will send down rain, compassion upon all the countryside, those in Judea and those outside.

We are recipients of such compassion.
And we are the instruments of such compassion.

If God’s grace is pouring out like rain, if we are recipients, if we are called to compassion, then we must act. We must stand where there is pain and injustice. We must have the courage to meet the pain that is all around us, on all sides of the issues facing this nation and the world. We must be the unexpected guest and welcome the same guest when she appears at the gates of our towns.

God is compassion. And yet we cry out…like the widow in our story.

Joy is fleeting. Strife has deep roots. This is the tale of the unexpected guest. And it has no end.

The widow is seated at the foot of the bed. The sun is streaming through the windows. It’s light is no longer welcoming. The day is too hot for that. Sweat beads upon the forehead of her son. His breath is ragged. He is dying.

What happened to the good news of jugs and jars? What happened to the hope and the promise of the miraculous? Her son’s breath stops. She rages against the only person there. She rages at the prophet beggar.

“What did I ever do to you but welcome you in? What have I ever done to God? I am no saint!” She rails. “But this is unbearable! Go away!”

Prophets don’t know how to go away.

The prophet turns his face to God…to the God who has always spoken to him. It is finally the prophet’s turn to speak.

“Why? What? Is there not yet enough death and destruction for you? You send me to live with this widow and this is the result?”

He breathes on the boy. He cries to God. He touches the boy, wiping sweat off his brow…willing him to breathe. He gives his own breath to the boy.

No one really knows how these things happen. We don’t know why it seems that some days God moves and some days God does not. We don’t know if it is breath or touch or faith. We rage. We weep. We pray.

Nonetheless, the widow in this story speaks the words many of us wish we could say with such certainty…for her son lives.

“Now I know that you are a man of God and the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Longing for grace, she recognizes God.

The sunlight streams through the windows of her house. The heat has not abated. The world has not changed. But her son lives. There is hope. And it is enough today.

Compassion lives in the breath of the prophet, the unexpected guest, and comes as a beggar in a time of famine.

Amen.

st columba

I was speaking about Iona (the community) with some new friends last night. From Oban, cross to Mull...drive across Mull and float to Iona.

Today is the fest day of St. Columba.



O GOD, who by the preaching of thy blessed servant Saint Columba didst cause the light of the Gospel to shine in in these islands: Grant, we beseech thee that, having his life and labours in remembrance, we may shew forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

for justin

theological formation

Once again, the coffee is brewing. Yesterday's weather was a wreck of midwestern meteorological confusion. Ninety degrees or more...winds gusting in excess of seventy miles an hour, huge hail, massive thunderstorms. People scurried hither and yon.

Not a drop fell here at Chateau Ouilmette. Ah well. So, a wondrously warm evening of snoozing. And now for some java. It makes me happy. I have fond memories of entire summers like the last twenty-four hours. *sigh* Moving on...

Micah and AKMA have both posted recently on theological education. I have been trying to formulate some thoughts of my own. I am sure that in comparison to these gents, mine will be found wanting. Nonetheless, I'll chime in.

Micah points to this essay about age, experience and the ministry. As this was specifically about some ECUSA practices, I did not chime in on the comments. In short, is age and experience a guarantee of a successful ministry? I think that the answer is no. Age and experience are not necessarily markers of a successful minister. Formation, I believe, is the key.

When I was first in seminary, back in '92, I met some people who had been ordained at seventeen years of age by their home congregations. The church had recognized what they believed to be the call of the Holy Spirit upon the lives of these young men and women. So, they ordained them and then, shockingly, continued to form them as responsible and mature Christians as they had been doing. Ordination is simply the community's recognition of God's call. These young people went to college and then to seminary to receive further training. I found that these people were the most level-headed and reliable witnesses and scholars in my class. Perhaps formation had something to do with this. As churches, I wonder if we don't think of ourselves as "formational communities." We assume that only the world can shape us and our children. Experience, then, is something someone receives outside of church and not within it. If that is so, then we have a bigger problem than the Capitalism mentioned in a previous post.

AKMA suggests a scale of sorts (clumsy on my part) between objective/cognitive practices (engineering, medicine) , and affective/intuitive practices (performance art, abstruse dance forms). Somewhere between these poles we might find ministry. This is a simplification of AKMA's general thinking. But he goes on to say:

I’d suppose that no matter how friendly, “effective,” or appealing a church leader might be, their practice involves serious dangers to their congregations and their neighbors if they do not know the gross anatomy and pharmacology of their role. The alternative — so far as I can see — involves suggesting that “it doesn’t matter,” and my reading of history, of theology, of Scripture, of the examples of the saints, and of a variety of other sources of evaluation suggests that the “doesn’t matter” position not only places real people’s real well-being at hazard, it cuts off the very limb from which it propounds its innovative, appealing, creative, provocative intervention.

This is a good point...Formation is not simply emotional, communal, but also thoughtful and intellelctual. Theology matters. The ability to maneuver between varying theological schools and connecting them within the wider history of the Church and the Tradition are as important as being an engaging personality (whether in the pulpit or at the coffee shop, personalities vary). The same rule would apply with pastoral care, counseling and the basic management of a congregation. But can the seminary teach all this? Of course not.

Again, we come back to formation. The reason why churches should uphold the formation of their own members as sacred work, is because they are in the process of forming their own minister. A successful minister is created by a successful congregation. Pastoral sensitivity, grounding in a theological tradition...the "hard and soft" disciplines of ministry are areas of constant growth and retuning. The journey of formation is never over, and no three-year program can be the depository of the entire formation process. It falls upon churches, families, and seminaries alike to undertake this work.

rev. hudgins

How many of us are there? Well, that's becoming an interesting exploration of the internet. I keep track of who visits my site and from where. Last week I received a visit through a google search. The query was for "Rev. Hudgins." It looks as though there are a few of us. And, interestingly, I'm likely related to these folk!

Here's the link. Read the comments and please ignore my gaff. I was weak, decaffeinated even!

I'll keep poking around to see who else is out there. I saw something in Pennsylvania Co. Virginia about a Hudgins serving an SBC congregation. I'll see what he's all about, too.

Trish suggested that there may very well be something in the gene pool. Egads. It's a genetic disorder.

huh

Interesting.

How can we do it? “I don’t know.”

* Don’t assume it will be easy. Many of our ‘Christians’ have been converted into consumers of religious goods and services. Not interested in being disciples, agents of the Kingdom of God. Breaking our unwritten contract – we pay you money and you make us feel good, or bad then good which feels good. There’s a lot working against you. Radio/TV-orthodoxy – Partisan, colonial, consumerist. Preaches what gets donations to fund it. Institutional maintenance – parochial, intramural, self-absorbed. Institutional maintenance is idolatry.
* Stop teaching Bible verse or passages, and teach episodes or stories within the context of the Biblical narrative. Stop quoting as if it was a section of the constitution, but instead is a narrative. Primacy of bible is God being involved in messed up human world. Themes like land/water, fertility/children, freedom/dominion of empire, obedience/justice, warnings/promises.
* Emphasize integral reconciliation – with God, self, creation, others, enemies. Can’t be separated out. Fused together.
* Contextualize the language of ‘kingdom’. Personal kingdom. Cultural/national/economic kingdom/kingdom of this world. Dream of God, Global Love Economy of God, Sacred Ecosystem of God, God’s revolution of Hope
* Realize that preaching isn’t everything – liturgy, prayers, testimonies, songs of transformation.
* Work personal-global and global-personal (bias toward later, where Bible starts), bottom-up and top-down, or small-big and big-small
* Realizing Who is working with and for you – Spirit.
* [Insert your idea here]

What if we got rid of all the signs in front of our churches? Instead, “School of Transformation.”

wednesday linkage

"We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened. But when we are in true spiritual darkness, we do not even know that we have fallen.” - Thomas Merton

It is time for another installment of Wednesday Linkage! Yay! (Wave your arms like Kermit the Frog when you say that.) Some of what I have linked to is silly. Some of it is sad. Some of the general "of interest" mess is a sign of my hang-ups on generational theories. I find the whole discipline fascinating. Anyway, enjoy the linkage!

from the university

AKMA posts: Meet the Bible.
Larry posts his Pentecost icon.
The Fearsome Pirate wants us to know how to grow a church..."Stop preaching crappy sermons."
Micah is so thrilled to be inconvenienced, he can barely take it.
Mae is a dork.
Jorge is musing about personal change.
Jane is moving.

of interest

Here is something on "New Friars" from the Ekklesia Project.
JWD is not so sure that Sojourner's put together a good event when they got three of the Democratic presidential candidates together to talk religion and faith.
NPR and religious folk are thinking about Milennials.
How do you teach rhetoric?

sermons:

Laura+ posted her Pentecost sermon.
The Sacristan+ posted his sermon from Pentecost as well.
The Theobilly posted his Trinity Sunday sermon. Check it out.

A reflection on the three great holy days reveal a God who is throwing everything and the kitchen sink attempting to get our attention, to shake us up and down to tell us over and over again that we are God’s children, that we are God’s creation and please get to know me!

Ref+ posted his Trinity Sunday sermon.

Trinity Sunday. The day that strikes fear into preachers everywhere. The day when priests wish for visiting seminarians. Why is that? It's because the Trinity, if you really think about it, is really complicated.

in memoriam

E. J. Brown was a wondrous member at North Shore Baptist, a lovely example of gentleness and patience. I will miss her greatly.
Bishop James Kelsey died in a car accident. My prayers go up for those who loved and knew him.

the video

This is my new summer anthem.

sabbath: beginner's mind

Have you ever had to start over? You know, when you are traveling along, sure you know the way you are going, and then you find yourself lost or simply in a different place than you initially assumed you were going? Yeah, it happens. Some people go to school certain that they will be lawyers, and end up being potters or contractors, or stay-at-home parents. We work and work, so certain that we will end up exactly where we expected when we took the first step on the journey. And then, somehow, we end up somewhere unexpected. That is what Wayne Muller's chapter is about this week. It is about the unknowing that is Sabbath. It is that admission that in the end, we cannot control everything, know everything, understand everything, or do everything. It's just life. And it is a hard bit of reality to swallow, I think. Wayne says:

Just because we are working hard does not mean that we are making anything happen. Our best-laid plans and goals and performance evaluations do not guarantee that what we desire will actually come about. They make us feel more confident or in control, but that is as often as not an illusion that may very well be shattered by the unpredictable unfolding of destiny. If we keep working, we feel we are actually controlling events. Knowledge is power, they say, and when we do not know, we feel powerless and afraid.

Yeah. I get it. And he's right, it is a fearful admission. I would rather think that I have more control than I do. But, as Wayne suggests, there is all this other stuff.

We all learn this lesson somewhere along the way. It's the heart of disillusionment. I learned this first when my parents split up and have, like most people, relearned this truth again and again over the years. We think we know how relationships are supposed to run, jobs are supposed to function, when rain will fall, how cats will get along...but we cannot.

"Do not worry for your life, what you will eat, and what you will drink..." When I was in the Baptist Student Union in college, I chose this passage from Matthew's sixth chapter for my "theme verse." What is essentially a juvenile exercise of relating to the scriptures, has become rather profound for me. At 19 I chose this verse. Knowing has always been difficult...No, trusting in what I know or don't know has been difficult for me. I seldom trust what I am taught, read, or think I know. My mind is weak. Knowledge is ephemeral. Expertise is fleeting. This creates great anxiety. Wayne's chapter touches on this for me. And the passage from scripture has been my walking stick on this journey. Sabbath is the embracing of this tension, this anxiety producing truth.

Megan has posted.
Cristopher will post.

back in the saddle again

This is my first full week back in the office since I went away on vacation to the other side of the lake. There's a ton to be done...mostly correspondence, but there's a lot of that to do between now and some time later.

The weekend was good, a mixed bad cinematically, but overall good. Well, no. The movies were unkind. Trish and I did something we have not done in a long time. We saw two movies. Saturday we saw Spiderman 3. Yesterday afternoon we saw Pirates 3. In both cases, the third time was most certainly not the charm. Oy. Vey. If you have a certain loyalty to the series, please go see them. Otherwise you will never be satisfied. But know that neither movie is strong. I would say that they are both bad movies. Overdone. Too much. Distracting. Too long for what little story there was in Pirates, too many stories in the one movie for Spiderman 3. Urggle. Yeah.

So, um, though spending time with my wife is grand...and I did have fun with her...the movies had to be overcome with other things to make for a good weekend.

See them at your own risk.

I will be posting the Sabbath reflection later this afternoon. In the mean, Megan has posted her reflection.

meandering with jesus

Alban has posted this:

Steven R. Covey, professor of business management and organization behavior, writes in his best-selling book First Things First about how fixated our culture is on the clock. The clock represents our busyness—commitments at work, appointments, tasks, and schedules. The clock symbolizes how we spend our lives. The compass, on the other hand, represents the personal vision, core values, and principles that shape and guide our lives. Covey suggests that we ought to rely more on the compass than the clock, because the compass has more to do with the direction we intend to follow on our journey.

I was thinking about something similar in relationship to church growth and development in a conversation last night.

sermon: trinity sunday

Sermon: Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2007
Community Church of Wilmette

Well, we made it. Today we celebrate one year of ministry together. And, for me at least, it has been a great pleasure and honor to be here with you. I just have one question…whose bright idea was it to start his tenure at this church near Trinity Sunday? I mean, it won’t happen every year, but here we are at the one year mark and I have been given the wondrous task of preaching about the, confusing, misunderstood, and misappropriated Trinity. I should have thought about that a year ago.

Live and learn.

I don’t usually get preoccupied with the church year like this…well, maybe I do… but as it is the celebration of our one year anniversary and Trinity Sunday…and the first Sunday of Ordinary time, it is appropriate to explore why we mark this day. There’s a great deal going on this Sunday.

Ordinary Time is not intended to be that long stretch of the liturgical year where we wait for Advent. It is not the liturgical equivalent of thumb twiddling. It is not supposed to be the long dull season void of celebration and depth. Ordinary Time is the season where we finally grapple with the everyday encounter with God in community. This is “ordained” time. Here the priesthood of all believers is honored and called into being.

We are called to work.

We as the Church have received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. We have been anointed, ordained if you will, to be the presence of God in the world. It is Ordinary time; a time that marks the commonplace, the quotidian, the everyday life we all share. This is the season that is set aside for the Church to be the