http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/ Don't lose any opportunity, however small, of being gentle toward everyone. Don't rely on your own efforts to succeed in your various undertakings, but only on God's help. Then rest in his care of you, confident that he will do what is best for you, provided that you will, for your part, work diligently but gently. I say "gently" because a tense diligence is harmful both to our heart and to our task and is not really diligence, but rather over eagerness and anxiety...I recommend you to God's mercy. I beg him, through that same mercy, to fill you with his love. - Francis de Sales en-us 2010-03-13T07:23:14-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/todays_quotatio.html Oh...this is fun! Dynamic and erratic, spontaneous and radical, audacious and immature, committed if not all together coherent, ecumenically open and often experimental, visible here and there, now and then, but unsettled institutionally. Almost monastic in nature but most of all...enacting a fearful hope for human life in society. - William StringfellowAnd then there's Bonhoeffer. What's not to love?The renewal of the church will come from a new type of monasticism, which has only in common with the old an uncompromising allegiance to the Sermon on the Mount. It is high time men and women banded together to do this.I am off to play Irish music with thoughts of the monastic running around my mind. Be ye warned therefore. Green hoods may abound!... Wilmette tripp 2010-03-13T07:23:14-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/letting_go_maki.html Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.— Herman Hesse Did you notice. It's Lent. It's the season that reminds us about the truth of letting go. Jesus is preparing to let it all go...all the control, all the demands. He's going to step out in faith and rest in the promise of resurrection. It's the highest form of spiritual calculus. Do we know where we begin and end? Do we know where God is? And can we let go of our own insistent demands so that God can move in and make the changes that need to be made? Easily said, but not so easily done...and suddenly I have the lyrics of "Closer to Fine" running through my head. It is simple. We can talk about it and debate it. We've invented religious systems to institutionalize it and yet all of these things are as likely to serve as distractions from the real work rather than encouraging us to let go. Let go and let God, the saying goes. There is, of course, an implied "You first!" Maybe that's why I struggle. I want someone else to step back from the precipice that we're all on and do it first. But maybe that's just not going to happen. Maybe I have to be the first to let go.... Wilmette tripp 2010-03-10T06:01:14-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/too_much_1.html I thought I would be able to take a few days and breathe. Well, it might come. I don't know yet. Thankfully I have a Sunday off coming up...well, off from preaching. My stalwart seminary intern is scheduled to preach. Pastors, if you don't have one of these, I encourage you to get one. Go to your local (or not so local) seminary and see what you can work out. Lovely! Anyway, I am trying to relax a bit, but there are these things that are creeping up on me. I'll make a phone call or two today and see if I can ease the load a bit for myself. This weekend was our Big Annual Leadership Retreat. Great turnout. Great work. Great fellowship. People seem ready to try something new...to take a step forward. It's good news. This Wednesday evening is our Council meeting. Now that we have some marching orders, I am hopeful that the Council will step up. It's all good, but I am tired. I need a couple of days off. I think, though, that I will simply have to wait until after Easter. A friend and I are off to Austin for several days. It's a road trip we're calling "Mancation 2010!" Lovely stuff!... conjecture tripp 2010-03-08T08:37:07-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/sermon_a_steadf_1.html We’re still talking about covenants. A week ago we played in some different language about covenants. We looked for some synonyms and some alternatives. One of the words that I often find myself working with in my own journey is “trust.” Isaiah uses the word “steadfast.” God is steadfast. Trustworthy. A covenant is a kind of trust. It is something of great value that we establish for the present moment and in hope for the future. It is also the emotional state of trust. Can we entrust ourselves to one another? Can you trust me? Can I trust you? Can we trust God? These questions are more alive for me now than ever. We live in a world that in many ways holds a tremendous distrust of religion…of any spiritual institution or community really. And we have good reason as a society. Religion appears to be at the center of many global and local conflicts…and people notice. Somehow instead of being seen as agents of peace and transformation, of solace and comfort, of healing and reconciliation…We’re seen as something else. Life is fragile…fleeting. People have deep and profound questions about life and seek guidance about how best to live it. I have no doubt that Christianity has much to offer to help people live meaningful lives. But can they trust us? This is the question that the people are asking Jesus this morning. They ask that age old question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” They’ve heard that perhaps when bad things happen God is punishing people somehow. They’ve heard that maybe these people weren’t so good after all. So Jesus challenges them. He asks them if the people who perished in these horrible tragedies were worse people than anyone else? The implication here is “No.” Their goodness had nothing to do with it. [Jesus] told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"The nature of God’s judgment is described in this parable. God is the gardener. The world is the man who owns the vineyard. God is never done with us. God is a gardener at work with his Beloved. The world seeks results and measures everything by some “bottom line.” God is patient. God is kind… But like the time of Jesus, religion has bad press. Religious institutions seem to have lost the reputation for being compassionate and understanding. And it just seems to be getting worse. People assume that God is out to get them somehow. Is it really such a different time from our own? The people are simply asking, “Jesus, can we really trust you?” Jesus says, “Yes.” And he adds, “but if you wish to follow God, you need to be ready to move. Life is fragile. People are in need. There is never time to waste.” So, if there is any work before us, it is to find ways to rebuild that trust, to demonstrate that God is faithful and to be trusted and we too, as a faith community, can be trusted with the work of our loving and generous God. The passage from Isaiah suggests that God’s trustworthiness, God’s steadfastness, is what will draw the world to Israel. Can we embody this trust? I believe so. I believe in many ways we already do. We’re not alone in this struggle, of course. There are many communities that have sought to demonstrate God’s steadfastness. And one of the best examples we have is the community of Taize whose worship style we borrow this morning. The story goes something like this. Brother Roger left Switzerland at the age of twenty-five to begin an intentional Christian community near the boundary of France and Germany. The year was 1940 and he was convinced that he should come to the aid of the refugees crossing the border. He gave shelter to anyone who needed it. This response to the flight of people escaping the war and the death camps was the only ethical Christian response that made sense to him. There was little food or shelter available to him and his other companions. Life was very simple…and dangerous. At one point Roger and his companions did have to flee the area in fear of their lives. By 1945, however, the small community and its buildings served as a residence for war orphans and welcomed German prisoners of war on Sundays for services. From the very beginning, Roger seized opportunities to serve God. The way he prayed and worshiped, the way he cared for the stranger and sought mercy and justice for everyone all serve this same end. He sought to proclaim the steadfastness of the Lord. God is trustworthy.See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Today Taize welcomes tens of thousands of pilgrims to their community every year. The brothers of Taize represent several Christian traditions. Their worship practices have been emulated across the globe. They are trusted by Christians and non-Christians alike. And they are no strangers to the fragility of life. “Brother Roger died on 16 August 2005, at the age of 90, killed during the evening prayer. Since then, Brother Alois, whom Brother Roger chose as his successor many years ago, has been the prior of the Community.” God is steadfast and promises much to us. God may ask us to do challenging... Wilmette tripp 2010-03-07T06:42:16-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/annual_retreat_1.html Jesus was not crucified for saying or doing what made sense to everyone. ~ from Resident Aliens by Willimon and Hauerwas We are entering a critical time in the life of CCW. We will gather and make decisions that directly effect our shared future. We will laud one another and bicker a bit, too. We do this every year...the annual leadership retreat. Yes, if you have agreed to serve on a committee, this is the retreat for you! Also, this year, we are encouraging all to attend. It looks like we'll have a pretty good turn out. I will candidly admit that these things always make me a little nervous. I set my expectations too high, I'm sure. Ah well. Such is life in my brain. Below is a quick video of what I'm thinking about for the sermon to follow. It will be adjusted to reflect what we come up with at the retreat, of course. Keep us in your prayers.... Wilmette tripp 2010-03-05T07:14:21-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/leadership_and_1.html Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation. ~ William Arthur Ward, pastor There are, as most of us know by now, different forms of leadership. The forms are as diverse as the people who embody and practice them. In seminary we spent a good deal of time speaking about and reading about leadership. We spoke with professors and mentors, and sought ways of leading congregations that might prove productive. It's such a crap shoot, you know. It occurs to me now that we never really spoke to the people in the pews. If you search online, you can find a few sources for continuing study of pastoral leadership. Margaret Marcuson is a family systems expert. Duke has their Faith & Leadership resource. It's pretty good. They also have Sustaining Pastoral Excellence. It's useful. In fact, read this. Finally, there's The Alban Institute. I peruse all these sites with some regularity. I must confess that I still don't know what any of it means. Perhaps I just haven't found my niche. We'll see. Leadership is metaphysical. I'm convinced of this. One can study it like you study a koala bear, but that does not mean that one will become a koala bear. But the call to being a "spiritual guide" like SPE suggests above, is a lived discipline, founded on prayer and living in the tradition(s) of the church. There's no gimmick, no formula. So, I'll keep reading and thinking and trying things on. I'll ask my congregation to be more Christian and not less. I'll study the demographics and seek to embrace the realities of my context. But mostly, I will rely on God to make up for all my inadequacies. I don't see any other choice.... conjecture tripp 2010-03-03T12:49:18-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/moms_birthday_1.html Today is my mother's birthday! Yes. It's true. Let's see...if I'm 40 that makes her...um...nevermind all that. If you are on Facebook, look her up. Go to my page. You'll find her listed in the left column. Wish her a happy birthday. She's a good woman, a good mom, and would love to hear from you.... current events tripp 2010-03-02T05:40:15-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/03/a_salt_lake_mon.html current events tripp 2010-03-01T09:14:33-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/sermon_an_uneas.html How do you understand your own covenant with God? How about your shared covenant with God as The Community Church? Is “covenant” even a word you would use to describe your relationship with God? Heck, is relationship? Contract? Arrangement? Maybe none of this works for you. Perhaps God is a story, or an idea, or something else entirely. A feeling? An urge? A force? Each person discovers and develops the language they will use for the meeting between the human being the divine Other. The opportunities for exploring language are rich and virtually limitless. Also, as communities of faithful people gather together they will create a shared language and perhaps make promises to one another and to God. If those communities last long enough, something curious might happen. Those covenants, arrangements, the promises, and even the language itself will change. The relationships will change… …within the community and between the community and God. Why? Well, the context changes. The culture shifts. Any number of pressures can emerge positively or negatively and things simply change. Thus, the covenant changes and is rewritten. This dynamic is why, for me at least, the language is so important. We choose our language, testing it, nuancing it, playing with it and in it over lifetimes and generations. Words move in and out and back into use. Every little preposition and article comes into question. What was once an apparently static concept like a “covenant” becomes fluid and living. It breathes with a life of its own.... liturgy tripp 2010-02-27T21:39:00-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/a_new_book_free.html My friend, Cassidy Dale, has written a book entitled The Knight and the Gardener: Worldviews Make Worlds. It's available here for free download. Take a gander through it. Here are a couple of quick excerpts for your perusal. Enjoy! Tell me your image of God and I will tell you your theology. – Carl Jung Have you ever considered how you see the world? Why people disagree over what is moral, heroic, loving, or holy? Why you team well with some people and conflict with others? Why two people sitting next to each other in the same church can read very different things in the same Bible? Why people disagree about politics and war? The answer is worldviews. Everyone holds a worldview of his or her own. Worldviews are like the glasses one wears to see the world—every “lens” shows you the world in its own way. And these lenses, since they shape how you see the world, influence how you react to situations around you and how you make decisions... Here’s an example. Not long ago I asked a large group of pastors what they would title a history book—if they wrote one—on the moral, religious, societal, and political story of the past two decades. Half of the pastors answered that they would give the history book titles like “Decline,” “Collapse,” or “Faith Under Attack.” The other half of the pastors provided titles like “Slow Progress.” Their responses showed me that—beyond mere optimism or pessimism—there were two worldviews at work in the room. These two worldviews served as these pastors’ lenses for interpreting all recent events, understanding the world around them, and providing their approaches to change the world. I call these two worldviews The Knight and The Gardener. ... Knights see themselves—and all people and things—as part of a great, cosmos-spanning war between the forces of divine good and demonic evil or instead, say, between enlightened reason and destructive ignorance. Knights believe the primary calling of good people is to undertake crusades—moral, spiritual, and political—to protect the innocent and defeat the forces of evil. Knights categorize people as allies or enemies, and see most situations as zero sum games. Any combative or competitive endeavor is a Knight’s endeavor. For religious Knights, regardless of faith perspective, God is the supreme divine authority whose order requires courageous, determined, moral champions. Christian Knights, for example, spread the Gospel to save people from the consequences of their sinful behavior, and seek out ways to eradicate immorality from the world. A Knight looking down on the world from a space capsule would see good, noble paladins fighting great, menacing dragons for control of the world. For Knights, the world—and the terrain of the individual human soul—is a battlefield, always at war. ... Gardeners see themselves—and all people and things—as part of the growth of a great, cosmos-spanning Garden, one that can flourish further if aided by well-meaning and inspired people. Gardeners believe the primary calling of good people is to cultivate the Garden through planting, good planning, the pursuit of transformative discovery, invention and innovation, and artistic revelation. Any constructive endeavor is a Gardener’s endeavor. For religious Gardeners, God is the creative force whose greatest attributes are imagination and creativity. Gardeners view themselves as imbued by the Creator with the divine creative spark and charged with growing the Garden beyond its current borders. Christian Gardeners, for example, spread the Gospel to restore broken people so they can rejoin the ongoing creation process, and to awaken others to their meaningful role in tending the Garden. A Gardener looking down on the world from a space capsule would see a great Garden of lush jungles, farms, the construction or rejuvenation of beautiful cities, and new opportunities in the now-barren places. And over the blue parts of the globe, the Gardener would see a shining silver rain fall silently into a swirling silver sea. For Gardeners, to paraphrase the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8, all of Creation is involved in one great act of giving birth.It's a simple concept, but it serves well for any of us who have to navigate or lead communities. Where do the challenges and conflict arise? This line of thinking may help you map that out and understand how best to communicate with the various people in your community.... conjecture tripp 2010-02-27T07:53:25-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/the_clouds_cove.html conjecture tripp 2010-02-26T18:22:51-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/officeless_past.html Sometimes I read about it online. Or I hear a story about something from a colleague about working in a coffee shop or...Whatever it is, it may be time to think seriously about the relevance of the pastor's study and the possibility of being officeless. With the promulgation of internet and cellular technology and their marriage in the "crackberry" or i-phone...and the ever-increasing need for an extroverted posture for most congregations, is it now a liability to have the pastor in his/her study all day long? I'm not certain. There's a balance that should be struck, of course, but there is something to the idea. I have a cell phone and a lap top computer. I can do the vast majority of my "office" work from anywhere. The only work I cannot do technologically is visit people and that takes me out of the office anyway. Now there can be benefits to the pastor's study. If the church building is used heavily, it may be beneficial for the pastor to be present in the building a certain portion of every day. Certainly a pastor can benefit from drawing a line between his/her work life and home life. A study can help achieve that. But a study is seldom used for pastoral care any longer. And in a very busy building, it may be hard for a pastor to find a place for study, prayer, and sermon preparation. A home office or some other location may be just the place for such work. I'm going to spend some more time working this out. What are your thoughts? other posts of note: The Pope is talking about the love of money. It ain't a good thing. There's a new book out that addresses the growing economic divide in America. The Boston Globe interviewed the authors. William Brosend wants you to know that there is no "I" in preach.... tripp 2010-02-26T07:48:49-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/some_days_1.html My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame. But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; ‘Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’ Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth* is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shrivelled;* I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life* from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued* me. I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;* in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me,* but heard when I* cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor* shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live for ever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.* For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. To him,* indeed, shall all who sleep in* the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.* Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and* proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.... hymns tripp 2010-02-25T17:54:17-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/i_surrender_all_1.html All to Jesus, I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus, I surrender; Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus, I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender; Now I feel the sacred flame. O the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name! I surrender all, I surrender all, All to Thee, my blessèd Savior, I surrender all.... hymns tripp 2010-02-24T09:24:09-06:00 http://www.anglobaptist.org/blog/archives/2010/02/an_uneasy_coven.html To every people the land is given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation's sweetest dreams of itself. ~ Leonard Cohen During Lent at Community Church the sermons will be about covenant. We'll ask questions. We'll share a little history. And, hopefully, we'll reacquaint ourselves with the covenant that is offered through Jesus Christ, which is, some say, the end of all covenants. But more on that later. This Sunday I'll preach about the inherent violence of the covenant. We are, in many ways, conquered by God. The literary style of the earliest covenants match those of the war treaties of the day. It's an interesting historical tidbit and it's spiritually challenging. Why do you need a war treaty with God? Were we, are we, at war with God? Perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye. To die to Christ may just mean to be conquered by him. I'm still working this out, but no wonder this is an uneasy covenant.... Wilmette tripp 2010-02-23T06:48:58-06:00