Asking Good Questions

Perhaps I am becoming obsessed with the notion of asking really good questions.  But as I engage with pastors and lay leaders in our 29 churches and fellowships across Alaska I see over and over again the wisdom in this simple practice.

Questions arise in a myriad of places in my life, but one of the most fertile soils where they bloom is scripture and spiritual reading.  I am part of the two-year Academy for Missional Wisdom along with 6 other Alaskan lay and clergy persons.  In my reading for this week I was motivated to ask this question.  What if we as Church did not define ourselves as Church?  Rather, what would the implications be if we allowed those in our mission field to tell us whether or not we are being Church?

Wow!  Talk about giving up ourselves!  I am not certain that we should allow our identity to be totally determined by what others outside the church think of us.  But it is an intriguing question because it can shake up our view of who we are and our mission in the world.  One of the gifts of my not being part of a single congregation is the ability to see a bigger picture.  It can become easy for us to view the world through the lens of the Church.  Would our vision be any different if we viewed the world through the lens of God?

I believe that our work is God's work, not ours.  The grace of God is surely active in and through Church.  But it is also active in the lives of people apart from the Church.

So what answers would you be willing to hear if you asked people in your community to define your church?

Grace and peace,
Dave

Equality for All People

PASTORAL LETTER TO THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCHES IN ALASKA
 
​Whenever a human community faces a difficult decision we, as a United Methodist faith community, can look to our Social Principles for guidance.  The citizens of Anchorage are facing one of these decisions in the April election.  A grassroots group collected signatures to have this initiative placed on the ballot.  The  “One Anchorage Initiative” asks Anchorage voters “shall the current Municipal Code sections providing legal protections against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, physical disability, and mental disability be amended to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity?” 
 
​This is what our United Methodist Social Principles say about this issue under the section, Equal Rights Regardless of Sexual Orientation.
 
Certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due all persons. We are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation. We see a clear issue of simple justice in protecting the
rightful claims where people have shared material resources, pensions, guardian relationships, mutual powers of attorney, and other such lawful claims typically
attendant to contractual relationships that involve shared contributions, responsibilities, and liabilities, and equal protection before the law. Moreover, we support efforts to stop violence and other forms of coercion against all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.
 
Regardless of our personal views our church is clear that discrimination is unacceptable as people of faith.  

Grace and peace,
Dave
 

Purpose Centered vs. Preference Driven Church

I am in Seattle today sitting at the PNW cabinet table listening to consultant, Rev. Doug Anderson's teaching. Leadership is often about asking the right questions. He is asking three questions. The first is this.

Why are 90% of United Methodist Churches either at a plateau or declining?

purpose centered_______________________________preference driven

Doug's response: All churches are on a continuum between purpose centered and preference driven. Churches who are strongly on the preference driven side will be in decline. Preference driven churches tend to be churches where a small group of people have gained the power to make most of the decisions. How does this happen?
1. Money
2. People who do many things in the church
3. Certain families have clout
4. Conflict - Power group often wins.  Others lose.
Churches in a regular cycle of conflict are often on the preference side of the continuum.

Difference between power and energy.  Energy is non-directional, unharnessed.  Power is directed energy that leads to actual work.  Preference driven churches may or may not have energy.  But purpose centered churches have power.

When speaking to SPRC's of Alaska churches receiving a new pastor this year I have said, "Don't ask your congregation what you want in a new pastor. Ask them what you need in a new pastor that will help you achieve your mission." Church really needs to be about mission and purpose, not our personal preferences.

More to come!

Dave

Venture in the Desert

I am in the desert. Spiritually, I am not doing well. At least in the sense that I am not feeling God's presence. I still pray in my prayer closet which is an empty space under the stairs in my home, but not as much. I still worship in our churches. I still give. I still try to do acts of love. But inside I am feeling the ache of emptiness.

And all of this is actually a good thing. In church culture we all too often create an environment where very real human experiences like loneliness, emotional distance from our spouses, and lack of connection with God cannot be shared. So we force a smile and pretend that everything is okay. Do you ever wonder how many broken lives in our churches lie just behind the smiles we see on Sunday mornings?

And then there is the pressure pastors feel to have it all together for their congregations. Surely, everyone expects their superintendent to be spiritually together! Well, I'm not! People still ask me how I like my job. I always hesitate because I am weighing which answer to give them. The one they likely want to hear, that it is all going very well. Or the one that is honest and doesn't lend itself very well to moving on to the next topic of conversation.

Ash Wednesday is a great time to acknowledge before my spiritual community that I am in the desert. As the Psalmist says, "It is a dry and weary place where there is no water." Lent is a time for all of us to come out of the shadows of a pretend spiritual life.

Last week I was holding my granddaughter, Isabella. Here is a child of God who does not yet know that she is loved by her grandpa. She even cries while in my arms, seemingly unhappy to experience my love. But there will come a day when Isabella will know in her heart that Grandpa loves her.

So it is that I hold onto the promise of God that one day I will feel the breath of God in my soul. Until then I walk by faith. I walk in the desert. And it is all good.

Grace and peace,
Dave

Generation Gaps

Last week at the Professional Church Worker's Retreat we heard generations expert, Amy Lynch, talk about how generational differences affect how we do church.  It was eye-opening for all of us as we began to understand, for example, why young people of the Millennial generation are not coming to our churches.  Rather than label a generation as being "lazy" or "old-fashioned" we learned to appreciate the forces that have shaped each generation.

I suggest our preachers consider holding a Generations Sunday where we all would address the topic in a sermon and find creative ways to get our generations to understand one another.  What if some churches invited Millennials who don't go to the church come and help us understand why they don't?  What if Baby Boomers talked about their optimism and understanding of endless youth?

The most important learning I received was that we need to eliminate the labeling and blaming across generations.  We need to appreciate the gifts of each as we strive to include all people in the work of God in the Church of Christ.

Grace and peace,
Dave

Reasons for the Ruts

Last Sunday I shared with Anchor Park UMC in a sermon the reasons why the distance between our railroad tracks is four feet, eight and one half inches.  The reason the rail distance is this odd number is because that's the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates.  Why did the English adopt that particular gauge?  Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge.  They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on a gauge of four feet, eight-and-one-half inches.  Why were wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads.  You see where this is going, don’t you?

So who built these old rutted roads?  The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots.  Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.

Someone has said that the seven last words of the church are: “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”  Perhaps you are the kind of person who dislikes this attitude.  Such an attitude stifles creativity and ingenuity.  It conjures images of stuffy people who wouldn’t change their routine if their lives depended on it.  We need to understand and appreciate our history so we can understand the ruts that keep us on a certain road. 

But we also need to step out of the old ruts so we can forge a new path, one that will put us in touch with people where they are.  We need to be on a path that stretches and challenges us and moves us out of our comfort zones.  We need to be on a path where the Spirit of God guides us, not the old ruts!  

Old ruts.  It can feel comfortable to know where we going, or rather, where we are NOT going.  In this age of change the Church needs to cultivate a culture of experimentation.  Try new things.  Take some risks.  The Church can not afford to be on the tail end of a cultural shift.  We need to be at the forefront.  We need to get our wagons out of the ruts!

Grace and peace,

Dave

Imagine No Malaria

While at jurisdictional meetings in San Diego this week the western superintendents and bishops gathered to hear a presentation by Bishop Tom Bickerton about the next phase in our goal to elliminate malaria from the face of the earth. It is called IMAGINE NO MALARIA. You may remember our previous campaign called NOTHING BUT NET, which by the way is still active. This next phase is to raise $75 million.

Here's my question. Why don't we as the Alaska conference choose this as our missional emphasis for next year?

This is from their web site: So, how will we do it? How will we eliminate deaths from a disease that has killed so many millions of people for thousands of years? Imagine No Malaria helps us take the next step in this fight.

Think of it as Nets Plus. We continue to support Nothing But Nets, because bed nets are an effective tool against the disease. But, we’re doing more.

First and foremost, we work in full partnership with communities in Africa. Empowering people to be part of the solution. Providing the tools needed so they can fight malaria.
So here’s the plan: we’re gonna put 160 years of know-how and experience in Africa to work against malaria. This comprehensive approach is divided into four main parts:

Prevention: It’s about improving the ways people fight the disease locally.  Using bed nets. Access to diagnostic tests and medicine. Draining standing water. Improving sanitation.  Every person can take steps to prevent malaria deaths, from protective measures to taking swift action when malaria symptoms begin.Treatment: Improving infrastructure. There are literally hundreds of churches, schools, hospitals and clinics operated by The United Methodist Church in Africa, but what good are they if medicines to treat malaria aren’t available?  We’ll make sure these facilities have the diagnostic tests and treatment needed to save lives.Education: It’s about outreach to those who need it most. Last year alone, we trained thousands of local people in African communities to teach their communities about avoiding malaria. In Sierra Leone, these workers went door-to-door to deliver bed nets, install them in homes and teach folks how to properly use and care for the nets.Communications: And finally, your support helps upgrade communications networks throughout the continent. Building new radio stations and providing hand-crank and solar-powered radios will ensure we are reaching great numbers of people with life-saving information about malaria.
What makes us so sure? We are putting in place a system of accountability. By establishing health boards in Africa, these groups will be held responsible for stewardship of your donation and results, putting funds to work with a plan that creates malaria programs that truly serve the needs of their local communities. Once established and trained, these boards will be eligible to receive a lot more funding from our partners, like The Global Fund, to Fight Malaria.

UM's came through with amazing support of Nothing But Nets. Let's gather our energy and resources to run this next leg!

Grace Always,
Dave