Have you ever desired something but decided to simply be with that desire without fulfilling it? Sometimes I hear my children say, "I'm hungry." And sometimes I say to them, "It's okay for you to be hungry." It's not the answer they want to hear. They assume, as do most kids, that we are not meant to be with our hunger. Hunger is a desire that should be fulfilled immediately. Instant gratification.
Love is a desire we all have within our hearts. One of the reasons so many of us do not have as much love in our lives as we want is because we act on our desire for love inappropriately. We become attached and addicted to people, things, and ideas. We are so interested in fulfilling that desire that we fail to simply be with our desire for awhile.
It is in "being with our desire for love" that we come to receive the gift of love. We wait for it and become ready to receive it when it arrives. Love is a gift that can only be received.
Lent is approaching. It is a good time to ponder what we want from God, from life. Instead of framing it as a time to give up something. What if we tried to spend some time with our desires without fulfilling them?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Is asking for help good or bad?
I have a tendency not to ask for help when I need it. I suspect you may have this trait as well. The thing is that there have been times when it worked and other times when it did not. Once I needed some help moving a new 200 lb hot tub to the back yard. Did I wait for help? No way. I lifted it up on its side and stuffed a piece of cardboard under and slid it. This resulted in a big gouge in the plastic side!
On another occasion I needed to lift my aluminum teardrop camper off its base. I knew I needed help but instead moved forward. With a lot of thinking and planning I was able to accomplish my task. I remember standing back and feeling pretty good about myself.
So we have this double message in our world today. Be independent, self-reliant. At the same time recognize that you need others for your work, your family, your spiritual life.
I want to say that there needs to be a balance between these two positions. Sometimes we need to use our own God-given abilities to solve problems. And there are times when we need to ask God and others for help. As we move into the Lenten season may we discover that balance that makes sense for us.
On another occasion I needed to lift my aluminum teardrop camper off its base. I knew I needed help but instead moved forward. With a lot of thinking and planning I was able to accomplish my task. I remember standing back and feeling pretty good about myself.
So we have this double message in our world today. Be independent, self-reliant. At the same time recognize that you need others for your work, your family, your spiritual life.
I want to say that there needs to be a balance between these two positions. Sometimes we need to use our own God-given abilities to solve problems. And there are times when we need to ask God and others for help. As we move into the Lenten season may we discover that balance that makes sense for us.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
How to apologize: I'm sorry or my bad?
Yesterday in worship I was talking about how our culture has replaced "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?" with "My bad." I wasn't feeling good about this. During a talkback a teenage guy disagreed with me and said that "My bad" carries with it all the meaning of "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?" I responded with, "I guess some translation is needed at that point."
Later that night we talked again in the parking lot about how language shifts. At one point "charity" got replaced with "love." Are we in the midst of a language shift where "I'm sorry" will be replaced with "My bad?" My teenage friend did admit that youth like to change things just "to be weird."
So I am trying to be open to this shift but something in me is resisting big time. What do you think?
Dave
Later that night we talked again in the parking lot about how language shifts. At one point "charity" got replaced with "love." Are we in the midst of a language shift where "I'm sorry" will be replaced with "My bad?" My teenage friend did admit that youth like to change things just "to be weird."
So I am trying to be open to this shift but something in me is resisting big time. What do you think?
Dave
Friday, July 11, 2008
Church softball and Christian community
I don’t know how many small groups we have at St. John but they are the key to our mission. I want to tell you about two of them. We have two softball teams that do more than just play softball. The Thursday night team on which I play is a wonderful example of how we are building spiritual community on the softball field.
First of all we really enjoy being together. Good natured teasing is a big part of the fun. Secondly, leadership makes a difference. Our coach, Nick Brawner, gets it. It’s not just about softball. It’s about building Christian community. Nick not only performs the administrative duties well but he keeps us connected with each other’s concerns and joys. And it’s not like he does it all. We share leadership. After each game we gather for a wrap up and to share joys and concerns. One of our member’s father passed away recently. Another shared a concern about a friend with cancer. And then right there with all kinds of people around we hold hands and pray. Brent Goodrum has been a leader in this regard.
I don’t know if any of this has much to do with the fact that we are undefeated this season. But I feel compelled to risk sinful pride to tell you that we nearly lost our first game last night. With a tie game we went to extra innings. It was the bottom of the inning. Sarah was on second. Jeremy on first. Oh no! Two of our best hitters got out. The next batter stepped up to the plate. Will he be the goat or the hero? Strike one. Ball one. He knew exactly where he wanted to hit. A swing and a drive to right center field. Sarah speeds to the plate and St. John wins!
Your pastor and humble hero.
First of all we really enjoy being together. Good natured teasing is a big part of the fun. Secondly, leadership makes a difference. Our coach, Nick Brawner, gets it. It’s not just about softball. It’s about building Christian community. Nick not only performs the administrative duties well but he keeps us connected with each other’s concerns and joys. And it’s not like he does it all. We share leadership. After each game we gather for a wrap up and to share joys and concerns. One of our member’s father passed away recently. Another shared a concern about a friend with cancer. And then right there with all kinds of people around we hold hands and pray. Brent Goodrum has been a leader in this regard.
I don’t know if any of this has much to do with the fact that we are undefeated this season. But I feel compelled to risk sinful pride to tell you that we nearly lost our first game last night. With a tie game we went to extra innings. It was the bottom of the inning. Sarah was on second. Jeremy on first. Oh no! Two of our best hitters got out. The next batter stepped up to the plate. Will he be the goat or the hero? Strike one. Ball one. He knew exactly where he wanted to hit. A swing and a drive to right center field. Sarah speeds to the plate and St. John wins!
Your pastor and humble hero.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Surprise Visitor in Worship
It's wierd. Some of us at St. John have been talking about how to get a visitor to come anonymously to our church and give us feedback on how we do to welcome others. Then we received the visit of Chris Thompson, who writes a blog for the Anchorage Daily News about visiting churches! Chris visited our church on April 20, 2008. We couldn't be more pleased with the results of his visit. If you want to read his review go to http://community.adn.com/adn/node/123474
Peace,
Dave
Peace,
Dave
Monday, May 12, 2008
Prevention
Health care experts talk about prevention of disease and injuries as the most cost-effective way to deal with health problems. This is also true in the church. I believe much United Methodist church conflict is a result of pastors NOT teaching their churches about our UM connection and polity. Bishop Judy Craig of West Ohio once told her clergy, "You are not telling your people what you know."
Last Sunday at St. John UMC we experienced a multimedia presentation of what happened at General Conference. It wasn't all good but people came away feeling inspired about being a part of our UM connection. With so many new members coming from other religious traditions it is imperative that we constantly share our UM history and how we do church together. I am amazed when lay people are surprised and angry when a bishop moves their pastor to a new church. Why aren't they told that pastors are ordained to an itinerant ministry and that bishops are the ones authorized to do this?
It seems to me that if we are living according to certain rules as a denomination then we all need to be reminding each other how they work. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Dave
Last Sunday at St. John UMC we experienced a multimedia presentation of what happened at General Conference. It wasn't all good but people came away feeling inspired about being a part of our UM connection. With so many new members coming from other religious traditions it is imperative that we constantly share our UM history and how we do church together. I am amazed when lay people are surprised and angry when a bishop moves their pastor to a new church. Why aren't they told that pastors are ordained to an itinerant ministry and that bishops are the ones authorized to do this?
It seems to me that if we are living according to certain rules as a denomination then we all need to be reminding each other how they work. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Dave
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