pnwumc annual conference reflections

This year's Annual Conference was a welcome surprise to me. After ten difficult annual conferences in the Pacific Northwest, including my ordination years, this year was different and surprising.

Annual Conference for the Pacific Northwest ended on Saturday after five days of holy conferencing. While I rarely, if ever, have referred to my experience of Annual Conference in this way, this year the mood of the conference felt like the way "church" should feel. There were no major conflicts on the floor of plenary, although some committees did experience acrimonious debate. The Discipleship Committee, on which I served as Vice-Chair, felt conciliatory in every way. Even when those "issues" which tend to divide were raised, our differences were aired with civility.

The most interesting time at the conference for me did not transpire during legislative committee or during debate on the floor. Rather, the moments that we spent as a conference in worship, celebrating our ministries, and looking to our future were much, much more meaningful. Worship this year was rich. As a pastor, I don't typically get to worship in the way that best nurtures my soul. Annual Conference offers many opportunities to receive the Word and Sacrament - very humbling. We had wonderful worship experiences last week, each one drawing us to the table of the Lord. The bishop's awards were given to an impressive group of people who have performed incredible ministry for Jesus Christ. The Ruth Award, given by clergywomen to a woman in ministry - lay or clergy each year - was a delight. The Nothing But Nets basketball game between the "Bishop's Bunch" and the "Youthful Yellows" was not only entertaining but spiritual. We raised over $5,000 (and only broke two bones on the old people's team!). Other offerings were no less important. For hurricane relief, we raised over $75,000! We collected old cell phones, used books, and change for Hope for the Children of Africa. We shared experiences of our mission trips and welcomed visiting speakers in our midst. And, of course, we commissioned and ordained those who have decided to offer their lives to the service of Jesus through the church. The bishop ordained and we welcomed into full membership six elders and two deacons. Additionally, we accepted one elder into full membership from another denomination, and three people were commissioned in preparation for Order of Elder. We celebrated the whole church. And this year like all years, I really enjoyed time spent with friends I don't get to see the rest of the year.

Of all of the things that happened, though, the election of our delegation to General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference was the most interesting and surprising. Our lay representation includes three young adults...awesome! Our clergy elected a surprising slate...also awesome. The first lay person elected was Amory Peck, with overwhelming support. She is a perfect witness for this annual conference in the general church. She was followed by Gail Grossman, Ryan Russell (young adult),
Peter Masundire, Mary Simpson-Stanton (young adult), and Barbara Dadd Shaffer. Lay reserves are Micah Coleman Campbell (young adult), Katherine Cosner, and Darren Wertz. The first clergy elected was Jin Ming Ma. What a wonderful surprise!! As is the case in many conferences, we tend to elect people who work in the conference office - people who have been around for ages and ages. Jin Ming Ma fits neither of those bills. She will be a wonderful voice for us at General Conference. She was followed by David Valera, Elaine Stanovsky, Craig Parrish, Bruce Smith (under forty years old), and Sharon Moe. Clergy reserves are Bonnie Chandler-Warren, Daniel Foster, and Crystal Sygeel (under forty years old). Our delegation is diverse in age and in gender as well as theologically, ethnically, and experientially. In a conference that sends only three voting members to GC, we have a difficult task to let the Holy Spirit move us into inclusivity, but this year we did it.

For the first time I had an unequivocally great time at Annual Conference. I hope the spirit that was alive in Tacoma last week will manifest in Texas next year, bringing the excitement and openness to new things that we experienced to the whole church.

For more details on what happened last week, go here.

best children's book goes video!

I've been a fan of the book "Becoming Me: A Story of Creation" for years. Now the author, Martin Boroson, has animated his book, using music by Bobby McFerrin and the stunning artwork by Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright. You can download a hi-res version for a small fee of $1.99 for ipod/mp3 or $2.99 for projection. This is one of my favorite books of all time, so check it out! For more on the author, head on over to his website.

sopranos: nothing's neat with art

Last night's finale of "The Sopranos" will disappoint many, confuse more, and delight the few. I began as one of the "more" and have been transformed into one of the "few." Refusing to buy in to mob fans' cries for blood, sentimentalists' pleas for a happy ending, and our national desire to have things wrapped in neat bows and tucked neatly away, David Chase, the show's creator who both wrote and directed the finale, cut to black in the midst of a scene filled with the mundane and dripping with tension. Wonderful!

Chase is known for saying that art should pose questions and defy expectations. He did both last night. Despite the gore, the violence, the naked women, the gratuitous sex, the language, and the morally pernicious behavior of its anti-hero, the Sopranos had me hooked. My loyalty only slightly waned in the over-long hiatus periods and haggles over contracts. What drew me and kept me hooked? This was art...undeniably. Its hyperbolic imagery laid to bare the American soul, albeit in exaggerated style. The show revealed the ironic relationship that many have between unethical public behavior and devotion to one's nuclear family, the disparities between what we feel (at least say we feel) and our unscrupulous acts, and our resistance to change despite our hearts longing for deep transformation. Thank God everyone isn't a sociopath like Tony Soprano, but we are quite often like Carmella, willing to deny the reality that is right before us because life's payoff is too seductive. It's Chase's genius that he could create characters so unlike us and yet so like us.

The show's art was evident in the last scene. As the tension mounted, we expected any one of several characters to kill Tony. The alternating tight shots and wide scenes kept us on the edge of our seat. Meadow's terrible parking drove my blood pressure up. And, just after a suspicious character heads to the bathroom and presumably Meadow's entrance into the diner jingles the bell, the scene cuts to black. I couldn't believe my eyes..."Where's the remote?!?" I was left, as was everyone, asking...Did the Soprano family have a mundane dinner discussing mundane things? Did we experience as Tony did his head being blown off from behind by bathroom guy? Did we just get a taste of how Tony feels every time he goes out in public, anxiety ridden and on edge? We aren't given answers. We are invited into the experience...and that's art, despite the naysayers all over the Internet crying foul who wanted this tied up in a bow. No bows with David Chase.

But why am I writing about this on my religion blog? Could anything have been less soulful than "The Sopranos"? I think the internal journeys of each character and the arc of the show as a whole contain great soul. I also think that this show has shown us the hypocrisy that exists in our culture. Just watch AJ's "concern" for the world as his dad dumps asbestos into wetlands, Meadow's concern for Italian-Americans because her dad's been hauled off by the FBI, Carmella's "moral high ground" while benefiting from Tony's lifestyle. And in the midst of it all, there are real and intimate struggles for wholeness by people who just can't see their way out of the life in which they live. "The Sopranos" was a great show, but more than that it was great art, inviting us into the lives of the North New Jersey mob, the home of Tony and Carmella Soprano, and into the moral quagmire of the soul.

"altarnately" in the world

In her latest article in the Christian Century, Barbara Brown Taylor responds to the many letters that she has received since publishing her book "Leaving Church." She says that as far as her life of faith is concerned, the world has offered her a place to experience life in wonderful and trying ways; it is where her "transformation has taken place." She also says that the church is what has given her the eyes to see and the words to speak. Through the church she is able to mediate her experiences in the world. It seems that more and more I hear people talking about their desire to live fully in the world. There is a deep thirst that many people have to live in the present, alive to the hurts and pains and engrossed in the wonder of this world. And yet they also desire to experience this world in an alternate way, not restricted by the normatives that have been created by society and tradition. There are people seeking a holy existence, an "altarnate" life.

The renewed emphasis on the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are also reaching out to quench the thirst for holy encounters. People my age (30s) and younger are coming to the font and to the cup hopeful of a direct encounter with God and God's kin-dom. I, and people like me, want to put on Christ and walk in the world with God's eyes and with God's heart. Our sacraments offer us objects to reach out and touch and taste that invite us into this life.

We can see this most exemplified in the rise of "new monasticism." New monasticism invites committed individuals to live in intentional Christian community. While most of us aren't cut out to wade into the depths of such intentional life, there is a seriousness involved in our baptism that calls us all to live intentionally in the world as witnesses of God's love and grace, upholding one another in holy community, and striving to live in the midst of God's kin-dom while walking through the kingdoms of our making. One of the things that I would love for all who darken the doors of the church I serve to learn is that all of us are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, invited into the full embrace of God and commissioned to share God's love wastefully in the world. This is the call of intentional Christian life.

One of the complaints that I hear from congregants is that the church isn't providing a serious forum for exploring what it might be to live alternately in the world - or altarnately, as I am interpreting it. The church, in its self-consuming focus on itself (numbers, finances, attendance, programs, mediating conflict) often loses sight of being the means to an end, a way to intentional living, a place for nurture, questions, and challenge. I'm glad that Barbara Brown Taylor has found church meaningful in her quest to live altarnately in the world, but too many people are finding it insufficient. However, I hope that instead of abandoning our churches that we challenge them to live into their purpose to offer us God's kin-dom. Church should be a place that nurtures us along our way, a community of support and challenge for spiritual pilgrims, the one place where altarnate life is held before us constantly.

taking down a post...an act of repentance

The last post that I put on this blog concerned the IRD ( the Institute on Religion and Democracy) and what I consider its less than straight forward agenda regarding the United Methodist Church. I can't tell you how many people read that post...almost eight times the number of folks who read other posts on this blog. Clearly people hold very strong opinions and beliefs about the soul and character of The United Methodist Church as well as the work of the IRD. I have taken that post down because I believe that the comments to it distract from the overall tenor of this blog.

When I first began this little project, it was with the intention of creating a place for people who are progressive and Christian as well as for people who are searching for spiritual nurture but unsure about church. I hoped to carve out a safe place for people (primarily those who attend the church that I serve) to explore spirituality and the core of progressive Christianity and the possibilities of progressive church. By and large I have stuck to that goal. Every now and then, however, I have found that I felt called to respond to an event or an article that took me away from my primary goal. The post about the IRD was one such post. I stand by my opinion that the IRD is not an organization concerned with the health and vitality of the UMC. However, I have taken down the post so that one post doesn't become the sum of all of the other posts.

For more information about the IRD, check out its website.

For more outside understandings of the IRD, check out the book United Methodism at Risk: A Wake Up Call.

For more information from a conservative United Methodist opposed to the work of the IRD, see "Renewal or Ruin? The Institute on Religion and Democracy's Attack on United Methodism".

The United Methodist Church is a wonderful denomination that is diverse in theological understanding and liturgical practice. It is my family's church and the church of my ancestors. It has shaped me and made me what I am. In this church, I see a great possibility for God's vision to be made real on earth. I realize that as a progressive Christian that I am a minority voice in this church. I also claim nothing short of being progressive; I do indeed want change in the church - change that I believe brings us closer to God's kin-dom, a belief born from reason, tradition, experience, and scripture. I also know that many look at me not only as heterodox but apostate. All I can say to them is that I read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and I have come to a different place in understanding a great many things.

And now we can return to the real intent of this blog...to create a safe space for those questioning and searching for a progressive Christianity that nurtures their souls and speaks to their minds. I apologize to my regular readers who felt that the post was a departure from what I had promised to write and who thought that many of the responses diminished the "safe" nature of this blog. I will add, though, that authentic Christianity takes us into debates, conversations, and struggles that are unsafe because the gospel itself is risky and dangerous. It calls us to be present in the midst of the world that wants to deny the change it demands. It calls us to witness regardless of risk. And it calls us into solidarity with those who are the most ridiculed and defiled. Sometimes who we are will bring us into difficult places. In many ways that is the invitation of the gospel. So, while I've taken down the post in order to restore a certain sensibility, I also want to note that we as a people must be willing to step into the hard places to witness and proclaim the gospel that shapes us even in the face of risk and hardship.

recovering the radicality of christianity

This year marks the tenth anniversary of my ordination. It has taken all this time for me to finally come to a few pretty basic conclusions about ministry in the local church.

1. There is usually a very big difference between what a pastor is saying or thinks she is saying and what the congregation hears.

2. Perception is more important than reality.

3. Congregations tend to filter the radical message of the gospel. They don't hear the radicality; they hear the gospel as supporting evidence for already held beliefs. The message is manipulated by our ears and our brains to conform to our expectations.

4. When people hear a pastor say the gospel is political, they hear the pastor say, "The gospel belongs to my partisan political viewpoint." We need to be much clearer in communicating that "politics" and "partisan politics" are very different concepts. And, that the gospel in 100% political in nature.

5. People are hungry for the gospel. We just have to find a better way to make it real.

I come to these conclusions after years of teaching courses on the politics of Jesus (which are kingdom of God politics) only to watch congregation members get mired in conflict over whether Jesus was a liberal or a conservative. I have watched my congregations reflect back to me their experience of a sermon, a stewardship drive, or a teaching that is markedly different, even antithetical, to what was intended. I also sit in holy conversation with members, constituents, and visitors and listen to them tell me about their deep hunger for meaning and for a sense of power in an overwhelming world.

There is a disconnect happening in our churches that I believe begins with a fundamental misunderstanding of what church is and what the gospel message is. Church is a community that enters into both the belief and the practice of God's kin-dom. We do so even while this world exists and tries to deny our foolish endeavor. Church is a community that practices an alternate way of life even while living in the cities, neighborhoods, and even families that are based on a different set of principles and values. The gospel is an invitation into this life. It is an invitation to believe in love and grace in a world of hate and vengeance. It is an invitation into the economics of abundance and the politics of radical hospitality.

As followers of Christ, we are asked to step outside of the preconceived notions of our world and to live in an alternate world, in an alternate way. In this alternate way of life the resurrection is not a superstition, it is a radical invitation to life in the midst of death. Birth narratives are not fairy tales, they are stories of meaning saying to us that life is pulled from barren places as well as from virginal places. Miracles show us that God's power stands outside of the power of the state which proscribes and prescribes.

We need to recover the radicality of the gospel and re-infuse Christianity with it. Until our perceptions of the church change, our understanding of politics is transformed, and we become ready to be changed by the gospel rather than changing it to meet our needs, we will continue to struggle in a futile battle to domesticate the wild and radical message of God. And the hungry will not be fed.

I wonder what the next ten years will bring.

abc has lost its freakin' mind! kirk cameron, really???

A peeve of mine is that mainstream media refuse to cover religion in a meaningful and informed way. My prejudice against mainstream media grows when things like ABC's recent Nightline sinks the conversation to yet a new low. Nightline squared two atheists up against Kirk Cameron (yes, Left Behind - Growing Pains - Kirk Cameron) and Ray Comfort. This show did nothing more than give exposure to a particular kind of conservatism and belittle Christianity as a whole.

It's clear that Kirk Cameron has found some kind of meaning and purpose in his life since his conversion as a teenager. It was his conversion to evangelical Christianity that was a major part in the dissolution of his television show. However, the media continue to turn to voices like his as representative ones for the entire Christian community, leaving out the millions upon millions of voices of people of faith who can hold science and religion together, faith and reason together. Why don't media turn to the bishops of our great Protestant faiths or the pastors and the laity of congregations that have been engaged in ministry for hundreds of years to represent Christian ideals? Where is Bishop Janice Huie of my denomination when national media want a religious comment on a situation, theological concept, or crisis? Why don't the media invite Walter Brueggemann onto their television shows? Where are the great professors of our theological institutions? Where are the voices of preachers like Barbara Brown Taylor or James Forbes?

Mainline denominations in general and progressive Christians in particular are silenced by the media who turn to the most salacious voices in our communities for the exploitation of ratings. I've been heartened of late with the Human Resource Coalition's addition of faith-based resources on their website along with Step It Up's inclusion of faith communities in its work. Additionally, Jim Wallis has given some attention to progressive voices in his efforts as well. Even so, there is a lot of work that we need to do to make our voices heard.

There are many mainline and progressive churches and individuals of faith who are touched by the Holy Spirit. We believe earnestly in a God of love and justice. We worship this God with our whole hearts and with the entirety of our lives. We offer God all that we have and all that we are. But we have become too quiet and too passive. The gospel of the Christ we know and follow is worth sharing. It is worth us getting upset over the hi-jacking of our faith and the media that promote this theft.

ABC has lost its freakin' mind with this latest step into "religious conversation." I hope it finds sanity someday and invites the leaders and voices from mainline and progressive Churches. What a great day that would be!

Update: Just FYI, the articles on the ABC website that round out this issue for them include: "Searching for a Manly Jesus," "Rick Warren: Purpose Driven Strife," "Speaking in Tongues: Word of the Lord," "The Porn Pastors: XXXChurch.com," "I Don't Want My MTv," "Joel Osteen: Pastor of Prosperity," "Jerry Falwell: Fire and Brimstone" and much more. Gross.

update on spidey and forgiveness

It seems that searches for information about Spidey and forgiveness are quite the rage these days. I am having more hits than usual on this blog from people interested in exploring the theme and the movie. Sam Raimi is no stranger to exploring spiritual themes in his movies. It shouldn't be a surprise that he does it this time. What is interesting, though, is that he doesn't succumb to the temptation in Hollyobvious by hitting us over the head with overblown metaphors and imagery. Instead, the characters' need to seek and offer forgiveness is integrated throughout the storyline. Peter is Everyman, unlike Superman who is a Christ figure. Peter is just like you and me - flawed, timid, and searching. His path is neither straight nor fated. What happens in his life results from the choices that he makes - just like you and me. And the choices that he makes have repercussions for those around him. The same is true for the other characters in Spiderman 3. The formation of "Sandman" is the result of bad circumstances and worse choices. Marko Flint, driven by a need to take care of his child, commits a crime that culminates in the death of Peter's beloved uncle. Escaped from prison, he makes a series of even poorer choices that lead him into a situation in which he is transformed into the supervillain Sandman. Eddie Brock, driven by his ambition, chooses himself over others time and again until the same alien goo that turns Spidey black infects him, making Venom. Peter, Marko, and Eddie need forgiveness for the things that they have done and for the decisions that they have made. Peter's good friend Harry turned Goblin Jr. is driven by his need to avenge his father's death, which he attributes to Spiderman. And last, there is Mary Jane. She is hurt by the blackness growing inside of Peter and wounded by the hate growing inside of Harry. The betrayal that she experiences reminds her of her years growing up with an alcoholic father. Sam Raimi could have overdone any of these situations, but he doesn't. Instead, the superhero and his supervillains are humanized. They are wounded characters seeking a way back to wholeness. Some find this path and others don't. I'm excited to see so many people searching for information about the theme of forgiveness in this movie. Perhpas it has touched a nerve in people reminding us that we all need to extend a little forgiveness and we might even need to ask for it as well.

forgiveness looms large in spiderman 3

I saw Spiderman 3 today and was struck by importance of the theme of forgiveness. Throughout the movie, revenge and brokenness are challenged by the possibility of forgiveness.

Peter Parker's story picks up with life going very well for him and Mary Jane. New York loves Spidey. Peter Parker is doing well in school. And Mary Jane has a new play on Broadway. Of course this utopia can't hold together. Beginning with Peter's growing hubris, a string of events leads Peter into an inner struggle with revenge and ego. Mary Jane slides into a place of deep pain, recalling the feelings of loneliness she experienced in her childhood home and finding them lived out in her relationship with Peter. And Harry has to reach into the depth of grief while undergoing a difficult process to learn who he really is and what he's made of. Other characters also struggle with their limitations, from JJ Jameson's heart problems to the villains' (Marko Flint/Sandman and Eddie Brock/Venom) ambition and feelings of powerlessness. All of the characters in Spiderman 3 are seeking paths to forgiveness - for themselves and for others. And, we are shown just how difficult it can be to ask for it and to offer it. In a moment of great anger, Peter Parker tells Eddie Brock (soon to become Venom), "If you're looking for forgiveness, get religion" (or something close to that). Both Eddie and Peter run to a church in the moments of the deepest anguish. Not knowing what else to do, they go to the symbolic place of forgiveness.

What a gift it would be if our churches really were places of forgiveness, where people wounded by their pursuit of it (whether to give or receive it) could come and find something freeing for their souls. We live in a world that could benefit in exploring and rediscovering the power of forgiveness.

From a cinematic perspective, Spidey 3 is big. It is an epic. The effects are amazing. From a narrative perspective, it is a bit too long and convoluted. The story has too many characters and feels a bit choppy at times. But from a theological perspective, it hits the mark.

jon stewart with bill moyers

Here is the interview between Bill Moyers and Jon Stewart. Excellent!

church and the common experience

Once upon a time when Christendom ruled America, a pastor could stand in the pulpit and assume all kinds of things about his (and I mean "his") congregation. More likely than not they had been born into the parish (at least into a parish somewhere), understood basic concepts of Christianity and congregational life, and lived in or near the neighborhood. That is not the case anymore. This is one of the biggest challenges of ministry for me.

I read articles and books written by "emerging church" leaders and I realize how their approach to ministry and what they do in ministry just will not work in the church that I serve. When I look at websites that "appeal" to people my age and younger I see graphics and pop culture references that would fall short of hitting any mark in a group of people diverse in age and life experience. Even my own life experiences are far afield from the people I serve. I love LOST; no one in my church seems to watch it. I love movies; no one in my church is going to see Hot Fuzz (I can pretty much guarantee it!). And it's not just an age thing, either. The "younger" adults in church have made life choices that take them far away from the plugged-in and hyped-up world of many others their age. They have chosen to cut the cable, lose the high speed internet, have children, and go hiking. Most folks in worship have no clue what's happening liturgically, have no personal experience in Bible study, and don't know what church life can be. They don't know an ambo from a pulpit, and they don't care. In a church like this, where is the common denominator? Where is the common experience?

This question about common experience came up in Bible study the other night, actually. And it was great to listen to a discussion about it. It reminded me that the early church also struggled with a similar issue. As the church expanded to include non-Jews, the common experience of tribe, nation, culture, and tradition was lost. The early church found/created a new common experience through breaking bread and the sacrament of baptism. They created common experience by pooling their wealth. The created common experience in worship and in life shared together. It had to be an intentional act. I wonder what we'd have to do to get our churches to take the quest for common experience in Christ seriously. Every time we break bread in Holy Communion, we enter an alternate universe, one where God's kin-dom has already come. When we make promises in the baptism covenant, we promise to share our lives with one another. These are radical acts that call us to step beyond the confines of our individual experiences and into something more - much more.

Christianity is a gateway - not into "common" experience but into a shared "uncommon" experience. It seems that if we could take this seriously then things like pop culture references, vernacular, and personal likes and dislikes would fall by the wayside. Or, are these things so important that they will indelibly mark how we enter into God's kin-dom? I don't know. What I do know is that a church that includes diversity in culture, age, economics, and background has a hard way to go in even finding common language to explore the Divine as a community.

"making disciples of jesus christ..."

By and large I don't like the United Methodist mission statement to "make disciples of Jesus Christ." I don't know how to "make" a disciple. As a pastor, I might nurture a disciple, encourage a disciple, or witness for discipleship in my own life, but I don't know how to "make" one. It seems coercive. However, it is the mission statement that we have and I preached on it today (omitting my qualms with the lingo). I don't typically post my sermons. Preaching is a relational experience; reading them does them a disservice. (Perhaps I'll write on that another time.) But, for some reason, I thought that I would post today's sermon on mission...

Our Mission is...
Acts 9:36-43
April 29, 2007, Easter 4C

The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, which orders the lives of United Methodists and our institutions, says that our mission is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” It goes on to say, “Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making can occur.” Yet local congregations spend inordinate amounts of time talking about and trying to discern their purpose. Our denomination takes its purpose from the Great Commission in Matthew where Jesus sends the apostles on their disciple-making mission. And local churches share in that ancient mission. At the very core of our existence is the growing of disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That is our purpose pure and simple.

The mission of the emerging church had already begun when Peter travels to Joppa to find Dorcas. In this story we find the mission of the church exemplified in the individuals Peter and Dorcas. Dorcas, probably a deaconess in an early Christian community, embodies good works and mercy. She has focused her life’s work on caring for widows, one of the most vulnerable populations of her day. After an illness, she tragically dies leaving those in her care in an extremely vulnerable position. There they are, gathered around her, weeping and showing the fabrics that Dorcas had made for and with them. Dorcas is the work of the church alive in world, transforming people’s lives in real and tangible ways. Her very name tells us about her love of life, the vitality of her spirit – Dorcas means “gazelle.” In this deaconess, there is a gazelle, bounding through life spreading God’s love concretely in life transforming ways. Peter comes to her; Peter the “rock,” Peter the head of the emerging church. He is fast becoming the leader of the emerging church in all locations. Dorcas is the leader and life of the church in her one location. Peter is becoming the head of the church universal. Together they are making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This resurrection story exists in a line of narratives that tell us something about God’s power to transform our world. Acts uses imagery and words reminiscent of the raising of Jairus’ twelve year old daughter in Mark 5. Jesus is summoned to Jairus’ house. He takes Peter, James and John with him. And in the midst of the grief that fills the room, Jesus takes the dead girl by the hand and says, “Little girl, get up.” The work done through Peter in the book of Acts strongly recalls God’s work through Jesus. Peter is Jesus’ heir. And such stories of God’s action of bringing life from the dead don’t originate in the New Testatment. In 1 Kings, Elijah raises the son of the widow, beseeching God to let life return to the child. In the midst of the sorrow that fills not only the room but also Elijah’s heart, he stretches himself over the child and lays upon him and life returns (1 Kings 17:17-24). Later in 2 Kings, Elijah’s protégé Elisha faces the same situation. Called to a house where a little boys has died, Elisha goes it, “shut(s) the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes” (2 Kings 4:42-47). God’s power is not containable by anything, not even death, and our mission as the church is to be heirs of this tradition by letting this power loose on the world through our touch, our breath, our presence so that life may return to those dead places of our world.

In Dorcas we find the hard work of being Christ’s presence and witness to a particular community day in and day out. Her service over a long period of time made life altering transformation for the women she tended. In Peter we find the challenge of bringing God’s power to many people in many different places. Peter had become a leader of leaders, moving from place to place. He, as the “rock”, became Jesus’ heir, as we see in his participation of raising Dorcas from the dead. In them, in their touch, we find the life of the early church. The church was not and is not only an institution. Rather, the church, when it is faithful in its mission, transforms people’s lives. First, the lives of those gathered in wonder and worship reach out and touch the Holy. Once our hearts have been touched by the power of the living God, then we extend ourselves as vessels of God to the world.

This week The United Methodist Church received a gift that could help us bring transformation into this world. American Idol (a show that I just can’t bring myself to watch) raised over $60 million this past week in a fundraiser for eight different organizations benefiting both The US and Africa. They raised over $60 million. A United Methodist mission was one of the eight. Nothing But Nets is a joint effort of our denomination, the United Nations Foundation, the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated mag and Major League Soccer’s MLS W.O.R.K.S. Nothing But Nets sends insecticide-treated nets for African children to sleep under. It’s that simple. Its goal is to eliminate the effects of malaria in Africa. The goal is simple, concrete, and attainable. We are being both Peter and Dorcas when we tap into God’s creative imagination to come up with a ministry like this one. We are making real and significant changes in people’s lives over the long run, like Dorcas. And we are being leaders on the world stage, bringing life from places of death, like Peter.

Woodland Park has a world transforming ministry in it. As the local church, it is our holy and sacred mission to transform the Phinney Ridge and Greenwood neighborhoods. As the assembled, hoping to touch the Holy in our own lives, we, like Dorcas, need to reach out to God’s hand extended to us in the form of others when we are floundering, lost, barren, and alone. In our times of death, God is there commanding us to rise as a powerful and faithful witness for others. And, as the church, Dorcas offers us a powerful witness to what being the midst of others can do. We can make real and significant changes in our local neighborhood. It’s true that local congregations can’t do everything; it’s not our mission to do so. It is our mission to persistently and faithfully witness to God’s astounding and life-changing love, day in and day out, for one another and for our world. Our mission is no less than that of the church “to make disciples for the transformation of the world.” Amen.

get rid of earth day

It's time to get rid of Earth Day. The time has come and gone for us to set aside one day a year for environmental awareness. Our planet is now ill enough that we need to make immediate and significant changes in the ways in which we live our lives if we are going to revive our planet.

While it has become chic for entertainers and others to promote Earth Day and the environment, I have grown increasingly concerned that we are turning Earth Day into another commercialized event steeped in consumerism. Just this week, Oprah Winfrey hosted an Earth awareness program on her television show. Ten - even five - years ago, this would have excited me, but this year I watched concerned that the crux of the message is that we can live essentially the same way that we do now if only we would purchase more eco-friendly products. It is certainly true that each of us could make simple and easy changes that would positively affect our planet, but the environmental crisis has reached a tipping point that switching from toxic cleaning materials to something like 7th Generation just won't get it. It's time for us to adopt systemic changes that will go to the heart of how we live in the world. Some of these changes may be very difficult for many of us, but nothing is more important that reviving the health of this living miracle on which we live.

Even though it will take radical action from our government in regulating power companies and larger corporations to exact the effects that we really need, individual action is important as well. Here are some of the basic things every person should do in order to make first steps into caring for the environment:
*Change from using incandescent light bulbs. Energy Star's Change a Light Campaign can tell you what you need to know.
*Buy Energy Star certified products. These save energy.
*Jettison phantom power! Every outlet with something in it is putting out some power. If you have lamps or other items plugged in but you don't use them, unplug them. Power down your computers and don't leave your screens running. It might be a minuscule amount of power, but every little bit adds up.
*Don't buy bleached products. Most of us have bleached paper towels, typing paper, and other items in the house. Buy non-bleached paper. It's better and safer.
*Adequately insulate your home, but beware...much insulation is not eco-friendly. Look for "green" insulation.
*Turn down straws, plastic bags, and other unnecessary plastic items. They don't biodegrade.
*Don't buy bottled water. The energy used in creating the bottles even though they are recyclable isn't worth it. Use filters at home and take along your own bottles.
*Purchase renewable energy from your power company. In Seattle, you can purchase "green" energy from Seattle City Light. Municipalities around the nation offer similar options. Learn more about renewable energy from Interfaith Power and Light.
*Buy food that is locally grown and organically produced. In Washington state we have the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network.
*Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. That's basic. Compost what you can.
*Buy a hybrid car, an electric car (Chevy's Volt is an example if they would just build it), or use biodiesel. See "Who Killed the Electric Car?" If you live in Seattle, biodiesel is very easy to purchase. Even better, walk to work or take mass transit.
*Go solar! You can get off the grid so do it.
*When upgrading your home, buy carpets, paint, wood (bamboo), tiles, and other products that are eco-friendly. Online and local stores can help you out. Check out Eco By Design, The Environmental Home Center.

These are just some things individuals can do. Mostly we need to use less and buy less. And when we do buy, we need to make sure the planet was treated ethically in order to produce, package, and transport our wares. But really it's time for large scale government action if we are going to make much difference in rising sea levels, species collapse, and devastating climate change. Local municipalities and the federal government need to offer tax incentives for businesses and corporations that take care of the environment, and they need to tax those that don't. We need to raise our mileage standards and create better mass transit systems inside our cities and among them. We need a nation wide train system that works and is affordable. We need more wilderness designated areas. We need to proactively go about the business of decreasing carbon emissions now...not by 2050 (even though I support Step It Up's campaign).

Some will say this post has nothing to do with progressive Christianity. I strongly disagree. The first story in our scriptures is the story of creation in which God commanded humankind to take care of the earth. At no time in our history could we have conceived of literally destroying our planet, but now we can and, in fact, we are destroying it. It is time that churches lead the way rather than obstruct it in creating social change related to this earth - God's precious creation which God loves and called "good". God has placed us here to be stewards; let us answer God's command faithfully.

unimaginable

When something unimaginable happens people often look to faith for answers. However, faith that provides depth of meaning doesn't offer simple or trite responses to life's difficult, cruel, and horrific moments. As someone who attended school in Virginia and who has very fond memories of that part of the world, my prayers lift the students, faculty, and members of Blacksburg tenderly to God. That is all that I can do.

step it up, seattle!

April 14 is the National Day for Climate Change and Step It Up is at the forefront of bringing attention to the need for sound public policy and personal action related to the environment. Calling for an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, Step It Up events will be happening all over the United States. Step It Up Seattle has a list of activities for the Emerald City. The big march of the day will begin in Occidental Park at 2 PM and will end in Myrtle Edwards Park. From 4-6 PM there will be a Solutions Fair at Myrtle Edwards Park.

Taking care of the environment was one of the first commandments given to humankind from God when God instructed Adam and Eve to care for the earth and all of its creatures. While Christianity has too often understood "subdue" as a coercive verb, the command is to use the power of humankind of tend creation, not to exploit it. At the heart of both Christianity and Judaism is the idea of Sabbath. Sabbath is not our time; it is God's time. One day a week the earth and all who work it should rest. Sabbath extends to every seven years and every fifty years. Christianity has an obligation to be leaders in the movement to cherish and hold holy this miraculous creation of God. I hope there are thousands of Christians on the streets of Seattle (and across the US) this Saturday demanding that our public officials take action on our behalf that will replenish this living, breathing miracle of planet Earth. What a wonderful thing to happen during Easter - a justice movement for bringing new life back to this planet.

For too long we have understood gains in society through the lens of growth - growth equals good. New housing builds is one of the main rules against which we measure the health of our society. Perhaps the time has come for us to develop a different ruler that measures other things in order to determine the health of our society. I mean, how healthy can it be when the very earth on which we live is struggle to catch its next breath? It's time for Christians to stand up - to step it up - personally and communally and demand deep, significant change. Let's Step It Up, Seattle!

easter's interruption is just beginning

Wow, I had a crazy Holy Week and a crazier start to the Easter festival season. In addition to the typical Holy Week frenzy of extra services and Easter Sunday preparation, I helped two folks get ready for and helped send them off on trips abroad, I welcomed my mom into town for a visit, and I signed some of the many papers required in buying my first house! As I went through this process, I kept thinking, "Easter Sunday will come and we'll celebrate the miracle of the risen Christ and then I can take a break!" What a thought! Easter isn't a moment or a day or even the great fifty days that we set aside for it in the church. Easter is the heart of our faith, and the great feast that reminds us of its centrality has just begun. Easter didn't come and go on Sunday; it just started.

However, this past week the craziness of preparing for Easter was supplanted only by an even greater craziness when Easter Sunday finally came. I hosted a church-wide Easter Egg Hunt at the parsonage, led services at church, came home, and my mother became ill and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She's spent most of this week hospitalized. (She's on the mend, no worries - I hope.) All of this interruption, though, in the routine that is my life has raised a number of questions about the interruption of Easter and what that interruption should be in our lives.

Easter isn't a crazy day of family, church, sugar, and holy music. It isn't even just the Great Fifty Days. It is an interruption in how we live life. It interrupts our routines, our expectations, and our assumptions. Some of the interruptions in my life this week have been welcomed and planned; others scary and chaotic, but they all remind me that Easter interrupts the fabric of this world and it intentionally unsettles all that I take for granted. I'm glad that Easter isn't just a day, even though I'm kinda glad that the craziness of Easter Sunday has passed. I wonder how we might be in the world if we participated in daily Holy Communion during Easter - living God's great interruption each time we place the bread and wine in our bodies. I wonder if the church might be more of an interruption in the world if we let ourselves live inside of God's great mystery each day this festival season. I'm glad that Easter's interruption is just beginning. Happy Easter.

a peace parade

As Palm Sunday comes to a close, I enter Holy Week quite reflective about the counter-cultural, confrontational, conspicuous peace parade of Jesus and his friends. By entering past his followers through the gate into Jerusalem, he mocked, satirized, and ridiculed the military marches of Roman imperialism. Jesus was asserting in a bold and startling way that his message of God's kingdom demands that we lay down our swords and pursue a different reality that values justice, mercy, and peace. He could have lifted arms against Rome; many people wanted him to do so. He could have stirred the people to erupt into violence as they converged on Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He did neither of these things. Instead, he maintained that all who live by the sword will die by the sword. He maintained a message of resistance through love and faithfulness all the way to the cross. Today we waved palms in church and we sang our hosannas. Yet Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are the real witnesses to the faithfulness of Jesus - the same faithfulness we, as the body of Christ, are called to have today. And, during this time of war, nationalism, tribalism, and imperialism, the witness of Palm Sunday is a special witness for all who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

when technology fails you - a tech rant by someone under 40 years old!

This is a follow up to the post that I just added to this blog. One of the core "needs" of churches these days, at least to a national church growth expert, is the integration of technology in worship. We don't use a lot of tech in the worship at my church. And while I wish that we had the money and capabilities to do so, I have to say that as a person in the generational group who supposedly needs technology in order to make worship accessible, I feel the need to state unequivocally that I would rather have no technology than badly used technology. It is often the case that on those rare occasions when I get to visit another church that has added video capabilities into their worship that I am more distracted and aggravated than anything else. The key is that technology has to be integrated not just used. The following is not based on data. These are my rants related to what I consider poor uses of technology.


Power Point presentations can't be timed incorrectly.

Words can't be misspelled, people!!

The person running the show must know what they're doing. No unexpected visuals popping up on the public viewing screen!

Litanies and song lyrics don't need to go on a screen. In a diverse church, there are people with sight impairment. Just use song books if you have them, unless it's a song you sing every week and the words are for visitors.

I don't want to spend the entire service looking at a screen. Use it judiciously.

Screens can't be old slide screens. They have to be integrated into your space. I don't want to feel like I'm watching my uncle's vacation slides or like I'm in a badly planned work meeting.


Use videos to connect me with the church's mission. Pictures tell stories that words will never capture.

No wires and cables running around, please. That's not worshipful. It's a little silly looking.

The screen is not the focus of worship. Please don't cover the cross or another religious symbol with it.

If you use amped music. Don't have it too loud for your space. And, for God's sake (really - God's sake), please be in tune! I'd rather hear an amateur choir sing off key than out of tune elect instruments.

Music needs to be worshipful. I don't come to worship for a Christian concert. I want to sing along. I want to connect to my religious heritage. I want music not to distract but enhance my encounter with God. It needs to draw me into the mystery of God.

I like a little silence. Don't let technology overwhelm silent moments.

I need connection - to the past as well as to God and to the future. Allow some time for organ music or violins or brass choirs or string quartets. All music doesn't have to be two guitars, a keyboardist, and a percussionist.

Don't preach too long. And don't wear a "Madonna" head mic. I'm not at a "power of positive thinking" seminar or a pop concert. If you are over 45 years old, especially don't wear one. It looks silly.

Have Holy Communion and keep it low tech!

Expect me to turn off my cell phone. It's worship. If there are physicians and others on call present, ask them to put their phones on vibrate.

Worship is not just about me. Technology can be isolating. Find ways to bring me out of me - into God, into the world, into discipleship.

After listening to someone in their late sixties tell me who my generation is, I thought I should say what I want in worship.

cong development...another old guy telling me how to reach people my age

Last Saturday I went to a congregational development/church growth workshop led by a national speaker/writer. Once again I sat in a room with people with hair much greyer than mine listening to a speaker with hair much greyer than mine telling me what people my age do and don't respond to in a church. While many of his "fixes" for churches seemed on target, many of his conclusions about people younger than forty-five years old missed the mark of the people that I know. Underlying the entire presentation was an assumption that a large church is a healthy church that is desirable for all folks under forty-five years old.

I have been struggling with this presentation ever since I went to it. Generally speaking, the presenter asserted very strongly that Gen Xers and Millenials will not go to a church that focuses on contemplative worship. Nor are they willing to learn "churchy" lingo. Nor will they turn off cell phones. While there were passing remarks about the importance of authenticity and faithfulness, it seems that these have to be packaged in such a way that oversimplifies the diversity of the population under forty-five years old. It may well be true that the majority of folks who are unchurched need churches that leave religious jargon and tradition at the door, there is a growing group of folks who crave the use of icons, quiet prayer, and the ancient traditions of our faith. I wish that we could have talked about the emerging church movement and the possibility that there is a significant minority that cares about contemplation and that wants a nuanced church that deals realistically with the complexities of life.

While the "technical fixes" may have been on target, the "adaptable change" talked about was a gross oversimplification of people under forty-five years old. I don't have data, but I do have friends who desire not large mega-churches meeting in warehouses. They want small communities that comprise people of all ages. They want a sanctuary that feels like set apart space and that inspire a sense of awe and wonder (something not found in worship rooms that look like corporate meeting rooms). They love stained glass, organs, chants in Latin, and learning the Greek of their New Testaments. They don't want a faith that gives pat and artificial answers to life's difficult trials; they want a faith that anchors them to a rich and ancient past and that invites them to witness to a gospel of liberation and interconnectedness in a world that is too fragmented and individualistic. Of course I believe that my friends and I are in the minority; I am a pastor, after all. But we do count and we are out here. Just because the statistical average calls for us to build corporate feeling and looking churches doesn't mean that there aren't Gen Xers who know how to turn off a cell phone and sit in the Divine Mystery in silence, drinking in the goodness of God.

I don't have any answers. I have a lot of questions about the whole church growth movement. Of course the institution of the church is facing a crisis. In twenty years about 80% of the church's membership will be dead. But I'm more interested in living faithfully in community than in growing my congregation's size for the sake of growth. Perhaps that makes me a bad evangelist. Clearly I am; my church is one of the many that is struggling to grow. And yet, something is possibile in my little church. It is diverse economically. It is diverse theologically. It is diverse politically. It is diverse in age. It has gay and straight folks, married and partnered folks (not many singles...that's a struggle for us). It has children and people entering their ninth decade. We use traditional liturgy peppered by things that make sense to us. We do a lot of little things that I believe hinder our growth, but I don't count in that the use of silence or our use of a sanctuary. Any thoughts on how to build a healthy, non-mega-church, diverse, faithful, progressive, church? I'm open. I sure didn't hear it last Saturday.

christians protest for peace at washington national cathedral

In today's Seattle Times, an AP article by Sandra Karush tells how Christians gathered at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC to pray for peace and for an end to the Iraq war now beginning its fifth year. I am not naive enough to believe that the use of force can never be exerted by a nation. However, as a Christian, my beliefs tell me that God is a God of peace and that war is never God's hope for us. My prayers were with those in the cathedral last night and I continue to pray for the end of this war. For those in the Seattle area, a prayer service sponsored by the Church Council of Greater Seattle will be held at 5PM on Sunday, March 18 at Seattle First Baptist Church. A rally for peace will follow on Monday, March 19, at 3PM downtown Seattle. I will participate in these events and it is my fervent hope that more Christians will witness to the God of peace by naming this war for what it is - immoral and unjust. I will preach on the war Sunday, March 18 in the 10:30AM service at Woodland Park United Methodist Church.

Christians gather in Washington, D.C. for protest against Iraq warBy Sarah Karush

The Associated Press


WASHINGTON — Thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq

. Read more...
For a video on the event at the Washington National Cathedral, go here.

happy saint patrick's day

The shamrocks and dancing leprechauns found on many a Saint Patrick's Day card have little to do with Saint Patrick. Nor do stories about snakes driven from Ireland (he never drove them out!). Nor does the tradition of wearing green for good luck. Saint Patrick was born in c385 as Patricius, the son of a Roman decurion (a tax collector)named Calpurnius. He most likely lived in Wales. At about sixteen years old he was abducted and taken into slavery in Ireland, and became Patrick. While there Patrick had two visions. The first told him that he would someday go home. The second vision told him that a ship was ready and waiting to take him away; he travelled over 200 miles to find it. After fleeing Ireland after six years of enslavement, he returned home to Britain and became a staunch opponent of slavery in any form. He went to Gaul and studied to become a priest and eventually saw a vision that led him to return to Ireland to live among the people, thus bringing Christianity to Ireland. While he was not the only Christian in Ireland at the time (432), he had the biggest and longest lasting impact.

The story of Saint Patrick is an astounding story. The very fact that we know much about him at all is remarkable. Written records don't exist for Britain during this time period. Somehow some of his writings survived and stories about him were written. He moved Christianity beyond the bounds that held it for four hundred years into Ireland. He lived among his captors a free man, reconciled with his past as a slave. He was a mystic and an adverturer. Saint Patrick believed that those who once enslaved him deserved to experience the gospel that changed his life. He was deeply devoted to God. He was a bishop of the Church.

On this Saint Patrick's Day, I wish you the tenacity of this saint, his heart for reconciliation and forgiveness, his sense of adventure, his openness to dream visions, and his love for the Divine. And, oh, feel free to wear green, drink a beer, and have some fun. Just because legends and traditions don't lie at the heart of the matter doesn't mean they aren't fun!

effects of climate change - intergovernmental panel on climate change's upcoming report

In the current issue of The Christian Science Monitor there is a story that previews the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's second report that will be released next month. This report lays out the humanitarian effects of climate change. They are stark and they are already underway. This is a criticial issue for this world. It is vital that Christians take a lead in addressing the overconsumption and unmonitored actions that are creating these changes. Humans are a primary source of climate change. Our actions matter and they are having an impact. However, as Christians, we believe that we are stewards of God's Earth. How are we caring for creation and all that dwells in and on this living miracle of our planet?

Sneak preview of big report: Change is 'already showing up'

The second report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts massive humanitarian crises.

By Brad Knickerbocker


Reports that the effects of global warming may be felt by the average person quicker and deeper than previously thought were reflected in a flurry of news coverage over the past week.

The Associated Press broke a big story last weekend, giving an advance look at the draft of an international scientific report due out next month. Among the findings, according to AP: "The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water...."

Read the whole article!

how are your lenten disciplines going?

How are your Lenten disciplines going? Mine are fairing so-so. While I haven't been watching TV, I have spent too much time and money downloading music from iTunes. I've been more successful saying grace regularly. And, as I've gotten in the habit of taking a moment to be grateful for what I have to eat, my prayer has grown to include, "Help me to be mindful about what I eat and to be grateful for what I have." This has made saying grace even more meaningful. I also have been trying to find something related to the environment to add to my Lenten schedule. I've settled on joining a local neighbors group dedicated to "greening" our neighborhood. I also have been looking for a new home that is certified "green."

Lent is a holy time. I find it especially meaningful. Too often progressive Christians get wrapped up in the work for social justice and leave behind the state of their soul and the health of their spirit. Christianity is not work for social change; it is a vision for a different world altogether - a world in which the least and the last are invited into the center of communal life, a world in which the lost find home, a world with no war, no bigotry, and no violence. Social justice is a part of this vision, but it is not the entirety of the vision. Without connection to the Divine, the work for social change is overwhelming and the realities of this world too disheartening. During Lent, I remember my connection to the Divine. I remember that I belong to God before I belong to country, church, or community. I am a member of an ancient faith that stretches through time and place to a group of people held captive by a powerful Pharaoh. I am a follower of a wandering Galilean carpenter who challenged the powers and principalities of Rome and charged the peasants and city dwellers of his time to live according to God's plan for a just and compassionate world. Lent is a holy time that ties me to my past, roots me in my present, and sets my face toward the upcoming miracle of Easter.

My disciplines may be going only so-so, but Lent is going great. I hope it is for you, too. It has steadied my feet so that I am ready to participate in an interfaithprayer for peace/an end to the war in Iraq. Lent has also given me conviction to participate in Step It Up, calling for an 80% reduction in carbon emission by 2050. Lent has been good for me. I am repenting - turning around, and I am finding God right before me calling me into new and wonderful life.

in a quiet place

On Saturday I stood in a place where the Earth breathed. I lifted my chest and breathed with it. There was a deer - unafraid and apparently hungry. There were two eagles - just overhead and flying in circles. The Earth's breath sounded like the ocean, grossly like traffic, a rush of bending trees, circling the clearing where I stood...in the mist. On Saturday I walked a labyrinth - a time and a quarter. I got lost on a path where you can't get lost. I stopped, watched the eagles, turned in circles following them around and around and forgot where I came from. There in that place I was present, wholly and holy present. I took a breath, a deep breath. When I thought of what life is bringing - a rally and a prayer service to end the war, a rally and a march for the environment, a rally and a march with palms... I took another breath and said, "Right now I am here. Then I will be there." Duh. Obvious. But I tend to live in the future, two meetings down my calendar, two weeks ahead. On Saturday I was reminded that the hard work of Christianity begins with the simplicity of being with Christ, honoring the Creator, and breathing the Holy Spirit. On Saturday I was in a quiet place that readied me for the labor of being the body of Christ in the world. Thank God for Saturday. Why doesn't it come every week?

"what is progressive christianity?" workshop

What is Progressive Christianity, Anyway?

In 1994 there were no organizations, books or scholarly papers that used the term “progressive Christianity,” except in a historical reference. Today “progressive Christianity” is a common term in the Christian culture. It is loved, appreciated (and hated), but it is there. There are over a dozen national organizations that have Progressive Christian in their name, vision statement or self description. What does it mean? Where did it come from? Where is it going?

Rev. Fred Plumer is president of the Center for Progressive Christianity.
Recommended Texts – John Spong: A New Chrisitianity for a New World, (Harper Collins); Hal Taussig: A New Spiritual Home: Progressive Christianity at the Grass Roots, (Polebridge Press)
Meets Saturday, March 10, 9:00-11:30 a.m.
Fee: $25 before Feb. 23; $30 after Feb. 23
Pacific Lutheran University
A workshop in CommUniversity
Go here to register or show up at PLU!

why walk labyrinths?

I was asked this questions recently: Why walk labyrinths? When I was asked this question, I could tell that the person talking with me was confused by more than why I find walking labyrinths meaningful; she also didn't really understand why people enter in to most spiritual exercises or disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines are the daily steps we take in our life's spiritual journey. What we do on Sunday in worship is a communal gathering that brings together people who spend time most days of their life attempting to draw closer to God. If we hope that all of our spiritual work will happen on Sunday, we will be a very disappointed group of people. We come from disparate lives and we are diverse people; the Sunday morning ritual will not/cannot reach all of our hearts each week. Personal spiritual practices/exercises/disciplines are where most of our spiritual journey takes places. Sunday morning is like a gas station where we get a little fuel for our spiritual journeys.

Our spiritual journeys really take place in the ways in which we lead our everyday lives. How do we make room for God? How attentive are we to the God who resides in our hearts and in our world? How much time to we spend with this Friend? How often to seek the Comforter? How much do we allow the gospel to stir our hearts with passion for justice, and how much does the gospel crack open our hearts with mercy? Each day - each breath - we are invited to live deeper inside of the Divine. And yet, despite God's persistent invitation to dwell there, most of us need to practice recognizing the Divine and responding to it. Spiritual practices are set aside activities that we do to remind us of the holiness of life. They invite us to be attuned to God. In them is where our relationship with the Holy One really takes place. We can make up our practices or use practices that have been tried and true, extensions of our ancient faith tradition.

I walk labyrinths because I need about fifteen to twenty minutes of quiet if I really want to shake loose my brain's attachment to its own noise. I can't slip into a deeply prayerful attitude very easily. As a product of MTV, multi-tasking, video games, and the cell phone generation, I am used to lots of noise coming at me. As someone who lives in a city, I am used to noise all around me. Walking a labyrinth takes time - usually about 45 minutes for me. About twenty of these minutes is getting my head to quiet itself and allowing my soul to open itself. Nothing magical is happening. I am simply allowing myself the time necessary to be fully present in time and space. When my mind revs up, I take a breath and say to myself, "I am here." Once my mind is quiet and my soul is open then I may think a scripture ("Be still and know that I am God") or ask a question ("Why have I been so restless? What am I being called to do? How can I find forgiveness? Where am I experiencing God?") and I just slowly walk. Once in the center of the labyrinth, I give thanks for the gift of my spiritual journey. Sometimes I lament things that I have been grieving but haven't given proper time to letting go. Then I begin the walk out, slowly emerging and still resting in God.

This is not necessarily the spiritual exercise/discipline/practice for everyone, but it works for me. I am excited to go to the Whidbey Institute tomorrow and to walk their labyrinth. It is in a field, marked by stones, surrounded by the incredible towering trees of the Pacific Northwest. It is quiet there with occasional voices along adjacent hiking trails. The air is pregnant with life. I can't wait to walk this labyrinth. Why I would want to do it seems quite obvious to me.

today my heart hurts...

Here is another article about human greed violating the magnificence of creation. While this site is intended to create community and offer positive thoughts/ideas for progressive Christians, sometimes the most I can do is lament and hope that humans will one day repent of our lust and greed. Perhaps lamenting is important. I hope so.

3 Rare Lions Killed in India Sanctuary
By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer
Mon Mar 5, 10:47 PM

NEW DELHI - Poachers killed three highly endangered Asiatic lions in their only remaining sanctuary in western India, removing their claws and bones and raising fears for the future of these rare cats, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

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domestic partner bill on path to become law

On Monday, several hundred people met on the steps of the Capitol in Olympia to rally for equal rights for GLBT people in the state of Washington. It was the third annual rally for equal protection for sexual minorities. Sponsored by Equal Rights Washington and Religious Coalition for Equality (along with about 80 smaller sponsors, including my local congregation), the rally included speeches from religious and political leaders from around the state. At the heart of this year's gathering was a hope that a domestic partner bill sponsored by several legislators in both the House and Senate would pass; it seems that it will.

The Seattle Times today is carrying a good article outlining the benefits the bill extends to both queer and straight couples (straight couples must include at least one parter 62 years old or older). If you live in Washington, please write your legislators in support of the bill; it still has to pass the House. Gov. Gregoire has pledged to sign it should it arrive on her desk.

While I am very glad that religious leaders have been campaigning for this for some time, I also realize that multiple challenges to the bill can be raised. The struggle isn't over and gains are not complete. But in a country where loving people are denied basic rights, this is indeed a wonderful breath of fresh air. As a progressive Christian, I have no ambivalence about the rightness of such a bill. Struggles like this remind me that religion can be used to hurt and to heal. I am grateful that so many United Methodists were at the rally and in their legislators offices speaking on behalf of glbt folks.

worship and love

Bishop Will Willimon has posted on his blog a Peculiar Prophet a great article about the function of worship. It is in response to an email question submitted to him and is called "Why Do Worship?" It begins:

Frankly, I just don’t get much out of the Sunday morning thing. A lot of the time, I like the music, particularly when it’s contemporary. But there is a lot that goes on Sunday morning that doesn’t do much for me. Am I supposed to feel something? I would think that being a Christian is more than sitting and listening. It is also doing. What is the good of the praying and the singing and the sitting and listening?

What is the chief end of humanity?

The proper answer from the Westminster Confession: The chief end of humanity is...

Read the whole article.

Liturgical worship places this love in the midst of a long tradition of loving God. That is why we respectfully stand for portions of the service, follow a certain order of service, and why we return time and again to our sacraments and rituals. How liturgy and love interplay is worth a great deal of exploration. Perhaps they sometimes diverge. It is, of course, always possible for liturgy that once glorified God to simply function as a relic of the past. We need to always be intentional about the ways in which we live into our liturgy and be mindful about how we introduce newcomers (and old hats, for that matter) to liturgy. Liturgy exists to point us ever closer to God and to bring us into closer and closer relationship. When it doesn't, we lost the act of loving God as the primary goal of worship.

books to help with lent

Several people have asked me lately for book referrals for use during Lent. Here are a few resources for use in personal devotion.

The Story of the Cross: Stations of the Cross for Children by Mary Joslin (the best resource that I've seen for kids...it introduces some negative implications regarding the Jewish leadership of first century, but these are minimal and can be dealt with)

Lent and Easter Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen

Show Me the Way - Henri J.M. Nouwen

The Lenten Labyrinth - Edward Hay

Walking a Sacred Path - Lauren Artress

In the Light of the Messanger - Joan Chittister

I am always looking for more resources, if you would like to share them with me!

california church goes green!

Thanks to John_the_Methodist for this article from the AP that he posted on the Methoblog.

The UMC and Alternative Energy
LIVE OAK, Calif. (AP) – United Methodist Church has long looked to the heavens for strength, now it's depending on the heavens for power.

The $8 million Live Oak church will be Santa Cruz County's first to go “green,” including solar power panels disguised as roof tiles and skylights to let in the light. Construction could begin this summer with completion in a year.

“The building itself could be a witness to our values of sustainability and good resource management,” pastor Michael Love said, noting a self-sufficient church fits perfectly with the core values of the Methodist community.

“It's our responsibility to be stewards and caretakers of natural resources,” he said.

ash wednesday

Ash Wednesday is finally here. I hope you had a great time yesterday living it up before the official beginning of Lent. Pancakes? Parties? Beads? Beer? However you celebrated, I hope it filled you up and got you ready for Lent. Today, we mark the start of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Christians everywhere will head to their churches for meditation, confession, and the imposition of ashes. This day marks us all as equals in God's eyes. It reminds us of our mortality and of the precious gift of life. It is one of my favorite days on the Christian calendar.

As a Protestant pastor, I hear people complain that Ash Wednesday feels foreign to them. And, it is true, that many Protestants have not observed this day with regularity. People who haven't grown up in the church at all tell me that Ash Wednesday doesn't make sense to them. What do we do with this slightly strange custom?

Ash Wednesday is a beautiful observance of the equality of humankind and a powerful call to us to discern God in our lives. But where do the ashes come from? Why do we use them? In 2 Samuel Tamar puts ashes on her head and tears her clothes as she grieves violence done to her, as she laments the harm that she has experienced (2 Sam 13:18-20). In the Book of Esther, Mordecai, deep in lament, puts on a sackcloth and pours ashes on his head (Esther 4:1-3). Ashes signify a terrible wrong, a deep mourning, a desire for change, the brutal truth of mortality. Ashes are the left-overs from a purifying fire. They are remnants. On Ash Wednesday, Christians place ashes on our heads as a sign of lament that life, our world, and our lives are not all that they could be. We put them on our foreheads as a desire to find right relationship with God. This desire sends us on our Lenten journey.

I also see in the imposition of ashes a levelling of the playing field. In the world, some of us are rich and some are poor. Some of us have privilege and some do not. When the ashes are placed on our heads, we are marked by God. The ashes show what the world often ignores - we are all equal in God's eyes. All of us have fallen short of perfection in love. And all of us are equal recipients of God's love and grace. Personally, the ashes remind me that I have only so many days to live fully in God's grace before I leave this world. As a mortal, I am the dust of the earth, and back to the earth I shall return some day. In the meantime, I am grateful that God extends mercy and love to me every day. Every day I have the opportunity to right my wrongs and to celebrate the goodness in creation and in me. No one is better than I am; I am better than no one else.

Ashes on our heads are not signs of piety gone wild! They are signs of our humility in the world. They are signs of God's love. They are signs of our mortality. They invite us into Lent and put us on a path of spiritual discernment during these forty days of wilderness.

If you have not been a participant in Ash Wednesday in the past, find a service and sit in meditation, hear the proclamation from Joel that the Day of the Lord is near. Hear his urgency as he cries, "Rend your hearts, not your clothing" (Joel 2:13). "Blow the trumpet... sanctify the fast; call a solemn assembly" (Joel 2:15). Joel doesn't invite us on this journey. Joel cries to us with urgency. Hearing his cry in worship or listening to Isaiah 58:1-12 is a powerful reflection on our lives and on God's claim on them.

Ash Wednesday brings us into the season of preparation for Easter. During these forty days, Christians are sent into the wilderness of discernment seeking God's presence in our lives and in our world. The call on Christians is to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It's oh so much more than giving up chocolate.

Read here for more information on Ash Wednesday.
Go here to read the scriptures for Ash Wednesday.

local choirs offer songs to heal katrina

If you're in the Ballard or North Seattle area, head over to Trinity UMC for an event of song and hope to benefit those who continue to live with the effects of Hurricane Katrina. As a member of a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) team that headed down there last fall, I can say from personal experience that the need is great, the people are strong, and that change is happening. Come be part of the change!

ideas for lent

Transfiguration Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays because there is so much great stuff to do with kids! This day provides so many ways to get ready for Lent. As individuals, we are invited to "listen" to Christ speaking in our lives. As a community, the invitation is no less for us as a group. During church today we prepared for Lent by decorating "Alleluia" signs so that we can hide them next week and keep them hidden all throughout Lent. We also burned last years palms for use this week during our Ash Wednesday service. Transfiguration Sunday sends me right into thinking about Lent. So I've started making a list of things to do (or not do) during Lent as part of making way and creating silence for listening to God. I thought that I would share some ideas with you.

*I listen to sacred music. If you are into sacred music (however you define that), listen to some every day; I find this really helpful. I have made two playlists on my ipod to help me during Lent. One is primarily gospel music with Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Clara Ward and the Clara Ward Singers, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Brother Joe May, Corey Harris and Henry Butler, Alison Krauss, Gospel Dream, Bruce Springsteen, Etta James, Tapiola Choir, Sweet Honey and the Rock, and the Staple Singers. It's a great playslist. Because there's a lot of gospel on this list, don't be surprised if there are a few "Alleluias" floating around! The other playlist is sacred music composed by Eric Whitacre, including all of the music from his CD "Cloudburst."

You can buy the full gospel playlist from itunes.

*I am giving up turning on the TV during Lent. Now, I can't give up TV shows; don't get me wrong! I will watch DVDs and download from iTunes the programs that I really want to watch (I plan on cheating on Sundays in order to see the Soprano's. I'm telling myself it's my "little Easter" moment-I'm sure that's not the right idea, but...). While not a TV addict, I have been known to turn on the boob tube just to see what's on. Not this Lent. We'll see how that goes.

*I am saying grace before every meal. While many people do this all of the time, I don't, especially when I'm eating in public. I did this two years ago and found it a powerful exercise. I had to confront my reasons for my silence in public restaurants. I had to recognize the lack of gratitude and intentionality in my life. This led me to give up meat this past Lent...still don't eat it! If you have never given up meat during Lent, I recommend it if your health will bear it. When I gave up meat, I had time to reflect upon my participation in the meat industry in the US and in the industrialization of farming in general. I was reminded that all of creation is valuable and important to God. Giving up meat has been one of the most transformational journeys of my life.

*I recommend attending a weekly Taize service or other contemplative worship service. Most of our liturgies are filled with words. And while the Word is important in worship, contemplative worship invites us to listen for God. Even more than that, though, it invites us to rest in the Divine. For Protestants contemplative worship can feel a little strange, but I find my soul at home in the silence, in the chanting, and in the mystery of God.

*Go green. I know that my spiritual discipline this Lent will include an intentional act or practice to show reverence toward God as expressed in creation. I haven't determined what it will be yet. I already walk to work and have a hybrid car. I try to unplug appliances when not in use. I already recycle and compost. I'm not sure what my "green" practice will be, but I feel called to incorporate something significant into my daily habits. As we move toward the cross, I cannot help but think about the crucifixion of the earth that happens every day. I know that at the end of Holy Week we will find a resurrection. I do not know that we will find such a resurrection at the end of our actions toward the earth. I am open to suggestions on how to live more green in the world

I was so excited today about the beginning of Lent. I have just begun the process of discerning how I might prepare my spirit and my life to listen for God. Progressive Christians like me find Lent a wonderful jouney into the heart of God. If you have not had a habit of changing your life during this season, I invite you try something new, whether it be daily prayer, something for the environment, or thirty minutes of silence. Lent invites us to move from knowing about God to knowing God. I can't wait!

Update: A couple of people have sent ideas for Lent that they are doing or have done.
*Pray the Divine Hours - a fixed hour prayer practice. There are several online and book resources to help you. Explorefaith.com has a great online guide that can be set to your time zone!
*Make sure the TV stays off one night a week and that adults don't bring work home. Have a family night as part of your Lenten journey.
*Go walking every week. One person has suggested not using ipods as part of the experience of slowing down, being in the moment.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Update 2: The suggestions keep coming. Here are some ideas that have been shared with me.
*Keep thirty minutes to an hour of silence. Contemplative prayer is an invitation to quiet our minds and center our souls. It is more than not talking; it is silence. Contemplation invites us to rest in God's mystery.
*Practice the Examen. The Examen of Consciousness invites us to find the movment of the Holy Spirit as we reflect on our daily lives. This spiritual exercise takes about 10-15 minutes.
*Use labyrinths as part of your spiritual journey. In the Seattle area, Plymouth Congregational Church and Seattle First Baptist Church both have regular labyrinth walks. In the greater Seattle area, labyrinths can be found on Whidbey Island at Earth Sanctuary and the Whidbey Institute.
*Volunteer as part of your spiritual exercise. Lent invites into a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
*Take Holy Communion regularly.

progressive magazines and their changes

Here is a recent article by G. Jeffrey MacDonald in the Chicago Tribune called "Liberal Christian Magazines are Stumbling," which deserves a posting. What are your thoughts? Why are liberal magazines having a difficult time sustaining themselves? There are a lot of liberals/progressives who yearn for better information and a stronger community. There are liberal and progressive Christians who feel out of place in the hosues of worship. One would think that these pubs would offer something needed and valuable.

"It's never been easy to make ends meet while putting out a progressive Christian publication. But in an ironic twist, a re-energized religious left may be making a tough task even harder.

That's one key observation from watchers of liberal Christianity who are trying to explain why progressive magazines and journals have been dying just as the broader movement seems to be gaining fresh traction."
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why do we let children suffer?

Two things have come across my radar screen in the past few days. First there was the UN report on child well-being, which listed the US and Britain last in child welfare. The second was a press release from one.org lauding the senate's vote not only to protect $1 billiion at stake in a poverty bill, but also added $450 million to extend the work.

I'm not quite sure why these two things are tumbling around in my mind. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that no one has ever been able to explain to me why 45 million Americans don't have health care and why preventable and curable diseases aren't treated around the world. I suppose these reports are on my mind because even the kids I do know who have health care don't receive the other support necessary to have well-being. There is much to be done in order to care for our children and to do so holistically.

When I look at the life of Jesus, the one thing that seems irrefutable is that he lived and moved among the poorest and sickest in his society, and he offered healing freely to them. He also placed a child in the midst of his disciples and commanded them to model their lives on this example. As a Christian, I see no other way to live than to continue the work of Jesus and to follow his commands. As someone living in the most affluent nation in the world, I wonder if our affluence hasn't stunted our well-being. We don't place children in the center of our life. I feel convicted by UNICEF's report card. How am I - how is my church - really and truly providing for the well-bing of children? I look to my government to extend money for this work, but in the places where money isn't the obstacle, why are we failing miserably? What can we do to make significant changes in the lives of our kids who are disaffected at younger and younger ages? For all who haven't read it, the report is stunning!