When I first came here, I was asked to hold office hours at one of the churches. The difficulty with it is that no one really just "drops by"...I probably have had more drop by than I expected, but quite frankly, I spend a lot of time by myself. There aren't any phones or internet, so it does get fairly quiet. I provide my own noise a lot, but I also don't work well there-- nothing against the space, I just work better at my house than anywhere else.
One of the suggestions was to spend some time at the Norway Store-- So I do. I go there for breakfast every Wednesday morning sometimes before office hours and sometimes for office hours. Truthfully, I have had more meaningful conversations over breakfast than anywhere else.
Over the past 3 1/2 years, I've been at breakfast at the Norway Store probaly 2-3 times a month. I've been getting more regular and having breakfast there about every Wednesday. During this time, I've ordered close to the same thing, but I've seen several different waitresses. Last Wednesday, I went for breakfast and was running late. I literally had 5 minutes before breakfast was over, but the waitress asked me if I wanted breakfast. Before I sat down, she had my coffee and asked me, "Do you want your usual?"
This really got me very excited! I have a usual!! This means that my presence there has been noticed and I've been accepted as a regular!! I'm looking forward to more breakfasts.
BTW-- my usual? 1/2 order Biscuits & Gravy and a Pancake.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
What if church was like Glee?
There's a new little show that premiered on Fox this year called Glee. If you haven't watched yet, you should be able to catch up on all the episodes there. If not, the DVD will be released sometime around Christmas.
A brief synopsis of the show-- it's about a glee club, well, a show choir really. The school has not paid much attention to the arts in the school and has been run by the cheerleaders called the "cheerios" until this random group of students start performing. The group is composed of students who in normal high school society wouldn't associate with one another: theater geeks, football players, band geeks, cheerleaders, and well just geeks. Somehow through the mystery of music and competition, they are drawn together and begin to form a camaraderie and friendship.
So, what does Glee have to do with the church? Oh, plenty for sure!
Now, Glee is not about a church or a faith based community and other than the references to characters being Jewish, faith is not discussed. But...One could look at the Glee kids as a church. Being made up of all different kinds of people, from different walks of life, different ethnicities, different ableness...Well, maybe it would be better to look at the Glee kids as a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Churches should reflect that, but honestly many don't--church is still the most segregated time in our country.
These kids are so passionate about their performance that they are willing to make sacrifices in order to be there. At one point or another, everyone in the group has to choose Glee over something else: football, musical, cheerleading...While it is a sruggle to choose and sometimes they choose something else over Glee for awhile, they come back. Much like the church--there are many other options vieing for our attention like sports or school activities, or work or others...And there are times when we have to choose between those or the church. Sometimes people choose something other than church and sometimes that's for a short time and other times it's a major life choice.
My original intent here was to look at worship in the way that Glee performs. Because here's what I've noticed through the show and the purchase of music. While Glee does choose songs that are "modern" or within the last 5 years or so, they also pick music from older...Probably the most stunning representation of this is the Journey song, Don't Stop Believin' which got some other attention recently for being the closing song for the show "The Sopranos". But it has gotten attention as the Glee kids sang it. Now, they did nothing to the song other than make it a four part arrangement-- they sang it as it appeared in recordings and presumably how it was written. This has been the biggest download for the Glee recordings. It's not a new song, just done a little different and a new way. A majority of the music that they've sung has not been brand new songs, but songs that are done just a little bit updated to give them a new energy. The melodies are the same and with the exception of the mash-ups, nothing is changed from the song. What changes is how they are interpreted through the 4 part harmony, inflection of the singer, and the dancing. But these Glee performances have "brought back" some songs that this generation of teens probably have heard of only through their parents or possibly even grandparents! And yet there is a group out there buying up all of these recordings--Glee & Original.
So, what does that mean for worship? Are we spending too much energy trying to come up with the newest and best thing when really it's just giving energy to what we've got. Personally, there are some hymns that I absolutely adore, but won't sing with a congregation because they kill them. One of John Wesley's rules for singing was to "sing lustily and with good courage." But many of our hymns we turn into dirges and suck the life right out of them. So, what does it look like to simply give the hymns a new energy--maybe speeding them up, singing them lustily, or maybe adding some musical instruments to them. A hymn changes sound when it is played on a guitar or with a drum.
I think that there's a lot that the church can learn from Glee...And I say that not just because I am probably a "Gleek" myself...
A brief synopsis of the show-- it's about a glee club, well, a show choir really. The school has not paid much attention to the arts in the school and has been run by the cheerleaders called the "cheerios" until this random group of students start performing. The group is composed of students who in normal high school society wouldn't associate with one another: theater geeks, football players, band geeks, cheerleaders, and well just geeks. Somehow through the mystery of music and competition, they are drawn together and begin to form a camaraderie and friendship.
So, what does Glee have to do with the church? Oh, plenty for sure!
Now, Glee is not about a church or a faith based community and other than the references to characters being Jewish, faith is not discussed. But...One could look at the Glee kids as a church. Being made up of all different kinds of people, from different walks of life, different ethnicities, different ableness...Well, maybe it would be better to look at the Glee kids as a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. Churches should reflect that, but honestly many don't--church is still the most segregated time in our country.
These kids are so passionate about their performance that they are willing to make sacrifices in order to be there. At one point or another, everyone in the group has to choose Glee over something else: football, musical, cheerleading...While it is a sruggle to choose and sometimes they choose something else over Glee for awhile, they come back. Much like the church--there are many other options vieing for our attention like sports or school activities, or work or others...And there are times when we have to choose between those or the church. Sometimes people choose something other than church and sometimes that's for a short time and other times it's a major life choice.
My original intent here was to look at worship in the way that Glee performs. Because here's what I've noticed through the show and the purchase of music. While Glee does choose songs that are "modern" or within the last 5 years or so, they also pick music from older...Probably the most stunning representation of this is the Journey song, Don't Stop Believin' which got some other attention recently for being the closing song for the show "The Sopranos". But it has gotten attention as the Glee kids sang it. Now, they did nothing to the song other than make it a four part arrangement-- they sang it as it appeared in recordings and presumably how it was written. This has been the biggest download for the Glee recordings. It's not a new song, just done a little different and a new way. A majority of the music that they've sung has not been brand new songs, but songs that are done just a little bit updated to give them a new energy. The melodies are the same and with the exception of the mash-ups, nothing is changed from the song. What changes is how they are interpreted through the 4 part harmony, inflection of the singer, and the dancing. But these Glee performances have "brought back" some songs that this generation of teens probably have heard of only through their parents or possibly even grandparents! And yet there is a group out there buying up all of these recordings--Glee & Original.
So, what does that mean for worship? Are we spending too much energy trying to come up with the newest and best thing when really it's just giving energy to what we've got. Personally, there are some hymns that I absolutely adore, but won't sing with a congregation because they kill them. One of John Wesley's rules for singing was to "sing lustily and with good courage." But many of our hymns we turn into dirges and suck the life right out of them. So, what does it look like to simply give the hymns a new energy--maybe speeding them up, singing them lustily, or maybe adding some musical instruments to them. A hymn changes sound when it is played on a guitar or with a drum.
I think that there's a lot that the church can learn from Glee...And I say that not just because I am probably a "Gleek" myself...
Thursday, November 05, 2009
I Already Know the Answer...
Asking questions is not all that difficult. It's easy to raise questions about just about anything. What is challenging is hearing the answers. Because sometimes the answers are not what we want to hear or they cause us to pause and re-examine ourselves or even what we believe. It's not the questions then that are dangerous, but the answers.
Both in my newsletter article and my recent sermon, I encouraged folks to ask 1-2 people that they know who are not connected with a church to talk about their experience. I was very clear in preaching to ask questions that they didn't already know the answer to and to be prepared for answers that might make them uncomfortable. Well, I don't ever ask the congregation to do anything that I'm not prepared to do as well, so I sent out many facebook messages and e-mails to friends and family who are either not connected to a church, have limited connection, or that when I knew them, they had a limited connection.
The responses that I have gotten back have been heartbreakingly honest and vulnerable. They have indeed made me sad to be a part of this thing we call church that has been responsible for causing more brokenness and pain in the world. I wanted to justify their responses and share where I have experienced the same things or where I have experienced something opposite. In some responses I still did that when I didn't want to. The visions that I asked for of what they would picture church are simply stunning. In many of the visions I found myself wishing that I could be a part of a community like that! To say that I was moved in reading these responses would be less than acurate.
As moving as the responses have been, one of the nagging pieces to me was if I was asking questions that I already knew the answer to. When I asked what they thought of when I said "church", the responses came back pretty much the way that I was figuring they would-- some of my assumptions based on the book UnChristian by Gabe Lyons and some just knowing about young adults. It makes me wonder if I could have phrased the question better to get different answers...I mean the answers are true in their experience and they are painful for me to hear...There have been times that I have been a part of the congregations that they speak of and there have been times when I have been explicit or implicit in the treatment that they have recieved from the church. Nevertheless, I was not surprised by some of the responses and I, myself, felt justified.
Perhaps the reason the same words and phrases come up over and over again is because they are indeed true. The church has made some poor decisions and poor choices...The church is hypocritical and judgemental...Or at least that's how the church has acted. I don't think that the Church is any of those things, but the way that we have lived as the church has been in those ways. It makes me incredibly sad to think that way.
What do we do now? Like I said, I was amazingly moved in the ways that some of these responses described church and my soul ached to be a part of those kinds of congregations or in a place that would allow for such creativity and movement of the Spirit. I don't know if I've ever been in a place that allowed for that...Maybe I'm still waiting for it.
But I think that I need to do more than wait...Adam Hamilton has said that if the church that you serve is not the kind that you would worship at, you need to get it there...I honestly haven't decided how I feel about that. I know that my spiritual needs are much different than those in the congregations that I serve, as I would expect they would be! I have been shaped and formed in traditions that seem foreign to others. I have been molded and grown into expressions of Christianity that may seem threatening to others. My idea of worship is different than yours. So, what does it mean?
I'm not sure...it's the messs and mesh that we are involved in today and in today's world. There are segements of the population whose needs are not being met and we have to honestly ask ourselves if we are prepared to meet their needs. If the answer is "no", what does that say about the church?
Both in my newsletter article and my recent sermon, I encouraged folks to ask 1-2 people that they know who are not connected with a church to talk about their experience. I was very clear in preaching to ask questions that they didn't already know the answer to and to be prepared for answers that might make them uncomfortable. Well, I don't ever ask the congregation to do anything that I'm not prepared to do as well, so I sent out many facebook messages and e-mails to friends and family who are either not connected to a church, have limited connection, or that when I knew them, they had a limited connection.
The responses that I have gotten back have been heartbreakingly honest and vulnerable. They have indeed made me sad to be a part of this thing we call church that has been responsible for causing more brokenness and pain in the world. I wanted to justify their responses and share where I have experienced the same things or where I have experienced something opposite. In some responses I still did that when I didn't want to. The visions that I asked for of what they would picture church are simply stunning. In many of the visions I found myself wishing that I could be a part of a community like that! To say that I was moved in reading these responses would be less than acurate.
As moving as the responses have been, one of the nagging pieces to me was if I was asking questions that I already knew the answer to. When I asked what they thought of when I said "church", the responses came back pretty much the way that I was figuring they would-- some of my assumptions based on the book UnChristian by Gabe Lyons and some just knowing about young adults. It makes me wonder if I could have phrased the question better to get different answers...I mean the answers are true in their experience and they are painful for me to hear...There have been times that I have been a part of the congregations that they speak of and there have been times when I have been explicit or implicit in the treatment that they have recieved from the church. Nevertheless, I was not surprised by some of the responses and I, myself, felt justified.
Perhaps the reason the same words and phrases come up over and over again is because they are indeed true. The church has made some poor decisions and poor choices...The church is hypocritical and judgemental...Or at least that's how the church has acted. I don't think that the Church is any of those things, but the way that we have lived as the church has been in those ways. It makes me incredibly sad to think that way.
What do we do now? Like I said, I was amazingly moved in the ways that some of these responses described church and my soul ached to be a part of those kinds of congregations or in a place that would allow for such creativity and movement of the Spirit. I don't know if I've ever been in a place that allowed for that...Maybe I'm still waiting for it.
But I think that I need to do more than wait...Adam Hamilton has said that if the church that you serve is not the kind that you would worship at, you need to get it there...I honestly haven't decided how I feel about that. I know that my spiritual needs are much different than those in the congregations that I serve, as I would expect they would be! I have been shaped and formed in traditions that seem foreign to others. I have been molded and grown into expressions of Christianity that may seem threatening to others. My idea of worship is different than yours. So, what does it mean?
I'm not sure...it's the messs and mesh that we are involved in today and in today's world. There are segements of the population whose needs are not being met and we have to honestly ask ourselves if we are prepared to meet their needs. If the answer is "no", what does that say about the church?
Monday, November 02, 2009
What's your story?
One of the books that I read while I was on my retreat was Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. I had started this book before retreat, but like several other books I had started it and felt guilty for reading it because it was more for me than it was for the church. So, I turned to other books instead. Miller's book was the first one that I picked up on retreat to read and also the first one I finished. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down! I loved it so much and it was very easy to read and very easy to get lost it. While it is a biographical piece, it is also a piece that one can easily find themselves in quite easily.
What Miller suggests is that our lives are our stories and if we don't like the stories that we're living, we should write new ones. Sometimes that means making a conflict that forces us to move into our new story, sometimes it means working on our character, or simply writing a whole new story all together. He talked about his life and the parts that he wanted to make sure were living differently.
Now, I said that one could find themselves squarely within the pages and I should probably be clear to say that I found myself within the pages of this book. I heard Miller make the same argument that I've heard Rob Bell make that conflict and suffering moves us into new better/more than not. I still haven't quite bought into this notion, but they both certainly make a compelling argument. I suppose if I look at conflict/suffering as not necessarily something awful happening (although that may be), but conflict/suffering as a mode of change, I can agree. There does need to be some kind of conflict to push a story forward otherwise it stays stagnant.
After I reflected on this book and it's ideas for my own life, and now that I have returned home...I started to think about what this means for the church. Now certainly, I mean not only for the churches that I serve, but also for the Church Universal.
Is the story that the church is living the story that we want to be living? Now I don't suggest making changes to the Gospel story, but has the way that we have been living out that story not been faithful to the story? Because certainly the story of the Gospel is anything but a safe story and one that actually pushes us outside of our own comfort zone in order to fully rely on God. If we are too busy worrying about our own comfort, then we have begun trusting on our own understanding and not what God has provided for us.
So if churches need to look at changing their story, what is the conflict to push them forward? Is it the realization that they are no longer reaching out to younger generations or even reaching out to any generations...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living. If we are no longer making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living. If we are too concered with the appearance of our buildings...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living.
Identifying that we are no longer living the story that we need to living isn't all that difficult....Or is it? I mean, I feel as though it's easy to look at the church and realize that the mission of the church is not being lived out. But perhaps that is a painful part...to realize that what you have been doing and how you have been living is not reflective of the Gospel or the mission of the church.
Even after recognizing that the story is not the story you were meant to be living, changing is hard. It is one thing to recognize the problem and it is quite another to change. I suppose that it is symptomatic of my generation that I am used to the world changing at a rapid pace. In fact if things are not changing quickly, I am less inclined to be comfortable or become frustrated. I suppose that is part of being a part of the "google" generation. So, it really boggles me that there are some who are just opposed to change as a general rule. Even for something that is so small or insignificant...Why is change so difficult?
I'm just beginning another book-- Leading Change in the Congregation by Gil Rendle which my DS will be leading a discussion group around later this week. I've not yet gotten very far at all, but I am hoping that there will be hints at some of the questions that I have.
I have been very clear with people that I am not interested in being at a church that is content to die or that I am expected to baby sit. That is incompatible with my call and disrespectful to God.
What Miller suggests is that our lives are our stories and if we don't like the stories that we're living, we should write new ones. Sometimes that means making a conflict that forces us to move into our new story, sometimes it means working on our character, or simply writing a whole new story all together. He talked about his life and the parts that he wanted to make sure were living differently.
Now, I said that one could find themselves squarely within the pages and I should probably be clear to say that I found myself within the pages of this book. I heard Miller make the same argument that I've heard Rob Bell make that conflict and suffering moves us into new better/more than not. I still haven't quite bought into this notion, but they both certainly make a compelling argument. I suppose if I look at conflict/suffering as not necessarily something awful happening (although that may be), but conflict/suffering as a mode of change, I can agree. There does need to be some kind of conflict to push a story forward otherwise it stays stagnant.
After I reflected on this book and it's ideas for my own life, and now that I have returned home...I started to think about what this means for the church. Now certainly, I mean not only for the churches that I serve, but also for the Church Universal.
Is the story that the church is living the story that we want to be living? Now I don't suggest making changes to the Gospel story, but has the way that we have been living out that story not been faithful to the story? Because certainly the story of the Gospel is anything but a safe story and one that actually pushes us outside of our own comfort zone in order to fully rely on God. If we are too busy worrying about our own comfort, then we have begun trusting on our own understanding and not what God has provided for us.
So if churches need to look at changing their story, what is the conflict to push them forward? Is it the realization that they are no longer reaching out to younger generations or even reaching out to any generations...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living. If we are no longer making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living. If we are too concered with the appearance of our buildings...We are no longer living the story that we need to be living.
Identifying that we are no longer living the story that we need to living isn't all that difficult....Or is it? I mean, I feel as though it's easy to look at the church and realize that the mission of the church is not being lived out. But perhaps that is a painful part...to realize that what you have been doing and how you have been living is not reflective of the Gospel or the mission of the church.
Even after recognizing that the story is not the story you were meant to be living, changing is hard. It is one thing to recognize the problem and it is quite another to change. I suppose that it is symptomatic of my generation that I am used to the world changing at a rapid pace. In fact if things are not changing quickly, I am less inclined to be comfortable or become frustrated. I suppose that is part of being a part of the "google" generation. So, it really boggles me that there are some who are just opposed to change as a general rule. Even for something that is so small or insignificant...Why is change so difficult?
I'm just beginning another book-- Leading Change in the Congregation by Gil Rendle which my DS will be leading a discussion group around later this week. I've not yet gotten very far at all, but I am hoping that there will be hints at some of the questions that I have.
I have been very clear with people that I am not interested in being at a church that is content to die or that I am expected to baby sit. That is incompatible with my call and disrespectful to God.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Let's Rethink Church
Dear Friends,
Some remarkable things have been happening as the leaves are falling from the trees. Not only does creation look brilliant with reds, yellows, and oranges, but the Spirit has been moving something fierce!
A few weeks ago, Norway United Methodist Church moved with the Spirit and reached out into the community by having a presence at the Norway Farms Fall Festival. Over 120 Rice Krispe Treats were handed out as well as many gourds decorated and more conversations to be had. While the event and response were incredible, what was even more amazing was the response from the congregation. At any moment there were opportunities to not listen to the Spirit and put things on pause or not even consider doing anything. Clearly that didn’t happen! What happened was a way that Norway UMC is “rethinking church” and looking at how to meet the needs of the community by sharing the gifts of the congregation.
The 2nd Monday dinners at Sheridan UMC continue to be opportunities to feed the bellies of the community while offering the hospitality of the church. There are some who have eaten dinner who would not have had such a wonderful meal on a limited cost. This is what it means to share what we have with others and not expect anything in return.
This month we will be hearing more about the United Methodist campaign to rethink church and by now some of you may have heard the commercials or seen the advertisements on TV about the United Methodist Church. This month we’ll explore the Biblical and theological foundations of the campaign as well as what it means specifically for Sheridan & Norway United Methodist Churches.
Albert Einstein is quoted with saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We can no longer expect to do the same things over and over again and think that there will be different results. It is time for us to rethink how we do things and how we will share the message of the Gospel with a world who is craving to hear it. This message of the Gospel that is full of hope for the hopeless, rest for the weary, and grace for all who need it. It is a message that needs to be shared and a message that we are charged with sharing.
This month, think about 1 or 2 people in your life that have no affiliation with a church. Maybe they’ve never attended a worship service or been a part of a congregation. Maybe they have gotten angry at a congregation and have written off churches all together. After you think about those people and pray for them. Ask them what they are looking for in a church and then listen to their responses. As we rethink church there will be opportunities to seek to meet the needs that they may have.
In his book I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church, Rev. Pat Nixon challenges all churches to choose now over later. The time is now to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It is a big task and an important task that we embark on together.
Some remarkable things have been happening as the leaves are falling from the trees. Not only does creation look brilliant with reds, yellows, and oranges, but the Spirit has been moving something fierce!
A few weeks ago, Norway United Methodist Church moved with the Spirit and reached out into the community by having a presence at the Norway Farms Fall Festival. Over 120 Rice Krispe Treats were handed out as well as many gourds decorated and more conversations to be had. While the event and response were incredible, what was even more amazing was the response from the congregation. At any moment there were opportunities to not listen to the Spirit and put things on pause or not even consider doing anything. Clearly that didn’t happen! What happened was a way that Norway UMC is “rethinking church” and looking at how to meet the needs of the community by sharing the gifts of the congregation.
The 2nd Monday dinners at Sheridan UMC continue to be opportunities to feed the bellies of the community while offering the hospitality of the church. There are some who have eaten dinner who would not have had such a wonderful meal on a limited cost. This is what it means to share what we have with others and not expect anything in return.
This month we will be hearing more about the United Methodist campaign to rethink church and by now some of you may have heard the commercials or seen the advertisements on TV about the United Methodist Church. This month we’ll explore the Biblical and theological foundations of the campaign as well as what it means specifically for Sheridan & Norway United Methodist Churches.
Albert Einstein is quoted with saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We can no longer expect to do the same things over and over again and think that there will be different results. It is time for us to rethink how we do things and how we will share the message of the Gospel with a world who is craving to hear it. This message of the Gospel that is full of hope for the hopeless, rest for the weary, and grace for all who need it. It is a message that needs to be shared and a message that we are charged with sharing.
This month, think about 1 or 2 people in your life that have no affiliation with a church. Maybe they’ve never attended a worship service or been a part of a congregation. Maybe they have gotten angry at a congregation and have written off churches all together. After you think about those people and pray for them. Ask them what they are looking for in a church and then listen to their responses. As we rethink church there will be opportunities to seek to meet the needs that they may have.
In his book I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church, Rev. Pat Nixon challenges all churches to choose now over later. The time is now to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It is a big task and an important task that we embark on together.
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