Jackson was taking a hitting lesson. (When I was a kid, there was just one team bat, and the only lesson available was, “Keep your eye on the ball, son, and hit it hard!”) There’s more to it than that, now. (And the one-team-bat version was cheaper, too!)
His coach goes by “Shore,” and as he was pitching to Jackson and barking instructions faster than my keep-your-eye-on-the-ball batting experience could process, he casually said to me, “What do you think about Joel Olsteen? (“You’re long, Jackson. Shorten it up!”) Knowing I’m a pastor, and given his reaction to my response, I think Shore thought I’d be a bit more effusive in praise. Or that I’d at least have one good word to say. But the best I could offer was, “I can’t say that I’m a fan.” Maybe he thought I was jealous of the big crowds, or the full head of hair, but Shore completed my thought for me. “I go over here to (such and such) to church (“That’s what I want to see, Jackson!”), but I listen to Olsteen when I’m not there – which is a good bit of the time. I like him because, well I’d have to say he’s more an entertainer, or a motivational speaker, but he makes me feel good.”
You don’t say.
We moved from the batting cage to the pitching mound, and while I was catching Jackson (and doing my fair share of praying, given the speed and movement he’s now putting on the ball – I’d guess I’m no more than one hit pitch away from retirement!), Shore walked back by. “I’ve given a little more thought to your question, Shore. And a more complete response would be to say that I just don’t think Jesus was much of a ‘motivational speaker.’” I think Shore understood. But he and millions more will be tune in again Sunday morning at eleven.
With no sense of arrogance intended (as if I’m more like Jesus than Joel is), I do think this is part of why we’ve not yet had to add a third service and two satellite locations with a televised feed for the Sunday sermon at Park Road Baptist. It’s hardly surprising to say that more people would rather leave worship (or get off the sofa) “feeling good,” than being challenged with the difficulties of faith. But if you really want to listen to the Bible, you’re not often going to close the pages with one of Olsteen’s signature smiles on your face.
This stuff is hard.
I hate your worship – the liturgy I want is service... Turn the other cheek... Go the extra mile... The greatest will be the servant... Give to everyone who begs... Forgive (until you’re sick of it)... Take up your cross (not the trinket on your necklace), and FOLLOW ME...
Christian faith, lived, requires discipline, which has become a bad word. But without discipline, no one can hope to become a disciple. So we'll be talking during this season of Lent about discipline, not about God giving you everything you want through prayer. Our theme is “The Disciplined Life: A Journey to Easter,” and we’ll spend each week on one, three-word discipline. This week’s is “Run the Race.”
I hope it will be motivating!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Strength From Beyond
For more than a year our church family has been praying for the 8-year-old niece of our own, Steve King. Beth had been diagnosed with cancer, and through various treatments we lent what support we could to Steve and Tammy, and we held a beautiful girl in the light of God, praying with Beth in our thoughts. We had all celebrated a notice of remission. Then came bad news. And after a few difficult weeks for those who love her, even worse news: the hand and forearm where the cancer had returned would have to be removed. That surgery is coming next Tuesday -- and Beth and her family will again be in our hearts, on our minds.
I asked permission of Beth's mother, Lisa, to share a reflection that she wrote, which Tammy had passed on to many of us. I was touched by the incredible strength of a mother and a young child, by a "strength from beyond" which came to me in these words (from beyond), which lifts us all, in moments of great need.
Thank you, Beth, for teaching us all, from your great strength. And thanks be to God for that strength that comes, from a place we cannot name, to touch the deepest moments of our pain. Our prayers go with Beth for next Tuesday...
***
Last Friday, my family gathered in a doctor's office at Aflac Cancer Center, where my three children were told that Beth's cancer was indeed back. They were then told that Beth's hand would need to be removed in order to remove the cancer. Of course, I knew ahead of time, what was going to be discussed. My children did not. I sat beside my daughter and braced for the tears, the anger, the terror. I watched as her cheeks began to flush, I held her hand as she reached for me. I stood and put my arm around her waist even as she wrapped her arm around my neck and drew my cheek to hers. I was scared to look her in the eye - I was scared what I would find.
When I met her eyes, what I found there was God.
I have always been a very logical, passive and unemotional Christian. I have come to my Faith through a lifetime of increasing awareness - baby steps leading me down my path. I have always wanted to experience an uncontainable encounter with the Holy Spirit - one that would send me crying or dancing to the alter - one that would forever banish any tiny crumb of doubt that creeps into the heart of most Christians at some time or another.
Last Friday, that all changed. I was near vomitting as I waited for the breakdown of my children that I knew was coming. This is what happened instead....
Garett walked to me and took my hands. He asked me if I was going to cry, I told him no, and he looked at me and said that we were going to be OK. He sat back down and began to ask questions of the doctors. Becky came and stood silently by her twin sister, as if to pass her strength onto Beth and to take some of her pain onto herself. And, as for Beth, the "star" of this show, when she finally looked at me, there was this peace and calmness to her that was not her own. She held me as much as I was holding her. She listened and accepted what was being told to her. She asked questions about what she would be able to do with her replacement hand, she asked if she would need chemo, she asked if she could still have a hamster. She asked if she could still have a hamster. A hamster.
Garrett told me that Luke Skywalker had a replacement hand and that he was the best Jedi Knight ever. Beth told the doctor's that she had a talent show to perform in and needed to be out of the hospital for that. Becky just said that her sister was cool and always would be. Two doctors a nurse practitioner and a child life specialtist were poised in that room for damage control and counseling. Two doctors, a nurse practitioner, a child life specialist and two parents were taught a lesson by two eight year olds, a nine year old and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
I have said before, that first Beth heals us, then we set about healing her. How profound that small statement was. Beth has made only one request since last Friday. She has asked that we remove the cast on her arm a day before the surgery. She wants to "spend some time with her arm before she loses it". So for those who think she does not understand what is going to happen, she understands better than any of us. She will lose nothing that God or any of her family cherish about her. She will lose a diseased part of her body - her soul and her spirit shine brighter than ever.
By the way, this weekend we spent time with my childhood best friend and her daughter, we saw the Justin Beiber movie (Beth made plans to marry him) and we looked at hamster cages. Beth's cast will be removed next Monday. Beth's forearm will be removed on Tuesday. Any of my lingering spiritual doubts were removed last Friday. What is precious in Beth, what is precious in ALL OF US, can never be removed.
I pray that the Grace that God has given to Beth spread like wildfire to all of us. That His peace be with us and that His strength be in my little girl as she begins her walk down the path that God has chosen for her.
***
May it be so!
I asked permission of Beth's mother, Lisa, to share a reflection that she wrote, which Tammy had passed on to many of us. I was touched by the incredible strength of a mother and a young child, by a "strength from beyond" which came to me in these words (from beyond), which lifts us all, in moments of great need.
Thank you, Beth, for teaching us all, from your great strength. And thanks be to God for that strength that comes, from a place we cannot name, to touch the deepest moments of our pain. Our prayers go with Beth for next Tuesday...
***
Last Friday, my family gathered in a doctor's office at Aflac Cancer Center, where my three children were told that Beth's cancer was indeed back. They were then told that Beth's hand would need to be removed in order to remove the cancer. Of course, I knew ahead of time, what was going to be discussed. My children did not. I sat beside my daughter and braced for the tears, the anger, the terror. I watched as her cheeks began to flush, I held her hand as she reached for me. I stood and put my arm around her waist even as she wrapped her arm around my neck and drew my cheek to hers. I was scared to look her in the eye - I was scared what I would find.
When I met her eyes, what I found there was God.
I have always been a very logical, passive and unemotional Christian. I have come to my Faith through a lifetime of increasing awareness - baby steps leading me down my path. I have always wanted to experience an uncontainable encounter with the Holy Spirit - one that would send me crying or dancing to the alter - one that would forever banish any tiny crumb of doubt that creeps into the heart of most Christians at some time or another.
Last Friday, that all changed. I was near vomitting as I waited for the breakdown of my children that I knew was coming. This is what happened instead....
Garett walked to me and took my hands. He asked me if I was going to cry, I told him no, and he looked at me and said that we were going to be OK. He sat back down and began to ask questions of the doctors. Becky came and stood silently by her twin sister, as if to pass her strength onto Beth and to take some of her pain onto herself. And, as for Beth, the "star" of this show, when she finally looked at me, there was this peace and calmness to her that was not her own. She held me as much as I was holding her. She listened and accepted what was being told to her. She asked questions about what she would be able to do with her replacement hand, she asked if she would need chemo, she asked if she could still have a hamster. She asked if she could still have a hamster. A hamster.
Garrett told me that Luke Skywalker had a replacement hand and that he was the best Jedi Knight ever. Beth told the doctor's that she had a talent show to perform in and needed to be out of the hospital for that. Becky just said that her sister was cool and always would be. Two doctors a nurse practitioner and a child life specialtist were poised in that room for damage control and counseling. Two doctors, a nurse practitioner, a child life specialist and two parents were taught a lesson by two eight year olds, a nine year old and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
I have said before, that first Beth heals us, then we set about healing her. How profound that small statement was. Beth has made only one request since last Friday. She has asked that we remove the cast on her arm a day before the surgery. She wants to "spend some time with her arm before she loses it". So for those who think she does not understand what is going to happen, she understands better than any of us. She will lose nothing that God or any of her family cherish about her. She will lose a diseased part of her body - her soul and her spirit shine brighter than ever.
By the way, this weekend we spent time with my childhood best friend and her daughter, we saw the Justin Beiber movie (Beth made plans to marry him) and we looked at hamster cages. Beth's cast will be removed next Monday. Beth's forearm will be removed on Tuesday. Any of my lingering spiritual doubts were removed last Friday. What is precious in Beth, what is precious in ALL OF US, can never be removed.
I pray that the Grace that God has given to Beth spread like wildfire to all of us. That His peace be with us and that His strength be in my little girl as she begins her walk down the path that God has chosen for her.
***
May it be so!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
G-7b5, C7b9, F-7, Bb7, Ebmaj7
It’s easily in my top ten things to do. Things that make my blood flow. That speak to me of the goodness of life. Of the sacred wonder of creation. Of the mystery we call Incarnation (God-with-us). I’d be afraid to try to prioritize, but it would rank somewhere in there with a crystal-glass lake at dusk and the thrill of feeling your toes just above that surface, skimming at almost 40 mph… somewhere in there with a snowy, fresh-powder day, chasing two boys in and out of snow-covered pines… somewhere in there with the smell of fresh-shaven wood chips, a finished product emerging under sandpaper and a coat of polyurethane… somewhere in there with the taste of home cooked food, a gathering around a table, the natural conversation that flows among friends, and the Spirit which that setting evokes. I wouldn’t want to prioritize, but it’s in there.
The first time I played in a jazz band, I was a would-be trumpet player. A band friend had initiated me with several invitations to community concerts. Benny Goodman, the Count, Woody Herman… I couldn’t believe it. Silky strains… syncopation with unimaginably tight tolerances… screaming horns… and chords I’d never heard before. I’d later learn to call them by their names: A7, C6, Ebmaj7, G-7b5, C7#9… but when I first heard them, they were just cool. Opening a new world of music. A new world.
Harry Boughknight was an old-school band director. We marched block-band style and played everything in 4/4. I learned Sousa in marching band. But Mr. B also loved the Big Band. In the next few years, that high school jazz band would play concerts at school, dances in town, and country club bookings, every performance further engraining in me the love of bee-bop and swing and Latin and jazz waltz. I progressed through high school, and Furman’s jazz program notched it up a couple levels – you see, those guys could really play! I loved every minute of it. But life moves on, and unless you’re very diligent, keeping up your lip is nearly impossible. So the bands fell by the wayside, and a couple years after moving to Charlotte, even the all-jazz public radio station went under, diminishing my jazz exposure to a shameful dearth .
Then came Jazz Vespers…
It’s easily in my top ten things to do. Things that make my blood flow. That speak to me of the goodness of life. Of the sacred wonder of creation. Of the mystery we call Incarnation (God-with-us). Our Jazz Vespers have given me a chance to re-discover the world of jazz. This time at the piano. And it’s a thrill – because I’m not a real player, but I’m getting to back up some guys that are! In that first jazz band, 1979, John G. Franklin played first-chair trombone, and then bass. He could play then. He can play now, and he knows the world of musicians in Charlotte, and has brought some really fine players to share their chops with us.
We’re up again, Friday. 6:00 pm. The combo is practicing this week, and we’ll do some sacred jazz for you (if you don’t mind swinging a few Baptist hymns) and some standards (just to prove that “secular” music is sacred, too). We’ll meet in the Chapel. There will be no sermon, per se. We’ll serve fair-trade coffee (which you can drink while you listen). And we’ll enjoy scripture and poetry and silence, and will seek to encounter the mystery we call God, as we gather as a community of faith, around the Godly strains of Jazz. Bring a friend and join us. I think it might make your top-ten, too.
G-7b5, C7b9, F-7, Bb7, Ebmaj7 (Translation: a benediction from Errol Garner’s “Misty”)…
The first time I played in a jazz band, I was a would-be trumpet player. A band friend had initiated me with several invitations to community concerts. Benny Goodman, the Count, Woody Herman… I couldn’t believe it. Silky strains… syncopation with unimaginably tight tolerances… screaming horns… and chords I’d never heard before. I’d later learn to call them by their names: A7, C6, Ebmaj7, G-7b5, C7#9… but when I first heard them, they were just cool. Opening a new world of music. A new world.
Harry Boughknight was an old-school band director. We marched block-band style and played everything in 4/4. I learned Sousa in marching band. But Mr. B also loved the Big Band. In the next few years, that high school jazz band would play concerts at school, dances in town, and country club bookings, every performance further engraining in me the love of bee-bop and swing and Latin and jazz waltz. I progressed through high school, and Furman’s jazz program notched it up a couple levels – you see, those guys could really play! I loved every minute of it. But life moves on, and unless you’re very diligent, keeping up your lip is nearly impossible. So the bands fell by the wayside, and a couple years after moving to Charlotte, even the all-jazz public radio station went under, diminishing my jazz exposure to a shameful dearth .
Then came Jazz Vespers…
It’s easily in my top ten things to do. Things that make my blood flow. That speak to me of the goodness of life. Of the sacred wonder of creation. Of the mystery we call Incarnation (God-with-us). Our Jazz Vespers have given me a chance to re-discover the world of jazz. This time at the piano. And it’s a thrill – because I’m not a real player, but I’m getting to back up some guys that are! In that first jazz band, 1979, John G. Franklin played first-chair trombone, and then bass. He could play then. He can play now, and he knows the world of musicians in Charlotte, and has brought some really fine players to share their chops with us.
We’re up again, Friday. 6:00 pm. The combo is practicing this week, and we’ll do some sacred jazz for you (if you don’t mind swinging a few Baptist hymns) and some standards (just to prove that “secular” music is sacred, too). We’ll meet in the Chapel. There will be no sermon, per se. We’ll serve fair-trade coffee (which you can drink while you listen). And we’ll enjoy scripture and poetry and silence, and will seek to encounter the mystery we call God, as we gather as a community of faith, around the Godly strains of Jazz. Bring a friend and join us. I think it might make your top-ten, too.
G-7b5, C7b9, F-7, Bb7, Ebmaj7 (Translation: a benediction from Errol Garner’s “Misty”)…
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Seeing God... in You
I thought I'd pass along another piece from a church member. Many of you know that Chase Bengel had surgery last week. His mom, Marinn, shared this email with many supporters. I thought I'd pass it along because it speaks as a living witness to the words of Hebrews 13: "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." For all who have been, according to Hebrews, literal angels to the Bengels: Thanks be to God!
***
My dear friends....Gosh how blessed I feel!
One said to me this morning, "Oh Marinn, you must be so stressed?" But my answer is, "Most of the time...not...because....You literally see the best of humanity and feel the touch of God!" And I mean that from the humblest part of my heart.
Let me tell you how God showed up for us.....
During Chase's first test at the hospital, one of the assisting nurses looked down at our chart and saw that Scott worked for Shelco. Her young husband also works for Shelco...Thanks be to God!
Before surgery, lots of God (I can't name you all) sent us emails, phone called and texted to say they/God would be with us, and you were. Thanks be to God!
When we got to the hospital, God came in greeted us as the Pre Op nurse Jo Aiken who has know us for years...Thanks to God for Jo being on our team...I would have requested her if I had know. Thanks be to God!
Then God (Amy and Michael) came and prayed with us. Then God (russ, amy, michael, sue, mom, kathy) came and waited with us during the surgery and made us laugh and passed the time. Thanks be to God!
And God (kathy) drove my other children around while we waited. Thanks be to God!
And then we went into our room in the hospital...10 minutes later...God walked in as the Child Life Specialist, Andrea, that is Howard Peabody's daughter, one of Scott's partners...and we haven't seen "cute her" in 5 years...there she was to check on us and take care of us..Thanks be to God!
And more God called our house to check on us and texted and called our cell phones...Thanks be to God!
And every day more God brought food and recipes and boost and biscuits, jam and a frosty and smoothie cards and movies and wine and....visits and....Thanks be to God!
So thank you God for being with our family every day....Thank you for holding our hands, whispering in our ears, feeding us and loving us...
Some will say that we never see the face of God, but I believe differently, and he/she looks like you. Thanks be to you!
Marinn
PS… Chase came home on Friday...a textbook operation and is happily and grumpily eating soft foods...3 to 6 weeks is a lot of soft food! He did end up with some pneumonia which has caused a lot of coughing and more sleeping. He is regaining strength and should be on the other side of this soon.
***
My dear friends....Gosh how blessed I feel!
One said to me this morning, "Oh Marinn, you must be so stressed?" But my answer is, "Most of the time...not...because....You literally see the best of humanity and feel the touch of God!" And I mean that from the humblest part of my heart.
Let me tell you how God showed up for us.....
During Chase's first test at the hospital, one of the assisting nurses looked down at our chart and saw that Scott worked for Shelco. Her young husband also works for Shelco...Thanks be to God!
Before surgery, lots of God (I can't name you all) sent us emails, phone called and texted to say they/God would be with us, and you were. Thanks be to God!
When we got to the hospital, God came in greeted us as the Pre Op nurse Jo Aiken who has know us for years...Thanks to God for Jo being on our team...I would have requested her if I had know. Thanks be to God!
Then God (Amy and Michael) came and prayed with us. Then God (russ, amy, michael, sue, mom, kathy) came and waited with us during the surgery and made us laugh and passed the time. Thanks be to God!
And God (kathy) drove my other children around while we waited. Thanks be to God!
And then we went into our room in the hospital...10 minutes later...God walked in as the Child Life Specialist, Andrea, that is Howard Peabody's daughter, one of Scott's partners...and we haven't seen "cute her" in 5 years...there she was to check on us and take care of us..Thanks be to God!
And more God called our house to check on us and texted and called our cell phones...Thanks be to God!
And every day more God brought food and recipes and boost and biscuits, jam and a frosty and smoothie cards and movies and wine and....visits and....Thanks be to God!
So thank you God for being with our family every day....Thank you for holding our hands, whispering in our ears, feeding us and loving us...
Some will say that we never see the face of God, but I believe differently, and he/she looks like you. Thanks be to you!
Marinn
PS… Chase came home on Friday...a textbook operation and is happily and grumpily eating soft foods...3 to 6 weeks is a lot of soft food! He did end up with some pneumonia which has caused a lot of coughing and more sleeping. He is regaining strength and should be on the other side of this soon.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I Can Imagine
So it's been a while since I posted, but I had to share this. Not my own, thoughts, but some words that our own, Ron Pelt, sent me this morning. Ron and his wife, Carol, are newer members who have been very active in church and in our Babylon's Class. Ron writes beautifully and occasionally sends me some of his work. I read this morning's offering and had to find a way to make it available to you. I think it speaks well of our God-experience -- and may speak particularly well to those of us who enjoy the give and take of theology and its inspiring, but also bewildering questions. The Psalmist says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46.10) -- sometimes we need to pause from our asking, our wrestling, our important-doubting... and just "know."
Thanks, Ron, for sharing. I'd love to have feedback from the church -- and other submissions, as well. Maybe we need a church-wide blog that we write together. Could this be our first entry?
***
Sometimes I can imagine myself in the future, having a conversation with God. God is somewhat puzzled and says to me,
“I gave you so much: from the amazing gold glowing orange of a peach slice (not to mention its incredible sweetness), to the taste of marmalade in the morning. I gave you the soft warmth of your puppy’s belly and the fluffy subtle cotton of the morning clouds. And yet you seemed so unhappy much of the time. And when you cried out in fear and loneliness, I was there, although your pain often blocked your awareness of my presence. I have been trying to tell you day after day, year after year, I know you. I am here for you. Come bring me your burdens and lay them here. I’ve got you.”
And God would go on to say, “When you were a young child, you knew all this. You would wake up each morning and wonder what miracles you would accomplish that day. The sun was brighter, the ice cream was sweeter, and you tasted it not just with your tongue, but with your whole face. You weren’t afraid to get your head right down into things. You jumped into mud puddles with both feet, delighting in the simplest things.”
I would be deep in contemplation and God would continue with his discourse. “Your faith in me was simple then. You saw me in the stars you looked up at on summer nights, marveled in my light from fireflies, and played with my hot orange coals in campfires. And you knew that you could do anything, because I made you that way. You could dance, sing, draw, imitate animals, and once you even tried to fly. And your dreams! Oh, your dreams! I loved to watch them at night. They were my favorite movies.
You didn’t expect too much from me in those days. Just for me to be big, really big. You didn’t question my power. That never even came up. You just assumed I was enough. And you weren’t afraid of me; that is, not until the grownups started trying to teach you about me. Then you started hearing all the lies, all the misunderstandings, and all the rules, rules, rules. Why in just a few short months I went from being a close loving warm blanket to becoming a jealous, cruel, judgmental, condemning monster, who sent people to some awful place where they burned forever and cried out in pain and loneliness.
I’m sorry for that. I knew it was happening but I couldn’t stop them, not the way things are set up. I tried to help you think about how silly all that was. And I did get through to you some. Are you listening now? Do you get it? I’m still here, and I still want to play. I love you and I want you to learn to love yourself, and marvel at what a miracle you are. If you can do that, then you can turn and look at others, and see how they are miracles too, and learn to marvel at them, like you used to a long time ago.”
Ron S. Pelt
***
Thanks, Ron, for sharing. I'd love to have feedback from the church -- and other submissions, as well. Maybe we need a church-wide blog that we write together. Could this be our first entry?
***
Sometimes I can imagine myself in the future, having a conversation with God. God is somewhat puzzled and says to me,
“I gave you so much: from the amazing gold glowing orange of a peach slice (not to mention its incredible sweetness), to the taste of marmalade in the morning. I gave you the soft warmth of your puppy’s belly and the fluffy subtle cotton of the morning clouds. And yet you seemed so unhappy much of the time. And when you cried out in fear and loneliness, I was there, although your pain often blocked your awareness of my presence. I have been trying to tell you day after day, year after year, I know you. I am here for you. Come bring me your burdens and lay them here. I’ve got you.”
And God would go on to say, “When you were a young child, you knew all this. You would wake up each morning and wonder what miracles you would accomplish that day. The sun was brighter, the ice cream was sweeter, and you tasted it not just with your tongue, but with your whole face. You weren’t afraid to get your head right down into things. You jumped into mud puddles with both feet, delighting in the simplest things.”
I would be deep in contemplation and God would continue with his discourse. “Your faith in me was simple then. You saw me in the stars you looked up at on summer nights, marveled in my light from fireflies, and played with my hot orange coals in campfires. And you knew that you could do anything, because I made you that way. You could dance, sing, draw, imitate animals, and once you even tried to fly. And your dreams! Oh, your dreams! I loved to watch them at night. They were my favorite movies.
You didn’t expect too much from me in those days. Just for me to be big, really big. You didn’t question my power. That never even came up. You just assumed I was enough. And you weren’t afraid of me; that is, not until the grownups started trying to teach you about me. Then you started hearing all the lies, all the misunderstandings, and all the rules, rules, rules. Why in just a few short months I went from being a close loving warm blanket to becoming a jealous, cruel, judgmental, condemning monster, who sent people to some awful place where they burned forever and cried out in pain and loneliness.
I’m sorry for that. I knew it was happening but I couldn’t stop them, not the way things are set up. I tried to help you think about how silly all that was. And I did get through to you some. Are you listening now? Do you get it? I’m still here, and I still want to play. I love you and I want you to learn to love yourself, and marvel at what a miracle you are. If you can do that, then you can turn and look at others, and see how they are miracles too, and learn to marvel at them, like you used to a long time ago.”
Ron S. Pelt
***
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
ReDreaming the Dream -- A Vision As It's Supposed To Be!
On Sunday the church will vote on a new vision that our Vision Team has been working on for nealy seven months. We knew going into this one that it was going to be different from the last (2003). Maybe harder. You see, the last time, the church was in a kind of "jump start" mode. Their new co-pastor team was still fairly new (3 years, and there were lots of "systems" that needed to be repaired or created. Everything from the phone system to the outreach system...
That 2003 process was begun because about a two years prior a church consultant, called in to give us advice about a "Master Plan" that was in the works, had made this striking statement: "I hear you saying what you want to do. I don't hear you saying who you are." So that Vision began, as all visions must, with a commitment to define who we are, which we accomplished in a mission statment that truly spoke of this church: "Becoming disciples through worship and service." That statement guided the the remainder of that process, and has led us as a church ever since. And that vision also set us on a track of completing some bricks-and-morter systems that needed to be put in place. In December, 2007 we dedicated a new Community Center, which will always stand as a kind of symbol to the 2003 Vision.
But we knew when we started in March of this year there would be nothing as tangible as a building to come out of this process. So it would be harder. It was. It is. Harder to see... harder to explain... harder to grasp (especially if you've not been in seven months of meeetings!) But it has the same potential to guide this church, define this church, change this church, as "Commitment Made Real" did, in 2003.
I hope you have taken the time to read and reflect, ask questions and study "ReDreaming the Dream: Reaching Up... Reaching In... Reaching Out...," which we will vote on as a church this coming Sunday. The document can be found on the church website (www.parkroadbaptist.org). Please take a look. I wanted to share with you the presentation that LeDayne McLeese Polaski made to our Deacons on Sunday morning. Her words mean something to me because of how well she knows The Church, and because they capture the excitement that this vision should. Amy and I hope that if we move forward on Sunday, we'll do so with this much enthusiasm -- it will virtually be required to make "ReDreaming the Dream" the success it deserves to be.
Here are LeDayne's remarks:
"In my job, I work with churches throughout North America. And because of that, I think about churches – what they do and why and how – and how they work or not – pretty much all day and every day – so I want to start with a very brief professional assessment.
PRBC is a healthy, vibrant church with excellent clergy and lay leadership – This expansive vision plan is both proof of that and reason to believe that it will continue as such. That’s my professional opinion.
But I think that Crystal (Crystal Smyth, Chair of Diaconate) invited me today to offer my personal opinion -- so here’s my personal option – I’m so excited that I just cannot stand it!
I had no idea of what to expect from the Vision Team and wasn't, to tell the truth, all that invested one way or the other. I’ve been in churches that created vision plans – I’ve watched churches create plans – and usually, to be honest, it isn’t very interesting. BUT – when I attended the presentation of the Vision Team a few weeks ago -- well, I thought it was the most exciting thing I'd ever seen in my 42 years of going to church. I already LOVED PRBC – but I was blown away by how good, how exciting, how visionary, how comprehensive, and how energizing this plan is. And – oh, by the way – by how faithful it is to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
My Sunday School class has been reading Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution – a book that makes me wonder if its possible for me to live a truly Christian life. I’ve been fretting about it, actually – wondering how I might move myself closer to being what I want to be – a faithful disciple. And then I went to the vision presentation and found the answer. I don’t have to do this alone – I have a community to help me – to support me, to challenge me, to walk with me, to care for me all along the way. And this community has a vision as big and deep and hard as I want mine to be. It makes me feel that I am in the right place to help me live out the call to discipleship. It makes me grateful to be a part of The Church and this church. It even makes me ready to give more and be more – and I would have sworn that I was already doing as much and giving as much as I could.
I am excited – energized – grateful – and ready to get started."
Thanks, LeDayne, so am I!
That 2003 process was begun because about a two years prior a church consultant, called in to give us advice about a "Master Plan" that was in the works, had made this striking statement: "I hear you saying what you want to do. I don't hear you saying who you are." So that Vision began, as all visions must, with a commitment to define who we are, which we accomplished in a mission statment that truly spoke of this church: "Becoming disciples through worship and service." That statement guided the the remainder of that process, and has led us as a church ever since. And that vision also set us on a track of completing some bricks-and-morter systems that needed to be put in place. In December, 2007 we dedicated a new Community Center, which will always stand as a kind of symbol to the 2003 Vision.
But we knew when we started in March of this year there would be nothing as tangible as a building to come out of this process. So it would be harder. It was. It is. Harder to see... harder to explain... harder to grasp (especially if you've not been in seven months of meeetings!) But it has the same potential to guide this church, define this church, change this church, as "Commitment Made Real" did, in 2003.
I hope you have taken the time to read and reflect, ask questions and study "ReDreaming the Dream: Reaching Up... Reaching In... Reaching Out...," which we will vote on as a church this coming Sunday. The document can be found on the church website (www.parkroadbaptist.org). Please take a look. I wanted to share with you the presentation that LeDayne McLeese Polaski made to our Deacons on Sunday morning. Her words mean something to me because of how well she knows The Church, and because they capture the excitement that this vision should. Amy and I hope that if we move forward on Sunday, we'll do so with this much enthusiasm -- it will virtually be required to make "ReDreaming the Dream" the success it deserves to be.
Here are LeDayne's remarks:
"In my job, I work with churches throughout North America. And because of that, I think about churches – what they do and why and how – and how they work or not – pretty much all day and every day – so I want to start with a very brief professional assessment.
PRBC is a healthy, vibrant church with excellent clergy and lay leadership – This expansive vision plan is both proof of that and reason to believe that it will continue as such. That’s my professional opinion.
But I think that Crystal (Crystal Smyth, Chair of Diaconate) invited me today to offer my personal opinion -- so here’s my personal option – I’m so excited that I just cannot stand it!
I had no idea of what to expect from the Vision Team and wasn't, to tell the truth, all that invested one way or the other. I’ve been in churches that created vision plans – I’ve watched churches create plans – and usually, to be honest, it isn’t very interesting. BUT – when I attended the presentation of the Vision Team a few weeks ago -- well, I thought it was the most exciting thing I'd ever seen in my 42 years of going to church. I already LOVED PRBC – but I was blown away by how good, how exciting, how visionary, how comprehensive, and how energizing this plan is. And – oh, by the way – by how faithful it is to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
My Sunday School class has been reading Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution – a book that makes me wonder if its possible for me to live a truly Christian life. I’ve been fretting about it, actually – wondering how I might move myself closer to being what I want to be – a faithful disciple. And then I went to the vision presentation and found the answer. I don’t have to do this alone – I have a community to help me – to support me, to challenge me, to walk with me, to care for me all along the way. And this community has a vision as big and deep and hard as I want mine to be. It makes me feel that I am in the right place to help me live out the call to discipleship. It makes me grateful to be a part of The Church and this church. It even makes me ready to give more and be more – and I would have sworn that I was already doing as much and giving as much as I could.
I am excited – energized – grateful – and ready to get started."
Thanks, LeDayne, so am I!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Real Meaning of Church
It happens occasionally. maybe only occasionally. Even for those of us who spend nearly every waking hour within its doors. So when church really happens, it's worth remembering. It happend this week.
(I told this story with her permission on Wednesday night, but for the internet I won't disclose any names.)
She came by the office early one day last week. She seemed excited. For more than a year there have been health questions for her husband. Tests here. Anxious waiting. Tests there. More waiting. They've both been amazingly upbeat (he probably more than she -- not surprising for an anxious spouse!). Not unrealistically cheery, but healthily optimistic. Hopeful.
And they'd gotten a report from the doctor that once again sounded like good news. I'm not at all being skeptical, just saying what we all know, namely, that listening to a report from the doctor can be notoriously difficult. There's the polysyllabic medical lexicon (the big words!), the complicated, often contingent procedures (this one if this... that one if, well, something else...), and the doctor's understandable need to be positive, even if realistic, and yet somewhat hestitant (they do call it the practice of medicine -- since no one has absolute answers when it comes to our health). What she heard (along with the other four listening ears from their family -- always a good practice to take along several extra sets of ears for doctors' conferences!) sounded good. Very good. and she just had to share.
So, standing in the church office, she did just that. We could hear the excitement. The absense of tension in her voice, for the first time in a while. (That's how you spell relief.) We asked a few questions, though there was little we needed to know other than the smile on her face. And then she said, "And I need a little thanksgiving prayer."
So right there, we joined hands. Our whole ministerial staff. The office staff. The office volunteer. And Amy prayed. (She knew I wouldn't have made it through such a tender moment -- and she was right! I hardly made it through her prayer!) It was a beatiful prayer of thanks and grace and community. Just what she needed. And what a gift she had given to us. Sharing life's difficult moments. And life's joys. Together. Wrapped in a spirit of prayer.
I don't know when I've had a more meaningful experience of church.
But I trust there will be more.
Russ
(I told this story with her permission on Wednesday night, but for the internet I won't disclose any names.)
She came by the office early one day last week. She seemed excited. For more than a year there have been health questions for her husband. Tests here. Anxious waiting. Tests there. More waiting. They've both been amazingly upbeat (he probably more than she -- not surprising for an anxious spouse!). Not unrealistically cheery, but healthily optimistic. Hopeful.
And they'd gotten a report from the doctor that once again sounded like good news. I'm not at all being skeptical, just saying what we all know, namely, that listening to a report from the doctor can be notoriously difficult. There's the polysyllabic medical lexicon (the big words!), the complicated, often contingent procedures (this one if this... that one if, well, something else...), and the doctor's understandable need to be positive, even if realistic, and yet somewhat hestitant (they do call it the practice of medicine -- since no one has absolute answers when it comes to our health). What she heard (along with the other four listening ears from their family -- always a good practice to take along several extra sets of ears for doctors' conferences!) sounded good. Very good. and she just had to share.
So, standing in the church office, she did just that. We could hear the excitement. The absense of tension in her voice, for the first time in a while. (That's how you spell relief.) We asked a few questions, though there was little we needed to know other than the smile on her face. And then she said, "And I need a little thanksgiving prayer."
So right there, we joined hands. Our whole ministerial staff. The office staff. The office volunteer. And Amy prayed. (She knew I wouldn't have made it through such a tender moment -- and she was right! I hardly made it through her prayer!) It was a beatiful prayer of thanks and grace and community. Just what she needed. And what a gift she had given to us. Sharing life's difficult moments. And life's joys. Together. Wrapped in a spirit of prayer.
I don't know when I've had a more meaningful experience of church.
But I trust there will be more.
Russ
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