A Lifetime of Never “Calling It In”

     I overheard one of those 30 second blurbs on NPR’s Morning Edition last week.  It was about a British carpenter named Dave Miller who was retiring at age 64.  Miller had a perfect attendance record at work, not taking a sick day since 1964!  That’s 48 years of getting out of bed, making your lunch, driving to work, and putting in a full day.  Amazing.

         I was flabbergasted by the amount of discipline that would take:  no matter how you feel, no matter what condition your car is in, no matter how much snow falls or lightning flashes—here’s a man who did it anyway.  I can’t help but think that the moral of this story is the sheer of commitment Dave Miller has to the people he works for and the pride he must have in the projects he works on.

         So how would commitment like that translate into our relationship with God?  I don’t think perfect attendance at worship is comparable, after all worship is as much inspiration for our souls as it is a chance to bring glory to God.  I don’t think it’s a perfect parallel to compare it with reading the Bible, or spending time in prayer.  As much as I love the church and as vital as feeding our spirits may be, I think Dave Miller’s call to us is a little bigger than that.

         In Paul’s letter to the followers of Jesus in Colossae he writes, “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. [Colossians 3:17, The Message]  Perfect attendance for Christians is more comparable to submitting every detail in our lives to the Spirit of Jesus.  Our job is not a job, it’s a calling that we pour our best effort into.  Our friendships and families aren’t just for our emotional support, they are the sheep the Great Shepherd has put into our care.  Every off-handed remark, every facebook post, every text and phone call either bear witness to our commitment to love like Jesus or they reveal how far away from that goal we fallen.

         I’m don’t love going to work every day.  I’m sure Dave Miller had days he wished he could be anywhere else other than the work site.  I’m not going to want to focus on the needs of others 24/7—there are too many times when I feel like it ought to be about me.  I’m sure Miller had lots and lots of people encouraging him to indulge himself, that he’d more than earned a “mental health day” or two or three.  
        I’m going to get angry, I’m going to want to be dismissive, I’m going to want to share a tidbit or two of juicy gossip, or sit in smug judgment on someone who has made foolish choices.  I’m going to be sorely tempted to push that send key or dial that phone number or post that snide and sarcastic comment, but then I would be a “no show” in my walk with Jesus. 

It’s very doubtful that I’ve died to self and been resurrected to new life in Christ if I keep resurrecting the old, self-centered me.  The problem with indulging yourself in a sick day here, a personal day there, a ‘it’s-just-too-nice-to-go-into-work-today” every now and then, is that going AWOL becomes easier to do and simpler to justify the next time and the time after that.

         Bottom line is that Dave Miller was at work every day for 48 years because he loved what he was doing, loved who he was working for—because being a committed craftsman and carpenter was just who he was.  The same has go to be true for us or this Jesus thing will never work.  We have got to love being faithful, love whom we are serving, and at some point simply become a new creation—a forgiven, accepting, grace-oriented apprentice of the Master Carpenter.

        

Final Day VBS Prayers

What a powerful week it has been for the children, their families, the staff, and leaders of our Vacation Bible School.  Prayers of gratitude for the incredible love our St. Andrew family has for the ones God sends to us!  Only time will tell whether or not these precious ones "got" what they most needed, heard what God wanted them to hear, saw the word made flesh in the youth and adults who worked with them.  But I believe no small number of them have heard, seen, and got it.

Final prayers in two areas:
     Prayers that the children can get to worship Sunday morning (and bring their families with them.  It is so important for them to be able to demonstrate to Mom and Dad what they've learned and how far they come.  They are also some of the best evangelists out there.
     We also want to pray that the Break Away youth can get to youth group Sunday night.  We design the program so that it is as easy a transition to our youth ministry as possible.  We pray that they not only come to share Sunday morning, but also come and have some fun at Wacky Olympics with the other Junior High youth of St. Andrew.

At St. Andrew we are called to be bridge builders.  Now we've laid down a good foundation and have gotten some children and youth over to a new place or a new relationship with God.  But it needs to be the kind of bridge they can cross again and again and again.  We need to pray that we can build bridges with our guests so that they can build a bridge with the grace-filled life that can only be found in Jesus.

So let's keep up the prayers all the way through Sunday night and beyond.

How To Read The Bible Like Jesus

I read an interesting article online about how Red Letter Christians read the Bible.  Red Letter Christians are those who give priority to the words and lifestyle of Jesus and use the spirit of Jesus to live a God-shaped life.  The article is an interesting one and lays out pretty clearly a view that I am more and more in line with.

Take a look if you'd like at:
http://www.redletterchristians.org/how-does-a-red-letter-christian-read-the-bible-a-jesus-shaped-proposal/

VBS Prayers Day 3

It's hot out there!

Prayers today for Shelia Green and Jamie Soposky for leading pre-school games.  They've been working outside, though today they may try doing something indoors.  Pray that Shelia and Jamie don't run out of ideas to keep the littlest ones having fun and staying open to new faith.

Prayers also for Dorothy Taylor and her helpers Aiden, Jaden, Andrew and Tyler.  They are leading elementary games outside.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, but also burn off some energy and enjoy one another in wholesome ways.  Prayers that the kids have a good time but don't get overheated.  (Also, Dorothy is going to have to leave her VBS position to be with her daughter Rebecca who is still battling pancreatic problems.  I believe, Liz Stetler is stepping in to take over.  Let's keep Rebecca and Liz in our prayers as well.)

Prayers for the kids who are losing a little energy, especially the little ones.  Some of the kids are used to having rest time in the afternoon and VBS can be a real change in their schedules.  We ask God to keep them from melting down, and give them a thirst for what they are learning about Jesus.

As always let's pray together that God's love be made clear to all and that we find a way to inspire these children to catch a glimpse the joy that comes with living for God.

Vacation Bible School Prayers Day 1

Definitely prayers for those involved in registration and with dropping off kids for VBS.  Some of these kids haven't been away from Mom and Dad ever before, or only with other family members.  It can be a scary proposition for kids of all ages.  Prayers of trust for the kids and prayers of patience for our registrars.


Prayers for the Break Away staff leaders, there has been a fair amount of physical barriers that have to be surmounted--illness, back problems, broken bones.  This is such a great and effective outreach ministry pray for quick healing, but perseverance and persistence the whole week.  A great attitude on the part of the kids participating wouldn't be bad either.


I can smell the sloppy joes cooking in the kitchen as I write this.  Prayers for the Kitchen crew that are feeding many of the volunteers so that they can be here early and get things prepared.  The food is always good and the warmth and smiles of those serving it always puts our leaders in a positive frame of mind.  Prayers of gratitude for all the acts of kindness among our volunteers/ missionaries.

What Airline Competition Can Teach Us About Being Church

We had a fascinating set of speakers at our Annual United Methodist Conference in Indianapolis this year.  One of them talked about changing the culture of the businesses, organizations (and churches!) that we are part of.  She had done quite a bit of consulting with Southwest Airlines and talked about three principles that set the tone for the culture within that company.
    Southwest Airline employees were expected to have/develop:
          A Warrior Spirit
          A Servant's Heart
          A Fun-luving Attitude.
It's not the principles I might first expect in a commercial airline, but Southwest is not your typical commercial airline.


I immediately wondered how we would go about changing the culture of our congregation at St. Andrew.  Could we and should we develop:
         An Apostle's Spirit.  The entrepreneurial sense of the great big world out there and a mission to meet the needs of that world with the grace and transformation of Jesus Christ. It's a frontier, wild west spirit that says, I don't care about the odds, I don't care about the response I may receive, I'm too excited about my commission to get out there and claim my world for God, to heal my relationships with forgiveness, to challenge the self-centeredness and incivility of the business world with truth that is shared in love, to dig down deep and start doing all the things I promised God I would do if I had the time, the money, and the opportunity.  The spirit of an Apostle could revolutionize the way we come together at St. Andrew.
         A Shepherd's Heart.  We talk a lot about a servant style of leadership--after all we are  a bib to apron congregation.  But a shepherd's heart is to look at the people around us and see them as our unique flock--our responsibility, our charge, our circle of influence.  A shepherd goes to great lengths to protect and provide for his sheep.  If we could relate to one another within the church--and learn to extend that care beyond the church to our families, workplace, and neighborhood--think of the witness we would have!
        A Joy-loving Attitude.  I think we're pretty much there with this one.  We're a congregation that loves to laugh at ourselves and tease one another good naturally.  We can probably step it up a bit and be a little less thin skinned with one another at times, but to know Jesus is to know Joy:  it is to know that life is a gift and we are about as lucky as can be to have this faith and one another to relish and cherish that gift together.


There is a lot we can learn from the world around us.  We can even learn how to relate to one another and our world from the way a rogue start-up airline thinks about who they are and how they want to pull together.  I thought it an interested conversation anyway. It was interesting enough that I continued that conversation with myself as I left the convention center last Friday.  Hopefully, you'll consider it a conversation to pick up and share as well.

Which House Would the Sorting Hat Put Jesus?

I came across a mash-up of sorts on the internet today.  A group of folks are asking which Hogwarts House would the sorting hat place the main characters from The Hunger Games.  In other words, from what we know of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor--where would Katniss, Peeta, and Gale be placed?  Okay, so you have to be into young adult fiction or movies.  But it's a fun challenge.

The four houses of Hogwarts identify and place students based on their character:  based on the unique virtues and possibly vices they bring to the table.  In a sense, the Sorting Hat is a kind of supreme discernment tool that looks into the hearts and minds of first year students to see the kind of young men and women they may become if put in the right environment.

 The Huffington Post site which started me thinking offers, for instance, the following hypothetical placements.

   Katiss: Slytherin

Slytherin might get a bad rap, but hear us out on this one -- it's not always a bad thing. As a tribute, she's ultra-focused on survival, a classic Slytherin trait. If she were a Gryffindor, she might sacrifice herself in the Games so that another tribute could survive (the way Harry was willing to die for the good of others in the final scenes of Deathly Hallows). Instead, she's a fierce competitor with a deep instinct to survive.

  Peeta: Hufflepuff

Everyone's favorite District 12 cutie is a Hufflepuff. He's kind, selfless, and cares deeply for others (including Katniss!). Even as a child, he saved Katniss and her family from starvation by giving her bread. But it's not all fun and games for Peeta; in true Hufflepuff fashion, Katniss rejects Peeta the same way that Remus rejected Tonks, a Hufflepuff.

  Gale: Gryffindor

Gale has Gryffindor written all over him. He comes from a poor family, but doesn't let that get him down -- family is everything to him. While Katniss is fighting in the Games, he takes over her responsibilities to her mother and sister and asks for nothing in return. We think he's a lot like Ron Weasley, who would do anything for his family and friends.

  Rue: Ravenclaw

As the smallest and youngest tribute, Rue faces devastating odds. But what she lacks in size and maturity, she makes up for with intelligence, the mark of a true Ravenclaw. She uses her extensive knowledge of plants to collect food and heal burns.

So I'm wondering what house you would  put Jesus in (assuming that Jesus would "fit" into one of the Hogwarts Houses)?

What about the disciples?  Where would the ancient sorting hat put Simon Peter, John, or Judas?  Where in the world would you place the apostle Paul?

Where would Mary Magdalene or Mary, the Mother of Jesus, or the woman at the well be sent?  How about Joseph, Nicodemus, or the rich young ruler?

And if you really want to have fun, think about the powerful stories Jesus told.  What house would the prodigal son or the older brother be placed in?  How about the good samaritan or the rich fool or the dishonest steward?

It might be a fun game to play and might bring some real insights with it.  Considering the standards set up in the examples from Hunger Games/Hogwarts have you got any thoughts?

Two Sides, One Very Precious Coin

I came across a quote the other day, funny but also insightful.  Pat Paulsen said, "Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles."  That about sums up my feelings about partisan politics in America today.  We swing from conservative to centrist to liberal in two year or four year election cycles and the goal of whoever gains power is to quickly exercise that power before it gets overturned during the next election.  But the end result is that we, as a nation, just go in circles and never tackle the big problems, structural and real problems, that are staring us right in the face.


It's the same way in the life of the church.  There are those who historically want us to focus almost exclusively on spiritual formation--personal piety and moral righteousness.  That makes pretty good sense.  You can't share with others what you don't have for yourself.  These folks want to emphasize that it is only by grace, accessed through faith, that we are saved from our individual brokenness and sin.  I don't need to worry so much about what I do, who I am is saved by the blood of Jesus...period.  Again, who am I to argue with logic like that?  (See Paul's letter to the Galatians)


Then there are those who say spiritual formation has to be accompanied by missional living.  In other words, those who are spiritually formed by Jesus will inevitably act and live like Jesus.  If they don't, then they are not nearly as formed as they may first think.  Don't tell me about your faith in grace, show me how grace has done its transformative work in your 2 most important books: your checkbook and your datebook.  You can't really have experienced anything like deep forgiveness and hold a petty grudge; you can't have really been completely accepted--warts & all--but hastily judge the people around you as unacceptable.  Forget "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands."  Try "if your washed in the blood and you know it, lay down your life for others."  (See the book of James).


Getting back to Paulsen's quote, if all you do is talk the talk and bask in the grace you've been given, you're going to simply go in one big circle.  If you just take it in and never give it out you'll become spiritually obese.  Love is just one of those gifts you have to give away if you ever want to keep it for yourself.  At the same time if all you do is walk the walk and give and give and give--without taking anything in--you are going to become spiritual anorexic or starve yourself.  Love is one of those gifts that if you give only what you generate yourself, you'll run out before you know it.  Inexhaustible love comes from tapping into the roots of God's agape, Jesus-like love.  Missional living without spiritual formation just sends us in a big circle in the other direction.


Spiritual formation can and should lead to missional living--accepting, forgiving, believing and loving others as Jesus has believed, loved and accepted us.  But at the same time one of the ways to accelerate spiritual formation is to jump into missional living and then take time to reflect on how that living changed your outlook, your personal habits, your worldview.  Missional living, if done thoughtfully, can jump start deep spiritual formation.  The two go hand in hand--back and forth, forth and back--two sides of the same reality.


My hope for us at St. Andrew is that we can do both at the same time.  Walk the walk as we talk the talk.  Lean on the love of God so that we can give that love to others generously and extravagantly.  I hope that we have folks becoming part of our mission trips or VBS only to experience first hand the transforming power of offering yourself unconditionally to others for Christ's sake.  I hope that we have folks that take the time to learn what it is we believe as followers of Jesus in order to live out those beliefs with greater clarity and purpose.


Like two oars on a boat we need to be 'pulling' upon spiritual formation and missional living at the same time.  If we don't we are destined to churn around in big, looping circles.  That is hardly the witness and purpose for which we have been so graciously called.

A New Experiment In Conversation

I've tried the blog thing once before and it was dismal--not a dismal failure--just too hard for me to get new content up and ready to go and too hard to leave comments.  This time around I want to just share with you on the fly, what I'm reading, what I'm thinking, and how I see God breaking into the community and world we share.  It's not going to be anything fancy.  Hence the name:  Some Assembly Required.  I want to throw out some half thoughts and insights and see if we can't flesh them out together.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we're called to be in community, authentic community (for the sake of the world).  I don't know how you do that without real dialog.


Just a couple quick disclaimers.  This isn't meant to be a gripe-fest about any thing.  Though there may be an occasionally political comment I'm not interested in partisanship.  I may talk about dreams for the church, our church, but I'm not looking for criticism of our church, not even constructive criticism.  This is, after all, public space.  I pray that my postings and your response put our Lord and our congregation in the most positive light possible.  Yes, we're going to disagree.  I look forward to it.  But we know how to do that with humility, kindness, and respect.  Anything less than that will simply undercut our witness to the world.  (Speaking of which I really like these guidelines for social media:  These helpful guidelines for Social Media for Christians.


It may take me a while to get the rhythm of this whole web log thingy, but stick with me.  We can have short bursts of conversation about the ways we need Jesus at work in the things we read, debates we over hear, and in the events of the world around us.  I invite you to join me in what is for me a new way of sharing ideas.  My prayer is that it will be a blessing for all of us.