Two More Sleeps...

We have arrived at another Saturday night. Saturdays are always days of preparation for me. Some weeks are more so than others depending on how heavy my seminary workload happens to be in a given week. This week, I have to admit that I am not quite so anxious for Sunday to arrive. I am reminded of a dear friend who used to have to help his young children figure out how long it would be before they would be able to come to his house for the weekend, and he would always tell them that he would pick them up in 3 more sleeps or however many days it would happen to be. I always thought that his words were such a simple way for a young child to keep track of how many days it would be before something that they were looking forward to.

Unfortunately, I am down to 2 more sleeps before going before the Board of Ordained Ministry. In a way that is a good thing, because I am not sure how much longer I can continue with the constant anxiety of these Interviews hanging over my head, and on the other hand, I am not so sure that if it is bad news that I want to know LOL

As I think back to my initial reasons for writing this blog, I was incredibly stressed about entering into the Commissioning process and part of my way of dealing with the stress was to write about it. As I think back now, many of you have been with me through the difficulty of the District Board interview, the struggle of getting through last semester as well as the anguish of getting the paperwork all turned in before leaving for El Salvador, and now I am down to the last 2 sleeps before finding out what my future holds (or not).

As for tomorrow? I am going to go to church and truly enjoy the worship experience, take Karen to Cracker Barrel for lunch, come home and read a little bit of my Michel Foucault, watch the NASCAR race with my Book of Discipline and my Board paperwork in my lap, and then in the evening, watch the movie Freedom Writers which came from Net Flix today. Then I will be down to only 1 sleep, ready or not!

Spring Is On The Way...

I am holding out hope that Spring is on the way. Just in the past couple of days I have begun to see some very hopeful signs. The first sign is that yesterday I was able to go outside without needing a coat. Of course, a couple of warmer days doesn’t necessarily mean anything, because we can be plunged back in the deep freeze very quickly this time of year.

The second sign is the fact that our tree in the back yard is beginning to blossom a little bit and I have seen a few daffodils beginning to break through the ground. These are both hopeful signs, but, I am also a bit concerned that they are going to freeze their little buds off, if they aren’t careful. And, last night we had quite a thunder storm which woke me up several times between the heavy rain and the thunder. Of course, in February, a thunder storm is always better than the alternative of a snow or ice storm.

The best sign, however, is that yesterday I saw a huge flock of Sand Hill Cranes in a field near Wal-Mart on their yearly migration. The Sand Hill Cranes are always a good sign of Spring for our area, plus I saw my first Robin of the season. And, one other ornithological observation, when I took Odie outside I saw a big flock of Canadian Geese heading in a northerly direction. Things are looking better all the time!

I sure hope that these are all signs of an early Spring, I am so ready to be done with my winter coat and high heating bills. I know that this could all change tomorrow, this is Indiana you know. But, each day like yesterday will bring us one day closer to Spring, and that is something to cheer about :)
Blessings

Theology Issues.... Again!

This whole subject of Theology is definitely fascinating. I doubt that anyone, outside of a seminary has any real idea of the number and variety of understandings of God and our relationship with God which exists. You may remember last fall how I was lamenting that I was hammered very hard for my theology, which is far from fundamentalist, but on the other hand I did have the “audacity” to imply that there will be an ultimate judgment. Most of my seminary colleagues apparently don’t believe that.

I have a pretty good understanding of the way that the people in my congregations view God, which is pretty consistent with most of the people that I know. But then again, there are the views of what I believe are the majority of my seminary colleagues which I must admit, are not based very firmly in United Methodist Doctrine. Now with that being said, you might argue that a lot of my colleagues are not United Methodist, which is true, but what brought me to write my blog this morning was something that happened in my Ministry of Evangelism class which is a United Methodist Course.

Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. The professor asked us to discuss this statement:

“The proclamation of Jesus as ‘the Savior of the world’ is not an affirmation that all are automatically saved but rather an invitation to all to put their trust in the one who gave his life for the sin of the world.”

Ok, now it would be my assertion that this statement is a pretty middle road theological statement. It isn’t radical, it isn’t over the top, for me it is pretty foundational to what we believe, right in line with all of our creedal statements, in line with our doctrine, in line with our Confessional Statement, and our Articles of Religion. (Yes, my United Methodist friends, believe it or not, we have all of those things) All in all it is pretty much, I believe to be, mainline United Methodist theology.

In class yesterday, many of my colleagues took issue with this statement, complaining essentially that if Jesus is the Savior of the world, then that means that Jesus is the Savior of all, and that all will ultimately be saved. I listened to the discussion, which is my custom, usually in a large class, I don’t say very much, but if you get me in a small class, it seems like I can’t shut up. LOL.

Anyway, I listened, but I kept coming back to one question, If there is this thing called universal salvation, and it doesn’t matter what you believe or who you believe in, if there is no judgment, and so it doesn’t matter what you do, if we are all “saved” then what is the purpose for evangelism? What is the purpose for church? Why would anyone need, or desire, to spend years of their life and $100,000 in seminary? Wouldn’t it be easier to stay home on Sunday, kick back with a beer (not my choice of beverage) and watch television? And what about people like Hitler, do they get the same pass that everyone else does? What does this say about God’s justice? Is there such a thing? Is the only justice that is available, social justice?

Oh, and yes I did ask the question in class, not necessarily all of these questions, but I did ask that if we believe in universal salvation, why do we need evangelism, which the professor smiled and said, if that were the case, he would be out of a job. (the class may not have agreed with me, but I think perhaps the professor did)

These are the questions that I simply can’t wrap my head around. One of our favorite scriptures as Christians is of course John 3:16 which says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. As much as I would love to believe that everyone will be saved, as much as I would like for that to be true, I keep being drawn back to those words, that whoever believes in him. For me, those words are very important to this conversation, it doesn’t say, so that everyone will have eternal life, it says that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life.

Now don’t get me wrong, I will be the first to say that God’s grace is so much bigger than we can ever imagine, and God’s love is far more wonderful and profound than we can possibly fathom. It should also be said that our job is absolutely not to judge. God’s heavenly plan is not up to you or me, we have been assigned the task of loving one another as God has loved us. And I think that if we can keep this job in mind, the rest of our theology will take care of itself.

Blessings

Ash Wednesday

Today, Ash Wednesday, is one of the most Holy Days in the Christian liturgical calendar. I have to admit that I am a bit sad today because this is the first Ash Wednesday since I have been preaching that I haven’t been able to spend it with my congregation and more importantly, hold an Ash Wednesday Service.

Today we begin together the journey to Jerusalem, a journey that will ultimately end on Good Friday at the Cross. This season of Lent has always been a challenging time for me. The music is no longer happy and upbeat, instead it is slow and often in minor keys which helps to reflect the mood and solemnity of the season. It is also a time marked by personal introspection and reflection.

Each year I am humbled by the young people of our congregation who give up something that is important to each of them. In the past few years they have marked Lent by the giving up of candy, but this year they are giving up both candy and TV. I must say that I would have a very difficult time with that one myself, which makes me ask the question, do the youngest members of my congregation have more faith (or will power) than me? (It isn’t necessarily the will power that is a problem for me, it is the WON”T power that I struggle with)

I have decided that even though I don’t really watch TV that much, what little I do watch is a significant time of mindless de-stressing which comes in very handy with seminary, boards, and church, not to mention the great hole in my schedule that would be opened if I were forced to give up my NASCAR race on Sunday afternoons. So instead of giving up TV, which would be awfully hard, I think I will just give up sweetened beverages. Now I think that I could give up Pepsi without tremendous sacrifice, but giving up sweet tea and Hawaiian Punch is another story altogether. Those of you who know me well understand the level of this sacrifice :) It doesn’t quite rise to the same level as TV, but it is still a significant sacrifice none-the-less.

I hope that your season of Lent is filled with great hope, reflection, prayer and worship. I also pray that your journey to Jerusalem is marked by the people that you meet on the way and the insights that you gain. Blessings to you and may God bless you during the season of Lent.

Blessings

Impossible Dream...

I ran across this video the other day and I wanted to share it with you. I was probably not more than 8 or 9 years old when this episode came out, but I have thought about it many, many times through the years. In this episode, Gomer goes with Sergeant Carter to Washington D.C. and if I’m not mistaken, prior to his big concert, Gomer gets laryngitis (due to nerves) and won’t be able to perform. I don’t remember the exact details, but something happens while Gomer is sitting dejected and afraid at the Lincoln Memorial and suddenly his voice comes back. This clip is the climax of the show as well as the trip to Washington D.C..

The reason that this is so memorable to me is that it is by far the most beautiful arrangement of “The Impossible Dream” that I have ever heard in my life. I can’t tell you how many times I wished that I could hear it again, and when I ran across it the other day, I found it to be just as beautiful as I remembered it as a child.

Maybe it’s the Marine Corp Dress Blue Uniform, or maybe it’s just the fact that Jim Nabors has one of the most beautiful voices that I have ever heard, perhaps it’s because he is an Indiana Boy (even though I wasn’t an Indiana boy when I was growing up) or maybe it's because I really have been thinking a lot lately about impossible dreams. But regardless, for me, this was one of my most favorite all time television moments. Does anyone else remember this?

Blessings

Come Saturday Morning...

I woke up this morning humming the song "Come Saturday Morning" which was a 1969 era song by the Sandpipers. I sure wish that my Saturday morning was going to be more like the words in the song. My morning has started off fairly early, not as early as some mornings here recently, but, early none-the-less. I am leaving in a little while to go to my District Board of Ministry Annual Interview. These in the past have been anywhere from extremely affirming and encouraging to difficult and intimidating. So, I have no idea what to really expect this morning, except that I plan to go and share as much as I can with the members of the board about what has been going on with my life and ministry since the last time that we met. I will be interested to see how much of our time together, if any, will be spent discussing my upcoming Interview with the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry on March 2nd.

This morning it is sleeting and freezing rain, so I will need to leave earlier than I had originally planned. I only have to go to North Vernon which is probably 30 minutes from here when the roads are good, but today I will probably leave an hour and a half early, just to make sure that I'm not late. Actually the cars in front of the house seem to be moving pretty well, of course as I say that, the ambulance just went by, so that is not necessarily a good sign.

Last night we had dinner with my Mentor Ron and his wife Nancy, and as usual Ron had a way of helping me to put things such as my upcoming interviews into perspective. I thought that it was rather funny how much alike Ron and I have always been. One personality flaw that we both have in common is procrastination. I’m not sure that he would call it procrastination, at least for him I think that he would say that he prioritizes his work to the point that he is always working on the most important thing that needs to be done next. I just admit that I procrastinate. Anyway, he and I both submitted our church year end reports yesterday, at almost the same exact time. Of course, yesterday was the last day to do it. I think I would call that procrastination, Wouldn’t you? Have a wonderful Saturday Morning!

Blessings!

Have Patients...

I always feel like I live in two worlds. Half of the week I spend in Ohio at seminary and then the second half of the week I spend at home and church. (Don’t tell the school, but I really prefer the second half of the week) Maybe it’s because graduation is getting closer all the time, maybe it’s because I am beginning to grow weary of the trips to Ohio and being away from home, but in some strange sort of way I am starting to look forward to the interviews with the Board of Ordained Ministry coming up on March 2nd. At least one way or the other, I will have some answers about my future, and I will at least have a little more of an idea of what the future will look like than I do now.

Oh, I know that it is possible that if I am denied or delayed that I will be in just about the same shape as I am in right now as far as not knowing what the future will hold, or perhaps even worse shape, but I am still holding on to the hope that I will be approved, and then even though I won’t know what the future holds for certain, at least I will know that I will be preaching somewhere. That could of course be right here, or it could be in the cold tundra of Northern Indiana along Lake Michigan, :( there is just no way to know at this point.

Regardless, I feel very confident that God didn’t bring me this far, though all of the challenges, all of the adversity and all of the trials to leave me adrift now. Perhaps one of the lessons that God is still trying to teach me is patients. I know I have never been very good at that, so I guess that I should just sit back, take a deep breath, and wait to see what God has planned for me.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5)

Blessings:)