Tuesday Morning Snark

Here’s my theory on jazz: it’s the new classical. Jazz shows have replaced most classical programs on CBC and CKUA. People experience jazz today with a sense of awe and wonder that was once the sole preserve of symphonies. It’s the music of choice for the intelligentsia and wanna-be elite. If you want to sound brainy and hip, drop John Coltrane’s name. It gives off both the illusion of smarts and of street cred. The music people pretend to like without knowing how to listen to it. Just like classical had been previously.

Belly Be Gone! Update 3

Two spinach smoothies. 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. 30 minutes strength training. 20 minutes walking around Save-On Foods. I’m baking beans and chopping veggies this afternoon. I’m glad the sun is shining. I find it easier to get motivated when I can see the promise of summer.

People have asked why I’m FINALLY getting back in shape after so many false starts.What makes this time different from all the other efforts?

Well, I turned 40 last year and began to feel my age. I wasn’t happy with the sedentary and fast food lifestyle I was living. I didn’t feel like “me.” The happy, confident, energetic, specimen of power and manliness that I was previously seemed to be disappearing. I wanted to be that man again.

Also, my marriage ended. And I’m sure being out of shape and the attending emotional consequences of poor eating was a contributing factor in its demise.

I need to do better. I am doing better.

So I made a deal with myself to make 2010 the best year of my life EVER. And getting into the best shape of my life is the highlight of that plan. Especially when I’m losing weight/gaining strength in front of 200 people, many of whom have sponsored me in my quest. With my personal integrity and charity money on the line I DEFINITELY need to reach this goal!

But I’m using the weight loss/strength gaining program to remind myself that good stewardship starts with the self. But it doesn’t end there. I’m re-gaining my health so I can be a better person, a better servant to those around me, a better dad, friend, lover (if/when that happens again). So I can have deeper connections with people. Healthy relationships begin with healthy bodies. I can’t properly love others if I’m treating my body like a rental car.

Time for another spinach smoothie.

Hand to the Plow

Willimon, at study conference, was incredible. Better in person than on podcast. I also love his books. I got his autograph.

I know it’s hard to believe that there are days when I get discouraged in ministry. Days when I feel like looking back after putting my hand to the plow. Days when I update my resume and cruise the list of pastoral vacancies. Or days when I think of getting out the pastor gig altogether.

When I have those days one of Willimon’s podcasts downloads from iTunes. And he always says something that re-energizes me about ministry and the church. He reminds me that churches are filled with people, sinful, petty, small - just like the disciples. And he further reminds me that I’m no different from them. I just have a collar around my neck. Not a halo over my head.

But more importantly, I learn that it’s not my job to “care” for people. My job is to tell people about Jesus. I am not in the “helping profession.” I am in the Jesus profession. My job is to preach. And sometimes preaching means wounding - even killing - so that we can rise again, a new creation. My job is not to make people feel good about themselves, but to help them grow as Christians.

There are days when I don’t care for people as much as I feel I should. But that’s why I preach a Word that is not mine, but a Word that belongs to Great Lover of the World. It’s not me who loves, but God, through me.

When I realized that, then I can put my hand back on the plow.

Why aren't people coming to church?

At the study conference people asked, “Why aren’t people coming to church anymore?” And I was struck by the seriousness with which people took the question.

I think that's the wrong question. It makes church all about US and what WE'RE losing.

But more distressingly, the undercurrent of that question is “What’s wrong with people that they don’t see the world as we Christians see it? Why do we have to work so hard to keep our doors open?”

Whenever I hear people complain about churches emptying I want to respond: why SHOULD people come to church? Why should going to church be part of social expectations? Why should attendance at worship be expected to be the norm in peoples’ lives?

What we should be asking is, “What is driving people away from church?” Or, perhaps, more importantly, “Is the way we presently do church turning people away from God?”

We heard from Bishop Ron reporting George Barna’s most recent research, that people are open, hungry for spiritual things, but turned off by church. People have a longing to touch the divine but don’t feel compelled to find the holy in traditional churches.

People, Bp Ron reported, are into a “do-it-yourself” religion. “Whatever works for you.” The assumption is that people are disconnected from centuries old wisdom that has pondered ancient mysteries, dismissive of organized religion that has brought comfort and peace to seekers of God for thousands of years.

But what is not acknowledged is the tradition that they are reacting to. The tradition that told women to be silent in church, the tradition that told people to be afraid or suspicious of their sexuality (homo, hetero, or...?), the tradition that mistook God’s power for Caesar’s - institutional religion that is more interested in protecting itself and its power over peoples’ lives than in setting people free in Jesus' name.

Whatever name you give our present cultural context, postmodernism or something else, it is a reaction to harm done in the past. And we can’t go on complaining about what we’ve lost as a church until we recognize our complicity in creating the problem.

We are given an incredible opportunity to show humility to the world. This is a missional opportunity. If we engage the world with open ears and soft hearts, then we might earn the privilege to open our mouths with the gospel. When people see that our agenda is nothing more nor less than a ministry of life and healing, rather than creating a group of churchgoers, than I think the world will listen.

People are hungry for God. But doesn’t mean they’re hungry for institutional church. Nor should it.

So, instead of asking, "Why aren't people coming to church?" The question should be, "Why aren't we going to them?"

Diversity? Community?

A big part of my job is creating community from disparate groups of people. While I’m not utopian with regards to how well we can build those important connections (people can be mean, petty, selfish, as well as kind, generous, and gracious. All at the same time), I still think that the greatest human longing is intimate relationships with others. And through others, with God. We’re disconnected, savagely independent, and appear to like it that way.

But when people experience authentic community, you can almost feel their frozen souls begin to melt. People long to be known. Like in Avatar, the Na’vi’s greeting was at the core of their life together: “I see you.” I recognize your existence. It’s personal and communal. In fact, one of the myths we have as a culture is thinking we can exist, have being outside of our relationships. My relationships MAKE me ME. For better or worse. I can’t escape that.

So, for Christians, I think we are shaped by the One who knows us, but comes among us as one UNknown. That’s why we struggle so deeply as a people trying to discern what God wants from us. The invisible God can be so utterly absent at times, leaving us to discuss, bicker, and debate God’s heart and mind. All that’s left is speculation.

Sometimes I wonder if the absence of community among Christians is because we feel an absence of God. The Word may have become flesh, but I often worry if that Word is spoken so softly that we can’t hear it. We have scripture, through which we confess that God is revealed. But no two people agree in what the bible says. We all have our own modes of interpretation.

Bishop Ron ruminated about how few pastors came to this week’s study conference. I wish he would have spoken to those who chose to be away, rather than spanking those present. I think people don’t come to study conference because they feel disconnected - amputated - from the Body of Christ. So they choose to disengage rather than re-attach.

To me, it feels like the breakdown in community among our pastors is a result of a breakdown in discerning God’s vision for us. Or maybe it’s assuming that God has a common vision, one goal for us that we all must share and affirm. If God is incarnate in the Body of Christ, then that incarnation looks different wherever God is revealed in and through us.

So, maybe diversity is the friend and enemy (frenemy?) of the church. We’re so used to being homogenous that we don’t know what to do with disagreement or difference.

But maybe the gospel challenge is for the Body of Christ to salve our disagreements. This is not our challenge, but God’s. It is the God who raised Jesus from the dead who decided to bring widely divergent people together and asked them to play nice.

So, perhaps what we’re supposed to do now is to pray for healing of division, for eyes to see God’s vision, and for strength to do God’s will. I think we’ve reached the final impasse. We need to stop yelling at each other and direct our voices to God.

The next move is up to God.

Quote of the Day: Emil Brunner

...the scandal of Christianity exists as a scandal only so long as we are full of ourselves. To believe in the cross of Christ no scandal for those who have seen how perverted is their own wisdom, the wisdom of natural man. It is the very corrective for this perversion of our sight, it makes us look straight again, who by sin have become cross-eyed. The foolishness of the gospel is divine wisdom to all those who have been healed of the perversion which consists in making man’s reason and goodness the judge of all truth, that perversion which places man instead of God in the centre of the universe. The gospel is identical with the healing of this perversion, which in its depth and real significance is diabolical. It is the victory of God’s light over the powers of darkness.

Emil Brunner, The Scandal of Christianity,

Belly Be Gone! Update 2

The bizarre thing about the green drink is that I’m losing weight but my pants are fitting more snugly and my belly is protruding even more. Which, of course, is not fair. Sorta misses the point of scarfing down my veggies first thing in the morning, followed by a couple eggs.

I chopped up all my fresh veggies, coupled with an almond, raw pumpkin seeds and sunflower kernels, and dried cranberry mixture to munch on during the day. Tasty. Yet unsatisfying. But at least it gives me gas.

I’ve been told that it takes somewhere around 21 days to form a new habit. I don’t know if that’s true or not but creating new habits takes discipline, which takes a kind of energy that I don't know if I have.

Exercise is hit and miss. This is the hardest area for me. Mainly because I’d rather have my nose in the newspaper than sweating on the elliptical machine. I’d rather zone out with a massive theological tome than work my biceps.

But, of course, I need both: good nutrition AND proper exercise.

Today will be better. I promise.

Belly Be Gone: Update 1

My weight-loss scheme is being met with modest success, both financially and in tons per square inch. I’ve been choking down this green concoction made from two handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, a leaf or two of kale, a tomato, a banana, a mittenful of frozen berries, and a few cups of water. I blast it in the blender and slurp it down. Surprisingly tasty. Can’t detect the kale at all.

Drinking my salad just part of the plan. I'm also trying to get more exercise in each day. Well, at this stage, I’m trying to spring my motivation from the witness protection program. I HATE exercising. But I know it’s good for me. So I’ll do it. Kind of like drinking kale.

Made other slight adjustments. Using smaller plates. Drinking more water. Less of that sugary, toxic junk in my coffee. Small but noticeable changes.

I’ve already lost 3 pounds. And that’s with barely trying. Looking forward to the new me.

Sermon: Epiphany 2C

Sermon: Epiphany 2C from Good Shepherd on Vimeo.

Text:

Those who know me know that I don’t do math. At least not well. I used to be ashamed of my inability to do algebra. It didn’t help matters that I once had a math teacher who seemed to think that my disabling lack of talent in doing long division in my head was some sort of character flaw.

Nor am I good with my hands. I don’t even own tools. If I have a leaky facet I’d rather pay someone a couple dollars to do the job right than have me fuddle about, get water all over the floor, hurl the f-word at the pipes, making things worse, before calling the plumber anyway.

Sometimes I’m worried that I’m marooned on my brain’s right hemisphere. Left-brained thinking - the logical, rational side - leaves me stumped. Which makes me glad that to have Fern crunching the numbers and the Trustees hammering in nails. You don’t want me in the same city block as a spreadsheet or skill saw.

I used to feel guilty about my inability to handle fractions or change the oil in my car. I don’t anymore. I don’t care what people think. I’m just not good with numbers or tools. Those aren’t my gifts. I’m good at other things.

Through the process of learning what I am good at and not-so good at, I’ve discovered that...(whole thing here)

Belly Be Gone!

I have a modest proposal for you, dear reader. As you probably noticed, I’ve put on a couple pounds over the past few years. (No, really, I have! Seriously! I’m not carrying a bowling ball under my shirt!)

So, I’ve decided to do something about it. I’ve tried a negative incentive (last year I said that I’d donate $201 to the federal Conservative party if I didn’t reach my goal of getting into my size 34 jeans by Easter. I squeezed into said pants, only to gain the weight back - within a month).

So, I’m going to try a positive incentive this time. This is where you come in.

I’m asking you to sponsor me in my weight loss quest. Say, a dollar per pound (or $10 or $100, or....) and I will weigh myself on June 21 (first day of summer). If I’ve lost say, 30 pounds, you donate $30 to Canadian Lutheran World Relief via a special fund I’ll set up at Good Shepherd (to get a tax receipt).

To add further incentive. I’m going to challenge my brother to do the same; i.e., get people to sponsor his weight loss goal and raise money for a charity/nonprofit of his choice (Porn Star retirement fund?). Whoever raises the most money wins.

I’m going to weigh myself on Monday January 18 (later tonight) and again on June 21 (and, of course, regular weigh-ins throughout the coming months). And what ever the number of pounds lost, the sponsor (you) will donate to CLWR.

What say you? Will you help me meet my weight loss goal and raise funds for CLWR at the same time? Not to mention allowing me to have bragging rights over my brother....which, in itself, is priceless.

Let me know.

Thanks!

The Price of Being Human

I don’t know if I’m concerned or delighted that some folks in the church are complaining about the change to disposable communion glasses from washable glass cups. We made the decision to go to plastic because of H1N1 concerns; some of our seniors were worried that the bleach used to clean the glass cups couldn't strong arm that nasty virus. They didn’t want to end up on a cold, hard slab, because of someone’s infected slobber.

Basic ethical dilemma: Ease peoples’ H1N1 fears vs saving the planet. What’s an aspiring green church to do?

We made our decision to comfort the fearful vs stewarding God's creation.

But now we have a backlash. Not a big one. But noticeable.

“I’m not sure that filling landfills with plastic is what Jesus had in mind when he gave us the gift of communion.”

“We’re spending HOW MUCH on plastic cups when we have perfectly good, washable glass ones?”

“Since when doesn’t bleach kill germs?”

“Do we REALLY want to encourage peoples’ irrational fears?”

The list goes on...and on...and on...

At least we haven’t stopped shaking hands for the sharing of the peace, like some churches. Some churches have replaced handshaking with bowing. Others wave.

What’s next? A fist bump?

What I worry about with the health concerns in the church is that we’re moving away from our understanding of incarnation - the Word made Flesh that is within and around us.

Human contact is what it means to be alive, in relationship. In communion. It’s why Jesus came in the first place; so that God could feel what it’s like to be human. To touch another being. To feel the longing of another’s caress. To feel the joy of when the touch comes at last. And to return that joyful touch.

Yes, we need to take health precautions. That’s why we can’t walk five feet in our church without running into a hand sanitizer.

But we also need to remember who we are, and what our story is. Human connection is risky. We can get hurt. We can lose parts of our selves. We can get sick.

But isn’t that the price of love? And from what I remember, Jesus was willing to pay that price. And he asks us to follow in his steps. He’s just asking that we be human just as he was.

Sermon: Baptism of Jesus

We met John the Baptist in Advent. And we encounter him again today. And he’s in no better a mood now than he was then.

The folks who put the lectionary together left out the juicy bits. They took their scissors to the parts where John’s venom is most poisonous. John had a few choice words for King Herod and his wife. John didn’t like the fact that Herod married his brother’s wife. In fact, it was against Jewish law. And if Herod didn’t like John’s well-aimed preaching he should have taken it up God, not John. John was just doing his job.

It might have been that joltingly honest preaching that drew Jesus to John that morning at the Jordan River. John was refreshing. Unique. Different from other preachers who either told people what they wanted to hear, or lined their pockets with the pennies of little old ladies. John wasn’t warm and fuzzy. But you knew that he’d give you the straight goods when it came to the things of God.

That day, in the river of freedom, where thousands of years prior, God’s people crossed from slavery into the land that God promised them, was where Jesus joined himself to that saving story, where his mandate as God’s Son was given to him. Where the affirmation of the Almighty wrapped around him like sun-soaked blanket.

“You are my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased...” Who wouldn’t want to hear that from God? Or from any parent for that matter.

But lying underneath this affirmation of divine was a summons. A calling that might have made Jesus’ blood turn to...(whole thing here)