Glad for Advent

CBS News Anchor Dan Rather writes in his book, I Remember, about watching the Flying Valentis while growing up. He writes, “Walking past a vacant lot on our way to school early in the morning, we would come across the Flying Valentis practicing in their long tights and tank tops.” The Flying Valentis were a troupe of circus acrobats who traveled and performed throughout the United States.

“Although we were used to their art,” Rather recalls, “the Flying Valentis never ceased being the wonder of the neighborhood. Every morning it was like getting invited to a great show without having to buy a ticket. They did triple somersaults above their practice nets and caught each other by the forearms while swinging from the trapeze. We’d gasp when they missed connections and fell into their nets.”

From watching this family work out, Rather and his friends discovered that practice meant a lot of hard work. It might have looked like a lot of fun, but it was work. Rather writes, “From this hard-working family with its specialized brand of togetherness, we learned that even life in the limelight was no cakewalk. When we traipsed back from school in the afternoon the Valentis were still swinging away from their nets, and when they returned from a tour looking banged up and limping with limbs in casts we could see that a price had to be paid for fame.” Rather learned a valuable lesson from watching the Flying Valentis, “Their vicissitudes would have been good preparation for survival in the acrobatics of network television.”

Advent is our time of holiday preparation. It is a time when we look back, examining Israel’s expectation of the long-awaited Messiah. It is also a time to look forward to the day when Jesus will return. We do not know when that long anticipated event shall occur, but we try to stay prepared. Like flying a trapeze, Advent/Christmas season often looks like a lot of fun with all of the tinsel and lights. However, without the disciplines of reflection and preparation, this season can make us end up looking as battered as working without a net.

Advent season gives us the spiritual net to help us survive the hurriedness of Christmas. With great panic we can either say that there are only 4 Sundays until Christmas Eve and we’re not ready, or with the right amount of spiritual preparation we can say that we’re looking forward to it. With adequate reflection, we can celebrate this special season with all the wonder and poignancy that it deserves. Don’t miss the net!

United Methodist Student Day and Others

I just got back from the Connectional Table meeting in Nashville. We heard a great report from the Call to Action Committee and tweaked its implementation. After that we met jointly with the General Council on Finance & Administration to begin budgeting for General Conference 2012 and the next quadrennium. One of the things that jumped out at me was a proposal to eliminate the 6 churchwide special Sundays that have offerings: Human Relations Day, One Great Hour of Sharing, World Communion Sunday, United Methodist Student Day, Peace with Justice Sunday, and Native American Ministries Sunday.

It was reported that these Sundays would continue to be observed but that their budgets would be rolled into an unified budget for the denomination. It was suggested that these causes could possibly receive more money this way. I am not convinced, but I am open-minded. Of particular concern to me are 3 of the offerings: Native American Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, and United Methodist Student Day. The first two are extremely important because they are the only 2 of the 6 that 50% of the monies received go back to the Annual Conference. If the Call to Action Report is all about strengthening local churches and empowering Annual Conferences in their helping local churches to do ministry then it seems logical to me to retain these two Special Sundays. I have been on our Annual Conference Committee on Native American Ministries for years and I know that we need the 50% money to operate and provide ministry to American Indians in South Carolina. I'm sure the same is true for Peace with Justice ministries.

Putting a face on offerings usually means a larger offering. I especially feel that is true when I and others of our Native American Committee are invited to speak in churches. The other offering that I want to lift up is United Methodist Student Day. Every church that I have served has had persons who have received United Methodist scholarships or a loan from the United Methodist Student Loan Fund. These monies make a difference with our young adults - one of the very groups that the Call to Action Committee has identified as vital to the United Methodist Church. IF we expect one of our 4 Focus areas to be fulfilled: "Developing New Leaders," then United Methodist Student Day should not only survive but thrive.

We are the only denomination in all of Christianity that was founded on a college campus, Lincoln College at Oxford University. We need to support United Methodist Students and, of course, our campus ministries! My daughter is the Wesley Foundation Director at Winthrop University. Four of her former students are in seminary right now! She is developing new leaders for the church and on a shoe-string budget. Our Annual Conference has cut program money (about $850 a month) for all campus ministries for 2011. I pray that we can make up the shortfall. In a time when everyone is concerned about keeping their church doors open and being lean with ministry, this is a critical area that doesn't need to be cut short. These are the students and ministries that have some of the least discretionary monies available.

I hope we will remember that this coming Sunday is not only the first Sunday in Advent, but is also United Methodist Student Day! If I think of the word "Advent" as a "Commencement" of sorts, then I cannot forget United Methodist Students!

Technology Wilderness

My life has been hijacked by technology. Yesterday I was working on some pottery with a few hours of time available before my next appointment. I had my Droid sitting near the wheel along with a towel so if it chimed I could wipe my hands real quick and pick up. I was expecting to hear from two of my children. Narcie was in town for something, and Josh had his Elder Interviews with the Board of Ordained Ministry. I wanted to hear from both of them, and especially wanted to hear if Josh passed. Hey, having a family of three Elders is a big deal with all the ups and downs of the crud we've been through this year.

Anyway, I know my phone was fully charged before I went into my studio. It's been acting a little strange lately, not holding charges for very long. I've been religiously using the Task Killer to conserve energy, but anyway I'm sitting there throwing clay, making large vases, and no phone call. I finish up my studio work and head into the house for a quick shower and look carefully at the phone and say to myself, "What? No calls, no emails - impossible. I always get emails. What's going on?" The phone was dead! And I couldn't call Josh because his number is in the phone, not in my memory. I felt lost in a technology wilderness: isolated, out-of-touch. Heck, I felt more connected to the civilized world when I was in Africa in August and they got word to me that my oldest brother had suddenly died.

So I went to my 11:30 appointment and afterwards it was off to my cell carrier's office. You know how that goes. You go in, they enter your name so it comes up on a screen letting everyone know who's next. You browse around, look at new gadgets, and WAIT! I did enjoy looking at the iPad, but it went south from there. Finally when I was able to speak to a representative she told me my phone wasn't just on the fritz. It was deader than dead. She said that she would place an order for a new phone that would arrive today. Well, I was freaking not being able to talk to Josh about his interviews, and who knows what else from unchecked email. I didn't want to wait overnight so I asked if there was some sort of promotion to get me a phone in my hand right then and there.

Nope! Well, a qualified "no," depending on ending up with a phone with a new number. No way! I barely remember my number now. So I yielded and said send me another phone, but wondered if there was any way that I could use a phone in the mean time. I had saved my old phone and it was in the car. I got it, and waited for them to charge it. Then the sales rep went to lunch or cyberspace. I ended up with a manager who saw me sitting on the ottoman-like bench. He tried to charge my old phone and then announced to me that the screen said "invalid battery." He put in a new battery that I have to take back sometime today, and told me it would only work if it was plugged in - not when walking through the grocery store, not when I turned off my car, not anywhere except with me standing or sitting beside it plugged into a jack. Kind of takes the "mobile" out of mobile phone.

Then a new difficulty, how do I go about transferring all my contacts and settings to the new overnight phone? "Easy," said the guy. All I needed was my Gmail account address and password. Well, whatdaya know, I hadn't saved any of that. He was able to look up my Gmail address, but I tried the two or three passwords that are my sort-of universal passwords and they didn't work. I emailed Gmail and tried to access the "forgot your password" tab and get an email asking questions that I couldn't answer except one: What was your father's middle name? Easy. My dad was Ralph Thomas McClendon, so I typed in "Thomas." Guess what? The security folks found out my credibility as a person to give a new password to was next to zip. "Thomas" was incorrect though that's impossible. Maybe I put my mother's middle name so I tried it - Nada, zip. My only hope of transferring the data is if my old phone lives long enough to transfer. Yes, that's right, in the mean time like so often happens when I have a car problem, the darn thing gets well when I leave the phone joint. Except that now it shows a screen, full battery, but I can't make a call - weird, but, hey, the guy said if it will turn on at all I can get my info off of it.

The only thing left will be the process of pairing it with my car's hands-free utility. That's another saga. I'm lost in the technology wilderness, but it sure has been quiet. I could get used to it, if I wasn't so used to having everything and everybody at my fingertips. Do I own a phone, or does the phone own me?

Leadership, Elections, & The UMC

The mid-term elections are over except where they're still counting or recounting, and what does it mean that the Republican Party was so successful? What does it mean that the UMC is still losing members and we have a Call to Action Report that hopes to turn the tide the other way? I'm still reading Sergio Zyman's book Renovate Before You Innovate and it has interesting segues between the US election results and the UMC. He advocates that assertiveness in your market niche is extremely important. He says, "Customer loyalty is one of the most perishable commodities in the world." Just ask Democrats. We just saw Blue States flipping Red, and I know a lot of people who either used to be United Methodist or are now "nothing" - irreligious but spiritual.

Zyman states that reminding people about why you're so great is important, but you better build on your strengths so well that you garner people's preference. His descriptor that fits some politicians and the UMC: "You're an also-ran in a stagnant category." He uses the rental car business as an example, but listen for the ramifications for the church and politics. "The top-tier players have essentially turned car renting into a commodity business, leaving customers without any real way to tell them apart." Sounds like Main Line denominations, huh? Or the politics of the same-old-same-old? For instance, have you ever heard the story of the person explaining the difference between Capitalism and Communism. He said "In Capitalism, humans exploit other humans. In Communism, it's the other way around." You just trade one set of fat cats for another, UNLESS there is real renovation, building on strengths and leading. It's called the Church, built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and the traditions of the faith expressed in relevant reasonable ways so that people experience new life: Sounds like the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to me - renovation at work!

Zyman continues his thoughts on stagnant businesses by saying, "Whenever this kind of stagnation happens, the market leader has the most to gain, mostly because when everything else is equal, people go for the bigger brand - it makes them feel they're getting a deal." Sounds like part of the reason why non-denominational mega-churches are outpacing us. Maybe it's because they're seen as hip, relevant, and they preach the time-tested Gospel. When we try to "Rethink Church," it sounds like we're more into heresy than offering certainty in uncertain times. "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" said about the same - we stand for nothing and all things. What???

Zyman says, "In politics, it's a very similar situation: Sameness doesn't change votes, which is why leaders win about 90 percent of the time. Faced with no significant difference, voters pick the devil they know over the devil they don't know." You have to differentiate! You have to give people a reason to do business with you more often so that when they compare you or your congregation/denomination to theirs or none at all, you will prove to them that "Anything they can do, we can do better." That will take some work, marketing/evangelism, discerning essential core values, and expressing them in ways that people will get, and proving that you can deliver. I'm all for the t-shirt test for church mission statements: If it doesn't fit on a t -shirt, it doesn't cut it or qualify. For instance, how about "MD4C" for the UMC - Making Disciples For Christ. Beats the heck out of "Rethink Church" that makes me ponder my doubts more than my faith.

The UMC and the two primary political parties have no one else to blame but themselves for the sad state of their market-shares. Why do you think a Tea Party Movement actually had traction? They marketed well and tapped into people's emotions against stagnancy. Now I haven't met a Tea Partier yet that can adequately explain "Constitutional Government," but they don't have to if somehow it means "new and improved," which means homage to the past but relevancy for the present. So the question hits me, "Who is new and improved?" - the UMC, the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party? Interesting thoughts, and I know I don't have all the answers, but, you better believe this, I am going to do all that I can to present a Relevant Gospel in a Wesleyan Way to our world. There's no better deal anywhere! We better get with it, and fast!

Mature or Manure

I don't know about you but I'll be happy when Election Day is over. The ads have been so negative and the mudslinging misses the point of leadership. It's not about what the other person has or hasn't done. The better questions to ask a candidate are, "What are you going to do?" "What is your vision/plan?" I have heard smatterings of that in the midst of trashing/bashing, but not near enough.

Let me ask you, would you rather work for a negative person or a positive person? Joyce Landorf in her book, Balcony People, says that people are either Balcony or Basement People. Balcony People affirm, lift up, and encourage. Basement People pull down, criticize, and judge. On this All Saints' Day, I'm thinking about the Balcony People who are in the greatest balcony of all - heaven. As a matter of fact, I'm making a list so that when the Basement People and their negativity are on the prowl, I can remember who and Whose I am. The question then comes, "I wonder whose list of Balcony People I am on?"

Last week there was an awful stench around Columbia, our state's capitol city. No joke! By the end of the week it had been discovered that it was from a huge amount of chicken manure spread over a farm near the city. How appropriate! I'm ready for the smell of partisanship and its negative stench to dissipate, too. We have to work together. Yesterday I was at a Charge Conference where the devotion was given and the speaker unintentionally mixed up words. Instead of saying we should "mature in our faith," it came out "We should manure in our faith." I'm glad it was at a wonderful church and the levity was good for the meeting. Truth be told, one could say that we need to do both, grow in our faith and be good fertilizer for others.

With politics I'm looking for maturity. Unfortunately, with the mid-term elections and all the local races, things have been smelling more like manure than maturity. Good leadership is more mature than manure. Hope you have a good All Saints' Day and that you avoid all manure-spreaders!