New Blog Location

Friends, Readers, Subscribers:

For a several reasons I've been in the process of transferring this blog to WordPress.  The new URL is http://wtmcclendon.wordpress.com, or you can access it at http://www.apottersview.com.  I have made several new posts at the WordPress location, so please visit there and by all means continue to follow my posts!  Thank you for your interest.

Tim

Starfish & Spiders - The UMC as a Starspider

The past seven days have been a whirlwind! Back from Nashville, Asheville, and about to head to Nicaragua on a mission trip. I was in Nashville for a Connectional Table meeting and then had the pleasure of preaching at Lake Junaluska on Friday night as well as doing a Bible Study on Sunday morning for the South Carolina Laity Convocation. We had fun and great fellowship - in both places.  Well, almost, except that the Connectional Table is at a critical juncture for the denomination. 

In the midst of thinking about both the UMC and the South Carolina Annual Conference in particular I am struck by a nagging question: "Where is God leading us next?" In South Carolina we have much to celebrate. We're the 5th largest annual conference in the US. Professions of faith are on the rise in the Columbia District and we paid out 98.9% on our connectional giving responsibilities. Putting this district's numbers on a dashboard of vital congregations is exciting. I just got off the phone with one of the clergy in the district who is doing an absolutely phenomenal ministry in partnership with extraordinary laity. The church is booming! That same kind of good news is happening all over the district!

I wish I could say the same about the denomination. Maybe I can? Regretfully, however, I saw the DVD "UMC Realities" with its somber Gothic-sounding music and terrible news that we're graying out, dying out, less inclusive, and have fewer and fewer young people. That was the message. It may not be the reality that I see in SC and in the Columbia District, but it's so true in too many places. I have hope, though! Aesop was correct and it wasn't a fable: "Where water has once flowed, it can more easily flow again." The waters of baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit have been the current we've ridden on before in the UMC and God float this boat again!

I don't think changing the UMC's structure will have as much to do with it as folks at the Connectional Table think. The Interim Operations Team (IOT) has offered its report. We approved it, though we went through multiple iterations to get to a place of semi-consensus. Honestly, do we think that buying into a so-called new business model is going to reshape the church and engender hopeful enthusiastic results? I certainly hope we're not that tied to 20th century thinking! Aren't we all tired of hearkening back to the good old days that must not have been that good or we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today? Isn't Jesus the Lord of Resurrection which means that something has to die for there to be new life, that the New Jerusalem is our goal more than tired thinking that wants to go back to the Garden of Eden? Where we're headed is better!

Just one example of old thinking that worries me from the Connectional Table's work last week: a set aside bishop and a central office. Hey, I like bishops. I think they are critical for our denominational renewal, especially if they focus on their annual conferences. However, as the permutations of the IOT's report dribbled out to the Connectional Table the set-aside Bishop was named at most the "Head of Communion" and at least "President of the Council of Bishops." Either one is a little much for a denomination that has a historic balance between its two constitutive principles of conferences and bishops. This throws the equation off-balance. Now I can see why having a "United Methodist Center for Connectional Mission and Ministry" and a quasi-pope are great business ideas to those who like  20th century-like corporate structures and centralization. I'm worried that our going from our current model of 13 siloed boards and agencies with 565 directors to one single center run by a 13 member Board of Directors is more of the same but worse.

I've got a book I want you to read. On our Columbia District Clergy Retreat in early September we're headed to Mt. Mitchell for camping and reflection. We're discussing the book The Starfish and the Spider with its subtitle "The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations." Pretty much it says that 21st century thinking is about organic growth with catalysts who step out of the way and people who are invested as equal partners. My summary with implications for the UMC: Connectionalism works best when its horizontal and/or circular! Starfish that lose a point grow a new one. When they're cut in two, they don't die, they multiply! A spider, on the other hand, dies when you smack its head. I tend to smack the whole bug and that's what has happened to the UMC. We've  been smacked. We have lost a lot of our relevance to people because we don't talk enough about Jesus and we don't just get out there and be like starfish and multiply!

Central control systems are easily killed, and we're about to put almost all of our institutional eggs in a couple of baskets - a set-aside bishop, a central office of ministry, and a small board of directors? Give me a break! Now I don't want to give away the hopeful chapter at the end of the Starfish book but I will say this much: When we are at our best as a denomination we are starspiders, a hybrid of centralization and decentralization. Yes, there's an important role for the Council of Bishops, General Conference, and the entities whether they're called Boards and Agencies or some sort of central office. The bottom line is that all of these centralized functions MUST resource the decentralized local churches that live where the tentacles hit the sand! Growth is not top-down and that's what bugs me about this report. Hey, by the way, just to put a polity/legal bug, pun intended, in your ear: read Pars. 140 & 2509 in the 2008 Book of Discipline and see what hits you. I look forward to your thoughts!

Norwegian Massacre's Message

I have been shocked as I have caught up with the news after being gone for a week. The massacre in Norway was absolutely awful. I have just emailed my friend and fellow Connectional Table member, Oyvind Hellieson, my condolences.  He's a District Superintendent in Norway. Now I am pondering the message from all of this especially after hearing that the perpetrator's motives were founded on his disdain for free-thinking. He has been described as a "Right-wing Christian Fundamentalist."

Fundamentalists come in all shapes and sizes and represent every persuasion of thinking. I have listened to liberal and literal fundamentalists that assume that they have the only corner on the truth. Some have described fundamentalists as "fun-dam-mentalists" because they damn fun and have very little mentality. So true in many ways. It's scary when a person or group, whether they be progressives or traditionalists, declare they are the sole arbiters of right and wrong. That's what puts guns and evil intentions in the hands of cultural vigilantes like this guy in Norway.

Hey, this isn't too far from the deadlock in Washington over the possible budget default, or the NFL players' union and the owners' impasse. Polarizations often occur because people are pigeon-holed into an untenable situation with no room at all for compromise. One of the workshops I led this past week was on peacemaking. Some of you who know me are finding that notion pretty hilarious. Me doing a peacemaking workshop, yep!

I have my convictions, but I also hold onto Wesley's admonition: "In essentials, let there be unity; in non-essentials, let there be liberty; in all things, charity." We need to be very careful when we are deciding what is the truth as you or I know it. Jesus said that He was the truth and I ain't Jesus and neither are you. We can search the Scriptures and hopefully discern WWJD, and we can pray to have the Mind of Christ; but we need to mostly say "Whoa!" when we're about to rush to judgment.

Sure, I embrace orthodoxy more easily than I do a lifestyle or mentality that is too loosey-goosey, but I am not going to denigrate, castigate, or subjugate those who differ. I believe in a God whose imago dei we all share and a Jesus who died to redeem more than condemn. I can never assume that it's my way or the highway though I would sometimes like to do that. Liberal fundamentalism is just as bad as literal fundamentalism. An "Us versus Them" mentality has no high moral high ground, no room for the Holy Spirit to convict because certainties have already been deeply embedded. This reminds me of the story of someone trying to explain the difference between capitalism and communism. Pardon the sexist language. The person doing the explaining said, "In capitalism man exploits man. In communism, it's the other way around." Same difference, right? Someone is the exploiter and someone is exploited.

So Right-wingers and Left-wingers, NFL owners and NFL players, Democrats and Republicans, theological conservatives and liberals - everyone - beware fundamentalism. We are looking for the "We" more than "Us versus Them." We seek the truth as we know it through holy conferencing, and finding Jesus in unlikely sources and obvious ones, too. This ain't easy in a complex world. So let's be careful not to pre-judge. The Jesus method is to pre-love. Sure, Jesus shines light on what's wrong but He only does it so the wrong may be turned to right, so that sin can be conquered by redemption.

What Did I Hear?

This past week I was in Nashville doing workshops and helping preside at the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association’s biennial meeting. The keynote speaker was Peter Rollins an Irish philosopher and Emergent Church dude that spoke so fast it felt like I was on the receiving end of a fire hydrant. All the way home I called him the Irish Fire Hydrant. He had a lot of interesting things to say. I just didn’t have enough time between sentences to absorb what was being said. It was a stream of consciousness presentation. It was hard to follow.

 

We all know the feeling. I know a few preachers, and I resemble the remark, that can get so tongue-tied that what’s said is barely intelligible. In the homiletics field a verbal faux-pas is called a “spoonerism.” Examples include: A lack of pies (A pack of lies), It’s roaring with pain (It’s pouring with rain), and Wave the sails (Save the whales). They are named after the Rev. W.A. Spooner who lived from 1844 to 1930. He served as Dean and Warden of New College at Oxford University. He was said to unknowingly make verbal slips frequently. His verbal goofs were especially legendary at chapel services. Once when officiating at a wedding it was reported that he gave the following directions to the groom: “Son, it is now kisstomary to cuss the bride.” Not good!

Preachers aren’t the only ones who say things that are taken the wrong way. One of my favorite stories of miscommunication is the one about a “snowbird” from the North who wanted a week’s vacation at a Florida campground, but was concerned about the accommodations. Uppermost in her mind were the toilet facilities, but she was too proper to write “toilet” in her letter to the campground owner. She finally abbreviated “bathroom commode” to “BC” and asked in her letter if the campground had its own “BC.” The campground owner was baffled by this euphemism, so he showed it around, but nobody knew what it meant. Finally, someone said, “Oh, that’s simple. ‘BC’ means ‘Baptist Church.’ She’s asking whether the campground has its own Baptist Church.” So the owner sat down and wrote: “Dear Madam, I’m sorry about the delay in answering your letter, but I am pleased to inform you that a BC is located just nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that there is a supper planned to raise money to buy more seats. They’re going to hold it in the basement of the BC. I would like to say that it pains me greatly not to be able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, especially in cold weather. If you decide to come to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time, sit with you and introduce you to all the folks. Remember, this is a friendly community.”

How can we straighten out our communication? Key to both good communication and love is listening, thinking things through before they’re said (or written). Someone said that fifty years after his family had left Germany, Walter Kissinger was asked why he didn’t share his famous brother Henry’s heavy German accent. “I,” he replied, “am the Kissinger who listens.” Amen!

Waiting for Superman

We had our annual Cabinet Retreat this past week. One night we watched the movie "Waiting for Superman." It was powerful, sad, riveting, and more. It's about the school systems in the US and how and why they're under performing though we're spending more than ever on public education. As I was watching the movie I couldn't help but see parallels to the United Methodist Church. Everyone should watch this movie because you might see or experience something very different than me. Do it now! The copy we watched was purchased at Target. I bet it's online, too!

The gist is that educator Geoffrey Canada (whose brother Dan is a leader in the Columbia District UMC) is a critic of failing public schools. The litany of reasons is long but he targets flunky teachers who get transferred around to different schools in a "turkey trot," teacher's unions and tenure systems that don't reward results, school districts and education silos with their big buildings that are out of touch with what works with real students and their families and are only out to justify and prop up their own existence. I could go on and on. I know the movie offers a simplistic answer: charter schools with excellent teachers and high motivation by all. The sad part is that the only way to get into the few charter schools that are already pretty much full is by lottery. Leaving our children's future up to chance in a lottery is a shame and disgrace!

There is no way that fixing our schools by charter schools and lottery can be done so easily. In South Carolina education is woefully underfunded and there are no tenured teachers or teacher's union to blame. School facilities vary from county to county because of school district independence and separate coffers, and a major reason for the lack of money isn't the big manufacturing plants who pay taxes but the suburbanites who are old or rich enough to send their kids and grand kids to whatever school they want. Their mantra is that they have already paid taxes long enough and it's time for somebody else to do it. The crime of poorly paid teachers and inadequately taught pupils isn't their problem, but they're living in a dream world that will be shattered when their grandchild ends up marrying someone from a failing school or has to go to such a school themselves, or a teenage truant from a school dubbed a "dropout factory" breaks into their home. Then their eyes will open. Yes, the whole situation is more complex than what I've written, but this is at least part of the truth.

We all know real life examples. We know that there has been a Nobel Prize winner from the Williamsburg County Schools, one of the poorest school systems in SC. We know that there are bright and exceptional kids in every school, and pray for them to be successful. We know that brave leadership from parents, teachers, administrators, and communities is hugely important. Don't forget about churches either. There's a school district in the Columbia District that has been failing. There has been a socioeconomic divide for decades in that town that literally split Main Street into haves and have-nots. The haves built a fine private school. The public school was mostly populated by the have-nots with meager resources. The school district in this poor county was put on probation, lost its accreditation, and was under court-ordered review and investigation. Enter the leadership of key individuals who said, "If I'm going to live here, I want to make a difference;" who said, "If I'm going to live here, everybody will receive a quality education."

When we're faced with the reality that Superman isn't going to come, and that there are no superheroes, then we all become Superwomen or Supermen if we so choose. The newly elected head of the school board  in this poor county did his own heroics and inspired everyone else's heroics and now the school system is once again accredited. This guy (who recently graduated from the Columbia District's Lay Empowerment Program called "LeadershipNext") did what came next in his mind as both a Christian and as a civic leader. He is living the UM mission statement that God doesn't save us through Jesus to leave us the way that God found us, but transforms us so that we can transform the world. I am so proud of this fine United Methodist layperson!

Now what did the film "Waiting for Superman" make me ponder about the UMC? Well, the similarities abound as I hope you've already digested in this commentary. I know, for instance, that the layperson who has taken leadership and turned around a failing school district is inspired by an effective pastor. There is no substitute for good leadership in the UMC. We can have every fix-it program in the world but nothing will happen unless we have laypersons and clergy who exhibit leadership! I appreciate guaranteed appointments when they allow pastors to be prophetic leaders who can speak freely from their pulpits without worrying that they might get “fired.”  Such appointments also offer a safeguard for women and minorities who could otherwise be shortchanged by congregations who only desire white male pastors.  Still, this movie has me wonder if guaranteed appointments don’t also turn out to be United Methodism’s version of tenure, teachers’ unions, and the “turkey trot” where under-performing clergy are transferred from one church to another – all of which breeds mediocrity. United Methodist Churches have become dropout factories because lay leadership is uninspired and self-centered and the quality of preaching, pastoring, and leading by preachers is lacking. We have lost our relevancy because we accept the status quo. No more!

Now the UMC has a Call to Action with data that says what we should do, stuff we've known all along but haven't been doing. I admit that I have been critical of the Call to Action report's  use of metrics. We all know places where metrics, a fancy word for statistics, is incapable of measuring where the Holy Spirit's wind has been blowing. Nevertheless, I must admit that if you don't have a target there's a 100% chance that you'll miss. Churches and clergy hope that their next pastor or appointment will be their version of hitting the lottery and winding up with a good education, a ticket to a better future. That's too chancy and I can count on half a hand the number of good preachers my home church has had in its entire history!

We have to do something now about our decline. Maybe metrics will help all of our churches become magnet or charter churches where people will find excellence. We don't choose metrics simply because we've bought into some  hip business or educational model. Rather, the spiritual underpinning is very Wesleyan: sanctification. The reason we measure everything is that we believe in fruitfulness. We believe that if Jesus is real in some one's life it will produce something, so we measure everything to see if that's the case. The UMC rolled out yesterday, July 15, its www.umcvitalcongregations.org website. Wow! There's a ton of stuff here that can help a local church measure up in vitality. The five areas are average weekly worship attendance, professions of faith, number of small groups, amount of money given to mission, and number of people involved in mission outreach. In SC we're going to introduce this at charge conferences and invite people to come to a District Celebration in March 2012 to announce their results and make their plans for the next four years as a tangible gift to General Conference 2012. In reality it's a gift to the local church and its people!

As a denomination we are not silo congregationalists. We're not private schools. We believe there's no such thing as private religion. We have religion of the heart and life - no holiness that isn't both personal and social. We belong to a Connection that believes, "Together We Can Do More!" We are and want to be a better Charter or Magnet church drawing all people to Christ. We're not waiting for Superman or Superwoman. No need to. We're either the hero or villain in this story. I pray we are the hero.

You Gotta Serve Somebody

Robert Allen Zimmerman turned 70 on May 24th! Don't recognize the name? It's Bob Dylan. He is 70! He can't be 70! Are you kidding? His weirdly poetic sound gave voice to my 60's generation, but I still hear him today. I can hear his nasally-induced sound in "Lay, Lady, Lay" or "House of the Risin' Sun," and "Blowin' in the Wind." What this guy did with a not-so-great voice and geeky scrungy looks is hard to fathom. He's been Jewish, Born-Again Christian, and everything in between. His song, "You Gotta Serve Somebody," speaks as clearly today as it did 30 years ago. It calls me to faithful discipleship and makes me ask THE hard question, "Who is Lord of my life?"

On this Saturday morning when I don't want to serve anybody and would just love to catch an old movie, read & reflect in peace - no "do, do, do..." resounding in my psyche - maybe what I need to do is put on what in my playlist is called "Moods" and pop in my earbuds and chill. Or maybe I need to pray and read the Scripture and hear a different tune from The Different Drummer - Jesus and inner-dance to his rhythm. Ah, now that might be most satisfying of all. You gotta serve Somebody, somehow some way, everyday!

When the Storms of Life Are Raging

We've all seen some storms. We know about the devastation across the south this past spring, and continued natural calamities happening everywhere. What do we think about God when stuff like this happens? You've seen the W.I.G.I.A.T. bumper stickers that ask the question, "Where Is God In All This?" I took this photo when Caleb and I were in Omaha for the College World Series. No rain was falling yet. A trash can lid went by going about 50 mph just before I flipped my IPhone up to take the shot. It was dangerous, scary and awesome, too.

I used to love sitting on the front porch during thunder storms when I was a kid. It was so powerful. I was struck by the majesty of nature's fury. I have felt the same awe when I'm on top of Mt. Mitchell. My dilemma is my tendency to give God the credit for the beautiful things that occur in nature and to blame Nature for the things that are terrible. I get bent out of shape when people say such-and-such was "an act of God," but I have fueled the dichotomy by my own lack of clarity in answering the question, "Where is God in all this?"

With Narcie's tumor I want to blame nature gone wild. That's what tumors and cancer are anyway. When tornadoes strike and people are killed, I want to say Nature did it. Same with hurricanes. Hey, what about the freak accident last night when a firefighter, Shannon Stone, age 39, fell 20 feet reaching for a foul ball in a Texas Rangers-Oakland baseball game. Man, his little boy saw it all. His dad died. Where is God in all this?

Now I know enough about theodicy and am Wesleyan enough to know God doesn't cause junk like this. James 1 says "every good and perfect gift comes from God and that God doesn't test anyone. (my paraphrase). This reminds me of the hymn "Stand By Me" which says to me that God in Christ through the Holy Spirit isn't the source of the bad stuff whatever it may be. God does what the hymn says. He stands by us. That's one of the strongest messages of Jesus' incarnation. God has entered our fallen existence and says, "No matter what happens, I'm with you!"

So if God isn't the cause of junk; i.e., the storms of life - where do they come from? My choices are the first cause. I drove too fast. I chose to disregard my doctor's advice. I, I, I... but sometimes stuff occurs because of somebody else's choice. They chose to travel through a stop sign after they decided to drink and drive. They chose.... but sometimes it's not my choices or those of others that result in mayhem. Sometimes it's the simple fact that life and natural laws reflect a higher law that was broken a long time ago by Adam & Eve in the Garden. The results of the Fall have reverberated across the centuries. Our doctrines of sin and salvation start with the Fall -wouldn't need Jesus if everything was pre-Fall perfect, would we? But that doesn't end the list of why bad things happen to both good and bad people. Lastly, I have to admit in a Scott Peck "People of the Lie" kind of way that there's evil in this world, sometimes big "E" evil.

However, Here's the Gospel for my daughter with her brain tumor, the family of Shannon Stone, flood and tornado victims, and the oppressed victims of institutional evil, etc. - Jesus is stronger than any storm. He is the author of everlasting life even when death breaks down our doors. Anybody who believes in an "It was meant to be" world as in the movie "Adjustment Bureau," better watch out because we believe in a Jesus who doesn't cause our pain, doesn't have a perfect panacea safe ride of a life pre-engineered for you. We believe in a cowboy adventuresome Jesus who loves us and the cosmos enough to let freedom deal its cards for good or ill, BUT will be with us no matter what cards we're dealt.

That's how I can face tomorrow: Because Jesus lives, not because he holds the future in some controlling grasp, but because only he can beat all the sources of bad stuff. I can face tomorrow because I know that when the storms of life are raging, Jesus never fails to stand by me, us, humanity. So I pray for Jesus' power to heal my little girl, to soothe the pain of the Stone family, to give rain to those who need it, and to keep it from those poor people ravaged by floods. Please, O Lord, hear our prayers for your presence and your delivering power; in Jesus' name. Amen.

For Love of the Game

Wow - This is the longest that I've gone without blogging. Where have I been? Good Question. On the Wednesday after Annual Conference, Caleb and I headed to Omaha, Nebraska to watch great baseball, and to follow the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. This is my fifth trip since 2002. We usually do things on the less expensive side so we usually stay at Lake Manawa Stake Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa just across the Missouri River from Omaha. Well, God bless the people up and down the Missouri because the flooding this year has been the worst in decades. Lake Manawa and it's $11 a night fees was shut down because of it. We ended up staying at the West Omaha KOA for around $30 - still better than the $375 a night accommodations near TD Ameritrade Ballpark.

Just like last year when Caleb and I said that we would stay as long as the Gamecocks did, we ended up being there for 13 nights, went through horrific storms, tense close games and watched one extraordinary play after another to see South Carolina win back to back National Championships! Wow! Man, the 13-inning marathon against Virginia and getting out of bases-loaded jams was UNBELIEVABLE! We may not have had the best of anything except what won it for us - scrappiness! These guys have grit and they love the game. College baseball is the closest thing to a true sport in my opinion. Only a handful of players get any scholarship money. Most will never play for the Big Leagues. So why do they play? They play for love of the game.

Goodness, what if everybody did what they did for the love of the game - whatever the game, the calling, the job,  the hobby. Mediocre is not USC Baseball. Mediocre doesn't make you just one of 6 teams to win back to back championships, or set a record for CWS or NCAA wins. "Medi" means "middle." "Ocre" means "mountain." Therefore, "Mediocre" means "halfway up the mountain." My Daddy would have said it another way and, boy, was he a Gamecock fan! Nobody needs to settle for mediocre. Halfway doesn't cut it! The Gamecock Baseball Team proved that ordinary can be extraordinary if  one gives their all, for love of the game! Go Gamecocks!

A Time For Everything

Yogi Berra said once “It’s Déjà vu all over again.” I sort of hope not. A lot has happened in the last 3 years. In 2008 I was honored to be South Carolina’s nominee for bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. It was a great privilege, the delegation was whole-heartedly behind me, and I came in second to a great nominee. I wondered like most of us do as to why such and such happened, but now 3 years later things make more sense, and feel so very differently.

I’m not suggesting at all that things go a certain way in an “It was meant to be” kind of way. I am no predestinarian. However, I do believe in God’s providence. Providentially I can look back over the last 3 years and count merciful reasons why I wasn’t elected bishop. Our family has had 2 births, 2 deaths, 2 graduations, 3 hospitalizations, and 1 ordination. The two births were Narcie and Mike’s Evy and Josh and Karen’s Kaela. The 2 deaths were the sudden losses of Cindy’s Mom and my brother, Carlee. The 2 graduations were Caleb and Karen. The 3 hospitalizations were Cindy’s saga this year with a series of surgeries, and, of course, the June 11, 2010 brain tumor surgery for Narcie. Please keep praying for her. The 1 ordination was Josh as an Elder in the UMC yesterday.  It's been a busy couple of years.

Now perhaps the real providential reason I wasn’t elected 3 years ago was because I needed to grow some more and I still do for that matter. But here we are again and the South Carolina Annual Conference has spoken again. I was first-elected clergy again, amazingly, and I am so grateful for all those who have prayed for me and given their support. Yesterday afternoon the delegation unanimously endorsed me as their Episcopal nominee for 2012. It will be another long year, but things already feel so much better.

The primary reason this feels so different now is the groundswell of the Spirit. It hasn’t just felt like the delegation is behind me, but the whole Annual Conference. It’s a “we” thing and everyone is on the team. Jesus’ Spirit of Pentecost is alive and well and I am grateful. Maybe 3 years ago it was more of a personal call still. Now I feel it in my bones as an ecclesiastical call. It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus and the church.

This Annual Conference is our family home. Narcie, Josh, and I are full members of the conference and feel that community in such a rich way. I want to say “Thanks!” to every one of you. Thanks for being with us through all the peaks and valleys. This is our journey together. The Scriptural theme of what we’ve been through is clear:

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil?

10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Amen!

I don't know what the future holds, but I trust in the providence of God no matter what.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmYOc2iZozU - The Summons

Pre-Annual Conference Reflections

Annual Conference means different things to all of its members. Lay Members and clergy members of United Methodist Annual Conferences are indeed members, not delegates, of this uniquely Wesleyan entity. It's hard to describe. Annual Conference is part homecoming, revival, political convention, and wrestling match. Wesley's emphasis on humans being made in God's social and moral image is the theological foundation for annual conference. If God reveals God's self as Three-In-One, as a community that we call Trinity, then how much more do we need the interdependence or connection from the holy conferencing that is our opportunity at Annual Conference? Our distinctive theological core of transformation takes place because we're not Lone Rangers. We're part of something bigger, and it's a place of accountability. When we get together we glad hand each other, but it is a distinctive place where we best reflect who God wants us to be. In accountability, mutual respect and community we look most like God.

I know every family has its squabbles and Annual Conference does bring out that side of who we are. However, I pray that we will both speak the truth in love, and be loving enough to truly listen to one another. I pray that we will leave conference more united than divided and that's not going to happen unless we love one another. This will be especially difficult this year. It's an election year for delegates to our quadrennial meetings of General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference.

It's quite the affirmation to be elected to either of these bodies. General and Jurisdictional Conference elections aren't a popularity contest. More than affirmation, they're work. At General Conference we work on a new Book of Discipline and declare what we believe on sundry issues and what should be our best practices as a denomination. At Jurisdictional Conference we elect leaders: Bishops who will prayerfully do their best work in an Annual Conference and leaders who will serve on general boards and agencies. It is critical that we elect good bishops. You can have the best beliefs and declare how we think church should be, but bishops through their relationships have a lot to do with how those beliefs and visions are implemented. Bishops without leadership ability can derail all the best practices and ideas in the world.

Scott Peck has written some great insightful books like The Road Less Traveled and People of the Lie. My personal favorite is one that didn't make his hit parade of bestsellers, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace. His dedication page is powerful in its content: "To the people of all nations in the hope that within a century there will no longer be a Veterans Day Parade but that there will be lots of living people left to march to a different drum because all the world loves a parade."

In his book Peck describes the stages of real community making. I daresay they are clearly illustrative of my experience of Annual Conference, and even General and Jurisdicational Conferences. Although these stages can progress in a linear fashion, there are stages that can be skipped over, revisited, or in which a group can be stuck ad infinitum. With that disclaimer, the first stage he describes is "pseudocommunity." This stage is the "Hail Fellow, Well Met" fakey hugging reunion where everyone just smiles and refuses to take off their honeymoon grins. I know plenty of "church people" who would rather pretend their church never has problems than dare to take off their masks.

Alas, honeymoons don't last forever. Conflict-avoidance doesn't do anyone much good in the long run. When individual differences are allowed to surface the second stage of "Chaos" is bound to follow. We all know too many churches and groups, even couples who thrive on chaos and can't move past it. Thank God, literally, that there are few groups and churches that want to be in chaos forever. After chaos has run its course of rugged individualism, then comes "Emptiness." Emptiness is "soft" individualism. One isn't absorbed by the group in a hostile takeover. Differences are celebrated rather than castigated. Emptiness is that emotional place that Jesus modeled so well. It's a place where soft quietness descends. By this I don't mean a passive quietism that values submission more than authenticity. It's a good submission that holds to one's core values, but honors the other/the common good as more important.

"Emptiness" is a poor descriptive word, at least in our contemporary context. It sounds too negative, like a giving in more than a giving up. True community isn't noted for its repressed desires that the word "emptiness" conjures. True community makes me think of the word, "peace." It's a place where we can all be at peace, hold onto our own individuations yet work together for our common existence and a shared positive future.

This is my hope for Annual Conference, General Conference, Jurisdictional Conference, and the whole United Methodist Church. I pray we are able to move from fakey pseudocommunity, past chaos' scary but necessary differentiation; embrace diversity through the self-emptying of perverse rugged individualism, and then experience the peace - real peace of being able to live Wesley's adage: "In essentials, let there be unity; in non-essentials, let there be liberty; in all things, let there be charity."

Native American Ministries Sunday

This coming Saturday I will be attending our South Carolina Committee on Native American Ministries. I do have some good news to share: GCFA and the Connectional Funding Committee have agreed not to do away with all the Special Sundays with offerings. Why does this matter? First, we all know that the more local the ministry the better the connection to people's hearts, minds, and pocketbooks. Second, there are only two Special Sunday offerings (Peace with Justice Sunday and Native American Ministries Sunday) where local church funds explicitly remain in the annual conference. Fifty percent of the funds raised provide for these valuable ministries on the local level.

This means that the offering for Native American Ministries should receive ample funding, right? Unfortunately, the answer is "wrong." In South Carolina, for instance, 114 churches out of 1024 contributed to Native American Ministries Sunday. That amounts to 11.13% of the churches. That's not good. The whole Southeastern Jurisdiction does poorly. Largest in percentage in descending order are Red Bird Missionary Conference, 76%; North Carolina, 26.96%; Florida, 11.78%; South Carolina, 11.13%; North Georgia, 10.26%; Virginia, 10.23%; South Georgia, 8.84%; Holston, 8.47%; Tennessee, 7.28%; Kentucky, 5.95%; Memphis, 4.94%; North Alabama, 1.86%; Western North Carolina, figures not available; Mississippi, figures not available; and Alabama-West Florida, figures not available.

The percentage of churches contributing only tells half the story. The South Carolina Annual Conference  only raised $6,892. The entire Southeastern Jurisdiction raised $64,156. The Northeastern Jurisdiction raised $69,655. The North Central Jurisdiction raised $95,920. The South Central Jurisdiction raised $69,655. The Western Jurisdiction raised $45,568. No matter how you add the numbers it strikes me that the places where the UMC is largest in numbers give proportionally less.

This is so sad. The reason we have Native American Ministries Sunday is so we can help those who need it. I have great fear that this year's numbers will be worse because Native American Ministries Sunday fell on Mother's Day. Of course, any Sunday is appropriate and we encourage churches to pick any Sunday during the year for Native American Ministries Sunday, but any time you have to pick an alternate date it can sometimes be like a "Snow Sunday." The emphasis can lose traction and the money falls short.

Thankfully, I can vouch for the Native American Representatives in the Columbia District. They do a good job of interpreting the ministry of our C.O.N.A.M.  (Committee on Native American Ministries). Each year we have a wonderful training for Native American Representatives. It is excellent! I have promoted among our Cabinet the often overlooked paragraph in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, Par. 654, which says every year at charge conference someone is to be elected to serve as a representative for Native American Ministries. The paragraph really should be in the 200 pars., which are all about the local church, but it is instead located in the 600's which are all about the annual conference. Maybe we can get it right at General Conference 2012. People should know, without having to look all over the place in the Book of Discipline, that one of the officers required to be elected at charge conference is a Native American Representative.

No matter what we do, I sincerely hope that we will be advocates for American Indians. The statistics are staggering in terms of poverty, diabetes, suicide, and alcoholism. The motto for the South Carolina Committee on Native American Ministries says it all about what we are called to do: "Making the Invisible Visible."

Memorials that Last

I know that Article 16 of our Confession of Faith says that we deplore war but with Memorial Day Weekend upon us I can’t help but think about the sacrifice paid by so few for so many during World War II. I think of this particular war because I agree with Tom Brokaw that this was America's "Greatest Generation." Brave soldiers with their families back home, and persons in support industries mobilized an unsurpassed effort to defeat fascism and tyranny. We say, “Thank you,” to all from every conflict that have acted on behalf of our freedom.

I remember a church member in my first parish who was in the Battle of the Bulge during WWII as a tank gunner. His name was Elbert MacDougald. He carried with him the physical and emotional scars of being caught in that tank as it took round after round of small arms fire while it was stranded. He said he could still hear the plinking sounds hour after hour until relief arrived. The tank’s tracks had been immobilized. Its turret and cannon could only fire in one direction. I remember the horror on his face as he recounted his story. In one attempt to fire at the attackers, the tank’s cannon was loaded, but in the process of loading the shell, Elbert’s hand was caught between the seal and the rifled tube holding the round. The only way to be set free was for him to fire the gun. When he did it, half of his hand was obliterated in the recoil.

With every news from Iraq or Afghanistan of brave soldiers losing limbs, I think about Elbert and others like him that have given so much, regardless of the politics of war and our theology against it, to make us free. Memorial Day is a small token of our appreciation. We’ve turned it into a day at the lake or a barbecue. To so many it’s the only thanks they get.

Being a disciple of Christ demands no less a sacrifice. Christian martyr’s dying bravely for the faith turned the Roman Empire upside down. Discipleship isn’t for the fainthearted. It takes bravery, devotion, and decisive action to do God’s will in a hostile environment. Cheap talk of being loyal to Christ isn’t adequate. Henri Nouwen, in his book, With Open Hand, prayed, “God, give me the courage to be revolutionary as your Son Jesus Christ was. Give me the courage to loosen myself from this world. Teach me to stand up free and to shun no criticism. God, it is for your kingdom. Make me free, make me poor in this world; then I will be rich in the real world, which this life is all about. God, thank you for the vision of the future, but make it fact and not just theory.”

What a prayer! Christianity needs more practitioners, not theorists. In the United Methodist Book of Discipline there is a list of what are called “chargeable offenses” for clergypersons and laypersons. The list includes such things as immorality and crime as grounds for dismissal or trial. In the 1996 AME Zion Book of Discipline, there is a glaring typographical error. In the section on “Chargeable Offenses,” the first numbered chargeable offense of clergy is this: “Immortal Conduct.” Can you think of a better “chargeable offense?” When is the last time someone could have charged you with this offense?

On this Memorial Day, let’s give thanks for the immortal conduct of people throughout the centuries that have preserved our faith and our freedom.

United Methodism's Main Thing

What comes to mind when you think of the United Methodist Church? "Making Disciples of Jesus Christ..." comes quickly to mind, but that hasn't necessarily been our experience in the US, at least in terms of numbers. It is however where our hearts are and where we’re trying to faithfully live out Christ’s call not just in our day to day ministries but also as a general church. I just got back from the joint meeting of the Connectional Table and GCFA (General Council on Finance & Administration) to deal with projected budgets and legislation to reorder the life of the UMC. I am thoroughly excited that the IOT (Interim Operations Team) wants to focus the whole denomination on making vital local churches. I am also glad that we approved a realistic budget that is 6+ percent lower than the previous quadrennium’s budget. This is the first time in our history that we have lowered the budget, which is a really big deal! We also heard and approved in a straw vote of sorts that we would prefer an apportionment system that is based on a flat percentage of local church income, which would be more clear and effective as we seek to fund ministries. These were positive and important steps in our going forward as a denomination.

Connectional Ministries Board

The overall IOT report received mixed reviews. The much talked about move to fewer general church agencies was included in the report, but the solution wasn't met with much enthusiasm. Basically the proposed solution is to create a 13 member uber-board, right now called a Connectional Ministries Board (CMB), to run the whole church; have authority between General Conferences to reallocate funds and programmatic directions; and have members that represent expertise over constituencies. Wow, that’s a lot of power and responsibility for 13 people (12 member CMB plus set-aside bishop)! I'm not very optimistic that a low-trust environment like GC will trust 13 people to run the church and direct its path financially and programmatically. Replacing the 600+ directors we have now would save millions, but we would lose diversity and proportional representation. It’s hard to imagine 13 people encompassing all the wide spectrum of United Methodism. What do we value: efficiency or inclusivity? It would be great to have it both ways.

Set-Aside Bishop to Lead Connectional Ministries Board

The next potential pitfall is that the Council of Bishops (COB) decided last week to ask for a set-aside bishop to run the CMB. I reiterate that this didn't come from the IOT, but from the bishops - something that we were told they have wanted for decades. Now, I'm sure that it makes great business sense to have a bishop to be our UMC CEO, but this is fraught with question marks with regard to our polity. Historically, we've attempted to balance our two constitutive principles of episcopacy and conference. To have a set-aside bishop takes away the balance. Having a set-aside bishop can appear to empower episcopacy over conference. Sure, a set-aside bishop could hold the COB accountable in terms of outcome-based effective disciple-making in Annual Conferences, but at what cost? As potentially limiting as a 13 person team may be in the great cacophony of voices at our table, having one person directing and running such a team creates a power dynamic that puts an awful lot of authority into the hands of one person.

Let me give you a couple of ways this creates potential problems, problems that we've seen before in our history. This over-powering of bishops over conference isn't new. In 1800 the James O'Kelly schism that formed the Republican Methodist Church was caused by the tension between the power of bishops and conference. O'Kelly had a problem with Asbury's autocratic leadership, something many take issue with today. O'Kelly wanted clergy to have the right of appeal to the Annual Conference if they didn't like their appointment. He thought bishops that were too powerful were against the republican ideals of US democracy. The same thing was behind the schism of the Methodist Protestant Church in the 1820's and later in the 19th century with the Free Methodists. The 1842 GC voted to suspend Bishop James Andrew because he was a slave-holder. Some saw this as the General Conference overstepping its authority and have even argued that the 1844 schism between Methodists in the South and North wasn't entirely over slavery though that, of course, was the horrible primary issue. Even with all of this history, the primary question we should ask is whether we as a UMC want to go back to the Asburian era of autocratic leadership or an Anglican principle of monarchical (House of Lords) bishops?

Another huge issue caused by having a set-aside bishop is that it strips the UMC of its identity as a nonjural entity, and that only the GC can speak for the church (2008 BOD Pars. 140, 509.1, 2501, 2509). It is critical that GC’s equal balance of laity and clergy, representative of the whole of our denomination, are the voices that make decisions and set the course of our church. Not only is this inclusivity of thought and conferencing important, but in practical terms, presently we cannot be sued as a denomination because we legally do not exist! Our churches, agencies, Annual Conference's, etc. are separately incorporated entities in numerous places. This switch to a centralized polity with a central office and an executive bishop, though seemingly pragmatic, is potentially dangerous. This is a subtle change that can and will have serious intended or unintended consequences whether in lawsuits or perception. To create some sort of episcopal officer who can put a face on United Methodism needs to be pondered more closely. We – the people of the United Methodist Church are the face of the denomination. Our local churches in ministry around the world are the face of the denomination. We, as clergy and as lay people, seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, are the face of the denomination. I think one of the best ways to foster more vital local churches is to empower the bishops in their residential duties within annual conferences. Connectionalism works best when it is horizontal rather than vertical.

Advisory Councils

There were other interesting aspects to what we heard about the IOT. One is the creation of Advisory Councils in jurisdictions and central conferences to help make the connection between the 13-member CMB and local churches. I hope that this can do what's expected because right now that's a key problem in our church. Local churches and annual conferences don't experience enough connection to what the general church is doing. Advisory Councils representing local churches, annual conferences, and jurisdictions/central conferences are also important because they provide a "feeder system" for church leadership.

Fee-for-Service

Another proposal from the IOT really has me discerning the pros and cons. It proposes to add a "fee-for-service" component to the work of the present general agencies. By the way, the IOT has most general agencies reconfigured into "divisions" of the church. "Fee-for-service" sounds on one hand like a way to make general agencies produce products that local churches actually want to use. This could have potential in terms of practical ministry tools, but it also strikes me as a slam on the churches that can't afford to pay the fees for the resources. This needs a lot more fleshing out for me to buy into it. I do like the agency-accountability piece of this that makes agencies more responsive to local churches and become self-supporting at the same time, but how it would play out is still a question mark for me.

Read and Pray

There's more to think about and digest in reading the IOT report, and I encourage you to read all that you can. It's complex and so important. We CANNOT keep doing what we've been doing and expect different results, and we cannot wait until 2016 or later to get it right. The time is now. We need to pray for the IOT as much as we possibly can and trust that God will continue to provide us the grace, clarity and wisdom that we need as we discern and act. The CT and GCFA will meet again in July to hear a final report. I hope that it's one that will help the UMC truly make disciples for Jesus. That is the main thing and our grace-filled task!

Happy Mother's Day!

I married my mother! Whoa! Before you start thinking Oedipus, let me explain. Cindy is the only person that I know that is like a mirror image of my mother. There’s plenty of evidence that men and women alike seek a spouse that resembles the parent of the opposite sex. So, I’m not weird. I’m just giving my mother an extra compliment by marrying someone like her.

Cindy is such a super mom. She has tirelessly given of herself to all four of her children: Narcie, Josh, Caleb, and me. Well, I do like a certain degree of mothering. What guy doesn’t? Cindy does it well for the whole family. The truth of the matter goes beyond us four when I think of our wonderful son-in-law and daughter-in-law: Mike and Karen. I also witnessed Cindy’s untiring care, like a mother, to her own mother during her last 8 months of life.

This Mother’s Day is a milestone. So much has happened over the last two and a half years since the fateful summer of 2008 when I was a nominee for bishop. The whole process and coming in second was a mixed bag of emotions. However, as I ponder what has happened in this short period of time, I’d say it’s been good to have stayed in South Carolina, and we’ve gotten so much cared for in anticipation of whatever happens next year. We’ve had two births, Evy and Kaela. We’ve had two graduations, Caleb and Karen. We’ve had two funerals, her beloved Mom and my brother. Cindy’s had 3 surgeries and is finally fine. Narcie’s brain tumor is a prolonged anxiety that calls us to constant prayer. I’ve had a trip to the Philippines and Mozambique… and well what haven’t I had? The answer is that I haven’t had many awful things because I’ve been so blessed, and one of the most significant blessings for not just 2 and one half years, but through 35 years of marriage has been Cindy. Our 35th anniversary in late December and our trip to New York was a great salve on much of our wounds of the last 2+ years. Cindy’s support has been a bulwark in a crazy world.

My mother did the same thing for my whirlwind family. My mother was steady and full of unconditional love. She was so tenderhearted. Mother taught me about helping the poor and showing grace to the weak. She was a real lady with appropriate modesty and humility. She had an eye for beauty and fine things. She could decorate a hat when hats were in, and always had a new Christmas theme for the stairway banister. She loved history and made sure that I went to art classes even when I resisted. She also had a green thumb that could grow anything!

She was fun, too. She went camping with the guys and took us to Augusta for a variety of treats. Mother was the most knowledgeable person in town about the perfect route for Halloween candy. She knew just which houses to visit. The car was always full of greedy little gremlins. Every year I had a waiting list of people who wanted to go with us. She humored our every request, even when it wasn’t on her schedule. As a matter of fact, I think we were her schedule.

Mother did have a bit of a temper although she never spanked me. She was too loving for one to deliberately disobey. One time I did get sassy and got a smack across my head. As soon as I landed on the ground beside the sliding board, she was cradling me and apologizing. Believe me, once was enough. I didn’t get sassy again.

She had an opinion and words were sometimes pointed for those who had violated the parameters of southern gentility. My father was the usual recipient of those remarks. Cindy and I sometimes act out these vignettes in their honor, calling each other “Ralph” and “Sadie” tongue in cheek. Mother was spiritual and spicy, a lady and a tom-boy, and a lover of arts and crafts while being just as handy with a hoe, lawnmower, or garden tiller. We loved her, and love her still.

She fought illness with such grace and without complaint. She endured pain and despair with quiet hope. Mother kept loving even when her idyllic world began to show its age. She never lost her enormous sense of humor. I can relish her insatiable laugh in my mind’s ear right now. She lived a motto that we could all bear to emulate: “Ever she sought the best, ever she found it.” That was my mother, and that’s my wife. I am grateful.

Bin Laden & Schadenfruede

I have found myself very uncomfortable with the celebration of Bin Laden's death. I'm all for justice and I appreciate the military who carried out their orders. I am grateful for all those in uniform, whether police, firefighters, or military that provide us with protection. Just last night I heard on the news about 2 guys who evidently assaulted an elderly woman. Who can't help but demand justice? Romans 13:3-4 suggests that it is government's responsibility to render justice to wrongdoers. Amen.

So why am I bothered by the celebrations over Bib Laden's death? They remind me of the scenes from the Islamic world when there were throngs of people cheering when the World Trade Center towers came crashing down. I didn't like that so I'm sure the feeling is mutual. When vigilantism takes over for the Romans 13-approved corporate response to wrong then I'm/we're in trouble. Romans 12:17-21 deals with my personal desire to get back at those who have wronged me. It says I shouldn't repay evil for evil or get too happy when they get their due.

The Germans have a word for this kind of creepy glee: "schadenfreude." Schadenfreude means enjoying the misfortune of others. Personal desires for revenge must give way to appropriate corporate responses to wrong. Capturing Bin Laden and bringing him to trial becomes the preferred solution in this scenario. Yes, it would cost a fortune. Yes, it would be worth it. To polarize the West from the Islamic world by celebrating Bin Laden's death heightens the tensions and fails to win people's hearts. If hearts can be won, and as Christians we believe they can, then I need to confess and be delivered of schadenfreude. Personal pain doesn't justify personal revenge. Jesus loved his enemies and even in Matthew 26:50, when he was being betrayed by Judas in the Garden, he said, "Friend, Do what you came for." Now that's the opposite of hate. May the power of Jesus help us to call our enemies "Friend."

Easter Let Loose

Easter has come once again! The creation has been bursting forth with evidence of the resurrection for weeks now: Green the grass, ripe the bud, pink the flower, blue the sky, beautiful the butterfly, risen the Lord! Easter has come, but it is not gone!

In the drama, The Trial of Jesus, John Masefield has the centurion Longinus report to Pilate after the crucifixion of Jesus. Longinus had been the officer in charge of the execution, and after his official report, Procula, Pilate’s wife calls the centurion to come and tell her how the prisoner had died. This was important to her because she had dreamed about Jesus the night before his death and tried to warn Pilate to let him go.

After the centurion gives her the account of Jesus’ death, she asks, “Do you think he is dead?” Longinus answers, “No, lady, I don’t.” “Then where is he?” asks Procula. Longinus replies, “Let loose in the world, lady, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.”

Indeed, Jesus is let loose in the world. His truth continues to change hearts and lives. It is such a profound truth that we cannot let it be forgotten or misinterpreted. It is the One Truth that can set us free.

One Sunday late in Lent, a Sunday School teacher decided to ask her class what they knew about Easter. The first little fellow suggested, “Easter is when all the family comes to the house and we eat a big turkey and watch football.” The teacher suggested that perhaps he was thinking about Thanksgiving, not Easter. Next, a pretty little girl said, “Easter is when you come down stairs in the morning and you see all the beautiful presents under the tree.”

At this point, the teacher was quite disappointed. After explaining that the girl was probably thinking about Christmas, she called on a boy with his hand tentatively raised in the air. Her spirits perked up as the boy said, “Easter is the time when Jesus was crucified and buried.” She felt she had gotten through to at least one child, until he added, “And then He comes out of the grave, and if He sees His shadow we have six more weeks of winter.”

What do you believe about Easter’s truth? Is it accurate? In what way is Jesus alive in your world, your life? Ponder anew the mighty truth of Easter. Let its truth loose in every corner of your thoughts. Jesus is alive!

Passion Week and the Emergency Room

Ten Plagues? Lately it feels like it. If I counted back to Cindy's mother's death 18 months ago it seems like we've been through plenty. If frogs start falling from the sky I know we're in trouble. Cindy's mother died suddenly in August 2009 but we're still settling up her estate and personal belongings. Narcie found out less than a year ago that she has a brain tumor. Cindy has had three surgeries since January, including one more last week. What I thought would be enough money in my Medical Reimbursement Account to last a year hasn't lasted 3 months. My brother died suddenly on his birthday last August. In the last 3 weeks 2 grandchildren and 2 children have had strep throat. Now I have pneumonia, and I'm sure that I'm leaving something out.

Sure, there's been plenty of good stuff, too. Cindy and I had our 35th wedding anniversary last December. Josh and Karen had their first child last week: Kaela Lynn McClendon. Being a District Superintendent is still a pleasure. Working with friends to help the UMC be a stronger church globally and locally has been a blessing, too. Teaching UM History at Lutheran Seminary has been a joy. Good with bad, bad with good - C'est la vie, right? Life is this tension between good news and bad. I guess I'm a little gun-shy right now, but what I've been lately calling "a prolonged anxiety" is real. The scary thing is that I've been so blessed. There are some people who go through this kind of stuff their entire lives, so why should I be different?

So why should I think that I'm too special to get caught in life's cross-hairs? Jesus' Holy Week was utterly awful and he was/is Special with a capital "S." How easy it is for us Christians to think that we should be exempt from life's junk. How easy it is to think that people get what they deserve. Jesus' suffering during Holy Week clears up that falsehood because thinking people get what they deserve is a lie! Premillenialists may hope for a "Beam-Me-Up, Scottie!" rapture, but the early church's view of the rapture with one woman left at a handmill and the other taken sounds more like Roman soldiers capturing one and leaving one behind to me. It's not about an easy escape route! Look at early church history's facts. On average, the early church had 5,000 martyrs a day for 300 straight years. Doesn't sound like an easy life, not even close, and certainly doesn't jive with my utopian "God will protect me and reward me" selfcenteredness.

Truth be told, none us get what we truly deserve. We deserve every bad thing imaginable. Go to your local Emergency Rooms and you'll find the proof. Being in an ER is not a great experience unless you really have a penchant for studying people or might be a masochist. Cindy and I were there for 9 hours before it was decided that she needed to be admitted. Without sounding too much like a doubter concerning how much of the imago dei is left in people, I have to say that there were times in Cindy's ordeal that I pondered whether if I were somehow able to die for the sins of the whole world, would I - in the context of who and what I saw in the ER? Frankly, Cindy was the only person there who would have been worth it from my vantage point. I was tired, frustrated, bothered by the drama taking place around me, and wasn't in any mood for the sheer raunchiness and apparent lack of any manners in the people around us in the waiting room. There wasn't enough security for the menagerie including me. It was a human zoo and I was one of the animals.

And Passion Week kept smacking my brain. Sitting in the ER with Cindy writhing in pain put some perspective on the incarnation and upcoming Passion Week for me. Theoretically I knew that Jesus died for every one of the people gathered in the ER and would have done it even if it had been just one, and not just Cindy, but how much Jesus loves us has never hit me this profoundly before. Humanity is fickle, sinful, and yet God loves us! He became incarnate in Jesus and took our sins upon himself. Thinking about all this I have to admit that I'm still more than a little jaded by the whole ordeal, but I think it got my attention in good ways. If God loves us so much in spite of who we are and how we act, then I better start seeing our human commonality more than spending my time dividing the sheep from the goats.We're all made in God's image, however marred we all are.

Before I start judging the idiocy of the Palm Sunday crowd and preach about how they turned on Jesus by Good Friday, I can look in the mirror and see the same fickleness. By God's grace and love I can look in the same mirror and see the faces of every person from that ER. Everyone is included in Jesus' passion. Lord, help me to open my eyes and see that your Passion is for all of us, not one soul left out.

Remember, You Must Die!

There is a novel by Muriel Spark titled Memento Mori. It tells about a group of friends, all over sixty-five, who one by one receive anonymous phone calls telling them, “Remember, you must die!” The novel, partly serious, partly humorous, tells how different individuals come to terms with the telephone message. Though reactions vary, a common reaction is fright.

Still, the anonymous caller often causes characters to think back over their lives and assess how they have lived – about the good they have done as well as the not-so-good. In a way, the message they receive about death forces them to come to terms with the meaning of the life they have lived. Somehow death leads them back into life.

Lenten season is a reminder that we too must die, especially to sin. By dying to sin, we are led back into a fuller life of grace and good works. We put our faith into action through loving deeds. As someone has said, “We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold – but so does a hard-boiled egg.” I proved that actions are more significant than intentions with last week’s bulletin cover. As an unthinking hard-boiled egg, my lack of sensitivity in using humor about gender roles proved that faith is either undergirded or weakened by our actions. I am sorry.

Jesus said, “By this shall all people know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” Educator Jeffrey Holland tells about a pre-school teacher who faced what she thought was “burn-out.” She had begun to despair about some of the children in her class. She wasn’t sure if there was something wrong with her or the current crop of pre-schoolers. Then her mother died.

She took a week off from her teaching duties to handle the funeral and have some time alone to deal with her feelings. She loved her mother very much. Her frustrations at the pre-school seemed like an even heavier burden at this point in her life. When she went back to her classroom she felt more like a soldier going into battle than a teacher.

The first day back was what she expected. Her hurt and despair produced resentment that she kept carefully hidden. She went through the paces like a professional, smiling at the right times, and was fairly patient considering the environment and her raw feelings. But then it happened. She had come around the corner to discover Rachel picking the last chrysanthemum from the pot in the hall. Rachel was the most distant and disruptive child in the class. In a stern, trembling voice the teacher demanded, “Rachel, what are you doing?” Rachel held out the flowers she had already picked. “Mrs. Terrell,” she said, “You used to be like a mother. Would these flowers help you to be like a mother again? I know you are fussed in your mind. Wouldn’t you like some flowers?”

Mrs. Terrell thought, fussed in my mind? You mean it shows? To a five-year-old? She spoke: “Rachel, what is a mother like?” “A mother is like you used to be,” Rachel said. “A mother likes being with children.” “But Rachel,” said Mrs. Terrell, “I like being with children. I’ve just… well, I’ve been… well, Rachel, my mother… passed away, and…” Rachel meekly interrupted, “You mean she died?” “Yes, Rachel,” said her teacher sadly, “She died.”

Rachel looked up at her teacher and asked, “Did she live until she died?” Mrs. Terrell thought, what kind of question is that? “Well, honey, of course,” she said, “All people live until they die; they…” Rachel interrupted her again. “Oh. No they don’t, Mrs. Terrell. Some people seem to die while they are still walking around. They stop being what they used to be. Mrs. Terrell, don’t die just because your mother did. Be alive while you are alive.”

Out of the mouths of babes. How do we witness to the world that Christ is alive? We do it by loving one another – dying to self and living for others. If I can do this then Lent will have been a worthwhile spiritual journey and Passion Week all the more meaningful!

Acute Appointment Anxiety

Being a District Superintendent is something that I honestly love being and doing. I just got back to the office after spending several hours with a pastor and spouse walking, talking, and having lunch together. This time of year is when I spend three hours with each clergy doing whatever they want to do. We build relationships and we get to know each other a lot better than we do when we're having consultations in my office. These times are a blessing. I'll never forget last year around this time as I was with several of my clergy on a canoeing trip when I got the call about Narcie being in a hospital by herself and finding out she had brain tumor. A few days later I was doing pottery with some clergy when she called to let me know the scary prognosis. We were there for each other. I broke down and cried and they cried and prayed with me. Transparency and vulnerability is a good thing. We need community, especially as clergy who are always giving, giving, giving. I want to say thanks for everyone's support, and ask that you continue to pray that Narcie's tumor disappears and/or doesn't grow. She goes back for her every 3 month MRI next week. This is when the prolonged state of anxiety gets acute. Help!

This is also the time of year when every United Methodist Clergyperson has acute appointment anxiety. Am I moving, or not? It's the same for local churches. I'm  getting last minute phone calls from churches either lobbying for their pastor to move or stay. We start appointment making this Friday morning and it's an arduous task bathed in prayer and full of emotion. We want to do what's best for both churches and clergy, all to the glory of God. Our system is so different from the way average Americans think. It's my perception that Americans would rather go out and pick their pastor the same way corporations and businesses hire people. The United Methodist system of episcopal supervision and appointments listens to what churches need and tries to match those needs with a particular clergyperson's gifts and graces.

In our system we believe God calls people to ministry and the Annual Conference through the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Clergy Session validate that call. From then on we are a sent ministry. UM churches don't send out "pulpit committees" to guage a potential pastor. The SPRC meets with me and the other DS' to discuss the needs and we try to find the right person. I ask the Staff-Parish Relations Committee to do a secret ballot and vote on what the church/community needs during this season of its life in a pastor. I give them 3 choices that summarize Par. 340 "Duties of a Pastor" in our Book of Discipline. The choices that I think sum up what every pastor should bring to the table are: Leadership, Proclamation, and Pastoral Care.

Anyway, I use this information to guide my thinking about the clergy leadership that a church needs. This is what all DS' do. We know that clergy exist for local churches, not the other way around! The local church is the primary arena for disciple-making. Please pray for us as we attempt this week to make this happen through the appointments. The church's relevancy to the world depends on getting this right!

Earthquakes and God???

Why do earthquakes happen, cancers occur, wars start? I like the tune of Twila Paris' song, "God Is In Control," but I don't like the lyrics or what they seem to say. I have heard enough malarkey from well-intentioned people concerning my daughter's brain tumor, "It's meant to be," or the ubiquitous "Everything happens for a reason."  Well the reason most junk happens in the world has nothing at all to do with God, except that God gets us through the stuff. God doesn't cause bad things to happen. Take a look at James 1: 13-17, "God doesn't test anyone...Every good and perfect gift is from above."

So why the earthquake - ever since the fiasco of the Fall this world's natural laws have run amok. Proof: Jesus was asleep below deck while with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. They were afraid that the storm was going to drown them. They woke Jesus. He came up on deck and it says, "He REBUKED the winds and waves." If Jesus is God and if God controls nature and everything in it, then why would Jesus have to rebuke the storm. He only uses "rebuked" in the NT for evil anyway. The point is obvious to me. There are things not under God's control.

Bad things happen because of our choices; the choices of others, the general decay in the world because of the Falleness of Creation (the biggie); and evil - never God. So what does God do? God works miracles and that's the line I want to be in in heaven as I ponder theodicy. I want to ask God why did God intervene and heal my Dad and not my Mom. If we had taken a family vote it would have come out very differently, thank you very much. God redeems the junk caused by life. God (Romans 8:28) can work all things for good, but God doesn't cause them! There are so many variables, but God is constant love.

So, with earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina's, cancers, brain tumors, and the like - I'm going to trust God with the solutions, not blame God for the confusion. It's a huge difference to me!

Lenten App

I just noticed an article in our local newspaper about a new iPhone app for people who need to confess their sins. Sounds like an interesting way to add substance to our Lenten spiritual disciplines. The article asks, "Can your iPad or iPhone bring you closer to God?" It is aimed at Roman Catholics as the app is titled "Confession: A Roman Catholic App." It costs $1.99. Cheap enough, but is it cheap grace?

My wife knows after 35 years of marriage to ask another question after I say a generic, "I'm sorry." She asks, "Why are you sorry?" Now that really gets into a full-disclosure confession. It also makes sure that I think more than twice before I commit the same stupidity again. It isn't $1.99 grace, and it isn't cheap.

Lent is a season when we need to enter into Christ's passion and suffering so that we, too, may rise on Easter. The word, "Lenten," comes from the Old English word, "lencten," "to lengthen." Lenten season literally implies that we take a longer look at ourselves. As the days get longer so should our spiritual disciplines.

John Wesley organized the people of the 18th English Wesleyan Revival into classes and bands so that they might be accountable helpers for one another's spiritual growth. He saw salvation not as a forensic matter to be proved in court by a time-specific body of evidence; i.e. "I was saved at 8 p.m. on March 11, 1971." It included known events but wasn't limited to one-time shots of salvation. Wesley emphasized the therapeutic nature of Christ's redemptive work. His notion of salvation certainly was a process - a healing, therapeutic process that led through his via salutis (way of salvation) by stages  of prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. It was dynamic (therapeutic) not static (forensic). It was never-ending, always a growing in grace and upheld by the means of grace!

All the more reason as the season of Lent starts that we commit ourselves to more than a $1.99 iPhone app. Find your prayer partners, friends, Sunday School & Bible Study colleagues, Clergy buds, and neighbors who are just simply intrigued by Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday; and ask "Would you like to help me have a better Lent this year?" I pray that we will be surprised and hope-filled by the amazing ways that we can grow in grace this Lent.

Transfiguration Pinnacle and People

Epiphany season in the church has been a time through the centuries to sense the power of God’s self-revelation to the world. It is the season of encouragement that immediately follows Christmas and precedes Ash Wednesday and Lent. Epiphany is a reminder that though Christ is about to enter his “dark night of the soul” in the controversies that led to his crucifixion, he knows full well just who he is. He is God-Incarnate, God-in-the-Flesh.

This knowledge changes everything. It doesn’t lessen the pain and humiliation that Christ is about to undergo, but it does help him endure it. Epiphany season ends with the greatest affirmation of Christ’s personhood, Transfiguration Sunday, which we commemorate this Sunday. On the sacred mountain, Jesus is reminded that only he is God’s beloved son. Though the valley of suffering is deep beyond compare, God will transfigure the ordinary into extraordinary, the crown of thorns into a crown of Gold.

Transfiguration Sunday’s climatic end to Epiphany season doesn’t diminish the pain Jesus resolved to endure, but it did fortify his soul for the journey. Isn’t this why we come to Sunday School and Worship? Isn’t the Lord’s Day our Day of Transfiguration? We seek to find out who we are on Sunday and pray that it helps us through the dark nights of the work-a-day week.

Such a transfiguration took place in the life of a man named Ben Hooper. Fred Craddock ran across an elderly gentleman by this name at a restaurant just off I-40 in east Tennessee. The older gentleman found out that Fred Craddock was a seminary professor, a teacher of preachers, in Atlanta. The gentleman, without hesitation, said that he had a story to tell about a preacher. Fred had heard many such stories over the years but he listened attentively. The old gentleman told how he was born in the hills nearby, and that his mother was not married. He described how children made fun of him and called him names. He recalled how everyone would stare at his face trying to figure out who his daddy really was.

The old man said he felt embarrassed and unworthy everywhere he went, especially church. At church, as a young boy, he would slip into the back pew after the singing began and slip out before the last hymn finished. One night, however, the new Methodist preacher talked long and hard about God’s grace and love for everyone no matter who they were. He was mesmerized. Before he could slip out, a group of people had already queued up in the aisle. Before he could move, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the preacher! He spoke while staring at the boy’s face, “Well, son, let me see who you are. Oh, yes! I see a striking resemblance. You’re a child of God … Go out and claim your inheritance!”

The older man told Dr. Fred Craddock that night transfigured his life. He felt God’s grace like never before. It changed him forever. Fred Craddock asked the man what his name was again, knowing this would make a great story to tell preachers. The old man replied, “Ben Hooper.” “Ben Hooper, Ben, Ben Hooper!” Craddock thought to himself. And suddenly it came to him that his father had once told him about the time when, for two terms, the people of Tennessee had elected a man named Ben Hooper, who had been born to an unwed mother, as governor of their state. What a difference transfiguration makes!

Think about the millions of people around us who need a transfiguration. They wonder if the institutional church is relevant, and so do I. However, the Gospel is relevant, if we'll connect to people and let people know through word and deed that Jesus has made a difference in our lives. People are starving for salvation and need transfiguration. I pray that we will guide them in real, relational, and relevant ways to an encounter with the Living God!