Keepers of the Mountain

This entry was written by Hannah Parker, a senior at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, IA, and a participant on the Windsor Heights Lutheran Church 2010 Mission Trip.

Coal mining is one of the oldest industries in America. Does that mean it is okay to take away people’s homes and take away their rights as Americans? 

Today we woke up early to drive an hour to Kayford Mountain. It was a gravel road the whole way up. As we drove up the rocky, shaky road we were surrounded by beautiful scenery the entire time. We were following a man in a truck that had bumper stickers covering the entire back window. Larry Gibson is an activist for all the people whose lives have been destroyed or affected by Mountaintop Removal. We had been told previously in the week that this was a man that had more experience than anyone with the people who support the coal industry. When we arrived a small man in jean overalls and a plaid shirt got out of the car. Little did we know that, although he was small, he is a man with bigger passion and determination than I could have ever imagined.

I didn’t know much of anything that was going on in West Virginia before this point. Most people know that coal mining is a heavily used industry in the Appalachian Mountains but I never knew that there were problems to this extreme. Larry kept describing it as a war. West Virginia’s own war against the mining industry. It is a war. A war for the right to land, clean air and clean water.

We arrived at the top of a beautiful mountains surrounded by trees and greenery. He owns a house at the top of the mountain. In my mind I was not prepared for what we were about to be told. He sat us down at a picnic table near by and started to tell his story. He came from a family with a long tradition of coal mining but he knew from a young age that he would never do it. He grew up wondering how people could destroy the land around him. He told us stories of how people drive up the mountain to send him threats. A threat as extreme as drive by shootings and other harmful acts. Larry Gibson is known all over the world for telling his story to people. He tells stories of how the blasts send debris into his yard and cause kitchen cabinets to rattle and paintings to fall off the walls. He lives in a constant worry of what will happen next but these threats haven’t stopped his fight.

Larry takes us on a tour of the land. We start walking down the road and his shows us piles of coal that remain on the land. The coal companies have given several offers for his land but as he described to us, his land is something that can’t have a price be put on it. As we continue to walk we see other homes along the way. They are old and fairly dilapidated homes but no matter the shape they are in, they are someone’s homes. We walk up a fairly steep hill and come to a wall of greenery. There are signs posted all over saying, “no trespassing” and “private property.” We continue to climb this wall and over the hill we see the destruction of the mountains. We look down at the Mountaintop Removal site and the mountain is no longer a mountain. Larry informs us that the ground we were standing on used to be almost 450 feet taller. It made everything come alive. It was shocking to see how the land has been treated. 

As we looked farther we could see towns at the bottom of where all this is taking place. Almost all the people in the towns have some type of illness due to the air and water pollution caused from coal mining. The blasts can go off at any moment. It shocked me to think about having to live in a place with that kind of threat. I can’t imagine living with that kind of fear everyday. Larry Gibson is one of the most courageous people I have ever met. He is fighting for “the people of the mountains” and he puts up with all the threats against him to try to win the fight.

As we leave we drive back down the gravel, bumpy road back into town. We follow a truck that is used to haul the coal to the dumpsite. As we drive by we see the train carts filled with coal. The whole experience was shocking and eye opening to me. Here is a man fighting for something with more passion and determination than anyone I have ever talked to when I barely knew anything about the issue before yesterday. Larry left us with one goal. He wants us to make people more aware of what is going on in West Virginia and in the rest of the Appalachia area so that maybe something can be done to fix it. He doesn’t want his land to be a tourist site. He wants people to go out and spread the news about what is being done and find ways to fix it so that the people living in these communities can rest a little easy and know that the air they breathe in on a daily basis may not cause them to have cancer someday. He is fighting for his rights and the people’s rights around him and he wants us to spread the word to help him in a fight that seems like it may not end until the coal runs out.

WV-DC 2010 Mission Trip Pics

Here's proof that the WHLC Mission Trip group is alive and well.

Hiking the Beech Fork trails near Huntington, W

Visiting our friends with the Sludge Safety Project

We have been shown gracious hospitality by several churches along our journey

Unwinding at the end of the day

Larry "Keeper of the Mountain" Gibson (and his dog, "Dawg")

Preparing for one of our many community meals

We have driven 1,400 miles in less than four days

Mission Trip Planning

I work at a church with a long history of mission trips.  In the past seven years, I have participated in mission trips to Mississippi (5), New Orleans, Minneapolis, Denver (3), and Mexico City (3).  There has been a different focus for each trip.  Sometimes it's work projects...other times it's service-learning...other times we focus on models of accompaniment...and many times it's a combination of these.

This year, we set out to do things a little differently.  Young people were directly involved with planning the trip.  They picked the dates, cities, and focus for the trip.  The end result was a unique (and somewhat eclectic) eight-day experience in West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Columbus, OH.


Saturday, July 10

• Drive from Des Moines, IA to Huntington, WV
• Stay at Bates Presbyterian Church

Sunday, July 11

• Worship at Bates
• Visit with Pastor Robin Blakeman about "Faith & Mountaintop Removal"
• Explore the foothills at Beech Fork State Park

Monday, July 12

• Service-learning experience with the Sludge Safety Project
• Visit homes near State Capitol and talk about SSP
• Experience supper at Practically Delish
• Stay at Rock Lake Presbyterian Church

Tuesday, July 13

• Work projects at Stanley Heirs Park on Kayford Mountain
• Visit with Larry Gibson
• Travel to Washington D.C.
• Stay at First Trinity Lutheran Church youth hostel

Wednesday, July 14

• Breakfast with Senator Tom Harkin
• Meet with Jodi Dieke - ELCA Advocacy
• Holocaust Museum
• Smithsonian Museums
• Outdoor Memorials (at night)

Thursday, July 15

• Meet with Senator Charles Grassley
• Meet with Rep. Leonard Boswell
• Native American Museum
• American History Museum

Friday, July 16

• Travel to Columbus, OH
• Stay at Jacob's Porch on Ohio St. campus

Saturday, July 17

• Return to Des Moines

Some of the themes that will be interwoven throughout our week include care for creation, wealth & poverty, immigration, church & state, religious patriotism, and the role of political advocacy among religious people.  These are complex, loaded issues for young people to be wrestling with.  The 2,500+ miles we spend in the van will, likely, be blessed by conversations about these, and other, topics.

Additionally, there is a daily emphasis on spiritual practices and living in Christian community.  We will plan, cook, and buy meals together.  We will care for each other by listening, sharing, and praying as a group.  We will take time for individual Bible study, prayer, journaling, and meditating at the close of each day.

I have high hopes (which are different than expectations) for how God will work in and through us this week.  There will be regular posts on koinonia written by our group members.  I hope you will join our journey by reading what happens each day.

Contemporary

Christian worship is a hard thing to understand, and an even harder thing to lead. It's amazing, really. Think about another time in your life when you regularly gather with people you rarely see, listen to stories, sing songs, snack on a wheat cracker and grape juice, and attempt to communicate with a deity that you can't see or hear. It's a construct that is unlike any other aspect of our life...and over 1 billion people do this every week all around the world.

Strange.

This past weekend our old-ALC, German Lutheran congregation tried something new – contemporary worship. The term “contemporary” is a bit pejorative in the sense that every time people gather for worship it is, in essence, contemporary. Worship is a unique expression that relies on God's Spirit to move through those who have gathered at a specific time and place. Even if a few friends and I sing some plainchant Kyrie from the 9^th century, it’s still contemporary. Henceforth, if I refer to contemporary worship I am using it merely as a brand name…like “praise service” or “seeker worship” are similar (but distinctly different) brand names of worship.

But I digress.

After a few intense months of a mini “worship war”, our church agreed to try our hand at contemporary worship at all three weekend worship services once a month this summer. Basically, this was the way our worship committee could balance the polarities of “we need to offer a more contemporary service to reach the unchurched in our community” and those on the other side proclaiming “if you change the way we do worship, I'm leaving and taking my checkbook with me.”

It was quite a risk.

* * *

I’m not a big contemporary worship guy. Unlike most of my colleagues, when I want to listen to Christian music, I rely on Mozart or Bach…not Third Day or David Crowder. Some people hum tunes from Christian radio…I tap my toes to the liturgy or chorales from the 16^th century. The short wispy hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention whenever a church does communion before the creed or a pastor preaches on something other than the gospel text from the Revised Common Lectionary. So when I was asked to sing and play guitar at our church’s first contemporary worship service, I panicked. I literally broke out in a sweat and paced around the room for a few minutes.

I’ve never been more conflicted.

In the past five years, our congregation has doubled it’s programming for youth and families, and subsequently seen over 50% of our young families leave the church. The reasons for this trend are the subject of another blog post (or maybe not). The emergence of a contemporary worship movement at our stoic congregation might be the thing we need to make an impact on the community and bring young families to the church. It could also lead to our own version of the Great Schism. Furthermore, from a church politics standpoint, I felt I was in a no-win situation. I would be a fool to reject a passionate group of people who were using worship as a vehicle to bring young families to our congregation. At the same time, worship leadership is not in my job description. I don’t personally tend to connect with churches that offer that particular style of worship.

So I took the plunge.

And lived to tell about it.

I overheard a wide spectrum of opinions shared by people after the services. None were surprising. I tended to resonate with folks who said, "I don't know that I'd attend a service like that again, but I think we need to offer it every week." If a change in worship format is linked to outreach, I'm all in. I am the anomaly in the sense that most people my age see traditional, liturgical worship and are reminded of the forced boredom they endured as a child...and they want no part of it. This is more than a fad; it's a trend. I don't think that offering contemporary worship at our church will make most of our current members happier, but it might be an entry point for people in the community who are unaffiliated with a church. As one of my friends said, "If I want that kind of worship, I'll go to a different church."

Duly noted.

*** Epilogue ***

Nearly 36 hours after our contemporary worship weekend, I am haunted by an image that just might change my perspective on this whole topic. For the first time, I saw my six-year old daughter fully participating in a worship service. She didn't have to know how to read music, juggle a bulletin and a hymnal, or understand the convoluted numbering system in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book. The only thing young Anna had to do was look up toward the cross and see the words to the songs, prayers, scripture, and statements of faith. She was engaged. She made connections. She was participating in corporate worship. She was a part of the body of Christ in a new and special way. It wasn't because her parents were telling her what to do....it wasn't because her dad works for a church...it was because, for the first time, she was in a worship service that stripped away the barriers to her participation. What more could a parent want for their child?

Knowing what this weekend's worship did for Anna doesn't eliminate some of my misgivings about contemporary worship...but it does give me a different lens through which I view the conversation.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

VBS as Evangelism

This post appears on the Center for Renewal blog...

Vacation Bible School...Day Camp...Summer Church School...

No matter the name, it's likely your church does some form of extended Christian education for children for a week or two in the summer months. For many churches VBS serves two purposes -- (1) A summer highlight while the church takes a break from Sunday School, and (2) a community outreach program (a.k.a. "cheap daycare"). A church can use the VBS machine for evangelism purposes, if they go about it the right way.

Here are my 5 suggestions for using VBS as an evangelism tool:

Declare the two purposes equally important. If your VBS is really just an extension of Sunday School - or, even worse, an end of the year celebration - the visitors will feel awkward and excluded. In the same way, if your VBS abandons your congregational identity for the sake of the visitor, the children who attend will have a disjointed experience from all their other church involvement. VBS is a both-and situation.

Get the word out. This requires creativity that goes beyond a newsletter announcements or a colorful sign in the church yard. It also means doing quality communication with a specific group. If you invite the whole town, you've cast your net too wide. Pick a demographic that makes sense and is attainable, and figure out how to connect with that population. Have senior high youth distribute information / registration forms on a Sunday afternoon. Allow on-line registration through your church's website. Offer a financial discount to non-members. Post registration information in local shops and businesses. Even bulk mailings to a specific zip code can work (if you have the money).

Have an Open House / Kick Off. Invite children, parents, older siblings, and neighbors to the church the night before VBS. Introduce the pastors and VBS volunteers. Sing some of the songs you're planning to teach during the week. Talk about the theme of the week and highlight a few things going on in the life of the congregation. Serve a free meal and allow casual fellowship opportunities for visitors to interact with church members. (This is also a great way to talk about the logistics of your VBS week, in case people don't read the communiques you've been sending.)

Communicate during the week. Post pictures of VBS on your website (only if parents have given permission). Send email updates, Twitter posts, or text messages to parents that share highlights of the day. This will help them engage their children when talking about VBS themes, songs, and activities. It also opens the door for visitors to ask additional questions about your church.

Follow up in the weeks to come. Do another "y'all come" event a few weeks after VBS. Use a video projector to show a movie on the church wall...have an outdoor worship service...hold a Family Game Night...decorate a float in the 4th of July parade. Invite everyone who participated in VBS to attend. If you're not up for another big event, consider sending a photo CD of all the pictures you took during the week. Inform visiting households of your Sunday School ministry or other children / youth / family events. Give them information; not expectations.

The Life Span of a Christian

I had a conversation the other day with a friend from church. "Jeff" is in his late-40s and has been an active member of the church for a very long time. I could tell something was troubling Jeff, so I asked him to share.

"Where are all the young people?"

I asked him to say more.

"It makes me sad that there aren't more youth and young adults in worship. I look around and all I see are people my age or parents with small children. Where are the kids in their teens and 20's?"

As we continued to talk, my friend shared the story of his faith journey. It was not unlike most others I had heard. He was reluctantly taken to church as a child, drifted away after confirmation, worshiped on Christmas Eve as a young adult to make his mom happy, got married, had a kid, and got reconnected after his child's baptism. It was a that moment that the light bulb went off.

Jeff came to the astonishing conclusion that he was no different than the very people he was chastising for being MIA.

We continued talking about how important it is for the church to continue reaching out to youth and young adults. We covered the main buzz words like "creativity", "innovation", "renewal" and "emerging". We knew that, just because many young Lutherans drift away after confirmation and (hopefully) return in adulthood doesn't mean that's a good thing. We just didn't have any ideas of what that kind of ministry looks like.

* * *

Later that night, I couldn't sleep. I thought about my conversation with Jeff...contemplated my own journey...and considered the stories of two Biblical big shots.

Moses -- he lived the life of an Egyptian prince, fled to the desert, farmed for a while, got married, and eventually came back to lead God's people to freedom. Moses was well into adulthood when he claimed his identity as a child of God, after having nothing to do with Yahweh up until then.

Jesus -- we know a lot about his birth and a "Home Alone"-style fiasco in the temple when he was 12...and then...nothing until he's about 30-years old. He grew in "wisdom and understanding", but what does that mean? He made nice shelving units in his dad's carpentry shop? He did miracles and signs and wonders around the neighborhood? What happened in his formative years? When Jesus finally appeared on the scene as an adult, had 3 good years of ministry, and then died.


There are many other examples of faithful God-followers that started young and continued throughout their lives (Jeremiah, Samuel, David, etc.). However, in light of the inverse bell curve of Christian involvement in many churches, I began to wonder:

What is the life-span of a Christian?

Are we wired to be people that are constantly growing in faith until the day we die?

Is it acceptable to ride the waves of doubt and certainty throughout our lives?

Does everyone have their time in the desert, a la Moses?

Does a person who remains active in a church during their young adult years become disconnected in their 40s & 50s, when other people their age become reinvested in their faith community?

Are churches needlessly banging their heads against a wall while trying to figure out what to do with the 13 - 30 crowd?

Should we invest our denominational efforts in creating para-church entities that take the place of a congregational focus? (A.k.a. create a theologically-sound alternative to Young Life or Campus Crusade for Christ.)

* * *

My tendency is to say that the church, which is the body of Christ, must remain central in the ministry that it does with people of all ages and stages in the journey. I'd like to think that we can be all things to all people. I subscribe to the theory that most churches have become (for lack of a better word) LAZY when it comes to engaging youth and young adults in meaningful ways...and there are lots of people / organizations that will gladly fill the void.

The big question, of course, is "how do we do this?" How does an established, mainline, intergenerational congregation go about nurturing faith among those in their teens and 20s?

Please provide the correct answer below. Thanks...

You Go Girl!

Dwight mentioned this video in the comments section of the Confused post. I thought it was worth embedding here:




I have gotten to know Tammy through synod coordinator work for the 2006 & 2009 ELCA Youth Gatherings. We usually sit together in the back of the room at the "naughty table" during meetings. I love her passion, fire, and attitude about Youth & Family Ministry. Here's hoping that her address to the NC synod assembly inspires other leaders like her!

Confused

My name is Erik, and I'm a Church Nerd.


My addiction?

Finding out what happens at ELCA synod assemblies.

Facebook status updates, Twitter hashtags, and blogs only make it easier for me to troll around and find out what's going on around the denomination...which, of course, feeds the need for more official (and, more importantly, UNofficial) information of what's going on.

It seems that every assembly is having lengthy discussions about the sexuality resolutions that are being voted on at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in August. Synods aren't just taking about the resolutions...they're discussing 50% + 1 vs. 2/3 majority...they're voting on whether or not to affirm the resolutions...they're going into "committee of the whole" discussions that lead to additional resolutions and more voting. Suffice it to say, thus far, synod assemblies have once again been defined by sexuality debates.

I just have one question: WHY?

To my knowledge, there is no authority in what the synods are voting on at this point. Even if all 65 synods voted in favor of or against the resolutions, it wouldn't really matter. At this stage of the game, the only votes of significance are those cast at the Churchwide Assembly. Synod delegates to the Assembly are not required to vote on behalf of their synodical constituancy...so what's the point of voting as a synod if the delegates are going to vote their conscience in August?

Synod assemblies are intended to be a celebration of the past year's ministry and a look ahead to the coming year. It's a time to worship, pray, discuss, and join in fellowship. It's a time to bring people together to talk about mutual ministry and share successes and failures within congregations. Therefore, why make another year of synodical work boil down to an argument about whether or not openly gay pastors can serve churches, or if the church should be allowed to bless the unions of same-sex couples? Haven't we been down this road a time or two?

Perhaps I'm just tired of so much time, money, energy, and PR being poured into this conversation. Maybe I just think we need to focus more resources on feeding hungry people, working for immigration reform, giving better support to rostered and non-rostered leaders, and figuring out why our church has been shrinking for most of my lifetime. Sexuality (and, by extension, the church's view thereof) is important...but shouldn't dominate.

And yet, for another year, the 65 synods of our beloved ELCA will be mired in a debate that cannot be won...about a topic that most people cannot understand...in a church body that has given the decision-making authority to a group of 1,000 people that won't gather for another 2 months.

Postville Reflections

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the government raid of the Agriprocessors plant in the town of Postville, IA. When the raid had concluded, 389 people (nearly 20% of the Postville population) were arrested and removed from the community for not being able to document their U.S. citizenship.

Immigration is a complex issue; one that I'm not qualified to weigh in on. I understand and respect the reasoning behind the current laws, but my five trips to Mexico City in the past 6 years continue to reinforce my belief that our immigration policy is deeply flawed. I grieve what the government action has done to the community of Postville. In many ways, the "law-abiding" citizens (especially the children) of this rural community have been punished far greater than the undocumented people who were detained.

It's also an issue that is close to the heart of my family. My dad spent much of his youth as a pastor's kid in Postville. He also serves as an ELCA bishop in Northeastern Iowa, which includes the community of Postville. He's spent quite a bit of time in that community in the past year. I sent him a quick note last night asking how the prayer service went.

It was pretty powerful. The Rabbis condemned Agriprocessors. The Archbishop and I both quoted Isaiah. 600-800 people were there.

All the names of those who were arrested were read. It began to sink in just how many people and families have been affected.

Just before the prayer vigil began, a news helicopter flew overhead. The children ran to the sanctuary screaming "ICE! ICE! ICE!" I fear that they may never recover from the invasion.

Jews and Christians stood in solidarity with all the people of Postville. I will remember this day for a very long time.

Here are some of my reflections (on my old blog) on the topic of immigration reform from last year.

Also, a summary of our discussion about immigration with our friends at the Lutheran Center in Mexico City last summer.

And some reports of yesterday's events in Postville from KWWL, Des Moines Register, Sojourners, and a statement from LIRS.


Let the debate continue...prayerfully.

Weighing In

A few of the koinonia faithful asked me what I think about the recent drama over Adam Walker-Cleveland's ordination struggles (other than my re-posting of other people's opinions). Fair enough. Though I somewhat doubt that opinions have mass appeal, I will share what I posted in the midst of over 100 other comments that appeared on Adam's initial post and Tony's most recent response (which is worth reading).


Here is what I wrote on Adam's blog:

5 Thoughts for You:

1. You got screwed. I’d be pissed if I were you. I’m sorry to read that the process unfolded this way.

2. I pray you don’t see this setback as a referendum on your abilities as a pastor. You are a gifted individual who has been called by God for the purpose of ministry. That work will continue, regardless of when / how / if the ordination process continues.

3. The system you entered into is no more sinful than any other human work.

4. On the whole, denominations (like the PCUSA) that have existed for a long time have done so with the best interest of the whole church in mind. I know that some of your friends believe denominational structures only exist to provide barriers to ministry. It doesn’t mean they’re always right…but it also doesn’t mean they’re always wrong.

5. Denominations need articulate, intelligent, gifted people (like you) to work for positive change in the organizations — not jump ship. Your work at Presbymergent is a testament to that. I believe that your role in PCUSA is not accidental…and that your network of connections and blog exposure (1000+ subscribers !?!?!) can help to shine a light on some of the problems of the ordination process. If you leave, you’re likely to be perceived by the “good old boys” within the PCUSA as just another malcontent who couldn’t handle authority.

All of my opinions aside, my prayers will be for God’s will to be done…and for you to be at peace in the midst of these turbulent waters of doubt and frustration. All the best…

And here's what I wrote on Tony Jones' blog:

What if...

...denominations didn't exist to oppress and abuse, but rather support, challenge, and provide accountability?

...a denomination empowered local congregations to identify future pastors and prepare them for a life of ministry by providing them with opportunities for leadership, service, and learning?

...local congregations were asked to surround pastoral candidates with prayer, acts of kindness, and financial support throughout the seminary process?

...candidacy committees met regularly with ordination candidates to ask about their journey through seminary and how they were continuing to hear God's call to ordained ministry?

...larger church-bodies stayed out of way throughout this process, unless the people who have walked along side an ordination candidate expressed concerns about emotional, intellectual, theological, sexual, or other boundary issues?

...the Masters of Divinity requirement existed to equip would-be pastors with a communal network of support, encouragement, and a rock-solid set of ministry tools that prepare them for congregational life?


The above questions are not hypothetical, Pollyanna, utopian questions. They explain is how my particular denomination functions. There are exceptions where abuse / misuse of the system has occurred...more often on the part of the ordination CANDIDATE than on the DENOMINATION. There are ways that we need to adapt the ordination process to ensure that we are putting pre-ordained folks on the best track to empower them for ministry. The process has been shaped over hundreds of years to provide care for the pastors AND the congregations those people serve.

I offer this, not in the hopes of convincing you that denominations are awesome...but to offer an example of how denominations can function in a beautiful way to give life to the whole church.

If you can sift through some of the raw emotion being expressed on the various blogs, I think there are some really good reflections on the ordination process in mainline denominations. I hope that "the powers that be" in the various church bodies are paying attention.

The "E" Word

The theme at C.H.A.O.S. (high school youth group) tonight was Evangelism. After prepping the activity and discussion questions, I decided to consult my Twitter / Facebook network for some last minute suggestions. Here is what came my way in the course 0f 45 minutes:

Justin Rimbo (@docrimbo)- Evangelism isn't our responsibility. It's the work of the Holy Spirit in us. SUCK ON THAT.

Dwight DuBois (@blondofthewoods) - I have lots! A whole series of articles. Search the SE Iowa website for 'bowen' and d/l the Evangelism Illuminations article. Best summary: Relationship! (don't be a flashed evangelist)

Beth Lewis (@bethalewis) - Invite a friend to a movie...awkward? no. Gallup research shows that most people new to church come thru an event invite. Ask.

Le Anne Clausen de Montes (via Facebook) - Don't call it 'evangelism.' Invitation, welcome, hospitality--these probably all get to the heart of real evangelism better than a word that's taken on so many negative connotations.

Michael Peuse (via Facebook) - Evangelism is NOT proselytizing.

Two things astonished me. #1 - I have really insightful friends. #2 - This is an example of social networking at its finest. I shared these short perspectives with the young people (in the midst of a highly distracted conversation at Mustard's)...and they resonated loud and strong. The conclusion we reached was that it's easier to talk about what evangelism isn't than to come up with what it is. We talked about ways to demonstrate Christ's love, very few of them involved spirit-healing, speaking in tongues, or distributing tracts on street corners. I was proud of how willing they were to talk about "God stuff" aloud in a public place...which was bit of evangelism in and of itself.

How do I know? The waitress, who overheard our conversation, told me this as we were leaving:

"Your work with kids inspires me. God bless you."

I assured her that it wasn't MY work, but she wasn't interested in theological minutiae. Seeing a group of people gathered for supper and conversation caused this woman to reflect on her own faith...and unexpected byproduct of just another night of senior high youth group.

Worship Reflections

My friend Sonja posted some reflections on worship at her Facebook blog. I thought they were worthy of a re-post...

--

Sonja's Blog: Crossroads

April 27 at 5:21pm

You will have to forgive my recent tendency toward the religious. However, I find myself once again compelled to post on the topic. Humor me.

We are finding ourselves at a crossroads at our church. The traditions that have served us well for years are being challenged, and there is a ever-growing call for renewal of our worship practices (otherwise known as “adding a contemporary service”).

Those who feel strongly have weathered the tide of transition after a long-tenured pastor’s retirement and the upheaval of losing our next lead pastor after a few short years. Being in a constant state of transition, this multitude has been encouraged to be patient, not to push for change during such tumultuous times.

And so the din is rising. Will we ever not be in transition?

My thoughts on the subject of transforming our church go beyond the worship experience to the entirety of how we do or do not look to understand the needs of the “ordinary” people in our immediate community (i.e. not necessarily homeless/jobless, etc) who have needs (parenting/marriage/general life challenges) and how we become a safe, welcoming, nurturing place for to find guidance that then reveals the far-reaching effect God’s grace and a life of faith have in transforming our ordinary lives to the extraordinary that we crave (and expect!) but cannot achieve on our own.

In my opinion, we need to first formalize the process of getting to know new individuals by offering a variety of more intimate gatherings through which they can get to know others in the church (often known as small groups – Bible studies, discussion groups, child-rearing, mothering, marriage … etc.) When a new member joined the church an invitation would be extended to join a group that may be of interest to him/her.

When we welcome new members and then leave them afloat in a sea of new people to somehow find their way, we set ourselves up for failure. Only those who are bound and determined to make this particular church their home will have the fortitude to keep attending events, volunteering and being present until people quit asking “Are you new here?”

That’s not how Jesus did it, and it’s not how we should be doing it either. Jesus went to the people … Jesus turned the conventions of the day on their head and challenged us to a live a life of love by extending ourselves to others.

Second, just like schools have to rethink many of the ways they conduct outreach to parents (i.e. going beyond open houses and parent-teaching conferences) who may have never finished school or have terribly negative associations with “traditional” school outreach, we need to figure out how we become less scary to the individual who has only ever seen church as a place of negativism, hypocrisy, obligation and hurt. Whether those in established religion want to believe it or not, these are some of the reasons young families don’t just NOT go to church but AVOID anything with a religious connotation.

Those same traditions that bring us comfort and peace are representative of a time and place where a hurting soul came to be loved, nurtured and transformed and instead found judgment. By being willing to shed these traditions in favor of a worship experience that is still liturgical, worshipful and gospel-centered but is also in tune with the needs and styles of these individuals, we acknowledge that we are truly a “Christ-Centered Community of Hope and Belonging for ALL.”

By being willing to put words on the screen and sing with guitars and piano, we remove the stigma that only musically-inclined people who appreciate pipe organ and three part harmony attend church. By incorporating dramatic elements that provide real-life examples to make otherwise foreign and difficult concepts relevant and real, we acknowledge that the purpose of a sermon is the message (the GOSPEL centered message) not how it gets to you. By providing moments of intimacy during the worship service (communion in the round, sharing of the peace at the beginning, opportunities for personal connection) we acknowledge that we are a community that cares for and responds to the needs of our members and the world while focusing on God’s message as we worship Him.

The most important thing to understand is this is not an “us” versus “them” discussion, and it can never be. We are called to serve.

To SERVE.

To serve.

Young families not attending church are raising the next generation … do you want to have a say in introducing those children to Christ and shaping their values, or not? Will you turn your backs on them and hold fast to tradition while they drown in a sea of anger and self-doubt or will you “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 New International Version).

Claiborne Recap

I enjoyed my maiden voyage to the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College late last week. I took a little heat for referring to the GAC campus as "simultaneously beautiful and bland" on Twitter...but I stand by my initial observation. The benchmark of our trip was to spend the day with Shane Claiborne.

(For those of you not familiar with Shane's work, take a moment to click here, here, and here.)

Shane preached at the daily chapel service and then spent some open Q&A time with a group of a couple dozen youth ministers. He is a person who has the gift to be fully present where he is. I never sensed anxiety or secondary agendas in the conversation. He is compelled by the Gospel to present his case for a radical new (or really old) kind of discipleship. Not once did he urge us to buy his book, visit his website, or donate financially to his cause. Instead, his focus was on honoring our questions and affirming this ragamuffin group of youth ministers for their work.

The group ate pizza in The Dive (an on-campus hangout) and a few of us traveled down to Mankato for relaxing and reflecting. It was a beautiful spring day. We ventured to the campus of Mankato State and soaked up the sun and college frivolity. I read a few chapters from the book of Acts in my Carolina-blue "Lutheran Study Bible"; others napped.


At night, Shane gave a more formal presentation to an auditorium filled with a predominately under-30 crowd. With my computer in the fix-it shop and my phone / voice recorder out of battery, I was forced to jot a few salient points on the back page of the aforementioned Lutheran Study Bible. Here were the money quotes:

On war:
Christians should be the hardest people to convince that violence is necessary; not the ones beating the war drums.

Referencing a sign on a church / homeless shelter in Philly:
How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?

On criticism:
The best critique of what's wrong is the practice of something better.

Quoting MLK:
We should lament deeply that the most segregated hour in our nation is 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Addressing accusations that he's a Socialist:
If we learn to love others as ourselves, Capitalism won't be possible and Marxism won't be necessary.

Much of what Claiborne presented aligned with my immersion experiences at the Centro Luterano in Mexico City. I am moved by this message and find myself inspired to make different choices in the way I live. Upon my return home, I re-read my New Year's resolution post about The Year Of Living Simply. Several friends misunderstood my intention for those resolutions. Out of genuine concern for my well-being, they thought I was trying to simplify my life so I would be less stressed and anxious. What I was really getting at, however, was trying to establish patterns that were more congruent with my faith. Embracing rituals, spending less money, and making smarter use of the Internet are a few ways that I can avoid the ruts that are associated with my residence in Suburbia. My road trip to see Shane Claiborne reminded me of the call to take up my cross and follow Jesus...and to joyfully live in response to God's grace.

(It also reminded me how much I like hanging around really smart people.)

Death of Institutions

Chide me all you want for reading sports blogs, but I thought Will Leitch's reflection on the death of Harry Kalas was poignant:

There aren't many broadcasters like Buck and Kalas left...they are relics of a more permanent era, when people really did have one job for 50 years and couldn't be happier about it. (And back when people listened to the radio, the one station they could get, only if they happened to be on a hill.) That doesn't happen anymore, in any field. The people who have been doing this for so long, whether they're a broadcaster, or a newsman, or just the guy who does your taxes, are the last of their breed. We are a transient society, constantly moving, looking for the next thing, never sitting still for too long. There isn't much constancy. This makes for a more vibrant, exciting life. (Theoretically, anyway.) But it also casts darkness on all our institutions: When nothing lasts for too long, those things have lost value. We appreciate them more ... but we find ourselves mourning them less when they're gone. There's always something else.

I think Leitch is right. I see that in our congregation - dozens of households (usually young families) have come and gone in the past six years. Lots of new faces around the church; and many familiar ones are gone. Perhaps this is just the way of things for Xers and Millennials. If so, what does this mean for the church - one of the oldest "institutions" in history. Will it exist two generations from now? If so, what will it look like?

Don't Blow It

Jeff Jarvis (Huffington Post) has some sobering words for the newspaper industry:

You blew it.

You've had 20 years since the start of the web, 15 years since the creation of the commercial browser and craigslist, a decade since the birth of blogs and Google to understand the changes in the media economy and the new behaviors of the next generation of - as you call them, Mr. Murdoch - net natives. You've had all that time to reinvent your products, services, and organizations for this new world, to take advantage of new opportunities and efficiencies, to retrain not only your staff but your readers and advertisers, to use the power of your megaphones while you still had it to build what would come next. But you didn't.

You blew it.

I can't help but wonder if someone will be writing a similar letter to the church 10 years from now.

Have we misread (or turned a blind-eye from) the ways in which communication and culture shifts have impacted our mission field? Are we holding on to the right traditions? Do we fight the wrong fights and, in the process, ignore the fights worth fighting?

What would happen if our proud denomination of 4.8 million members removed the inactive or disinterested members from their roster? Would 2 million people remain? 1.5 million? How many members would be under the age of 40? How big / strong / vibrant is our church today? What things are in place to ensure that the church is still the church for the next generation?

Are mainline, protestant churches destined to suffer the same fate as newspapers?

It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. We're at a pivotal moment right now. It doesn't have to end badly. We don't have to keep closing more churches than we grow. We don't have to keep shrinking in membership, worship attendance, and giving. These can be avoided if we stop complaining about the way the world is changing and embrace what's going on. We can find our voice in the midst of the Information Age. I believe we're poised to not only survive but thrive in a postmodern (and post-postmodern) universe, if we hold true to what is at the heart of our theology...and get our hands a little dirty in the process.

Here's hoping we can learn from the mistakes of some in the newspaper industry...for the sake of the church and the sake of the gospel.

(article ht: @paulyeager)

Orthopraxy

The great Mike Stavlund serves up an intriguing post about the "Orthodoxy of Orthopraxy". It's intellectually heavy for a Monday morning, but I gobbled it up nonetheless. Here's an excerpt:

My fear is that-- for me and my friends-- orthopraxy has become the new orthodoxy. That in our strong (and correct!) affirmation of the importance of doing stuff, we have become like the anti-fundamentalist fundamentalists that we smirk at so frequently. The dangerous thing about my elevation of orthopraxy is that the very act of doing so exempts me from needing to do anything about my orthopraxy. It is enough to affirm the theoretical value of orthopraxy, and to then find a comfortable spot in my cozy home where I can be right. Orthopraxy, then, is the new orthodoxy, which requires little from me other than my stalwart intellectual ascent toward the tennets of orthopraxy. Handy, huh?