We're not all alike

Hair.  I used to have some...really I did!  When I was a kid I let my dad cut my hair.  He had two styles, ‘summer cut’ and ‘winter cut.’  I don’t think he won any hairdresser awards.

As I got into junior high my standards changed.  I began to notice a lot of guys parting their hair in the middle and feathering it back on the sides.  They looked so cool!  The 1980’s were in full swing and I wanted to be a part of it (who wouldn't want to look like MacGyver!), so I dumped 'dad the barber' and started going to a salon.  I can remember telling my new stylist about the kind of cut I wanted…just like the other guys.  She did her best to accommodate my desires, but I had one major problem.  My hair didn’t work like that!  It refused to part nicely down the middle.  No matter how much hair gel I used it never looked right. 

It took a while, but eventually I gave up trying to mimic others and allowed the stylist to help me pick a hair style that actually fit what my hair wanted to do.  That’s when I started parting it on the side…a style that worked for me for decades.  I had to work with what I had…not try to fit what someone else did.

A decade ago I went to an ELCA training session on how to start new churches.  I knew I would be coming to Eyota and I wanted to learn everything I could about what to do.  At the training I received four big 3-ring binders jam packed with a ‘how-to’ manual for new churches.  They included everything from how to knock on doors to when to have the first worship service to when to organize as an official congregation.  Every step from day one was clearly laid out - this is what you had to do to start a new congregation.  I looked at the successful church planters and wanted to be just like them.  It seemed so simple.  Just follow the cookie-cutter format and all will be ok.

The cookie-cutter never seemed to apply to what I did here at Peace.  I spent a lot of time feeling frustrated that we couldn’t do things like others.

Last weekend I once again attended the Missional Leader’s training, this time as a Mission Director with a new ministry in tow.  It was exciting to hear the great diversity of ways that the Spirit is growing new congregations.  One congregation is emerging within a prison in Montana.  Another owns a coffee shop as the first point of contact in inviting people to talk about their faith.  One ministry does significant campus ministry work among African-American men.  Another ministry gathers Swahili speaking people with many national backgrounds to join together to worship in Nashville.   I had some South Sudanese guys from Owatonna with me, working to figure out how a Nuer speaking community could be one with St. John Lutheran Church.   Just try to find one ‘cookie-cutter model’ of ministry which will fit each of these settings.  It won’t work!

Over the last decade the ELCA has embraced this diversity!  The training evolved from a ‘this is what to do’ method to a ‘here are some general principles…think about how that works in your setting’ approach.  The Spirit uses different gifts in each place to bring people to know the God who came to die for the world.  Leaders need to prayerfully discern God’s call for their ministry and resist the temptation to try to copy someone else that they find ‘successful.’

Any time that a congregation or ministry does exciting work other folks want to jump on board and be ‘just like them’ – kind of like I wanted to have the same cool hair as others had.  It doesn’t work!  We have to be who we were created to be.  While we can definitely learn from each other, we can never simply import one church’s model of ministry into a new setting and expect it to work well.  The Spirit leads us to respect our own settings and use the gifts that God has given to us. 

Instead of being anxious about what we are not, God is calling congregations to embrace their unique places in God's kingdom.  Just because you can't part your hair in the middle doesn't mean that you can't be cool!  Maybe your call is to be bald and beautiful!

 

Don't be afraid to talk...God won't break up with you

By 8^th grade I knew that I had nearly reached manhood.  I wore English Leather cologne.  I had a razor that I felt the need to use.  I had ‘rad’ clothes.  I parted my hair down the middle and feathered it back!  And, best of all, I had a girlfriend.

Julie had shyly accepted my suave request, “Do you want to go out with me?”  From that moment, I was a ladies man!  I would walk Julie to her classes, especially band which was held in the building next door.  To show her that I cared I would carry her flute for her.  There we’d walk, side by side, day after day.  I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. 

I just had one problem…we walked in almost total silence.  We had no idea what to talk about.  I didn’t have the first idea of where to start.  We’d talk about weather…school lunch…band…insignificant stuff, really.  I dreamed of having deep conversations that actually meant something, but I was an 8^th grade boy: I had no idea what girls talked about.  More than anything I feared looking like a dolt.  I found it safer to say nothing than to open my mouth and say something foolish. Some of the other boys seemed so suave with girls…not me!

Julie eventually tired of walking with a silent statue and broke up with me.  Carrying her flute only took me so far.  I suspect that she felt the awkwardness of it all. 

Over the following years I faced this challenge every time I decided to ask someone out.  I’d analyze and reanalyze my conversations to make sure that I didn’t just bumble along.  It never felt comfortable…I always felt I was being judged by my words.  Once I got to know people it would grow easier, but those first moments always terrified me.

When I met Shannon all that changed.  For once I didn’t fear that she’d run away if I said something bizarre…in fact, she kind of expected it.  I could just be myself and talk about whatever was on my mind.  When we were dating and engaged we lived in different states, so we got REALLY good at talking.  Phone calls cost 10 cents a minute, so we ventured into some very early versions of ‘internet chat’ that included telnet and queuing into mainframes.  We couldn’t get enough conversation.  I had someone I desperately wanted to talk to as much as I could. 

Quite a change from those terrified moments with Julie in 8^th grade where I didn’t know what to say.

Many people’s prayer lives feel like my awkward moments with Julie.  We know we have a God we are supposed to pray to, but we have no idea what to talk about.  We don’t want to look foolish, so it’s often easier to just say nothing than risk having God (or anyone else) mock us.  If only we could be like those ‘suave pray-ers’ who seem to know just the right words to say at any moment.

Prayer is simply conversation with God.

I have conversation with my wife every day.  I have things I ask her for.  I thank her for doing things for me.  I tell her how awesome she is (and she is!).  I ask her what I can help her with.  I work through things going on in my life.  I tell jokes and laugh with her.  I don’t have pause to ponder whether what I’m saying is appropriate. It’s my wife – I can totally be myself in the relationship.

I have conversation with my God every day.  I have things I ask for.  I thank God for doing things for me.  I tell God who awesome God is (and God is!).  I ask what I can help with. I work through things going on in my life.  I even joke and laugh.  I don’t have to pause to ponder whether what I’m saying is appropriate.  It’s my God – I can totally be myself in the relationship.

Is it time for you to start spending some time in conversation with God?  Think through your day and find things that you are thankful for.  Find things that drove you nuts.  Talk to God about them.  Ponder your future with God.  God really wants to have time to talk with you. The more you do it, the more you will get past that initial ‘awkward dating’ stage of prayer.  The Bible tells us that we have the Holy Spirit ‘interceding for us’ …so God even helps you talk to God!

The good news is that Jesus is much less judgmental than an 8^th grade girl.  We don’t have to worry about God breaking up with us.  God calls us into a deep relationship where we can simply share what is on our mind.   

It’s time to pray!

Landmarks in a Life of Faith

By Sunday morning only a few hardy souls remained at Peace Lutheran Church’s annual ice fishing trip.  The forecast called for snow…snow…more snow…and wind: up to a foot of snow with 30 mile per hour winds.  The cabin emptied out on Saturday evening with many deciding that prudence was the wise decision.  The rest of us hunkered down for a good storm.

After a hearty breakfast and worship (yes, a bunch of guys DID worship on Sunday morning!) we piled into our trucks and headed out.  While on the way around the lake we heard word that the county had pulled all snow plows from the road.  Did that slow us down!  NEVER!  We drove onto the ice at the public access and blasted across over a mile of snow covered lake to get to our fishing spot.  As we got set up we received word that the one truck that had gone to town for bait had gotten stuck in a snow drift on the ice, so Spence and I hopped into his four wheel drive Suburban to pull it out.  By that time the wind had come up, driving the falling snow sideways.  We began by aiming for an ice house on the edge of visibility.  I knew it lay in the right direction.  From there we headed towards another…then another.  I could barely make out the shoreline to my left.  Those few landmarks kept us going the proper direction.  As we got to the middle of the lake we couldn’t see a thing: no ice houses, no other vehicles, no shore, no trees…nothing but white ice and white snow.  It felt a little surreal, as if we’d lost connection with the world.   We aimed for where we thought the shore should be until (finally) we could at least see a dark haze on the horizon.  We needed something to show us where we were in the world!   We followed the shoreline, found the truck in the drift, pulled it out, and headed back to the fishing holes.  Once again we left all landmarks behind and charged across the ice and snow.  A later examination of GPS tracking told us that we wandered aimlessly when we had no points of reference to guide us.

There have been times in my life of faith that have felt like I was driving in a blinding snowstorm!  I wander around aimlessly, wondering which direction to go and feeling pretty disconnected from what God is up to in the world.  In those moments I am reminded how important it is to have landmarks to keep showing me where I stand.  I need things to help me see what God is doing in my life.  So what are these landmarks for me?

·         Worship - Every week I have the opportunity to encounter God in special ways.  I hear God’s Word and share in God’s supper.  Jesus is present in special ways.  I look out over the congregation and am reminded, “God is here!”

·         Prayer -  A time of daily prayer is an essential landmark in my life of faith.  It’s a time for conversation, both talking and listening.  My prayers often include the questions, “God, what do you want me to do?  What direction is the right one?”

·         Scripture reading -   Once again this year I have embarked on the task of reading all the way through the Bible.  Spending time in God’s Word shows me the God who has worked in history…and still works in my life.

·         Community -  I have some pastor friends that I meet with every week.  While we talk about what we plan on preaching, we take time to process what’s going on in our lives.  Seeing God at work in others helps me see God at work in my own life.  Sometimes other people can see things more clearly than I can!

·         Lenten Discipline -  As the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday I have decided to join the ancient tradition of taking something I enjoy and removing from my life for a season.  This year I’ll be giving up cookies, so no cookies from now until after Easter!  I’m not doing this as a way of ‘punishing’ myself for anything (though it will likely help the waistline!).  I do it to serve as a landmark for me: every time I want a cookie (which will be about 1.3 zillion times) I will be reminded to turn my thoughts to God, asking for God’s guidance.  Jesus gave everything…including his life…for me.  My giving up of cookies is trivial compared to that, but it can be used to build faith.

These landmarks help me to know where I am in life.  They keep me connected to the One who loves me and leads me in life.  Even when the wind blows and things get confusing (which they often do) I have some markers to help me stay on the right path.  Without them, I’m lost!

Jesus on MY team!

With two hours to go before kickoff at the Super Bowl, the guys at the party headed out back for a quick game of pick-up football.  Just like on the playground they had to organize teams, so Colin and Ray appointed themselves as captains and flipped a coin to decide who got to choose first.  Ray won and didn’t hesitate.  “I choose Jesus.”

Colin looked around.  “Jesus?  I don’t see a Jesus here.”

“You mean to tell me that you don’t think Jesus is here?  Isn’t Jesus everywhere?”

“THAT Jesus?  Well, yeah, I guess.  But Jesus on your team?  I don’t get it!”

“It’s simple, Colin.  With Jesus on my team, we can’t lose.  We’ll make all the big catches…the right throws…the best moves.  Everything is bound to go our way.”

Colin shook his head and called Tim over to his team.  Soon the teams were divided and the game could get underway.  Since Ray chose first, his team had to kick off.  Colin’s team lined up, ready to return the kick.  Ray’s team stayed in a huddle for a long time. 

Finally Colin yelled, “Hey Ray!  Are we going to play or just sit around all day?”

Ray stuck his head from the huddle, “Shh!  We’re praying!”

“You’re what?”

“We’re praying!  Jesus is on our team and we need to be sure he’s in on the plays.  Give us a minute and we’ll be set to go.”

Soon the game began with a booming kick, which Colin tracked down…and promptly dropped.  Ray pounced on the fumble.

“There you go, Colin!  It’s working.  I asked Jesus to make you fumble.  It worked.  Looks like my choice of team isn’t so bad after all, is it?”

Colin dusted himself off.  “You’ve got to be kidding me.  You can’t seriously believe that Jesus is helping you to win this game, do you?

 “Why not?  We got it all figured out.  We’ll pray before each play.  We’ll point to heaven after each touchdown.  Look at who I chose to be on the team!  These are men who believe.  We’ll be the faithful ones.  We can’t miss!  You’re going down, Colin!  Admit it!”

“What makes you think that God cares about a silly football game?”

“I’m not alone, Colin!  According to the Public Religion Research Institute, more than a quarter of Americans believe that God plays a hand in the outcome of sporting events, and more than half believe that God rewards religious athletes with health and success.  Just look at Ray Lewis!  He talks a good talk of faith and he’s gotten his team to the Super Bowl and played brilliantly.  Trust me, it works!  Jesus got you to fumble the kickoff, didn’t He?”

“Sounds crazy to me!”

“Colin, are you trying to tell me that God doesn’t care about football?”

“Not at all.  God cares about everything that happens in this world, but for every person praying for your team to win there is another person praying for the other team to win.  How does that work?”

“I don’t know, Colin.  Maybe God weighs all the prayers from each team and decides who’s the most faithful group.  In this case, it’s us!”

“If that’s the case, Ray, then Packers fans must pray a whole lot more than you Vikings fans.  I think the Pack has four Super Bowl rings…how many do the Vikes have?”

“Ok, ok, I get your point.  I never thought of Packers fans as overly religious.”

“Ray, it sounds like you want to control Jesus.  You think that by doing the right things you can twist God’s arm to do what you want God to do.  That’s a lot of power you think you hold over God!  Maybe instead of using prayer as a tool to get God to help your team, perhaps you could be asking God what you can do on Jesus’ team.”

“Jesus’ team?  I know the Cowboys are America’s team…who is God’s?  The Saints?”

“Faith isn’t all about football, Ray.  God’s busy all over the place using God’s people to make a difference in this world.  God can use you in great ways, Ray.  There are hungry people to feed, lonely people to comfort, folks in need of love and compassion.  There may not be a Super Bowl ring waiting at the end of it, but perhaps you’ll get a fist bump from the man in charge.”

“God does fist bumps?”

“Why not?  I think it’s in Leviticus somewhere.  Enough talking…we have a game to play!  It’s first down.  Bring it on!”