I came across a prayer this morning in Laurence Hull Stookey's This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer (a daily prayer guide I'd highly recommend). In light of Robin Williams' tragic death and the resulting conversations around mental illness, I thought this would be appropriate to share today:
You, O God, are the author of peace,
and in you is neither confusion nor disorder.
In Jesus you showed your compassion
to all who suffered with troubled spirits.
Therefore look mercifully upon those whose minds are confused,
to whom this world seems a jumble,
or who live in a world that does not exist.
In their times of agitation and anguish, calm their spirits.
In their times of clarity, grant them happy memories
and joy to their present lives.
Give wisdom and gentleness to those who take care of them,
especially to those who knew them in better times
and now feel helpless and anguished.
Grant them all the promise that in the end
you will restore order and peace within your eternal home.
Through Jesus, the Healer
Amen.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
An Emotionally Exhausting Day (the good kind)
Today was simultaneously a great day and a tough day at Arlington.
This morning at 10am we had five new people join the church. Four of them were baptized, and the other reaffirmed his baptismal vows. Each one of these new brothers and sisters have had negative experiences with church in the past, feeling unwelcome, judged, etc. Each of them said that Arlington was the first place they felt loved and accepted for who they were.
Their new commitments to Christ today are a testament to the love of God made known through the people of our church, who welcomed in people who were taking a big step by even walking into a building with a steeple on top. They showed their love over the weeks and months in ways both big and small, helping these people grow comfortable enough to enter into the communal journey of discipleship. Today was one of those days where the church was living into what God believes we can be, and I am very proud to serve as their pastor.
Today was also tough because tonight was the last service of The Road, at least for a little while. We're taking a summer hiatus, with the goal of returning in the Fall in some form.
The Road was our project almost from day 1 at Arlington. When I was first projected here and had my first meeting with the congregational leaders, they mentioned that they had had energy around an alternative worship gathering for a number of years. I replied that I had had experience birthing such a service at Crievewood, so very early on such a new service became our goal. A team of folks spent the better part of a year studying and visioning what it would look like together, and the first Sunday after Easter in 2012, we launched The Road.
Since then we've had good times and hard times. We've had big crowds and done worship just for the team that makes the service happen every week. Lately it's been more of the latter, which is why we're taking the break for the summer.
Having invested so much of my time, energy, and passion into The Road, it's very hard not to take the reality that the service is not effective in its current format personally. Intellectually I know that's not the case, of course, but my humanness keeps pulling me back into a frame of mind where it's all about me.
As we worshipped tonight, there was a good energy, and yet a strange sense of finality, like it was all over. I'm simultaneously relieved because I'm exhausted and need the break, and yet I'm also very sad because part of me feels like we failed. I know that's not the case, of course. We can tell stories of many people who have been blessed by what God has been doing through The Road, but that's my lesser self creeping in again.
So the great joy of the baptisms this morning and the disappointment of the hiatus beginning this evening sit side by side. Neither cancels the other out (which I suppose is a sign of progress, because my tendency is to let the negative win the day), but the end result is that all my emotional energy is spent, and I'm turning to blogging- a form of expression I haven't utilized much lately-to express it as best I can.
Today is perhaps a microcosm of what the totality of life and ministry are all about. Tomorrow's sabbath rest is sorely needed, then it's back unto the breach once more...
This morning at 10am we had five new people join the church. Four of them were baptized, and the other reaffirmed his baptismal vows. Each one of these new brothers and sisters have had negative experiences with church in the past, feeling unwelcome, judged, etc. Each of them said that Arlington was the first place they felt loved and accepted for who they were.
Their new commitments to Christ today are a testament to the love of God made known through the people of our church, who welcomed in people who were taking a big step by even walking into a building with a steeple on top. They showed their love over the weeks and months in ways both big and small, helping these people grow comfortable enough to enter into the communal journey of discipleship. Today was one of those days where the church was living into what God believes we can be, and I am very proud to serve as their pastor.
Today was also tough because tonight was the last service of The Road, at least for a little while. We're taking a summer hiatus, with the goal of returning in the Fall in some form.
The Road was our project almost from day 1 at Arlington. When I was first projected here and had my first meeting with the congregational leaders, they mentioned that they had had energy around an alternative worship gathering for a number of years. I replied that I had had experience birthing such a service at Crievewood, so very early on such a new service became our goal. A team of folks spent the better part of a year studying and visioning what it would look like together, and the first Sunday after Easter in 2012, we launched The Road.
Since then we've had good times and hard times. We've had big crowds and done worship just for the team that makes the service happen every week. Lately it's been more of the latter, which is why we're taking the break for the summer.
Having invested so much of my time, energy, and passion into The Road, it's very hard not to take the reality that the service is not effective in its current format personally. Intellectually I know that's not the case, of course, but my humanness keeps pulling me back into a frame of mind where it's all about me.
As we worshipped tonight, there was a good energy, and yet a strange sense of finality, like it was all over. I'm simultaneously relieved because I'm exhausted and need the break, and yet I'm also very sad because part of me feels like we failed. I know that's not the case, of course. We can tell stories of many people who have been blessed by what God has been doing through The Road, but that's my lesser self creeping in again.
So the great joy of the baptisms this morning and the disappointment of the hiatus beginning this evening sit side by side. Neither cancels the other out (which I suppose is a sign of progress, because my tendency is to let the negative win the day), but the end result is that all my emotional energy is spent, and I'm turning to blogging- a form of expression I haven't utilized much lately-to express it as best I can.
Today is perhaps a microcosm of what the totality of life and ministry are all about. Tomorrow's sabbath rest is sorely needed, then it's back unto the breach once more...
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Shameless Self Promotion- Chuck Knows Church edition
Easter is right around the corner, and our friends at Chuck Knows Church have produced an amazing short film, Resurrection, that would be a great addition to your worship service if it includes video, or just to share with your family, friends, and congregation.
It shows how Christians get so hung up on Jesus' death and forget that the core of our faith is Jesus' Resurrection, and that it brings us joy! WE ARE EASTER PEOPLE!!!
OK, yes, the first and last parts of this film were filmed in my church, and got to I play the pastor (I've never had to stretch more as an actor), but my obvious bias aside, this is pretty darn good.
If you're not familiar with Chuck Knows Church, it's a web series where the main character, Chuck (an actor named Josh Childs who is as friendly as he seems on camera), talks to the camera and explains quirky things we do in church like liturgical colors, different holidays, the funny stuff clergy wear, etc.
Happy Easter, Easter people.
It shows how Christians get so hung up on Jesus' death and forget that the core of our faith is Jesus' Resurrection, and that it brings us joy! WE ARE EASTER PEOPLE!!!
OK, yes, the first and last parts of this film were filmed in my church, and got to I play the pastor (I've never had to stretch more as an actor), but my obvious bias aside, this is pretty darn good.
If you're not familiar with Chuck Knows Church, it's a web series where the main character, Chuck (an actor named Josh Childs who is as friendly as he seems on camera), talks to the camera and explains quirky things we do in church like liturgical colors, different holidays, the funny stuff clergy wear, etc.
Happy Easter, Easter people.
Monday, April 07, 2014
Return of the Roundtable
The Sermon Roundtable is returning.
For four years in Clarksville, every Tuesday night was a time when you could come and discuss the scripture passage(s) we would be reading at Bethlehem UMC the following Sunday. Those that participated ended up being much more engaged in the sermon on Sunday, since they had been part of the preparation process. Those who came on a regular basis really became theologians in their own right, growing in their ability to read the Bible critically in conversation with others who brought very different life experiences to the table.
I wrote an article about this gathering a few years back in Circuit Rider magazine, Collaborative Preaching and Holy Conversation, which you can read on Ministry Matters.
I have wanted to bring this method of collaborative preaching to Arlington, but I could never really find a time to do it with all the other things I did each week. We're starting this now because over the last three years, all the mid-week Bible study formats we've tried have not worked, so we're trying something new outside of the church walls.
Arlington's Sermon Roundtable be meeting on Wednesdays at 6pm at the Starbucks in Nashboro Village (2308 Murfessboro Pike, Nashville).
We'll be discussing the text(s) that we'll be reading at Arlington 10 days later. This week we'll be reading John 20:1-20, which is the Resurrection story in John's gospel that we'll be reading on Easter Sunday, April 20.
There are no rules at this Bible study other than to respect one another. There are no dumb questions, no bad ideas, even if we disagree. This is a fun format where we can explore in a more relaxed environment than we usually experience inside the walls of a church building.
The title "Sermon Roundtable" is taken from the title of a book called The Roundtable Pulpit one of my seminary professors, John McClure, wrote, describing the theory of incorporating multiple voices in proclamation.
For those that may be wondering, I haven't given up blogging altogether. I've had lots of thoughts and feelings in the last few months, I just didn't think that this was the best medium to share them as I am thinking through issues of church, faith, and my own understanding of how God is calling me in ministry.
I'll try to post on a semi-regular basis, but I don't know when or if I'll ever be a regular blogger again.
In the meantime, if you're in Nashville and inclined to engage in some free form spiritual conversation, come join us on Wednesdays at 6pm.
For four years in Clarksville, every Tuesday night was a time when you could come and discuss the scripture passage(s) we would be reading at Bethlehem UMC the following Sunday. Those that participated ended up being much more engaged in the sermon on Sunday, since they had been part of the preparation process. Those who came on a regular basis really became theologians in their own right, growing in their ability to read the Bible critically in conversation with others who brought very different life experiences to the table.
I wrote an article about this gathering a few years back in Circuit Rider magazine, Collaborative Preaching and Holy Conversation, which you can read on Ministry Matters.
I have wanted to bring this method of collaborative preaching to Arlington, but I could never really find a time to do it with all the other things I did each week. We're starting this now because over the last three years, all the mid-week Bible study formats we've tried have not worked, so we're trying something new outside of the church walls.
Arlington's Sermon Roundtable be meeting on Wednesdays at 6pm at the Starbucks in Nashboro Village (2308 Murfessboro Pike, Nashville).
We'll be discussing the text(s) that we'll be reading at Arlington 10 days later. This week we'll be reading John 20:1-20, which is the Resurrection story in John's gospel that we'll be reading on Easter Sunday, April 20.
There are no rules at this Bible study other than to respect one another. There are no dumb questions, no bad ideas, even if we disagree. This is a fun format where we can explore in a more relaxed environment than we usually experience inside the walls of a church building.
The title "Sermon Roundtable" is taken from the title of a book called The Roundtable Pulpit one of my seminary professors, John McClure, wrote, describing the theory of incorporating multiple voices in proclamation.
For those that may be wondering, I haven't given up blogging altogether. I've had lots of thoughts and feelings in the last few months, I just didn't think that this was the best medium to share them as I am thinking through issues of church, faith, and my own understanding of how God is calling me in ministry.
I'll try to post on a semi-regular basis, but I don't know when or if I'll ever be a regular blogger again.
In the meantime, if you're in Nashville and inclined to engage in some free form spiritual conversation, come join us on Wednesdays at 6pm.
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