My wife says that my blog posts are too long. That instead of ten things I think I think, I should do one or two. She's the web expert, and probably is right. The last post took a good portion of a day, and a very, very late night to put together. One or two things would have been much better choice.
Now, though, she's telling me I need to make a much shorter post of just a few paragraphs as kind of a lure to keep everyone reading. Problem is, I said everything I had to say in my last ten things. She told me that was no excuse, and to write about what I'm thinking right now.
Well, right now, I want to take a nap. Naps are good. They are beneficial for the soul. They cost little more than an hour or two of time. I like naps.
In any case, now I'm sure you can't wait until my next post. Probably be scores of you gathering around the water cooler tomorrow talking about what I wrote about today.
"Man, I like naps too."
"Naps rule."
"I wish I could take more naps."
"Boy, those Spanish really have it figured out. Siesta!"
There. Got you started. Enjoy. I'm off to take a nap.
Siesta!!!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Ten Things I Think I Think (after 30 days of no posts)
1) What can I say.... I'm either insanely busy or just plain lazy. I can't decide which is true. Seems like every day at work is nuts, and I've been working 7 days a week the past three weeks. But then on Mondays I sit in my office like a zombie, trying to put a coherent sentence together and late at night each day I'm up watching NBA basketball or Law and Order or some other piece of digital crap, so it's not like I don't have free time. I think, in the end its just that I only have so many words each day. I spend them writing or speaking, and that's that. I've got nothing left.
And here's the strange thing, the older I get the fewer words I seem to have. I don't know if this is cause I'm out of shape, slowly breaking down with age, or just slowly disappearing into myself. I've no clue. But in any event, the loser has been the blog, and for that I apologize. I'd tell you that in the future I'll try to do better, but you and I already know that's a toss up at best, so let's just push forward today and call it even.
2) In case you hadn't heard, I turned forty about two weeks ago. The wife bought me a nice flat screen and Blue Ray player with some of her website money. The picture is so good you can see the age spots on Barbara Walters, even with the ample Vaseline they smear on the camera lens to try to hide the fact that she really has aged.
Forty, in all honesty, wasn't all that big a deal. Somewhere in the last five years I lost my fear of getting old, and to some degree even death. Not that I wanna die, or wouldn't be crawling under a desk if a crazed gunman walked in the office, but the prospect of death has just somehow continued melting away. Death and worrying about the future.... I spent so many hours over those things that I either don't have energy to waste on them anymore, or worked out my fears in my head. Not too mention, I've been blessed with a great family, tons of friends, and a great staff so what's not to love about my life? Hence it's not the fate of my own tail that gets that kind of personal attention any longer. Now, I spend that energy on trying to navigate a good life for my family, keeping the church in as good of shape as I can, and caring for the staff. That's what keeps me up at night now.
3) As nice unexpected gifts go, a close second to the new LG Scarlet my wife sacrificed to bring in our home was a phone call from an old friend the day after my birthday. Steve Wheeler, college buddy and best man at my wedding gave me a call out of the blue on February 11th, the day between our birthdays.
Once upon a time when the biggest worries of the day were getting a few friends to go wrangle a b-ball game at Phillips (as if that was a problem... my left knee is screaming at me thanks to the millions of miles I put on those floors with Brett, Wayne, Paul, and John), getting up for class (even an afternoon one), and the occasional exam my gang of Miami University college friends used to celebrate the birthdays of Steve and Bryan on the "day between". There were parties, outings, and even a foray to see Blue Oyster Cult to celebrate our 21st year on earth. Our gang has experienced marriage, divorce, the tragedy of losing a spouse, kids, jobs, losing jobs, getting new jobs, moving, staying, and all the blessings and challenges life doles out. Somehow (mostly thanks to Steph, who publishes "The List" listing what, where, who, when, and why every Christmas) we've stayed in touch, albeit sometimes somewhat loosely.
It had been at least two sons (Elijah and Toby) ago that I talked to Steve. He's still a middle school Social Studies teacher/coach at a private Christian school in Boca Raton. There are some people who, no matter how long it's been, you can just pick up where you left off. That's Wheeler for me. Within minutes of figuring out how many kids the other guy had and what was going on with the spouse, we were debating the three worst presidents in the history of the US. To be honest, throw in a couple of cigars, a round of Frisbee golf, a showing of "A Fistful of Dollars", and a couple pints of Guinness, and it could have 1987-1991 all over again.
Of course we've both long let go with our sheltered Christian kids fascination with tobacco (I don't care what people say.... cigars, no matter how expensive, taste like feet), and while I'll plead the Fifth as to whether or not the Christian school teacher and Methodist pastor would still enjoy pint circa 2009, the basic mutual respect and care we have had for each other ever since we briefly met at freshman orientation on South Campus remains. The guy can still make me laugh like nobody else. I could see his face when on the phone he explained to me what it was like to run poorly organized marathon in a what is essentially a Florida swamp in 100 degree plus heat.... and then promptly after telling me about this debacle inform me he's already planning on doing it again. Typical Steve. Gotta love someone who makes you laugh not just recalling the old days, but talking about the new ones too. Steve is thinking possibly a stop over in Ohio this summer. Here's hoping he can make it happen.
(And if he's reading this, an unexpected opportunity has arisen, and there's an outside chance we might do a quick sojourn as a fam to Florida later this year. Ah what havoc I'm certain our seven kids could create... hopefully we'll find that out sooner than later.)
4) I envisioned facing a lot of things as a senior pastor. Upset parishioners... the occasional bad offering... staff turnover... demands from the denomination... extending myself for reasons ecumenical and cross-cultural that may or may not pan out... a building project or two... a crisis of faith (mine or someone else).... but never in my lifetime did I think I would have to lead a church through the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression. Maybe, given how leveraged our world has become, I should have seen the meltdown of the investment banking system, then the rest of the banking system, Wall Street, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry, and the manufacturing sector coming, but I didn't. Now we get to add something new to the resume - led a church through a global recession.
Can't say they taught us much about that in seminary.
Strangely enough, though, I got some new insight as to what we are all up against after reading this great article by Bill Simmons, one of my favorite writers from espn.com about the effect of the economic collapse on the NBA. I won't bore you with recounting the facts of the article (I know the number of NBA fans who actually read this blog number three - Brother Esq, The Clouse, and Father Pauly) you can go read yourself if you are interested. The insight gained, though, is this... when you've structured income and expenses around certain expectations, and those expectations aren't realized spectacularly, you are in for some seriously, seriously painful days.
Churches are generally pretty stable entities. Unless we leverage ourselves for some major undertaking (a new building, ministry, staff addition, etc...) our budgets are largely pretty stable. Shawnee's budget hasn't changed all that much in the last four years. We even budgeted in a decrease for 2009 just on the prospect of what might be coming, and could do so with very little pain thanks to how aggressively we were paying down our mortgage. But if all of a sudden you see a downturn in income, and its not related to a couple of bad weather Sundays, you are faced with some real issues. Smaller churches generally weather these kinds of storms pretty well. They might only need $30-70k a year to keep the doors open, and almost always have some CD's stashed in a locked box somewhere that can be tapped in times of difficulty.
But this ain't the case with medium or large churches. Since such a large portion of the budget is allocated toward staff, and the amount of capital needed to meet expenses tends to not be underwritten by stashed CD's in a lockbox, the initial cuts of things like program tend to be more preventative than anything else (we won't spend what we thought we were going to spend to prevent a squeeze). If this doesn't work, then, generally hampered with a big mortgage and massive fixed expenses, the only thing you can cut is staffing. And while nobody stops going to Arby's or buying a Honda due to the fact Bob got laid off, this would not be the case in a local church. Cut staffing - even substandard staff - and you might as well cut revenue to some degree. So it's a double whammy. Fail in recasting the image or direction of the church, and the slow loss of momentum will slowly sink the large congregation. That's the fear of a sudden, unexpected drop in revenue. It can create consternation in even the most tranquil of congregations. Here's to praying the necessary wisdom abounds in this kidney stone of an economy to avoid stepping into some serious dung.
5) Xavier, our six year old, is a monkey. A little monkey. It's true. He just started rehearsal last week for Encore Theatre's upcoming production of "The Jungle Book". Seems he's got the acting bug after having gone to see a couple of shows with his mother (while Dad stays at home with the two youngest). Max would have auditioned also, but he ended up with the flu on audition days and was too sick to go. Just be forewarned that if you come to our house between now and April 3-5th, you are bound to hear somebody singing "Bare Necessities" or see a little boy practice his dance steps in our driveway. Ah, the stage.
6) Watched the Oscars the other evening. The only thing I really remember about them was Bill Maher looking genuinely bummed that his documentary, "Religulous" didn't get nominated for the "Best Documentary" catagory. Maher's problem was that when he went after religion he simply found the most ridiculous examples of it that he could find, and let those folks make fools out of themselves. Maher doesn't like to interview anyone who disagrees with him who might be smarter than he is, and in the end that's what torpedoed not only his chances, but the movie itself. Maybe if Maher had interviewed Ben Witherington to find out whether or not, for example, the Horus myth of Egypt really was a template for the life of Christ, he would have really done something. Otherwise, finding a guy in Florida who calls himself Jesus isn't all that engaging, or for that matter, difficult. We see that kind of crazy, and the crazy that believes it, every day. Make that the cornerstone of your critique and nobody takes you seriously. Not even Oscar.
7) New target for dissertation completion: end of June/early July 2009. I've got two churches left to research, but can I get those and the writing done by then. YES I CAN! Thank goodness I'm getting a waiver to lower the number of case studies from 12 to 10, otherwise I'd have never made it. Get ready Kingdom of Heaven to make room for one more over-educated pastor. Just what the world needs.
8) After I picked up Max from swim practice tonight, we started looking for a copy of The Jungle Book. As mentioned earlier, Xavier is playing one of the monkey brothers in a local production, and since the music comes from the old animated feature Walt Disney made in the sixties, we thought we'd pick up a copy for our Friday Family Movie Night. Unfortunately, I think the other kids parents had the same idea, after a couple of stops sans movie, we wandered into a local Hollywood Video.
We took a look around, and the only version on the shelves was some lame remake. Fearing we had struck out again, we were about to head out to a Family Video, when on a sale shelf Max found it... a 40th anniversary edition for only $15. We took it up to the counter to buy it, but when we got up there the video store guy was on the phone, unsuccessfully trying to order a pizza. He ignored us for awhile, finally turned to look at us, and said, "Just hang, I'll be there in a minute."
Like we had any choice. It was the last copy of The Jungle Book in Northwest Ohio.
So we wait a little longer, and finally the guy hangs up the phone, complains about the poor service at the pizza place, looks at our DVD and promptly exclaims, "That's the wrong price."
Now, you couldn't print "14.99" any bigger on the package without covering up the title, so I instantly am skeptical. The guy scans it, and sure enough, it came up to $20. "It came to us from one of the other stores they closed, and I just missed re-pricing it. I'd take $5 off, but it will get me fired. That's the crazy crap their pulling around here right now. I just can't do it. I need my job."
At this point I'm fairly flabbergasted, so I tell him I'll pay the $20 but I want the name of a district manager or somebody who I can call to voice my displeasure. And immediately, the guy says, "If you're going to corporate, I'll just give you the five dollars myself, because they'll let me go. $5 isn't worth losing my job, and it's my fault the DVD wasn't re-priced because I'm the store manager." As he's saying this, he takes out his wallet and pulls out a five-spot.
Max's eyes are huge. He's ten, so he gets what's going on. Later he admitted to me that he was scared to death that because we wanted to buy a video that a person was going to be fired. I'm trying to give the five dollars back, and the guy is getting increasingly pushy about the whole thing when I finally just had to throw it back on the counter and tell him that he was making me angry. I paid full price, and got the heck out of there, but not before we realized that he had given us the wrong game that Max had selected as a rental for the weekend.
Which leads me to this... if the economy is so bad that a video chain is one iota away from closing a) scaring the poo out of the employees is probably the wrong way to turn it around and b) maybe your customer service ought to go up a couple of notches. Needless to say, the future doesn't look bright for Hollywood Video. Better get your Netflix on.
9) Ten songs playing in my office today:
- One (Aimee Mann)
- Save Me (Aimee Mann, featured in "Magnolia")
- Maybe We Could Get Clean By Christmas (Aimee Mann... writes lots of songs about heroin addiction, which isn't a great topic, but she makes catchy depressing little tunes)
- What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding (Elvis Costello)
- Everyday I Write The Book (Elvis Costello)
- Ubi Caritas (From the "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" soundtrack, arranged by John Rutter)
- The Man in Me (Bob Dylan.... it's featured in "The Big Lebowski")
- Between the Bars (Elliott Smith... what can I say, I saw "Good Will Hunting" the other night)
- The Wind (Cat Stevens.. another song from another movie, "Rushmore")
- Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac... I'm fascinated with the opening acoustic guitar riffs)
we're definitely feeling a little mellow in the senior pastor office at sumc this week.
10) Finally (and I do mean finally cause these things take forever to write) the other night we conducted a joint service with The Future Church of Tomorrow in their sanctuary on the corner of Kibby and Elizabeth. There was a nice crowd there, particularly given the fact it was an Ash Wednesday service and none of us are Catholic, high church, and Ash Wednesday had never been celebrated by their church before. Ever.
The thing that struck me about the service (besides the fact that we decided to do it together only days before, and still somehow we pulled it off) were the large number of teens and pre-teens that were there, all but one or two of whom were from TFCoT. I know that even when we do an Ash Wednesday service in our own building, there aren't more than a couple of teens there. Usually they avoid that sort of the thing like the plague, and when we do it takes about 45 minutes. With The Future Church we went 80 minutes, and they were kinda lost at the end because the service was so short.
The presence of all those kids has stuck with me, and I've been trying to figure out why. I think mainly what keeps coming back to me was the feeling that at Daniel Hughes' church kids make up such a large portion of the congregation, that they are needed to step up and take leadership roles. One of our parishioners who arrived late, talked about being fearful stepping out of her car and having to walk down a south end street after dark, only to be relieved to see four or five teen boys from TFCoT standing out on the street, waving at her. Seems they realized that suburban people aren't all that comfortable in the city at night, and took it upon themselves to keep an eye out for their guests to make them feel welcome.
They are challenged to own their faith, and be a fully functioning member of the Body of Christ.
Leading me to wonder if we make the same kind of challenge and offer the same kind of call to adults, let alone teens, at SUMC? Or at least to the degree that I saw come out in the commitment I could see in those kids eyes? I makes me wonder, and I'm sure I'll be preaching about it soon.
It's good to be back.
And here's the strange thing, the older I get the fewer words I seem to have. I don't know if this is cause I'm out of shape, slowly breaking down with age, or just slowly disappearing into myself. I've no clue. But in any event, the loser has been the blog, and for that I apologize. I'd tell you that in the future I'll try to do better, but you and I already know that's a toss up at best, so let's just push forward today and call it even.
2) In case you hadn't heard, I turned forty about two weeks ago. The wife bought me a nice flat screen and Blue Ray player with some of her website money. The picture is so good you can see the age spots on Barbara Walters, even with the ample Vaseline they smear on the camera lens to try to hide the fact that she really has aged.
Forty, in all honesty, wasn't all that big a deal. Somewhere in the last five years I lost my fear of getting old, and to some degree even death. Not that I wanna die, or wouldn't be crawling under a desk if a crazed gunman walked in the office, but the prospect of death has just somehow continued melting away. Death and worrying about the future.... I spent so many hours over those things that I either don't have energy to waste on them anymore, or worked out my fears in my head. Not too mention, I've been blessed with a great family, tons of friends, and a great staff so what's not to love about my life? Hence it's not the fate of my own tail that gets that kind of personal attention any longer. Now, I spend that energy on trying to navigate a good life for my family, keeping the church in as good of shape as I can, and caring for the staff. That's what keeps me up at night now.
3) As nice unexpected gifts go, a close second to the new LG Scarlet my wife sacrificed to bring in our home was a phone call from an old friend the day after my birthday. Steve Wheeler, college buddy and best man at my wedding gave me a call out of the blue on February 11th, the day between our birthdays.
Once upon a time when the biggest worries of the day were getting a few friends to go wrangle a b-ball game at Phillips (as if that was a problem... my left knee is screaming at me thanks to the millions of miles I put on those floors with Brett, Wayne, Paul, and John), getting up for class (even an afternoon one), and the occasional exam my gang of Miami University college friends used to celebrate the birthdays of Steve and Bryan on the "day between". There were parties, outings, and even a foray to see Blue Oyster Cult to celebrate our 21st year on earth. Our gang has experienced marriage, divorce, the tragedy of losing a spouse, kids, jobs, losing jobs, getting new jobs, moving, staying, and all the blessings and challenges life doles out. Somehow (mostly thanks to Steph, who publishes "The List" listing what, where, who, when, and why every Christmas) we've stayed in touch, albeit sometimes somewhat loosely.
It had been at least two sons (Elijah and Toby) ago that I talked to Steve. He's still a middle school Social Studies teacher/coach at a private Christian school in Boca Raton. There are some people who, no matter how long it's been, you can just pick up where you left off. That's Wheeler for me. Within minutes of figuring out how many kids the other guy had and what was going on with the spouse, we were debating the three worst presidents in the history of the US. To be honest, throw in a couple of cigars, a round of Frisbee golf, a showing of "A Fistful of Dollars", and a couple pints of Guinness, and it could have 1987-1991 all over again.
Of course we've both long let go with our sheltered Christian kids fascination with tobacco (I don't care what people say.... cigars, no matter how expensive, taste like feet), and while I'll plead the Fifth as to whether or not the Christian school teacher and Methodist pastor would still enjoy pint circa 2009, the basic mutual respect and care we have had for each other ever since we briefly met at freshman orientation on South Campus remains. The guy can still make me laugh like nobody else. I could see his face when on the phone he explained to me what it was like to run poorly organized marathon in a what is essentially a Florida swamp in 100 degree plus heat.... and then promptly after telling me about this debacle inform me he's already planning on doing it again. Typical Steve. Gotta love someone who makes you laugh not just recalling the old days, but talking about the new ones too. Steve is thinking possibly a stop over in Ohio this summer. Here's hoping he can make it happen.
(And if he's reading this, an unexpected opportunity has arisen, and there's an outside chance we might do a quick sojourn as a fam to Florida later this year. Ah what havoc I'm certain our seven kids could create... hopefully we'll find that out sooner than later.)
4) I envisioned facing a lot of things as a senior pastor. Upset parishioners... the occasional bad offering... staff turnover... demands from the denomination... extending myself for reasons ecumenical and cross-cultural that may or may not pan out... a building project or two... a crisis of faith (mine or someone else).... but never in my lifetime did I think I would have to lead a church through the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression. Maybe, given how leveraged our world has become, I should have seen the meltdown of the investment banking system, then the rest of the banking system, Wall Street, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry, and the manufacturing sector coming, but I didn't. Now we get to add something new to the resume - led a church through a global recession.
Can't say they taught us much about that in seminary.
Strangely enough, though, I got some new insight as to what we are all up against after reading this great article by Bill Simmons, one of my favorite writers from espn.com about the effect of the economic collapse on the NBA. I won't bore you with recounting the facts of the article (I know the number of NBA fans who actually read this blog number three - Brother Esq, The Clouse, and Father Pauly) you can go read yourself if you are interested. The insight gained, though, is this... when you've structured income and expenses around certain expectations, and those expectations aren't realized spectacularly, you are in for some seriously, seriously painful days.
Churches are generally pretty stable entities. Unless we leverage ourselves for some major undertaking (a new building, ministry, staff addition, etc...) our budgets are largely pretty stable. Shawnee's budget hasn't changed all that much in the last four years. We even budgeted in a decrease for 2009 just on the prospect of what might be coming, and could do so with very little pain thanks to how aggressively we were paying down our mortgage. But if all of a sudden you see a downturn in income, and its not related to a couple of bad weather Sundays, you are faced with some real issues. Smaller churches generally weather these kinds of storms pretty well. They might only need $30-70k a year to keep the doors open, and almost always have some CD's stashed in a locked box somewhere that can be tapped in times of difficulty.
But this ain't the case with medium or large churches. Since such a large portion of the budget is allocated toward staff, and the amount of capital needed to meet expenses tends to not be underwritten by stashed CD's in a lockbox, the initial cuts of things like program tend to be more preventative than anything else (we won't spend what we thought we were going to spend to prevent a squeeze). If this doesn't work, then, generally hampered with a big mortgage and massive fixed expenses, the only thing you can cut is staffing. And while nobody stops going to Arby's or buying a Honda due to the fact Bob got laid off, this would not be the case in a local church. Cut staffing - even substandard staff - and you might as well cut revenue to some degree. So it's a double whammy. Fail in recasting the image or direction of the church, and the slow loss of momentum will slowly sink the large congregation. That's the fear of a sudden, unexpected drop in revenue. It can create consternation in even the most tranquil of congregations. Here's to praying the necessary wisdom abounds in this kidney stone of an economy to avoid stepping into some serious dung.
5) Xavier, our six year old, is a monkey. A little monkey. It's true. He just started rehearsal last week for Encore Theatre's upcoming production of "The Jungle Book". Seems he's got the acting bug after having gone to see a couple of shows with his mother (while Dad stays at home with the two youngest). Max would have auditioned also, but he ended up with the flu on audition days and was too sick to go. Just be forewarned that if you come to our house between now and April 3-5th, you are bound to hear somebody singing "Bare Necessities" or see a little boy practice his dance steps in our driveway. Ah, the stage.
6) Watched the Oscars the other evening. The only thing I really remember about them was Bill Maher looking genuinely bummed that his documentary, "Religulous" didn't get nominated for the "Best Documentary" catagory. Maher's problem was that when he went after religion he simply found the most ridiculous examples of it that he could find, and let those folks make fools out of themselves. Maher doesn't like to interview anyone who disagrees with him who might be smarter than he is, and in the end that's what torpedoed not only his chances, but the movie itself. Maybe if Maher had interviewed Ben Witherington to find out whether or not, for example, the Horus myth of Egypt really was a template for the life of Christ, he would have really done something. Otherwise, finding a guy in Florida who calls himself Jesus isn't all that engaging, or for that matter, difficult. We see that kind of crazy, and the crazy that believes it, every day. Make that the cornerstone of your critique and nobody takes you seriously. Not even Oscar.
7) New target for dissertation completion: end of June/early July 2009. I've got two churches left to research, but can I get those and the writing done by then. YES I CAN! Thank goodness I'm getting a waiver to lower the number of case studies from 12 to 10, otherwise I'd have never made it. Get ready Kingdom of Heaven to make room for one more over-educated pastor. Just what the world needs.
8) After I picked up Max from swim practice tonight, we started looking for a copy of The Jungle Book. As mentioned earlier, Xavier is playing one of the monkey brothers in a local production, and since the music comes from the old animated feature Walt Disney made in the sixties, we thought we'd pick up a copy for our Friday Family Movie Night. Unfortunately, I think the other kids parents had the same idea, after a couple of stops sans movie, we wandered into a local Hollywood Video.
We took a look around, and the only version on the shelves was some lame remake. Fearing we had struck out again, we were about to head out to a Family Video, when on a sale shelf Max found it... a 40th anniversary edition for only $15. We took it up to the counter to buy it, but when we got up there the video store guy was on the phone, unsuccessfully trying to order a pizza. He ignored us for awhile, finally turned to look at us, and said, "Just hang, I'll be there in a minute."
Like we had any choice. It was the last copy of The Jungle Book in Northwest Ohio.
So we wait a little longer, and finally the guy hangs up the phone, complains about the poor service at the pizza place, looks at our DVD and promptly exclaims, "That's the wrong price."
Now, you couldn't print "14.99" any bigger on the package without covering up the title, so I instantly am skeptical. The guy scans it, and sure enough, it came up to $20. "It came to us from one of the other stores they closed, and I just missed re-pricing it. I'd take $5 off, but it will get me fired. That's the crazy crap their pulling around here right now. I just can't do it. I need my job."
At this point I'm fairly flabbergasted, so I tell him I'll pay the $20 but I want the name of a district manager or somebody who I can call to voice my displeasure. And immediately, the guy says, "If you're going to corporate, I'll just give you the five dollars myself, because they'll let me go. $5 isn't worth losing my job, and it's my fault the DVD wasn't re-priced because I'm the store manager." As he's saying this, he takes out his wallet and pulls out a five-spot.
Max's eyes are huge. He's ten, so he gets what's going on. Later he admitted to me that he was scared to death that because we wanted to buy a video that a person was going to be fired. I'm trying to give the five dollars back, and the guy is getting increasingly pushy about the whole thing when I finally just had to throw it back on the counter and tell him that he was making me angry. I paid full price, and got the heck out of there, but not before we realized that he had given us the wrong game that Max had selected as a rental for the weekend.
Which leads me to this... if the economy is so bad that a video chain is one iota away from closing a) scaring the poo out of the employees is probably the wrong way to turn it around and b) maybe your customer service ought to go up a couple of notches. Needless to say, the future doesn't look bright for Hollywood Video. Better get your Netflix on.
9) Ten songs playing in my office today:
- One (Aimee Mann)
- Save Me (Aimee Mann, featured in "Magnolia")
- Maybe We Could Get Clean By Christmas (Aimee Mann... writes lots of songs about heroin addiction, which isn't a great topic, but she makes catchy depressing little tunes)
- What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding (Elvis Costello)
- Everyday I Write The Book (Elvis Costello)
- Ubi Caritas (From the "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" soundtrack, arranged by John Rutter)
- The Man in Me (Bob Dylan.... it's featured in "The Big Lebowski")
- Between the Bars (Elliott Smith... what can I say, I saw "Good Will Hunting" the other night)
- The Wind (Cat Stevens.. another song from another movie, "Rushmore")
- Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac... I'm fascinated with the opening acoustic guitar riffs)
we're definitely feeling a little mellow in the senior pastor office at sumc this week.
10) Finally (and I do mean finally cause these things take forever to write) the other night we conducted a joint service with The Future Church of Tomorrow in their sanctuary on the corner of Kibby and Elizabeth. There was a nice crowd there, particularly given the fact it was an Ash Wednesday service and none of us are Catholic, high church, and Ash Wednesday had never been celebrated by their church before. Ever.
The thing that struck me about the service (besides the fact that we decided to do it together only days before, and still somehow we pulled it off) were the large number of teens and pre-teens that were there, all but one or two of whom were from TFCoT. I know that even when we do an Ash Wednesday service in our own building, there aren't more than a couple of teens there. Usually they avoid that sort of the thing like the plague, and when we do it takes about 45 minutes. With The Future Church we went 80 minutes, and they were kinda lost at the end because the service was so short.
The presence of all those kids has stuck with me, and I've been trying to figure out why. I think mainly what keeps coming back to me was the feeling that at Daniel Hughes' church kids make up such a large portion of the congregation, that they are needed to step up and take leadership roles. One of our parishioners who arrived late, talked about being fearful stepping out of her car and having to walk down a south end street after dark, only to be relieved to see four or five teen boys from TFCoT standing out on the street, waving at her. Seems they realized that suburban people aren't all that comfortable in the city at night, and took it upon themselves to keep an eye out for their guests to make them feel welcome.
They are challenged to own their faith, and be a fully functioning member of the Body of Christ.
Leading me to wonder if we make the same kind of challenge and offer the same kind of call to adults, let alone teens, at SUMC? Or at least to the degree that I saw come out in the commitment I could see in those kids eyes? I makes me wonder, and I'm sure I'll be preaching about it soon.
It's good to be back.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Lord Giveth and The Lord Taketh Away
When I moved to Goshen, Indiana in late 1999, the community was growing like it was going out of style. The population boom, made up mainly by Hispanics migrating to a town with so many jobs locals couldn't fill them all, was fueled by growth in the RV and manufactured housing industry. I remember when my former boss, the late Dick Lyndon, was trying to sell me on moving to the community, part of the sell was that local economy was so diversified that historically recessions didn't hit it as hard as other communities. There is no one big employer in Elkhart county, just a bunch of small factories that make just about everything you can imagine. Those factories were turning out products as fast as they could make them, and the local community prospered.
I thought after 9/11, when gas first took off above $2 a gallon that it would spell doom for the local economy. RV's get, what... 6 or 7 miles to the gallon, at best. But the fear of flying, coupled with the steady trickle of Baby Boomers looking for a pleasant diversion, and even a new home, kept RV sales sky high. Not even natural disasters could touch the local economy. Hurricanes in the south spurred production of mobile homes and manufactured housing. Remember those trailers that rotted, unused after Katrina? They were made in Elkhart County. It appeared that truly Goshen's economy was recession-proof.
Fast forward to 2009. The credit bubble bursting, after a season of high commodity prices, did what Hurricanes and 9/11 couldn't. Elkhart County is now in real trouble.
It was announced yesterday that Elkhart County has the highest unemployment rate in Indiana, and one of the highest in the nation. 15.3% in the county, and over 17% in the city of Elkhart. On Facebook last night, a friend, Jerry, revealed that his last day of work at his current job ends tomorrow. Now, he writes, he faces the prospect of standing in long-lines at the unemployment office.
Another friend, Merv, faced with fewer RV's and box trucks to deliver, is one of two guys who now shuttle what meager production local plants are turning out, to a staging yard for the company that will deliver them to customers or dealers, and is happy to have the work. Merv used to be able to deliver two units in one day, mostly to the Chicago suburbs. Now, with many people who deliver units sitting at home with nothing to deliver, Merv considers himself fortunate, even as his income has dropped.
The crowning blow though, and the thing that really raised my alarm today, though, was this article in the Goshen News. Much like Jesse Lowe last winter, who got so fed up that he made a sign (Drugs Bring Death) and stood out on a street corner where drug dealers across the street threatened his life, Mike Grant made his own sign and posted it outside of his house. Five months of unemployment just pushed him past his breaking point, causing him to etch, "Will Work 4 Job" and prop it up in his front yard. What hit home was that his front yard was in my old neighborhood. The recession has reached Yorktown Drive, and with a vengence.
As jobs disappear at a pace that's making heads spin, the downward spiral of the economy seems to be picking up steam. The bottoming out everyone hoped would come in the days leading up to the inauguration still hasn't come. No one knows where the bottom is on this thing. And it seems that in certain corners of the country, like my old stomping grounds in the Hoosier state, state action curtailing foreclosures is the only thing from creating new Hoovervilles... renamed, I suspect, Bushvilles from turning up in city parks or empty lots. Not-so-slowly, we are sliding into a deep recession, that without the social safety net put in place by the New Deal, would probably look a whole lot more like the depression my fraternal grandmother described in great detail when I was child. Older people, who now enjoy Social Security and Medicare, may not be living like royalty, but aren't being forced out into the streets like they were in droves in 1929 and 1930. Unemployment is at least, for now, keeping people from starvation. Rush Limbaugh may not like socialism, but in times like these social program show their true merit by alleviating wide-spread suffering.
But folks taking unemployment are now your neighbors, who once took great pride in being able to make their mortgage payments on a nice home with a well manicured lawn, and in the process they're taking a spiritual beating. Prayers for a turnaround in the economy, or an upswing in hours at the local plant, or increased sales on the floor are seemingly being met with silence. In Goshen, one of my favorite places to eat, The Backyard Bar-b-Que, which was the brain child of a couple in our congregation, was finally forced to close its doors last month. This couple are two of the of praying-iest people you'll ever meet but their business was not spared. I mean it's hard to keep a restaurant open when there's 15% unemployment. Now the site of their dream is nothing but a vacant storefront in Linway Plaza, awaiting a new tenant. Their story, and others like it, are becoming more common, and in a place like Goshen, can be found on just about every block.
And so, I ask the question I'm sure is being asked a lot of places right now: "Lord, where are you?"
Part of me thinks that during the boom times, the Lord was screaming as loudly as he possible could. Begging people to be prudent with their money. Coaxing those on Wall Street to think of the bigger picture. Speaking to politicians who avoided taking on big issues because it was easier to stick with the status quo. And dare I say it, wondering why pastors, including this one, were more focused on building bigger buildings with coffee bars than warning people that love of money is the root of all evil.
Not money, mind you, but the love of it.
Now, though, I suspect the Good Lord, just as he called us to prudence, integrity, and mercy for those in need as the stock market boomed, are calling us to humility, hope, and mutual concern in these difficult days. To remind us that blessings in this life are neither eternal, nor a birthright for any of us. They are gifts, to be treasured, but not to be trusted as measures of self-worth. There are no short cuts or guarantees, and as such we need to build our lives on that which really matters. God doesn't love and reward us according to the size of our paycheck. The Lord's love isn't contingent on what we do or don't do... it just "is", in abundance. The Lord's reward is in the depth of our connection to him, and between us and our neighbor. We're just so focused on the moment, that we often forget these things, and it usually takes a sickness, tragedy, or even our own mortality to shake us out of our malaise.
The depth of our honesty and integrity. A concern for our neighbor. Elevating our focus above crass consumeristic goals to a quality of life which is defined by intangibles: love, grace, mercy, justice, and peace. A satisfaction in doing what God has called us to - love justice, show mercy, and be righteous - in alignment with the teachings of the One who as he washed the feet of his disciples commanded us to serve others as He was serving them. It's these things that really matter, in good times, and bad.
In any event, pray for people who live in a town that showed us great love and acceptance, and for all those suffering right now. And where you can, make a difference.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Athiests, Buses, and the Lack of British Concern
If you hadn't heard, the same group that ran ads on buses in Washington D.C. that asked the question "Is There A God?" has now put a much more straight-forward message on 800 London buses. The Atheists Bus Campaign is the brain child of British comic who was offended by a Christian web site advertised on a London bus and decided to offer a different message. She started hoping to receive $8k to advertise on a few buses in London, but was surprised to receive over $200k in support once the British Humanist Association took up her cause. As the campaign spreads and future ad buys are pondered, however, what is creating a bit of concern for Christian folks isn't the message itself or those who paid for it, but rather the amount of indifference the campaign is generating among Londoners.... which is considerable.
The reason given for this indifference by Christian leaders overseas is the degree to which how secular London (and for that matter all of Europe) has become. As church attendance among the masses has dwindled to the point that its estimated that only about 7% of Europeans actually attend a church, to be told that there is no God is not necessarily all that culturally offensive. Without a huge following, the church's impact in Europe has become so marginalized that now politicians downplay their religious heritage and beliefs.
We as Americans have a hard time digesting this (not so) new reality across the pond. If you ran these ads on city buses in, say, Atlanta or Houston or Salt Lake City, people would boycott the bus, there'd be hearings on how the ads got printed in the first place, law suits, millions raised for new bus ads for Jesus.... you name it. It would be a total circus.
And yet, what is really interesting to me about all of this is that in Great Britain, and in every other country in Western Europe, there is NO separation between church and state.
None. Zero. Nada.
While I was at Asbury taking some classes toward me currently-stalled doctorate, we spent a week with Steve Chalke, one of the most well-known pastors on the other side of the Atlantic. Over the course of the past decade, the British government has actually pumped tens of millions of dollars into Chalke's ministry, Oasis International, which then uses the money to build schools, medical clinics, and job training centers all over the country. Because the Queen is not only the head of the British state, but also the Church of England, allocating money to religious enterprises creates not a stir in Parliament. Because Chalke's organization is able to provide these services much more efficiently than the British welfare system - which Chalke told us is overwhelmed and failing - Chalke actually receives phone calls from politicians wondering if he take on projects the government can't get to themselves.
(And everyone thought Bush's faith-based initiative funding was so radical)
But here's my point. The naysayers here in the States who claim that by taking religion - and specifically Christianity - out of forums like courtrooms, schools, and places where politicians do their business - we are driving our country in the ground are missing the example of state institutionalized Christianity only one transatlantic flight from Washington DC. Government in Europe embraces Christianity, and has even set it up on a pedestal above all other faith-movements and still, the Christian movement there is slowly dying. Atheists can put whatever they want on buses and nobody cares. Nobody, except the British Methodist Church which is thanking those who started the campaign because it's created discourse over spiritual matters in the public forum. In other words, the Methodists in London are thankful for the buses because otherwise people are thinking or talking about God or religion.
Wrap your brain around that one.
My fear is that American Christians, particularly of the evangelical persuasion, are missing the point when they demonize what they believe to be the secularization of all things government and media. The deeper problem is that Christianity, as it is presented and in terms of how it resonates with people, is losing its impact in western culture. And even if you legislated our faith as being the "Official Faith of the United States of America", according it special protection and even financing, if the transmission of the message of the Gospel and how it's practiced by its followers isn't relevant to people of this time and place, it will continue to fade.
I mean, theoretically, given the protection of our right to speak freely, an atheist should be able to put ads like the one in London on any bus or billboard that they like anywhere in the United States. Only, unlike in London, instead of saying that there is "probably" no God, they could just say here that there is no God. If you read the NY Times article you'll realize that wasn't possible in London because the state's embrace of the Christian religion gave cause to the London metro commission to order the ABC to add the "probably". They couldn't say there was no God because the state recognizes that there is. So you can say there is no God in America, and you can't in Britain.
And so I'll ask again, what does it matter if your faith is protected when nobody practices it?
While the US is a long way away (a lot longer, I think, than the postmodernists like Eddy Gibbs, Brian McLaren, and Leonard Sweet, and post-institutional churchists like George Barna would have us believe) from the kind of secular world that is Western Europe, we must not get wrapped up in the rabbit trail that is worrying about federal, state, or local government infringement on the privileged position we as Christians have enjoyed in this nation since its founding. Considering the American Christian church at best has been slowly declining in attendance, involvement, and influence over the last fifty years, the more important endeavor is to ask how we can help once again breathe life into Christ's message of redemption and reconciliation in the hearts of minds of people in our community so they care about the local church, and the Christian faith, at large.
As I look to preach on this issue specifically, as it relates to the church I serve, my sense is that our emphasis on ritual and gathering must be modified to include individual engagement, and ministry that restores souls, lives, families, neighborhoods, and communities. Ministry that will take effort, creativity, and energy from each one of us on an ongoing, sustained basis. Ministry that will force us to take a long, hard look at the nature of what we have called "evangelism". For years evangelism has been centered on public gatherings where people are told that if they don't choose Jesus they'll go to Hell. Chances are it doesn't matter to somebody that they'll go to Hell if they don't believe it exists.
But is that all we've got? The threat of Hell?
Strangely enough, Chalke's ministry is one of the few that are growing on European soil. People are joining new Oasis communities at rates unheard of for quite some time. Of course, the ministry is feeding the hungry, educating children, and treating the sick. It is now waging a huge campaign to end human trafficking and is training teens to help deal with and confront gang activity in their own communities. That's a far cry from arguing whether or not we should be using hymns or praise choruses, or fighting to put up a nativity scene in a local park. It sidesteps the issue of whether or not mainstream media is biased, and instead engages people at their level of need. Whether they are curious about God, angry at injustice, scared of violence in their neighborhood, or just want to make the world a better place, Oasis is equipped to engage wherever people are at.
And Oasis, I might add, is a movement of people.
Just a little something to think about as you go about your busy day.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Why Tonight's Loss Restored My Hope In OSU Football
It's gonna sound strange, especially after tonight's heartbreaking loss to Texas, but strangely enough my faith in OSU football was restored tonight.
For those who don't know our family eat, drinks, and breathes OSU football. Dad is a grad of THE Ohio State University, and while a student there, I was born at THE Ohio State University Hospital. That's right friends... my first breath of air was taken on sacred Buckeye soil. So my earliest memories consist of watching Archie Griffin run past the Wolverines, Woody Hayes screaming obscenities on the sidelines, and lots of hours sitting my family - father, grandfather, Unc, and later, Brother Esq - watching the Bucks. For seven magical years in the nineties, Mom worked on her undergrad and masters, meaning we got season tickets in the student section, further cementing with each trip to the football shrine that is the Horseshoe, our devotion to our team. It was one of the reasons, after living six years in Illinois and Indiana, I desperately wanted to come back to Ohio. There's nothing like watching a game with the fam on a Saturday afternoon. Every weekend stuck watching the God-forsaken Fighting Irish in Northern Indiana was a reminder that time was too short.
I am a Buckeye, and proud of it.
But the last three years have been a trial for not only Buckeye fans, but Big Ten fans throughout the great Midwest. The last three big non-conference games OSU faced - Florida, LSU, and USC - were all total blowouts. Since the Bucks have been the cream of the conference during that period, each terrible defeat was a reminder of how "slow", "fat", and "mediocre" our team, and our game in this part of the country, had become. And when fans across the country started saying "anybody but OSU in the National Championship" cause they knew the Bucks wouldn't show up, I, and my Buckeye brethren began to dread the national stage.
A stage, I might add for my Auburn friends, their team hasn't stood on since Bo Jackson played there many, many years ago (excluding this fall when Charles Barkley, an alum, called the school the most racist in the country.... they were on the national stage that day).
So when it was announced that the Buckeyes had been selected to go to the Fiesta Bowl to play another national power a few weeks ago, you can imagine the feeling in the collective stomach of Buckeye Nation. Stories were rampant out of Columbus that the university couldn't sell their allotment of tickets. The Lima News ran stories on a travel agent who, only last year, booked sixteen full busloads of Buckeye fans for the B(C)S Championship Game, and this year couldn't book one. And while the economy has tanked, and Ohio is at the bottom of that bowl with Michigan, I can guarantee you that if the team looked unbeatable, those buses would have been full, recession be damned.
Two losses, a squeaker to Penn State, and an embarrassment at USC (which I witnessed live and in person) convinced us that more than likely, we were probably up for another shellacking. That's why people who could have gone, stayed home. And Vegas agreed, making the Bucks anywhere from an 8 to 11 point underdog.
Even the biggest Buckeye fan I know, the Eric the Buckeye (I named him "the Buckeye" for pete's sake) called me today to tell me he had a bad feeling about tonight's game.
"You don't think they'll hang half a hundred on us, do you dude? I don't think I could take another blowout."
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how to answer him. With the sounds of USC's student section singing "Na, Na, Na, Na - Hey, Hey, Hey - Good-bye" at the end of third quarter back in September, I, like most everyone in this part of the world (cept Dad, who, when it comes to Buckeye football, is Don Quixote in a beard and flannel shirt) weren't excited about tonight. Not at all.
But now, everything has changed. Here's five reasons why:
1) Terrell Pryor: Let's face it, the kid is special and next year he's coming back with a year's experience under his belt. As long as he's standing the Bucks will have a chance.
2) Jim Tressel was Jim Tressel again: Gone was the stoic, stonefaced coach whose sphincter seemed to tighten to unbearable proportions, and back was the guy showing emotion on the sidelines, breathing life and hope into the youngsters on his team. The Buckeyes looked prepared. They made adjustments. They showed up, and that's how Jim Tressel got us to believe in him in the first place.
3) Colt McCoy took a beating tonight: You can bet that every team in the country will remember how badly McCoy got pounded repeatedly all evening, and how they largely neutralized him to bring Texas' Texas sized offense back to earth. If you thought the Bucks D was too slow, you didn't think that by the end of tonight. When they started going man-to-man and busting those receivers on the line at the end of the third, you saw the future of what they'll be doing next year. They are catching up with the rest of the country in terms of defensive speed, and they're only getting faster.
4) We Don't Have To Dread Big Games Anymore: In the third quarter, after Texas scored two unanswered TD's, it looked like the same tired movie: OSU fails to show up for a big game. I even texted Skyscraper Kent to tell him that I was giving up college football for English Premier League Soccer next year. And then... they just put the hammer down on the Texas QB and receivers. And what's more, the O started moving the ball, even taking the lead down the stretch. They might have lost the game, but they didn't roll over. Take notice SEC, Big 12, and Pac 10 fans... a game against OSU is no longer a gimme. Just ask Mack Brown. He hopes he never sees them again.
5) We Got Our Swagger Back: Listen, I know there are no moral victories in college football. A loss by one is the same as a loss by 91. But after tonight, nobody in this state will dread a chance to play on the big stage. I'm sure USC tickets for next fall just got harder to get, and the team leads the whole state in wanting to shut up the naysayers in the south and west. Tonight was the first time they've looked hungry since the Michigan game two years ago. The monkey is off the back, but there's still something to prove and I've a sense that will drive this team all winter long.
I can't wait for next season to begin.
O - H!
I - O!
For those who don't know our family eat, drinks, and breathes OSU football. Dad is a grad of THE Ohio State University, and while a student there, I was born at THE Ohio State University Hospital. That's right friends... my first breath of air was taken on sacred Buckeye soil. So my earliest memories consist of watching Archie Griffin run past the Wolverines, Woody Hayes screaming obscenities on the sidelines, and lots of hours sitting my family - father, grandfather, Unc, and later, Brother Esq - watching the Bucks. For seven magical years in the nineties, Mom worked on her undergrad and masters, meaning we got season tickets in the student section, further cementing with each trip to the football shrine that is the Horseshoe, our devotion to our team. It was one of the reasons, after living six years in Illinois and Indiana, I desperately wanted to come back to Ohio. There's nothing like watching a game with the fam on a Saturday afternoon. Every weekend stuck watching the God-forsaken Fighting Irish in Northern Indiana was a reminder that time was too short.
I am a Buckeye, and proud of it.
But the last three years have been a trial for not only Buckeye fans, but Big Ten fans throughout the great Midwest. The last three big non-conference games OSU faced - Florida, LSU, and USC - were all total blowouts. Since the Bucks have been the cream of the conference during that period, each terrible defeat was a reminder of how "slow", "fat", and "mediocre" our team, and our game in this part of the country, had become. And when fans across the country started saying "anybody but OSU in the National Championship" cause they knew the Bucks wouldn't show up, I, and my Buckeye brethren began to dread the national stage.
A stage, I might add for my Auburn friends, their team hasn't stood on since Bo Jackson played there many, many years ago (excluding this fall when Charles Barkley, an alum, called the school the most racist in the country.... they were on the national stage that day).
So when it was announced that the Buckeyes had been selected to go to the Fiesta Bowl to play another national power a few weeks ago, you can imagine the feeling in the collective stomach of Buckeye Nation. Stories were rampant out of Columbus that the university couldn't sell their allotment of tickets. The Lima News ran stories on a travel agent who, only last year, booked sixteen full busloads of Buckeye fans for the B(C)S Championship Game, and this year couldn't book one. And while the economy has tanked, and Ohio is at the bottom of that bowl with Michigan, I can guarantee you that if the team looked unbeatable, those buses would have been full, recession be damned.
Two losses, a squeaker to Penn State, and an embarrassment at USC (which I witnessed live and in person) convinced us that more than likely, we were probably up for another shellacking. That's why people who could have gone, stayed home. And Vegas agreed, making the Bucks anywhere from an 8 to 11 point underdog.
Even the biggest Buckeye fan I know, the Eric the Buckeye (I named him "the Buckeye" for pete's sake) called me today to tell me he had a bad feeling about tonight's game.
"You don't think they'll hang half a hundred on us, do you dude? I don't think I could take another blowout."
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how to answer him. With the sounds of USC's student section singing "Na, Na, Na, Na - Hey, Hey, Hey - Good-bye" at the end of third quarter back in September, I, like most everyone in this part of the world (cept Dad, who, when it comes to Buckeye football, is Don Quixote in a beard and flannel shirt) weren't excited about tonight. Not at all.
But now, everything has changed. Here's five reasons why:
1) Terrell Pryor: Let's face it, the kid is special and next year he's coming back with a year's experience under his belt. As long as he's standing the Bucks will have a chance.
2) Jim Tressel was Jim Tressel again: Gone was the stoic, stonefaced coach whose sphincter seemed to tighten to unbearable proportions, and back was the guy showing emotion on the sidelines, breathing life and hope into the youngsters on his team. The Buckeyes looked prepared. They made adjustments. They showed up, and that's how Jim Tressel got us to believe in him in the first place.
3) Colt McCoy took a beating tonight: You can bet that every team in the country will remember how badly McCoy got pounded repeatedly all evening, and how they largely neutralized him to bring Texas' Texas sized offense back to earth. If you thought the Bucks D was too slow, you didn't think that by the end of tonight. When they started going man-to-man and busting those receivers on the line at the end of the third, you saw the future of what they'll be doing next year. They are catching up with the rest of the country in terms of defensive speed, and they're only getting faster.
4) We Don't Have To Dread Big Games Anymore: In the third quarter, after Texas scored two unanswered TD's, it looked like the same tired movie: OSU fails to show up for a big game. I even texted Skyscraper Kent to tell him that I was giving up college football for English Premier League Soccer next year. And then... they just put the hammer down on the Texas QB and receivers. And what's more, the O started moving the ball, even taking the lead down the stretch. They might have lost the game, but they didn't roll over. Take notice SEC, Big 12, and Pac 10 fans... a game against OSU is no longer a gimme. Just ask Mack Brown. He hopes he never sees them again.
5) We Got Our Swagger Back: Listen, I know there are no moral victories in college football. A loss by one is the same as a loss by 91. But after tonight, nobody in this state will dread a chance to play on the big stage. I'm sure USC tickets for next fall just got harder to get, and the team leads the whole state in wanting to shut up the naysayers in the south and west. Tonight was the first time they've looked hungry since the Michigan game two years ago. The monkey is off the back, but there's still something to prove and I've a sense that will drive this team all winter long.
I can't wait for next season to begin.
O - H!
I - O!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Mea Culpa - Brother Esq convicts me of being a bad Uncle
Just to keep the record straight, the birth of my nephew, Sammy Dean, is one of my most memorable experiences of the year. I was actually thinking about where to put this momentous event when I got a little sidetracked (Eli, my 3 year old, coming down to find me because he was convinced that Max has taken his favorite penguin... those dreams can seem pretty real) at 3am when I finally finished this post up.
However, the Judge has ruled me "guilty" of being a bad uncle, and now I owe Sam big time.
Well Sam, here's the deal. My house is going to be one of your favorite places on the planet earth. We'll have every toy, a steady stream of cousins to play with, and ice cream in the fridge. If that isn't enough to spoil you, we'll also be taking you to more than your fair share of movies and I'm sure more than a couple of trips to Cedar Point. Thus, my sentence is to love you with all my heart, and help assist your parents raise you right by being the best uncle I can be.
May I throw myself on the mercy of the court and spoil you all your days.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Ten Memorable Moments From 2008 (good, bad, and indifferent)
As I sit here wondering how in the world Cincinnati got into a BCS Bowl when they can't even sellout Nippert Stadium, here are the most memorable moments I had last year.
1) The birth of our fourth son, Tobias Gabriel. Can't say we really planned on ever having four kids, but we thank God for them all. Toby is the smiley happy baby Aimee has always wanted, and given our age we are both thankful for his good disposition. In the last couple of days he's taken his first steps, so time really does fly.
2) The, um, little procedure I had done to make sure we stick with four kids. Thank heavens for frozen peas.
3) Talking on the phone with one of Barak Obama's campaign managers. As I blogged earlier this year, we were in the running to be the church the Obama family worshiped at on Labor Day weekend. They ended up at St. Luke Lutheran, but the experience threw us all for a loop and turned what was normally a quiet weekend into chaos. You should have heard the sermon I wrote for the occasion. I mean how many times would you ever get the chance to preach to a future President of the United States. It would have been a good one.
(Although, I am convinced Jenny Neidich will be a future President, and I preach to her almost weekly, so maybe I've already had my moment in the sun. Just remember Neidich, no calling Rick Warren when you need a pastor to do an invocation at your inaugeration... and no calling Bishman either. Think of the glare of the sun off his head... it would blind your future cabinet.)
4) Anything political I was involved with this year was both a new experience and a ton of fun. I did a lot of grunt work for Glenn Derryberry's campaign for judge, doing everything from walking in parades, to slapping backs and pressing flesh at the Allen Country, and even knocking on doors handing out literature. I was very rewarding when he won (in a landslide).
I also was one of eight co-sponsors of a quasi-debate between the candidates for Allen County Sheriff. I say "quasi" because one of the candidates (the eventual loser) refused to directly debate the other candidate for reasons that ultimately weren't considered all that valid by the voters. Don't be surprised to see my name connected with another debate later in the year when the "no-holds-barred-steel-cage-grudge-match" that will be Lima's Mayoral election takes place later this year.
5) I'm proud of all the new friendships I made this year with pastors throughout the area. It was good to listen to Frank Taylor and Fayne Wise talk about their congregations, past and present. It was good to spend time with Lars Olsen, Dave Harris, and John Heyward. I treasure the friendship that Daniel Hughes and I have built over the last ten months. It's been an honor to work with Steve Blum and LaMont Monford. This city has a lot of great pastors, and its been good to get to know them.
6) Maybe the thing I'm most proud of in the past year was being a point person to help The Future Church move into old Grace UMC building. I can't say the experience itself was all that great. It was a bit like trying to eat a tough 96 ounce steak without teeth. But it was all worth it to sit in the congregation on the evening of the consecration service and see TFC's praise team rap a pseudo-rendition of "Amazing Grace". They're a young congregation with big dreams. It was good to help move those dreams a little closer to reality.
What's more, while I'm disappointed that the District Trustees didn't opt to just give the church the building, I am convinced that we, as United Methodists, have a chance now to impact the south end of Lima in ways we have not been able, or willing, to engage. While the West Ohio Conference has focused ample efforts in terms of urban ministry in our bigger cities, Lima has always been overlooked and neglected in terms of deploying the necessary resources or leadership to reach folks in the inner city. As our influence in Lima has slowly diminished, we have the chance in partnership together as Lima-area UM churches, and ecumenically with other partner congregations, start engaging the local population in ways that were necessary 30 or 40 years ago. We have a great new chance to do something good for this community. Let's not blow it.
7) I was given the gift of getting to travel around the country interviewing people for my on-going dissertation research. I got to meet UM-preaching legend Zan Holmes, Gene Getz (founder of the Fellowship Bible Church movement), and a lady whose son-in-law is Alan Bristow, a former head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. But the height of my experience was an unexpected 90 minute interview with Bishop Timothy Whitaker of the Florida Annual Conference.
In what was by far a much more frank and honest interview than I could have ever expected, I heard a UM bishop describe a future for our denomination that I could believe in. A future that is much less bueracratic and more local church oriented. A future where pastoral training takes place more in a local church setting and less in an ivory tower seminary. The question, of course, is whether or not as a denomination we will choose this future pro-actively, or because finances force us to go in a different direction. Hopefully Bishop Whitaker will write a book, engage the other bishops in much needed dialog, and help move us forward as a Christian movement.
8) Any moment with friends in 2008 was a good one. Whether it was time with Kent Reynolds and Chris Heckaman on a pastoral retreat in August, lunch with Roger Rhodes, or blessing bikes with Larry Inskeep, the year was filled with great moments and great memories. Nothing though, quite topped a long weekend spent with Eric the Buckeye, Dr. Mango, and The First Husband in Southern California, where we saw the Buckeyes get pounded by USC. Outside of the game, it was a great time where a pastor hung out with three doctors, shopping for pens (doctors, for those who didn't know, spend a lot of time shopping for expensive pens, and know quite a bit about them, which, by the way, seems at odds with the fact that you can't read a word they write), eating good food, and playing a lot of euchre. A good time was had by all.
9) We did a lot of cool things as a family this past year, but as in the previous summer, our highlight was a week-long vacation at Eric the Buckeye and Vanessa the Raider's lakehouse. Lots of swimming, boating, jet-skiing, eating, and movie watching commenced. Even a $100 ticket from the local county sheriff for pulling my kids around on an intertube with out a spotter on the back of the jet ski (should have read those Michigan water laws a little more closely). This led to my going to the Branch County Courthouse, and one of my favorite paragraphs I wrote this year on this blog:
My misadventure Sunday afternoon with a very nice deputy (who is a High School teacher the other nine months of the year he isn't educating dumb tourists via tickets about Michigan's boating laws) though led me to an unexpected encounter the next day at the Branch County Courthouse. While I waited at the window for the clerk to process my fine, I saw a woman with an honest-to-goodness coffee-can-lid-sized pentagram tattoo on the side of her neck. It was unbelievable. My father-in-law once told me that you should never get a tattoo in a place that can't be hidden from a judge. Let's just say that this lady needed one serious turtleneck to make that happen. I overheard enough her discussion with her lawyer(?) to realize that she was well acquainted with the folks at the Branch County Courthouse. On my way out, I told her how striking her tattoo was. Her response...
"It gives me (how can I make this up) all the power of the underworld, which is why I will prevail here today."
Ummmm... right. The look on her lawyer's face as she said this was a cross between "I wish I had gotten that I.T. degree" and "I think somebody ate my cat". And who knows, by the looks of things, maybe somebody had.
I called Brother Esq to tell him about it later. His response... "I'm a lawyer who does defense work. I see that stuff every day. You gotta get out of that church of yours a little more."
Not worth the entire cost of the fine.... but close.
10) Aimee and I celebrated our 18th Anniversary in August. And for all those who were worried, this Christmas I did a little better than spackling in her stocking. Let's just say my beloved is well-pleased.
For those new to the blog, here are ten posts from the archives I think you'll enjoy:
1) Top Ten names I wanted for Toby that Aimee would never allow.
2) My inability to simply pick up someone from the airport without scaring my grandmother to death.
3) The best advice I could muster for future Asbury Seminary Beeson Fellowship candidates.
4) Me walking in my wife's bible study in my underwear.
5) Some poetry I wrote after taking a late night walk with my sons.
6) This is the most viewed set of posts I've ever written. They are are about my experience at Holy Trinity - Brompton, one of the most influential churches in the world. The posts were discovered by an attendee at the church who linked it on his blog, which was then read by thousands of Londoners. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.
7) This is the first of a four part series I wrote while spending a week with post-modern Christian thinker Brian McLaren and noted British pastor Steve Chalke. This was probably the highlight (besides going to London) of my Beeson experience.
8) Here's a post where I give the Jonas Brothers a hard time for butchering a classic 80's song.
9) Here's a post detailing a conversation I had with friend and local pastor, Bubba Rummel, regarding Jeremiah Wright.
10) A very early post I wrote after watching two hours of MTV one late evening.
Happy New Year!
1) The birth of our fourth son, Tobias Gabriel. Can't say we really planned on ever having four kids, but we thank God for them all. Toby is the smiley happy baby Aimee has always wanted, and given our age we are both thankful for his good disposition. In the last couple of days he's taken his first steps, so time really does fly.
2) The, um, little procedure I had done to make sure we stick with four kids. Thank heavens for frozen peas.
3) Talking on the phone with one of Barak Obama's campaign managers. As I blogged earlier this year, we were in the running to be the church the Obama family worshiped at on Labor Day weekend. They ended up at St. Luke Lutheran, but the experience threw us all for a loop and turned what was normally a quiet weekend into chaos. You should have heard the sermon I wrote for the occasion. I mean how many times would you ever get the chance to preach to a future President of the United States. It would have been a good one.
(Although, I am convinced Jenny Neidich will be a future President, and I preach to her almost weekly, so maybe I've already had my moment in the sun. Just remember Neidich, no calling Rick Warren when you need a pastor to do an invocation at your inaugeration... and no calling Bishman either. Think of the glare of the sun off his head... it would blind your future cabinet.)
4) Anything political I was involved with this year was both a new experience and a ton of fun. I did a lot of grunt work for Glenn Derryberry's campaign for judge, doing everything from walking in parades, to slapping backs and pressing flesh at the Allen Country, and even knocking on doors handing out literature. I was very rewarding when he won (in a landslide).
I also was one of eight co-sponsors of a quasi-debate between the candidates for Allen County Sheriff. I say "quasi" because one of the candidates (the eventual loser) refused to directly debate the other candidate for reasons that ultimately weren't considered all that valid by the voters. Don't be surprised to see my name connected with another debate later in the year when the "no-holds-barred-steel-cage-grudge-match" that will be Lima's Mayoral election takes place later this year.
5) I'm proud of all the new friendships I made this year with pastors throughout the area. It was good to listen to Frank Taylor and Fayne Wise talk about their congregations, past and present. It was good to spend time with Lars Olsen, Dave Harris, and John Heyward. I treasure the friendship that Daniel Hughes and I have built over the last ten months. It's been an honor to work with Steve Blum and LaMont Monford. This city has a lot of great pastors, and its been good to get to know them.
6) Maybe the thing I'm most proud of in the past year was being a point person to help The Future Church move into old Grace UMC building. I can't say the experience itself was all that great. It was a bit like trying to eat a tough 96 ounce steak without teeth. But it was all worth it to sit in the congregation on the evening of the consecration service and see TFC's praise team rap a pseudo-rendition of "Amazing Grace". They're a young congregation with big dreams. It was good to help move those dreams a little closer to reality.
What's more, while I'm disappointed that the District Trustees didn't opt to just give the church the building, I am convinced that we, as United Methodists, have a chance now to impact the south end of Lima in ways we have not been able, or willing, to engage. While the West Ohio Conference has focused ample efforts in terms of urban ministry in our bigger cities, Lima has always been overlooked and neglected in terms of deploying the necessary resources or leadership to reach folks in the inner city. As our influence in Lima has slowly diminished, we have the chance in partnership together as Lima-area UM churches, and ecumenically with other partner congregations, start engaging the local population in ways that were necessary 30 or 40 years ago. We have a great new chance to do something good for this community. Let's not blow it.
7) I was given the gift of getting to travel around the country interviewing people for my on-going dissertation research. I got to meet UM-preaching legend Zan Holmes, Gene Getz (founder of the Fellowship Bible Church movement), and a lady whose son-in-law is Alan Bristow, a former head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. But the height of my experience was an unexpected 90 minute interview with Bishop Timothy Whitaker of the Florida Annual Conference.
In what was by far a much more frank and honest interview than I could have ever expected, I heard a UM bishop describe a future for our denomination that I could believe in. A future that is much less bueracratic and more local church oriented. A future where pastoral training takes place more in a local church setting and less in an ivory tower seminary. The question, of course, is whether or not as a denomination we will choose this future pro-actively, or because finances force us to go in a different direction. Hopefully Bishop Whitaker will write a book, engage the other bishops in much needed dialog, and help move us forward as a Christian movement.
8) Any moment with friends in 2008 was a good one. Whether it was time with Kent Reynolds and Chris Heckaman on a pastoral retreat in August, lunch with Roger Rhodes, or blessing bikes with Larry Inskeep, the year was filled with great moments and great memories. Nothing though, quite topped a long weekend spent with Eric the Buckeye, Dr. Mango, and The First Husband in Southern California, where we saw the Buckeyes get pounded by USC. Outside of the game, it was a great time where a pastor hung out with three doctors, shopping for pens (doctors, for those who didn't know, spend a lot of time shopping for expensive pens, and know quite a bit about them, which, by the way, seems at odds with the fact that you can't read a word they write), eating good food, and playing a lot of euchre. A good time was had by all.
9) We did a lot of cool things as a family this past year, but as in the previous summer, our highlight was a week-long vacation at Eric the Buckeye and Vanessa the Raider's lakehouse. Lots of swimming, boating, jet-skiing, eating, and movie watching commenced. Even a $100 ticket from the local county sheriff for pulling my kids around on an intertube with out a spotter on the back of the jet ski (should have read those Michigan water laws a little more closely). This led to my going to the Branch County Courthouse, and one of my favorite paragraphs I wrote this year on this blog:
My misadventure Sunday afternoon with a very nice deputy (who is a High School teacher the other nine months of the year he isn't educating dumb tourists via tickets about Michigan's boating laws) though led me to an unexpected encounter the next day at the Branch County Courthouse. While I waited at the window for the clerk to process my fine, I saw a woman with an honest-to-goodness coffee-can-lid-sized pentagram tattoo on the side of her neck. It was unbelievable. My father-in-law once told me that you should never get a tattoo in a place that can't be hidden from a judge. Let's just say that this lady needed one serious turtleneck to make that happen. I overheard enough her discussion with her lawyer(?) to realize that she was well acquainted with the folks at the Branch County Courthouse. On my way out, I told her how striking her tattoo was. Her response...
"It gives me (how can I make this up) all the power of the underworld, which is why I will prevail here today."
Ummmm... right. The look on her lawyer's face as she said this was a cross between "I wish I had gotten that I.T. degree" and "I think somebody ate my cat". And who knows, by the looks of things, maybe somebody had.
I called Brother Esq to tell him about it later. His response... "I'm a lawyer who does defense work. I see that stuff every day. You gotta get out of that church of yours a little more."
Not worth the entire cost of the fine.... but close.
10) Aimee and I celebrated our 18th Anniversary in August. And for all those who were worried, this Christmas I did a little better than spackling in her stocking. Let's just say my beloved is well-pleased.
For those new to the blog, here are ten posts from the archives I think you'll enjoy:
1) Top Ten names I wanted for Toby that Aimee would never allow.
2) My inability to simply pick up someone from the airport without scaring my grandmother to death.
3) The best advice I could muster for future Asbury Seminary Beeson Fellowship candidates.
4) Me walking in my wife's bible study in my underwear.
5) Some poetry I wrote after taking a late night walk with my sons.
6) This is the most viewed set of posts I've ever written. They are are about my experience at Holy Trinity - Brompton, one of the most influential churches in the world. The posts were discovered by an attendee at the church who linked it on his blog, which was then read by thousands of Londoners. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.
7) This is the first of a four part series I wrote while spending a week with post-modern Christian thinker Brian McLaren and noted British pastor Steve Chalke. This was probably the highlight (besides going to London) of my Beeson experience.
8) Here's a post where I give the Jonas Brothers a hard time for butchering a classic 80's song.
9) Here's a post detailing a conversation I had with friend and local pastor, Bubba Rummel, regarding Jeremiah Wright.
10) A very early post I wrote after watching two hours of MTV one late evening.
Happy New Year!
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