Monday, March 29, 2010
Glory, Glory Hallelujah.... Welcome to the Future
When I moved back to Lima in 2004, I remember for about a year just trying to wrap my brain around being back "home". For those who don't know, us United Methodist ministers don't often get to end up anywhere near where we want to be, let alone the one place we pined for as we slogged our way up the ranks.
Never, at any time since I left Shawnee UMC v1.0 in 1997, did I really want to work or live anywhere else. Leaving Lima and this church pretty much tore a hole in my heart that never quite ever healed. As far as I'm concerned, while there are some pretty cool churches in this town, this was the only one that really interested me professionally. It's not perfect. We struggle sometimes to figure out where the Lord might be leading us. Sometimes people get upset and sometimes we disagree.... but warts and all somehow this church just keeps being special. It's a church that's occasionally willing to stick out its neck for the good of others and the Lord, and generally on the other side of the chaos, we stand more United and together than we did before.
Anyway, over the seven years I was off in Toledo, Bloomington, and Goshen, the desire to come back to Shawnee UMC and Lima only grew. Actually, in 2003 I started pursuing a return to Ohio and even interviewed at St. Michael of The Slaughter (or as it's known in the rest of the world, Ginghamsburg UMC). To be honest, coming out of that interview I thought I had that job in the bag, which only compounded my disappointment when six weeks later they told me they needed to take a pass but that they would, "keep my resume on file in case something else opened up".
I was crushed.
But you know, the Lord works in strange and mysterious ways. Had St. Mike bit on the hook, chances are six months later Joseph would have never called me about this opportunity and then I would have realized why St. Mike's sounded so great: it was a great church only 45 minutes from home. I guess the only thing better than being 45 minutes from where you want to be, is sitting in the office of the place of your dreams... which is where I am sitting today.
It's true. Sometimes the best answer to a prayer really is "no".
Anyhow, when I returned in 2004, not really guaranteed anything regarding the future (something Joseph reminded me of repeated, for better and for worse), when I came back I found a SUMC that wasn't romanticized like it had been in the seven years since I left. It was still great, but it's like when you were a kid and you remember the slide at the park being the highest slide in the world. Go back to that park and either the slide is gone (cause you're old) or its not what you built it up to be in your mind. It's not a million feet tall... just 8.
There was a little of that when I returned. So while it was nice to be back, I was immediately started making a list in my mind of things I thought would need to eventually change if I ever got the chance. Some things, like work environment for the staff (let's just say the environment when I left, which I loved, wasn't quite the environment I discovered when I returned... I am really proud of the progress we've made as a church in this area) I knew could be changed somewhat easily because mostly it was internal factors that controlled our results. Job descriptions, salary scales, a staff handbook, occasional meetings, outings, and a cool summer retreat have done a lot to make (not perfect, mind you, but improve) this a great place to work. But other goals that began to take shape were much more illusive and difficult to nail down because they couldn't be controlled internally. The work would have to be on the outside.... out there.... with folks who didn't know us, or maybe didn't have all that great a perception of us.
This weekend, after almost three years of work, I felt like the future I started to envision really took giant leaps forward in terms of taking shape.
First, if you haven't heard, Shawnee UMC is about to extend her footprint to the north. By this time next year we'll have a satellite campus functioning in Bath Township. This is an old dream, not a new one. It's a dream that came from a visit to the Montgomery Campus of Community Christian Church of Naperville, Illinois and then was re-ignited at St. Paul Chadwell in London when I saw something I thought could work in a setting like this one. Not to mention, the thought of starting a satellite has really blown the lid off of what we're thinking about doing here at the Mothership. "Impact Groups" (another dream), communicating in new ways (particularly visual ones), utilizing technology for teaching opportunities (how about Joseph Bishman or Julian Davies teaching a bible study from their homes for people in Shawnee).... it's forcing us to re-thing a lot of things, and that's exciting.
Second, if you weren't there last night at Lima Community Church of the Nazarene (or "The Naz" as we call it), you missed a miracle. Three years ago there were few, if any, real connections between suburban and urban churches in this community. Last night was incredible. The whole community felt comfortable enough with one another that a black gospel choir sang in a building used mainly by white suburbanites, listening to priests, preachers, and elders from every corner of this community...
and it felt, normal. Like we could do it every year.
I'm proud of the role this church has played in forging new partnerships, bring pastors to the table together, and creating common ground and the trust necessary to really tackle some terrifically difficult issues in our community. When I heard Doug Adams, long time Senior Pastor talk about how big that service was, that he'd never been part of anything like it in 25 years of living and working in the community.... when I hear Lamont Monfort marvel at the crowd gathered, and where they are gathered... when pastors like Mark Chambers, nestled safely in the suburbs, come to the table ready to reach out.... when Elder Fred Dunlap beseeches God in prayer for his help in the community cause we need it, and 1200 "Amen"....
Can't help it... makes me so happy thinking about the gathering last night I get all teary eyed. Probably why when I was listening to Brad Paisely's song today it made me cry. Got me when I heard the words, "Hey, wake up Martin Luther. Welcome to the future." Felt like after getting the call Bluelick was "in" on the merger in the afternoon, and then seeing the Senior Pastor of "The Naz" look out on the crowd in his church with what can only be described as wonder and amazement, that the future really is now.
And I sing, "Glory, Glory... Hallelujah!" Welcome to the future.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Merger With Bluelick United Methodist Church Meetings - The Day After
For those who haven't heard, we have been investigating a possible merger with Bluelick United Methodist Church. If this merger is approved by both congregations (Shawnee and Bluelick), as of January 1, 2011 our name as a congregation will change to Community United Methodist Church, and we'll be one church with two sites, Shawnee and Bath. We have announced that Charlotte Hefner, our current associate pastor, will be the Site Pastor at the Bath Campus. While this plan has been discussed in various committees, because it involves a merger by the letter of the UMC Book of Discipline, the matter must be voted on and passed by both congregations in specially-called "Charge Conferences" to be held separately.
Yesterday, the merger plan in its totality was unveiled to both congregations. Bluelick got it first at 2:30pm, and then the first of three presentations was made to Shawnee last night at 7pm. The response has been interesting. I've only heard positive responses, but this evening at both SPRC and by happenstance when I ran into a group of women leaving a meeting, I received some feedback that was less than positive not about the presentation itself, but the overall plan.
Some people don't like it because they think I'm too busy as it is and wonder how much more I can take before collapsing. Others don't like it because it involves Charlotte Hefner taking a new role in our ministry as the Site Leader at the Bath Campus and people want her to stay. Others are afraid that in this economy people will balk at any unnecessary expense and still others wonder why we'd make an investment in another property while this one is still mortgaged.
Given the concerns, I think some good questions, which will be addressed at the next informational meeting Wednesday, 7pm at Bluelick UMC (so that Shawnee folks can see the building), have been raised. For those who can't make it, here are some concerns I heard, and my response to them.
Q) Bryan, you lead a growing church of more than 12oo members and friends... don't you already have enough to do?
Fair question. It's no secret that while we continue to grow, in many respects we are operating with the same size (actually slightly smaller) staff than we had just a few years ago. This has created increased stress on the staff, and admittedly, me.
But to be perfectly honest, this has been the trend for just about anybody who has been employed in an enterprise over the course of the last twenty years. Rising utilities, escalating health insurance premiums, fuel costs, administrative expenses (copier leasing and liability insurance being two examples) all continue to rise at rates faster than income. The result is lots of people working in this great nation being asked to do more with less. Churches and non-profits have not been exempt from this (hear all the pastors, directors, and staff people say "Amen").
The Staff-Parish Committee is aware of the load of my responsibilities, but they also understand the great opportunity that the Lord has placed before us. Together we're bringing in a church consultant who will help us understand where our church is at, where it can go, and what changes we'll need to make in order to stay healthy, while keeping us all sane. I trust the committee, the consultant, and my own body/mind/spirit to tell me that we're going beyond too much. None of us feels this way. Instead, we see great opportunity and a chance over the next nine months before the merger would take place (January 1, 2011) to make some needed changes that will help us as a congregation....
and keep me sane. Sanity is good.
Q) We heard Charlotte say last night at the first presentation that if she isn't deployed to the Bath Campus, she'll be leaving Shawnee UMC sometime in the next year for a new church.... what in the world is going on!?! If we voted this down, why wouldn't Charlotte just remain at Shawnee?
I know this news is a shock. Three years ago the congregation had to say goodbye to a Senior Pastor who had served here for seventeen years. Now they are being told that a beloved associate who really grew up as a staff person and then pastor in their midst is looking for a new challenge. This has been very hard for a lot of people here at Shawnee to hear.
Well, if you think its been hard on you, you have no idea how hard it's been on me.
I found out about Charlotte's desire for new kind of appointment last fall. She actually informed me - by email (ugh) - that she was giving me 12-18 months advance notice that she would be leaving Shawnee so we'd have plenty of time to plan for life after she left. She did as an extraordinary courtesy because she loves this church and would never want to hurt it. But in her heart, she believes the Lord wants to send her to a a new church where she might be able to use what she's learned to reach new people with the Gospel.
I know now why she emailed me..... she was relatively sure I'd freak out, and she was right. I pretty much lost it. Like a lot of you I wondered what the "real story" was. Did she not like working with me as her supervising pastor? Was she feeling underpaid? Was she unhappy with her office? Had somebody done or said something to hurt her?
How could she just leave us all?
For those here Sunday night what you heard from Charlotte - her eloquent words regarding why she's ready for a new chapter to begin in her professional life - you heard what my heart heard after I recovered from the initial shock. As she talked about her call I realized the hurt and pain I felt was generated by how Charlotte's leaving would effect me. My focus was me. But after a day of cooling off, I let the self get out of the way, and listen to Charlotte.
Charlotte wants to pastor her own church. She wants to give it a go. She's worked as a staff person and associate for nineteen years. She's ready for a new thing, and after seeing what other United Methodist clergy are doing out there, she's convinced she could be a greater asset to Kingdom if she could do what they are doing, because - quite frankly - she more talented than a great many of them. Given she's almost ghgsighst years old, she's afraid if she doesn't try this now, she'll never get the chance.
I get it. I spent fourteen years as an associate pastor, wondering when it would be "my turn". When you get that itch, you gotta scratch it, no matter how scary the prospects or degree of sacrifice is required
What I love about this arrangement most is that Charlotte will get the chance to do something special - a totally new challenge - without leaving the Shawnee family. She'll still be an associate. She'll still have an office here at the "Mothership" (as I've grown to calling the Shawnee location) but she'll get to preach each week. She'll get to raise up new leadership. She'll get to use all the creative things we've learned here (everything from Harvest for the Hungry to Fall Fest to Haiti Mission trips) to energize new people with the love of Jesus Christ.... all of whom will be a part of our church family!
So here's the deal.... I think God has put the right opportunity in front of us and given us the right leader. If we choose not to take advantage of these things, we miss a great opportunity and the stirring in Charlotte's heart will not be changed. Sunday night she made it clear. If this merger doesn't happen, she'll still ask for a new appointment. She's not doing it to hurt you. It's just what she believes God wants.
Q) Come on Bucher... what's the real story with Charlotte?
Sorry. Everything I've told and written is the truth. Ask her. The Spirit is moving her to a new challenge. What else can I do as her supervising pastor and friend but support her call? Hopefully we can do that and we can work together on the same church team but even if that's not possible, she would leave with my blessing, support, and prayers.
Q) So is this whole Bluelick thing just about keeping Charlotte with us?
Absolutely not. The roots of this project go back more than two years when in an informal conversation with BLUMC's pastor I heard him say that his church was really struggling to survive because it had declined to the point of worshiping less than twenty people a week. When the SPRC started investigating this last spring (at the invitation of the DS), the big question was, "This whole multi-site thing sounds cool, but who will the leader be?" As late as September 2009 I was still looking for a site pastor to serve up there. I had no idea Charlotte was thinking about a new challenge and new role in ministry. It just didn't take a genius to figure out that Charlotte - looking for a new opportunity - would be a great fit for this project we still didn't have a leader for. I mean, if we want to implant Shawnee's DNA in this location, who better embodies our theology of grace, dedication to serving the community, and willingness to take chance to make new disciples than Charlotte Hefner?
What else did God have to do... send up a flare? I got the hint. Search for leader, over.
Q) But we started this conversation talking about how heavy the load was for the pastors and staff and you're basically moving our only other preaching pastor elsewhere. Does this make sense?
Well, as it relates to Charlotte's role changing the point is mute. She knows what she wants, so regardless of how this merger thing turns out, we're facing a major staffing change.
Fortunately, I had this great mentor - a guy named Dick Lyndon - who taught me something very important about staffing. During my tenure at Goshen First we experienced a music director, two childrens directors, two administrative secretaries, and two graphic artists all turning in their resignation (actually in the case of one the artists, we... uh.... encouraged him to make a career change). And every time this happened, and all of the staff and most of the congregation wrung its hands wondering what to do, Dick would always say,
"When a staff person leaves, it's an opportunity given to you by God to improve your staff and your ministry."
I never forgot those words. Where others saw a setback, Dick always saw opportunity. Had he not, I'd never have received the chance to serve with him. In certain cases we had to take a step or two back in those hires, but ultimately in every case, whether it took one hire or two, the new person ultimately hired enabled us to do things we could never do before. Consequently, the scope and size and impact of our ministry just took off.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that Charlotte, the SPRC, core leadership, and myself see a unique opportunity here. A chance to really take this church in some new bold directions while adding a new person, or some new people to the team. Some will be paid staff and others unpaid staff, but in all cases we'll be opening up opportunities for some talented people to come take on some responsibility, and take us in new directions.
Q) Where is the money coming for all these new staff people? And I heard something about the renovation at Bluelick costing over $200k.... who is going to pay for all of this?
Good question. Really, you'll need to come to a presentation, or Charge Conference, to really see the breakdown of income and expense. We are applying for a grant from the District Trustees (of which I am one). The conference would like to help in a multitude of ways. There are some assets (namely a parsonage) that BLUMC owns that we'd put up for sale (as per our policy of not being in the parsonage business). There is a congregation already at Bluelick who would be folded into our family and are quite faithful. It's complex, but financial support is available for both the renovation and staff expenses.
But I'm not going to lie... we need to raise some money. We'll need to undertake a Capital Campaign to help not only with renovation costs at the Bath campus plant, but to do some marketing and outreach. The plan is to do it in the fall.
Q) Whoa!!!!!! You mean at a time when local unemployment is over 10% and we still owe $290,000 on our current mortgage (for the Centrum addition), you want to ask people for MORE money? Is this realistic?
There are many issues raised in this questions. Let me address them all...
- While the local economy is a great concern, regardless of what certain pundits might be saying, economies never stay down forever. While I do not discount how difficult this recession has been, and am also concerned about the future of the economy, I don't think you can under estimate the power of the free market. Eventually these things work themselves out.
And what's more, when do hurting people need the church more than in a time of great uncertainty? If the demographic and research data the Percept Group gave us is true, right now more than 14,000 people living within five miles of BLUMC don't have a church, and another 5,000 are looking for one that makes more sense for them right now.
What better time to be the church to these people arise than right now when things are tight? Jesus is right... the poor will always be us and that's no excuse to not invest in Kingdom opportunities that raise his name and make evident his glory and love (just ask the woman who poured perfume on his feet and washed them with her tears and hair).
- As for the mortgage, I think there are a lot of churches out there wishing their mortgage was less than $300k on what was a $2 million+ project, and could incorporate in their budget over $60k per year to pay it down. Last year our capital campaign funds ran out because the three year cycle was up. We went all of 2009 servicing our debt via the General Fund, and ended up with more money in the bank at the end of 2009 than we did 2008.
The point of a capital campaign for this project is that we have the chance of expanding our ministry while acquiring a property of value with no additional debt! BLUMC's plant and parsonage are mortgage free. Approximately $125,000 we don't have to raise is potentially available to us to begin renovations that will cost about $230,000. An appraiser has told us that if we do the work we say we're going to do, and it's done well, the value of the plant, currently $40 per square foot, will rise $5 to $15 (the building is 5700 square feet... you do the math).
In what business is investing $105,000 to to acquire a completely renovated and updated building and on a six acre plot worth more than $250,000-300,000 a bad business move.... even if you still have some mortgage debt? We're talking about the potential of a 300% return on an investment in a tangible asset that will be ours without taking on a dime of extra debt. When does that ever happen? That's incredible!
And as for raising $105,000.... did you know that we raised over $40k for Haiti relief in January and February and General Fund giving during that same time was up almost $10,000? If people in this church believe in something, they will support it. They have proved that so many times that my faith in them is greater than my fear of the risk.
- Finally, as to some of the costs associated with extra staff, in my conversation with the District Superintendent, he assures me that both he and the Bishop want to see this work and will stand behind us tangibly during the years it takes to get this endeavor rolling. Whether that takes the form of "New Endeavor" leadership grants, salary supplements for Charlotte when she takes the helm at the Bath Campus, a voucher to let us keep a portion of the more than $70,000 worth of apportionment we pay the conference each year, or some combination of these methods makes no difference to me. The fact is someone is going to get that money, and it might as well be us! I think we're a good bet. I believe that if you want United Methodist influence to grow there are few churches in this conference that would qualify as a better place to make that investment than us.
And what's more important is that I believe conference leadership believes the same thing. Why not work with them, take a calculated risk, and move on this?
If you love this congregation, and believe in it, do you really believe in your heart of hearts there's a better equipped UM congregation than this one to make something creative like this merger work? A congregation who's invested more than $1 million dollars in ministries to serve the poor and create opportunity in Haiti.... a congregation who's invested another million dollars over the last 15 years to help our regional food bank grow by more than 8 times during that period... a congregation who helped a local multi-cultural congregation move into a building that was considered to be nothing more than a white elephant and help it grow in influence and size in the process.... that congregation is less worthy of a conference investment than all the others in the West Ohio Conference?
The money is going to get spent. Might as well be spent by somebody dead serious on making it count.
(to be continued)
Yesterday, the merger plan in its totality was unveiled to both congregations. Bluelick got it first at 2:30pm, and then the first of three presentations was made to Shawnee last night at 7pm. The response has been interesting. I've only heard positive responses, but this evening at both SPRC and by happenstance when I ran into a group of women leaving a meeting, I received some feedback that was less than positive not about the presentation itself, but the overall plan.
Some people don't like it because they think I'm too busy as it is and wonder how much more I can take before collapsing. Others don't like it because it involves Charlotte Hefner taking a new role in our ministry as the Site Leader at the Bath Campus and people want her to stay. Others are afraid that in this economy people will balk at any unnecessary expense and still others wonder why we'd make an investment in another property while this one is still mortgaged.
Given the concerns, I think some good questions, which will be addressed at the next informational meeting Wednesday, 7pm at Bluelick UMC (so that Shawnee folks can see the building), have been raised. For those who can't make it, here are some concerns I heard, and my response to them.
Q) Bryan, you lead a growing church of more than 12oo members and friends... don't you already have enough to do?
Fair question. It's no secret that while we continue to grow, in many respects we are operating with the same size (actually slightly smaller) staff than we had just a few years ago. This has created increased stress on the staff, and admittedly, me.
But to be perfectly honest, this has been the trend for just about anybody who has been employed in an enterprise over the course of the last twenty years. Rising utilities, escalating health insurance premiums, fuel costs, administrative expenses (copier leasing and liability insurance being two examples) all continue to rise at rates faster than income. The result is lots of people working in this great nation being asked to do more with less. Churches and non-profits have not been exempt from this (hear all the pastors, directors, and staff people say "Amen").
The Staff-Parish Committee is aware of the load of my responsibilities, but they also understand the great opportunity that the Lord has placed before us. Together we're bringing in a church consultant who will help us understand where our church is at, where it can go, and what changes we'll need to make in order to stay healthy, while keeping us all sane. I trust the committee, the consultant, and my own body/mind/spirit to tell me that we're going beyond too much. None of us feels this way. Instead, we see great opportunity and a chance over the next nine months before the merger would take place (January 1, 2011) to make some needed changes that will help us as a congregation....
and keep me sane. Sanity is good.
Q) We heard Charlotte say last night at the first presentation that if she isn't deployed to the Bath Campus, she'll be leaving Shawnee UMC sometime in the next year for a new church.... what in the world is going on!?! If we voted this down, why wouldn't Charlotte just remain at Shawnee?
I know this news is a shock. Three years ago the congregation had to say goodbye to a Senior Pastor who had served here for seventeen years. Now they are being told that a beloved associate who really grew up as a staff person and then pastor in their midst is looking for a new challenge. This has been very hard for a lot of people here at Shawnee to hear.
Well, if you think its been hard on you, you have no idea how hard it's been on me.
I found out about Charlotte's desire for new kind of appointment last fall. She actually informed me - by email (ugh) - that she was giving me 12-18 months advance notice that she would be leaving Shawnee so we'd have plenty of time to plan for life after she left. She did as an extraordinary courtesy because she loves this church and would never want to hurt it. But in her heart, she believes the Lord wants to send her to a a new church where she might be able to use what she's learned to reach new people with the Gospel.
I know now why she emailed me..... she was relatively sure I'd freak out, and she was right. I pretty much lost it. Like a lot of you I wondered what the "real story" was. Did she not like working with me as her supervising pastor? Was she feeling underpaid? Was she unhappy with her office? Had somebody done or said something to hurt her?
How could she just leave us all?
For those here Sunday night what you heard from Charlotte - her eloquent words regarding why she's ready for a new chapter to begin in her professional life - you heard what my heart heard after I recovered from the initial shock. As she talked about her call I realized the hurt and pain I felt was generated by how Charlotte's leaving would effect me. My focus was me. But after a day of cooling off, I let the self get out of the way, and listen to Charlotte.
Charlotte wants to pastor her own church. She wants to give it a go. She's worked as a staff person and associate for nineteen years. She's ready for a new thing, and after seeing what other United Methodist clergy are doing out there, she's convinced she could be a greater asset to Kingdom if she could do what they are doing, because - quite frankly - she more talented than a great many of them. Given she's almost ghgsighst years old, she's afraid if she doesn't try this now, she'll never get the chance.
I get it. I spent fourteen years as an associate pastor, wondering when it would be "my turn". When you get that itch, you gotta scratch it, no matter how scary the prospects or degree of sacrifice is required
What I love about this arrangement most is that Charlotte will get the chance to do something special - a totally new challenge - without leaving the Shawnee family. She'll still be an associate. She'll still have an office here at the "Mothership" (as I've grown to calling the Shawnee location) but she'll get to preach each week. She'll get to raise up new leadership. She'll get to use all the creative things we've learned here (everything from Harvest for the Hungry to Fall Fest to Haiti Mission trips) to energize new people with the love of Jesus Christ.... all of whom will be a part of our church family!
So here's the deal.... I think God has put the right opportunity in front of us and given us the right leader. If we choose not to take advantage of these things, we miss a great opportunity and the stirring in Charlotte's heart will not be changed. Sunday night she made it clear. If this merger doesn't happen, she'll still ask for a new appointment. She's not doing it to hurt you. It's just what she believes God wants.
Q) Come on Bucher... what's the real story with Charlotte?
Sorry. Everything I've told and written is the truth. Ask her. The Spirit is moving her to a new challenge. What else can I do as her supervising pastor and friend but support her call? Hopefully we can do that and we can work together on the same church team but even if that's not possible, she would leave with my blessing, support, and prayers.
Q) So is this whole Bluelick thing just about keeping Charlotte with us?
Absolutely not. The roots of this project go back more than two years when in an informal conversation with BLUMC's pastor I heard him say that his church was really struggling to survive because it had declined to the point of worshiping less than twenty people a week. When the SPRC started investigating this last spring (at the invitation of the DS), the big question was, "This whole multi-site thing sounds cool, but who will the leader be?" As late as September 2009 I was still looking for a site pastor to serve up there. I had no idea Charlotte was thinking about a new challenge and new role in ministry. It just didn't take a genius to figure out that Charlotte - looking for a new opportunity - would be a great fit for this project we still didn't have a leader for. I mean, if we want to implant Shawnee's DNA in this location, who better embodies our theology of grace, dedication to serving the community, and willingness to take chance to make new disciples than Charlotte Hefner?
What else did God have to do... send up a flare? I got the hint. Search for leader, over.
Q) But we started this conversation talking about how heavy the load was for the pastors and staff and you're basically moving our only other preaching pastor elsewhere. Does this make sense?
Well, as it relates to Charlotte's role changing the point is mute. She knows what she wants, so regardless of how this merger thing turns out, we're facing a major staffing change.
Fortunately, I had this great mentor - a guy named Dick Lyndon - who taught me something very important about staffing. During my tenure at Goshen First we experienced a music director, two childrens directors, two administrative secretaries, and two graphic artists all turning in their resignation (actually in the case of one the artists, we... uh.... encouraged him to make a career change). And every time this happened, and all of the staff and most of the congregation wrung its hands wondering what to do, Dick would always say,
"When a staff person leaves, it's an opportunity given to you by God to improve your staff and your ministry."
I never forgot those words. Where others saw a setback, Dick always saw opportunity. Had he not, I'd never have received the chance to serve with him. In certain cases we had to take a step or two back in those hires, but ultimately in every case, whether it took one hire or two, the new person ultimately hired enabled us to do things we could never do before. Consequently, the scope and size and impact of our ministry just took off.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that Charlotte, the SPRC, core leadership, and myself see a unique opportunity here. A chance to really take this church in some new bold directions while adding a new person, or some new people to the team. Some will be paid staff and others unpaid staff, but in all cases we'll be opening up opportunities for some talented people to come take on some responsibility, and take us in new directions.
Q) Where is the money coming for all these new staff people? And I heard something about the renovation at Bluelick costing over $200k.... who is going to pay for all of this?
Good question. Really, you'll need to come to a presentation, or Charge Conference, to really see the breakdown of income and expense. We are applying for a grant from the District Trustees (of which I am one). The conference would like to help in a multitude of ways. There are some assets (namely a parsonage) that BLUMC owns that we'd put up for sale (as per our policy of not being in the parsonage business). There is a congregation already at Bluelick who would be folded into our family and are quite faithful. It's complex, but financial support is available for both the renovation and staff expenses.
But I'm not going to lie... we need to raise some money. We'll need to undertake a Capital Campaign to help not only with renovation costs at the Bath campus plant, but to do some marketing and outreach. The plan is to do it in the fall.
Q) Whoa!!!!!! You mean at a time when local unemployment is over 10% and we still owe $290,000 on our current mortgage (for the Centrum addition), you want to ask people for MORE money? Is this realistic?
There are many issues raised in this questions. Let me address them all...
- While the local economy is a great concern, regardless of what certain pundits might be saying, economies never stay down forever. While I do not discount how difficult this recession has been, and am also concerned about the future of the economy, I don't think you can under estimate the power of the free market. Eventually these things work themselves out.
And what's more, when do hurting people need the church more than in a time of great uncertainty? If the demographic and research data the Percept Group gave us is true, right now more than 14,000 people living within five miles of BLUMC don't have a church, and another 5,000 are looking for one that makes more sense for them right now.
What better time to be the church to these people arise than right now when things are tight? Jesus is right... the poor will always be us and that's no excuse to not invest in Kingdom opportunities that raise his name and make evident his glory and love (just ask the woman who poured perfume on his feet and washed them with her tears and hair).
- As for the mortgage, I think there are a lot of churches out there wishing their mortgage was less than $300k on what was a $2 million+ project, and could incorporate in their budget over $60k per year to pay it down. Last year our capital campaign funds ran out because the three year cycle was up. We went all of 2009 servicing our debt via the General Fund, and ended up with more money in the bank at the end of 2009 than we did 2008.
The point of a capital campaign for this project is that we have the chance of expanding our ministry while acquiring a property of value with no additional debt! BLUMC's plant and parsonage are mortgage free. Approximately $125,000 we don't have to raise is potentially available to us to begin renovations that will cost about $230,000. An appraiser has told us that if we do the work we say we're going to do, and it's done well, the value of the plant, currently $40 per square foot, will rise $5 to $15 (the building is 5700 square feet... you do the math).
In what business is investing $105,000 to to acquire a completely renovated and updated building and on a six acre plot worth more than $250,000-300,000 a bad business move.... even if you still have some mortgage debt? We're talking about the potential of a 300% return on an investment in a tangible asset that will be ours without taking on a dime of extra debt. When does that ever happen? That's incredible!
And as for raising $105,000.... did you know that we raised over $40k for Haiti relief in January and February and General Fund giving during that same time was up almost $10,000? If people in this church believe in something, they will support it. They have proved that so many times that my faith in them is greater than my fear of the risk.
- Finally, as to some of the costs associated with extra staff, in my conversation with the District Superintendent, he assures me that both he and the Bishop want to see this work and will stand behind us tangibly during the years it takes to get this endeavor rolling. Whether that takes the form of "New Endeavor" leadership grants, salary supplements for Charlotte when she takes the helm at the Bath Campus, a voucher to let us keep a portion of the more than $70,000 worth of apportionment we pay the conference each year, or some combination of these methods makes no difference to me. The fact is someone is going to get that money, and it might as well be us! I think we're a good bet. I believe that if you want United Methodist influence to grow there are few churches in this conference that would qualify as a better place to make that investment than us.
And what's more important is that I believe conference leadership believes the same thing. Why not work with them, take a calculated risk, and move on this?
If you love this congregation, and believe in it, do you really believe in your heart of hearts there's a better equipped UM congregation than this one to make something creative like this merger work? A congregation who's invested more than $1 million dollars in ministries to serve the poor and create opportunity in Haiti.... a congregation who's invested another million dollars over the last 15 years to help our regional food bank grow by more than 8 times during that period... a congregation who helped a local multi-cultural congregation move into a building that was considered to be nothing more than a white elephant and help it grow in influence and size in the process.... that congregation is less worthy of a conference investment than all the others in the West Ohio Conference?
The money is going to get spent. Might as well be spent by somebody dead serious on making it count.
(to be continued)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Haiti, Conan, and Other Random Thoughts
- In an update to the letter to the congregation, I still have not heard any news regarding the well-being of the Haitian Methodist pastors who were with the UMCOR staff people (two of whom, Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb, both tragically died) in the now destroyed Montana Hotel. The Methodist Church of the Carribean does not have a functioning website and the United Methodist news outlets have said nothing. I'm guessing that in time we'll know what's going on, but like every else in Port Au Prince right now, the situation is chaos. Your prayers for our Haitian Methodist pastors are appreciated.
- I can't say I knew Sam Dixon all that well. While Sam was reportedly instrumental in getting Ginghamsburg (UM) Church involved in the Sudan (which has been an overwhelming success) Sam also initially worked with us to try to link Shawnee UMC with the Methodist Church of Haiti. Three years ago I flew to the GBGM/UMCOR offices in New York City to meet with Sam, other UMCOR staff people, and a key staff person from the MCofHaiti leadership team. I did this because I can remember Sam saying on the phone that lots of churches offer to help UMCOR but few turn out to be serious, and that if someone from our church showed up at this already-scheduled meeting, they'd know that we were "in".
Long story short... I showed, but UMCOR unded up short. Two of their staff people missed the meeting sick and the Haitian representative didn't show. Ended up just being me and Sam.
In any event, after that fiasco, Sam offered to share a car to LaGuardia Airport he had already arranged for himself, with me. Once there, he slipped me in the "Delta Preferred Customers" line at security, and then got me into Delta's private lounge (Sam probably had a million miles on Delta - couldn't help but think of him while watching "Up In The Air" with Aimee last weekend... good flick, by the way). We talked for about three hours while we both waited for our flights home. It was through Sam that for me the general agencies of the denomination for the first time seemed less impersonal, and actually impassioned about reaching the world for Jesus one bowl of soup and one bible verse at a time. A good guy with a big heart for the church and the poor, this ordained pastor from North Carolina will be sorely missed. RIP Sam.
- Through friends of friends on the ground a picture is beginning to emerge regarding the situation in Port Au Prince. The airport is a madhouse now controled by the United States Military. Because military and UN flights are being given priority, relief organizations, primarily medical ones, are diverting flights that can't land to the DR, and more recently to an airfield just south of town that has opened up. The port just reopened yesterday meaning now freight can be unloaded in massive quanitites, but the lack of supplies for mission organizations has made emergency medical care in PAP a nightmare.
For over a week now we've been trying to get a team of surgeons from the area into the country to absolutely no avail. While the need for docs, primarily orthopedic docs (of which we have three) is off the charts, places for them work and supplies for them to work with have been almost non-existant. Medical people in the north are now seeing those initially treated in PAP, and are not describing the quality of medical work their seeing in glowing terms. The infamous news story on CNN where a doc talks about sterlizing a tools and a patient who is about to face an amputation with vodka has become a bellweather for what medical personnel in the north are now seeing.... lots of infection from initial surgery done under difficult conditions that is resulting in the need for further surgery. Hence, I believe our docs will get in soon, its just they could very well be correcting work already done. Just another sad story in this great tragedy.
- Shawnee has been active on the ground in Haiti. A caravan of thirty buses from CAP to PAP to help move more than a thousand homeless people to help and hope was sponsored by SUMC a couple of days ago. We just sent thousands of dollars of medical supplies to our partner on the ground, Living Hope Mission, to be used by docs at the General Hospital in CapHaitian (a government owned hospital that is woefully underfunded, understaffed, and now, under supplied) and a British Methodist clinic in the south.
The church is also helping coordinate the transporting of thousands of health kits (click here if you'd like to make a kit or donate to the effort) from churches across the West Ohio Conference to our Sager-Brown Warehouse in Louisiana. A med team already scheduled to go to CAP will leave in about four weeks, and still we work to get surgical teams on the ground to work with those in need. A donation will be going to Living Water to fix wells across the country that were broken during the earthquake, and much more will be happening in the days to come. Click our church website for details.
- In non-Haiti related thoughts (which I've needed to engage in order to stay sane) I've been amazed at the zoo that has been NBC. Many of you who read this are too young to remember "New Coke" - Coca-Cola's ill-fated attempt to replace the original formula with something that tasted a lot like Pepsi - but I can't help but think this is the early 21st Century version of New Coke. NBC tried to remake network television by putting Jay Leno in prime-time, which was less a revolution and more a return to the early days of TV when variety shows ruled the day. In attempting to change the ball game however, NBC...
1) damaged the reputation of a loyal soldier and ratings winner Jay Leno, whose 10pm show can only be labeled a colossal failure.
2) destroyed their primetime lineup to the point that NBC is in danger of falling to fifth place behind Telemundo/Univision, a spanish-only channel popular among Hispanics.
3) lost a talent, Conan O'Brien, who they have been investing in for seventeen years, and lost him to the point that he's openly hostile on the air toward the network
4) created a ready-made competitor in Conan O'Brien who will surface at 11pm on Fox this September, further beating up NBC's bottom line.
5) upset all the affilitates by providing horrible lead-in numbers for the local news, which is the cash cow upon which affililiate revenue is based.
Let's just put it this way... if you messed up like this in your job, you'd be fired. No ifs, ands or buts. Just a train wreck of epic commerical proportions.
The genesis of this whole mess though is the demise of the system and culture that made the major networks. It should not be overlooked that as this whole mess at NBC unfolded, Time-Warner Cable capitulated to paying a fee to Fox to air its network programming. Cable has never had to do this before. The networks always had the necessary cash flow to meet their bottom line and turn a profit. Now, with seventy-gazillion options to watch (and still not much on worth watching), the networks are getting pummeled. I'm sure they miss the good ol days when you either when the only competition to the NBC, CBS, and ABC was the local PBS station and a UHF station that played continuous re-runs of Hogan's Heroes (you know, before we found out Bob Crane was such a sicko). Under the old system I watched Happy Days every week. Under the new one, my kids have never followed a network show... and don't really care.
Those days, my friends, are gone forever, and so the question is do the networks slowly die with the old "we're the only game in town" model that's obsolete, or risk the kind of disaster that comes from reinvention we've just witnessed from NBC?
- Speaking as a United Methodist pastor, let me say this... if the other networks follow NBC's lead in the same clumsy manner, Lord help them. Mainline denominational churches have had the same dilemna thrown at them the last twenty-five years - "stay put and die" v. "change a risk a severe beating" - and few have fared well. For every success story like a Ginghamsburg, there are hundreds of horror stories of churches now dying or pastors who got beat with sticks as they tried to re-invent individual congregations. Re-invention, particularly as it relates to people who like the ways things have always been, is a painful experience. I've three different friends in the ministry all who lead churches thought to have largely re-invented themselves successfully, who are on sabbaticals because they are exhausted. They're all still stuck fighting battles between what was, and what will be.
That's why so many of the nationally lauded churches - Willow Creek, Saddleback, Mars Hill, Life Church - are less than thirty years old. They didn't have the baggage of one-hundred years to deal with as an organization. They can still make it up as they go along on the fly because nobody's memory or feelings are getting stepped on. Why do you think right now all the emphasis in mainline denominational circles is on new church starts? You don't have to get a tounge lashing from someone who wants to know why hymns aren't being sung anymore because you never owned a hymnal.
Long story short, there won't four major networks standing in ten years. One or more will either fold or become a full-blown cable channel.
- Watched the LeBrons last night. You don't realize how important Mo Williams is until he's gone. Heal quickly good sir. There's no way the Cavs win the title without him (or without Delonte West, their talented-yet-troubled guard).
That's it. Gotta go. Have a nice weekend.
- I can't say I knew Sam Dixon all that well. While Sam was reportedly instrumental in getting Ginghamsburg (UM) Church involved in the Sudan (which has been an overwhelming success) Sam also initially worked with us to try to link Shawnee UMC with the Methodist Church of Haiti. Three years ago I flew to the GBGM/UMCOR offices in New York City to meet with Sam, other UMCOR staff people, and a key staff person from the MCofHaiti leadership team. I did this because I can remember Sam saying on the phone that lots of churches offer to help UMCOR but few turn out to be serious, and that if someone from our church showed up at this already-scheduled meeting, they'd know that we were "in".
Long story short... I showed, but UMCOR unded up short. Two of their staff people missed the meeting sick and the Haitian representative didn't show. Ended up just being me and Sam.
In any event, after that fiasco, Sam offered to share a car to LaGuardia Airport he had already arranged for himself, with me. Once there, he slipped me in the "Delta Preferred Customers" line at security, and then got me into Delta's private lounge (Sam probably had a million miles on Delta - couldn't help but think of him while watching "Up In The Air" with Aimee last weekend... good flick, by the way). We talked for about three hours while we both waited for our flights home. It was through Sam that for me the general agencies of the denomination for the first time seemed less impersonal, and actually impassioned about reaching the world for Jesus one bowl of soup and one bible verse at a time. A good guy with a big heart for the church and the poor, this ordained pastor from North Carolina will be sorely missed. RIP Sam.
- Through friends of friends on the ground a picture is beginning to emerge regarding the situation in Port Au Prince. The airport is a madhouse now controled by the United States Military. Because military and UN flights are being given priority, relief organizations, primarily medical ones, are diverting flights that can't land to the DR, and more recently to an airfield just south of town that has opened up. The port just reopened yesterday meaning now freight can be unloaded in massive quanitites, but the lack of supplies for mission organizations has made emergency medical care in PAP a nightmare.
For over a week now we've been trying to get a team of surgeons from the area into the country to absolutely no avail. While the need for docs, primarily orthopedic docs (of which we have three) is off the charts, places for them work and supplies for them to work with have been almost non-existant. Medical people in the north are now seeing those initially treated in PAP, and are not describing the quality of medical work their seeing in glowing terms. The infamous news story on CNN where a doc talks about sterlizing a tools and a patient who is about to face an amputation with vodka has become a bellweather for what medical personnel in the north are now seeing.... lots of infection from initial surgery done under difficult conditions that is resulting in the need for further surgery. Hence, I believe our docs will get in soon, its just they could very well be correcting work already done. Just another sad story in this great tragedy.
- Shawnee has been active on the ground in Haiti. A caravan of thirty buses from CAP to PAP to help move more than a thousand homeless people to help and hope was sponsored by SUMC a couple of days ago. We just sent thousands of dollars of medical supplies to our partner on the ground, Living Hope Mission, to be used by docs at the General Hospital in CapHaitian (a government owned hospital that is woefully underfunded, understaffed, and now, under supplied) and a British Methodist clinic in the south.
The church is also helping coordinate the transporting of thousands of health kits (click here if you'd like to make a kit or donate to the effort) from churches across the West Ohio Conference to our Sager-Brown Warehouse in Louisiana. A med team already scheduled to go to CAP will leave in about four weeks, and still we work to get surgical teams on the ground to work with those in need. A donation will be going to Living Water to fix wells across the country that were broken during the earthquake, and much more will be happening in the days to come. Click our church website for details.
- In non-Haiti related thoughts (which I've needed to engage in order to stay sane) I've been amazed at the zoo that has been NBC. Many of you who read this are too young to remember "New Coke" - Coca-Cola's ill-fated attempt to replace the original formula with something that tasted a lot like Pepsi - but I can't help but think this is the early 21st Century version of New Coke. NBC tried to remake network television by putting Jay Leno in prime-time, which was less a revolution and more a return to the early days of TV when variety shows ruled the day. In attempting to change the ball game however, NBC...
1) damaged the reputation of a loyal soldier and ratings winner Jay Leno, whose 10pm show can only be labeled a colossal failure.
2) destroyed their primetime lineup to the point that NBC is in danger of falling to fifth place behind Telemundo/Univision, a spanish-only channel popular among Hispanics.
3) lost a talent, Conan O'Brien, who they have been investing in for seventeen years, and lost him to the point that he's openly hostile on the air toward the network
4) created a ready-made competitor in Conan O'Brien who will surface at 11pm on Fox this September, further beating up NBC's bottom line.
5) upset all the affilitates by providing horrible lead-in numbers for the local news, which is the cash cow upon which affililiate revenue is based.
Let's just put it this way... if you messed up like this in your job, you'd be fired. No ifs, ands or buts. Just a train wreck of epic commerical proportions.
The genesis of this whole mess though is the demise of the system and culture that made the major networks. It should not be overlooked that as this whole mess at NBC unfolded, Time-Warner Cable capitulated to paying a fee to Fox to air its network programming. Cable has never had to do this before. The networks always had the necessary cash flow to meet their bottom line and turn a profit. Now, with seventy-gazillion options to watch (and still not much on worth watching), the networks are getting pummeled. I'm sure they miss the good ol days when you either when the only competition to the NBC, CBS, and ABC was the local PBS station and a UHF station that played continuous re-runs of Hogan's Heroes (you know, before we found out Bob Crane was such a sicko). Under the old system I watched Happy Days every week. Under the new one, my kids have never followed a network show... and don't really care.
Those days, my friends, are gone forever, and so the question is do the networks slowly die with the old "we're the only game in town" model that's obsolete, or risk the kind of disaster that comes from reinvention we've just witnessed from NBC?
- Speaking as a United Methodist pastor, let me say this... if the other networks follow NBC's lead in the same clumsy manner, Lord help them. Mainline denominational churches have had the same dilemna thrown at them the last twenty-five years - "stay put and die" v. "change a risk a severe beating" - and few have fared well. For every success story like a Ginghamsburg, there are hundreds of horror stories of churches now dying or pastors who got beat with sticks as they tried to re-invent individual congregations. Re-invention, particularly as it relates to people who like the ways things have always been, is a painful experience. I've three different friends in the ministry all who lead churches thought to have largely re-invented themselves successfully, who are on sabbaticals because they are exhausted. They're all still stuck fighting battles between what was, and what will be.
That's why so many of the nationally lauded churches - Willow Creek, Saddleback, Mars Hill, Life Church - are less than thirty years old. They didn't have the baggage of one-hundred years to deal with as an organization. They can still make it up as they go along on the fly because nobody's memory or feelings are getting stepped on. Why do you think right now all the emphasis in mainline denominational circles is on new church starts? You don't have to get a tounge lashing from someone who wants to know why hymns aren't being sung anymore because you never owned a hymnal.
Long story short, there won't four major networks standing in ten years. One or more will either fold or become a full-blown cable channel.
- Watched the LeBrons last night. You don't realize how important Mo Williams is until he's gone. Heal quickly good sir. There's no way the Cavs win the title without him (or without Delonte West, their talented-yet-troubled guard).
That's it. Gotta go. Have a nice weekend.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My Letter to the Shawnee United Methodist Church Regarding the Haiti Earthquake
People of
Surely by now you’ve heard about the devastating earthquake that hit Port Au Prince. While I am relieved to report that our partners in the Cap Haitian area – Living Hope Mission and Victory Christian Church - sustained no damage, and that the orphanage led by the Nungester family in Port Au Prince received only moderate damage (all the children are well and safe), the rest of the news from Port Au Prince is dire.
If you’ve ever been to
On a more personal note, I have also received the terrible news that a meeting for all the clergy of the Methodist Church of Haiti was scheduled yesterday at the Montana Hotel, in Port Au Prince. While nothing has been confirmed, the
Currently, a building team is scheduled to fly into
Until then, here’s what you can do:
1) Pray. Pray for the people of Port Au Prince and all who love them. Pray especially for the clergy of the Methodist Church of Haiti and their safety.
2) We will take financial donations for the ongoing relief effort. These funds will either be used by our team when they are on the ground on January 23rd, or if we aren’t able to directly participate, we will use them to fund the greater relief effort.
3) Pray for our team as we seek God’s will and direction for our effort.
God Bless,
Bryan Bucher
Senior Pastor -
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Twas The Night Before Christmas v2.0
Twas the night before Christmas
and all through Shawnee
there was wrapping and singing
and lit Christmas trees
As musical people
tuned up their guitars
my cell phone was useless
only sporting 2 bars
When out in the lot
there arose such a clatter
I sprang out of my office
to see what was the matter
and there big as life
next to Zurmehly Road
was Santa himself
outside our brick abode
"I haven't be able,"
he said wistfully,
"to come out for worship
on Christmas Eve.
You see I am working,
up here in this sleigh
and I'm always so busy
each year on this day.
So, I wondered," he asked,
"If it'd be quite alright
if I stopped her to worship
on this very night."
"That's cool." I told him
the original Clause.
"Here's a cup of hot coffee.
Come sit. Take a pause."
For the next twenty minutes
he regaled me with tales
of Christmas Eves past
and all their travails.
But after awhile
he just stared into space
and a look of true weariness
covered his face.
"It wasn't always like this",
the bearded man said.
"It became so commercial
that it's spinning my head.
I remember the days
when a small piece of fruit
was widely considered
a great piece of loot.
Now my sleigh is so big
so plum full of stuff
and I'm always left thinking
it is never enough."
There's nothing quite like
sad St. Nick on the eve
of the morning where children
will squeal out with glee.
But was such was my lot
on this rare holiday.
So I pondered just what
on earth I would say.
Then it suddenly hit me
like a full ton of bricks.
I knew how to counsel
a glum old St. Nick.
"You know there's only one reason
to put yourself through this mess.
To spend your night visiting
every earthly address.
It began with a woman,
a man and a star.
Shepherds and angels
and wise men from far.
A small, warm safe manger
and a baby so small,
whose birth was a gift
of goodwill to all."
He just nodded his head.
He had little to say.
And a smile on his face,
as he looked far away.
We've all got a part
none too small or too odd
to make real in this world
the Kingdom of God.
A Kingdom where all
know a heavenly peace.
Where fighting and hunger
and warring all cease.
You might call me a dreamer
or a bat-crazy loon
to believe this world here
will improve anytime soon.
But all that I know
on that lone Christmas Eve
was Santa stood up
and brushed off his sleeve.
Then he gave me a wink
and climbed on his sleigh
giddyapped all those reindeer
and went up, up, away.
Don't feel alone
if sometimes you feel
like the whole thing is pointless
just a cog in a wheel.
It's normal I think
to feel in over your head.
To want to pull up the covers
and hide in your bed.
Just remember tonight
that he's flying again
doing his little part
to put the world on the mend.
So, in closing let's do
what the Good Lord wants done.
Take a message of love
to every daughter and son.
And if you get weary
just remember this day
'bout the babe in the manger
laying lo in the hay.
On earth, peace and goodwill
from the Lord to us all.
May it always be true
for the big and the small.
Merry Christmas!
and all through Shawnee
there was wrapping and singing
and lit Christmas trees
As musical people
tuned up their guitars
my cell phone was useless
only sporting 2 bars
When out in the lot
there arose such a clatter
I sprang out of my office
to see what was the matter
and there big as life
next to Zurmehly Road
was Santa himself
outside our brick abode
"I haven't be able,"
he said wistfully,
"to come out for worship
on Christmas Eve.
You see I am working,
up here in this sleigh
and I'm always so busy
each year on this day.
So, I wondered," he asked,
"If it'd be quite alright
if I stopped her to worship
on this very night."
"That's cool." I told him
the original Clause.
"Here's a cup of hot coffee.
Come sit. Take a pause."
For the next twenty minutes
he regaled me with tales
of Christmas Eves past
and all their travails.
But after awhile
he just stared into space
and a look of true weariness
covered his face.
"It wasn't always like this",
the bearded man said.
"It became so commercial
that it's spinning my head.
I remember the days
when a small piece of fruit
was widely considered
a great piece of loot.
Now my sleigh is so big
so plum full of stuff
and I'm always left thinking
it is never enough."
There's nothing quite like
sad St. Nick on the eve
of the morning where children
will squeal out with glee.
But was such was my lot
on this rare holiday.
So I pondered just what
on earth I would say.
Then it suddenly hit me
like a full ton of bricks.
I knew how to counsel
a glum old St. Nick.
"You know there's only one reason
to put yourself through this mess.
To spend your night visiting
every earthly address.
It began with a woman,
a man and a star.
Shepherds and angels
and wise men from far.
A small, warm safe manger
and a baby so small,
whose birth was a gift
of goodwill to all."
He just nodded his head.
He had little to say.
And a smile on his face,
as he looked far away.
We've all got a part
none too small or too odd
to make real in this world
the Kingdom of God.
A Kingdom where all
know a heavenly peace.
Where fighting and hunger
and warring all cease.
You might call me a dreamer
or a bat-crazy loon
to believe this world here
will improve anytime soon.
But all that I know
on that lone Christmas Eve
was Santa stood up
and brushed off his sleeve.
Then he gave me a wink
and climbed on his sleigh
giddyapped all those reindeer
and went up, up, away.
Don't feel alone
if sometimes you feel
like the whole thing is pointless
just a cog in a wheel.
It's normal I think
to feel in over your head.
To want to pull up the covers
and hide in your bed.
Just remember tonight
that he's flying again
doing his little part
to put the world on the mend.
So, in closing let's do
what the Good Lord wants done.
Take a message of love
to every daughter and son.
And if you get weary
just remember this day
'bout the babe in the manger
laying lo in the hay.
On earth, peace and goodwill
from the Lord to us all.
May it always be true
for the big and the small.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Hi. Remember me?
Brother Esq recently rattled my cage about this blog so I decided to go back and see how long its been since I've posted anything.
September ?!? Gads!!!
Doesn't mean I haven't written anything (there are many partially completed quasi-sermon outlines and manuscripts) but I just didn't feel, for whatever reason, to post what had been written. In any event, it's been a while. Here are some updates, random thoughts, and whatever else comes up.
- Right off the bat the reason I haven't done much posting (besides being so busy my head has been spinning) is really related to the end of my dissertation, which has still not been completed. I think in my mind every time I started to write on this blog, I though, "If you are going to write, might as well be dissertation writing." Only problem is, the two kinds of writing aren't remotely similar. In this forum, I just spout off a bunch of random, off-the-top-of-my-head stuff. Most of it isn't all that helpful, or well-thought out, hence so many more non-posts than posts over the four years or so this thing has been going.
Dissertation writing is tedious. You have to comb through hours of transcribed interviews (which is really, really boring), make notes about quote and figures, and then compile them into something that makes sense. I know it's not supposed to be fun but still.... with a million other things that need to be done, getting focused on doing the Dr. stuff is tough. Top that off with getting violently ill during the ten days you carved out to finish it up, and you get 40 percent of what you wanted to accomplish done... and not a lot of incentive to pick it back up.
I have neither done the writing I enjoy and don't enjoy (sigh), and I ended up in this pickle largely because I wrote a book on the same topic of the dissertation that the publisher who talked me into the project said HAD TO BE DONE last summer. Well, that's a great segway to...
- "So, is that book published yet?" Well..... no. And I can't really expand on things much more than that. Suffice to say, if and when the portion of the manuscript I wrote ever comes to light, I'll have more than enough fodder for a great blog post. Until then, you'll just have to wait.
- Been an incredible holiday season as it relates to need in the community. With this sort of thing I don't know if things are actually worse economically now than in the past, if people have discovered we rarely say "no" to requests for aid (particularly at Christmas), or some sort of combination of the two. Doesn't matter. We don't mind helping folks out, but the sheer number of requests this year is pretty incredible. Right now more than 100 children in the community will receive gifts and clothing from the congregation and I expect that number to grow. The amazing part is that I still haven't exhausted the volunteers willing to do the shopping and foot the bill. Pretty humbling.
- So a quarter (or so) of the NBA season is gone, and what do we know? The Lakers are heads and tails better than everyone else. The Celtics are better than last year, but Kevin Garnett's days of pogo sticking around the court are over. The Houston Rockets are proving that team work both on D and O still mean something.
And as for the Cavs.... well, it's tough to say.
As a suspected, the signings of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon were good moves on the part of Danny Ferry. Parker, while still not fully comfortable in the offense, is slowly working his way in while Moon is the kind of defender the Cavs missed against the Magic in last year's playoffs. Shaq's signing, well, is just as underwhelming now as it was then. Mo isn't having quite the year he had last year but part of that is the new faces getting worked into the mix. Varejao is still the energy guy and Big Z is slowly winding down toward the end of his contract but still effective. Hickson looks solid off the bench. Booby Gibson should have been traded about ten different times (for Stephen Jackson at least once) but leads the team in "artistic haircuts". LeBron is still LeBron, which means he's still largely carrying the team.
Nope, the big question mark for the Cavs is Delonte West. Who'd have thunk a guy they traded for as a temporary solution as a point guard would have become so critical to their chances. He's the best defender (not named LeBron) on the team. He can create his own shot off the dribble. He helps immensely with moving the ball around because he passes so well.
And yet, the guy is obviously not well. Weapons charges. Domestic abuse charges. Riding his motorcycle at over 110 mph. Bouncing off and on the active list without rhyme or reason. You can see his teammates really dig him. Without the mental issues they are loosest team in the league, enjoying one another's company and learning how to play well together. But DWest isn't well and it is the major issue hanging over that club. They're worried about the guy. If they cut Delonte loose to remove the distraction, I think it messes the team up. But if they keep him around everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Very difficult situation and one that will largely play out outside the public eye, but will define the season.
- Since we last posted there have been big changes for Brother Esq. After a couple of years in a firm with his in-laws, BrotherEsq signed on with Balyeat, Balyeat, Daily, Leahy, and Miller here in Lima. Now he's learning the ropes, hustling new business, and integrating himself into the Lima law scene. He and Melissa are expecting their second child, and we just found out they broke the Bucher Curse.... there's actually going to be a girl born into the family. We're delighted. Not only do we get to buy pink but I get to make jokes like "Are you saving up the wedding now?", "Isn't it tradition the father buys the first training bra?", and "Only fifteen or sixteen years til she dates someone like her father." It's like the best Christmas gift I ever received. In any event, they'll be moving down to Beantown sometime after the baby is born this spring. We can't wait.
- The wife has been losing weight via participation in the PRISM Ministry here at church. At first she was a little miserable to live with as she counted calories, but with the loss of weight have come little milestones that have made her happy. The latest? She can no longer shop at JC Penneys because she's now a "four tall", and they don't carry "four tall". Now she has to go out of town or buy stuff online (with her new Neiman Marcus card... WHAT?). Kudos to her. Maybe I'll join her in the new year (although right now she says I'm writing this just so y'all will leave me alone.... can you feel the love?)
- Speaking of the wife, right after I informed her that I'd be flying to LA to go see the Rose Bowl (with Eric the Buckeye, Principle Cox, Keyboard Larry, Rempe, and Dad), she informed me that she was taking a week-off by herself sometime in April. After all the travel for the dissertation, and a couple of side trips to LA for football games, seems like she's ready to cash in the accumulated chips and get out of dodge. She deserves it, however, if during a week in April you see a man and four boys at your door around dinner time, please don't turn them away.
And if you see some hot chick on a beach somewhere south, remind her we have a 20th Anniversary to celebrate this August and to do so, she has to come home first. Admittedly, this might not make much difference, but do it it anyway.
- It's been a great year at SUMC. Lots of growth (spiritual and numerical). Road races for charity, Fall Fest, Blessing of the Bikes, a great partnership with The Future Church, a fledgling ministry to area prostitutes, a fantastic Koinania Bible Study, 300 pairs of shoes for area school children, about 1.8 million pounds of food for hungry people, all kinds of cool stuff for people of all ages, the largest single financial gift made in church history...... it's been a great ride!
But as good as 2009 has been, 2010 has the possibility to be not only the most important, but community-altering year this church has ever seen. It will also be a year filled with change... some of it dramatic. It could make us, or break us, or at least make or break the current Senior Pastor's leadership. Never before have I entertained as a leader taking the degree and amount of risk I'll be taking this year.
Bring it on.
In any event, if you are in the Lima area on Christmas Eve, come join us for worship. There's a Kid-oriented service at 6:30pm, a Contemporary Candlelight service at 8:30pm, and a Traditional Candlelight service at 11pm. No strings attached, just come on out and worship with us. I'd love to see you.
And, on that note, I leave you with what is becoming my favorite Christmas song.
May there be this Christmas, peace on Earth, goodwill toward all.
September ?!? Gads!!!
Doesn't mean I haven't written anything (there are many partially completed quasi-sermon outlines and manuscripts) but I just didn't feel, for whatever reason, to post what had been written. In any event, it's been a while. Here are some updates, random thoughts, and whatever else comes up.
- Right off the bat the reason I haven't done much posting (besides being so busy my head has been spinning) is really related to the end of my dissertation, which has still not been completed. I think in my mind every time I started to write on this blog, I though, "If you are going to write, might as well be dissertation writing." Only problem is, the two kinds of writing aren't remotely similar. In this forum, I just spout off a bunch of random, off-the-top-of-my-head stuff. Most of it isn't all that helpful, or well-thought out, hence so many more non-posts than posts over the four years or so this thing has been going.
Dissertation writing is tedious. You have to comb through hours of transcribed interviews (which is really, really boring), make notes about quote and figures, and then compile them into something that makes sense. I know it's not supposed to be fun but still.... with a million other things that need to be done, getting focused on doing the Dr. stuff is tough. Top that off with getting violently ill during the ten days you carved out to finish it up, and you get 40 percent of what you wanted to accomplish done... and not a lot of incentive to pick it back up.
I have neither done the writing I enjoy and don't enjoy (sigh), and I ended up in this pickle largely because I wrote a book on the same topic of the dissertation that the publisher who talked me into the project said HAD TO BE DONE last summer. Well, that's a great segway to...
- "So, is that book published yet?" Well..... no. And I can't really expand on things much more than that. Suffice to say, if and when the portion of the manuscript I wrote ever comes to light, I'll have more than enough fodder for a great blog post. Until then, you'll just have to wait.
- Been an incredible holiday season as it relates to need in the community. With this sort of thing I don't know if things are actually worse economically now than in the past, if people have discovered we rarely say "no" to requests for aid (particularly at Christmas), or some sort of combination of the two. Doesn't matter. We don't mind helping folks out, but the sheer number of requests this year is pretty incredible. Right now more than 100 children in the community will receive gifts and clothing from the congregation and I expect that number to grow. The amazing part is that I still haven't exhausted the volunteers willing to do the shopping and foot the bill. Pretty humbling.
- So a quarter (or so) of the NBA season is gone, and what do we know? The Lakers are heads and tails better than everyone else. The Celtics are better than last year, but Kevin Garnett's days of pogo sticking around the court are over. The Houston Rockets are proving that team work both on D and O still mean something.
And as for the Cavs.... well, it's tough to say.
As a suspected, the signings of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon were good moves on the part of Danny Ferry. Parker, while still not fully comfortable in the offense, is slowly working his way in while Moon is the kind of defender the Cavs missed against the Magic in last year's playoffs. Shaq's signing, well, is just as underwhelming now as it was then. Mo isn't having quite the year he had last year but part of that is the new faces getting worked into the mix. Varejao is still the energy guy and Big Z is slowly winding down toward the end of his contract but still effective. Hickson looks solid off the bench. Booby Gibson should have been traded about ten different times (for Stephen Jackson at least once) but leads the team in "artistic haircuts". LeBron is still LeBron, which means he's still largely carrying the team.
Nope, the big question mark for the Cavs is Delonte West. Who'd have thunk a guy they traded for as a temporary solution as a point guard would have become so critical to their chances. He's the best defender (not named LeBron) on the team. He can create his own shot off the dribble. He helps immensely with moving the ball around because he passes so well.
And yet, the guy is obviously not well. Weapons charges. Domestic abuse charges. Riding his motorcycle at over 110 mph. Bouncing off and on the active list without rhyme or reason. You can see his teammates really dig him. Without the mental issues they are loosest team in the league, enjoying one another's company and learning how to play well together. But DWest isn't well and it is the major issue hanging over that club. They're worried about the guy. If they cut Delonte loose to remove the distraction, I think it messes the team up. But if they keep him around everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Very difficult situation and one that will largely play out outside the public eye, but will define the season.
- Since we last posted there have been big changes for Brother Esq. After a couple of years in a firm with his in-laws, BrotherEsq signed on with Balyeat, Balyeat, Daily, Leahy, and Miller here in Lima. Now he's learning the ropes, hustling new business, and integrating himself into the Lima law scene. He and Melissa are expecting their second child, and we just found out they broke the Bucher Curse.... there's actually going to be a girl born into the family. We're delighted. Not only do we get to buy pink but I get to make jokes like "Are you saving up the wedding now?", "Isn't it tradition the father buys the first training bra?", and "Only fifteen or sixteen years til she dates someone like her father." It's like the best Christmas gift I ever received. In any event, they'll be moving down to Beantown sometime after the baby is born this spring. We can't wait.
- The wife has been losing weight via participation in the PRISM Ministry here at church. At first she was a little miserable to live with as she counted calories, but with the loss of weight have come little milestones that have made her happy. The latest? She can no longer shop at JC Penneys because she's now a "four tall", and they don't carry "four tall". Now she has to go out of town or buy stuff online (with her new Neiman Marcus card... WHAT?). Kudos to her. Maybe I'll join her in the new year (although right now she says I'm writing this just so y'all will leave me alone.... can you feel the love?)
- Speaking of the wife, right after I informed her that I'd be flying to LA to go see the Rose Bowl (with Eric the Buckeye, Principle Cox, Keyboard Larry, Rempe, and Dad), she informed me that she was taking a week-off by herself sometime in April. After all the travel for the dissertation, and a couple of side trips to LA for football games, seems like she's ready to cash in the accumulated chips and get out of dodge. She deserves it, however, if during a week in April you see a man and four boys at your door around dinner time, please don't turn them away.
And if you see some hot chick on a beach somewhere south, remind her we have a 20th Anniversary to celebrate this August and to do so, she has to come home first. Admittedly, this might not make much difference, but do it it anyway.
- It's been a great year at SUMC. Lots of growth (spiritual and numerical). Road races for charity, Fall Fest, Blessing of the Bikes, a great partnership with The Future Church, a fledgling ministry to area prostitutes, a fantastic Koinania Bible Study, 300 pairs of shoes for area school children, about 1.8 million pounds of food for hungry people, all kinds of cool stuff for people of all ages, the largest single financial gift made in church history...... it's been a great ride!
But as good as 2009 has been, 2010 has the possibility to be not only the most important, but community-altering year this church has ever seen. It will also be a year filled with change... some of it dramatic. It could make us, or break us, or at least make or break the current Senior Pastor's leadership. Never before have I entertained as a leader taking the degree and amount of risk I'll be taking this year.
Bring it on.
In any event, if you are in the Lima area on Christmas Eve, come join us for worship. There's a Kid-oriented service at 6:30pm, a Contemporary Candlelight service at 8:30pm, and a Traditional Candlelight service at 11pm. No strings attached, just come on out and worship with us. I'd love to see you.
And, on that note, I leave you with what is becoming my favorite Christmas song.
May there be this Christmas, peace on Earth, goodwill toward all.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Your Biggest Fan In "The Great Cloud of Witnesses"
(I'll be giving a homily at tomorrow evening's funeral service for Andia Shisler. Here's the gist of what I hope to convey to those who love her.)
In all honesty, I didn't know Andia all that well. I'm guessing the first time I ever met her was in the course of planning her grandfather's funeral. I'm sure she relayed a story or two about visiting her grandparents when they lived down south. Good memories I'm sure.
Probably the next time we crossed paths - outside of a handshake and hello after a worship service - was last May. Andia was a member of the Class of 2009, and she stood up front the morning we recognized all the graduating seniors from the church. I remember when I asked her to tell the congregation what she'd be doing come this fall, she said she was heading to Urbana University to play soccer and major in education.
"Major in education, and then play soccer, young lady", I corrected her. It made her and the congregation laugh.
But really, to the best of my own memory, that's about it, and as such I won't waste your time talking about a young woman who has already been properly and wonderfully honored by her family and friends in this service. To be honest, I don't think I could do her memory justice. Instead, I encourage you to remember their words, and if you knew her, share after the service with good friends your thoughts and memories of her.
You won't be sorry you did.
No, as the officiating pastor of the service I think maybe, as you sit there and look at what is for many of you, a fat guy in a funny robe, that maybe in the short time I'll be talking this evening, you have something else you want me to address. A question, rattling around in your brain and the depths of your soul that just won't go away. A one word question that's simple enough, but probably impossible to answer.
"Why?"
Why does an upstanding kid of 18 lose her life? Why doesn't she get to experience college life and eventually graduate, get a job, have a classroom or coach a soccer team of her own? Why didn't she get to see a little brother graduate or mess up some other WBL footplayer under the lights on a Friday night? Why doesn't she get to meet a guy, fall in love, walk an aisle, take vows, have a first dance and piece of wedding cake as she floats out the door on her way to a honeymoon? Why didn't she get a chance to be a mother and grandmother? Why must a pall hang over the heads of a family at Christmas or Thanksgiving? Why must a mother put on a strong front and why must a father face one of those moments where he's about text his daughter.... and realize again she's gone?
Why?
Maybe that's a little too graphic for some of you listening (or reading) this right now. I apologize. I didn't mean to upset anybody. It's just not too long ago I was cruising Facebook (yes, I'm old but I do have a Facebook page) and out of blue a sister of a good friend of mine, a member of the
Class of 1987, mentioned recently that it was 23 years ago he lost his life coming home from school in his orange VW Bug.
I don't think of Ed Fox nearly as often I did in the aftermath of his death. Time has a way of temporing the pain. It doesn't do away with it altogether, but it does ease the sense of loss. But every so often I wonder, "What would Ed be doing now, if...?" Would he still be in the service (he enlisted early in the Marines)? Would that sweet, sweet baritone voice still be singing in some choir or group somewhere (we were in choir together.... I loved singing with him because he was so good)? Would he be married? Divorced? Would he be a dad?
I don't think of Ed as often, but my life has gotten far more jumbled since 1986. Professions, degrees, marriage, kids, all kinds of obligations.... such is the reality after we graduate from high school. We go our own separate ways, and pretty soon people who you once thought would be your very best friends forever you now only hear from at Christmas, or the reunion. Or you add them as a Facebook friend, and at best, get semi-caught up and kinda digitally watch them from afar. You don't mean to but the everyday demands of life separate us.
While my pain has eased somewhat, however, I doubt very much this is the same case for Ed's mother and father and sister. I'm guessing they haven't been able to put the kind of distance between themselves and that terrible tragedy on West Shore Drive as I have.
23 years, and still they're left with "Why?". And, really, so are the rest of us. We've just been able to put it out of our mind... mostly.
In any event, I thought it an injustice if on this day, at this service, I didn't at least try to answer that question. To answer it for anyone who lost somebody they loved a long time ago, no matter how sharply or dimmly they remember, and for all of you mourning this young woman. I offer this day my thoughts in the hope that in the midst of the random moment next week, or next month, or 23 years from now when, "Why?", haunts you again, maybe I'll be able to leave with you something that will at least partially fill the blank.
However, before I take my best stab at "Why", I think I'd better share something else that occurred to me as I was trying to wring this out in my tiny brain...
In all my years as a minister, nobody has once, on the good days, the joyous days, the days I hope you celebrate in regards to to the best of time you spent with Andia... nobody's ever asked me, "Why was the Lord so good to me today?" Never happened. Not once.
And that goes for me too.
I mean when Max or Xavier or Eli or Toby were born I never asked why I should have been so privledged to have experienced God's grace in a way that only holding a son for the first time can convey. I never asked God why I was able to marry such a wonderful woman or work at such a great church. I never asked God why He let me experience the euphoria of the Buckeyes eeking out that win against Miami for the National Championship or watching my brother get sworn in as a lawyer or celebrating my mother being named "Teacher of the Year" in Auglaize County.
Nobody, on those days, asks "Why?". Isn't beauty and joy and love as much a mystery as death? Those moments are so fleeting, yet such an intregal part of the foundation for a meaningful life. They carry us in the darkest of days, and yet we don't really think about why God would grace us with such blessings.
I don't think, for example, that Andia walked around wondering why the Lord had blessed her with such great friends and family. I mean, when you, her posse from this past summer, snuck into the Country Club pool after hours for a swim, or when you, her family, charged across an open field on a snowmobile, or when any of you who coached or played with Andia on a soccer team experienced the bond that can only come when a group of individuals work for one goal and one purpose, blessed her life I don't think Andia sat around wondering, "Gee whiz, dude.... why is God been so good to me?"
That wasn't her way.
Don't misunderstand me... I believe she cared about the Lord. She was no saint (I heard the stories shared at the prayer vigil in her honor Sunday night here and I heard there were other stories that couldn't be shared in a church... I got a few of those from my past too), but saints are few and far between. She loved the Lord, of this I am sure, I just don't think, given what I've heard about her that on the joyous of joyful moments Andia sat around wondering why God let her be so blessed. In fact, if I understand her correctly, on those days I think she just tried in her own way to magnify the blessing.
And, if we're gonna be completely honest here, I don't think on her darkest days or moments Andia sat around moping about where God was. If the team lost, I have to think Andia thought the team's effort just wasn't good enough, or that everyone needed to work harder.
Or, God help the fool who picked on her little brother - that was her job and no one elses - but if he had missed a key tackle or block that helped cost the team the game I don't think she would look for some great extistential meaning. She'd give him a hug, and tell him to get his ass into the weight room. Am I right?
When she lost someone she loved - like her grandfather or her "nana" - it didn't send her into such a funk that she became unable to laugh or love or poke fun or celebrate life. That's not what I heard of the one called Mandia who left a teacher a bag of Hershey's kisses in his school mailbox and taped one of her friend's pictures to the bag.
But, once again, I digress. Given all of this, all this stuff about God and Andia and joy and pain and winning and losing and life and death, here's my best guess at the question of "Why did Andia Shisler lose her life?"
I don't know. Why one person gets into a horrible accident and walks away with a scratch and another doesn't walk away is more than just a physics problem. It's a mystery, much like life, fate, free will, the afterlife, God, Heaven.... there's a reason why we say in this Christian walk a person has to have faith. Faith is what you have when your counting on beyond what the sciences or rationality can explain.
Given what I've learned about her, however, Andia wouldn't want you sitting around moping about "Why?". For the blessings in life we receive, and the trials we must endure. They are both great mysteries, the genesis of which is convoluded and impossible to understand. How we deal with them though is defined by what we believe about what we gather is the meaning behind everything.
I cannot speak for people of other faiths. To do so would be me speaking in ignorance. I can speak as a Christian leader, and in our tradition we believe that good can come out of all things, both good and bad. That we can do all things, persevere through all things, and still bring life in the aftermath of all things, through Christ who strengthens us.
That's what Paul tells us in the book of Hebrews. Whether the day is the greatest ever, or the worst nightmare we can imagine, our eyes need to stay fixed on the tape at the end of the race. On a prize that's greater than a medal or trophy or ring. A prize that can only be granted by the Master, who has established the criteria for worthiness through his own devotion, body, blood, and life. A prize given after we have lived this life as faithfully as we were able, given our limitations and circumstances, and we stand on the other side, before our Maker, who asks us to bow our head, and instead of a medal says:
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
Well done the job you did to love others - your family, friends, those who make you uncomfortable, and even those who when you think of them create a pit in the bottom of your stomach.
Well done the job you did loving the Lord, praying even when you weren't sure what to pray, trusting even when your world was shattered, giving even when it seemed like there was nothing no matter how far down you reached, to give.
Well done, even in the midst of your sin and imperfection, the job of inviting God's perfect will to be on earth as it is in Heaven.
Well done, says the Master, who knows what it feels like to be rejected. Who knows the sting of scorn, the burning that comes only with ridicule, and the grief and mourning that comes only with death.
Well done from the One who too, in his darkest hour, asked "Why? Why, Papa are You foresaking me too?"
Feel free to ask "Why?", just don't let it overwhelm you. Depress you. Defeat you. Think of Jesus, who overcame death, and remember that promise is yours also.
And, just one last thing....
Remember, that as Jesus comes along side you, celebrating your victories, and washing your feet whilst laying hands upon you in your defeats, that another one sits watching. One who no longer wonders why, and won't tolerate letting you use her to make excuses for letting your life come to a standstill.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
What a wonderful image Paul leaves us with today. Us, surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses". Because I have a relationship with this congregation that spans almost two decades, when I stand in this place - whether it be in the Centrum or Sanctuary, or outside during Fall Fest or on the shore of Sims' pond at the Sea of Galilee Party, or wherever it is ministry happens - I have this sense that we're being watched. Names like Pat and Helen Price, Gail Goodwin, Stan Weller, Dwight and Mary Becker.... names that might not mean much to you, but for me, and many others who knew and loved them, but names of people who lived and sacrificed for this family of faith. And I think personally of names meaningful to me - Dean, Fred, Carol, Dick, and yes, Ed Fox - sitting in that great assembly rooting me, and so many others, on as we strive to bring love and light into this world.
There she sits. Not just another face in the crowd. She's watching, pulling for you to honor the Lord by doing your best. Encouraging you to give away your mourning, and letting the Author of Life turing into dancing. You stumble, and she makes a weird noise, laughs at you, and tells you to keep pushing.
Give back like the young woman who wanted to mold middle school students. Give freely, like the young woman who would give the shirt off her back for her friends, and as she grew in grace those in need.
Ask "Why?", but ask the "Why?" Andia, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt right now is begging you to ask:
"Why am I sitting here moping about what isn't, when I could be celebrating what is, while living a life worthy of one day being given one of those seats in that great assembly of witnesses where I can root on those I love for all eternity?"
Why? I don't know. But you'd better not hang your head and blaim her. You'll have to answer for that someday, because she's watching. Rooting you on.
"Here's a hug. Now get your ass back in the weight room."
- Hebrews 12:1-3
- 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In all honesty, I didn't know Andia all that well. I'm guessing the first time I ever met her was in the course of planning her grandfather's funeral. I'm sure she relayed a story or two about visiting her grandparents when they lived down south. Good memories I'm sure.
Probably the next time we crossed paths - outside of a handshake and hello after a worship service - was last May. Andia was a member of the Class of 2009, and she stood up front the morning we recognized all the graduating seniors from the church. I remember when I asked her to tell the congregation what she'd be doing come this fall, she said she was heading to Urbana University to play soccer and major in education.
"Major in education, and then play soccer, young lady", I corrected her. It made her and the congregation laugh.
But really, to the best of my own memory, that's about it, and as such I won't waste your time talking about a young woman who has already been properly and wonderfully honored by her family and friends in this service. To be honest, I don't think I could do her memory justice. Instead, I encourage you to remember their words, and if you knew her, share after the service with good friends your thoughts and memories of her.
You won't be sorry you did.
No, as the officiating pastor of the service I think maybe, as you sit there and look at what is for many of you, a fat guy in a funny robe, that maybe in the short time I'll be talking this evening, you have something else you want me to address. A question, rattling around in your brain and the depths of your soul that just won't go away. A one word question that's simple enough, but probably impossible to answer.
"Why?"
Why does an upstanding kid of 18 lose her life? Why doesn't she get to experience college life and eventually graduate, get a job, have a classroom or coach a soccer team of her own? Why didn't she get to see a little brother graduate or mess up some other WBL footplayer under the lights on a Friday night? Why doesn't she get to meet a guy, fall in love, walk an aisle, take vows, have a first dance and piece of wedding cake as she floats out the door on her way to a honeymoon? Why didn't she get a chance to be a mother and grandmother? Why must a pall hang over the heads of a family at Christmas or Thanksgiving? Why must a mother put on a strong front and why must a father face one of those moments where he's about text his daughter.... and realize again she's gone?
Why?
Maybe that's a little too graphic for some of you listening (or reading) this right now. I apologize. I didn't mean to upset anybody. It's just not too long ago I was cruising Facebook (yes, I'm old but I do have a Facebook page) and out of blue a sister of a good friend of mine, a member of the
Class of 1987, mentioned recently that it was 23 years ago he lost his life coming home from school in his orange VW Bug.
I don't think of Ed Fox nearly as often I did in the aftermath of his death. Time has a way of temporing the pain. It doesn't do away with it altogether, but it does ease the sense of loss. But every so often I wonder, "What would Ed be doing now, if...?" Would he still be in the service (he enlisted early in the Marines)? Would that sweet, sweet baritone voice still be singing in some choir or group somewhere (we were in choir together.... I loved singing with him because he was so good)? Would he be married? Divorced? Would he be a dad?
I don't think of Ed as often, but my life has gotten far more jumbled since 1986. Professions, degrees, marriage, kids, all kinds of obligations.... such is the reality after we graduate from high school. We go our own separate ways, and pretty soon people who you once thought would be your very best friends forever you now only hear from at Christmas, or the reunion. Or you add them as a Facebook friend, and at best, get semi-caught up and kinda digitally watch them from afar. You don't mean to but the everyday demands of life separate us.
While my pain has eased somewhat, however, I doubt very much this is the same case for Ed's mother and father and sister. I'm guessing they haven't been able to put the kind of distance between themselves and that terrible tragedy on West Shore Drive as I have.
23 years, and still they're left with "Why?". And, really, so are the rest of us. We've just been able to put it out of our mind... mostly.
In any event, I thought it an injustice if on this day, at this service, I didn't at least try to answer that question. To answer it for anyone who lost somebody they loved a long time ago, no matter how sharply or dimmly they remember, and for all of you mourning this young woman. I offer this day my thoughts in the hope that in the midst of the random moment next week, or next month, or 23 years from now when, "Why?", haunts you again, maybe I'll be able to leave with you something that will at least partially fill the blank.
However, before I take my best stab at "Why", I think I'd better share something else that occurred to me as I was trying to wring this out in my tiny brain...
In all my years as a minister, nobody has once, on the good days, the joyous days, the days I hope you celebrate in regards to to the best of time you spent with Andia... nobody's ever asked me, "Why was the Lord so good to me today?" Never happened. Not once.
And that goes for me too.
I mean when Max or Xavier or Eli or Toby were born I never asked why I should have been so privledged to have experienced God's grace in a way that only holding a son for the first time can convey. I never asked God why I was able to marry such a wonderful woman or work at such a great church. I never asked God why He let me experience the euphoria of the Buckeyes eeking out that win against Miami for the National Championship or watching my brother get sworn in as a lawyer or celebrating my mother being named "Teacher of the Year" in Auglaize County.
Nobody, on those days, asks "Why?". Isn't beauty and joy and love as much a mystery as death? Those moments are so fleeting, yet such an intregal part of the foundation for a meaningful life. They carry us in the darkest of days, and yet we don't really think about why God would grace us with such blessings.
I don't think, for example, that Andia walked around wondering why the Lord had blessed her with such great friends and family. I mean, when you, her posse from this past summer, snuck into the Country Club pool after hours for a swim, or when you, her family, charged across an open field on a snowmobile, or when any of you who coached or played with Andia on a soccer team experienced the bond that can only come when a group of individuals work for one goal and one purpose, blessed her life I don't think Andia sat around wondering, "Gee whiz, dude.... why is God been so good to me?"
That wasn't her way.
Don't misunderstand me... I believe she cared about the Lord. She was no saint (I heard the stories shared at the prayer vigil in her honor Sunday night here and I heard there were other stories that couldn't be shared in a church... I got a few of those from my past too), but saints are few and far between. She loved the Lord, of this I am sure, I just don't think, given what I've heard about her that on the joyous of joyful moments Andia sat around wondering why God let her be so blessed. In fact, if I understand her correctly, on those days I think she just tried in her own way to magnify the blessing.
And, if we're gonna be completely honest here, I don't think on her darkest days or moments Andia sat around moping about where God was. If the team lost, I have to think Andia thought the team's effort just wasn't good enough, or that everyone needed to work harder.
Or, God help the fool who picked on her little brother - that was her job and no one elses - but if he had missed a key tackle or block that helped cost the team the game I don't think she would look for some great extistential meaning. She'd give him a hug, and tell him to get his ass into the weight room. Am I right?
When she lost someone she loved - like her grandfather or her "nana" - it didn't send her into such a funk that she became unable to laugh or love or poke fun or celebrate life. That's not what I heard of the one called Mandia who left a teacher a bag of Hershey's kisses in his school mailbox and taped one of her friend's pictures to the bag.
But, once again, I digress. Given all of this, all this stuff about God and Andia and joy and pain and winning and losing and life and death, here's my best guess at the question of "Why did Andia Shisler lose her life?"
I don't know. Why one person gets into a horrible accident and walks away with a scratch and another doesn't walk away is more than just a physics problem. It's a mystery, much like life, fate, free will, the afterlife, God, Heaven.... there's a reason why we say in this Christian walk a person has to have faith. Faith is what you have when your counting on beyond what the sciences or rationality can explain.
Given what I've learned about her, however, Andia wouldn't want you sitting around moping about "Why?". For the blessings in life we receive, and the trials we must endure. They are both great mysteries, the genesis of which is convoluded and impossible to understand. How we deal with them though is defined by what we believe about what we gather is the meaning behind everything.
I cannot speak for people of other faiths. To do so would be me speaking in ignorance. I can speak as a Christian leader, and in our tradition we believe that good can come out of all things, both good and bad. That we can do all things, persevere through all things, and still bring life in the aftermath of all things, through Christ who strengthens us.
That's what Paul tells us in the book of Hebrews. Whether the day is the greatest ever, or the worst nightmare we can imagine, our eyes need to stay fixed on the tape at the end of the race. On a prize that's greater than a medal or trophy or ring. A prize that can only be granted by the Master, who has established the criteria for worthiness through his own devotion, body, blood, and life. A prize given after we have lived this life as faithfully as we were able, given our limitations and circumstances, and we stand on the other side, before our Maker, who asks us to bow our head, and instead of a medal says:
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
Well done the job you did to love others - your family, friends, those who make you uncomfortable, and even those who when you think of them create a pit in the bottom of your stomach.
Well done the job you did loving the Lord, praying even when you weren't sure what to pray, trusting even when your world was shattered, giving even when it seemed like there was nothing no matter how far down you reached, to give.
Well done, even in the midst of your sin and imperfection, the job of inviting God's perfect will to be on earth as it is in Heaven.
Well done, says the Master, who knows what it feels like to be rejected. Who knows the sting of scorn, the burning that comes only with ridicule, and the grief and mourning that comes only with death.
Well done from the One who too, in his darkest hour, asked "Why? Why, Papa are You foresaking me too?"
Feel free to ask "Why?", just don't let it overwhelm you. Depress you. Defeat you. Think of Jesus, who overcame death, and remember that promise is yours also.
And, just one last thing....
Remember, that as Jesus comes along side you, celebrating your victories, and washing your feet whilst laying hands upon you in your defeats, that another one sits watching. One who no longer wonders why, and won't tolerate letting you use her to make excuses for letting your life come to a standstill.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
What a wonderful image Paul leaves us with today. Us, surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses". Because I have a relationship with this congregation that spans almost two decades, when I stand in this place - whether it be in the Centrum or Sanctuary, or outside during Fall Fest or on the shore of Sims' pond at the Sea of Galilee Party, or wherever it is ministry happens - I have this sense that we're being watched. Names like Pat and Helen Price, Gail Goodwin, Stan Weller, Dwight and Mary Becker.... names that might not mean much to you, but for me, and many others who knew and loved them, but names of people who lived and sacrificed for this family of faith. And I think personally of names meaningful to me - Dean, Fred, Carol, Dick, and yes, Ed Fox - sitting in that great assembly rooting me, and so many others, on as we strive to bring love and light into this world.
There she sits. Not just another face in the crowd. She's watching, pulling for you to honor the Lord by doing your best. Encouraging you to give away your mourning, and letting the Author of Life turing into dancing. You stumble, and she makes a weird noise, laughs at you, and tells you to keep pushing.
Give back like the young woman who wanted to mold middle school students. Give freely, like the young woman who would give the shirt off her back for her friends, and as she grew in grace those in need.
Ask "Why?", but ask the "Why?" Andia, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt right now is begging you to ask:
"Why am I sitting here moping about what isn't, when I could be celebrating what is, while living a life worthy of one day being given one of those seats in that great assembly of witnesses where I can root on those I love for all eternity?"
Why? I don't know. But you'd better not hang your head and blaim her. You'll have to answer for that someday, because she's watching. Rooting you on.
"Here's a hug. Now get your ass back in the weight room."
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