Category Archives: charity

May 19, 2013 · 12:47 pm

God, Tragedy, Churches, Faith and Forgiveness

Granbury Tornado Damage, photo from NBCDFW website

Granbury Tornado Damage, photo from NBCDFW website

The Dallas Morning News had a front page article today about the role faith and churches are playing in the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes in Granbury.

The beginning of the article contains these statements:

In a place where so much has been lost, broken and scattered, many people in this tornado-touched town say they found something they didn’t know was missing.

“I guess you’d call it faith,” said Josiah Thompson, a 26-year-old who decided at the last minute to take his wife and two young children to Granbury Baptist Church on Wednesday night. Thirty minutes later, his rental home exploded in winds up to 200 mph.

“That proves right there that going to church can literally save your life,” said Thompson, . . . Thompson said his faith was renewed in friends and family, who have buried him in cash, clothes and food. And in God, who demonstrated quite clearly that everything important is out of our control.

Thompson, like so many others in this lake-straddling town an hour southwest of Fort Worth, said it’s impossible to live through the fury of an EF-4 tornado and not sense God’s protecting hand.

God’s Protecting Hand?

God’s protecting hand.  Oh yes.  But how about those who were killed?  Were they left out somehow of this miracle of protection?

That’s my first question here. And I’m not going to try to answer it except to say this: tragedies happen to the best of us and to the worst of us. If God is not present in all these tragedies, even those which lead to death, then God is a capricious monster and should not be worshipped. It is wonderful that the family mentioned in the article was spared. But I find it despairingly grievous to suggest that they are more special to God that those whose lives were lost.

Let’s just stop doing that.  Please.

The second question revolves around what is happening now: both local and distance churches are, as is normal, responding quickly and generously to those whose homes and lives have been ravaged by the tornadoes. Same thing is happening in West, Texas, after the fertilizer plant explosion there. These stories are written over and over again. In the face of tragedies and natural disasters, people almost instinctively turn to churches. And church people also instinctively turn to service.

Takers AND Givers or Takers OR Givers?

My question: Will those who are on the receiving end of what will be nearly unceasing acts of mercy and charity on the part of church-going folk themselves become part of a worshipping community? Or will they just expect that the church will show up at the next tragedy without their own participation?

Frankly, it is far easier to just stay on the receiving end of this type of charity than it is to become a vital part of a worshipping community, to train oneself for acts of charity, and to learn to pray, “Thy will be done” with faithfulness and hope in the face of hard and complex lives.

Several weeks ago, this spoof piece by Larknews made the rounds on Facebook, passed from clergy person to clergy person. Some, not knowing it was satire, commented, “Wish I could do that.” What was “that?” It was the act of aggressively telling people who are “takers” from church life to either get with the program and start becoming “givers” as well, or just get off the church membership lists.

I understand the temptation.

For the last several weeks, I have been on a combined vacation/study leave. Last year, when I was on Sabbatical leave, I spent every Sunday at a different church. These visits spawned my “Mystery Worship” series.

Week after week, I wandered into different churches and differing worship experiences. I chronicled what I experienced at each one. It was fun–and I also knew I’d never be back at any of those places. I would never establish the kinds of connections there that would offer real life and hope for me–and in which I could offer real life and hope in return.

I was going to do the same this year. And then, suddenly, I just could not. Utter exhaustion  accompanied me during this time away.

The intensity of the worship schedule starting in Advent and culminating at Easter, along with some significant issues at church that had to be courageously faced but which left me battered and bruised, combined with some intensely difficult personal issues had left me almost completely empty. The fact that I am still healthy physically leaves me shocked and grateful.

But the thought of walking into someplace full of strangers and seeking to be in a space where I could freely open myself to what I needed, the healing Presence of God, simply flattened me. That which I needed most I could not bring myself to do.

Although I have never minded solitude, thanks be to God, I am finding in my solitary time away greater and greater need for real community. A community that can indeed become vulnerable to God in faithful worship, vulnerable to one another in loving, accountable connections, and vulnerable to the world in sacrificial service. Just popping into a worship service cannot bring that needed connection.

Those who are on the receiving end of sacrificial service in Granbury, West, and countless other locations around the world see one portion of church life. They are essentially doing what I did on my Sabbatical: popping in and receiving.  Even so, they rightly must be “takers” for a while.

Those who seek to be givers must go much further and discover the practices the disciplines of the church. This is a lifelong process of forming spiritual connections and learning to be a part of a community.

The Nature of Real Connection

In all my years of loving and serving the church, this one main lesson stands out: we who are connected to one another by our churches are connected not because we are good, or nicer, or more generous than others. We are all exquisitely human, and full of failings. Many of our failings actually see deeper exposure by our very connection through the church.

Furthermore, we have high expectations of each other. Because of that, we fail one another not just mildly but spectacularly. That’s what makes the healthy church and spiritually-based connection so powerful. At its best, it is unbreakable because we learn what it really costs to forgive each other. Once we learn that, we are fully able to worship God, receive forgiveness, and live in grace.

I’ve blogged and thought a lot over the years about our need to be in connection with each other and especially about the situation within my beloved United Methodist Church. Our fights and disagreements with each other are threatening to tear us asunder.

Will We Forgive?

Will we forgive each other?

Will we forgive each other for seeing different versions of the truth even while affirming and humble owning our particular versions?

Will we engage in the disciplines necessary to have adequate connection so we can continue to respond to crises and tragedies?

Will we insist to others and know well ourselves that being only takers ultimately means the destruction of the soul?

Will we bow before the Almighty and Holy One and say, “Thy will be done, even if it means my own death?”

I don’t know.  I do know my concerns here add to my weariness. I do know I’m a bit frustrated with my own church community right now where too many stay on the membership rolls only in the role of taker, not giver. Too many who will not engage in the necessary disciplines to learn to know God;  too many who expect the pastor to keep them motivated rather than tapping their own motivation; too many who expect others to give generously and sacrificially but who will not even consider the power of the tithe for themselves; too many who see their own life’s challenges as needing everyone’s attention without awareness that everyone suffers.

Yet, each of these also needs forgiveness, support, and the opportunity to transform from being takers to being givers.  And I do as well. The process never ends.

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February 26, 2013 · 10:05 am

Taxes, Details, Money, and Peace

????????????????????????????????????????After about five hours of uninterrupted work on my computer, I finally had to say, “Time to quit.”  Would that I had been writing an article, or composing a message, or catching up on correspondence or something else wonderfully creative!  But this task was far more mundane:  going over my 2012 financial records in preparation for the income tax deadline.

Clergy taxes are extremely complicated, as we are considered self-employed, and so pay the extra SE tax, but really are not. Every expense needs to be categorized. Good hardware and software help manage this herculean job of exacting record-keeping, but the task still nearly brings me down each year.

Intense attention to detail is needed to sort these figures coherently.  I’m not a particularly good detail person–just ask the people who proofread my work.  I miss a lot of stuff.

But there is a greater issue here than just massive detail work:  it is seeing in one place a picture of how I spent the money entrusted to me last year.

How I indulged my love of books and reading! Perhaps buying them perhaps just a bit too freely, both for myself and for my grandchildren in whom I hope to instill a love for reading.

Clothes got almost no attention, hardly a surprise for those who see me as a fashion disaster. Yes, somebody, someday is going to report me to “What Not to Wear.”

I also gave much money away, experiencing good satisfaction in those decisions.  Much freedom to be found there.

Financial freedom—people dream about it, fantasize about winning the lottery (sure ticked for destruction, by the way), and wonder what it would be like to have no money worries.

It’s hard to get there.  All sorts of forces encourage us to get into financial chains that bind us uncomfortably.  Those chains can get so tight that circulation cuts off and life disappears.

I’ve seen it happen.  I’ve experienced it myself.  An unplanned baby, a car needing expensive repairs, credit cards maxing out, unexpected health care bills, growing children, school expenses, needed vacations. Any of these things can put a family in a tough financial position.

The vast majority of marital strain and the cause of most family arguments come from money issues.  Anxiety over unpaid bills rises, one wants to save, another wants to spend, children need something and need it NOW, and tensions build, too often to the explosion level.

Little happiness or peace there.

Knowing how complex our financial lives can be, and wanting to help those who are looking for a way to handle those issues, the church I serve is offering the Dave Ramsey course, Financial Peace University.  The nine week class starts this Sunday, March 3, at 4:00 pm.  All are welcome—this program is for anyone interested, not just church members.  Registration is available on the church website:  www.thekrumchurch.com.  We’ll provide child care if it is needed.

Dave Ramsey is not going to tell you how to spend you money, or make your financial decisions for you.  Those decisions belong to you. He will give some extremely effective tools that you can use, “baby steps” he calls them, that will indeed set you free and give peace where there has been conflict before.

Millions have found this program to deliver well on what it promises.  People do find financial peace.  They start living freely in a way that they’d never experienced before. The chains fall off.  Circulation is restored.  Life returns.

Sounds so good to me that I’m taking the course myself.  I know I have things to learn.

If you want to come, go ahead and sign up.  Your materials will not arrive until next week, but it is important to start with the first session, this Sunday at 4:00 pm, Krum First United Methodist Church, 1001 E. McCart Street in Krum.

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December 10, 2012 · 10:02 am

Cold and Comfort, Disquiet at the Disparity

Winter WeatherIt’s one of those days where I realize just how fortunate I am.  The wind is pretty wild here in Krum and the temperature dropped well into the freezing range overnight.  It’s projected to be bitterly cold here tonight.

I personally welcome the cold weather.  I sleep better, and also appreciate the necessity of extended cold for the sake of yard and garden.

I am also not poor.  I live in a reasonably well-insulated house with a good heating system, have warm enough clothes, a car with a good heater, and plenty of blankets. No reason not to enjoy this.

But I’ve been reading one of the most painful books I’ve ever dipped into.  It’s called The Working Poor: Invisible in America, a national bestseller written by David K. Shipler.  This excellent writer brings the reader into the lives of those who live right on the margin of debilitating poverty, but who are nonetheless employed and hard-working people.  One little extra stressor–a sick child, a car repair, a lazy or negligent landlord, a bad harvest, a weather extreme, an extra medical bill, a fight with a spouse–and they plunge into a unending cycle of hopelessness.

Children born into this system are far more likely to suffer cognitive delays because of actual malnutrition and lack of necessary attachment time between parent and child.  Schooling becomes an unending nightmare, and parents do not have the resources to demand and get extra tutoring.  Plus, it may be too late by then.

These people are the ones who make lives possible for those who are more comfortable. I am one of those.

And this has all left me comfortably warm and uncomfortably disquieted.

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November 20, 2012 · 1:03 pm

Smelly Women and a Hand Up

A late evening call to the church: “I’m in a motel with my little girl and I can’t pay the bill tonight and I can’t go home because I’m running away from my husband.  Can you give me the money to spend another night here?”

A friend accompanied me to the motel where we could check out the story.  We plunged into the dark underbelly of that town where I was serving, both a little frightened.  We noted that the little girl was sick but it did not look serious and both appeared to be safe for the night. We pooled our funds and paid the room fee.

I told the woman to have her things packed and ready at 10:00 am the next morning and notified the domestic violence shelter to expect her around then.  I was a trained volunteer there and knew they had the support system this woman needed.

The next morning, my friend and I arrived promptly at 10:00.  I knocked on the door.  No answer.  I kept knocking.  The woman finally opened the door, obviously just then waking up.

Piles of clothes were scattered around, nothing packed.  The room reeked of cigarette smoke, the mother’s body odor so bad I fought against gagging.  The child lay on a filthy bed, engrossed in a TV show.

We had brought a roll of large plastic bags just in case they were needed to gather anything up.  After retrieving the roll. and my friend and I began to stuff dirty clothes into the bags.  The mother lay down on the bed and joined her child, turning her full attention to the TV.

My frustration grew.  Suddenly I stopped and asked my friend to stop as well.

“We are here to help you, not to do this for you.  If you want to be safe and give proper care for your sick daughter (who had un-wiped nasal and eye drainage all over her face), then get up and start packing.  If you don’t, we are leaving right now. We’re not going to do this for you and there will not be another night here at our expense.”

Startled, she got up.  I pointed to the roll of plastic bags.  She took one and began stuffing things into it, filled it and started on the next one.  My friend and I helped, but no longer directed the process.

When we were finished, we loaded the bags into my friend’s old pickup truck.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but I asked my friend to transport the woman and daughter while I led the way in my car.  Frankly, I couldn’t deal with the body odor.

After I knew she was properly checked into the shelter, I apologized to my friend for my olfactory cowardice and sadly headed to work, figuring this was a lost cause.

About eight or ten weeks later, a call came to the church.  “I want to speak to that tough-talking preacher lady.”  Since I was the only one who remotely fit the bill, I took the call.

“Thank you.  You talked tough to me and told me to get my act together.  I did.  Thanks for telling me the truth.”

I quickly identified the caller as the woman I had taken to the shelter–and been so disgusted with.

She had cleaned herself up, was taking advantage of the help offered at the shelter, freed herself from the abusive relationship, and was taking better care of her daughter.

The Oath for Compassionate Giving has this as its first statement, “Never do for others what they can (or should) do for themselves.”

Keep this in mine as the year-end charitable appeals start coming.  This woman is one of millions who need a hand up.  But they’ve got to grab the hand when offered.  This cannot be a one way process.  It just doesn’t work.

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November 16, 2012 · 12:50 pm

Above All, Do No Harm

The idea of “doing no harm” underlies many important service traditions.  The Hippocratic Oath, often taken by students upon graduating from medical school, reads in part:  “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”

The General Rules of The United Methodist Church read:

  • First, do no harm.
  • Second, do all the good you can.
  • Third, stay in love with God.

Recently, I came across the Oath for Compassionate Service written by Robert Lupton and explained in his book, Toxic Charity. Here is part of the oath:

  • Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves.
  • Strive to empower the poor through employment, lending, and investing
  • Subordinate self-interests to the needs of those being served.
  •  Above all, do no harm.

Do no harm.  This is our passion. And yet, much harm has been done in the names of medicine and of religion. And, as Lupton points out, much harm has also been done in the name of charity.

I felt kicked in the stomach when I read Lupton’s work.  In this short and well-researched book, Lupton states it clearly:  much of our charitable work ends up doing terrific damage.  He notes that many of our efforts have ended up creating dependency, rather than greater self-sufficiency.

When we create dependency, we have done harm.  Most of us who give heavily (or even lightly) to charities whose stated purpose is to relieve suffering of some sort do so with the best of motives: we genuinely want to help.  What I did not understand until I read Toxic Charity was the extent of the unintended consequences of much of our charitable giving—and this includes relief efforts to impoverished and storm damaged areas.

For example, when Haiti was so badly damaged by the earthquake in January 2010, massive amounts of relief flowed into that tiny country.  Those immediate relief efforts were highly productive and very necessary.  But that was nearly three years ago.  The economy is still in chaos, little rebuilding of the infrastructure has taken place.  One possible reason:   multitudes of local workers were put out of business by the numbers of US mission teams that came to help, again, with the best of intentions.

According to Lupton, many mission trips end up being “feel-good” times for the participants, but leave the local economies in worse shape and people even less empowered and equipped to deal with the real causes of ongoing poverty and terrible suffering.

Yet we who have much do have a responsibility to give much.  But we must do so wisely and in ways that actually address the real problems underlying the suffering, much of which is indeed caused by soul-destroying poverty.

In the United States, there appear to be two primary causes of poverty.

One is situational and acute.  Crushing health care expenses, sudden loss of employment, and environmental changes can quickly destroy what had been reasonable sufficiency.  IA brief hand up and some support during the crisis can, on occasion, reverse this downward trajectory, particularly when the basic skills for productive living are intact.

Second is systemic and chronic. This is the generational poverty that has turned into deep dependence. It leaves people groups degraded and ill-equipped culturally and educationally to dig out and find more productive and dignified ways to live. Millions, even billions of dollars have been thrown at the problem.  It is not getting better.

I’m in the midst of a Sunday message series on these topics and invite you to participate and think with us for far more effective ways to handle our charitable giving.  The year-end appeals are about to fill our in-boxes and mailboxes.  Let’s learn to be wiser in our caring and smarter in our giving about this.

Above all, let us do no harm.

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November 6, 2012 · 4:47 pm

Pins and Needles, the Election and our Charitable Giving

I admit it–the polls are going to close in a couple of hours on the East Coast, and I’m already getting antsy to start hearing results.  I keep checking my favorite political commentators and statisticians as if their words will assure my comfort and hoped for victory.

I’ve been quite careful not to openly state the candidate I hope will win the Presidential election. I think that as a pastor, my role is to encourage people to think carefully about these things.  After investigation and reflection, all should vote in ways that best reflect their understanding of how we live out our Christianity in a nation that is not Christian, but which does give great freedom to practice our faith.

Even with that care, I suspect it is not hard to read between the lines and see where my own hopes sit.  I landed there because I do believe we have a corporate responsibility to work for justice and do so with merciful compassion for all, even those who really don’t look like they deserve it.

But, having said that, I am in the midst of preparing a message series based on a book that has kicked many of my assumptions in the gut.  The book is called Toxic Charity, authored by Robert D. Lupton.  I’ll be writing more about this in the next few weeks, but for this post, I just want to mention what he calls the charitable progression:

  • give once and you elicit appreciation
  • give twice and your create anticipation.
  •  give three times and your create expectation
  • give four times and it becomes entitlement
  • give five times and you establish dependency.

I have a feeling he is right.  Have you seen this happen?  If so, how do we turn this around?

Happy Election night, everyone.

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October 23, 2012 · 1:14 pm

Calories Don’t Count When Eaten For Charity!

Newsflash!

Crank the presses for these two vital pieces of information:

One:  calories consumed for charity do not count!  And this is especially true for calories obtained from chocolate based treats, when, of course, being consumed for charity.

Two:  If you eat a lot of chocolate you are more likely to win a Nobel Prize.  Let’s face it:  the Swiss eat more chocolate than any other nation.  AND they win the most Nobel Prizes!  Surely there is a connection.

Now, I admit swallowing these “facts” might take a bit of an imaginative stretch.  Nonetheless I also say that the consumption of chocolate is one of humanity’s greatest gustatory pleasures.

Chocolate, like so many other pleasurable food sources, has been alternately demonized and angelized (I think I just made up that word) over the years.  When I was growing up, teens were routinely told not to eat chocolate because it would cause ugly pimples to pop up everywhere.  I so remember some of my early teen friends returning from a despairing trip to the dermatologist with this instruction:  “Never eat chocolate again if you want clear skin.”

Of course, it did not work, and eventually that claim was disproved. Right at the moment, chocolate is, in its “angelized” state, being touted as a health food and mood elevator.  It probably won’t be long before it makes one of the essential food groups for nutritional health.

Think about the history of some of our favorite foods.  For years, eggs were almost completely persona non-grata.  We were told that tasteless egg whites were the only safe way to ingest these deadly objects. Now, whole eggs have made a strong comeback as scientists suggest that the cholesterol eaten in eggs doesn’t generally end up raising cholesterol blood levels.

Saturated fat, another substance found in many animal products and equally as demonized these days, is poised to make its own return.  If you don’t believe me, check out the writings on paleo (as in Paleolithic times) eating plans.

Today, sugar (unless it is in chocolate consumed for charity, of course!!!!), especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, is starting to wear the “demon” label.  Evidence suggests now that excess sugar (unless it is in chocolate consumed for charity) is almost immediately stored as fat.

Possibly in the near future, wheat may take over the spot as the worst food around (unless it is found in chocolate consumed for charity!).  Why?  Because all the wheat we eat now is genetically modified.  Our bodies may not have adapted yet to digest it properly.  So some researchers say wheat consumption leads to all sorts of health ills.  And I admit it:  I’ve bought into it and am completely gluten/grain free these days—and yes it has helped.

But, let us leave behind these sad food predicaments and get back to the luscious thoughts of chocolate.  Breathe deeply, remembering the enticing odor of chocolate brownies coming out of the oven.  Mentally take a moment and lick the beaters after whipping up a homemade chocolate cake.  Let the texture of smooth, creamy, freshly made homemade fudge melt in your mouth.

Pretty good, huh?  OK, I now shamelessly invite you to the Fourth Annual Chocolate Festival at Krum First United Methodist Church, 1001 E. McCart St. in Krum, Saturday, October 27, 10 am to 2 pm.

For a $20 ticket, you get TWELVE luscious samples of chocolate, and one ticket can be shared with several people.

My friends even tell me that both sugar-free and gluten-free delicacies will abound.  And for those who do need their dose of saturated fat, rumor has it that chocolate-dipped bacon can be found!

Every penny made goes right back out the door to support agencies that relieve suffering in this immediate area and around the world.

Remember, CALORIES EATEN FOR CHARITY DON’T COUNT!

See you on the 27th.

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September 9, 2012 · 5:05 pm

“All You Can Do Is Pray.”

“All you can do is pray.”

I said this to our Children’s Day Out (CDO) director this past Thursday after a conversation about the increasingly desperate need to purchase a van.

The program, CDO, had simply exploded, particularly in the last 20 months when it moved from preschool to a full-service daycare, including before and afterschool care.  Which also means transporting a lot of students each day.

Determined fundraising had netted about $12,500, but a really good quality and safe van was going to cost much more.

The Director’s aging and inadequate personal van was barely functioning.  It was not worth repairing because of its age and mileage. The need for a 12-15 passenger van had become acute.

She came to me asking for help and direction.

This is what I had to offer—“All you can do is pray.”  Interesting, in retrospect, that I said, “that’s all I have to offer.”

About an hour after our conversation, I received an email from a friend.  An unexpected financial windfall had occurred which led to this question, “Does the church need anything in particular?”

OK folks, if someone asks, I’m certainly going to answer.  I wrote back, explaining the need and asked for $5000.  I thought if we could come up with that much, perhaps we could float a loan for the rest of the cost.  I also felt sure that this was an impossible “ask.”

A short while later, “I can’t do $5000, but I’ll do $2500 as a challenge gift—you’ve got to come with a matching $2500.”

Later, the CDO Director and I talked it over.  I suggested she ask for a month to raise the matching funds—she said, “No, we need to do it this week.”  I gave my blessing and thought, “There is no way.”

That evening, the CDO Board authorized a limited loan to cover the difference if the money could be raised and a suitable vehicle found.

Fast forward to Saturday evening.  Another church member, very close friends with the owner of an auto dealership who has undertaken the ministry of helping churches find safe and affordable vans, phoned.  “Christy, the right van has finally shown up.  Year:  2102, one owner, 14,011 miles, under warranty, all the safety features we need, in perfect condition. “

These vans get snapped up within hours after being posted on the website, but the dealership owner said he’d put a pending on it until Monday morning.  The listed cost was absolutely prohibitive, but we could have it for $25,000.  If we wanted it, we had to purchase it Monday morning.

One week just turned into 36 hours.

This morning, I explained the situation at all three services.  I asked people to give $5, $10, $25 or even the matching $2500 as God leads.   Attendance was high and I was hoping enough small gifts would come in to squeeze us into the borrowing range mandated by the CDO Board.

At the third service, after the announcements and during the hug and handshake time, my music minister tugged on me and motioned to someone.  An individual, who asked for total anonymity said, “I am matching the $2500.  But I don’t have my checkbook with me.  How can I get that to you before tomorrow?”  I said, “I’ll come get it this afternoon if that works for you.”  Agreement was given.

After the third service, we convened for a Board of Stewards meeting and Called Church Conference (totally different subject:  adding a 1/4 time clergy staff person and refinancing the parsonage).  I announced the matching gift, and everyone cheered.  At the time I announced it, the CDO Director was not in the room, so she did not hear about it.

After the short Church Conference, she came up to me to give me the figures of what had been donated.  I saw a $2500 gift on there and said, “So you heard my announcement?”

She said, “What announcement?”

There had been another $2500 matching gift.  Neither of us knew about the other.

By the time we totaled up everything—and there are still a few stray ones to be gathered in–we realized that more than $7,500 had been given, not including the original $2500—all from completely unexpected sources.

We stared at each other slack-jawed.

During the children’s message at the third service, I had given each of the children a dollar bill, explaining how people learned the difference between the fake and the real, and told the children they could keep the bill. Later in the meeting, the Lay Leader got up and shared, “My son told me when he got back to his seat that he wanted to give his dollar to the van fund.”

I think we were all weeping by then.

Before the meeting was over, another donor offered to make up the difference so we could go ahead and purchase the van outright, no loan necessary.

Now, this sort of thing may be routine for many churches.  For some with a fair number of deep pocket individuals, it is almost expected.  But this is not a church like that.  Every penny given is given sacrificially here.

We managed a complete relocation three and a half years ago, funded by a friendly local bank coupled with giving, again all sacrificial, and of a magnitude that none of us imagined could happen.  We’re paying the mortgage, supporting our ministries, and are current on apportionments and all other bills.

I have almost never asked for money.  Our pledge drives are minimal, and extremely low key.  I tell people each week, “Give what God tells you to give, not more and not less.  If God tells you not to give, then don’t.  Just don’t miss the blessing, what ever you do.”

Money does get tight.  Each time, I tell myself, “Well, I guess all I can do is pray.”

This morning, as I walked into the still quiet and empty church for my final preparations, I discarded my usual, “Lord, fill this place with people” and prayed instead, “Lord, fill this place with Your Spirit.  With that I will be satisfied.  I ask no more.”

Yes, all I can do is pray.  And yes, God’s Spirit filled our church today.

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May 3, 2012 · 1:41 pm

The Streets of NYC and Thoughts on General Conference

I am now in New York City, staying with my youngest son and his wife on the Upper West Side and will be spending much time with my middle son and his wife and their three children, one a newborn, on the Upper East Side.  But today is more a day of rest and continued healing as I’m having trouble with being still enough to let the stitches heal properly from my surgery, nearly three weeks ago.

So, I spent a few hours this morning reading blogs again and trying to figure out what on earth had happened at GC.  Twitter, which I as a rule quite thoroughly dislike, did exactly today what it is supposed to do:  gave enough information for me to get a handle on the early dismissal of the morning session, the demonstrations that took place there and the quandary of the Bishops about how to handle  the afternoon session.

And then I went to walk and pray.  I love walking in NYC.  We’re less than 100 yards from Central Park here, so I headed over that way to wander very slowly in the cool air and early spring greenery.

However, I soon left the park behind and headed to the streets instead.  Just a block away, a TV crew was setting up to film a scene for the show, “White Collar.”  Another block West, and I’m on Columbus Ave, full of shops and banks and places to eat.  I walk and looked at the people.  None of them care, of course,  what is happening in Tampa as a group of people have gathered to seek to discern the will of God and found themselves torn by dissension.  Had anyone even known about it, their response would probably be, “Oh yeah, that’s that religious people do. Argue about silly stuff and tell everyone that doesn’t think the same way that they are going to hell.  Pretty ridiculous.”

We United Methodists are dealing with holy challenges and trying to deal with them in a holy manner.  I very much disagree with what has happened there this week, yet I know that these are my brothers and sister, my friends and co-laborers, who really all love God and want to love each other BUT each of us sees the world, God, and the Holy Scriptures through different life and interpretative lenses and the challenge to stay connected is hugely complicated.

For all the disappointments to many about the outcome of the legislative actions of this GC, I was reminded again today that while few really care what happens there, all are objects of eternal worth in God’s eyes, and everyone deserves to hear about and experience in person words of grace and interaction with people whose lives are infused with that grace

This is the tightrope upon which we walk:  to disagree vehemently with one another, and yet be united by the common understanding that, on some level, everyone one of us is wrong and is received into the Kingdom of Heaven despite our unrighteousness.

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March 13, 2012 · 6:20 pm

I Am Rich, I Am Poor

“How can anyone get into heaven?  It must be impossible!”  That’s what Jesus’ disciples said to him after he had told a very rich young man that he had to give everything away in order to inherit eternal life.

Giving It All Away

Most of us aren’t asked to give everything away, but there certainly is invitation to give generously of the money and belongings entrusted to us by God.

But lots of people either giving nothing away at all or give scantily, as measured by percentage of wealth, not dollar amounts.

Why?  Perhaps there is a lack of charitable giving because many think they are not rich enough to give something away.  The fear: if they give to others, they will have less themselves, making themselves even poorer.

So, I started to ask myself, “What defines rich?  What defines poor?”

I am rich when I know that when one of us suffers, we all suffer. I am even richer when I know that when one of us prospers, we all prosper.  I am poor when I think I can live unconnected and untouched by the lives of others.

I am rich when I can turn on a tap and have clean drinking water come flowing out. I am even richer when I can decide if I want that water to be hot or cold.  I am poor when I have hot, cold and clean running water, but won’t contribute to help someone across the world experience the same thing.

I am rich when I have more than one set of clothes in my closet.  I am even richer when part of my daily routine consists of deciding which of those items to put on for the day.  I am poor when I have so many clothes in my closet that I decide to build or buy more closet or storage space rather than give some of them away.

I am rich when I can enjoy meals prepared by others and beverages other than that clean water from the tap.  I am even richer when I can indulge in such things for myself and my family regularly.  I am poor when I won’t give up even 10% of those indulgences in order to put some money in a charity donation box or ensure that some child has a chance to hear about the grace and love of God for them.

I am rich when I have decent shelter that provides protection from the elements.  I am even richer when that shelter has climate control that keeps the temperature exactly where I want it, even as the seasons and weather change.  I am poor when I can’t take a portion of my abundance and send it to victims of natural disasters so they might at least have a piece of canvas or plastic over their heads.

I am rich when I have a phone that I can take me with I anywhere I go and stay in touch with anyone I want whenever I want.  I am even richer when I can use that phone to chat face to face with others, watch movies and keep my social media contacts updated. I am poor when I spend so much on my phone and other electronics and what I believe are necessities of modern life that I am in such debt that I don’t even know how good I have it.

I am rich when I know that the material things I enjoy are temporary and fleeting.  I am even richer when I contemplate eternity in total union with God, whose very nature sings of extravagant generosity.  I am poor when my material and financial possessions own and imprison me with their constant neediness for attention and replacement. I am destitute when these material things take the place of God.

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