Super Heroes and Super Pets Are Not Real

   Molly, our 4 year-old Maltese-Bichon guard dog, watched me as I pulled backwards down the driveway of our home the other day. With my daily list of have-to's and want-to's accumulating in my mind, I couldn't help but compare my day with hers: Molly will nap on the couch, exit her dog-door, circle the yard, bark at some kindly passing neighbor, return inside and nap some more, only to repeat this beautiful cycle throughout the day until we return. Oh, the life of a domesticated pet!

   But it has not always been that way; some years ago, Molly had a secret vocation. She was playful pet around our home, but when bedtime stories were being told, she became SuperMolly. The tales of her adventures were legendary among two little boys I am quite fond of and her daring escapades were...daring! In those stories she'd make her way outside, round the corner of the house, and then take to the air to find the bad guys and win the day.

   I am struck by a couple of points as I take a trip down memory lane, thinking back to when Sam and Jack and their dad were all younger. The first is, super pets would make for a great movie idea or even television series (which is probably why Disney released Bolt on the big screen in 2008 and they have had Perry the Platypus saving the day on their hit show, Phineas and Ferb, for over three years now). But second and more importantly, none of it is real. Despite their popularity, those super heroes are fictional and the stories are made up.

   Super Heroes are made up but the battle between good and evil is very real. I understand the story goes like this: God's love for each of us throughout history is the continual strike against the force that would seek to do us eternal harm. Our choice to accept this undeserved love of God is our best possible response to grace, and nevertheless we remain in the midst of a struggle between good and evil. Paul, a first century expert on how this struggle plays out in the life of every woman and man, went so far as to admit that he was unable to choose the right in the face of wrong in many cases in his own life (Romans 7). But all is not lost, said Paul, thanks to Jesus' work on the cross. We are far from super in our ability to resist temptation, but with the Holy Spirit we act powerfully to bring the Kingdom of peace and righteousness closer to reality. 
   I still love telling and hearing stories of super acts of heroism that defeat the bad guys. They provide comfort and even inspiration. We are attracted to Super Heroes because it is easy, but the truth is much more difficult to believe: we are the ones called to fight the good fight against injustice and harm. 

A Matter of Inches

   We need our space. More specifically, we need our space in order to be able to see things clearly. From the world of anatomy we learn that the term for this space, or distance, is the amplitude of accommodation. It is a measurement of the eye’s ability to focus clearly on objects at near distances. Our eyes have “ciliary body” tissues that contract and relax to adjust the lens of each eye in order to focus well. Each person needs a certain distance to be able to see clearly. While it is not something any of us are thrilled about, in fact, the distance needed to focus on object up close gets longer as we get older. The amplitude of accommodation for a child is usually about 2-3 inches, for a young adult 4-6 inches,  for a 45-year-old adult around 20 inches, before going up to as much as 60 inches later in life. This gives new meaning to needing our space, doesn’t it?

   Regardless of how the numbers vary, the truth remains; everyone of us can see the world more clearly when viewing it from some distance. We need distance to get perspective. Our minds oftentimes need the same thing.  How many times have we been helped by stepping back to see the bigger picture? When we are able to focus beyond the object in front of our vision to see the surrounding context, we are so much better able to assess the situation. It has happened countless time when we sit opposite a trusted friend and shared our story, only to find that hearing it out loud and gaining their perspective sharpens our ability to understand and comprehend. This is where growth happens. This is where clarity is achieved.

   That is exactly what our annual Charge Conference this week allowed our leadership at Epworth the chance to do; step back, and get some perspective.  When we take a step back, we are able to look back and see where we have come from.  We are also able to look forward and see where it is we are going.  The beauty of being able to allow our eyes to see both directions is truly a gift of God.  For it is God who has placed us in His great story, that has a clear beginning and end, and it is God who wants us to find our place in His story of the world’s redemption.

  Let us offer words of appreciation to all of our leaders who have served with distinction this past year, and to all of those who are continuing on or joining their ranks in the coming year. Also, a special word of thanks to Susan Snider, our really great Church Administrator, who helped compile numbers, lists,  signatures and names to allow our night to be one of celebration. Most of all, let us give thanks to the One who showers us with time and talent that the great work of the Kingdom might happen.

   Grace and Peace to you, Scott

Sometimes, Winning Happens Later On

   Brief remarks about the Atlanta Braves on Sunday were acknowledged by nearly everyone in worship that hour. Further proof that the Braves remain America's team and their progress is followed by a majority of folks around these parts, whether they are winning or losing. In the past month, they were mostly doing the latter.

   The Braves missed the National League playoffs last week after leading the wild-card race by 8 1/2 games on September 5. The blame is spread everywhere from pitching and hitting to injuries and even a hurricane in late-August. Read more here in the AJC. For what it is worth, I saw lots of hope for the future. I saw a wealth of young talent, called up from the minor league teams, take the field and contribute right away. I am thinking about Constanza, Minor, Vavarro, Teheran, and Vizcaino. They all contributed, not to mention the daily efforts of Freeman and Kimbrel, both rookies this past year. If you can get past the recent bad news, the future can be seen with great optimism.
   I think another reason we can relate to the recent woes of the Braves is that their struggles sometimes mirror our own. We have been the ones who have dropped the ball and struck out. We have gotten it wrong, and even looked ugly doing it. Despite all of that, we desperately cling to hope in the future.
   The scriptures tell of just such a story happening in the early church: it is the story of John Mark. A companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, John Mark left the trip before it was completed. This past action was the cause of a split between Paul and Barnabas when they began making plans about a second trip, for Paul was adamant that the young man would not accompany them (Acts 15). Yet, despite his failings of the past, this young disciple would later become one of Paul's trusted aides in winning souls and cities for the kingdom (2 Timothy 4), to say nothing of the fact that he would author the first-ever written account of Jesus' life that we know as the Gospel of Mark.
   Sometimes, failures are the reality and the wins come too far in between. Sometimes the future seems far off. Other times, if would just allow ourselves the courage to hope with a vision for what will be, the truth is that what is coming is greater than we could imagine. Let it be...for our lives and for our church's relationship to our community (and for our Braves, too!).

Poverty Rates and A Holy Meal

   Last week, it was reported that Georgia had the third-highest poverty rate in the country at 18.7 percent, with more than 1.8 million people counted as poor.  Last year, according to Census Bureau figures, Georgia’s poverty rate reached its highest point since 1983, as stubbornly high unemployment and the housing crisis put intense pressure on strained finances. The figures include 61,000 more Georgians than a year earlier, and left our state with the third-highest rate among US states (read more here in the AJC). I serve a church that is growing people who want to change these numbers for the good.

   Jesus said the poor will always be with us (see Mark 14). Why? Is it because some will always make bad choices that move them into poverty? Is it because there will always be circumstances, beyond our control, that will strain what people have in the moment? Is it because our competitive human nature will always create systems that result in winners and losers, even when entire households are counted as the latter? We don't know, exactly, but one ancient Rabbi did suggest our sins contribute when he said, "If thou shalt obey the words of the Lord, there shall not be a poor man among you: but thou wilt not obey; therefore a poor man shall never be wanting among you" (Rabbi Ibn Ezra).

   The first New Testament churches included those who were lacking in material possessions or monies. It was among entire crowds of varied peoples that the Spirit gathered the first converts to the teaching of Christ as the crucified and resurrected Son of God. The historical book, Acts, tells how members within the church would share with each other because not everyone had enough on their own.

   Later, as the church continued to sort through how its life together will look and operate, we read Paul's first words on celebrating Holy Communion. They are recorded as words of sacred practice and brilliant theology. He is instructing the church that every person should be included. It seems some people would rush to the meal they shared as a part of worship in order to eat first and have plenty, which left others out (see 1 Corinthians 11). There in the middle of Paul's instructions that shape how we still today celebrate this sacrament, we find poor people. They are always with us. Often, they are us.

   On this first Sunday, when the global church celebrate World Communion Sunday, may our eyes be opened to how connected we are, how best we can include each other, and how poor we remain apart from the grace of Christ. I encourage you to be present in worship this Sunday to celebrate.

BREAKING NEWS: John Travolta's Vintage Mercedes Stolen

   It seems John Travolta's vintage Mercedes sports car has been stolen. It happened in Santa Monica, California. Travolta parked the car on a residential street Sunday afternoon and stopped in at a nearby Jaguar dealership for about 10 minutes. When he returned, he found an empty parking spot and no sign of the car, a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280-SL. You can read about it here in the AJC. There, you can also read about the efforts to have Troy Davis' execution stopped, a shooting at a preschool, deals on travel packages to Canada, a 3-year-old who fired a shotgun inside a automobile, a review of the first night of Dancing with the Stars, the latest on Charlie Sheen and Ashton Kutcher, and plenty of talk about the Atlanta Braves' recent woes. 

   It is staggering to think about the limitless stream of events and stories happening right now... How does any one newspaper decide what to cover and what to leave off? I think editors have a difficult job. This struggle extends out to a wide-range of media: newspapers, television, radio, and even internet sites. In one way, their task is reactionary: they print the news as it happens. In another way, they have some discretion as to what to send reporters out to cover. They have to think about sales, so winnowing down the list of topics must include some thought about public interest and preference; Columbus' residents are not interested in local politics of Saskatchewan. 

   In a real sense, we all have the same challenge, though. Each of us makes decisions daily on what gets our attention. What will we listen to on the television in the morning, in the car as we drive, or at night when we sit down to unwind? What stories do we read in the paper or online? I am no different; I get my print news by browsing the headlines that come across my twitter feed, where I follow news agencies around the country and world. I tune into one specific station on the radio, too. I am making conscious choices about what I tune into, with my ears or eyes. 

   From a very young age, we have learned that gaining and keeping attention is power; think about a young child calling their parent's name over and over and over again. It has been true across the ages. We grant power in our lives to those people and things to which we give our attention. Jesus said using our eyes can lead to destruction, and went so far as to suggest serious steps to prevent it from happening in Matthew 5. The Hebrew prophets proclaimed that we must give attention to the commands of God (see Jeremiah 7) and pointed to heartache and suffering when we failed.
   So....pay attention! Avoid gossip. Listen to people who speak the truth. Avoid conversations  on trivial matters. Tune into news that matters. Read good books and lengthy articles that expand your mind. Do all of these things that you might use the gift of your time and your mind for the glory of God, and not for the glory of something so much less.

Back to the Future

I have some questions about that first Sunday morning, 51 years ago. 

What was the first song that the congregation sang?

What was the sermon about on that first Sunday together?

Did the preacher stand behind a podium or just out in front of the people?

How much money was placed in the offering plate? 

Actually, what did they use for offering plates?

How many children and teenagers were present?

How many first-time visitors returned the next week?

How long before the first person was baptized?

What were the people most excited about?

Could they have ever dreamed what they started on that day would end up here?

   Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd captured our imaginations in the 1985 movie, Back to the Future. Fox's character goes back and nearly alters the future, forever. In this Homecoming week, my reason for going back with these questions is more educational and much less gripping than that Hollywood classic. Wouldn't you love to travel back in time and see what the people were doing and learn about what they were thinking? What unique personalities, spiritual forces, and acts of God's grace must have all come together for a band of forty-nine people to gather in a home on Rosemont one Sunday, and then three years later gather for worship in their own building with  five times number on roll? It did not stop there; Epworth saw 75 people join by Profession of Faith in the five years that their second pastor, Rev. Don Kea, served. It is amazing to think about it.

   This much I do know. It took hard work. It took lots of forgiveness. It require leadership, on both sides of the pulpit - whenever it was they finally got around to having one of those. It took vision. Vision for ministry is the aspect I have dwelt upon for the better part of seven months now. I think I'm on my eighth book specifically on the topic of shaping and casting vision, but more importantly have had twice that many conversations with folks within the church about what it might look like. Churches do not get started without vision. Churches do not continue and thrive without it, either.

   On this Homecoming weekend, 51 years after Epworth was first started in this very neighborhood, I am reminded of Paul's prayers to the first churches. Like Paul, my prayers are saturated with thanksgiving. I am thankful for those who came before us and for those who are with us now. My highest prayer is that the One True God who was worshiped on that first Sunday might be present and glorified on this and every Sunday we gather.

   Grace and Peace, Scott

I Was In My Office

   I was in my office, upstairs in the old home where the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church offices were located, when Gail called up from the front desk over the intercom. She asked me if heard about what happened in New York a few minutes ago, and told me to come downstairs. A television had been set up in the sitting area up front and the images it showed were unbelievable.

   I remember watching for a few minutes, and then going back upstairs to my office. This is terrible to admit, but I remember thinking that I needed to get back to work on that Tuesday morning because I had a lot to do. It was the first week back at school for me at seminary and that, combined with my full-time position as minister with students at this busy church, meant I spent most days trying to keep up. So, I climbed the stairs and sat down to try to get something done. Within a few moments, I was back downstairs watching and soon was home with Julie and Sam, who was about 10 weeks old at the time.

   None of us will never forget that fateful Tuesday morning when images came through television screens of the unimaginable. Planes, buildings, terror, and soon the awareness that thousands of lives were lost and the conflicts that had long raged overseas had breached our shores. September 11, 2001 was a day that changed things. Like a declaration signed, a cannon shot, a bomb dropped, a speech given, or a giant step taken, it was a moment that we will remember.

   It was a day of loss that, over time, led to days of hope for many people. Others are still found living between loss and hope. Where are you on that spectrum? Where am I? Can we turn our remembering of the past into energy and passion for our future? That is a question for more than just this coming Sunday. I offer this prayer from some of the resources United Methodists will be using this weekend:

A Prayer for the Anniversary of 9/11
O God, our hope and refuge, in our distress we come quickly to you. Shock and horror of that tragic day have subsided, replaced now with an emptiness, a longing for an innocence lost.We come remembering those who lost their lives in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.We are mindful of the sacrifice of public servants who demonstrated the greatest love of all by laying down their lives for friends. We commit their souls to your eternal care and celebrate their gifts to a fallen humanity.We come remembering and we come in hope, not in ourselves, but in you.As foundations we once thought secure have been shaken, we are reminded of the illusion of security.In commemorating this tragedy, we give you thanks for your presence in our time of need and we seek to worship you in Spirit and in truth, our guide and our guardian. Amen.

(www.gbod.org/worship, written by the Rev. Jeremy Pridgeon)

Take a Day Off

   This can be misunderstood, especially coming from the church or the pastor. But it means what it says...take a day off. Stop working.
   The Law says you must rest. Well, not exactly. But Labor Day was made an official national holiday by an Act of the United States Congress in 1894. The holiday originated from a desire by the Central Labor Union to create a day off for the "working man" in 1882. It is still celebrated as a day of rest for most people.  It use to be a boundary for fashion, but my wife, who regularly instructs me on the subject, says those days are gone. It also marks the symbolic end of summer for many, though on this last point we here in Columbus take issue for a couple of reasons: school started back four weeks earlier and the hottest days of the year seem to have no end in sight. Many of us will celebrate with picnics, barbecues, afternoon naps, playing in the water or heading out of town one last time. 
   Regardless of how you choose to spend your day, this Monday is a national holiday for a variety of great reasons beyond the law. I am reminded that our Congressional leaders were not the first to publicly declare that take time off to rest was important. God did the same thing a few years before that.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. - Exodus 20

God believed taking a day off was so important, he made it a commandment for his people. Right alongside murder, idolatry of false gods, stealing, and adultery is the sin of working too much. I think it is because those who work all the time begin to believe that the world might stop if they did. Or maybe it is because God knows best how we are made and taking time to rest and remember our Maker is a matter of life and death? Either way, it is something we all need to do. 
   Take a day off from work, and use it reconnect with joy, hope, and your value apart from your work. This is the stuff of God. This is what we are about. Grace and Peace, Scott