The Missing __ Changes Everything

OurFatherwhoartinheavenhallowedbetheynameThykingdomcomethywillbedone

onearthasitisinheavenGiveusthisdayourdailybreadAndforgiveusourtrespasses

asweforgivethosewhotrespassagainstusAndleadusnotintotemptation

butdeliverusfromevilForthineisthekingdom

andthepowerandthegloryforeverAmen

  This is not right. While it has the exact same substance and content of the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught to his disciples, it is not the same thing. Not a single letter has been changed but one little absence changes the way we experience it. The spaces are missing. The Lord's Prayer is not the Lord's Prayer when we remove the space between the words. The missing __ changes everything.
  I think the same could be said of life. The spaces in life are often the difference between substance that makes sense and works as compared to the same substance that is too closely crammed together as to be helpful. We can be blessed by three deep and moving conversations in a day or week, but if they were to come one after the other, in succession with no time in between to process them, then the affect is different. Most people would resonate with being busy, but we define too busy as not having enough time. Think of the time in between like space. Life is lessened without the space in between. Some people call it margin. They have come to realize that margin in and around what we do allow for us to breathe, to reflect, to prepare, and to cherish. To live without these critical elements is not good for body or soul. I believe Jesus modeled this throughout his ministry and wants the same of us.
  This idea came up this week as I visited with Sister Chris at Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat for spiritual direction. She loved hearing about our congregation's efforts to spend a few moments in silence during the Season of Lent. I shared with her that I had been trying it but was struggling some. Would you believe she told me to do less. Instead of 8-10 minutes of quiet, centering prayer, I should start with 2-3 minutes. She encouraged me to then return to it in small moments through the rest of the day, seeking to regain that word from God as the day went on. I offer this to you, as well.
  May the space you take in between the stuff of life be a place where you encounter the God who made and loves you. Peace, Scott

Body and Soul

   It is widely known that John Wesley, the founder of the movement that now includes an estimated 75 million people worldwide, was methodical in the way he approached theology and practice. He was intentional. He did very little without good reason or for a specific purpose. He was also deliberate to connect how he followed Jesus in his soul with how he lived with his whole body.
   One of the ways Wesley would help the believers in his small groups and soon-flourishing movement to keep both connected was with a question to start every meeting: How is it with your body and soul? It was as penetrating a question then as it is now. To be honest, we often neglect one or the other (or both!). The causes of either one getting out of whack, so to say, are often very similar. We get busy, or fall behind, or get stressed, or get out of our routines. Something more pressing comes along one day and then something the next and, suddenly, we are off track. But both are important. We should be as committed to caring for our hearts as our bodies. 
   If the Season of Lent is preparing my soul for the great joy of Easter, what am I doing for my body? I recommend walking for a great cause as one idea.

   The Open Door Walk Classic is celebrating its 26th year.  Last year is was moved from downtown to the Columbus State main campus. It will again be held this year on Saturday, March 9, at the Mock Pavilion by the Intramural Field at CSU. The main events are a 5K Run that starts at 8:00 AM and the Walk which starts at 9:00 AM . 
   As a member of the Open Door board for the past three years, I have been blessed to witness the amazing leadership and service they offer to families and this community. Open Door is making a difference. I have also seen this event become one of the best-run fundraisers around. Epworth has come out to support this in the past and this year will be better than ever. Of course, our connection to Open Door through its founders at Hamp Stevens over eight decades ago makes this all the more special. Beyond the walking to raise support for Open Door, there will be live music and a hot dog lunch for a small donation. Dogs are welcome, simply bring a rabies record. For more information, visit the Open Door website or call (706) 323-5518. 

   
   May we seek after God's best desires for us with our body and soul. Peace, Scott

Preparing for Something Different

   We live in routines. We thrive in them. There are occasions  however, that our routines are altered or put aside. In those moments or seasons, we know that there will be some preparation that is needed. We prepare for guests. We prepare for events. We prepare for tests or examinations. Preparation is the precursor to important or special diversions away from our routine.

   We don't know the routine that Jesus had in the years before he answered the call to ministry. We do know, though, that he spent time preparing for the changes that were ahead. This is best captured in the story of the forty Days Jesus spent in the wilderness. Mark's Gospel, known for its economy of words, describes it like this:

"And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts;
and the angels waited on him." Mark 1:12-13

When the church chose forty days to be the length of the Season of Lent, this was one of the places it looked for support. Like those forty days Jesus spent preparing, the church intends that Season of Lent help prepare us for what is to come.

   The prominent place given to the ministry of preparation is not limited to stories about what Jesus did, though. Jesus is often instructed his followers to also be those who prepare. In Matthew 25 he tells a story about 10 bridesmaids who are expecting, at any moment, the bridegroom to arrive. The wedding, literally a party, would begin in that moment. They needed to be ready. But five of them were not. He ends with the admonition, "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Jesus, in other stories like the one in Luke 12, suggests that God comes like one who arrives and knocks in search of those who are prepared. He says, "be like those who are waiting for their master to return...so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks."

   That first Easter was the most significant moment in history. We celebrate it each year and anticipate new blessings and new insights from its return. I, personally, cling to the promise of hope that Easter offers. I need to know that Jesus conquered death. I need to hear a good word that these mortal bodies are not all we have. Such a moment of celebration is indeed a change of routine. It is something for which I must prepare.

   I pray you will join me in preparing. Whether it be through the imposition of ashes this week, worship each Sunday, studying the scriptures, or fasting and denying yourself something during Lent - start preparing for Easter. 

   Grace and Peace, Scott

Adapting to the Future While Using the Past

   I returned to school this week as I continue in my Doctor of Ministry program. The first class meeting started with a Bible Study that lasted thirty minutes. It was a very refreshing moment, considering the class is titled "Leading, Growing and Developing the 21st Century Church." The combination of ancient truths with new challenges sparked my thinking beyond our discussion that day.
   We were reading from the story of Jesus calling his first disciples in Mark 1:16-18: 

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Modern fishermen on the
Sea of Galilee, 2007.

Could you imagine such a request? What were those first disciples thinking? They had no context for what this wandering Rabbi was asking. Fish for people? Any step away from the life they had known would be a leap of faith. Of course, we know our call is the same. Turning our lives back toward the direction of the One who bids us to follow happens by faith. We have no idea what the journey's next turn, or day, or chapter will hold for us.
   They had a tremendous amount to learn and new things to pick up along the way. That is true for anyone learning anything. But, they did have some learnings from their past that would inform what God wants in their future. First, they understood enough to know to leave their nets behind, for this new venture would not require that old equipment. Second, they would have a keen sense of the need to fish daily, and not settle on the catch from yesterday. A good fisherman went out every day for more fish. They had to because their lives, their families, and even their community, depended on it. How different is this last point from the modern church? Can we recognize that many of us have become complacent with the haul from trips of yesterdays gone by?
   Larger than any critique of today's church, though, I come away with the reminder that God is calling us to do a new thing while expecting that some of our old learnings will be used for his purposes. The buzz term for the UMC in the coming years will be Adaptive Leadership, taken from the work and writings of Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linksky, Harvard professors helping us differentiate between technical challenges and adaptive ones. They have much to teach us, indeed. Our church, from the denominational level down to every congregation, needs to see the shifts in society and the world with new eyes born of a new, adaptive vision. But, like the first disciples, there are some truths that we carry with us from the past. Truth is portable.
  The church that is able to inspire its people to bring what they have known and combine it with a willingness to learn what is now needed will find itself entering a narrow gate to begin a unique journey. Few will take it, but it leads to abundant life together.
   Grace and Peace, Scott