Water Cooler Woes

   Many of you have taken note of the fact that the renovations of the hallways meant the removal of the old metal water coolers that hung on the walls. We had three of them and, from time to time, two of them would operate. In their places, we have installed a new-style water cooler that will offer fresh water.
   What seemed like a simple purchase and solution has become more complex than you could imagine. First of all, I really thought we could do this in a way that saved the church in the long run by not using a water delivery service that would bring new jugs every couple of weeks. I've since learned that sometimes saving money leads to headaches, but that is another story for another week.
   Our journey toward doing this ourselves started with the realization that no single company makes everything needed. No company makes the water cooler and cup holder, and no company seems to make either one to be compatible with the other. This week we discovered that the unit we had in our hallway was defective - it never turned on because it was accidentally built without an 'on' switch. To top it off, four calls into their Customer Service center have gotten us a different answer every time. It is funny and frustrating at the same time. We've finally been told they will ship us a new one. Their people are nice - but there has to be an easier way to get to the finish line of clean, fresh, affordable water in our hallway.
   Which makes me think of the church. I wonder how our experiences with this company are similar to the experiences of visitors who've come to Epworth. How many people have come to our church looking for a simple, clear path to get connected, only to find it is not always that simple? How many of our members have longed for a way to serve but cannot get easy answers on where they are needed most? How many times have I wondered about the vast array of things that we offer people to learn, serve, and grow and how many of them actually lead to different destinations?
 Matthew records in 7:13 Jesus saying, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it." I don't think discipleship is easy. I don't think following Jesus is supposed to be simple. It isn't. But, I do think we should help people connect and we should be clear in how people can be equipped to follow this path. Jesus is the way. The church is called to help people along the way. I am so excited to serve a church that wants to be intentional in making that happen.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Ancient Pharisees, Modern Politicians, and Enduring Problems

   At the time that Jesus was engaged in ministry, there were varying philosophies within his own Jewish faith. Four predominant religious groups had emerged from the circumstances that pressed in on the little nation of Israel: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.  Jesus likely interacted with all of them, touching the hearts of some and sparking violent hatred among others.(1) This first group, the Pharisees, has become a bad word to many of us who grew up attending Sunday School or reading through the stories of Jesus. There is another side, though. They descended from brave freedom fighters who died trying to resist tyranny, like our early American colonists. They were Middle-class merchants. They believed in the entire Old Testament as law, believed that studying the Scriptures was the highest act of worship and had even believed in bodily resurrection and life after death.
   Modern politicians share some of these common characteristics. Most of them rose from humble beginnings and serve as a response to the way they were raised. All of them hold certain values above all others and these values serve to guide them in their actions and speech.  Many of them believe that, even after the worst of moral or ethical defeats, they can resurrect their political aspirations in miraculous ways. (I’m thinking about Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, and Mark Sanford to name but a few.)
   But Jesus did take issue with the Pharisees on a number of occasions. In Luke 12, he warns that the active ingredient in their behavior was hypocrisy. He believed Pharisees often said the right things, but did not do them. They were more interested in appearing to be right than actually doing right.

   To be honest, I think of American politicians today on a number of issues, not the least of which is that of children and immigration on our borders. Since last October, 52,200 children have entered the US unaccompanied. They are fleeing the absolute chaos of their home countries - primarily Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador - created by gangs and the drug industry. If they didn’t leave, they would be forced to enter the gangs or be killed. This current crisis is driven by a host of underlying causes, not the least of which is that our US laws and our morality require us to care for these children when they arrive until a better option can be found.
   Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, our modern politicians (on both sides) are more interested in winning points by ‘sounding right’ than by doing what is right. Every one of them, from Texas to DC, is offering quotes and soundbites to make themselves look better. Political posturing has become their measure of success. The problem is that the real enduring problems - poverty, fear, scarcity, child abuse - are not solved with posturing. The real problems of today require people who are doers of what is right and not hearers and speakers only. Jesus instructed his followers to be doers.
   What can I do? To be honest, there are not easy answers, right now. We can pray for wisdom for our leaders. I think we can also discern which leaders are doing what is right and which ones are satisfied with only looking right. Finally, I think we can care for children here in our community on behalf of those in Texas. We can engage even more with Open Door to help families find their way out of poverty and with the Wynnton Neighborhood Network to help feed families. One of our core values is simple: we serve to make the world better. That is what it means to follow Christ. Grace and Peace, Scott
1 - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/judaism.html

Thin Skin

   I'm writing from the island of Manhattan, where Julie, Sam, and Jack are helping me retrace much of a trip I took with my family a couple of decades ago. We are visiting sites that are historic and help us understand our past and some sites that are meaningful in the present. We are also going to stop at two baseball stadiums, for fun!

   This morning we were retracing the steps that over 12 million Americans made over a century ago. We took the ferry out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. This is American history. They are also significant to Julie's family, and the families of over 100 million Americans alive right now that trace their time in the United States back to Ellis Island. Julie's great-grandfather Natale DiNatale arrived here in June 1903 from his village in Italy on board the ship Montevideo. He was 17. Imagine how much courage that took. 

   One of the fascinating details of the morning was learning about the design of the Statue of Liberty. It was both a gift to the United States and a critique of the tyranny of the French ruler Napoleon III. It was also an engineering feat. While it looks like a solid piece of sculpted metal, it is actually a meticulously crafted series of cooper sheets that were attached to an inner metal frame of steel. The frame was designed by Gustave Effiel, three years before the tower that bears his name in Paris was erected. But, what shocked me was the fact that the actual width of the cooper skin of Lady Liberty is only 3/32", or the same as two pennies pressed together. 

   She has withstood hurricanes and so much more with such a thin skin. That takes courage and good design. I think we could learn a thing or two about living with thin skin. It requires forgiveness and grace. People will test you. How do we respond? Do we turn the other cheek or strike back? Do we admit when we're hurt or pretend to be able to take everything? This is the very stuff Jesus talked about. 

   Living with thin skin takes courage. For many of us, being so vulnerable is akin to sailing around the world and starting over in a brand new place. 

   May we all have such courage. Grace and peace, Scott

Picnics, Watermelons, and Fireworks

   Picnics, Watermelons, and Fireworks. Those are the things that first come to mind for Bob Wait when he thinks back about the Fourth of July from years gone by. Those probably make a lot of peoples' lists of memories for this week. What about you? What do you remember? Some folks will add trips to the lake, visits to grandmother's house, and family meals together. All of the 50+ in our Carruth family would name our annual family reunion as a beloved Fourth of July tradition. We almost always gather at my Aunt Margaret's cabin in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina for a few days of the very stuff named above: fireworks, food, and family all over the place.
   As Bob and I sat talking the other day our conversation jumped from the holiday week to the work that has been happening at Epworth this year. In particular, the renovations in the hallways, the addition of the parking lot in the rear of our property, and now the start of the Children's Wing renovations. He and I are both aware that the faithfulness of generations of people from years gone by has played a part in bringing those projects to life.
   It was special to be able to share with Bob about the newest plaque that now hangs in the hallway of Epworth, commemorating the people and legacy of the Hamp Stevens Memorial UMC. Featuring a photo of the church building, a section with history and a great poem given to the church's namesake back in 1909. The plaque hangs above a special Bible, also given to Rev. Stevens back in 1909, that came to Epworth in the joining of the two congregations in 2006.
   Columbus has changed since that little church was founded in 1902 out of a tent revival meeting, but it's legacy is remembered in a plaque, a bible, and, most of all, the ongoing witness of the saints who still live out their calling at Epworth by singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, serving in leadership, contributing to the ministry offering every week, and caring for one another. Sitting with Bob Wait, the prayer I offered was one of thanksgiving for the past and one of expectation for the future. What a delight to serve a God who reigns over our past and our future!
   Grace and Peace to you in this week we celebrate freedom and independence - Scott