Been Awhile...

It's been a while since my last post. Partly due to traveling; partly due to getting into some genealogical research; partly due to not having much to say. I usually write at night, but lately when I get online at night I get absorbed tracing family history.

A few weeks ago I was in West Virginia for the weekend to surprise my parents and my aunt. It had been 5 years since my last trip there, and I wanted to see the old family cemetery but there wasn't time on this trip. My great grandparents and my great-great grandparents are among those buried here. Since that trip, I have discovered the obituary of my great-great grandfather, and have been able to trace back to his grandfather, John Gray - a Revolutionary War veteran who was born in Pennsylania in 1761.

Below is the obituary of my great-great grandfather:

Francis M. GRAY - One of the oldest soldiers and citizens of this community was laid to rest on 6 May 1923 in the Gray Cemetery near Kausooth. He was 82 years and 26 days old. He had walked with a painful limb for about sixty years, the result of a wound received from a rebel bullet in the years of 1862 to 1865. His wife preceded him in death over 16 years ago. He lived with his son Jason on the home farm for a while & from there he went to this daughter's home. She was Mrs. Melvin Siburt & he lived there until she died. He came to his daughter, Lucinda Burge & stayed until death called him home. He was united in marriage to Miss Jane McCollough on 4 Jul 1862 & to them were born eight children, four girls & four boys. One boy died in infancy. Andrew died when about 35 years of age. Mrs. Melvin Siburt & Mrs. Andrew McCardle died several years ago. Those living are: Jason Gray of Kausooth; Mrs. Lucinda Burge, Cameron, WV; Ben Gray, Freeport, OH & Mrs. Cora Snedeker of Washington, PA. Funeral services were conducted at the home by Rev. J. M. Rine. Pallbearers were his two sons, Jason & Ben Gray; two grandsons, Chester & John Gray & two nephews, J. B. Gray & Madison Gray of Moundsville, WV. Interment was in the family burial ground on the home farm near Kausooth, Marshall Co, WV.

Father's Day Quotes

The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother...Theodore M. Hesburgh

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it...Clarence B. Kelland

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father...Pope John XXIII

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys."...Harmon Killebrew

Small boys become big men through the influence of big men who care about small boys...Anonymous

If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right...Bill Cosby

One night a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the Father prayed, Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be...Anonymous

By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder – infinitely prouder – to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, 'Our Father who art in Heaven.'...Douglas MacArthur

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years...Mark Twain

Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord...Ephesians 6:4

Missional Worship

In a recent Daily Heartlight article Phil Ware describes worship in missional terms...

I'm convinced that much of our sense of worship is well-intentioned wrong-headedness. We've confined worship to what we do in our daily quiet times, in our church building sanctuaries, and our small group Bible studies. In other words, worship takes place away from the everyday world where we live, the jobs where we work, the leisure activities we enjoy, and the activities where our children play. In other words, worship is what occurs at the margins, fringes, and short moments of time where we are isolated from "real life."

While worship with Christians is great and necessary, it is private worship with our church family. Occasionally someone from the "outside"may come in and be blessed (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). But Jesus left the incredible worship world of Heaven to enter the everyday world of fallen humanity to do the will of God, show the love of God, and bring God glory -- in other words, Jesus' life was a life of worship! God wants us to follow our Lord's example. He wants us to take our worship out into the "real world" where we work, play, go to school, and watch our children in their activities. Worship must be what we do in our daily lives out in the world around us (Romans 12:1). We meet together for worship to "stimulate one another to love and good deeds" in our daily worship lived out daily in the world around us (Hebrews 10:24-25NAS).

Our power to change the character of our culture will be found in the compassion and quality of our daily lives, not in the political clout we can marshal at the polls or in the power of our Christian assemblies(1 Peter 2:11-12). The way we conduct ourselves in our daily lives, openly living our faith but not shoving it down everyone's throat, will give us the opportunity to share the real basis of our hope in Jesus even in the most hostile situations (1 Peter 3:13-17).

Once we grab hold of this concept, we're in for quite a surprise. We learn that our lives will be heard by the skeptical world around us more than our words. We will discover that each day is a day holy to God. How we treat our family, the way we conduct ourselves at work, the kind of person we are at school, the way we carry ourselves at our children's events, the way we help those around us who are in need, andthe kind of neighbor we are when we are at home all are a crucial parts of worship. Rather than God being a tack on part of our day-to-day lives, he will inhabit all spaces and places of each day.

1 Corinthians 13

As we continue the conversation on what it means to become missional, I recently came across a post where the author personalized Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. As we seek to listen to God, to discern His plans for us, to be transformed into His image, this reading gives some perspective as to what that would look like:

I am patient, I am kind and not jealous. I do not brag and am not arrogant, do not act unbecomingly. I do not seek my own, am not provoked, do not take into account a wrong suffered, do not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoice with the truth. I bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. I never fail.

I have a ways to go....
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In contrast is this story recounted by Rubel Shelley in this week's Fax of Life...

A good citizen was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy street. Suddenly, the light at the intersection just in front of them turned yellow. The good citizen did the right thing by stopping at the crosswalk – even though he could have beaten the red light by gunning it through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof – and her horn. She was screaming in frustration because she had missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant – alternately pounding the steering wheel and gesturing to the fellow in front of her – she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He put handcuffs on her. He took her to the police station, where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a police captain approached the cell and opened the door. The woman was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for my mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cursing a blue streak. Then I noticed the ‘Choose Life' license plate holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do?' bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

A couple of weeks ago my sisters and I had a surprise reception for my parents 50th anniversary. Their actual anniversary was this past Friday, and it was spent like most of their lives - serving.

Since their retirement they have lived in Mountain Home, Arkansas and have been active in their support of the children's home in Paragould. They travel to Paragould several times each year to do maintenance, construction, cleaning and renovation work on the facilities of the home. A couple of years ago, they helped open a thrift store in Mountain Home to help raise funds for the children's home and on their 50th anniversary they were volunteering at the thrift store. (They did go out to dinner that evening)

This is not a pattern that began after retirement. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad doing things at the church building - printing the bulletin, painting, maintaining the mowers, shoveling snow - and doing things to help others - roofing Elmer's house, mowing Mr. Denney's lawn, cleaning up Aunt Rene's basement after the creek had flooded. Both of my parents figuratively washed the feet of the people they encountered in their lives.

Retirement did not bring a decline in their service - to the contrary, it provided more time for service. Mom works a regular volunteer schedule at the hospital in Mountain Home. Dad drives a van route from Mountain Home to Little Rock, picking up veterans and taking them to the VA hospital, and then bringing them back home. They both work at the thrift store and still make trips to Paragould.

I think their servant attitudes are one of the contributing factors to the 50 successful years of marriage. They both put the interests of others, including each other, before their own interests. Another factor is their commitement to one another. In the 48 years that I have known them I have never doubted or questioned their commitment and devotion to one another. Barbara and I are both fortunate in having that kind of commitment modeled by our parents.

Mom and Dad - I am proud of you. Congratulations on 50 years and I hope you have dozens more.

PMC - Random Reflections

Several of us spent all day and evening yesterday and most of today in the first of several cluster meetings with other partner congregations, ACU staff, and consultants from Church Innovations. In no particular order here are some reflections:

Trust - Trust is based on two basic elements: Character (Trustworthiness), and Competence in the field of action. If either character or competence is lacking, trust is damaged. We are beginning a process where as leaders we don't presume that we necessarily have a great deal of competence. Character therefore becomes even more imperative...

Dying or Pregnant? A woman who goes to the doctor displaying the symptoms of being sick and tired may be dying or she may be pregnant. A church that is sick and tired may be dying...or it may be pregnant. If it is God's will that a congregation die, then no program or personality will be able to save it. But a pregnant church, although it may go through considerable pain, gives birth to new life.

Trust (part 2) - In Genesis 12 God tells Abraham to leave his home and move to a land that he would reveal to him. As we embark on this journey, we don't know our ultimate destination, but we trust God to reveal it to us as we go through the process.

Spirit - The Spirit of God is present among the people of God. If we, as God's people, can learn better to listen to His Spirit, then collectively we will be better able to discern His will for us as a church.

Making disciples in an age of consumerism - as we transform into a missional church, we will see people as disciples rather than as customers.

Success?

The following excerpt from yesterday's Dallas Morning News Viewpoints section contains a profound insight into the challenges faced by many in our community in attempting to achieve the American Dream...

On Sunday, The Washington Post ran an extensive poll delving into the experiences of black men and their attitudes toward themselves, as well as other Americans' attitudes toward them. Here, two employees of the Dallas-based Foundation for Community Empowerment – an African-American man and a white woman – mull the implications of the sometimes surprising findings on this highly charged subject.

Victoria Loe Hicks: So, Marcus, what jumped out for you in the poll? For me it was that black men are their own toughest critics. For instance, a majority of all respondents said that black men are too focused on sports and sex and not focused enough on getting a good education, but black men were much stronger in those critiques than black women, white men or white women. Of course, no one knows us as well as we know ourselves.

Marcus Martin: I think what surprised me most is how many black men have internalized the obstacles and hardships that many black men across America face. They blame themselves, just as others blame them, for not overcoming those obstacles and hardships.

Hicks: So what I interpreted as self-awareness, you interpret as something more like internalized oppression?

Martin: Exactly. And part of this, I believe, is rooted in the way we measure whether a person has achieved the American dream – typically, we look only at the end result. I believe that is a flawed measure.

Hicks: But what is there to measure, other than the end result?

Martin: Well, I as a black man and you as a white woman have the same goals: a good education, good job, nice home, etc. However, because of my starting place – poverty, single-parent home, racism, etc. – I have 50 obstacles to overcome, where you have five. You manage to overcome those five and achieve the dream. I manage to overcome 30, but if the other 20 leave me by the wayside, society is ready to tell me I did not try hard enough. The African-American single mother who manages to get her three kids to graduate from high school has been just as successful as the upper-middle-class family that managed to get their three kids through Harvard – although society won't agree.

There is a lot to think about in this short excerpt, but 3 thoughts come immediately to mind:

First, starting place, while not the only factor, is one of the most significant factors in determining one's opportunity to achieve "success".

Second, we need to reconsider our definition of success. I was reading Ecclesiastes earlier today and was reminded again about what is important in life.

Third, I was reminded again how much I admire and appreciate Don Williams.

Partnership for Missional Church

This weekend we formally kick off our participation in the Partnership for Missional Church. Over the next several months I anticipate that we will be engaged in significant conversation regarding what the PMC is, what are the implications for Skillman, and eventually what impact it is having.

Starting the conversation about what it is, I want to look at the three main words in the title:

Partnership - We will be engaged in prayer, study, and sharing of ideas, successes, and failures with about a dozen other churches of Christ, staff from ACU, and consultants from Church Innovations. Church Innovations is "a non-profit organization devoted to renewing the Church’s focus on God’s mission in the world. Rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and wholly committed to following God’s leading for every congregation, we provide research and consulting tools, products and processes that increase your church’s capacities to experience God’s renewal and transformation."

Missional - We will be engaged in discovery of what it means - what it looks like - to fulfill Jesus' commission in our specific circumstances, time, culture, and community.

Church - We will be inviting the entire congregation to join in the conversation and to particpate in a transformation from a model where we are consumers of religious goods and services and where we typically pay someone else to carry out the mission that Jesus gave us to a model where we each take on the responsibility of carrying out the mission.

QUOTABLE

"In His messages to these seven churches [in Revelation 2-3] Jesus, for some reason, omits any reference to how many people attend church, how many people are saved, or how much money is donated and collected. Jesus does not seem to be interested in their architecture or furnishings of the edifice in which His people gather for worship. As we study these seven churches, it becomes abundantly clear that Jesus does not measure spiritual success by statistics and size. Jesus' fundamental and essential focus in every message is about new life in Him, given by God's grace."
--Greg Albrecht, Revelation Revolution: The Overlooked Message of the Apocalypse (World Publishing: Nashville, Tenn., 2005), p. 51.

Quotation of the Day

The great danger facing all of us... is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all--not these things. The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to tender the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God--and be content to have it so--that is the danger: that some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one's friends may be spared--satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle or thrill that comes from a friendship with the Father. ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Sermons [1878]

Memorial Day

I have a box of my grandfather's sermons and speeches. Below is the text of a speech he gave on Memorial Day in Cameron, WVa, in 1953.
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Mr. Chairman, Beloved and respected defenders of our America in the struggles of the past and in the present bloody war. Ladies and gentlemen - It is not necessary that I explain the object of our service today. Its purpose is engrafted on your memory as one of our most cherished privileges. The privilege of a free people, scattering the tokens of undying love upon the graves of those who made the supreme sacrifice and honoring the memories of those whose bodies are in the embrace of mother earth in foreign lands or sleeping in the bosom of the mighty deep.

And although it is not possible to erase from our memories the terrible realities of war, yet we can raise our hearts in thanksgiving and appreciation. And as we bow our heads in honor of our brave boys and girls, we feel at the same time the tenderest sentiment of a great sorrow. And the gladness of a greatful heart.

We mourn and yet we rejoice. We uncover our heads as a token of true solemnity, and yet we bless the courage of these defenders of the Grandest Nation on earth America.

Who can point to a more noble purpose than to meet as we meet today?

And as I look over this audience I see the same true spirit outlined in your countenance as they manifest in their service. I see the same sentiment of loyalty. I see in the flush of the cheek your willingness to do and to dare in defence of the flag we love.

We are all endowed with the same loyalty to our government, the same determination to protect it and the same courage to defend it. As a people we are grand in government, grand in prosperity, and grand in achievement. Alone we stand upon the foundation of our greatness. But it is not enough that we proclaim our greatness. There is more for all of us to do. And as we meet together on this Memorial Day, let us renew our devotion to our government and so educate our people that our American form of government will never decay.

May we ever appreciate the heritage bequeathed to us on the altar of sacrifice. And may we realize the sacredness of that loyalty which binds us together up on the plain of equal rights. We know our greatness and let us, by a just and righteous conduct, cherish it.

The strength of true greatness depends upon the basic principles of honesty and justice. It was these principles that won for us the glorious independence of this nation. It was these that governed the makers of our constitution, and it is these same principles which must govern our future acts if we would maintain the proud position we hold among other nations. Only five remain who fought in the civil war. They range in age from 105 to 110 years. But later, thirty-five years ago there went forth from their homes thousands of fine young men. They crossed the rolling deep and pitched their tents in Flanders fields and in theValley of the Argonne.

They lived in dugouts. They marched and ate and slept in mud. They rushed into living hells. They were cold, weary and homesick, no one but Almighty God knows the length and breadth and the depth of the awful anguish and suffering of those who fought and died on those European battle fields.

Then again in world war two the call came for defenders of our sacred rights, and your boys and mine answered that call with the same undaunted courage and the same unquenchable spirit that characterized the brave lads of 76, of the Spanish American war, and the boys of world war one - They went forth, met and conquered the enemy in the skys over Europe, in the mud of Italy, in the jungled islands of the Pacific, and in the frozen north land. And today our brave boys are fighting in the jungles of Korea against the most barbarous and uncivilized enemy we can imagine.

Why do young men postpone the day of marriage, print the last long lingering kiss on the lips of a loved one and rush into war with its uncertain future? Why do fathers and mothers bid their boys and girls a fond goodbye and send them forth to the many battle fronts? I am sure they did it for a principle.

There has never been an upward movement in the history of the world for the liberation of the people of the earth that has not been achieved by the shedding of precious blood. Mans forward march from lower to higher ideals is written on the roadways of history in foot prints of blood. And today the souls of men and women are being tried all because the power seeking dictators of the world would regiment and enslave the peoples of the entire world. And turn their God ordained libery into slavery.

Religious liberty, domestic security, social welfare, and political independence are all thrown into the balance. And our boys have cast their lives in the scales to maintain these blessings. These blessings can only be enjoyed so long as we have proper regard for a divine being. God is on the ocean, on the desert, on the isles of the sea and in the frigid north land. As well as in the U.S. For the nations and kingdoms that will not serve Thee shall perish. Yea these nations shall be utterly wasted. Isa 60:12

We make the sacrifice because we love our country and her institutions. And when our eyes behold that emblem of our national existence, we feel as though we could clasp its folds in our dearest embrace, and kiss each star that bedecks its field of blue. Flag of our fathers. Flag of our Washington, our Lincoln, our Douglas, our Grant. Flag of our brave men in their present conflict. As we see it floating on the wind of Heaven we feel and know what it represents.

We stand before you in awe and admiration while in our hearts we thank God that you still float over us the emblem of liberty and freedom - God bless America.

Grandma and Grandpa Gray

In the post on my recent family reunion I mentioned the common heritage we shared as descendents of my grandparents. Chester Arthur Gray was born in Kausooth, along upper Fish Creek in rural Marshall County West Virginia, in 1889. (His grandfather had been born in Kausooth in the 1830's.) He died in 1965 when I was in the first grade.

He married Katherine McWhorter in 1912. They had five daughters and four sons - my dad is the youngest of these. Grandpa Gray was a farmer, a preacher, and a bit of a politician. He actually served as the WVa State Highway Commissioner in the 1930's. I don't have many clear memories of him, but there are two images that do come to mind.

Sometime in the early 60's he and grandma moved from the family farm into town - Cameron. We would frequently make the hour drive from Wheeling to Cameron (it was only about 30 miles as the crow flies, but those are truly winding and twisty country roads). We would spend the weekend so my dad could drive grandma and grandpa out to Fish Creek (another 30 minute drive with some really cool switchbacks going from the ridge down to the creek) where he would preach at the little church in Kausooth. The image I recall is of him sitting on the front row next to the heater in the little church building while we sang and then standing up to preach. I don't remember what he said, but he said it forcefully.

The second image is of him sitting in his rocker in the apartment they moved to. He would have a tin can to spit his tobacco juice into, and always had these pink mints. He taught me to play checkers sitting in that rocker.

Grandma was a gentle woman. She lived for nearly 20 years after grandpa died. I never heard her complain or speak an unkind word. I didn't realize at the time how strong she was to keep up the farm and raise nine kids while my grandpa was frequently gone preaching at gospel meetings all over WVa and eastern Ohio. She lost 2 sons and 3 grandchildren that I can remember during her lifetime. During her latter years she came to live with my aunt. She loved to have visitors to sit and talk, and I wish I had spent more time listening to her when I had the chance.

Graduation Day

It is now official - my baby boy is a high school graduate. These 12 years since he entered the first grade have passed so quickly. I'm sure that it has seemed like a much longer time to Taylor - 2/3 of his life so far - but I can still remember his first day of school like it was last week. He and Barbara got their picture in the Richardson News as she was picking him up after school and hugging him. The caption in the paper said she was comforting him, but I think it was the other way around. He has constantly been a comfort and a source of joy to us, and always a source of pride. He has a compassionate spirit, a wry sense of humor, and is affectionate towards his parents and grandparents. He has a good heart and a tender conscience, he is trustworthy and has grown into a young man of character. We are proud of his accomplishments, but even more proud of the person he is. Richardson High School has been a better place because of his presence, and Pepperdine will be, too. Congratulations, son. I am proud of you.

Obvious Inferences (gracEmail)

I occasionally post items I have read that are written by someone else, and I give credit to the author when I do so. Generally it is because it caught my attention or I thought it was worth repeating. Such is the case with today's gracEmail....

OBVIOUS INFERENCES

A gracEmail subscriber asks whether we are capable of correctly concluding from the Bible what God intended to convey. "I believe we can," he says, "and that's why I think obvious conclusions from the Bible are so clear that all other people should also see them."
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Yes, it is possible to draw correct conclusions from the Bible using our God-blessed thinking. However, Thomas Campbell, a founder of my own modern-day Churches of Christ, had some wise advice on that point. We must be careful, he warned, not to attempt to bind such deductions on the consciences of others, "farther than they see the connection and evidently perceive that they are so," otherwise their faith will rest in the wisdom of men and not in the wisdom of God.

What is "obvious" to you or to me is not necessarily "obvious" to everyone else. God does not hold others accountable to what you or I understand, but to what each of them understands. A person cannot "see" further than his or her own mind understands. A person cannot obey God further than she or he "sees." God looks at the heart, and he regards what he sees there as if it were the deed itself -- both for good (2 Chron. 30:18-20) and for ill (Matt. 5:22, 28).

Jesus does not call us to be debaters but disciples. He seeks learners, not logicians. We should love the Lord with all our minds, but that is not the same as trusting in our intellectual prowess to get us to glory. We are no more saved by our right thinking than we are saved by our right conduct or behavior. Justification is by grace through faith, not by logic through syllogisms. The gospel is not a puzzle to be deciphered but an announcement to be believed. Studiousness is one proper response to God's gift of salvation. It is not a route to eternal life apart from trusting in Jesus Christ.

Copyright 2006 by Edward Fudge. Used by permission.

We Are Family

This past weekend I was briefly reunited with some people who profoundly influenced my life. Alice Riley was my Sunday school teacher in the first grade; Mary Singer and Hazel Sonnenwald, Doris Kerns, Edie Roberts, Opal Thomas - all were Sunday school or Vacation Bible School teachers when I was growing up in Wheeling. I honestly couldn't tell you anything specific that I learned from any of them in terms of Bible knowledge (although some of the flannelgraph stories are still embedded in my mind) but each of them were women of faith, and collectively they helped form the village that raised this child.

Dick and Carol Thomas were close friends of my parents and were like a second family to me. They lived across the street from the playground where there were ball fields and a basketball court. When I wasn't playing ball I was at their house, eating their food, drinking their koolaide, cokes, or whatever they happened to have available. This weekend Carol helped organize the surprise for my parents and ensured that everything was in place. She spent most of her time Saturday evening in the kitchen with another family friend, Donna Parsons, preparing food, cleaning up, and taking joy in blessing my family through their service. These ladies' servant behavior Saturday was typical of what I witnessed with regularity as a boy.

It has been nearly 30 years since I regularly attended church in Wheeling. Many of the people I remember are now gone, and some of those that are still there have aged in that time - others don't look much different. Sunday morning's singing, prayers, sermon didn't seem too much different from what I recall. (3 songs, a prayer, a song, communion....) Theologically, philosophically, educationally, experientially - I may not have as much in common with the church in Wheeling as I did 30 years ago, but there is one thing that has not changed - We are family. With all the idiosyncracies and human shortcomings we may have, with whatever differences in opinion we may have, we are family.

Family Reunion

Family Reunion - the words conjure up a variety of images for different people, sometimes positive and sometimes not. This past Sunday a few dozen members of the Gray family gathered in Wheeling, WVa to celebrate the 90th birthday of my Aunt Irene. We came together from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, and West Virginia. There were relatives that I had not seen in more than 25 years, but we all share a common heritage.

My dad is the youngest of the nine children of Chester and Katherine Gray, of Cameron, WVa. My Aunt Rene is the oldest of the five remaining siblings. She is a gentle woman who has known more than her share of pain; she has buried 2 of her sons and 2 husbands, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. My grandmother and my great-grandmother spent the last years of their lives in her care. She delights in her family and it was good to be able to gather together and celebrate with her.
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My parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on June 9th. My sisters and I took advantage of the gathering of family and friends to surprise them with a reception Saturday evening. We were somehow able to plan by email (from Tx, OK, and New Hampshire) and pull off a complete surprise with the help of my cousin Jan (Aunt Rene's daughter) and Wheeling friend Carol Thomas. My parents may be the best exemplars of lives of service that I have known. Even though they have been gone from Wheeling for more than 20 years, the number of people who remembered them and came to the reception was gratifying, and was indicative of the example they lived. I am fortunate to have them as my parents.

Vendor vs Missional

I'm not sure where I came across this definition distinguishing between evangelism from a vendor perspective vs evangelism with a missional perspective, but as the kickoff for the Partnership for Missional Church draws near, it is worth consideration...
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In vendor churches, evangelism appeals to seekers focusing on their individual needs. Salvation is portrayed as a personal experience where God is invited to become a part of “my life.” In contrast, evangelism rooted in notions of the mission of God invites persons to abandon lives focused on their own interests to join the work of God for the sake of the world. Instead of viewing salvation as inviting God into “my life,” missional evangelism invites participants into God’s life—a life that is communal by its very nature.

A Betrayal of Work

For the past several months I have been participating in the Urban Engagment Book Club, a monthly book review sponsored by Central Dallas Ministries. This month's book is A Betrayal of Work by Beth Shulman. Below is an excerpt....
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For generations, Americans shared a tacit understanding that if you worked hard, you could earn a livable income and provide basic security for yourself and your family. That promise has been broken. More than 30 million Americans--one in four workers--are stuck in low-wage jobs that do not provide the basics for a decent life.....

Cynthia Porter works full time as a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home in Marion, Alabama. When she comes on duty at 11 pm, she makes rounds, checking the residents for skin tears and helping them go to the toilet or use a bedpan. She has to make sure she turns the bedridden every two hours, or they will get bedsores. And if bedsores are left unattended, she tells me, they can get so bad you can put your fist in them. But there aren't enough people on her shift. Often only two nursing assistants are on duty to take care of forty-five residents. And Cynthia must also wash the wheelchairs, clean up the dining rooms, mop the floors and scrub out the refrigerator, drawers and closets during her shift. Before she leaves, she helps the residents get dressed for breakfast.

For all this, Cynthia makes $350 every two weeks. She is separated from her husband, who gives her no child support. The first two weeks each month she pays her $150 rent. The next two weeks, she pays her water and her electric bills. It is difficult to afford Clorox or shampoo. Insuring that her children are fed properly is a stretch. She is still paying off the bicycles she bought for them last Christmas.

She can't afford a car, so she pays someone to drive her the twenty-five miles to work. There have been a few days when she couldn't find a ride. "I walked at 12 o'clock at night," she said. "I'd rather walk and be a little late than call in. I'd rather make the effort. I couldn't just sit here. I don't want to miss a day--otherwise, I might be fired." No public transportation is available that could take her all the way to work.

Cynthia lives with her three children in a small maroon-colored shack. It is miles from a main road. Inside, the plywood floor is so thin and worn that the ground can be seen below. In the next room, a toilet sinks into the floor. There is no phone. A broken heater sits against the wall; the landlord refuses to fix it.

Keeping her children's clothes clean requires great effort because Cynthia has no washing machine. Instead, she fills her bathtub halfway and gets on her hands and knees to scrub the clothes. Then she hangs them out to dry.

Despite the frustration and the difficult conditions, Cynthia beams when she talks about her job. "I like helping people," she says. "I like talking with them, and shampooing their hair. I like old people. If they are down, I can really make them feel better. The patients say, 'Nobody loves me or comes to see me.' Sometimes I help the residents play dominoes. Sometimes their hands shake, but I hold them. It's a lot of fun for them. I tell them 'I love you,' and give them a hug. I like being a CNA. I'm doing what I want to be doing."

Quote of the Day

I find that doing the will of God leaves me with no time for disputing about His plans. ... George MacDonald (1824-1905)

Happy Birthday Lauren

23 years ago today, at approximately 4:20 AM, Lauren Ashley Gray entered this world through the portals of Harris Hospital. It was one of those clean Sunday mornings following Saturday evening thunderstorms. According to the nurses in the maternity ward the change in barometric pressure brought on by the thunderstorms would result in several births that day. Fuzzy Zoeller would win the Colonial later that afternoon. But during that pre-dawn hour while her mom was in the recovery room, I was alone in the newborn nursery holding this incredibly beautiful miracle in my arms, and my world would be forever changed. I have been blessed by Daddy's little girl for these 23 years and I am thankful every day for this precious gift from God. Happy Birthday, Lauren. Love, Daddy.

A Mother's Day Blessing

Blessed are you woman of faith: prayerful, confident, fearless and noble;

Blessed are you woman of compassion: joyful, tearful, cleansing and healing;

Blessed are you woman of strength: rooted deep, standing tall, forging new dreams and promised tomorrows;

Blessed are you woman of wisdom: unfolding mystery and revealing truth and light;

Blessed are you woman of God: sculpted from clay and fired by the very breath of God, forming and nurturing new life, reflecting the One who calls you by name.

Barbara Gray, PhD

At 4:23 CST this afternoon, Barbara officially became Dr. Barbara Gray with her hooding at Texas Woman's University's graduation ceremony.
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State Representative Helen Giddings was the speaker and spoke about the responsibility that comes with privilege. She did a good job for a graduation speaker - she had something worth saying, she got to the point, and she sat down. One phrase stuck with me...she said "we all need to pay rent for the space we occupy in life", meaning that we have a responsibility to contribute to making the world a better place.

Some Quotations to Ponder...

The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still. A.W. Tozer

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. F. P. Jones

The greatest enemy of Christianity may be people who say they believe in Jesus but who are no longer astonished and amazed. Mike Yaconelli

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. Jennifer Unlimited

At the end of our lives we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by: I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in. Mother Teresa

The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it. Franklin P. Jones

We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. Albert Einstein

Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image. A.W. Tozer

You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. Sam Levenson

I have a great diet. You're allowed to eat anything you want, but you must eat it with naked fat people. Ed Bluestone

Dear Bertha

While surfing for Mother's Day thoughts and blessings I came across this. I'm hoping to incorporate some of these attitudes before I reach 88...

Dear Bertha,

I'm reading more and dusting less.

I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden.

I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure.

I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries.

I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry, that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

This was written by an 88 year-old woman to her friend.

A Safe Place

Yesterday our shepherding group met for lunch. We were going around the tables sharing what drew us to Skillman. A 12 year old boy, who is a foster child, commented that at Skillman he felt safe - he could trust the adults here and ask anyone a question. I was struck by a couple of thoughts...

1) What must a 12 year old have experienced to even think in terms of whether a place was safe? As I reflected upon that thought I remembered that this world is far from a perfect place. I am reminded to open my eyes and notice the conditions and the people that are often invisible - to learn to see through the lense of Jesus' eyes rather than the myopic lense of my own eyes.

2) I truly admire foster parents and the selfless way they minister to kids who need a safe place or some stability. They personify servanthood.

3) A safe place - what an apt description of what church should be for all of us. How many of us feel safe enough to disclose our true feelings or our darkest secrets. I know that I don't want to acknowledge even to myself my brokenness, let alone let you see that I am anything less than perfect. Yet church is where we should be able to feel safe enough to be open with one another and accepting of one another. When we recognize that we are all broken, we can begin to create a climate of healing - a place that is truly safe.

C.S. Lewis on the Deity of Jesus

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Brian McClaren on Judgement

In the current issue of Out of Ur, Brian McClaren is interviewed on his thoughts about heaven, hell, and judgement...

Western Christianity has been overly preoccupied with the question of who’s going to heaven or hell after death, and not focused enough on the question of what kind of life is truly pleasing to God here in the land of the living. We’ve got to look at that. In The Last Word and the Word After That, I wanted to raise the issue of “Judgment,” that all will be judged rightly and fairly by God alone, who weighs the scales rightly, and does this for everyone. Again, when we put ourselves in the position of judge – making pronouncements on the eternal destiny of others – I think it’s pretty dangerous, especially in light of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount.

Tired

Growing up in the 70's in Wheeling, WVa there were not many options when it came to listening to the radio, and they were pretty well limited to the AM side of the dial. There was a country station and a couple of pop stations; occasionally when the weather was just right, you could pick up an FM station or two from Pittsburgh and hear some "good" music.

One of the things I discovered upon moving to Texas was Willie Nelson. I was listening to one of my Willie cds this morning on the way to the men's breakfast and this song just grabbed my attention. Here is the second verse and chorus:

I married Rebecca back in '77
And I still love her, and I guess
she loves me too
We go to church on Sundays
'cause we want to go to Heaven
Me and my family, ain't that how
you're supposed to do

But, I'm tired, Lord, I'm tired
Life is wearin' me smooth down to
the bone
No rest for the weary, you just
move on
And I'm tired, Lord, I'm tired.

I think Willie describes a world without a real sense of hope, and certainly a world where the idea of an abundant life doesn't exist. In the life he describes, you do the best you can to fulfill your duties and responsibilities, and hope it was good enough to earn a reward. How many people wear themselves down struggling through life with little or no sense of hope? With little or no sense of confidence in the grace of God to not only ease their burdens in this life, but to ensure their eternal life in heaven?

Church Shopping?

Some of the reading I have done contrasts a perception of the missional church with a perception of the church as a vendor of religious goods and services to a consumer audience. This clip from "King of the Hill" captures the latter perception...

We Are the Sermon

I think this recent Heartlight column from Phil Ware fits in nicely with our discussion on becoming missional. W.A.T.S. - We Are The Sermon...

W.A.T.S. Happening, by Phil Ware

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1 NRS)

"Did you enjoy the worship service today?"

Seems like a harmless question, doesn't it? However, there are at least two great dangers that lurk beneath this apparently innocent question.

First, there is the consumerist assumption that seems to have invaded every facet of western culture, even our pervasive church culture. "Did you enjoy ...?" Hmm, seems like that is kinda backwards to the way we ought ask that question. "Did God enjoy our ...?" We've made ourselves-- our wants, our needs, and our preferences -- the focus of everything, even our worship of God.

So we ask questions about church like the following:
* Do I like what they are doing?
* Does this church meet my needs?
* Am I comfortable with the people here?
* What benefits do I get from going there?

We often forget the more essential questions about the church's mission, the Bible teaching's faithfulness, the people's spiritual authenticity, and the passion of the members for following the will of God. Shouldn't we be asking a more important question: is our church seeking to live as the presence of Jesus in our community?

Second, how did we ever come up with the phrase "worship service" to mean an hour to two hour slot on Sunday morning? Surely our service of worship dedicated to God is much bigger than a sit down session wherewe stare at the cowlicks in front of us, sing a few religious songs, hear a bunch of religious words, and read from old religious texts. Isn't the whole concept of worship being limited to a place and time counter to Jesus' teaching? (John 4:23-24) Have we largely relegated worship to an hour or two on Sunday and divorced it from our dailylives? Isn't genuine worship a life lived for God in response to his grace? (Romans 12:1)

Assembling with Christians for worship, fellowship, and encouragement is not optional for followers of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19-23) At the same time, that "getting together" must be a celebration of a whole week ofworship and the anticipation of a whole new week of daily worship that lies ahead. It must come from our appreciation of God's grace generously given us in Jesus and lead to a daily life of worship lived out of our shared mission to be Jesus to our world.
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As a followup to this post see what 4 Abilene churches, including Southern Hills where Phil Ware preaches, did this past Sunday... Click here to read article

Congregational Summit

I was encouraged today by the responses and attitudes displayed at the congregational summit. I have to admit to a little trepidation after reading through the comments section of the survey, and after hearing from a number of people their disappointment in the tone of some of the comments. There were a number of good suggestions in response to the questions about what we do well, what we can do better, what we can begin doing that we are currently not, and what we should abandon that we are currently doing. Even more encouraging was the spirit of unity that was displayed. It is my sincere hope that we have taken a significant step on the journey of becoming a missional people.

Survey Comments

I have spent quite a bit of time the past couple of days going over the 32 pages of comments from the congregational survey. I have to admit to a whole range of emotions as I read through the comments for the first time, but in subsequent readings I was able to be a little bit more objective. Some observations...

1. The need to address youth and children's programs was the most prevalent theme throughout the comments.
2. Roughly even was the number of comments indicating a desire to return to our traditional roots and the number of comments indicating a perception that we are currently too traditional to effectively reach out to the unchurched in our community.
3. There were a number of comments expressing concern with the low numbers within the 25-40 age range - the proponents of a more traditional approach and the proponents of becoming less traditional both expressed the belief that the approach they favor would help attract this demographic.
4. The number of comments regarding traditional vs contemporary worship styles was roughly even for both points of view, and while those were some of the more evocative comments they were relatively few when compared to the total number of comments.
5. There were some comments that seemed deliberately hurtful and some that were harsh towards some individuals.

I believe that many will feel some sense of hurt or disappointment when they read through the comments. I believe that the hurtful comments came from people who are themselves hurting and perhaps feeling a sense of abandonment of cherished ideals. I hope that some of the comments were not made simply out of meanness. I pray for healing for those who hurt badly enough to be hurtful. I pray for healing for those who are hurt by them. And I pray for understanding, acceptance, and a genuine love for each other within our congregation.

The Afikoman

I previously mentioned attending a Passover Seder with a Messianic Jewish congregation. (Messianic Jews hold to Jewish heritage and traditions, but believe that Jesus was the Messiah). Seder is a specific order with specific foods, readings, blessings, etc.

The Passover Seder Plate (ke'ara) is a special plate containing symbolic foods used by Jews during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate have special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal. (Wikipedia)

The 7th symbolic food is set apart and consists of a stack of 3 whole Matzot. The unleavened bread symbolizes the haste of the preparation of Israel in leaving Egypt; they did not have time to prepare regular bread. The middle matzo is broken into 2 pieces. The larger of the 2 pieces is wrapped in a napkin and set aside. This is the Afikoman and is later eaten at the conclusion of the meal. The Afikoman must be eaten before midnight and once it is eaten no further food or alcohol is consumed.

There are a couple of explanations as to what the stack of 3 Matzot represent. The most common seems to be that they represent Abraham, Isaac (who was 'sacrificed' and returned from the 'dead', and Jacob. The Afikoman represents that which is to come - the Messiah. According to the leader of the Seder we attended, it was the Afikoman that Jesus broke during the Passover meal with his disciples when he said "This is my body".

I don't know with certainty that this is true, but it certainly adds another dimension to the richness of the account of the last supper.

Fewer Kids in CHIP - Good News?

In an editorial in yesterday's Dallas Morning News, Mary Katherine Stout attributes the decline in the number of children enrolled in CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) to the growth of Texas' economy. As defined by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission,

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is designed for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance for their children. CHIP coverage provides eligible children with coverage for a full range of health services including regular checkups, immunizations, prescription drugs, lab tests, X-rays, hospital visits and more.

CHIP is a program designed to provide access to health care for the children of the working poor. The familiy income eligibility ceiling for CHIP is 200% of the annual federal poverty rate, which is currently $20,000 for a family of four. CHIP enrollment has declined from a high of 529,211 children in May 2002 to a current enrollment of 294,189 children.

According to Stout this is a reaction to an improving economy and a lower unemployment rate. She implies that families are disenrolling because their fortunes have improved to the point where they no longer need assistance in providing health insurance for their children. A THHSC December 2004 report An Analysis of Disenrollment Patterns in the Child Health Insurance (CHIP) in Texas suggests otherwise:

• 52% of families disenrolled did not obtain other insurance
• 31% became eligible for and enrolled in Medicaid - hardly an indicator of improving fortune
• 11% obtained employer-based family coverage
• 5% obtained other insurance on their own
• 1% did not know whether they had insurance for their children

I would suggest the possibility that the decline in enrollment might be attibuted to legislative cost cutting efforts resulting in more stringent eligibility requirments, a change in renewal timelines from every 12 months to every 6 months, longer initial waiting periods, and the use of a private vendor to handle the enrollment and renewal procedures. Hardly good news for poor working families.

I Wish Dad Was There...

Yesterday was Senior Sunday. Tonight was Taylor's basketball banquet - the last of 6 years' worth of football, basketball, and all-sports banquets. Prom is next week and graduation a month away. The days are dwindling in the high school chapter of our baby boy's life, and my time as a proud dad in the bleachers has come to a close.

As I reflect on the dozens of youth soccer and little league baseball games, the dozens of Jr High and High School football games, and the literally hundreds of basketball games Taylor has played over the past 12 years, I still have the pencil printed page from a journal his first grade teacher had her students keep...

Yesterday I hade A Soccer Game. I did prety Good. The Game was A Tie One to One and I made That one Goll. I wish dad was There Becose that was first goll I made this seson.

I wish dad was there...

I had been gone that weekend to a retreat at Camp Tahkodah in Arkansas with some friends from college. It was a time of renewal and I don't regret having gone, but those words have always stuck with me. I wish dad was there...

I have missed very few of the athletic or other activities either of my kids have participated in. Until Lauren went to Pepperdine, the only race I did not see her run was when I was in Russia. I made the trip to California to see her run at least 2-3 times each of her four seasons at Pepperdine, and was online every Saturday afternoon to see the results of her races on the west coast. I have spent more hours than I can count and have driven all over the metroplex to get Taylor to practices and games with select basketball teams.

It is hard to describe the pride and pleasure of a father observing the performance and the efforts of his children as they contribute to an athletic team, a choir, a Destination Imagination team, a youth group. It is sad to realize that I will no longer be able to see those things, while at the same time there is a sense of pride in his accomplishments and an excitement for this next chapter in his life.

I wish Dad was there...

There have been many milestones already in the lives of both my children as well as in Barbara's and mine as a couple. I have made a commitment to be there as they have faced decisions about school, about work, about all those little things that occur on a daily basis. I have had the privelege of baptizing both of my children. I hope I have demonstrated to them how I love their mother.

I wish Dad was there...

To the best of my ability, those words will not ever be written or even thought by my children while I am alive and well. Yet, knowing the frailties of human nature and the uncertainty of life on earth, I acknowledge that it may happen. But I can rest easy knowing that neither they nor I will ever have to say "I wish my Father was here". Jesus said it once on the cross and ensured that we would never have to.

Survey Results #2

In a comment on my first post on the survey results, Zach asked "Why do 56 not feel they have a strong sense of belonging? How do we reach out to those among us?"

I think that there are a number of factors that at times contribute to a lack of sense of belonging. Pat Keifert used an illustration at our initial PMC meeting that may shed some light. He said that a typical congregation can be described in a set of 3 concentric circles, with Family comprising the inner circle, Inside Strangers comprising the second circle, and Outside Strangers comprising the outer circle...

Family are generally those who feel a strong sense of belonging, are involved either directly or through influence in decision-making, and know how to be involved both socially and in the activities of the congregation.

Inside Strangers are members, often very active members, who don't perceive themselves as a part of the inner circle. This may be by choice, may be due to a lack of ability to navigate the soci0-political structure, or may be because family members are protective of status quo, whether by design or unintentionally.

Outside Strangers may or may not consider themselves members. They may be relatives of members or may be outsiders drawn in for specific needs or activities - a grief recovery class or a hurricane relief project.

This framework can be useful to understand some of the dynamics at work within a congregation. I think 15-20 years ago it was fairly evident who was family at Skillman. Today, I'm not so sure; I would not be surprised if a large number would describe themselves as inside strangers if they were asked to place themselves in one of the three categories.

That's not necessarily a bad thing if we are seeking to become more missional. If our focus is inward - wanting the church to meet our needs - then the further we are from family the less we feel connected. But if our focus is outward, then we naturally migrate more toward the outer rings - that's where our mission is.

I don't know that I've actually addressed Zach's concern - I do not mean to imply that we don't want to reach out to those among us or that it is not important to feel a sense of belonging. I do believe that one factor that contributes to the development of a sense of belonging is sharing in a common mission. Another is participating in conversation. I look forward to the opportunity to do that next Sunday afternoon.

The Politics of Bread

Tuesday morning was the 11th annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast at the Anatole. John Edwards spoke powerfully about the problem of poverty in our country, but the phrase that really grabbed my attention was spoken by Gerald Britt, Executive Director of Central Dallas Ministries, as he introduced Eddie Bernice Johnson. Here is an excerpt from his remarks...
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And so, just as there is a politics of infrastructure, or public safety, or public education, there is a politics of bread.

The number of households which suffered from food insecurity increased by nearly one million from 2003-2004. Texas leads the nation in the percentage of households which experience food insecurity at 16%.

Any serious conversation in a city like Dallas about those among us, who daily face the issues of food insecurity and food inadequacy, dare not be confined to individual charity and institutional good will.

In a city like ours, people among us who go daily without healthy and nourishing food, because they don’t make enough money, or live in the wrong neighborhood, is a sad commentary on our collective priorities and ambitions.

While many of us seek to excuse ourselves from the conversation by pointing out the social pathologies of those whom we classify as “poor,” I would remind you that we are reminded daily of the pathologies of those who have sought safe haven in the suburbs. The purposelessness, self-destructiveness, the histories and habits of sin, the nihilism and materialism that characterize those of us who are middle class, leave us no room to point fingers.

The desperations of the poor and the prosperous, don’t teach us that any of us are better than one another, they teach us that we need one another.

The fact is, in a city like Dallas, there are far too many churches, far too many non-profits, far too many programs for anyone to go hungry because they don’t have access to healthy and nutritional food choices.

...But I will also make you another commitment. We will keep on working on the politics of bread.

It’s not enough to salve our corporate, theological, or electoral consciences by quoting Jesus, when He says, “The poor you will have with you always.”

We will continue to provide the pantry, AND train our neighbors for living wage jobs; we will feed the children AND work on fit and affordable housing; we will help those who are providing warm hot meals AND we will make health care accessible, AND we will work with every segment of and system in our society to bring people from dependency to the dignity of self-sufficiency, because it is what is right and just. And because that which is owed in justice, should never be given in charity.

Survey Results...

The results of our congregational survey were emailed to the everyone on the email list today. A couple of things, although not especially surprising, jumped out at me.

The first has to do with worship. As the elders have begun meeting with each of the adult Bible classes, no topic has engendered more discussion and strong feelings than worship. Yet, the survey results say that 80% of the congregation is satisfied that "Offering worship that provides a meaningful experience of God and the Christian faith" receives an appropriate emphasis, and 70% are satisfied with the emphasis on "Providing worship that expresses the Gospel in contemporary language and forms". The 30% that indicated a lack of satisfaction with the degree of emphasis on contemporary worship were almost evenly divided among those who feel it receives too much emphasis and those who feel that it does not receive enough.

Two observations.

1. The balance between contemporary and traditional forms seems to be about where it should be. While the 16% who desire more emphasis on contemporary and the 14% who desire more emphasis on traditional may not feel personally satisfied with the balance, the vast majority find it meaningful, and are satisfied. There is an opportunity for those on either end to love one another and to love the majority of the congregation by not insisting on changing to meet their preferences.
2. The amount of discussion over the past couple of years on contemporary vs traditional is either causing our focus to be on ourselves and what we prefer or is a symptom that we are focused upon ourselves. It would be appropriate to shift our focus and discussion from our own preferences about how we worship to how we can fulfill our mission of sharing the Gospel.

That leads me to the second thing that jumped out at me - the item rated as needing more emphasis by the largest number of people - 53% - is "Sharing the good news of the Gospel with the unchurched". As I reflect upon our initial exposure to the Partnership for Missional Church, and the conversations that we began on that Saturday, I am convinced that we have the willingness to be missional and that participating in PMC will help us develop the skills and the will to share the good news.

Christian Quotation of the Day

So long as we are full of self, we are shocked at the faults of others. Let us think often of our own sin, and we shall be lenient to the sins of others.
... François Fénelon (1651-1715)

Random Easter Reflections

This past week has seen a number of "firsts" in my Easter experiences.

I put one of the crosses in my front yard and have received comments from several of my neighbors expressing appreciation and several asked where we got it. It was a conversation starter. I am reminded that how I treat my neighbor (and my behavior that is seen by more people than I realize) communicates much about who I am and whose I am.

Sunday we visited my brother-in-law and attended University Christian Church on TCU's campus in Fort Worth. A very traditional high church liturgical service. Beautiful building, church bells, lots of standing and sitting, congregational responses. I'm not a fan of the organ, but I have to admit that when those trumpets were sounding during the Hallelujah Chorus it was mighty impressive.

Friday evening Barbara and I attended a Passover Seder (pronounced sayder) with a Messianic Jewish congregation in North Dallas. We were invited by one of our neighbor families who had made plans to attend with their life group and had a couple of seats available at their table. Very interesting and enjoyable evening. The Seder is a specific order with specific foods and drink that symbolize the story of the passover. More details to follow - particularly about the Afikomen.

Sunday Has Come

But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"

Luke 24:1-7

It's Friday...But Sunday Is Coming

It's Friday.

Jesus is Praying. Peter is Sleeping. Judas is Betraying. But Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. Pilate is struggling. The council is conspiring. The crowd is villifying. But Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. The disiples are running like sheep without a shepherd. Mary is crying. Peter is denying. But Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. Jesus is walking to calvary. His blood is dripping. His body is stumbling. His spirit is burning. But it's only Friday. Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. The soldiers nail my savior's hands to the cross. They nail his feet to the cross. They raise him up between two criminals. But Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. The disciples are questioning. The pharisees are celebrating. But they don't know that Sunday is coming.

It's Friday. He's hanging on a cross. Forsaken by his Father. Can no one save him? The earth trembles. The sky grows dark. My king yields his spirit. Oh, it's Friday. But Sunday is coming.

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Thanks to Rob Thomas and IgniterMedia for producing this powerful image and reminder that Sunday is Coming!

When Fishermen Don't Fish

One of the insights arising from our discussion at the Partnership for Missional Church session this past Saturday is that we see ourselves as a primarily inward focused congregation. Max Lucado tells this story...
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When I was in high school, our family used to fish every year during spring break. One year my brother and my mom couldn't go, so my dad let me invite a friend.

Days before leaving, we could already anticipate the vacation. We could feel the sun warming our bodies as we floated in the boat. We could feel the yank of the rod and hear the spin of the reel as we wrestled the white bass into the boat. And we could smell the fish frying in an open skillet over an open fire.

We could hardly wait. Days passed like cold molasses. Finally spring break arrived. We loaded our camper and set out for the lake.

We arrived late at night, unfolded the camper, and went to bed - dreaming of tomorrow's day in the sun. But during the night, an unseasonably strong norther blew in. It got cold fast! The wind was so strong that we could barely open the camper door the next morning. The sky was gray. The lake was a mountain range of white-topped waves. There was no way we could fish in that weather.

The next morning it wasn't the wind that made the door hard to open, it was the ice!

It was a long day. It was a long, cold night.

When we awoke the next morning to the sound of sleet slapping the canvas, we didn't even pretend to be cheerful. We were flat-out grumpy.

The next day was even colder. "We're going home" were my father's first words. No one objected.

I learned a hard lesson that week. Not about fishing, but about people. When those who are called to fish don't fish, they fight.

When energy intended to be used outside is used inside, the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones. Instead of extending helping hands, we point accusing fingers. Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved. Rather than helping the hurting, we hurt the helpers.

Leave soldiers inside the barracks with no time on the front line and see what happens to their attitude. The soldiers will invent things to complain about. Bunks will be too hard. Food will be too cold. Leadership will be too tough. The company will be too stale.

Yet place those same soldiers in the trench and let them duck a few bullets, and what was a boring barracks will seem like a haven. The beds will feel great. The food will be almost ideal. The leadership will be courageous. The company will be exciting.

When those who are called to fish, fish -- they flourish!


From In the Eye of the Storm- Copyright (c)1991 by Max Lucado - Word Publishing

That's Entertainment?

I frequently hear or read comments disparaging the use of drama, video, special music, solos, etc. in worship assemblies as being inappropriate because they are entertainment. In my experience, the intent of the use of any of these is to communicate with the listener - to convict, to motivate, to instruct, to illustrate - much like an effective preacher. The intent is not to entertain. Jesus told stories - we call them parables; the intent was not to entertain.

When Paul instructs us in Ephesians 5 to "speak to one another using psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs", he is talking about how we should live. He is not talking specifically about the assembly, but that is one of the occasions where we have the opportunity to speak to one another. The singing of a solo or presentational song can be a meaningful and effective way to speak, and may be more faithful to Paul's instruction to us than our insistence on acappella singing in the assembly.

The Gospel of Judas

As Dwight mentioned yesterday, Edward Fudge does a good job of coherently capsulizing the circumstances and relevence of the recently "rediscovered" Gospel of Judas. Reprinted below are his gracemails addressing this issue. It is worth the effort to be familiar with current issues such as this and The DaVinci Code, because for many people in today's culture they represent the extent of their understanding about the authenticity of the Bible...see my earlier post on The DaVinci Code.
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GOSPEL OF JUDAS -- UPDATE
Edward Fudge
Apr 10, 2006

Since writing the previous gracEmail on the “Gospel of Judas,” I have viewed the two-hour television special aired on Sunday night, April 9, 2006 on the National Geographic Channel and have read the actual translation of this apocryphal Gospel at http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/judastxt.pdf . (Thanks to my friend and gracEmail subscriber Dr. Hans Rollmann, Professor of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, for the URL cite. I do not know how long the text will be available here.) Having now seen the program and having read the “Gospel of Judas” itself, both of which confirmed the previous gracEmail, I add the following observations in this quick update.

National Geographic certainly knows how to tantalize an audience even though its titillation is sometimes misleading. In discussing the “Gospel of Judas” found in an Egyptian cave in the late 1970’s, the TV special teasingly asked whether the manuscript was “real” or “fake,” fi nally assuring viewers that this “Gospel” had indeed been “authenticated.” Many viewers likely took these proclamations as assurances that the “Gospel of Judas” was written by the Apostle of that name, or even that the Gnostic doctrine this “Gospel” was written to promote was really true. In fact, the “authentication” talked about meant only that radiocarbon dating placed the manuscript’s origin at about A.D. 300, give or take 50 years. In other words, the “Gospel of Judas” is not a recently-forged fraud. But that is almost unimportant when we know that it was instead an ancient fraud, according to the church father Irenaeus, who wrote about A.D. 180. Unless I blinked and missed it, National Geographic’s television special never even mentioned the fact, also known from Irenaeus, that the “Gospel of Judas” was used by a group known as Cainites who claimed spiritual lineage from Cain, Esau, Korah and the inhabitants of Sodom.

At the surface level, the television special seemed to focus on this apocryphal Gospel’s potential to rehabilitate Judas’ reputation as a Satan-driven scoundrel – a characterization that has indeed been misused by some professing Christians as an excuse for anti-Semitism (which is always inexcusable). In fact, even the New Testament Gospels eschew a one-dimensional view of Judas since they report that he returned the betrayal money to those who had hired him and then committed suicide – two incidents which some Christians have seen as evidence of deep remorse and perhaps even of genuine repentance. Further, Judas inadvertently served the divine purpose according to the apostolic preaching recorded in Acts, even though he remained personally culpable for his actions.<>

Be that as it may, the presentation of Judas the man is only window-dressing in this newly-discovered “Gospel.” The manuscript’s real point – and the main reason orthodox Christians reject it (aside from the fact that it is a fraudulent work to begin with) – is its promotion of Gnosticism, a worldview contrary to the biblical understanding of reality on almost every fundamental point. This is apparently a minor detail to many postmodern scholars, for whom all ideas are equally valid and all groups claiming to be “Christian” are legitimate spokespersons of Jesus Christ.

Those of us who remain committed to Scripture as divinely-authoritative and who therefore oppose whatever essentially contradicts its core teachings need to realize that we are increasingly out of step with the spirit of the age. It is not unimaginable that the day may come even in America – as it did for the apostolic church of the first three centuries and as it has today in many other parts of the world – when we must choose between personal comfort and security on the one hand and faithfulness to Christ on the other. If that happens, may we – like Irenaeus and Polycarp and John – stand firm whatever the cost.
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Copyright 2006 by Edward Fudge. Permission hereby granted to reprint this gracEmail in its entirety without change, with credit given and not for financial profit.
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GOSPEL OF JUDAS
Edward Fudge
Apr 9, 2006

As every savvy marketer knows, sensationalism sells books and attracts a television audience. The National Geographic Channel can therefore expect a host of viewers for its special program "The Gospel of Judas" set to show tonight (Sunday, April 9, 2006). "One of the most significant biblical finds of the last century," hypes the producer's website, "-- a lost gospel that could challenge what is believed about the story of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus." The TV special follows the translated publication three days earlier of the so-called Gospel of Judas, a codex (bound like a book rather than rolled like a scroll) written on papyrus sheets in the Coptic language and discovered by looters near El Minya, Egypt in the 1970's.

This manuscript, carbon-dated at about A.D. 300, is indeed "significant" -- but primarily for its contribution to our understanding of early Gnostic teaching, an influential heresy opposed by numerous early Christian writers and, in an even-earlier form, by both the apostles John and Paul in the canonical New Testament itself (Gospel of John, First John, Second John; Colossians). The Gnostics (from a Greek word for "knowledge") claimed special insight into mysteries of the cosmos, secret wisdom passed down through the centuries but hidden from ordinary mortals. (The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown certainly did not invent sensationalism!)

Gnostic teaching usually claimed that the material universe was evil, having been created by a lesser deity; denied that Jesus was both truly human and uniquely divine; and (like philosophies ranging from ancient Hinduism and Buddhism to today's New Age cults) enticed adherents with promises of exclusive spiritual fulfillment if not actual deification. The "Gospel of Judas" claims to report conversations between Judas Iscariot and Jesus during the Final Week, in which Jesus tells Judas "secrets no other person has ever seen." In the document's most sensational "revelation," Jesus asks Judas to help the spirit of Jesus escape its mortal flesh by betraying him to death ("You will sacrifice the man that clothes me"), although this will result in Judas being "cursed by the other generations."

As of now, scholars believe the newly-translated "Gospel of Judas" might be a Coptic translation of the earlier Greek-language "Gospel of Judas" mentioned about A.D. 180 by Irenaeus of Lyons, a pupil of Polycarp, who in turn was taught by the Apostle John. In his work titled "Against Heresies," Irenaeus described the "Gospel of Judas" as a fictional work manufactured by a group known as Cainites who claimed spiritual lineage from Cain, Esau, Korah and the Sodomites. According to Irenaeus, the "Gospel of Judas" said of Judas that "he alone, knowing the truth as no others [of the Apostles] did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal" (31:1). Irenaeus dismissed the "Gospel of Judas" as a fraud and its teaching as anti-Christian heresy. Those who know and believe the true gospel taught by John and the other Apostles should feel free to react the same way today.
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Copyright 2006 by Edward Fudge. Permission hereby granted to reprint this gracEmail in its entirety without change, with credit given and not for financial profit. Visit our multimedia website at http://www.edwardfudge.com/ .

Level Ground at the Foot of the Cross

When Dwight used the phrase "the ground is level at the foot of the cross" this morning I was reminded of the following article that I read recently in the Church Innovations Newsletter while thinking about what becoming missional looks like...

Crossing the Bar X: “Home by Another Way”
By Jim Johnson, Church Innovations Consultant

“How has it come to be that we who have sought to faithfully proclaim that the “ground is all level at the foot of the cross” and that Jesus came “to seek and save the lost” have so successfully put forth the impression that one needs to live as though he or she is not lost in order to be worthy of being sought and saved by our Savior?”

When I overheard Cathy, a soon to be retired elementary school teacher from a very small town here in Montana, talking with my wife Nancy one night at the Bull’n Bear, I was taken back to statements made to me in the space of three days in a small concert tour I was doing on the Oregon over 10 years ago.

Three women, in 3 different towns, had said the same thing to me that Cathy was saying to Nancy after they had listened to “A Hard Case,” a song I had written about divorce and how people often experience the church when their lives are falling to pieces. The only difference between Cathy and these other three women is that each in their own time had returned to the church – the first after a minimum of 10 years away and a maximum of 30 years for another.
Cathy has not.

“I used to teach Sunday School and everything,” Cathy said, “and was pretty active in my Presbyterian Church. Then I got divorced. The word got out that I was divorcing my husband, and for three weeks in a row, no one talked to me when I came to church. I haven’t been back since.”

Click Here to read the entire article

Partnership for Missional Church

This evening was our initial introduction to the Partnership for Missional Church process. I am excited by the potential for God to work through this process to facilitate transformation from an inward focus to one that is focused on fulfilling the mission Jesus gave us. After I got home this evening I found that Mike Cope had posted the following quotes from Dallas Willard on his blog today, and thought they were relevant to our discussion tonight and to the process we are beginning:

“Nondiscipleship is the elephant in the church. It is not the much discussed moral failures, financial abuses, or the amazing general similarity between Christians and non-Christians. These are only effects of the underlying problem. The fundamental negative reality among Christian believers now is their failure to be constantly learning how to live their lives in The Kingdom Among Us. And it is an accepted reality. The division of Christians into those from whom it is a matter of whole-life devotion to God and those who maintain a consumer, or client, relationship to the church has now been an accepted reality for over fifteen hundred years.”

And then this:

“Consumer Christianity is now normative. The consumer Christian is one who utilizes the grace of God for forgiveness and the services of the church for special occasions, but does not give his or her life and innermost thoughts, feelings, and intentions over to the kingdom of the heavens. Such Christians are not inwardly transformed and not committed to it.”

(From The Divine Conspiracy, pp. 301, 342)

Million Dollar Murray

I have been participating in the Urban Engagement Book Club. Sponsored by Central Dallas Ministries, we meet for lunch on the first Thursday of each month to review a book addressing some issue(s) affecting life in America today - poverty, education, health care, homelessness, and so on. Today, in addition to this month's book, we discussed a recent article in the New Yorker titled Million Dollar Murray.

Murray was a chronically homeless alcoholic who over a number of years was regularly arrested for intoxication. He was frequently in bad enough shape that he would be taken to the emergency room before he could be taken to jail. The pattern repeated itself over and over. The author estimated that the cost of treating Murray in the emergency room over time added up to more than $1,000,000. The thesis of this article was that it is more expensive to do nothing about the chronic homeless than it would be to provide them with housing.

What I found fascinating about this article were the studies that dispelled the notion that the homeless fit within a bell-shaped curve type of distribution in terms of the amount of time they spend in homelessness. Roughly 10% could be characterized as chronically homeless, while the majority spend some time as homeless and then find permanent shelter. The implications for treating the problem are that adequately addressing the chronic 10% by providing a home and support structure would be far less expensive than doing nothing. Whether motivated by a sense of compassion, altruism, or simple economics the end result would be a far better situation than what currently exists.

Lean Back, Kick Forward

Friday and Saturday this week we kick off the Partnership for a Missional Church project. Throughout Skillman's long and rich history missions have played a prominent role. As we enter into this conversation about what it means to be mission-shaped in our community in this place and time, we want to build on our history but not be bound by it. I'm reminded of Leonard Sweet's use of a swing in articulating his image statement:

There is a new theory among physicists about how the swing works. Previous theories revolved around the principle of "parametric instability," which pivoted the action of swinging at the middle of the arc, and the rocking forward into a higher center of gravity. Physicist William Case, while watching how children actually swing, has now posited a new principle which physicists call "driven harmonic oscillator." The key to the swing is not in the middle of the arc, but at each end of the arc, where and when the swingers at the same time lean back and throw their feet forward.
That's my image statement. As a historian of Christianity, I want the church to lean back–not just back to the 50s, but all the way back through 2000 years of history, all the way back until we're, in the words of that Sunday School song, "Leaning, Leaning, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." But at the same time and I do mean simultaneously, we must use that energy and power that comes from "learning to lean" to kick forward into the future and Carpe Manana.

Much has changed in the 50+ years at our current location - people have been born and have died, old friends have moved away and new ones have come, the auditorium has changed color schemes and a new building has been built. But however much change has occurred within our walls, it does not compare to the changes that have occurred in the world around us. Demographic changes, cultural changes, technological changes, world view changes.

I believe that it is inevitable that some of the forms and methods that have served us over the years will have to change in order to communicate with today's community. In the midst of change, though, are some constants - the God we serve, the gospel we proclaim, our mission to make disciples - the media and methods have to adapt, but the message is eternal.

Christian Quotation of the Day

Christian Quotation of the Day
April 4, 2006

Meditation: But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. -- James 2:18 (ESV)
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Quotation: In my intellect, I may divide [faith and works], just as in the candle I know there is both light and heat; yet put out the candle, and both are gone. ... John Selden (1584-1654)

Cutting Down the Net

Just finished watching Florida team members and coach cut down the net following their solid victory over UCLA in the championship game. Each of the players cut for themselves a small piece of the net from where it connected to the rim and when Billy Donovan (the coach for you non basketball fans) cut the last piece, the net was no longer connected to the rim. If you could somehow picture that process in reverse, the result would be that as each member of the team added his piece, the net would become stronger until the last piece made the net complete. It just struck me how symbolic that was of successful teams and organizations. When each person weaves their string into the net, the result is stronger and more effective than the individual strings are. And conversely, the net is weakened when pieces are cut out or withheld. Just food for thought...

The DaVinci Code

One of the things I didn't get around to during Spring Break was reading the DaVinci Code. I finally got tired of waiting on the paperback and bought a used copy at HalfPrice Books, and read it this past week. I enjoy the genre and had intended to read it when it first came out, and then with all the attention it has garnered over the past couple of years it made it to my must read list, but I did not get around to it until now when the movie is due to open in a few weeks.

For what it's worth, I thought it was a pretty good read. Dan Brown is not in Robert Ludlum's class, but he wove a pretty good story here. There is enough suspense to keep your attention and enough historical accuracy to make the story credible. I can see now why the book has generated controversy and numerous responses seeking to refute the premises of the book.

One should keep in mind that the book is fiction. The author uses elements of truth and weaves a story that appears credible, but is fictitious. One example is the explanation of the development of the canon of the new testament. There are elements of truth in the author's story of how the canon came about, but the story as a whole is a fictional account supporting the theme of the novel.

I was struck by a couple of thoughts as I read this book. One is that many readers will likely take at face value that all the historical details and descriptions are true. As we are examining what it means to be missional in today's culture and in our community, we need to recognize that many of the people we encounter will have a distorted view of the Bible, of the church, and of Jesus. We cannot assume that people have a Christian world view, and that will impact how we try to reach them.

A second thought is that Satan often works in a similar fashion - he uses elements of truth to deceive. That is something to be on guard against.