tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-214521772024-03-07T10:34:20.743-08:00My Ongoing Pilgrimage with GodThis blog is motivated by the desire to share my own spiritual journey. I invite and encourage any comments that a reader wishes to make. I wish God's blessing on you as you continue your journey.J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-55101334023221992962010-12-24T11:15:00.000-08:002010-12-24T11:15:00.038-08:00<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">A Year in the Wilderness</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The picture I left you with in my last post shows the setting for my current wilderness experience.<span> </span>If you recognize the picture, you may think that I’ve lost my marbles.<span> </span>The picture is of Kaneohe Bay, a large coastal bay on the windward side of Oahu.<span> </span>Life on a tropical island…wilderness experience…I don’t get it.<span> </span>Trust me I understand the disconnect.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The move to a new church on Oahu came as a complete surprise to me.<span> </span>If God had followed my timing, we would have stayed in Murrieta for at least one more year.<span> </span>We would have gotten our son through High School, gotten him off to college, consolidated into an empty nest life and then get an appointment in the Hawaii District.<span> </span>I had hoped, one day, to come and serve here.<span> </span>Over the years that we’ve travelled and vacationed here I found a great affinity for the islands, the culture and the unique ways that I experienced God while I was here.<span> </span>I felt a calling to be here.<span> </span>Now here I am…yet it is not exactly how I would have planned.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">I’m here by myself.<span> </span>Because we didn’t want to move our son for his Senior year, Sally stayed in Murrieta with him to enable him to finish school.<span> </span>While several trips have been planned back and forth throughout the year, we have unlimited texting and mobile to mobile and certainly take advantage of the miracle that is Skype, its not the same as waking up each day in the same house.<span> </span>The blessing in this arrangement is that we must be more intentional about our time together and the ways we communicate.<span> </span>It has shined a light on the ways that we have taken each other for granted in our family relationship. This awareness has enabled us to claim a deeper love for and commitment to each other.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">Spiritually and professionally I came here fatigued.<span> </span>With all that had happened personally, spiritually and professionally in the last five years I was pretty worn out.<span> </span>Even though I did have a sense of it, I was so caught up in the maelstrom that had become my life and ministry that I felt powerless to slow down.<span> </span>I needed to change my sense of self, my approach to ministry and get a better understanding of what God is calling me to do.<span> </span>I had travelled so far down the road I was on, I simply didn’t see how to make the changes I knew were necessary.<span> </span>As is always the case, God knew.<span> </span>I was given a choice.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The choice involved risk.<span> </span>The choice involved sacrifice.<span> </span>While this opportunity was consistent with my heart’s desire, the timing sucked.<span> </span>Just like the timing of going to Murrieta was not our timing, we struggled with the cost of saying “yes” to this call.<span> </span>Would we trust God’s hand in this or not?<span> </span>The short answer is:<span> </span>we trusted.<span> </span>I’m here…my family is on the mainland…God is still at work in all of it.<span> </span>As has been witnessed to through the history of people of faith, God has abundantly poured out grace in our lives.<span> </span>It hasn’t always been easy these last 6 months.<span> </span>Because we have been willing to trust, to listen and to faithfully walk, the trend of our lives has been toward healing, redemption and transformation.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">I will continue the story in future posts, but for now, I can say unequivocally that God’s hand goes all the way to the bottom of this move.<span> </span>As difficult as it was to change ministry setting after 10 years and to leave the friends that had come to mean so much, I know why the time had come.<span> </span>I know why I’m here.<span> </span>I know what God is calling me to do here.<span> </span>More importantly, I know more fully now than at anytime previously in my life who God is calling me to be.<span> </span>The personal brokenness that got in the way of fulfilling that call is being healed.<span> </span>A new day has dawned.</div>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-46232769525447124992010-11-26T21:53:00.000-08:002010-11-26T21:53:12.550-08:00<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">A Spiritual Reset</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 22.5pt;">Needless to say, my pilgrimage with God was not on hiatus the last two years, even though my blog posts were.<span> </span>Two years ago my personal life took an unexpected turn as the relationship with my father completely disintegrated.<span> </span>I reached a crisis point with him as the truth about who he is became completely revealed.<span> </span>I made the difficult but necessary decision that I could not tolerate his toxicity in my life and my family’s life.<span> </span>I am reconciled to the fact that I may never see or speak with him again.<span> </span>There is still grief and sadness in this decision even though I am at peace with it.<span> </span>Through this grieving I realized that the only father I could count on was God.<span> </span>As I reflected on the scope of my life, I could see God at work in a whole host of ways to sustain my life and faith.<span> </span>There were many people in my life that served as a means of grace that prevented me from becoming the man who raised me.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 22.5pt;">Of all the parts of this saga, I had the most difficulty dealing with the truth of how much like my father I had become.<span> </span>I was raised by a man with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.<span> </span>What this means is that my value to him was based solely on what I could do for him.<span> </span>I grew up in an environment where my self worth was always conditional. It was always his world and the rest of us simply lived in it.<span> In fact, a book that was referred to me by a friend speaks volumes about my upbringing...<u>Why Is It Always About You?</u> This is a book written to help the families of narcissists make sense of how to live with somebody who has NPD. </span>By the grace of God I didn’t follow that path.<span> </span>However, the effects of being raised in that environment couldn’t be avoided altogether.<span> </span>The Narcissistic Shadow was cast across my life mostly in my relationship to my family.<span> </span>I was far more like my father than I would have ever admitted when it came to my marriage and my parenting.<span> </span>The Shadow was also cast across my ministry in times of conflict.<span> </span>I would look to insulate myself in anyway I could rather than to face the prospect of making a decision that proved unpopular or would have put my standing within the community at risk.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 22.5pt;">It’s been a long two years.<span> </span>There have been a good many peaks and valleys along this path.<span> </span>I have had moments of clarity when I was able to choose differently, make amends and move forward.<span> </span>I have also had moments when I felt as though I was beating my head against the wall.<span> </span>I have known God’s grace in extraordinary and life giving ways.<span> </span>By the healing that God has poured out in my life and relationships I have been able to reclaim my life.<span> </span>I am continuing to peal away the layers of crap that have accumulated over the years.<span> </span>I have a new image of what my life and ministry will look like in the years to come.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 22.5pt;">One of the most enduring gifts that God has given me through this transition is the grace to know that my ministry has mattered, in spite of what I had come to discover about myself.<span> </span>As grief stricken and angry as I was with myself because of the choices I had made, I could have easily looked at the last twenty-five years as a waste, forever tainted by the stain of narcissism.<span> </span>I have reflected carefully over the ways that narcissism impacted my ministry in negative ways so that I might learn.<span> </span>I have also been able to celebrate the ways that God’s grace was at work in me and through me to make a change in people’s lives as I have led them to deeper experiences and expressions of faith.<span> </span>This balance has kept me on track through these last two years.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 22.5pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9Bq857qbGRcFK8ggpC-ly_azYter4MRdjrAnbFNwJ9IgHW1L_yDr14BXD173zzZr81nqlf0leA_wHEWV4qZbkRgjOTvNWS0xxnT1cIn2GenjrT4PUsFix8JMeL2iqvhC6bJg/s1600/kaneohebayfromheaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9Bq857qbGRcFK8ggpC-ly_azYter4MRdjrAnbFNwJ9IgHW1L_yDr14BXD173zzZr81nqlf0leA_wHEWV4qZbkRgjOTvNWS0xxnT1cIn2GenjrT4PUsFix8JMeL2iqvhC6bJg/s320/kaneohebayfromheaven.jpg" width="320" /></a>The whole story is of course more complex than a single post can afford, so I’ll need to unpack it more as time goes on, mostly because<span> </span>I’m still trying to get a handle on some of it.<span> </span>In the meantime there have been other changes along the way; the most significant one will be in my next post.<span> </span>Here’s a hint: </div>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-45455452944691686882008-10-29T17:22:00.000-07:002008-10-29T17:23:13.663-07:00Articulating My Witness<br />Over the course of the last six months I’ve devoted most of my time to understanding and shaping a coherent understanding of discipleship. I’ve tried to balance the interior work of the Spirit, sanctification, with the exterior work of mercy, justice and compassion. This effort has been essentially constructive, bringing together so much of my life and ministry over the last decade. While it has been a painstaking effort, it has also been quite fruitful.<br />One element that is essential to the life of discipleship is the active witness one disciple can make to the transforming work of the Spirit in and through a relationship with Christ. I’ve spoken of this in terms of making an authentic witness. The definition is that a person bears witness to their own story of how they experience Christ. An individual story doesn’t supplant the Gospel story; instead, it is an extension of the story. A spiritually maturing witness to what Christ is doing to bring healing, new life and hope in a person’s life can be much more effective and powerful than a witness that is given out of a written script. This witness doesn’t eschew the Scriptural witness; rather it effectively re-presents the Good News as it has been revealed in a specific person’s life.<br />It strikes me today that if I’m going to call my congregation to understand an articulate this sort of authentic witness in the world, I’d better be able to give them an example of how it’s done. So here goes a first draft of my witness:<br />I’ve spent the better portion of my life pursuing a well defined understanding of theology and scripture. It has been important for me to be able to talk about the God I’ve come to know through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in ways that are practical, articulate and invitational. I’ve always known that God was more about opening doors to deeper understanding rather than creating obstacles. This pursuit has been more an academic pursuit and a practical pursuit than a personal pursuit. Not that I haven’t been completely divested from a personal involvement and experience of the pursuit. I’ve had throughout my life what I’d consider to be significant “spiritual experiences”. Most of these experiences were more random in nature. They were happy occurrences that came along with any variety of experiences.<br />What I’ve come to realize is that these experiences were anything but random occurrences. In fact they were bread crumbs along my journey. The bread crumbs led me to the Academy for Spiritual Formation that provided a framework for me to take my interior spiritual journey in a considerably more intentional way. As I have learned to be more intention in my relationship with Christ, no longer am I simply going from bread crumb to bread crumb. Through a more disciplined life of spiritual practices, I’m experiencing a deeper intimacy with God. As I’ve grown in my intimacy with God, I’ve been opened to incredible experiences of healing for hurts that I’ve struggled with most of my life. With the healing has come great trust in the promises of God that were given so completely in Christ: resurrection, eternal life and a life of discipleship. I find myself able to proclaim with a depth and confidence that is far beyond what I once could muster that Jesus is the Christ. I can say that a life lived in relationship with Christ is the pathway to life that is eternal not in quantity only but also in quality.<br />As Robert Frost wrote so many years ago, it may seem like the road less travelled but I can say that for me…taking that road has made all the difference.J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-88541064609412078222008-10-23T11:23:00.000-07:002008-10-23T11:24:51.763-07:00<div align="justify">Getting My Cage Rattled<br /> I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised at this point, but I am in awe at how deftly the Holy Spirit is able to ferret out the deep seated obstacles and hurts that get in the way of God’s sanctifying grace. The last three years have been a roller coaster. I know that the Spirit has led me through the painful depths in coming to terms with the nature of my relationship with my father and over the heights of exhilaration as I’ve experienced God’s presence in ways that I wouldn’t have thought possible. Even through the ups and downs, I can say that all is trending up. Most recently in this e-ticket ride I have had to come to terms with the true nature of the narcissism that exists in my life. <br /> I’ve shared before that part of the revelation that has come through the journey toward a perfecting spirituality is the fact that I was raised by a father with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Being raised by a narcissist, my life carried the imprint and the scars of his way of engaging in relationships. By the grace of God, the love of my mother and myriad people that have loved and supported me along the way, my world view doesn’t mirror his. My view of my self was very deeply imprinted by this upbringing. As a result, I have engaged in an ongoing struggle, over the balance of my life, with the narcissistic self-view that has remained firmly rooted. In my best moments, again by grace, I’ve been able to live faithfully and sacrificially according to my faith. In spite of this, I’ve had to deal with the times and circumstances where I acted more out of self preservation.<br /> I’ve been given this incredible gift of faith, healing, resurrection and ministry by the grace of God. I give thanks for the ways that I’ve been able to share these gifts. I lament the ways that I’ve denied this discipleship, caring more for my own well being in ways that have been deeply narcissistic.<br /> At the risk of appearing as if this is self-flagellation, I am drawing a distinction between appropriate self-care and narcissism. There are times in all of our lives where it is important and necessary for us to retreat. These are the times that we need to recharge. From the standpoint of spiritual formation, however, retreat is not about the escape “from”. Retreat is about a movement more deeply into the heart of God that one might know healing and restoration. The narcissistic retreat is the movement into self. It is a bunkering into the indulging of one’s own needs. While the details differ from person to person and situation to situation, the narcissistic retreat is essential a juvenile (if not infantile) collapse in on one’s self.<br /> I can say now that God has been at work for a long time to dig out around this root. This bent toward narcissistic retreat has been a need for healing for a good many years. Even though this realization has been a source of some anger and pain in recent weeks, I can see how God’s grace is at work and how healing is flowing. The final piece of this is that I have also come to terms with the fact that this essentially lifelong pattern won’t just simply evaporate. This is something that I choose to live away from as I seek to engage more and more in a perfecting spirituality. As I choose to fold this part of my life and experience into my relationship with God, I will be able to live more completely into my call and discipleship. I will be a better steward of all that God has given me.<br /> The journey continues…</div>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-81920257736681406222008-09-17T15:17:00.001-07:002008-09-17T15:22:19.032-07:00<div>Examination of Conscience<br />I’m finding incredible insight as I begin to lead out the work that I’ve been working through, praying about and preparing for more than six months. Inspired by the book Deepening Your Effectiveness, I’m looking more deeply at a meaningful definition of discipleship and looking more intently at how I can order the life of this congregation to better move people toward deeper experiences and expressions of God’s grace. Using the concept of “core principles” as those experiences and practices that shape our life with Christ more completely, I’m in the midst of introducing these principles and practices through worship and a companion class. This week I’m on the third of the seven principles.<br />The third principle is “Fully formed disciples of Jesus are committed to living incarnati<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_dT-ppbOS8nqqZVV6QF5mHF03vCmI8dyyQNHXnP7jlB7j9ztb6bs8Y4a93Q32cJQhxQND6zQPq-LaaYD9WIIZWNhwn0OpZAqxUuqozCjvYYX2pmCc0awgLRL9E9gqwPBcNe8/s1600-h/05+-+Lentz+-+Christ+of+Maryknoll+adj.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247118239168450866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_dT-ppbOS8nqqZVV6QF5mHF03vCmI8dyyQNHXnP7jlB7j9ztb6bs8Y4a93Q32cJQhxQND6zQPq-LaaYD9WIIZWNhwn0OpZAqxUuqozCjvYYX2pmCc0awgLRL9E9gqwPBcNe8/s200/05+-+Lentz+-+Christ+of+Maryknoll+adj.jpg" border="0" /></a>onally according to the example of Christ.” As a way of teaching this concept and drawing people into a deeper understanding of our life with Christ I’m using the image of the Christ of the Maryknoll and Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen. Rooted in John 1, I’m exploring with the congregation the truth of the incarnation. Out of this reclamation and deeper understanding of the incarnation, I’m seeking a deeper understanding of why incarnation matters to modern disciples and how it can be an integral part of our life of faith.<br />I’m being drawn into a deeper understanding of the Examen. I’ve spent time practicing the Examen; it was one of the more compelling practices that I learned through the Two Year Academy. At the risk of being too hard on myself, my recollection of how I approached the Examen was more from the standpoint of a self-guided tour. I know that I did it prayerfully. I did try and explore the deeper and more difficult elements of my life and practice. At the end, it was still self-led. I’m coming to understand that the Examen needs to be different. It needs to be Christ led.<br />This is a challenging concept. It could be difficult to do a true self-led Examen, but it could smack of masochism. Alternately, it would be all too easy to gloss over important things that we would need to deal with. However, to give the reins of the journey over to Christ, to have a Christ-led Examen is all together different. It is truly an exercise in living without a net when we let Christ guide us through the reflection of our day, our action (inaction) and our faithfulness. Yet this is absolutely vital to growing into a deeper relationship with Christ. The truly Christ-led Examen is made possible through incarnation.<br />Incarnation is the expression of faith that bears witness to the depth to which God is present in Christ. When John speaks of the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, he bears witness to a depth and intimacy of God’s presence in Christ. When through faith Christ abides with us and we with Christ, we have before us the possibility of an indwelling experience with Christ that approximates incarnation. When we engage in a Christ-led Examen, Christ leads not from outside us, but from ever more deeply within.<br />As we engage in the Examen the door is opened to the experience of God’s transforming grace from the inside out. As I have sought to live more deeply into my faith and relationship with Christ, I’ve come to realize that there are stubborn, persistent and deep seated attitudes that are getting in the way of what I seek. What God is revealing to me is that the answers and the healing I seek lay in the practice of the Examen. So, tonight I reenter into the Examen. This time…I let Christ take the wheel. </div>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-63817115395816447422008-09-10T17:14:00.000-07:002008-09-10T17:27:46.484-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Connecting the Dots</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 24pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Over the course of the many months that I’ve shared my pilgrimage with God, I’ve shared about the troubled relationship with my father.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve talked about the pain of that broken relationship.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve talked about how the imprint of that relationship has impacted my life and ministry.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve been thinking about all of this in a slightly different context given what I’m doing currently to lead my congregation into a deeper and broader discipleship.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>The path that I’m currently following in leadership is one that encourages this community of faith into a deeper and more intentional relationship and experience of the risen Christ in their life.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Through this relationship and a deeper desire to live as a disciple of Christ my hope and prayer is that this community of faith will explore and practice incredibly profound ways of expressing that grace in ministry in the world and community.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 24pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I’ve come to understand that one of the major obstacles that are part of the journey to a deeper relationship and discipleship is the legacy of pain, brokenness and hurt that is part of the human experience.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve come to understand in my own life that for a long time there were hurts that I sought to avoid and even hide (as if that was truly possible) from God.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I think about this in terms of that closet that we all have (literally and figurative<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNToTd9bnh8rWTciPrzZBkFis9bu8nNJcZDLxEFhlxUXgeZ0GjOzjgsjRS8cDNNyqF1-VCdYMdATxWVnr1KGpfk3GGgLjdr4pRMgS9EXv0a9zg2Y6eVKKNv45c1MDtbIVvp7Jc/s1600-h/Jesus+the+Healer.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244551339230798002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 298px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNToTd9bnh8rWTciPrzZBkFis9bu8nNJcZDLxEFhlxUXgeZ0GjOzjgsjRS8cDNNyqF1-VCdYMdATxWVnr1KGpfk3GGgLjdr4pRMgS9EXv0a9zg2Y6eVKKNv45c1MDtbIVvp7Jc/s200/Jesus+the+Healer.JPG" border="0" /></a>ly).<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This is the closet that we pour the garbage and junk that we don’t want to deal with, but can’t bring ourselves to take to the curb of our life so that it goes out with the trash.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>The result of filling this closet is that we created a space that we very easily want to hold back.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Out of pain, embarrassment, fear, or some other reaction we hold back this part of our life.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Any part of our life that we want to hold back and keep from God becomes an obstacle to experiencing God as deeply as possible.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 24pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I found that I was following this course with regard to the pain around my relationship with my father.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I was holding back.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I was not seeking the healing and grace that God all too freely offered.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Partly because I was unaware of just how deep it ran, partly because I was embarrassed because of how I felt.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>In some respects I thought that to admit failure in the relationship would be to admit failure…period.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I couldn’t bring myself to do it.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>As a result of not being completely and radically open to God’s presence and grace to heal, I found myself challenged to serve and grow deeper with Christ’s call and claim on my life.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 24pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Over the course of these last two years, the healing has been slow; at times it was more in fits and starts.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This is more about my unevenness in seeking God’s healing than about unevenness in God.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>As the healing has taken hold and the scars diminished, I have found a deeper passion and experience that seems to be oozing out of every pore of my life and ministry.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’ve come to understand more deeply Paul’s characterization in 2 Corinthians of having this incredible treasure of God’s grace in clay jars.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>God’s great power seen in Christ’s resurrection doesn’t remove our vulnerability.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Our human lives are just as frail as always.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>However, by God’s grace that vulnerability and frailty is still capable of carrying the extraordinary power of resurrection and eternal life.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-INDENT: 24pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I know that this is not the last deeply seated hurt that I will have to deal with.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>I’m all too aware that this is not the last obstacle that I’ll have to surmount.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>However, this experience has been instructive and life-giving.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>It has opened the path of discipleship more widely than before, and into this wider path I feel even more deeply drawn.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-34919890813317574232008-08-21T14:56:00.000-07:002008-08-21T15:17:42.353-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:Cambria;font-size:16;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Principles and Practices for Discipleship</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style="">Fully formed disciples of J</b></span><b style=""><span style="font-size:16;"><span style="font-size:130%;">esus are committed to…</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><b style=""><span style="font-size:16;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1031" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;" wrapcoords="-208 0 -208 21445 21600 21445 21600 0 -208 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.png" title="KNOCKING"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq73_S8dBR2SgTUof-Ycol27kIMlrvOSH1yIrdN-fZpb2FBi2jbsyGcqRzjsGb5fUY-hrStxwwOvLX_pVc5qVk_JdunBtbx1IUcjxyZ1gdV1YX-lqm3EbBSEWicjic4PWn04ea/s1600-h/KNOCKING.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 102px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq73_S8dBR2SgTUof-Ycol27kIMlrvOSH1yIrdN-fZpb2FBi2jbsyGcqRzjsGb5fUY-hrStxwwOvLX_pVc5qVk_JdunBtbx1IUcjxyZ1gdV1YX-lqm3EbBSEWicjic4PWn04ea/s200/KNOCKING.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237095017941336242" border="0" /></a><b style="">an acti</b><b style="">ve</b><b style=""> and growing relationship with the risen Christ.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">Our relationship with Christ is the means by which we grow in our understanding of God’s freely-given, unmerited grace.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual discipline of practicing the presence of Christ helps nurture this relationship through the developing a continual openness and awareness of Christ’s presence in our life</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1029" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-248 0 -248 21427 21600 21427 21600 0 -248 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.jpg" title="Jesus the Healer"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style=""><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACII-E6ivL7Bdz6bBTaLe4TepTg_WPTFka1cryyq70EZDQ6AZJdcZySp7d71TlVguu3RjXaxzKO6cf_ZXac0hFmQnpOyOApxiHJ3shTf1z6i-mlsXXRzI1CuERFsJuE67y9YZ/s1600-h/Jesus+the+Healer.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 96px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACII-E6ivL7Bdz6bBTaLe4TepTg_WPTFka1cryyq70EZDQ6AZJdcZySp7d71TlVguu3RjXaxzKO6cf_ZXac0hFmQnpOyOApxiHJ3shTf1z6i-mlsXXRzI1CuERFsJuE67y9YZ/s200/Jesus+the+Healer.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237095567443847346" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style="">openn</b><b style="">es</b><b style="">s to God’s healing, transforming and life-giving grace.</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">God’s grace comes to us to bring the healing of our hurts and brokenness even before we know God.<span style=""> </span>Practicing a radical openness to that grace brings the healing that enables us to live the new life promised in Christ.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual practice of inner healing prayer opens us to the stream of God’s healing grace.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-296 0 -296 21370 21600 21370 21600 0 -296 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image005.jpg" title="05 - Lentz - Christ of Maryknoll adj"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mRj9kPW8sLD1ILO4TG4dvkhyphenhyphenyXgT6A6jAn-fvuv0C9hO07cl6ExzNKEoFzj8JDt7gCy6RVs3onKfZcHET4NeQY7AZQUq4oLX370p2FGI6Fk7b8yTJ7wKZH14nHgpH1lEbSjb/s1600-h/05+-+Lentz+-+Christ+of+Maryknoll+adj.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mRj9kPW8sLD1ILO4TG4dvkhyphenhyphenyXgT6A6jAn-fvuv0C9hO07cl6ExzNKEoFzj8JDt7gCy6RVs3onKfZcHET4NeQY7AZQUq4oLX370p2FGI6Fk7b8yTJ7wKZH14nHgpH1lEbSjb/s200/05+-+Lentz+-+Christ+of+Maryknoll+adj.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237096052957547986" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style="">living inc</b><b style="">ar</b><b style="">nationally according to the example of Christ.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">The Incarnation is the foundation of how God reveals God’s self in Jesus.<span style=""> </span>Incarnation is the principle by which we embody God’s love to others.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual discipline of examen opens us to the deeper awareness of how Christ is at work in our life.<span style=""> </span>It helps us reflect on and grow beyond the practices that are obstacles to a fuller life with Christ.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJejGG3YzV5yYvmNbZTq9CYJ9OIVY7m7gijQ5F9Vwt0yl30rgPr1tWsr-yq8-6mtSHFcUvTWfq2h0EPLrXxsmTX2dHZ9rdSYKB-uDc7OMTYZkYtxHBOm-qEV5l9Xf8wEBqalB/s1600-h/Theotokos+of+Vladimir.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 84px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJejGG3YzV5yYvmNbZTq9CYJ9OIVY7m7gijQ5F9Vwt0yl30rgPr1tWsr-yq8-6mtSHFcUvTWfq2h0EPLrXxsmTX2dHZ9rdSYKB-uDc7OMTYZkYtxHBOm-qEV5l9Xf8wEBqalB/s200/Theotokos+of+Vladimir.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237096557726375778" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1028" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-167 0 -167 21489 21600 21489 21600 0 -167 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image007.jpg" title="Theotokos of Vladimir"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b style="">t</b><b style="">he disciplined practice of spiritual formation.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">By engaging in spiritual practices (prayer, study, worship, fasting, service, etc.) as a means of grace, the Holy Spirit heightens our sensitivity to experiencing God’s grace.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual practice of contemplation wakes us up to the presence of Christ and the movement of the Holy Spirit that is continually at work in our life.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1030" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-273 0 -273 21382 21600 21382 21600 0 -273 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image009.jpg" title="Christ and His Saints"> <w:wrap type="tight"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUaCo1eHbt_4zNDuPdDP6osOxwSb_zlXpYcKEIydAdd3-rhnBzXDWw90g7hThylRA2OUlY-9E8085hMXUEZNyyZjMBu10skoYO5CRSGj6ocCwJ6LYBln_cfbR_j9O0cJAtskp/s1600-h/Christ+and+His+Saints.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUaCo1eHbt_4zNDuPdDP6osOxwSb_zlXpYcKEIydAdd3-rhnBzXDWw90g7hThylRA2OUlY-9E8085hMXUEZNyyZjMBu10skoYO5CRSGj6ocCwJ6LYBln_cfbR_j9O0cJAtskp/s200/Christ+and+His+Saints.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237097135234009394" border="0" /></a><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><b style="">living </b><b style="">a shared commitment to a life of </b><b style="">discipleship within the Body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">The life of the Christian is not simply to be a disciple but to be committed to making disciples within the context of relationship and mutual journey.<span style=""> </span>More than simply hanging out with a group of people, the spiritual discipline of community is the expression and reflection of our experience of Christ’s self giving presence invested in the common journey with other Christians.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauQph5RdOjCuifDJaWp89F7v52IvGSiFi31WeeSRf6vjIOklgrF15iT_BY6BG5jNvyxuAsYnLYonoYCU9oZ276_h_yjq2nzN79KbRvLBF5JfSEfiP_AReJIa7yLigUOJx-noZ/s1600-h/surfer+jesus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 121px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauQph5RdOjCuifDJaWp89F7v52IvGSiFi31WeeSRf6vjIOklgrF15iT_BY6BG5jNvyxuAsYnLYonoYCU9oZ276_h_yjq2nzN79KbRvLBF5JfSEfiP_AReJIa7yLigUOJx-noZ/s200/surfer+jesus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237097467444637554" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-208 0 -208 21414 21600 21414 21600 0 -208 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image011.jpg" title="surfer jesus"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b style="">shar</b><b style="">e the story of God’s grace as we experience it in our relationship with Christ.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">As we experience more deeply the power of God’s gift of new life in Christ, the Holy Spirit empowers us to share that grace through our life.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual discipline that supports this sharing is witness.<span style=""> </span>This means modeling and telling others of the difference that our relationship with Christ has made in our life.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjAuTdTYunLosi8d3bpZuZGWtb6SrLgvb2jZkL5U9FAPzYlyEHczY9DvvZrLsXG7bWXvPJDU710h6urAxqh6C9wy6m_BQnooE1ng8KpN1hJXzPrqwJNR3pwHQXIvONeFsaakv/s1600-h/Eucharist+Icon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjAuTdTYunLosi8d3bpZuZGWtb6SrLgvb2jZkL5U9FAPzYlyEHczY9DvvZrLsXG7bWXvPJDU710h6urAxqh6C9wy6m_BQnooE1ng8KpN1hJXzPrqwJNR3pwHQXIvONeFsaakv/s200/Eucharist+Icon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237098218127633506" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1032" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;" wrapcoords="-216 0 -216 21343 21600 21343 21600 0 -216 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image013.jpg" title="Eucharist Icon"> <w:wrap type="square"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b style="">living Christ’s incarnational love in the world</b>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 74.8pt;">Our commitment to Christ compels us to follow Christ’s example of incarnational and unconditional love lived with all persons, especially the poor, the broken and the marginalized.<span style=""> </span>The spiritual practice of stewardship is the voluntary and generous offering of God’s gifts given to us for the benefit of others.<span style=""> </span>Stewardship is the holistic sharing of our prayers, presence gifts and service for the sake of the Kingdom.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-49110927163851525172008-08-06T13:29:00.001-07:002008-08-06T13:29:44.409-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Going a Little Deeper</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">It would seem that I’m still caught up in the image of Jacob wrestling with God.<span style=""> </span>The image is compelling.<span style=""> </span>The image of the creature struggling with the Creator is the stuff of Greek tragedy and modern cinema.<span style=""> </span>There is something very primal about it.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps this is why we aren’t really that good at wrestling with God for any great length of time.<span style=""> </span>It’s a struggle that we can’t win.<span style=""> </span>It will take us to places that are totally beyond ourselves.<span style=""> </span>It will take us to depths of self that we simply aren’t comfortable plumbing.<span style=""> </span>At the risk of sounding indelicate…oh well…</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">To be faithful in our calling in Christ, the wrestling is not only inevitable it is essential.<span style=""> </span>Over the last couple of weeks I’ve conceived of this necessity in the context of dealing with those things in our life, in our choices, in our attitudes and perspectives that run contrary to the Reign of God as revealed in Christ.<span style=""> </span>If there are things that we harbor that run in opposition to God’s purpose of compassion, mercy, reconciliation, redemption and justice then we need to remove these from our life.<span style=""> </span>If we are to say yes to God we must say no to our jealous, arrogant, self-seeking, self-preserving, fence building, and violent ways.<span style=""> </span>These habits and choices simply can not coexist with God in our life of faith.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I’ve been thinking and reflecting on these truths at greater depth in the last few weeks.<span style=""> </span>To say that we must work to remove those things we harbor and protect but are obstacles to a deeper life with God is clear and straightforward.<span style=""> </span>Yet, to simply label them as cancerous tumors that must be poisoned, zapped or cut out because they are “evil” leaves us in a very precarious position.<span style=""> </span>If our focus becomes singularly directed toward “rubbing out the spot” we can find ourselves caught in an endless loop.<span style=""> </span>Think of the image of a dog chasing its tail.<span style=""> </span>Round and round you go…pursuing an illusive target and yet never quite catching it.<span style=""> </span>If you do manage to catch it, it isn’t quite as satisfying as you thought it would be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">If our focus is only turned inward, that is, on what is wrong with us and what our deficiencies are, we loose two pieces of the puzzle that are vital.<span style=""> </span>First, our choices can’t be looked as inherently evil (even though that is an easy argument to make for some of them); they are not problematic because of some deficiency on our part.<span style=""> </span>They are problematic because they are in opposition to God and it is on this basis alone that they are judged.<span style=""> </span>Therefore, it is only as we wrestle with these things in relation to God’s purpose revealed in Christ that we are able to move beyond merely cutting out a cancer and move toward experiencing the healing and wholeness that only God can bring.<span style=""> </span>This brings us to the second piece of the puzzle.<span style=""> </span>God’s purpose is not simply the eradication of sin and the things that would stand between us and God.<span style=""> </span>God seeks restoration and redemption.<span style=""> </span>Get rid of the obstacles, yes; but also experience the promise and power of a new life together with God for all eternity.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">This new life is marked by who we are in the essence of our identity and association and what we do and how we live as a consequence of that identity.<span style=""> </span>This is the epic struggle.<span style=""> </span>It is the stuff of legend and myth.<span style=""> </span>It is a wrestling match of cosmic proportions.<span style=""> </span>But if we let that get in the way of going the distance with God the fullness of God’s grace, healing and new life will elude us.<span style=""> </span>I know, it doesn’t seem like much of a choice…but I can say from personal experience that when the dawn breaks after one of these all night matches, God does bless us with a deeper experience of life and grace.<span style=""> </span>Even if the next round in the match turns out to be right around the corner, God will go the distance with us if we are willing to go the distance with God.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-26652960196846560852008-07-30T14:37:00.001-07:002008-07-30T14:37:36.723-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Getting Past Being Busy</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">One of the greatest obstacles to effective discipleship is the nearly constant obsession to be busy and to do the “church” thing.<span style=""> </span>I think we can thank the Protestant Work Ethic for that.<span style=""> </span>Wikipedia defines the Ethic as follows:<span style=""> </span>“a Calvinist value emphasizing the necessity of constant labor in a person's calling as a sign of personal salvation”.<span style=""> </span>The problem is that the ethic has morphed into a cultural of busy-ness in which we get so caught up in doing church that we forget to be the church.<span style=""> </span>We forget that we were redeemed not for a life of being worker ants scurrying about.<span style=""> </span>We were redeemed to be in a meaningful, life-giving relationship with God and with one another within the Body of Christ.<span style=""> </span>This is a relationship that then spills out of us into all our relationships and work in the world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I’ve been struggling with this disconnect between doing church and being the church for many years.<span style=""> </span>I’m one of those people who like to be busy.<span style=""> </span>I like to be <i style="">doing</i> things.<span style=""> </span>I like to be productive.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately I’ve also thought that it was important for me to be able to demonstrate to other people that I am productive…as if this was the only way to prove my worth and earn people’s respect (there is a long story behind this).<span style=""> </span>As my spirituality has developed over these last few years I’ve learned the difference between doing church and being the church.<span style=""> </span>I’ve learned the difference between being a worker in the Kingdom and being a disciple of Christ.<span style=""> </span>As counter-intuitive as it may sound, an obsession with doing things (a-la the Protestant Work Ethic) can, and often does, get in the way of our relationship with Christ and our response to Him in a life of discipleship.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The last few months for me have been one of those very frenetic times; it’s been more about getting things done and trying to meet deadlines than nurturing my relationship with God and deepening my response to God’s grace.<span style=""> </span>As I have prepared for worship this week (Jacob wrestling with God in <st1:bcv_smarttag st="on">Genesis 32</st1:bcv_smarttag>) I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about the things that I continue to wrestle with God over.<span style=""> </span>I think about woundedness, choices, behaviors, anxieties and fears that don’t serve me well in my relationship with God.<span style=""> </span>I also recognize, like Jacob, that were it not for God’s call and claim on my life, and my willingness to answer God, that none of this would be an issue.<span style=""> </span>However, since I desire to say “yes” to God I must also say “no” to things that aren’t God; hence the struggle.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I can’t overcome this struggle or sanctify these sins by trying to prove my salvation in the work that I do, even if it is “church” stuff.<span style=""> </span>It is only God’s grace that brings this healing and it is only in my willingness through living into a perfecting spirituality that I am immersed in this healing and wholeness.<span style=""> </span>It is only when I, as a primary act, open myself to the relationship and experience of God that I will know this experience.<span style=""> </span>In this, I am moved by the words of Carlo Carretto who writes in his <i style="">Letters to Docidia:<span style=""> </span>1954-1983, </i>”At a certain point it occurred to me that what the Church lacked was not work, activity, the building of projects or a commitment to bring in souls.<span style=""> </span>What was missing, <i style="">or at least scarce, was the element of prayer, meditation, self-giving, intimacy with God, fidelity to the Holy Spirit and the conviction that [Christ] was the real builder of the Church</i>.”<span style=""> </span>As I write this, I’m reflecting on Jesus’ comment to the disciples, “you will always have the poor with you” and I think it finally makes sense.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Without a deepening relationship with Christ helping the poor is merely charity.<span style=""> </span>It is only through our perfecting, healing, empowering relationship with Christ that our work with the poor becomes discipleship.<span style=""> </span>It is only then that it becomes peacemaking.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-88975457032433948702008-07-23T16:14:00.001-07:002008-07-23T16:23:04.140-07:00Going for a Swim <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">As you can probably tell, water is an important spiritual image for me.<span style=""> </span>Over my lifetime I’ve had many experiences of God’s grace and presence that could best be described as immersion experiences.<span style=""> </span>My deep affinity for the <st1:place st="on">Hawaiian Islands</st1:place> is rooted in this experience.<span style=""> </span>Being on the islands is very much an immersion experience for me.<span style=""> </span>With such a deep love of Baptismal imagery it should come as a surprise that another image came to mind as I was preparing for worship this week.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I’m looking at the end of the 8<sup>th</sup> Chapter of Romans and have been chewing on a well known passage…v28:<span style=""> </span>“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose.”<span style=""> </span>I’m struck again by that notion of God’s purpose and the relentless nature of God’s redemptive purpose in the world.<span style=""> </span>I’m struck again by how God’s purpose might be delayed as a result of the vagaries of the human experience, but that it can never be ultimately subverted.<span style=""> </span>This truth is like the North Star.<span style=""> </span>It is a bedrock truth by which we can anchor our life.<span style=""> </span>This truth is more than a port in the storms of life.<span style=""> </span>It is a truth around which we can shape <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrSrbu2i6OMZpjVpVQVWnxCxD_0jh7x273gpALew2mfu45VnNtKoIibFlwVFexeGxRhpS0nXAoeEM9dk2ROTuqWkYL0lxlFAnibU4EBUa-ie3tJLjwacp-c_HApGQHF5T9Q5W/s1600-h/100_0523.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrSrbu2i6OMZpjVpVQVWnxCxD_0jh7x273gpALew2mfu45VnNtKoIibFlwVFexeGxRhpS0nXAoeEM9dk2ROTuqWkYL0lxlFAnibU4EBUa-ie3tJLjwacp-c_HApGQHF5T9Q5W/s200/100_0523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226352570433833010" border="0" /></a>and order our life.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">In my own life I’m growing in my experience of the great stream that is God’s redemptive work in the world.<span style=""> </span>That relentless redemptive work of God flows inexorably through creation, whether we see it or even believe it; it is there.<span style=""> </span>When we make the conscious effort to step into the stream of God’s redemptive purpose in creation, we experience that grace in very different ways.<span style=""> </span>When we step into the stream, we are enveloped by the water.<span style=""> </span>It acts on us.<span style=""> </span>It affects us.<span style=""> </span>When we step into the stream we experience the water in ways that are impossible if we observe the water only from the safety of the dry river bank.<span style=""> </span>We are unable to know the true nature of the stream until we step into it and feel its effects directly.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The same is true about the movement of God’s grace.<span style=""> </span>It’s one thing to read about God’s mighty acts of salvation.<span style=""> </span>It’s one thing to read about creation.<span style=""> </span>It’s one thing to read the Gospel and hear of Christ’s life.<span style=""> </span>Simply reading these words may take us to the river bank and get us within sight of the stream.<span style=""> </span>However, if we are to truly experience and understand the nature and power of the promise contained in the words, we need to get off the bank and get into the stream of God’s work.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">When we read Scripture, we need to read it with a heart that wants to see God and expects to see God at work in our life.<span style=""> </span>When we pray, we need to want and expect to hear God walking through the garden of our life.<span style=""> </span>When we extend ourselves to serve the needs of creation and the human community we need to both carry Christ with us and expect to find Christ in the people whom we serve.<span style=""> </span>When we come to the Table we need to come not with the desire to recollect an experience that is relegated to history; we need to come to Christ’s Table expecting to encounter our host.<span style=""> </span>The more we open ourselves to these experiences, the more we will know and the more we will experience the transformation that is part of the stream of God’s redemptive work in creation.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-26045763200942946142008-07-16T15:20:00.001-07:002008-07-16T15:20:19.132-07:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Making Room for Grace to Work</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">In the realm of Christian Spirituality, the importance of living lives that make room for the grace of God to be at work in us and through us is a cornerstone of living into a perfecting spirituality.<span style=""> </span>My experiences through the Academy reshaped my thinking on this topic and gave me experiences that solidified this truth.<span style=""> </span>Making room for the grace of God to be at work is an active endeavor.<span style=""> </span>It is worked out in our relationships, in our view of the world and especially it is seen in our relationships and encounters with our enemies and with people at the fringes.<span style=""> </span>Two weeks ago I received an amazing experience of the power that is unleashed when a community of people of faith work intentionally to make room for grace to work in them and in their midst.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">My week on Sierra Service Project was a truly extraordinary week.<span style=""> </span>I’ve had good weeks before, but never before have I witnessed the level of intentionality in reflecting God’s love as I did in this group of youth and their counselors.<span style=""> </span>Acts of love, mercy and grace were breaking out all over the place.<span style=""> </span>It was amazing.<span style=""> </span>One particular story bears noting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Early on in the week, I’d heard one of the counselors talking about a person from their group who is autistic.<span style=""> </span>This got my attention because I’d never encountered an autistic youth on SSP.<span style=""> </span>Yet as I surveyed the group, I couldn’t find the person in question.<span style=""> </span>My curiosity faded and I soon forgot to be on the look out for this youth.<span style=""> </span>In fact, I’d forgotten all about it until the final night.<span style=""> </span>Sierra Service Project has a tradition on the last night where a candle is passed around and each participant is given the opportunity to share a word about what the experience has meant to them.<span style=""> </span>About three quarters of the way around the circle, one of the youth took hold of the candle and began to share about the experience and in an instant it was clear that this was the autistic youth…not because of any self-revelation, but their mannerisms made it apparent.<span style=""> </span>This youth spoke of the torment that had been unleashed by their peer group at school and how difficult it made their life.<span style=""> </span>It broke my heart to hear the story but it wasn’t long before my heart was healed by the gratitude that this youth expressed for having been loved and accepted in this community in spite of this obvious difference.<span style=""> </span>I was touched by the privilege of being part of a community that showed this young person a life changing level of love and acceptance.<span style=""> </span>I had spoken with this youth a number of times during the week, with no hint of the autism; which made the whole experience even more fantastic.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">This group of youth made room for God’s grace to be at work in them and through them.<span style=""> </span>They loved, accepted and forgave each other (even though it wasn’t always easy).<span style=""> </span>They had patience with one another, even the ones who were less mature, less focused and less easy to relate to.<span style=""> </span>We had our moments of drama through the week, but in the end, God’s Spirit breathed a new and fresh wind into the lives of all these kids.<span style=""> </span>It was all made possible because we were all willing, in one way, shape or form, according to our own experience, to make room for God in our community.<span style=""> </span>It didn’t just happen.<span style=""> </span>It was a conscious choice.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">May this be our choice everyday, in every experience.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-15197018088467800712008-07-03T17:52:00.001-07:002008-07-03T19:48:28.433-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">SSP Work Days <st2:bcv_smarttag st="on">3 & 4</st2:bcv_smarttag></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Since yesterday was our traditional half day of work and we went to a water venue, I’ll post two days worth of work in one shot.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZuBgftETvlsm2Cfna6fjDARN2TwLHvDyahWsCyOTWJY-eKBkzcUo7J-hWKz-zn1WBCdgzDE3Xnc2R-sLQWOtLCHi6N7wFdt8GCSdUgPVWeoh8NWbQt9MToqdwduib2sjZDaM/s1600-h/100_3112.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZuBgftETvlsm2Cfna6fjDARN2TwLHvDyahWsCyOTWJY-eKBkzcUo7J-hWKz-zn1WBCdgzDE3Xnc2R-sLQWOtLCHi6N7wFdt8GCSdUgPVWeoh8NWbQt9MToqdwduib2sjZDaM/s200/100_3112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218960860311735458" border="0" /></a>The work amongst the different teams that our kids are on has been somewhat uneven.<span style=""> </span>This is the first week of the summer for the Site Staff and they are trying to work out logistical kinks with their suppliers.<span style=""> </span>The consequence of this is that some work sites don’t have enough supplies to do work consistently.<span style=""> </span>The staff has worked hard and creatively to overcome this.<span style=""> </span>It has been amazing the way that our kids have both gelled as a group and also made friends with the kids from the other churches.<span style=""> </span>Sooner or later the kids cross the group boundaries to the extent that it is difficult to tell which kids are from which group.<span style=""> </span>This incredible event happened by Tuesday night (which is very early)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The work day yesterday went well.<span style=""> </span>Since it is a half day, the kids usually push hard <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnpxCYCbsFaVbAq8xFKKnH3LzajYI7MRMzsAEkF_6CfWiVzRSfhn65H6aiVbv-UAahHG2XD0iudM92NeXzQQhXPJo34TPFsVj9fY4mxv6ucg8Ffpyz_pyAfRYg60J0FqfcAOE/s1600-h/100_3116.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnpxCYCbsFaVbAq8xFKKnH3LzajYI7MRMzsAEkF_6CfWiVzRSfhn65H6aiVbv-UAahHG2XD0iudM92NeXzQQhXPJo34TPFsVj9fY4mxv6ucg8Ffpyz_pyAfRYg60J0FqfcAOE/s200/100_3116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218979839738916754" border="0" /></a>to get as much done as possible. The water venue was a campground along Grizzly Creek.<span style=""> </span>It was one of the most beautiful Wednesday settings we’ve ever had.<span style=""> </span>The campground is nestled within a redwood forest.<span style=""> </span>The creek was clean.<span style=""> </span>The air was fresh.<span style=""> </span>The air was warm. This picture is taken around an enormous Sequoia tree. It took the whole group to circle it.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Rylie enjoyed the way that her team has worked together.<span style=""> </span>She was glad that no one really sat around while others worked.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Logan</st1:place></st1:city> is building a fence and putting in concrete landing pads at the bottom of the stairs.<span style=""> </span>The best pa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwT95S-WyF5yGV1rbLgmOyJQPBOnCASu16YHKQKNfks-8XFOi7E6ZXdlrS4j61JamoRpCqyCTndNvY8_Z-2y7apGeBCmaWpmSNfcF0cHZXnucE8jU5V_p0pTMpaTSABTAC4Q0/s1600-h/100_3082.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwT95S-WyF5yGV1rbLgmOyJQPBOnCASu16YHKQKNfks-8XFOi7E6ZXdlrS4j61JamoRpCqyCTndNvY8_Z-2y7apGeBCmaWpmSNfcF0cHZXnucE8jU5V_p0pTMpaTSABTAC4Q0/s200/100_3082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218985087440652818" border="0" /></a>rt of his day was the “spiritual sandwich”.<span style=""> </span>This is a new wrinkle for the daily program.<span style=""> </span>Our Spiritual Life Coordinator has given each group a discussion topic for the day.<span style=""> </span>Today’s topic was places and experiences in which we’ve seen God.<span style=""> </span>This was the favorite part of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Logan</st1:place></st1:city>’s day.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Janessa was part of the only team that was painting this week.<span style=""> </span>She was up on the roof painting in the gables.<span style=""> </span>For a girl that enjoys the roof, this was great work for her.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Steve’s group is one of the groups that have had a difficult time getting all the supplies that they’ve needed.<span style=""> </span>He and his co-leader have done a great job with keeping their group together through the lulls.<span style=""> </span>Today that experienced the time honored SSP tradition of the FRED.<span style=""> </span>FREDs are times during the work week when staff come around to the work sites to give time and space to explore what they’re experiencing on the Reservation.<span style=""> </span>These can be wonderful times for a team.<span style=""> </span>This was the favorite part of Steve’s day today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Bonnie has been doing stairs all week.<span style=""> </span>Today they poured the remaining concrete pads and post holes.<span style=""> </span>She has enjoyed her first SSP in a really big way.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I’m so proud of this group of youth.<span style=""> </span>The ones who have never been to SSP love their first experience.<span style=""> </span>The ones who have been before have shown a great deal of growth and maturity from last year.<span style=""> </span>This week is having an extraordinary impact on all of our kids.<span style=""> </span>They are growing in faith and service.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-50158751486193349222008-06-30T20:57:00.001-07:002008-06-30T20:57:47.490-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">SSP 2008 Work Day 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">It’s been a truly spectacular SSP day…which means no one was on the roof…no one got hurt and it wasn’t 100 degrees.<span style=""> </span>The Table Bluff Reservation where we are serving this year is located on a bluff overlooking <st1:place st="on">Humboldt Bay</st1:place> and it is a truly beautiful site.<span style=""> </span>It is a small reservation on which 8 of the 9 work sites are within site of each other.<span style=""> </span>The ninth site is a few miles up the road in Arcata.<span style=""> </span>We find ourselves doing a lot of handicap ramps this year, which means today there was a lot of digging and tomorrow there will be a lot of concrete being mixed.<span style=""> </span>Wednesday will see a lot of nails driven and probably a few black and blue thumbs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">We are here this year with the Loomis UMC, the Campbell UMC and the Lafayette UMC.<span style=""> </span>This is a great bunch of campers and counselors and we are really meshing well at this point.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Back to the weather…I don’t think it got above 65 all day and the sun didn’t come out until about 1:30 pm.<span style=""> </span>It doesn’t seem like its going to be out for much longer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">There is an extraordinary thing happening this year.<span style=""> </span>The Wiyot people (that’s pronounced WEE’ yot) are cooking us both breakfast and lunch.<span style=""> </span>In 17 years of SSP this has never happened.<span style=""> </span>I’m completely blown away by this gesture.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Now a few kid moments.<span style=""> </span>This was Rachel’s first time on the trip and she is on one of the teams that are doing ramps.<span style=""> </span>When I talked to her today about how it went and what the favorite part of her work day was she talked about how great it was that everyone on her team was pitching in.<span style=""> </span>There was no one on her team that just sat around while others worked.<span style=""> </span>I’m very glad that she had a good first day.<span style=""> </span>For Alex, also a first timer, the demolition that needed to happen before the ramp construction begins was the favorite part of his day.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">It’s almost time for evening program, so I’ll cut this short…you can be very proud of this SSP work team.<span style=""> </span>Under Mandy’s leadership the leadership and spiritual maturity of our youth is making a difference in this community.<span style=""> </span>It is a blessing and privilege to share this time with a group of kids that are eager to grow in their discipleship and in their relationship with God through helping other people.<span style=""> </span>While I know that my being here puts a great deal of strain others who pick up my load when I am gone, please know my heartfelt gratitude for all that you do to make it possible for me to be part of this spiritual journey with our youth just as I continue to be challenged in my own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Until tomorrow…</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-79893252328549988232008-06-30T18:48:00.000-07:002008-06-30T19:15:15.269-07:00SSP 2008 Day 2<br />Yosemite National Park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWeWesKsAjq7cS8M39pZIFHaL6JtCPuQ81JYKi_EFNIhMInDTY_Fsk5SmP26RPeTWxIwsqn5RYab0PeDU55eBUrypXFgOD1WpRh4VVkK8MLV5AAA7HGvhaVfmgwQXWgjX6bGE/s1600-h/100_3044.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWeWesKsAjq7cS8M39pZIFHaL6JtCPuQ81JYKi_EFNIhMInDTY_Fsk5SmP26RPeTWxIwsqn5RYab0PeDU55eBUrypXFgOD1WpRh4VVkK8MLV5AAA7HGvhaVfmgwQXWgjX6bGE/s200/100_3044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217860022445455618" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This was a beautiful day with perfect hiking conditions. We had the largest group ever take the hike…20 people!! Of the 20 who started, 13 made it to the cables, also a record. For those of you who know the hike, it is challenging and even though we were somewhat slowed in coming down the hill we all made it down safe and sound. We really missed you Becca!!!! Love and kisses from all of us.<br /></div><br />SSP 2008 Day 3<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Our travel day to McKinleyville proved to be quite eventful. Our path to McKinleyville was closed due to the fires that are scattered throughout the forests of Northern California. Steve Gould was working to get me up to visit with Donna Brantly so that we could plan Jim’s Memorial Service and due to the road closures it would have been impossible to see her without missing my flight. The Spirit created a strong pull to be with Donna which necessitated me missing my short trip home to be in worship for Pastor Cathy’s last day. It was with great sadness that I missed that event, but the time spent with Donna proved to be more important than I could have possibly imagined.<br />Enough about me. It was a long day of traveling for the team, but they made it to McKinleyville and were greeted warmly by Donna’s daughter and son in law. We had stacks of tasty pizza, soda and desserts. It was a wonderful and relaxing place to chat, play games and unwind from the road.<br />We bedded down for the night in the non-profit Karate dojo that is connected to the Church of the Divine Healer UMC. This is where Donna has been attending these last months with her family. The church was very warm and generous in their hospitality and welcome of us. It was a great place to spend the night and worship the next day.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM5i13pMQLb_3K6B5KaPjJdQActErpVBeZXDdo9FtCP-uj7PXOoLyzRhHriMzfOLf6-xMa4aKui8Obe27uY0MSb8zfanhrypzuQ48pISL20JkgLlnCikT5uo0ZdZzzq-XBZ8M/s1600-h/100_3049.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM5i13pMQLb_3K6B5KaPjJdQActErpVBeZXDdo9FtCP-uj7PXOoLyzRhHriMzfOLf6-xMa4aKui8Obe27uY0MSb8zfanhrypzuQ48pISL20JkgLlnCikT5uo0ZdZzzq-XBZ8M/s200/100_3049.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217862927872111794" border="0" /></a><br />SSP 2008 Day 4<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday was kind of a slow day. We started with Church and while I visited more with Donna and her family the rest of the team went to the movies (Wall-e)…a great time was had by all. After a short drive of 30 minutes we arrived on site and the grand adventure of work began.<br /></div>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-23267778171036456392008-06-26T15:45:00.000-07:002008-06-26T15:57:36.270-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">SSP Log 2008</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Parallel to my regular postings for the next few days I’ll give <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg4TqbhNPbvCXUDMnUS7vfr_b_5LlDu_CDUTHEYvXJ5b3m-FLDFRDJomZFqPcTFuWKD_bPRVYsmLvMeHDIzghq7uH3juEcPEqsWCuX7ah-qhfNV0pUAQEBbzUTG14eEu-WmDS/s1600-h/100_3013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg4TqbhNPbvCXUDMnUS7vfr_b_5LlDu_CDUTHEYvXJ5b3m-FLDFRDJomZFqPcTFuWKD_bPRVYsmLvMeHDIzghq7uH3juEcPEqsWCuX7ah-qhfNV0pUAQEBbzUTG14eEu-WmDS/s200/100_3013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216326249830864466" border="0" /></a>daily updates about the MUMC Youth Trip to the Sierra Service Project.<span style=""> </span>This year we’re serving the Wiyot people who live just south of <st1:city st="on">Eureka</st1:city>, Ca, near the town of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Loleta</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>This will be my second Project trip to Loleta and I look forward to cooler temperatures and ocean breezes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Over these next several days I’ll share the events of the day, including pictures.<span style=""> </span>You’ll hear of the different ways in their own words, some of the ways that the youth and other adults are experiencing SSP.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">For those unfamiliar with SSP…Sierra Service Project is a non-profit group that runs a serious of one week work camps, in five different locations.<span style=""> </span>These work camps are for Senior High youth and their counselors.<span style=""> </span>The work involves housing rehabilitation and weatherization for Native Americans who live on various reservations in <st1:state st="on">California</st1:state>, <st1:state st="on">Arizona</st1:state>, <st1:state st="on">Nevada</st1:state> and <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span>More than simply doing work, this experience provides the context for the youth and counselors to explore Christ’s call to service through discipleship in a real world context in a culture setting that is different from our own.<span style=""> </span>This is my 17<sup>th</sup> week at SSP since 1989 (the year I graduated from seminary); needless to say the experience is very near and dear to my heart.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Now, on with our story…</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">With the Staypuft Marshmallow Van in the lead we head north through desert, the mountains and the valley.<span style=""> </span>Our destination for day one is Indian Flat Campground just outside the west gate of <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Yosemite</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">National Park</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>This has been a regular haunt for many years now.<span style=""> </span>At about 20 minutes from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Yosemite</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>, it is a perfect place to stay.<span style=""> </span>Tomorrow, the intrepid among us will head for the trailhead at <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Curry</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Village</st1:placetype></st1:place> to begin our pilgrimage to the top of Half Dome, hopefully the weather will cooperate and we’ll enjoy the view from the top.<span style=""> </span>Pictures from this trek as well as other pictures of the day will be posted on Saturday as I’ll have no internet connection available on Friday.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Before I loose signal, I’m going to end this note and post it.<span style=""> </span>Until Saturday…</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-85811854200017659762008-06-26T11:03:00.000-07:002008-06-26T11:04:42.321-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Trust Is a Funny Thing</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">I had an epiphany a few days ago.<span style=""> </span>At the very least it was a mixed bag.<span style=""> </span>I’d been stressed out over a variety of things in life and ministry and the compounding of these various stresses was working toward leaving me feeling increasingly isolated.<span style=""> </span>In this growing isolation fear was beginning to dictate my action, or lack thereof.<span style=""> </span>The epiphany came within the context of a meeting with my Stewardship leader.<span style=""> </span>We were discussing a plan to encourage our congregation in giving and ministry in the current economic climate.<span style=""> </span>It came to me as bolt from the blue…I wasn’t truly trusting God’s grace and providence nor did I really trust the congregation.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">On the one hand it was a breath of fresh air blowing freely into the choking and stagnant fear that was sapping me of energy and passion.<span style=""> </span>The fear had become a burden on my spirit that had grown gradually and imperceptibly.<span style=""> </span>It had become a burden that I didn’t fully fathom until it was lifted from me.<span style=""> </span>With the lifting of the burden came a flood of emotions…it brought me to tears and to my knees.<span style=""> </span>The pathway that I’m called to follow is a pathway of trust over fear.<span style=""> </span>I was reminded that I can trust God and I can trust this congregation.<span style=""> </span>In so many things over the last eight years this congregation has given me abundant experiences that should have bolstered my trust…but instead I doubted.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">There in lies the downside of the epiphany.<span style=""> </span>I felt deeply convicted in the lack of trust.<span style=""> </span>It would be all too easy to be intemperate with myself in this.<span style=""> </span>As it has always been in matters such as this, God’s grace was sufficient to not only bring me back, but heal the guilt of having forgotten such a fundamental truth.<span style=""> </span>I’m not sure if this is a sign of cynicism or spiritual maturity, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this won’t be the last time that I’ll need to have this epiphany.<span style=""> </span>Such is life.<span style=""> </span>Though I may very likely loose the grip on what I know now, in this moment I trust God, to always bring me back.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">This trust has now broadened my platform for moving forward and answering Christ’s call and claim on me.<span style=""> </span>It feels very much life a reaffirmation of my baptism.<span style=""> </span>I have been immersed in God’s providential healing and grace, dying to the fear that sought to burden me and being raised to a new life of strength and courage.<span style=""> </span>This is simply one more reminder that new life is always breaking out all around us if we would have the eyes to see and hearts open to the promise.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-61189807406093659172008-06-19T16:00:00.000-07:002008-06-19T16:01:24.299-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Synchronous Experience</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">As I have been pondering Paul’s writing about baptism in <st1:bcv_smarttag st="on">Romans 6</st1:bcv_smarttag> there have been some incredibly powerful images that have been coming to mind.<span style=""> </span>While I haven’t before thought thoroughly through Paul’s conception of being buried <i style="">with</i> Christ and being raised <i style="">with</i> Christ I have had some unspoken and unreflective assumptions.<span style=""> </span>The sense of it that I was most comfortable with was the notion of being <i style="">alongside</i> Christ. The language that best describes this is “the journey with Christ”, a phrase I’ve used a lot. My unreflective, default belief is best described as proximity.<span style=""> </span>Being <i style="">with</i> Christ was simply a matter of being close to Christ; and with a disciplined spirituality seeking to be as close as possible.<span style=""> </span>A closer study of <st1:bcv_smarttag st="on">Romans 6</st1:bcv_smarttag> has drawn me to a new conception.<span style=""> </span>When I got there, I’ve found that this new conception was already a reality that I have been living into over these last two years. I simply lacked an image that matched experience<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">When Paul speaks of being buried and resurrected <i style="">with</i> Christ this is not simply a proximity-based reality. Paul is speaking of a reality that is more like incorporation or even co-mingling. In our baptism, Paul points to a transformation of life, identity and perspective that is rendered at the very core of a person. This transformation is affected by God’s grace in and through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">As I reflect on these words and my own growing experience, I am persuaded of the strength and power of this idea. Through living a more disciplined spiritual life I’m discovering a new heart and a new strength for living, loving and serving. This new strength is rooted in a deeper experience and understanding of how Christ is at work in my life. <span style=""> </span>My relationship with Jesus is no longer a proximity experience. Christ’s life is becoming more alive in me and my experience is becoming more alive in Christ. I’m finding great vitality and joy in a synchronous experience with Christ.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-70145784545894063242008-05-21T15:16:00.000-07:002008-05-21T15:17:09.027-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Coming to My Senses</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">In the last few weeks I’ve become consumed with a great many worries.<span style=""> </span>Some of these worries we carry together…unrelenting war, the deepening of poverty in our country and world, a mortgage and credit crisis that is pinching many families, the costs of food and energy, a spiritual malaise that deprives us of the life and dignity that God intends for us all.<span style=""> </span>I also carry the concern for how best to answer God’s claim on my life as I work to lead this community of faith forward in discerning God’s preferred future for our congregation.<span style=""> </span>On top of all of this, Sally and I are preparing to send a daughter to college in an uncertain world where the costs of such an education continue to rise.<span style=""> </span>I have been consumed.<span style=""> </span>In the last couple of days, I’ve come to my senses and realized that I’ve been wandering in the wilderness in this worry.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">It is so easy to get here.<span style=""> </span>We start out with giving these worries, needs and concerns to God.<span style=""> </span>We know that giving these things to God is something that God welcomes.<span style=""> </span>We know that worrying about such things very often gets in our way with a deepening relationship with God.<span style=""> </span>Pretty soon after we stop giving these worries, needs and concerns to God our focus turns inward and we lose sight of God.<span style=""> </span>It’s very much like a trip to the store with young children.<span style=""> </span>We make sure that the child knows that it is important that he/she pay attention to us and not get separated.<span style=""> </span>How many times does the child get distracted by something of interest, look away and then realize that they’ve lost sight of you.<span style=""> </span>How easy it is for us to get distracted by the many things that weigh on us and then lose sight of God’s movement in our life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">That moment of coming to our senses can be a difficult moment.<span style=""> </span>It can be a moment of panic.<span style=""> </span>It can be a moment of confusion.<span style=""> </span>It can be a moment of paralysis as we don’t know where next to go or how to find our way back to God and back to the path.<span style=""> </span>“Now what?”<span style=""> </span>I think we can take a lesson from the National Park Service.<span style=""> </span>When lost in the wilderness, the rangers will remind people to not go wandering.<span style=""> </span>Searchers have a better chance of finding you if you stay put.<span style=""> </span>Spiritually speaking this is what the Psalmist proclaims in the 40<sup>th</sup> Psalm when he writes:<span style=""> </span>“I waited patiently for the Lord, in time God hear my cry.<span style=""> </span>He lifted my feet upon the rock out of the miry bog.”<span style=""> </span>When I came to my senses and realized where I was, I simply waited for and looked for God in the silence of my wilderness.<span style=""> </span>As I began to relinquish the death grip on the things that worried and distracted me, I felt the refreshing and life giving movement of the Holy Spirit.<span style=""> </span>God came to me to renew me, take me by the hand and raise my feet upon the rock.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">In a world where there is a lot to worry about…In a world that is looking less and less like we’re used to seeing it, it is easy to be consumed by our own needs, worries and fears.<span style=""> </span>Even when we grow in our discipleship, trust and relationship with God we will never completely outgrow our distractability.<span style=""> </span>The grace and the good news is that even when we are so distracted, God is never absent from us.<span style=""> </span>God will and does continue to sustain us even though we may not realize it at the time.<span style=""> </span>When we come to our senses and engage the trust to wait for the Lord, to look for the Lord who is present, God will indeed always raise our feet upon the rock.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Our life, our world and our future is in God’s hands.<span style=""> </span>This doesn’t mean there won’t be trials.<span style=""> </span>This doesn’t mean that we won’t face adversity.<span style=""> </span>The path to the life that God has in mind for us means that we continue to walk through an uncertain world.<span style=""> </span>Because of what God has shown us in the cross and resurrection of Christ we can walk through this uncertain world in faith and trust.<span style=""> </span>When we pledge our self to this path, God, by His grace, will always encourage and strengthen us to walk this path. </p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-71767368546253300452008-05-10T20:51:00.001-07:002008-05-10T20:54:33.809-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILn7ICOZmp93PdbdYK7HrsKHWHFMZh17AFKnQWin9SW1PqNuD-2bhaoc_kGDf7PFG81lUZR87n2QkGB7N_n2hfQHCVJgO8vntslgbfcahWYoqwX1GC7yUuflG29lvk1iVPPUi/s1600-h/100_2801.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILn7ICOZmp93PdbdYK7HrsKHWHFMZh17AFKnQWin9SW1PqNuD-2bhaoc_kGDf7PFG81lUZR87n2QkGB7N_n2hfQHCVJgO8vntslgbfcahWYoqwX1GC7yUuflG29lvk1iVPPUi/s200/100_2801.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198963143904973906" border="0" /></a>Pentecost Has New Meaning <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The incredible blessings that I received yesterday yielded some unexpected results today.<span style=""> </span>As we came to the house today there was a spirit of strength that washed over me.<span style=""> </span>Experiencing with such depth and power the reason that we were all in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state> doing the work that we were doing brought with it a power that overcame a very slow morning.<span style=""> </span>Let’s just say that the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.<span style=""> </span>We’ve been working pretty hard and after a very rich meal last night (our team went to a local restaurant) I was really slo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPnCX0x_aQUAYgny0lANEzZwnXGbkZKHu9nPmr7gViUudcmFNnlIXRXNyyYCpofJZ5YttEngc1I3hX5wvmTTDUl6K9O_MwHr1n4xXVZZSNGERF0evSGpK3ekhwngvEQATvCa6/s1600-h/100_2806.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPnCX0x_aQUAYgny0lANEzZwnXGbkZKHu9nPmr7gViUudcmFNnlIXRXNyyYCpofJZ5YttEngc1I3hX5wvmTTDUl6K9O_MwHr1n4xXVZZSNGERF0evSGpK3ekhwngvEQATvCa6/s200/100_2806.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198963319998633058" border="0" /></a>w getting moving.<span style=""> </span>When we got to the house all of that changed.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">We had a larger crew this morning.<span style=""> </span>Because of the amount of work and the urgency to get this house online, we brought in additional people from our larger crew.<span style=""> </span>Dave, our team leader, did a stellar job moving us around the house to maximize our work.<span style=""> </span>I finished framing a doorway in the upstairs hallway.<span style=""> </span>This was a project that I had begun yesterday and ran out of material to finish.<span style=""> </span>It didn’t take long to finish the job, and then I got to work with my colleague from the San Dieguito church on hanging drywall.<span style=""> </span>We split up the work and went after it.<span style=""> </span>Even though there was a pretty strong wind outside, the temperature was warming up and the southerly wind was pumping humidity into the region.<span style=""> </span>The upstairs got warmer and warmer.<span style=""> </span>As warm as it was, I was completely undeterred.<span style=""> </span>I was extraordinarily energized to continue the work.<span style=""> </span>I realized that each nail pounded, each piece of drywall hung got the house one step closer to occupy.<span style=""> </span>Each piece of the project we completed in this house moved the Gulfside Assembly one step closer to being rebuilt that it might continue its vital ministry on the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">This energizing had only one source.<span style=""> </span>I know that it was the work of the Holy Spirit in me and through me that moved me and motivated me.<span style=""> </span>The way I felt this morning when I woke up, the Spirit’s power is the only thing that could motivate me.<span style=""> </span>Through the course of the afternoon as I began the journey home, I began to experience the realization that I have experienced a new and deeper lesson of Pentecost.<span style=""> </span>I came to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state> looking for Jesus.<span style=""> </span>I was totally open to experiencing the power and presence of Christ in a new way in my life.<span style=""> </span>I had no idea what this new experience would look like, but that didn’t deter me.<span style=""> </span>I sought to be open, aware and prayerful.<span style=""> </span>I sought to be faithful to the mission that I was called to do in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span>In this, Christ revealed himself to me in the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2DSklpU2cy4i3M-vEaEnvmZZtpFtGH_UEohNIR88cLcgDnu65G5OKjYjVS16-vg2mWqqWLBqCAdlCV4I6LYau8mb-pHD-x1C_MPxzSiz_a6r25M39WzYU9CJkWKYAI4wFx_K/s1600-h/100_2680.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2DSklpU2cy4i3M-vEaEnvmZZtpFtGH_UEohNIR88cLcgDnu65G5OKjYjVS16-vg2mWqqWLBqCAdlCV4I6LYau8mb-pHD-x1C_MPxzSiz_a6r25M39WzYU9CJkWKYAI4wFx_K/s200/100_2680.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198963586286605426" border="0" /></a> work, through my teammates and through the people of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The Pentecost experience and the power of the Holy Spirit are about God’s work of claiming and empowering ordinary people who seek to be faithful to their calling in Christ to do extraordinary things in the world.<span style=""> </span>The Spirit can, and does work independently of us, but like on the day of Pentecost when Peter and the others, through faith and trust in Christ opened themselves up to the Spirit’s movement, the world was never again the same.<span style=""> </span>I experienced that power in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state> this week and I look forward to sharing that experiencing and looking for that experience in Murrieta.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Come Holy Spirit, Come!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">From the skies over northern <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Alabama</st1:state></st1:place>, May 8, 2008, 10:35 pm.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-13892229478412802672008-05-07T19:36:00.001-07:002008-05-07T19:54:21.974-07:00What it’s All About <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Today was an extraordinary blessing.<span style=""> </span>It was unexpected, as so many blessings are.<span style=""> </span>I began my day back at Robert’s house and spent some time sanding and looking over th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNDp2GBKncVLQXyqhX-0GQYoJyB6hcm0w6aXV4buzXsa5Gq_n9sxN_OVgpFTl98NZk-79BOzPNUlUVcq9jw1tOfwFxd_JK2J2RoSMsGhiQIjGB5x1-4f9Qvke3a2t1Zg0pmfB/s1600-h/100_2704.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNDp2GBKncVLQXyqhX-0GQYoJyB6hcm0w6aXV4buzXsa5Gq_n9sxN_OVgpFTl98NZk-79BOzPNUlUVcq9jw1tOfwFxd_JK2J2RoSMsGhiQIjGB5x1-4f9Qvke3a2t1Zg0pmfB/s200/100_2704.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197830601700792834" border="0" /></a>e drywall mudding we did yesterday.<span style=""> </span>Our crew had heard that a move was coming.<span style=""> </span>There was another house that needed some immediate work.<span style=""> </span>Mid-morning our crew leader came back, loaded us and took us to a home that was being rebuilt from sticks.<span style=""> </span>It was part of a neighborhood that had been inundated with water and silt from a the storm surge and a nearby flooded river.<span style=""> </span>This job would consist of a large drywall job and some other carpentry projects to move it forward to get it habitable.<span style=""> </span>We arrived at the house and dove right in.<span style=""> </span>There we met Tony who was on-site as something of a foreman.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">We didn’t get a chance to talk with Tony at any great length in the morning because we had to get on the job.<span style=""> </span>However, he joined us for lunch and shared his story.<span style=""> </span>He talked about his life before and after Katrina.<span style=""> </span>He talked about the devastation and explained more of what we were seeing around us.<span style=""> </span>Some of the pictures that I have show trees that are little more than sticks, waiting for the next storm to blow them over.<span style=""> </span>Tony explained that the force of the wind picked up saltwater from the Gulf and not only stripped the vegetation clean, but also sandblasted the trunks.<span style=""> </span>Tony shared stories of how the insurance companies wanted to raise rates 400% immediately after the storm.<span style=""> </span>The state stepped in and limited their increase to 99%.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The most beautiful thing that he shared with us from his story occurred after the storm.<span style=""> </span>A few days after the storm he and his wife were driving back from Birmingham and stopped at a gas station to fill up (how they came to that station is another story altogether).<span style=""> </span>While at the gas station they were talking with a woman whom they just met.<span style=""> </span>This woman and her family had two homes, one in town, and one out in the country.<span style=""> </span>This woman offered Tony and his wife, whom she’d just met, the use of her country home for as long as they needed it.<span style=""> </span>A complete stranger offers shelter to this family in need…as I type this story I can hear the words of Jesus echo throughout my spirit – whenever you do this to the least of these members of my family you do it unto m<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6fguPUV2_DrPrXb149YsnkOFylWub6ZXANPLg2kckhEr5Q7x2uEL-IiOHyZ2v6cAJsgAhvz78dRyDljN_2mCeontzQp-oI2xiVwsOHsA9yBcCIrbiWU20PZdmhxjNLccMzmf/s1600-h/100_2793.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6fguPUV2_DrPrXb149YsnkOFylWub6ZXANPLg2kckhEr5Q7x2uEL-IiOHyZ2v6cAJsgAhvz78dRyDljN_2mCeontzQp-oI2xiVwsOHsA9yBcCIrbiWU20PZdmhxjNLccMzmf/s200/100_2793.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197831160046541330" border="0" /></a>e.<span style=""> </span>The Spirit of Christ is indeed moving powerfully in this world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">What made this day extraordinarily special was what came at the end of the day.<span style=""> </span>We ended our day a little early because we had a celebration to go to.<span style=""> </span>One of UMCOR’s clients was able to move back into his home.<span style=""> </span>I’ve been to many housing blessings in my ministry and this is always a great privilege.<span style=""> </span>Today as I stood with all the people working out of Gulfside this week, placing my hand on that home and asking God’s blessings I could feel the Spirit moving in our midst.<span style=""> </span>This is what it’s all about:<span style=""> </span>One family at a time getting people back into their homes.<span style=""> </span>Over 100 volunteers worked on that ho<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0tHzy7npIDmYbzTC-IJHHx6ofp_cW0C1V_JXXqIYNCkkLF5BrWzFL47jyP7ce_lzIg7DnoJNSvH_2vZn345w1LKlookONkj14dVYWUEcBjMBfAb4uboZbCD3tBNLQ072htiD/s1600-h/100_2779.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0tHzy7npIDmYbzTC-IJHHx6ofp_cW0C1V_JXXqIYNCkkLF5BrWzFL47jyP7ce_lzIg7DnoJNSvH_2vZn345w1LKlookONkj14dVYWUEcBjMBfAb4uboZbCD3tBNLQ072htiD/s200/100_2779.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197834656149920306" border="0" /></a>me taking it from sticks to what it is today.<span style=""> </span>The owner was so grateful and he knew and bore witness to the fact that it was the Spirit of Christ that made it all possible.<span style=""> </span>This experience makes this week all worthwhile.<span style=""> </span>Through the course of the day, I had three different people say to me that they didn’t know how they’d get by and reclaim their homes without the church’s help and the work of the volunteers.<span style=""> </span>That is why I am in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mississippi</st1:place></st1:state> this spring.<span style=""> </span>That is why we will take a large contingent from Murrieta UMC and return to continue to serve.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The final blessing of the day came when I discovered who would be living in the house we were moved to today.<span style=""> </span>When I met Wilma at the end of the day, I assumed she would be living there.<span style=""> </span>Later I found out that the home was being prepared for the new Director of Gulfside Assembly, the camp where we are staying and staging from.<span style=""> </span>This Camp, with this incredible history, which was so utterly devastated and chose first to serve rather than be served, is about to be rebuilt so that it may continue its camping and retreat ministry.<span style=""> </span>The new Director is tasked with making that happen.<span style=""> </span>I feel incredibly blessed and privileged to care for and support the life and ministry of this person.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">From <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Waveland</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">MS</st1:state></st1:place>, May 7, 2008, 9:26 pm.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-48088531729052805342008-05-06T20:30:00.001-07:002008-05-06T20:39:38.986-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WL9TrZWPn0-aptW8s3R8SBCR784d0C9dX5wnA_yQGNhVaeymqM1uJrExeOUnndS2ODmrN4akiiHOhAc4qPOR-a183YITmu5q2hMrd7PdzPZrOFpVuSGLYo97swL52ip4OvcR/s1600-h/100_2742.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WL9TrZWPn0-aptW8s3R8SBCR784d0C9dX5wnA_yQGNhVaeymqM1uJrExeOUnndS2ODmrN4akiiHOhAc4qPOR-a183YITmu5q2hMrd7PdzPZrOFpVuSGLYo97swL52ip4OvcR/s200/100_2742.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197473539950044834" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Do Crawfish Really Migrate?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The week is settling into a pretty busy routine.<span style=""> </span>Today was a full and hard day of work.<span style=""> </span>The house I moved to yesterday afternoon was the site of today’s work…a day full of drywall, mudding and taping.<span style=""> </span>I actually learned something useful.<span style=""> </span>The owner of the home constantly amazes me at his drive to reclaim his life and his home.<span style=""> </span>I feel a little convicted about how easy it is for me to do things other than invest time and effort in my home.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdWnVIGn-ms4iEAm3QOoC-z8XzEPgfih49OAI6O8-WuoF0C0_Gib6vaAc-hR28BYdRfL0AJ-kBKw89UVjPFhtckDwzumPtmA2SRzGnNMtocE8yuhMrATlcbYaVGb948ZcJuqQ/s1600-h/100_2708.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdWnVIGn-ms4iEAm3QOoC-z8XzEPgfih49OAI6O8-WuoF0C0_Gib6vaAc-hR28BYdRfL0AJ-kBKw89UVjPFhtckDwzumPtmA2SRzGnNMtocE8yuhMrATlcbYaVGb948ZcJuqQ/s200/100_2708.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197473879252461234" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The question posed in the title of this blog is a little frivolous but it is born out of the unique character of this part of the world.<span style=""> </span>As we were driving home from our sight yesterday we noticed several houses that had these curious mud mounds in their yards.<span style=""> </span>No one in the van knew what they were so we had several speculations.<span style=""> </span>Some thought they might be some sort of bird that nested in the ground.<span style=""> </span>Some thought that they might be wasp nests in the ground.<span style=""> </span>Still others thought that they might be anthills…after all, this is fire ant country.<span style=""> </span>There were no conclusions.<span style=""> </span>Today as we were wrapping up our day we w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9uRC3LJP6srFIPkWnR70-4LcZurB5jctC2mDzTQ5Sh3f7ecANdgSXPKHRSOKf_5cpD13aXSbe7Uj0yVGSvLGF78iuhkXtBkk8XG254oEvkAaSoOGvWNHytKIeD_9Pg4hc8za/s1600-h/100_2751.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx9uRC3LJP6srFIPkWnR70-4LcZurB5jctC2mDzTQ5Sh3f7ecANdgSXPKHRSOKf_5cpD13aXSbe7Uj0yVGSvLGF78iuhkXtBkk8XG254oEvkAaSoOGvWNHytKIeD_9Pg4hc8za/s200/100_2751.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197474407533438658" border="0" /></a>ere talking with our homeowner and he informed us that those mud volcanoes are mad by crawfish.<span style=""> </span>They live underground in this part of the world and when it rains they push the mud up through the ground to allow oxygen to get down to their homes.<span style=""> </span>Then Robert informed us that the crawfish will migrate the rivers, streams, lakes and drainage canals that crisscross the region.<span style=""> </span>These migrations will even take them to the freeway (I-10) where they will cross the freeway and people have been know to pull over with coolers and start throwing the crawfish into them…et-tufe anyone?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Since I’ve gotten through the initial shock of the stripped trees, abandon driveways, stilted houses and all that the aftermath of Katrina has held I am able to engage in a sense of wonder at the truly unique place and culture that I find here.<span style=""> </span>I must admit that until this afternoon I never considered or even cared, for that matter, whether or no<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTF-4j8Dv9gOr_rGcvU8wvf9n2F1XeghPXgFr8F2q6_T52ec2uLj20fqzlm0CDoE09Cz14v9W3kZvFDyJXOmY6OFivaVl7w48ydqW-0ih3qI4fRNjZjO0ytL2P6OXxkqiMjfb/s1600-h/100_2765.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTF-4j8Dv9gOr_rGcvU8wvf9n2F1XeghPXgFr8F2q6_T52ec2uLj20fqzlm0CDoE09Cz14v9W3kZvFDyJXOmY6OFivaVl7w48ydqW-0ih3qI4fRNjZjO0ytL2P6OXxkqiMjfb/s200/100_2765.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197474849915070162" border="0" /></a>t crawfish migrate.<span style=""> </span>This serves as a simple reminder of how easy it is to miss the wonders of the world we live in.<span style=""> </span>This has been a day blessed with a strong sense of possibility.<span style=""> </span>With each piece of drywall, every nail hammered, every pass with the drywall mud Robert and his family moved one step closer to occupying their new home.<span style=""> </span>With each new family that moves into their new home, the region is one step closer to recovering and reclaim what Katrina had taken away.<span style=""> </span>Each step closer to recovery is one step closer to healing.<span style=""> </span>It was indeed a good day.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">From <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Waveland</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">MS</st1:state></st1:place>, May 6, 2008, 10:30 pm.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-80438435920756567262008-05-05T17:46:00.000-07:002008-05-05T17:56:16.606-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckrwdeOfSU2WMWubgS1JVJfUdo3HkoiyY8YJP5KckZBteZ-7Qripb1c8_De_NtGb4ICkZhK-fHwkfNDJPrqJCnMzDnSVCO_su7E7gQ08mSjYG-obzgdTivqDsQCpn0hUWlCj2/s1600-h/100_2695.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckrwdeOfSU2WMWubgS1JVJfUdo3HkoiyY8YJP5KckZBteZ-7Qripb1c8_De_NtGb4ICkZhK-fHwkfNDJPrqJCnMzDnSVCO_su7E7gQ08mSjYG-obzgdTivqDsQCpn0hUWlCj2/s200/100_2695.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197060424225711714" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal">What Would It Take?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">This is a thought that runs through my mind as I walk the gulf shore neighborhood neat <st2:place st="on"><st2:placetype st="on">Camp</st2:placetype> <st2:placename st="on">Gulfside</st2:placename></st2:place>.<span style=""> </span>There is a lot of rebuilding going on in the Waveland area.<span style=""> </span>In fact, today I met two different homeowners on whose homes I worked.<span style=""> </span>Each of these homeowners is receiving grant assistance to rebuild and they are investing a good deal of sweat equity in the project.<span style=""> </span>These two families are working hard to reclaim what was taken by the Gulf.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">The house that I worked on in the morning is about 3 miles inland from the Gulf.<span style=""> </span>When the storm surge came through this neighborhood it was at least 20 feet deep…<b style="">3 miles inland</b>.<span style=""> </span>For this family rebuilding seemed to be very matter of fact…likewise for the house that I hung sheetrock in this afternoon.<span style=""> </span>This family took extraordinary measures to build their home to be as hurricane resistant as possible.<span style=""> </span>They are less than two miles inland.<span style=""> </span>This young family was going to do everything they could do to weather the next storm.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkk2gXaBnjOUGid0OJKAUXt6mViVq4enYVLgzgUb7H1H1PMlRZvjdLZbNAZ82EUsnM2pdARfMsFCWk_m2atc0ToJgMFsqv6Ukk7HY40ddtvkdYF7NjmMAPyBW25SghthAz5k7R/s1600-h/100_2724.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkk2gXaBnjOUGid0OJKAUXt6mViVq4enYVLgzgUb7H1H1PMlRZvjdLZbNAZ82EUsnM2pdARfMsFCWk_m2atc0ToJgMFsqv6Ukk7HY40ddtvkdYF7NjmMAPyBW25SghthAz5k7R/s200/100_2724.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197060935326819954" border="0" /></a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">There is plenty of evidence of like minded families in this region of the <st2:place st="on"><st2:placetype st="on">Gulf</st2:placetype> <st2:placetype st="on">Coast</st2:placetype></st2:place>.<span style=""> </span>There are a number of homes that have been rebuilt of brick.<span style=""> </span>Others have been built on stilts, some even as tall as 25 feet off the ground.<span style=""> </span>I have to admit there is a certain ‘three little pigs’ quality to what I’m seeing.<span style=""> </span>Every one who is rebuilding is trying to be prepared for the next big hurricane.<span style=""> </span>There is a resilience that is pretty amazing given the stories that I’ve heard.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">There is however, another side that is painfully visible.<span style=""> </span>Within a short walk from the camp, there are a number of driveways that come up from <st2:street st="on"><st2:address st="on">Beach Blvd.</st2:address></st2:street> and go nowhere.<span style=""> </span>To walk about these driveways, many overgrown from what would seem to be years of neglect and abandonment, there is <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02ldtWn13qkT0bG2pvgMO74pBgZgoYQI9w1tuYEhqo6gDGY74eSaMdI843wOp5CAcG4XjgXRSt1-VTSk1wmCbFePd7vnoi_YR7sTiX5F87szJc3KGunFDiGo5PWwy-7NGf9p5/s1600-h/100_2737.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02ldtWn13qkT0bG2pvgMO74pBgZgoYQI9w1tuYEhqo6gDGY74eSaMdI843wOp5CAcG4XjgXRSt1-VTSk1wmCbFePd7vnoi_YR7sTiX5F87szJc3KGunFDiGo5PWwy-7NGf9p5/s200/100_2737.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197061661176292994" border="0" /></a>a sadness that washes over you when you realize that there is no home.<span style=""> </span>With some of these lots there is no foundation left.<span style=""> </span>There is no way to know for sure if the slabs were washed away by the storm or simply demolished after the storm.<span style=""> </span>The driveways seem sadly out of place and forlorn.<span style=""> </span>Where the slab is gone there is no way to know for sure the size of the house, but it seems apparent that some of them were fairly good size homes.<span style=""> </span>Many of these homes were such that you could walk out the driveway across the road and out onto a dock that went some distance over the water.<span style=""> </span>Now, the pilings are the only remnants.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">One particular lot captured my attention.<span style=""> </span>This is a corner lot of some good size<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V4QlUxVOCn2jVG96CsDSMuhCcQqiqCTg9zZnyZFPHhgoRwsRt8eIB-Cnd-DOyAvFTAAs2gDsGs6NidaHgC-pL8CgR1IqNz5L2ZqMmJfhbGIMuaPUeL-uB05CXXiTYbAND2vK/s1600-h/100_2734.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V4QlUxVOCn2jVG96CsDSMuhCcQqiqCTg9zZnyZFPHhgoRwsRt8eIB-Cnd-DOyAvFTAAs2gDsGs6NidaHgC-pL8CgR1IqNz5L2ZqMmJfhbGIMuaPUeL-uB05CXXiTYbAND2vK/s200/100_2734.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197062086378055314" border="0" /></a>.<span style=""> </span>There was what appeared to be a fairly new swimming pool.<span style=""> </span>The trees were large, mature and though cut back now seemed once to be majestic.<span style=""> </span>From one tree there was the rusted chain which no doubt held a swing.<span style=""> </span>A second tree had hanging from it a now frayed rope.<span style=""> </span>A beautiful <st2:place st="on"><st2:placetype st="on">Gulf</st2:placetype> <st2:placetype st="on">Coast</st2:placetype></st2:place> home with a pool, a swing, and large shady trees to climb would have been an idyllic place to grow up.<span style=""> </span>The whole scene seemed to exude memories, now in the form of ghosts of what had been.<span style=""> </span>The lot was overgrown and nailed to a tree was a plaintive sign, almost a plea, “For Sale”.<span style=""> </span>This was not a slick realtor sign.<span style=""> </span>It was simple and handwritten with a number to call.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">What is the difference between these families?<span style=""> </span>What could possibly account for the different response?<span style=""> </span>What could have happened in the heart and head of a family who seemed to be giving up so much for them to turn from their memories and leave?<span style=""> </span>I have no answers.<span style=""> </span>I’m not sure there are answers.<span style=""> </span>I’m not sure there needs to be answers.<span style=""> </span>The response is simple…either one steps forward to rebuild, to reclaim what had been taken from them, or one doesn’t.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">In our life of faith we have the same choices when battered by the storm.<span style=""> </span>Either we, by God’s grace and with God’s help, reclaim our life or we don’t.<span style=""> </span>Either we recognize that God raises us up from the pit and sets our feet on a rock or we remain bogged down in the mire.<span style=""> </span>The choice is ours to make.<span style=""> </span>The path to follow is always before us.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">From Waveland <st2:state st="on"><st2:place st="on">Mississippi</st2:place></st2:state>, May 5, <st1:bcv_smarttag st="on">2008 5:40</st1:bcv_smarttag> pm.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-70525687648807802622008-05-04T19:54:00.000-07:002008-05-04T20:03:12.325-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC_ASEKORHk9zXViuorO6ceyr_fUlzPtJVgltgOg7SJYsefg2UFmyM59sZX8rQBq05lzckeBM8ss8TYOV_157ZZFOVhGAbeSP3eM2KjqP4ZvjQeQNHFFFQk0hLTwcyqytABz4/s1600-h/100_2694.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC_ASEKORHk9zXViuorO6ceyr_fUlzPtJVgltgOg7SJYsefg2UFmyM59sZX8rQBq05lzckeBM8ss8TYOV_157ZZFOVhGAbeSP3eM2KjqP4ZvjQeQNHFFFQk0hLTwcyqytABz4/s200/100_2694.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196723913538070098" border="0" /></a><br />Greetings from <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Waveland</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Mississippi</st1:state></st1:place> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">After much anticipation I’ve arrived on the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mississippi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived, but I was still shocked at the extent to which the devastation is still evident.<span style=""> </span>I had the good fortune of getting a small tour as we travelled west from the Gulfport/Biloxi Airport to Waveland.<span style=""> </span>We passed through the communities of Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and Waveland on our way to United Methodist Camp Gulfside located right on the <st1:place st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>My guide was a relief worker assigned to supervisor one of the other UM relief sites.<span style=""> </span>He has been here long enough to get the lay of the land and to know some of the stories.<span style=""> </span>As we drove along the coast the 25 miles from the airport to our final destination I was blown away by the stories of wind and water.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Three years later the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place> in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina is still a <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrUBY9knnBSeK1xJ1FW2eH9g7j6noCPEGNjGYrQIw6c8B-UYuUO7afipv6XSB8zFtZQF_BSnWqN-kB85W9-18jryLYz6Q_r-RwM_V2WGerj0L_rLSnzWfCw7SbCYjSnXDmlCo/s1600-h/100_2685.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrUBY9knnBSeK1xJ1FW2eH9g7j6noCPEGNjGYrQIw6c8B-UYuUO7afipv6XSB8zFtZQF_BSnWqN-kB85W9-18jryLYz6Q_r-RwM_V2WGerj0L_rLSnzWfCw7SbCYjSnXDmlCo/s200/100_2685.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196722637932783138" border="0" /></a>study of contrasts.<span style=""> </span>Brand new houses and signs of life are interspersed with broken and deformed trees, empty foundations, driveways that go nowhere and orphaned stilts that were designed to raise a house high enough to avoid the storm surge of a hurricane.<span style=""> </span>Old plantation homes, small cottages, modest family homes, houses of worship, businesses, municipal buildings, bridges, rail lines, sewers, water, gas and electricity, none were strong enough to withstand the force of the wind and water that came ashore with the eye of the storm right at the place where I write this post from.<span style=""> </span>Nearly three years post-Katrina this area is coming back to life with the help of countless volunteers and yet there are still tens of thousands of homes in this region that are not even touched.<span style=""> </span>The difference between new homes and empty slabs is the common story in our world…the folks with means or insurance are clawing their way back.<span style=""> </span>The ones without are living in FEMA trailers and “Katrina Cottages” navigating the maze of governmental and parochial assistance to re-establish their homes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Another contrast is this place…<st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Camp</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Gulfside</st1:placename></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>This 65 acre parcel has been owned and operated as a Gulf-front camp and retreat center for 80 some years.<span style=""> </span>On this parcel, pre-Katrina, there were 14 buildings that serviced the camp.<span style=""> </span>Post-Katrina, after 25 feet of wind driven water, that number dropped to ZERO.<span style=""> </span>I write to you from a building donated by the military.<span style=""> </span>The contrast is fueled by the history of this place.<span style=""> </span>For forty years of this camp’s existence it was the only place in this part of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place> that residents of African descent could freely come and enjoy the soft white sand and warm gulf waters.<span style=""> </span>From its inception in the 1920’s through the civil rights era this camp was an oasis, it was a way-station that guarded the dignity of persons in Christ’s nam<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs8g8BSqY_mb6bY5fDNuQpGdwWwefqwHpW9n3LAr-GOeAMLzrNnUYjueuPnyevg6Oi35jZ6T5UpftWZpcmef_yB_jpBvaR0YQZGmDRG-GgieQb4PKR8HwHM_ELEbq_sSGwHY0/s1600-h/100_2680.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrs8g8BSqY_mb6bY5fDNuQpGdwWwefqwHpW9n3LAr-GOeAMLzrNnUYjueuPnyevg6Oi35jZ6T5UpftWZpcmef_yB_jpBvaR0YQZGmDRG-GgieQb4PKR8HwHM_ELEbq_sSGwHY0/s200/100_2680.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196723428206765634" border="0" /></a>e.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Again, even in its devastated condition, <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Camp</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Gulfside</st1:placename></st1:place> is an oasis.<span style=""> </span>It is a place where thousands of volunteers have passed through and rested in the work of bringing a tangible example of Christ’s love to a broken and battered community.<span style=""> </span>We were reminded of why we are here as we sat at orientation this evening.<span style=""> </span>The question was asked “what is the difference between our mission and our task?”<span style=""> </span>The true distinction, given by one of my fellow volunteers is this…Our task is the work on the houses.<span style=""> </span>Our mission is to live out and embody the love of God that we have known in Christ…a love that brings healing and hope in the midst of death and devastation.<span style=""> </span>And so it begins for us.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">Come Lord Jesus, Come.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 24pt;">From <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Camp Gulfside</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Mississippi</st1:state></st1:place>, May 4, 2008, 10:49 pm.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-55289441299295099192008-04-24T10:06:00.000-07:002008-04-24T10:07:29.843-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Service as a Spiritual Discipline</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">In the eight months since I completed the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Two</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename st="on">Year</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Academy</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> I've had a growing understanding of service as a Spiritual Discipline.<span style=""> </span>This is an important distinction for the church to make.<span style=""> </span>In some traditions service is an obligation that the community carries as a burden.<span style=""> </span>In other traditions, service is a metric by which that community measures it’s self.<span style=""> </span>Still other traditions engage in service with only the vaguest notion that somewhere in Scripture Jesus expects us to do good things for other people.<span style=""> </span>Make no mistake, when the hungry are fed, the naked clothed and compassion made tangible these are all Kingdom tasks.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">However, when service is rooted only in a temporal reality, that is, when our motivation for doing ministry is only about the need that is immediately in front of us, we miss an important, longer view of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Kingdom</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">God</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>The deeper question of what drives us into these Kingdom acts is a vital question for Christian spirituality.<span style=""> </span>Are we simply about doing an ethical approximation of what Jesus is reported to have done in the Gospels?<span style=""> </span>Approaching service as a spiritual discipline has helped me distinguish this difference.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">This wasn’t an overnight change for me.<span style=""> </span>In fact it happened over many years as I wrestled with the nature of Christian service, the call to discipleship and a yearning for a deeper relationship with God.<span style=""> </span>Since I began my ministry in the local church, I’ve been fairly certain that the work of Christian ministry was more than just going through the motions of “doing church”.<span style=""> </span>I’ve known that there was a “being” component to this work that was rooted deeply within a relationship with Christ.<span style=""> </span>Over the years I think I’ve grown in my ability to bear witness to that distinction and to draw people more deeply into a way of serving that was more than rote and more than doing something simply because I asked them.<span style=""> </span>There was still something missing.<span style=""> </span>There was a connective piece that I couldn’t quite get my hands on.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">I realize now that my conversations, my preaching, my teaching and my leading were more academic than experiential.<span style=""> </span>I knew that I was on the right track.<span style=""> </span>But because I lacked the experience of service as a spiritual discipline, it was difficult to lead others there.<span style=""> </span>A couple of months ago I could feel a shift in my spirituality.<span style=""> </span>Through the time of the Academy, much of my focus was internal.<span style=""> </span>My disciplines were very inwardly focused.<span style=""> </span>A couple of months ago I could feel the focus shift.<span style=""> </span>I began to see ways, open doorways through which I could go into the world and express in tangible ways the grace that I had experienced in my inward journey of spiritual formation.<span style=""> </span>I began to experience what I’d been saying and preaching for some years…that serving others as Christ served is not simply the matter of the right task list.<span style=""> </span>To serve as Christ served is rooted in deep and life giving relationships…first with God and then with others.<span style=""> </span>The intimacy of His relationship with God the Father and the intimacy of His relationship with the disciples and those whom he served was the pathway of effectiveness.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">The lesson for me is that the metric for faithful discipleship is not the quantity of tasks that we are able to check off at the end of the day.<span style=""> </span>Rather, faithful service is measured by the quality of all of our relationships and that they are in effect means of God’s grace poured out in the world.<span style=""> </span>I know that my ability to serve in this way begins with the time I offer to God…to know God…to hear God…to simply sit in silence with God.<span style=""> </span>If I’m not engaged with God in this way, I’m just “doing church.”</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21452177.post-250854501731777282008-04-08T06:58:00.001-07:002008-04-08T06:58:34.173-07:00<p class="MsoNormal">Reflection Rather Than Reaction</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.05pt;">We live in a culture in which Christian discipleship is becoming increasingly difficult.<span style=""> </span>We are treated as consumers whose value is assessed in what we are able to buy.<span style=""> </span>We are marketed to based on age, gender, ethnicity and spending power.<span style=""> </span>We are given very little credit in this culture as rational, thinking, reflecting people.<span style=""> </span>In fact, in the marketing game, the people doing the marketing don’t want us to think; they only want us to react.<span style=""> </span>We are to go on impulse.<span style=""> </span>Don’t think about whether or not you really need a given consumer item…if you want it, buy it.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.05pt;">This philosophy runs across the board.<span style=""> </span>From consumer items to politics we are marketed to not because we have something substantive to add but because we have something that someone else wants…a dollar or a vote.<span style=""> </span>OK…I know that this sounds pretty cynical.<span style=""> </span>I suppose to a certain extent it is.<span style=""> </span>However, I want to elevate the discussion.<span style=""> </span>Each one of us is more, far more, than our spending power, our demographic category or our party affiliation.<span style=""> </span>Each one of us has a life that is a sacred gift from a Creator who loves and values each person.<span style=""> </span>Our life has meaning far beyond our utility.<span style=""> </span>Each one of us is an instrument of grace through whom God works to reveal God’s love, grace and purpose.<span style=""> </span>Through our relationship with Christ we are able to see that purpose and engage that purpose in meaningful ways as we work with Christ to reveal God’s reign in our midst.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.05pt;">To engage this purpose we are called to do more with our life than react to the whims and the fancies of a culture that would strip us of our humanity if we would let it.<span style=""> </span>We are called to a life of faith that is constantly growing and being shaped by the outpouring of God’s grace.<span style=""> </span>This life is a reflective life.<span style=""> </span>For centuries, Christians have engaged in reflective lives where we look at our life in terms of how and where we see God at work.<span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on">St.</st1:place> Ignatius of Loyola practiced what is known as the Examen.<span style=""> </span>At the end of his day he engaged in a reflection of all that had happened in that day through the eyes of faith and an understanding of how God was at work and where God was present.<span style=""> </span>I’ve come to know the Examen as very valuable discipline in my life.<span style=""> </span>I have not always followed the full pattern of the Ignatian rule, but even a basic pattern of coming to the end of the day and reflecting on the grace of God that I’ve experienced continues to draw me closer to God’s heart.<span style=""> </span>Generally, I combine this reflection with journaling as a way of having a conversation with myself and with God.<span style=""> </span>The times in my life in which I have engaged in this practice more intentionally are the times when I have felt less reactive in my life and more proactive.<span style=""> </span>That is who we are called to be in Christ…proactive to work for and reveal God’s reign through Christ in all that we do.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.05pt;">In a culture where we are expected only to react, the Examen is counter culture.<span style=""> </span>It is a practice of faith that draws us beyond our basest instincts into a life of openness and gratitude where we become more and more able to discern the movement, direction and call of Christ as he travels in our world and bids us to follow.<span style=""> </span>The more effectively we discern God’s movement in our everyday life, the more we understand who we are and who Christ calls us to be.<span style=""> </span>The Examen gives a disciple the opportunity to name the things for which he/she is thankful in the day.<span style=""> </span>It is an opportunity to name the challenges to faith and practicing Christ’s presence that exist in a given day.<span style=""> </span>It is a day to celebrate one of the greatest gifts that God gives us…to recognize that and where God’s grace is poured out.<span style=""> </span>It is the opportunity to encounter the movement of God’s love in ways that we might miss if we spend our day simply reacting to the stimulus of the world.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 28.05pt;">When we stop at the end of our day, and even periodically during our day, we have the opportunity to see the great wealth and even the unexpected ways that God is present.<span style=""> </span>The more we exercise this vision, the better we see.<span style=""> </span>The better we see, the more we recognize God.<span style=""> </span>The more we recognize God, the stronger our witness to God and the more effectively we reveal the Kingdom.</p>J.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06759613436734579972noreply@blogger.com0