Rip Van Winkle

So I know that I have been preoccupied with this transition called retirement but what did I miss in all the pathos filled goodbyes and celebrations?  I feel like some Rip Van Winkle who has awakened into another world.

A man who yells all the time and is famous for the "you're fired" way of defining people is up for President of the United States.  He loves to build towers with his name imprinted on them and he seems to wants be in the wall building business in order to keep all kinds of people out.  He appears to love the sound of slamming doors in the faces of whole groups of people especially those who define themselves by praying five times a day.

He quotes scripture but does not know what it means.  It is not "two Corinthians Donald." But even so Evangelicals are lining up behind him and not turning the other check but turning off their vision so that they will not truly see him or through him.

One observer of human behavior states that our brains are that which processes information but our minds are that part of us that ponders the meaning of information.  So I simply state that many of us seem to be the product of a reality where our brains have lost their minds.

And by the way where are our souls?  Our soul is that part of the human being that realizes that we are of one substance and the product of one maker.  Soul is a unifying element that recognizes the dignity of others in spite of the surrounding atmosphere of fear and anger.  Have we lost our souls and our minds?

Yes, I know the other major candidate seems to arouse suspicion and mistrust but what are our choices going to be when it comes to the mind and soul of our country?  The ring of "everything changed after September 11" has in part drowned out the reality that some things should not change.  Fear cannot be our ruling master.  Categorizing people and then demonizing them in order to gain some kind of control is both shortsighted and mean spirited.

We need soul and a mindful kind of thinking in the face of complex issues.  In the movie, "Avatar," the indigenous people have a deep relationship to each other and the very soil upon which they walk.  When they want to be known and desire to know one another one person says to the other, "I see you."  To see is to acknowledge the kinship to nature and to each other. 

Have we lost our ability to "see" each other.  We now see categories and labels.  I hope we can regain our minds and take care of our souls so that our vision will allow us to see a hope filled future.

Well I turned in my keys and "Jody has left the building."  I am stepping into the strange land of retirement.  Where is the map? 

I have been doing this thing called ministry for 45 years and am not sure what the sign on the road means.  Is it a stop sign or a yield sign?  My eyes try to focus.  Maybe it is a "slow down sharp curve again." 

This is just a heads up that now I have some time to do some writing and pondering.  So I will add to my list to start blogging again.  Ah, the future is out there and I will gently step toward what it holds.
Jody

After All These Years

I have been putting off retirement these past three years.  Wayne Dyer once wrote, "When you are what you do when you don't you aren't."  I must admit I have become what I do, but then what I do is so wonderful I have not minded that...until now.

So after 44 years of ministry I will take the next step and see what is out there.  At a seminar I went to a few years ago when I thought I was going to retire sooner entitled ,"Finishing Strong, Ending Well," the leader said, "Do not ask what you are going to do when you retire.  Ask rather who you will be."  Quite frankly I am not sure I know the answer to that question.

I have loved sharing the gifts that God has given me in the work of ministry.  I used to tell first year pastors in a program I helped lead called, "The Art of the Start," that if you chose ministry as a job then you are in the wrong "work" because ministry is not a job it is a life.  Having said that I would then say to these idealistic-save the world for Jesus-newbies, "But you are responsible for carving out a life within that life for you and your family.  If you do not do that you will get lost doing the "work" of ministry and you will not take care of yourself or your family."

I could say those words because in my younger years I did some of that.  I gave myself to the work too much.  O, I did a good job and was rewarded for it in many ways.  But there were times I walked out on my family when I did not have to because of the "job."  I learned the hard way not to do that.

Ministry is a scared journey.  People allow you into parts of their lives where no one else can go.  You are there at  beginnings and at sometimes tragic endings.  The raw materials of life are part of the ongoing work of being a pastor.  You literally hold people's hearts and lives in your hands.  It can be scary for sure and as a young pastor I was frightened that I would not measure up.

I thought I had to have answers for questions that seemed to have no answers.  I figured I had to be some kind of strong to overcome the vulnerability and pain that I often had to walk into.  Then good old God whispered in my ear, "Just be there and help them know I am there with them and you.  No need to answer questions.  Hold on to them and I will hold on to you."

And that is why I believe in God.  It is not all the education and the experience.  I believe because I have felt the unseen, powerful presence of a God who is beneath our questions and who holds us up when life lets us down.

I wish I had kept a count of how many babies I have baptized, how many youth I have confirmed, how many funerals I have conducted, how many sermons I have preached; but alas I am not a record keeper.  But I know of one who has kept a kind of record.  The one who called out to a seventeen year old boy one night and literally held his hands out to me and asked me to be a minister has known of all those experiences because he was there...and that is what matters.

So now it is time to take one last trip toward a land that seems to be a strange land but I shall step toward that place trusting the one who has lead me for all these years.  "All will be well," I hear him whisper.  For sure Jesus knows I sometimes have trouble trusting.  I thought years ago I would have to get out of the ministry because of my struggle with trust, but then the one who called my name simply said, "Give it up.  I knew who you were when I called you and I know who you are now.  I know you have doubts and struggles but I know what I am doing...I am not stupid...be yourself and you will be able to especially help others who are struggling."

And that has been my gift; to stand with those who ask questions and let them know it is OK . To assure them that the doubts and questions are in fact a part of the journey.  My latest book just published has always been "in" me.  I was reluctant to write it before I retired but decided to risk it.  It has been a joy to hear people tell me how reassuring it was for them. (The Christian Skeptic: Caught Between Belief and Doubt)

I am so thankful to have been a part of so many people's lives.  I am so grateful to have had the high 
privilege of standing in  front of people to offer words about and "old, old story" that is alive and far reaching.  Not many ministers get to serve the kinds of churches I have been fortunate enough to serve.  What a journey it has been.  Thank you Jesus for calling that seventeen year old boy and not giving up on him when he doubted.  You knew what you were doing when I did not.

Now it is time for the next step...and yes I have some trust issues...what's new, huh.