To Be or Not to Be...a Minister

This week I was part of a long intense process where candidates for ministry come before a Board of Ministry to be "reviewed and evaluated" as to whether they are ready "to be" a minister. After seminary there is a preliminary "testing" and if you pass that you are checked out for a 3 year "provisional" period. Next you write a whole bunch of papers in response to a series of questions, video tape a sermon and a bible study, and come before 3 separate committees to respond to what you have prepared.

I would not want to have to do this "again." I did it 38 years ago and wonder if I would make it through now. My understanding of some of the doctrines and theology that are evaluated...well are different than what a committee might want to hear. Wear and tear do that. Doctrines that come out of books take on a different "look" when exposed to the light and the dark of real life.

Then there's the preaching committee. I listen as candidates have to "defend" their sermons. The sermons get picked apart by well meaning ministers who make up the committees and whose task it is to pick them apart for the good of the cause. I know my sermons get evaluated most every week but I often do not have to see the "report card." And fortunately my folks are not sitting out in the congregation holding up numbers on cards like they are scoring an ice skating performance or diving competition.

The picking apart probably happens at the same time families are picking apart chicken on a plate just after service. But at least I don't' have to listen. The candidates I sat with last week do.

Each would be minister's call is "questioned." You may think that to be strange and even a bit cruel but that is the way it is supposed to be in this church we called Methodist. God's call is real but it is meant to be examined by the church one is "called" to serve. Then we ministers have to equip ourselves for ministry. It's important stuff so that equipping is examined as to its quality and effectiveness.

Around 40% of the candidates do not make it through the first time and are deferred for another year when they must come back and do it again having learned something and often needing to do some more work in a certain area. It is hard telling this "called of God" people that they are not "ready."

In conversation we hear expressions like, "It's not rocket science"..or "It's not brain surgery" when someone is referring to a certain skill level. Well what we ministers do is neither of the above but we do work with people's lives and we do handle "the scared word and the holy elements." Yes, one can actually get some kind of license to be a "minster" from a magazine but you can't do that in our system. We've decided that this "work for God" stuff is too important. You have to be tested. Some may feel they have been "drawn and quartered" but it is all done by those of us who had to do it ourselves. We know it is important and it is needed.

So now I'll stop this and go back to preparing this week's sermon knowing that I will not have to take it before a committee but before a "real life" group of people who are not as much interested in taking it apart as hoping it will feed their spirits and help them experience the divine while discovering meaning in a world where challenges are at every turn.

Personally I think the sermon this week is a 7.8....but I never know until I dive off the platform...

God bless those dear people I faced this week who are willing to go through this time of testing. It's worth it...it really is.

jody

A Preacher's Groundhog Day

Was it because it actually was near Groundhog day or was it due to the natural anxiety that anyone has about being caught "not prepared?" I've been told that the "naked dream" is common when it comes to our shared human condition.

You know what the naked dream is do you not? It is when you dream that all of a sudden you are in a group of people and you do not have any clothes on. So you hide under a desk or in a closet or you hear the laughter of those who observe. The resulting panic and embarrassment leads you to wonder just how in the world did this happen? Whose fault is it?

Those who make their money writing books about anxiety and worry and dream interpretations say that this "naked" condition represents being "exposed" in a state of being unprepared. The pop test is put in front of you and you have no idea what the subject matter even is. It is time for a speech and the audience is waiting and your name is called but you did not know you were giving the speech. It is time to pay the bill but you have no money. You are "naked."

Well I had a kind of strange naked dream last night. It was a version of the movie "Groundhog Day." It started with me marching into a crowded church and giving the same sermon every day. Each time I marched into the sanctuary the crowd was the same, the people lining up to go into church were always in the same line with the same expressions on their faces. They didn't seem to much care to be there but the conversation never changed.

And...I kept giving the same sermon...and I got the same reaction...sort of bland but acceptable...nothing really special but then the time was over and...well...it stared all over again....same crowd...same sermon...

And then...

I was walking into the same church but the person walking beside me was different, the crowd seemed like mostly the same crowd as before but all of sudden it was "the next day" or something...but alas I had that same sermon that I had been preaching to the same crowd over and over again...but this time I was supposed to preach a different sermon but....you guessed it I was "naked." I had no other sermon. What I had was that same old, tired sermon that was about to drive me crazy. I was tired of hearing myself all those days...but this crowd had not heard it like I had. They were expecting not the sermon from "yesterday" but a fresh new one "today." But all I had were yesterday's words...If I preached it "again" I would see the expressions of their faces of bewilderment. "Doesn't this clown know he preached that same sermon yesterday...what's the matter with him?" Naked!!

I did not have time to run to the "file" and find an old sermon that I could give in a fresh way that the crowd had not heard. I did not have time to "compose" new material. All I had was the old "Groundhog" sermon.

The great thing about the "naked dream" is that you wake up, usually with "some" clothes on. So I woke up, laid there a minute tyring to figure out if this really happened, and then took a deep breath that it was after all a dream.

But then I got up and saw my shadow....O my

Bless you...and Happy Groundhog day
jody

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself...but There's a Lot of It

Those words spoken by President long ago to reassure a shaky nation that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" are hope filled words that seem to be falling on deaf ears these days. Perhaps our deafness is caused by a constant bombardment of fear-filled words coming to us from 24 hour news that has now been amplified by intense and polarizing rhetoric from the "right and the left."

In a recent article, "Faith Verses Fear in America" Katherine Marshall offers a telling observation. When fear is in control four things tend to happen: 1 Thinking is shut down 2 There is a heightened stereotyping of others 3 Actions and words are driven by emotion and 4 People are more susceptible to charismatic leaders.

Mix this with what Frank Fured terms "cultural cooling" and you have a recipe for a fear casserole. Fured in his book, "Culture of Fear" writes: "A culture of fear estranges people from one another and breeds an atmosphere of suspicion that distracts people from facing up to the challenges confronting society."

So we are afraid that illegal immigrants will be the ruin of society. We fear Muslims are plotting to take over the world. We fear that too much money is going to inner city schools thus depriving children with "real potential" the resources to exceed. We fear crime so we buy more guns and get very angry if someone suggests that we do not have the right to arm ourselves with whatever kind of gun we chose even if that gun might be a danger to the "larger welfare of the whole community." We fear the loss of individual rights in the face of creeping government intervention.

The partial truth is that all of the above mentioned "fears" are grounded in some reality. The question that is lost, however, in an atmosphere of fear is how much of it is truth and how much of it is amplified by the magnifying glass of our fear. Donal Walsh came up with what the letters for "fear" sometimes really mean: False Evidence Appearing Real.

I'm not saying that we should roll over and play dead when it comes to real threats in our society but what is the role of "people of faith" in the face of fear? If the saying, "Feed your faith and starve your fears to death" has any real meaning it is time for a faith banquet.

In the Christan tradition we attempt to follow a man who looked into his first follower's eyes and saw fear. He loved them very much so instead of scolding them for not having enough faith he simply said, "Do not let your hearts be so troubled...believe." Research shows that the world he selected for "troubled" actually means "terrified." Jesus knew that fear was human and natural. He told his disciples basically that it was okay to be a bit afraid since they were all journeying toward a city where death awaited, but he said do not be "too afraid...do not be terrified...do not be scared to death for heaven's sake."

For a follower of Christ fear is to be put into a larger context. Do we feel that some of the things we fear will be "the death of us?" What will we lose...freedom...money...rights...life? Psalm 27 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid. When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident."

Those words might be a good start for a faith casserole. Fear robs us of vision. Fear steals the ability to risk loving. Fear wants to rule. Fear likes an enemies list and wants to limit the people on our love list.

Having faith does not mean that we are naive and stupid but having faith has always meant risk. After all faith is faith. It is sometimes called a "leap of faith." That does not mean jumping off the cliff of reason but it does mean not sucking in the atmosphere of fear that is being offered so much lately.

Fear is doing a number on us. It is time to feed our faith so that at least we can make some of our fears "anemic."

The "faith manual" says something like this...What can separate us from God?...shall tribulation, distress, persecution, peril, famine, sword (have I gotten to your fear yet).. neither death, nor life nor principalities nor powers...nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth (are we there yet?)...nor anything in all creation shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus... That about wraps it up.

Bless you
jody

Numbered Days

OK I admit that the only "blackberry" that I have is hidden behind the frozen onions in our frig. And my "i phone" is simply bad grammar for, "Yes, I have a phone." In other words when it comes to technology I am Rip Van Seymour. I awakened into a world that sped by while alas I did sleep...or something.

Anyway I was made aware of all this when it came time to "change calendars." My friends pull out little pencil like gizmo's and punch in code on blackberry-druid-i phone-type devices while I pull out my spiral bound pad, not i-pad, and gently slide it into the hard plastic cover that I have used for, O 20 years or so.

I then look at the penciled in dates that I scratched in for the next year in those tiny blocks that allowed me to predict the future by writing words in "next year's calendar" that is always at the back of "this year's calendar." This can make one fall victim to the illusion that somehow we are in control of time. We block it in, fit it in, cancel it out, scratch it out if written in pen, or simply erase it from memory with pencil in hand. What power!

Of course the creator of all time must get a kick out of our efforts to make time, find time, keep time, or even delete time. The old wisdom saying offers the counsel; "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." So when I go through my yearly ritual of changing calendars and transferring dates I get the chance to literally "number" my days.

This year I paused while carrying over time. I thought of the young mother with two children who has not many numbered days left. Her battle with cancer is nearing an end. She is counting days in a different way. Teach me a better way to number my days O one who "calendars" all our days. I so often live days like they are postage stamps I use to send something off somewhere. I forget that each day is not only numbered, it is sacred. It does not have to "be." It was not scheduled or ordered from a catalogue. Each day is "given."

The square space on my calendar cannot contain the day, only an image of the sacred space that awaits my presence. So the next time you go to either the frig or your pocket for your blackberry...or the next time you enter an appointment on your i phone pause a moment and realize that time is a special thing. Pay attention to those beings that are passing time with you rather than spending too much time with the devices we use to "contain" and schedule time. My spiral bound old fashioned "device" is not the time I have. The numbering cannot really be done by a calendar. The numbering must be done my me. And the number that matters is the space I occupy now. That is all anyone has.

So teach us to number our days...one at a time...gently...respectfully...fully aware and awake...so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. So on some device it says that today is January 13, 2011. Wisdom says, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." You can plug that date in any device you use to "measure" time.

Bless you
jody

An After Christmas Pre-Easter Wish

Ok, so I know I have these strange thoughts but since Jimmy Stewart and his wish that it would be better "if he had never been born" is still hanging around my mind I wonder what would have happened if Jesus had a angel show up that night in the garden when he felt so all alone and fogotten? Like Clerence, this angel might have heard Jesus in his agony say something like, "Maybe it would be better if I had not come."

After all it seemed that all was lost. Those he depended on were sleeping off that last glass of wine. The guy who was the treasurer for the group was out adding to his take with a fresh 30 pieces of silver and wouold soon cash in on the deal. Maybe it would be better if Jesus "had never been born."

Can't you see some aspiring angel look up and say something like, "Well what do you think. It might work. Maybe this would help him out if he could see that he really does and will make a difference."

Then zap it happens. Jesus gets to see a world where he was never born. It all happens quick because it has to. After all Judas is on the way over with his merry men and the disciples are almost ready to wake from their reoccurring nightmares that what is getting ready to happen might happen.

Jesus in a flash gets to see Peter and his brothers out fishing...not for people, for fish and that's all it will ever be. Matthew is sitll sitting at his tax table exercising his right to cheat whomever he fells like cheating. Thomas fills his days with skepticism and doubt and will have no reason to ever believe without seeing.

The only one who seems better off is Judas who truly is better off because Jesus never shows up. Then there is the rest of us....in a flash of time Jesus is shown a world where he is not. For one, Jody never has a vision of hands reaching out to him at age 17 and touching his own hands as if to say, "I want you to be one of my ministers." Jody ends up being...well...maybe a teacher or a UPS driver....or something...anything but a minister of a church that does not exist...

And the world...would we even be here or would we have gone done a path of self-destruction where there are no schools or hospitals that bear his name? And of course there would be no churches where people light candles on Christmas Eve and sing "Silent Night" hoping that the dark outside is not the final answer to life.

So Jesus for an instance gets his wish to glimpse a world where he was never born...He wipes the sweat from his brow, nods toward "his" angel...whispers something about "not my will but thine be done" and allows the drama to continue....but perhaps with a bit more assurance that his life and upcoming death really will make a difference.

So its time to take the Christmas tree to the street and put the manger scene back in the attic...but hey, in spite of the dark and all the heavy stuff of life because he "was" born it's a wonderful life...

blessings
jody

A Snowglobe Christmas

Suspended snow swirled around her. She was frozen but it was not because of the temperature. Her gaze was transfixed on the child. She would not take her eyes off his face even though the snow seemed to blow into her wide open eyes.

As the scene unfolded without unfolding "Silent Night" played from somewhere beneath the holy couple. They were captured in a world all their own. Unlike that first still night they were protected. The elements that would in reality be bitter and cold did no harm to them now.

Snowglobes are a sweet way to remember a not so sweet story. These snowy renditions are like our manger scenes. They come out once a year and adorn our homes, but the "real" characters of that first Christmas, that we now freeze-dry to remind us of the story, were not surrounded by a glass dome or packed away in Styrofoam peanuts for safe keeping. They were probably cold and for sure they were homeless.

For the real-life Joseph and Mary there really was "no room" and the smell of animals was ...well...the smell of animals. Snowglobes are really wonderful but they are not "real." The real Mary felt the pain of her labor. Joseph still wondered how this could be happening. An innkeeper figured these folks possessed really poor judgement for being out on a night like this with a child so close to being born. Those real shepherds would not have been welcomed in town because of their reputations as riffraff, thieves, and scoundrels. (Yes snow globes may clean them up but shepherds were at the bottom of the food chain back then.)

So wind up those snowglobes and let them play their music while soft flurries surround a frozen baby. But rest assured that the reality is that it was a labor of love. For Christmas Eve this year I'm using a song by that name...just so that we will remember that the story is "real."

Here are the words of the song to help us remember the "real" story:

Labor of Love/ lyrics by Andrew Peterson

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town
And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of love
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night
So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of love....

So just as Jimmy Stewart in the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," "woke up" from his dream-like trip to a world where he no longer existed to discover that he was in fact "real, imagine a frozen Joseph escaping from your snowglobe to run through you house screaming, "Merry Christmas world!"

O holy child of Bethlehem be born in us today.

jody

A Christmas Identity Crisis

Each year at Christmas I have this identity crisis. The Sunday before Christmas it is my tradition to take on a "character" in the Christmas story. I've been the innkeeper, a shepherd, a wise man, Herod (mean, nasty guy), Joseph (a confused "dad"), a guy who happened to be staying at the inn that night(lucky fella got a room)...and one year I attempted to be Gabriel...I'm not doing that one again. I simply cannot be an angel. Ask Betsy.

So this year as you can see I've run out of anyone near the manger that night...but alas...there had to be other people in Bethlehem that did not get into the scene...at least into the Bible's version of the scene. So using the old imagination I discovered this potter who lived in Bethlehem. I woke up in the middle of the night to "let him out"...so now he is on the printed page. I'll bring him to life this Sunday in church.

I never know who these people "are" until I put words to paper. Can you guess what Christmas present the potter ends up giving? ..... Give up? He gives him a chalice...a cup. Mary promises to tell her baby when he grows up about this gift of love given that night. The potter ends up following the adult Jesus around later. Because of some interesting circumstances the potter finds himself nearby when Jesus and his friends have a meal.

Yes, you get the picture. Jesus lifts the Christmas gift that night at the table and says, "Take this...take this cup...it is a gift of love." Merry Christmas world. It is a gift of love.

I also woke up in the middle of the night with a poem to go with the story....so here it is:

The Cradle and the Cup

Empty that first crystal
clear evening-
the wood waited
expecting
food for familiar guests

But suddenly it was
full of hope-
a manger that
became
a cradle for a child

What it held was love
for a waiting world
but the cradle was
only
the beginning of the journey

Empty was the cup
that night
he lifted it to
pour
out a covenant of healing

His lonely mind remembered
as he poured-
a story from Mary
of a cradle
filled with surprise that night

So that evening filled with words
of invitation
to "take and drink"
he thought of
the cradle and the cup

And as he looked into
their eyes
he saw how empty
they were
and what was needed

So now again we have the
cradle and the cup
so both may be
filled anew
for the world's waiting emptiness

Emmanuel-
God with us
in
the
cradle and the cup

Blessed Christmas
jody