Friday, July 30, 2010

Stepping Out

When I read the text for Sunday, Genesis 44:18-34, I was struck by the phrase, "then Judah stepped up to Joseph and said..." that shows Judah deciding to speak out to Joseph about Joseph wanting to detain Benjamin. My initial theme revolved around times in life when we have to "stand up" for our faith. I think that's a pretty important point for us to consider. Can you think of times when you have had to "stand up" or "step out" for your faith?

But, as I continued to work with the text, I also had this realization that Judah's action may have less to do with stepping out as an act of faith, and more to do with Judah trying to manipulate Joseph, or Judah responding to the guilt he felt. Much less about acting out of his faith, and much about acting out for other reasons. In fact, Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman makes the case that Judah clearly does not speak out as a faith statement.

So I am trying to figure out how to hold two different thoughts in tension with each other: the need we have to step out in faith and the reality that our actions are often dictated by less than faithful actions (in fact, sometimes what becomes a faithful act has less to do with the person acting than what God does with that). In other words, how do I call on faithful people to act out of their faith while acknowledging that we seldom get it right. The call to action might compel, but the reality check might make acting out seem pointless.

not sure where this is going to lead for Sunday's sermon.

Any thoughts out there?

peace,

Richard

Monday, July 26, 2010

Monday reflections

I love preaching on the Joseph story because it is a great story, but I continue to find it a challenge to take a narrative passage and transition it to points of a sermon. I also find it hard work to differentiate each week's topic -- it is too easy to collapse each week into the same general point from Joseph's story.

What did I like about Sunday's sermon? The text messaging illustration seemed to work. The telling the Joseph story sections worked for me as well, although I noticed people in the pews who had not been here for several weeks, so I wonder if I should have given more background.

Overall, the idea that God works with us in the mess of our lives and our world seemed appropriate to the text and the congregation. I did struggle with the point about staying in relationship while working through issues when I looked out at saw several people who have experienced difficult divorces. I would not want the point to be interpreted as a critique of getting divorced, but I do think that even in divorce situations, as in most broken relationships, we still have to deal with mess we create.

What worked for you? What would you like to have heard? What did not work for you?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Betrayal

Genesis 43-44

This week we continue reading through the Joseph story. At this juncture, the brothers, except for Simeon, return home from Egypt. They bring with them grain for their families, but also instructions to return with Benjamin, their youngest brother, if they want more grain.

The story contains a series of betrayals: Joseph betrays his brothers by packing money in the sacks of grain, which makes them look as if they stole the grain; Jacob, their father, feels betrayed by his sons because they told Joseph (they still did not know it was Joseph)about the youngest son that was not with them; the brothers surely feel a sense of betrayal that once again their father is more concerned about the youngest brother than any of them; and, of course, the questions looms, is God betraying them by allowing this to happen to them or are they somehow betraying God by their deceitful actions.

One of the challenges of preaching a series like this is how to tell the part of the story we read without jumping to the end of the story. We know things will work out, sort of like we know that resurrections awaits us, but there are a lot of challenges along the path toward that final chapter where everything works out for us.

Peace,

Richard

From GA to preaching

My blog is shifting from General Assembly reflections to preaching reflections. If I can keep the discipline, each week will have at least two entries. The first entry will be a response to the sermon that I preached on Sunday. The second entry will be about the upcoming sermon to be preached that Sunday. Your comments and questions will be a welcome way for me to learn how you are interacting with God's Word and how the sermons help or limit your ability to discover God's Word for you.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

More Reflections

This is a repeat of my elink pondering, for those of you who receive that as well.

I left General Assembly, as I did the other time I went, amazed that there will be some in our denomination who will say that some group “fixed” the decision-making process to achieve their purposes. It strikes me as ludicrous that anyone or any group could manipulate such a mass of differing opinions. And, as I talked with people (many of whom held different perspectives than mine), I was struck by their genuine desire to discern God's will. I do think a couple of things happen that may skew decisions (at least from our perspective at home): 1. Separated from the comfort of our own opinions and people who confirm our opinions because they are like-minded, commissioners sometimes see things differently. To hear someone passionately share their differing opinion and discover that they have strong, faithful reasons, invites a commissioner to respond differently than originally planned. 2. People who show up prepared, whether they be staff resource people or people interested enough in an issue to do their home, have an advantage over those who are thinking through the issue for the first time. I cannot fault people for their preparation, but I also recognize that the most prepared position does not necessarily have to be the best position. 3. We pray for God's guidance a lot at General Assembly. I suppose I am bold enough to believe that God does hear those prayers and offer guidance. Even as I rationalize and explain way the decisions made (this year or in previous years) on the basis of this theory or that one, I also wonder if maybe the General Assembly got it right and we back at home can't accept it.

Peace,

Richard

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Demonstrators

In the middle of our afternoon session, people began marching toward the front of the assembly room carrying signs. As they made their way down the aisle, someone shouted, “order on the floor!” Suddenly, the Moderator announced we would sing a hymn; after singing, the demonstrators still remained at the front of the assembly. We immediately went into prayer for the church's unity. The prayer ended, but the demonstrators remained. After a time of awkward silence, the demonstrators began singing (I couldn't understand their words). When some of the observers began booing, the Moderator called the assembly into recess. As we moved around in recess, I noticed some of the General Assembly staff and the Moderator talking with the protesters. I also noticed that Fox news was present taping the demonstration. After the protestors left, we reconvened and finished our business before our dinner break.

After the dinner break, the Stated Clerk shared with us what had happened. It turns out the demonstrators were not a Presbyterian group, but an outside group that was demonstrating at our assembly (I heard unofficially from another person that this group goes to national meetings of churches, alerts the news media, and then protests at them as well). Although they did not have the proper credentials (there is someone checking credentials at each entry point), they somehow gained entry into our meeting area. Apparently, there is a standard procedure to move into recess if a demonstration occurs (demonstrations on the floor are not allowed by our standing rules). The Moderator had added the singing of the hymn and prayer (perhaps to give the protestors time to leave on their own), but they remained into our recess. Ultimately, they were advised that they could leave on their own or be arrested for trespassing. Some chose to leave on their own; others were escorted by police (peaceably) and were ticketed for trespassing.

I suspect we will be on Fox news somewhere; I suspect that there will little attention given to the peaceful response we had in song and prayer or the fact that the protestors were strangers in our midst; but I bet the media will report (accurately) that it happened at the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly!

Peace,

Richard

Living waters

I finally emptied the water I brought from Troy into the General Assembly's collection of water that is being used each meeting as a reminder of our theme, “Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living waters.” As some of you may recall, I solicited your thoughts on what water to bring. I ended up going down to the Miami River on Thursday night prior to my leaving. It was a bit muddy, so Rachel and I slipped our way down the riverbank. Thank goodness for the two men fishing who helped me back up from the river (the Crocs I wore were not the best choice).
Admittedly, I was in rush since I had waited until the eve of my departure before getting the water.

As I scrambled to figure out how to carry the water in my carry-on bag (I had sent my big bag with our Executive Presbyter had driven up earlier in the week), I stumbled upon the little plastic container that I had used for communion juice earlier that week. When I filled the container with river water, it took on a pink tinge as remnants of the juice that remained in the container blended with the river water. At first, I wondered why I hadn't cleaned the container better; but, upon reflection I realized that this was the perfect sacramental blend – juice from communion and water symbolizing baptism.

All week the container with the water sat on a table in my hotel room. At first, its presence was a reminder that I had forgotten to turn it in at registration. Then, I began to reflect on how our sacraments are at the heart of how we understand ourselves as God's children – claimed by God in the waters of baptism and given the gift of Christ's death and resurrection by God, both of which we discover by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Friday, as the assembly neared its end, they announced a final chance to bring our water forward to be poured into the water being used by the assembly. Even as I was grateful for the chance to do what I had neglected to do previously, I felt a little possessive about giving up the water that had become a symbol for me in my hotel room and during my time at General Assembly. Nevertheless, I rushed to my hotel room over the dinner break, brought the water back, invited one of the other commissioners from our presbytery to go with me, and we went forward to pour the water into the larger pitcher. There the water from the Miami River co-mingled with water from other places around our country. It has already been used (or will be tomorrow) and now I have an empty container to bring home with me.

Peace,

Richard

Generosity?

We heard about our generous offering from the opening worship service that amounted to $33,000. Those funds will be split between three different groups that represent international, national and local ministries of the Presbyterian Church. The three areas are: an alliance that deals with international human trafficking; two new ventures of the Office of Collegiate Ministries; and Presbyterian Clearwater Forest camp, an outdoor ministry site of the host presbyteries (The Twin Cities Area, Northern Waters, Minnesota Valleys) along with the Presbytery of Northern Plains adn the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. As we congratulated ourselves for the generous giving, I began to think about how generous we really were. If 6000 Presbyterians gathered for worship, we only gave $5 per Presbyterian gathered there. Surely we could (should) have done better. That always seems to be a challenge – how do we give thanks for giving while still having challenging ourselves to give more. I actually gave approximately $17 to the offering, which made me way above average in my giving. Sounds great, doesn't it? But, when I stop and ask myself how much should I have given in the context of an incredible worship service and for the wonderful purposes for which it will be used, I find myself embarrassed at my lack of generosity.

Peace,

Richard

Headlines

I saw a headline from Friday's “Dayton Daily News” that inaccurately depicted an action taken by the General Assembly. As I have come to learn through the years, the media does not understand the Presbyterian process enough to know what we have done, and they tend to gravitate to the sensational, regardless of the facts. In our August newsletter we should receive “Assembly in Brief,” which is a summary of actions taken by the General Assembly. After you read that (or before), feel free to ask me any questions you want about the General Assembly. I will also plan on some type of presentation in worship or some other appropriate setting. Since I have been here, I won't have to guess what happened, I can tell you firsthand. This General Assembly has made several major decisions that I believe will impact the Presbyterian Church far more than the decision highlighted in the newspaper article, so I hope we all will have a chance to discuss many of the decisions made by this General Assembly.

Peace,

Richard

Friday, July 9, 2010

Change is in the air

Yesterday was an amazing day. Regardless of how other Presbyterians may feel about how the motions reflect their hopes and dreams for the denomination, I think any observer would acknowledge that the actions so far by the Assembly have been amazing in their breadth and their far-ranging implications for change in our denomination. So far, we have recommended The Belhar Confession to be sent to the presbyteries for their approval so it can be added to our Book of Confessions. We have recommended sending to our presbyteries a totally new Form of Government document that would replace our current Form of Government section of the Book of Order. Each one alone is a major change (for example, we only have eleven confessions to cover the last 21 centuries!), not to mention both these major changes to our Constitution coming at the same time. Additionally, new language is being sent to the presbyteries for their approval related to the ordination standards. For some, the new language is a way of lfiting up ordiantion standards without focusing on the question of oen's sexuality; for others, the new language is a major weakening of ordination standards; for all, it will be a challenging time of discussion and decision in their presbyteries. If that's not enough, we have also empowered a committee to work with any prebyteries or synods that want to make systemic changes, even to the point of ceasing to exist, in an effort to become more efficient and effective in doing ministry in our changing world. In a sweeping judgment, most of the changes suggested by this General Assembly so far have been about trying to reduce or redesign structures to allow ministries to be more nimble and responsive with an emphasis on allowing the governing body nearest the point of engagement to have more responsibility and oversight power.

Peace,

Richard

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Worship

Worship Sunday had some amazing moments. The music was terrific. From a huge chorale choir singing traditional music to a contemporary band to a band with traditional Native American instruments to the hymns we sang together, I found the music inspiring.

We also witnessed a baptism for the first time at a worship service of the General Assembly. Many members of the congregation (located in Minneapolis) where the infant will grow in faith gathered around the baptismal font to answer questions for their community. The baptism was a tremendous reminder of God's covenant that reaches out to us and the future that awaits us as a church united by our baptism in Christ.

The outgoing moderator of the General Assembly (Bruce Reyes-Chow) preached the sermon. I had not heard him before, so it was good to hear his stories.

Perhaps the most powerful moment came when I turned around (I was somewhere near the front) and saw the mass of people gathered in worship. I'm not sure if we numbered 8,000 as anticipated, but is was awesome to realize we were all united in Christ as we worshiped together.

As I sat in the pew, to my left were a husband and wife (ministers who served in the presbytery where I did my internship) who I had met 20 years earlier when they extended themselves to Leslie and me in our first year of marriage while I served in the bounds of their presbytery. To my right was a new friend whom I met that morning when we arrived for worship. He was from the presbytery where I served in KY, so we had several friends in common. When we sang the song after the baptism that spoke of God's love that follows us through our lives and then again when we shared communion, he had tears in his eyes ans was overcome with emotion. I do not know his story or why those moments touched him in such a powerful way, but I was moved to know that I shared the moment with him.

Peace,

Richard

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Exhibit Hall

Everyday we can walk through an Exhibit Hall to visit many different groups and vendors (in honor of my wife and daughters being able to shop anywhere, I bought Leslie's birthday present and a gift for each daughter in the Exhibit Hall). The exhibitors have lots of good information (from different church software vendors to church insurance companies) and swag (lots of different water bottles, pens, and pins) to share. As I have wandered the Hall, I have been struck by three things: First of all, the Presbyterian Church engages in many different mission projects. It would make any Presbyterian proud to see all that we are doing in local and global locations. Secondly, I find it fascinating to see some of the unofficial groups with very different agendas in booths side-by-side. The church media often reports very heated and angry exchanges between the groups, but things seemed rather calm in the Exhibit Hall. It made me wonder if I sat and watched if the members of the different groups would greet, ignore or attack one another. Thirdly, their presence together also reminded me that the Presbyterian Church has a wide variety of perspectives in its membership. Although at times the multiple views create problems, but I think they also help us imagine a God who is far greater than any of our issues.

Peace

Richard

Committee work

In my committee meeting yesterday we saw what happens when people are anxious and unsure about process. A substitute motion was made to replace one of our motions with another motion. The person making the motion did so because he believed both motions should be discussed at the same time, instead of separately. In theory his desire for a substitute motion made sense. The problem, however, was that people did not understand how a substitute motion worked. It took quite a bit of time and many questions to clarify the process. What became apparent to me was that underlying the lack of knowledge was a lack of trust as to other people's motives. Having struggled through substitute motions in some highly charged meetings in my work as Moderator and on the Committee on Ministry, I have come to recognize that the parliamentary process is at its best in crisis because it allows us a path to work through the issue. But, you have to trust the people with whom you are working and you have to trust the process.

Peace,

Richard

Holy Spirit at work?

Sunday night during the election of the moderator we had difficulty with the electronic voting. About 100 commissioners were either not voting correctly or they were being prevented from voting by a glitch in the technology. We heard a lot about the Holy Spirit at work in their conversations, and I began to wonder how we know when the Holy Spirit is at work. Some might see votes not being counted as the work the Holy Spirit to make sure the right person got elected; others might view it simply as a technical glitch. That may sound a bit exaggerated, but I find it far too common for us to claim the Holy Spirit has been at work when the results fit their desires; otherwise, we find no evidence of the Holy Spirit.

Peace,

Richard

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Worship

I am about to leave for a a 10:00 am worship service. It is now 8:55. Imagine having to arrive thirty minutes early for a two-hour worship service if you want a good seat and an hour early if you want a really good seat. The expectation of something special taking place in worship this morning permeates the General Assembly. How do we capture some of that at FPC, Troy?

Peace,

Richard

Electing a moderator!

We elected a Moderator tonight. The headline read "Elder Cynthia Bolbach elected on the fourth ballot!" What does that mean?

First, a bit about the process. The General Assembly gathered last night for the sole purpose of electing a moderator. At 7:00 pm, the nominating speeches began. We had six people who had declared their candidacy prior to the meeting, and no one was nominated from the floor. The six included five ministers, one elder, one Korean=American, one African-American, two candidates who were self-proclaimed evangelicals, small church pastors,a large church pastor, and at least two who were bilingual. Amazingly, their diversity was exceeded by the diversity of the people they had selected to serve as their vice-moderators.

Each candidate had someone give a nominating speech, and then they each gave a speech. After those, each candidate answered questions from commissioners. Ninety minutes later, we were ready to vote. We vote electronically, and we continue voting until a candidate has 50% of the votes. It took four ballots. None of the candidates removed themselves from the ballot (sometimes the ones receiving the fewest votes will ask to be removed from the ballot for the subsequent vote).

In some ways, I was surprised by the vote. When I had heard the candidates speak briefly at lunch earlier in the day, our new moderator was the least impressive, in my opinion. But, as the candidates answered questions, she kept her answers brief, seemed more direct inher answers, and used humor effectively. She was the only elder, which I think helped her. Listening to the other five candidates move into mini-sermons while answering thier questions seemed to lump them togehter and gave her a distinctive place in the minds of the commissioners. As the questioning continued, the other five seemed to grow weary, but our Moderator seemed to get stronger.

WEary might be a fair description of how all the candidates must have felt by the end of the night. When they "stand" (that's the term used) for Moderator, they literally spend the first two days standing side-by-side at booths in a general gathering area to greet all the commissioners and answer their qeustions. The only criteria to stand for Moderator is to be a commissioner to the General Assembly and to not overspend the $1500 limit for their campaign. They also have several opportunities to speak to different settings before the night of their election.

Now Moderator Bolbach's two years of leading our denomination begins. May God bless her in her work.

Peace,

Richard

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Arrival

After leaving the house at 5:30 yesterday morning, I arrived in Minneapolis and registered as a commissioner for General Assembly. I now have an official badge and lengthy schedule of events and meetings.

I had a chance to jog through downtown Minneapolis late in the afternoon. I like being able to choose a side of the street that was in the shade; the many people on the sidewalks and stop lights, not so much.

Last night had a concert featuring an 8 man a capella choir and a Minnesota bluegrass band. Wow! I hope all the worship services have that kind of quality.

As I wander around seeing nametags, it feels like a family reunion with all the cousins who you have heard about but never met in person. the higly visible name tags (I can now attest to how helpful name tags are!) mean you can tell whom you are passing. many of these people have written articles I have read, or answered questions on the phone for me through the years, or are people I have read about in years past.

I have also been reminded of our connectedness. One of the moderatorial candidates is the minister serving a church in NC where the Beers (they joined with us this summer) attended several years ago. I had a chance to visit with her and share their greetings (Andy and Jill -- Maggie gave me a pen and a pin with her name on it for ya'll). I suspect lots of little "reunions" will be taking place this week.

Now I am off to my first actual meeting of the week.

Peace,

Richard

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Eve of departure

The time has almost arrived. I have been busily putting my notebook together and trying to get caught up on the important issues before I leave, but of course, the time to leave will arrive before my preparation is complete.

As I looked at the schedule and plotted my days, I realized three things:

1. I love worship. I have scheduled to be in worship every time we have it and to also take in a couple of extra worship-like events.

2. I must be genetically coded as a Presbyterian. I actually enjoy reading about the issues. Even scarier, I even understand some of the nuances of the process and the subtleties of the issues.

3. I find it a bit daunting to be part of a decision-making process when I feel so ill-informed on some of the topics. Sometimes I find myself reading an overture or an argument, and I know there is more to it than is readily apparent, but I don't know the back story. Or this morning I read two different arguments being made about an issue and found both compelling and written by people I know and respect, and somehow I will be part of a group that chooses one side or the other. Or, perhaps, there is a better way yet to be found.

I hope the Holy Spirit is hard at work, especially with those of us who are a little slower than others!

Peace,

Richard