a) Theology
4) The United Methodist Church holds that Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason are sources and norms for belief and practice but that the Bible is primary among them. What is your understanding of this theological position of the Church?
The Bible is the primary source for our Christian beliefs and practices. In its books, we find our own story, the narrative of humanity. We read of God creating; we read of people seeking and hiding and running from and to God; we encounter Jesus, hear him teaching, and witness his love for least, lost, and last. In the scriptures, we are challenged to be disciples, challenged to be Christ-followers. In God’s Word, we find our Christian identity.
The scriptures are tied, inextricably, to tradition, reason, and experience. Indeed, I don’t believe we could or should try to separate them or take one without the others. How can we hear God’s word and not take into consideration the early church tradition, or our Wesleyan heritage? Tradition shapes us, even when we are not aware of its doing so. How could we read God’s Word, and not bring with us to our reading our reason – the gifts of our mind and logic and rationale with which God has created us, and why would we not bring our reason with us? It would be equally impossible for us not to bring to our study of scripture our individual and collective experience. Who we are shapes how we read and hear God’s word.
Our tradition, our reason, our experience – these are gifts that are permanently tied to our interaction with the Bible. Without these tools, or lenses, the words of scripture are in danger of remaining on the page. With these tools, the Bible is the Living Word of God, as who we are informs our reading, and our reading informs who we are. We need all – Bible, tradition, reason, experience – and are blessed by all as we make decisions, seek to live morally and ethically informed lives, and discern God’s presence and God’s call for us.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Sunday, September 04, 2005
my mom on prayer
I think this story from my mom would make a great sermon illustration, but I can't wait - it's too cute.
She and I were talking at lunch today about how busy people are and how hard it is to take intentional time to spend with God, devotional time. We were saying that we can incorporate God into everything we do, of course, but intentional just-me-and-God time is also a part of a healthy and growing faith life.
My mom told me a story: when she was little, she and a friend got caught outside in a thunder storm and were running home. They were quite scared. My mom's friend was Catholic, and she wanted to stop on the way, kneel down, and say a "Hail Mary" to make it through the storm. My mom's response? "I'm Methodist. I can pray while I run." They ran.
She and I were talking at lunch today about how busy people are and how hard it is to take intentional time to spend with God, devotional time. We were saying that we can incorporate God into everything we do, of course, but intentional just-me-and-God time is also a part of a healthy and growing faith life.
My mom told me a story: when she was little, she and a friend got caught outside in a thunder storm and were running home. They were quite scared. My mom's friend was Catholic, and she wanted to stop on the way, kneel down, and say a "Hail Mary" to make it through the storm. My mom's response? "I'm Methodist. I can pray while I run." They ran.
ordination paperwork: question #3
a) Theology
3) What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ? and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?
a) Who do we say that Jesus is? In the Synoptics, we read that Jesus wants the disciples to fill him in on the gossip about himself. Who do people say that I am? The disciples give the answers, from far-fetched to hopefully speculative. But then Jesus gets to the point: Who do you say I am? It is a question that shoots from the page to our ears, demanding of us our own answer. Ultimately, Jesus was most interested in what the disciples would answer themselves, not if they could repeat the responses of others.
Who do we say Jesus is? I think we are each called to respond, and like the disciples heard, we too hear many responses today. In a recent issue of Relevant Magazine, Jason Boyett asked, “O Jesus, Who Art Thou?” He talked about our “Jesuses” - Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild, Republican Jesus, Christ Hippified, Romanticized Boyfriend Jesus, The Wild-Hearted Jesus, and, most recently, Jesus Is My Homeboy.[1] His descriptions are meant to be humorous, but also to be a sort of warning, pointing out how we have crafted Jesus into who we want him to be, instead of being shaped by Jesus.
In the practice of ministry, I’ve become more focused on my own response to Jesus’ question and on helping my congregation articulate a response for themselves. Jesus asks us to be disciples, which, from the Greek mathe^te^s, means more than ‘followers.’ It means students. Students study. Students practice and make mistakes and sometimes fail. Students know who the teacher is, and that the teach is the one with authority. Students seek to imitate the teacher. The practice of ministry has deepened my understanding of who Jesus is – our teachers, our savior, God with us, and who Jesus call us to be – his followers, his students, his disciples.
b) The Church and the Holy Spirit have a unique relationship, taking shape from the first Pentecost after the resurrection, when the promised Advocate moved among the gathered believers and enabled them to get to work.
It is this same spirit, this same Holy Breath that gives life to the church today, when we let it. In some ways, I would say that my practice of ministry has made the Holy Spirit less foreign, less strange. As much as we’ve tried our best to box God in, I also think we Christians have known less about what to ‘do’ with the Holy Spirit. But, in practicing ministry, I feel more aware of how the Spirit can and does work in our midst.
For the disciples, the Holy Spirit’s presence was what enabled them to begin the work of sharing the gospel. After Jesus was no longer physically among them, the disciples were afraid and hesitant. Would they step up and begin the work for which Jesus had been preparing them? The Holy Spirit filling them gives them the courage, the comfort, the voice to speak up and share the gospel.
I see that it is the same spirit that enables the church today. In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul tells the church that there are many gifts, but one spirit that activates these gifts within us. Many gifts, but one body of Christ of which we are part. How can we do the work that Christ has called us to? By God’s grace, and by the presence of the Spirit within us, we are able.
I see the Spirit as calling the church, calling us beyond our comfort zones, and enabling us to do, as the body, what we wouldn’t have believed possible. I see the spirit, dwelling within us, each one, reminding us that we are God’s and that God is within us. In this way, the Spirit truly is Comforter and Advocate, enabling us to be the Church in the world.
[1] Boyett, Jason. “O Jesus, Who Art Thou?” Relevant Magazine. July/August 2005. pg.
3) What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of (a) the Lordship of Jesus Christ? and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?
a) Who do we say that Jesus is? In the Synoptics, we read that Jesus wants the disciples to fill him in on the gossip about himself. Who do people say that I am? The disciples give the answers, from far-fetched to hopefully speculative. But then Jesus gets to the point: Who do you say I am? It is a question that shoots from the page to our ears, demanding of us our own answer. Ultimately, Jesus was most interested in what the disciples would answer themselves, not if they could repeat the responses of others.
Who do we say Jesus is? I think we are each called to respond, and like the disciples heard, we too hear many responses today. In a recent issue of Relevant Magazine, Jason Boyett asked, “O Jesus, Who Art Thou?” He talked about our “Jesuses” - Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild, Republican Jesus, Christ Hippified, Romanticized Boyfriend Jesus, The Wild-Hearted Jesus, and, most recently, Jesus Is My Homeboy.[1] His descriptions are meant to be humorous, but also to be a sort of warning, pointing out how we have crafted Jesus into who we want him to be, instead of being shaped by Jesus.
In the practice of ministry, I’ve become more focused on my own response to Jesus’ question and on helping my congregation articulate a response for themselves. Jesus asks us to be disciples, which, from the Greek mathe^te^s, means more than ‘followers.’ It means students. Students study. Students practice and make mistakes and sometimes fail. Students know who the teacher is, and that the teach is the one with authority. Students seek to imitate the teacher. The practice of ministry has deepened my understanding of who Jesus is – our teachers, our savior, God with us, and who Jesus call us to be – his followers, his students, his disciples.
b) The Church and the Holy Spirit have a unique relationship, taking shape from the first Pentecost after the resurrection, when the promised Advocate moved among the gathered believers and enabled them to get to work.
It is this same spirit, this same Holy Breath that gives life to the church today, when we let it. In some ways, I would say that my practice of ministry has made the Holy Spirit less foreign, less strange. As much as we’ve tried our best to box God in, I also think we Christians have known less about what to ‘do’ with the Holy Spirit. But, in practicing ministry, I feel more aware of how the Spirit can and does work in our midst.
For the disciples, the Holy Spirit’s presence was what enabled them to begin the work of sharing the gospel. After Jesus was no longer physically among them, the disciples were afraid and hesitant. Would they step up and begin the work for which Jesus had been preparing them? The Holy Spirit filling them gives them the courage, the comfort, the voice to speak up and share the gospel.
I see that it is the same spirit that enables the church today. In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul tells the church that there are many gifts, but one spirit that activates these gifts within us. Many gifts, but one body of Christ of which we are part. How can we do the work that Christ has called us to? By God’s grace, and by the presence of the Spirit within us, we are able.
I see the Spirit as calling the church, calling us beyond our comfort zones, and enabling us to do, as the body, what we wouldn’t have believed possible. I see the spirit, dwelling within us, each one, reminding us that we are God’s and that God is within us. In this way, the Spirit truly is Comforter and Advocate, enabling us to be the Church in the world.
[1] Boyett, Jason. “O Jesus, Who Art Thou?” Relevant Magazine. July/August 2005. pg.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
ordination paperwork: question #2
a) Theology:
2) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?
One of my favorite scripture passages is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he speaks of the ‘inner conflict’: I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me . . . Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7, selected verses) I think Paul hits on the dilemma of human nature: We think we know what is good. We think we know what God wants. And the gap between what we want to do and what we actually do is so great that we don’t know how to respond to our own humanity.
The practice of ministry has put a spotlight on the ‘human condition’ for me – this struggle, this tension in which we are caught. On the one hand, we consider ourselves such hopeless, worthless creatures. We’re overcome with a belief that we are without much value, without importance. We hate ourselves, hate our actions. In this sense, our need for grace is complete – we need to be given value, and that value comes in our very existence, our beingness, creations of God. But on the other hand, we are content – smug – ruling the world, in charge, unstoppable. Humanity feels so full of itself that we can’t give anymore. We whine, “we’ve done enough, God, we have no more to give.” In this way, our need for grace is complete – we need to be challenged, prodded, transformed, made new. So I find myself preaching two themes in my practice of ministry: one, where I say, “just being a ‘good person’ isn’t enough. God wants more! God wants all of you!” And the other says, “You are so loved! You are so valued! God’s grace is free – you don’t have to and can’t earn it.” We live in that tension, grace and responsibility.
I came to my first appointment with concerns about my age – would people still be willing to come to me with their problems and see me as a pastor, even though I was young? The ‘age question’, 95% of the time, has been a non-issue, and I believe it is because people are simply desperate to share, to be heard, to have someone listen, to know someone cares about what happens to them. I’ve been overcome with how grateful people are for a visit that takes 20 minutes of my time, or a phone call, or note, or email. So little effort, so much thanks. I read this as a sign of our humanity – our need to be worth something, to mean something, to have purpose. People seem so lost and empty. I believe God’s grace is meant to fill that void, until the fullness has to be shared again.
2) What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?
One of my favorite scripture passages is from Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he speaks of the ‘inner conflict’: I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me . . . Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7, selected verses) I think Paul hits on the dilemma of human nature: We think we know what is good. We think we know what God wants. And the gap between what we want to do and what we actually do is so great that we don’t know how to respond to our own humanity.
The practice of ministry has put a spotlight on the ‘human condition’ for me – this struggle, this tension in which we are caught. On the one hand, we consider ourselves such hopeless, worthless creatures. We’re overcome with a belief that we are without much value, without importance. We hate ourselves, hate our actions. In this sense, our need for grace is complete – we need to be given value, and that value comes in our very existence, our beingness, creations of God. But on the other hand, we are content – smug – ruling the world, in charge, unstoppable. Humanity feels so full of itself that we can’t give anymore. We whine, “we’ve done enough, God, we have no more to give.” In this way, our need for grace is complete – we need to be challenged, prodded, transformed, made new. So I find myself preaching two themes in my practice of ministry: one, where I say, “just being a ‘good person’ isn’t enough. God wants more! God wants all of you!” And the other says, “You are so loved! You are so valued! God’s grace is free – you don’t have to and can’t earn it.” We live in that tension, grace and responsibility.
I came to my first appointment with concerns about my age – would people still be willing to come to me with their problems and see me as a pastor, even though I was young? The ‘age question’, 95% of the time, has been a non-issue, and I believe it is because people are simply desperate to share, to be heard, to have someone listen, to know someone cares about what happens to them. I’ve been overcome with how grateful people are for a visit that takes 20 minutes of my time, or a phone call, or note, or email. So little effort, so much thanks. I read this as a sign of our humanity – our need to be worth something, to mean something, to have purpose. People seem so lost and empty. I believe God’s grace is meant to fill that void, until the fullness has to be shared again.
Friday, September 02, 2005
ordination paperwork: question #1
a) Theology:
1) How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?
Augustine once wrote, “If you have understood, then what you have understood is not God.” I’ve always been a questioner, an examiner of the world, myself, and my faith, since I was very young. I’ve wanted to know the answers, and to know God, inside and out. During seminary, though, just when I though I had things all worked out, I went through a time of understanding in a different, more authentic – if scarier – way: I didn’t know God; God was beyond my comprehension and labels. This time of growth shook me up, but ultimately prepared me for an openness to God, to experiencing and learning to know God in ways that are shaping and shaped by the practice of ministry.
As I am writing this, we’ve just passed the text in the lectionary cycle from Exodus 3, where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. The passage has really resonated with me – God’s desire to get our attention results in God bursting into our lives, breaking into the scene in amazing ways. In the life of my congregation and community, I’ve experienced God in such ‘burning bush’ ways: God speaking through my clergy colleague, as she preached in soul-touching ways at our ecumenical Good Friday service, or at CCYM events where youth you would swear weren’t listening stood up and shared how something an adult said helped them see God, or at church meetings where finally people seem to have caught hold of something like a vision. And in practicing ministry, I have experienced God in the breaking of communion bread at our small Lenten soup supper services, in witnessing the outpouring of love that happens when a member of the church family dies, or in baptizing a child with such hope and promise in her eyes.
I love theology – I love thinking about God and asking those questions still, even if I expect less answers today! Is God omnipotent? Does God have foreknowledge? Does God change? Does God feel? I’ll never grow tired of seeking to better understand God. But the practice of ministry has also taught me how much people (me too!) need to hear the same things about God over and over again. God created us. God loves us, loves us, loves us, unconditionally. God has a gift for us – grace. Grace for you. Grace for your neighbors. Grace for those you’d like to pretend don’t count as your neighbors. And God wants you to help share this love and grace. That’s the simplest stuff we can know about God, and it is also the most challenging to instill in our hearts and practice in our world. The journey of trying is the practice of ministry.
1) How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?
Augustine once wrote, “If you have understood, then what you have understood is not God.” I’ve always been a questioner, an examiner of the world, myself, and my faith, since I was very young. I’ve wanted to know the answers, and to know God, inside and out. During seminary, though, just when I though I had things all worked out, I went through a time of understanding in a different, more authentic – if scarier – way: I didn’t know God; God was beyond my comprehension and labels. This time of growth shook me up, but ultimately prepared me for an openness to God, to experiencing and learning to know God in ways that are shaping and shaped by the practice of ministry.
As I am writing this, we’ve just passed the text in the lectionary cycle from Exodus 3, where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. The passage has really resonated with me – God’s desire to get our attention results in God bursting into our lives, breaking into the scene in amazing ways. In the life of my congregation and community, I’ve experienced God in such ‘burning bush’ ways: God speaking through my clergy colleague, as she preached in soul-touching ways at our ecumenical Good Friday service, or at CCYM events where youth you would swear weren’t listening stood up and shared how something an adult said helped them see God, or at church meetings where finally people seem to have caught hold of something like a vision. And in practicing ministry, I have experienced God in the breaking of communion bread at our small Lenten soup supper services, in witnessing the outpouring of love that happens when a member of the church family dies, or in baptizing a child with such hope and promise in her eyes.
I love theology – I love thinking about God and asking those questions still, even if I expect less answers today! Is God omnipotent? Does God have foreknowledge? Does God change? Does God feel? I’ll never grow tired of seeking to better understand God. But the practice of ministry has also taught me how much people (me too!) need to hear the same things about God over and over again. God created us. God loves us, loves us, loves us, unconditionally. God has a gift for us – grace. Grace for you. Grace for your neighbors. Grace for those you’d like to pretend don’t count as your neighbors. And God wants you to help share this love and grace. That’s the simplest stuff we can know about God, and it is also the most challenging to instill in our hearts and practice in our world. The journey of trying is the practice of ministry.
ordination: the paperwork
Hey blogging friends! I just came back from a few days of 'spiritual retreat' at Watson Homestead. I spent the time working on my ordination paperwork, as I hope to be ordained this coming June, and my paperwork is due on November 1st - less than two months now! I got a lot done, and I would like to post my responses to the disciplinary questions here on my blog - maybe one a day. I invite you to share your feedback and suggestions.
A couple of words about my papers:
I am always honest and up front with my thoughts and beliefs. I don't put things in there that I don't really believe. Sometimes I'd like to be more blunt and more direct, but I'm not sure what purpose this would serve other than setting myself up for a harder time at interviews!
Our conference asks for responses of about 1/2-1 page each.
Also, these source have shaped my responses - I quote sometimes directly, but these are my general 'bibliography':
Grace and Responsibility - by John Cobb
The New Creation - by Theodore Runyon
Pastor - by William Willimon
God - Christ - Church - by Marjorie Suchocki
and of course, the writings of John Wesley.
I look forward to your feedback...
A couple of words about my papers:
I am always honest and up front with my thoughts and beliefs. I don't put things in there that I don't really believe. Sometimes I'd like to be more blunt and more direct, but I'm not sure what purpose this would serve other than setting myself up for a harder time at interviews!
Our conference asks for responses of about 1/2-1 page each.
Also, these source have shaped my responses - I quote sometimes directly, but these are my general 'bibliography':
Grace and Responsibility - by John Cobb
The New Creation - by Theodore Runyon
Pastor - by William Willimon
God - Christ - Church - by Marjorie Suchocki
and of course, the writings of John Wesley.
I look forward to your feedback...
confession
I've been out of town and out of communication for a couple of days. I haven't seen the news since the initial reports of destruction from Hurricane Katrina. Arriving home today, I've been reading about the looting, the shootings (I just cannot comprehend this), the slow response, etc., the countless people, stranded, homeless, not to mention questions about things like: when and where will children go to school?
My confession: how worried about gas prices I was on the way home today. Granted, there are some who will be seriously affected by gas prices rising, but those who will really feel the jump are not middle-class pastors like me. I feel embarassed. I think I can swing the extra 10 or 20 bucks a week it might cost me to drive, and be thankful I'm not boating around my city, wondering where my children are.
My confession: how worried about gas prices I was on the way home today. Granted, there are some who will be seriously affected by gas prices rising, but those who will really feel the jump are not middle-class pastors like me. I feel embarassed. I think I can swing the extra 10 or 20 bucks a week it might cost me to drive, and be thankful I'm not boating around my city, wondering where my children are.
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