Strategy, Promotion, and Keynote

 

 

            This is a big week at White Memorial.  A week I have praying about and been planning for quite some time.  Let me tell you about it.

            First of all, on Wednesday night, September 5, we will be convening two new opportunities for study and leadership.  Early in the evening the Committee of Chairs will meet.  This is a group of people, who each serve as Committee chairs in our church, who are tasked with strategic planning at White Memorial.  For the last year we have been talking to you, listening to you, reading your work done in 2007 and 2008, studying the best practices of sister churches, and reading pertinent literature.  This group will develop a strategic planning process, a process which will seek to answer four core questions, questions which shall define and shaper our future as a Presbyterian congregation in Raleigh:  What is our vision?  What space will we need?  How will we worship?  Will we be equipped to tell the story of our faith and our congregation?

            Later on that same Wednesday night we’ll begin our Feasting on the Word Bible study.  Each week, on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, those of you who are not involved in a Bible Study or a regular Church School class are invited to join sets of rotating teachers as we explore the lectionary texts for the week.  Studying the scriptures before we worship – either in personal study or in a group study – helps prepare our hearts and minds to hear the height, and depth, and breadth of God’s revelation in scripture to us.

            Then on Sunday, September 9, we hope you’ll join us in prayer about a most important and critical day.  On Sunday morning, we’ll celebrate promotion Sunday.  Sunday morning is a rally, a rally for education and the beginning of our fall program at White Memorial.

            Sunday night I will join our Youth staff and our Youth volunteers as we host our Fall Youth Kickoff .  This is a very important meeting, and I hope you’ll help us get the word out to our Youth and their families.  We’ll share our new vision statement and give our church family opportunities to learn about our new scheduling.  I will lead a keynote conversation with Youth, parents, and volunteers about our hopes and dreams for Youth Ministry – sustainable Youth ministry – at White Memorial.      

            I hope and pray that this week, a week of strategy, promotion, and keynote – an exciting and vital week in the life of our church – is a week we can build on.  I hope and pray it is a week we can look to as an opportunity to grow in the directions where God is calling us to grow.  In coming months we’ll be praying and working on initiatives for pastoral care, community service, and adult ministries.  I invite you to pray for our staff, our Session, and our strategic planning committee in the weeks to come.    

If indeed the past is prologue, then the future will be bright:  bright with the light of grace; bright with the hope of forgiveness; bright with the call to faithfulness.

 

 

           

First fruits or leftovers?

Hymns have a way of saying things well.  Take for example the hymn, As Saints of Old Their First Fruits brought, penned by Frank Von Christierson in the 1960’s.

As saints of old their firstfruits brought
of orchard, flock, and field
to God, the giver of all good,
the source of bounteous yield;
so we today firstfruits would bring:
the wealth of this good land,
of farm and market, shop and home,
of mind and heart and hand.

In a handful of lines this poetry, sung poetry, sums up so much of what our scriptures, our confessions, and our Lord teach us about being generous.

                This week we continue our 2012 Summer Forum.  As many of you know, we are focusing our worship and our forum discussions around Robert Schnase’s Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.  The practice we narrow our gaze upon Sunday is extravagant generosity.

                Generosity is, of course, the practice of giving to and of sharing with others.  Hopefully, we do this all the time.  Extravagant is a modifier.  It is a marker of degree.  Is our attitude, “I gave at the office,” or something else?  Something like, “giving is joyful for me, a spiritual practice of mine, a response to God’s goodness in my life?”  As Schnase writes, extravagant generosity “describes lavish sharing, sacrifice, and giving in service to God and neighbor.”

                The truth is that we are always giving something:  time, advice, money, or energy.  But there is also an even greater truth at play in our lives:  we receive so very much more than we might ever give.

                The Biblical example is resolute.  From Abraham in the very beginning, to Jesus and Paul in the New Testament, generous living and generous giving abound.  Generosity is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and it is God who is calling us to give.  When we ignore this calling, we are always left unsatisfied and wanting.  The hymn above though begs a tough question:  are we giving to others and giving to God with our first fruits or our leftovers?  Let us not forget God gave the best that God had to offer:  in the gift of creation and the gift of salvation. 

                The final stanza of the hymn says it well:

In gratitude and humble trust
we bring our best today
to serve your cause and share your love
with all along life's way.
O God, who gave yourself to us
in Jesus Christ, your Son,
teach us to give ourselves each day
until life's work is done.

Why I am registering for NEXT church in Durham...

sparking imaginations, connecting congregations, and offering a distinctively Presbyterian witness to Jesus Christ

Today, I want to invite anyone who follows my posts or blogs to consider joining the regional NEXT event in Durham next month.  August 18, to be precise.  To learn more or to register go to the Westminster Presbyterian Church, Durham website:  Register for Next Church Durham

I am going because I want to be part of interesting, missional, and vital conversations with colleagues in this region who have compelling ideas, expertise to share, and a witness which inspires.

I am going to hear Franklin and Amanda tell the story of Durham Presbyterian Church.

I am going to listen to Howard Dudley share his love of music.

I am going to hear Erin Mills talk about Youth Ministry.

I am going to hear Mary Katherine Robinson and Katherine Cooke Kerr speak about pastoral care across the generations in our churches.

 

 

I am going to hear John Cleghorn tell the story of Caldwell Presbyterian in Charlotte.

 

 

I am going to learn about centering prayer from Katie Crowe.

I am going to listen, pray, and seek God's will for my church and our church.

I am going and I hope you will join me.

Some of you may not be sure if you will be welcome there; at least not yet.  Let me tell you that I belong to no affinity group.  I belong to no special interests groups in our church.  I have been to both national Next events and have yet to hear one stump speech supporting any special interest group or any one party at the expense of another in our church.  I don't subscribe to binary conversations about good Christians and bad Christians, liberal Presbyterians and conservative Presbyterians, or us Presbyterians and them Presbyterians.

The deep truth is there is no us and them.  There is really only us.  Disciples of one Lord.  Stewards of one church.  Proclaimers of God's infinite grace.  I truly think that the Spirit of unity, God's Holy Spirit, is calling us in the mid-Atlantic to draw close in prayer and really listen to discern God's future.

My best guess is that we have a better chance of hearing the still small voice, catching a glimpse of whatever new things God might reveal, if there are lots of ears in the room and lots of eyes joined in looking.  Another guess I have is that our ears are tuned for different melodies:  some of us long to hear orthodoxy, some long for service, some for evangelism, some for altruism, some for unity, and some for church growth.  If all those ears with their specific and relative tunings will all join in worship and learning together, well then I suspect we just might hear or see what it is that God is likely to do.

Will it be a perfect conference?  Nope (at least I don't think so - I have directed too many conferences to think it will be seamless).

Will there be moments of uncertainty?  Probably (at least I think so - I have directed too many conferences to think it will be seamless).

Will there be a faithful call longing for a faithful response?  Surely (because that is the promise of Jesus -- 'wherever you go, I go.'  And wherever Jesus might go, we are called to follow.).

I do hope you will join me.  There are no votes taken.  There are no debates held.  You will not hear once more about what makes us different.  But instead, we will learn once more about how we can, through our practices and shared knowledge, be a more inspiring church together.

Fruitful practice: Passionate Worship

Passion is a word that gets a lot of use.

It can, for Christians, allude to the crucifixion:  as in “passion play.”

It can have romantic overtones and under notes:  as in “passionate love story.”

Passion can refer to purpose, vocation, or deep meaning:  as in telling a group of people that the purpose of life is to “find your passion.”

Or, it can refer to commitment, deep commitment:  as in passionately investing and participating in an activity or an event.

When we talk about passionate worship, we are referring to this final usage.  Being invested in worship of God.  Not focused on what is happening around us, but focused upon our activity of devotion.  The words we say.  The prayers we pray.  The songs we sing.  The sacraments we share.  Are we waking up, getting dressed, and thinking -- “Another Sunday, I guess I have to go to church today?”  Or, are we thinking, “I cannot believe I have been given the gift of the opportunity to worship the God who made me, preserves my life, and offers me the means of grace.”  Not simply motioning our way through the experience, but fully, passionately participating in the liturgy and activity of worship as if it were the most important thing in the world to us, right then, right there?  Why do I ask this question?

Well, because worship really is the most important thing we do in any given week.  It is time devoted and dedicated to God for saying “thank you,” “we love you,” and “we honor you.”   And shouldn’t our worship to God be invested, passionate worship?  Robert Schnase writes, “Without passion, worship becomes dry, routine, boring, and predictable, keeping form while lacking the spirit.  Passionate describes an intense desire, an ardent spirit, strong feelings, and the sense of heightened importance.  Passionate speaks of an emotional connection that goes beyond intellectual consent.  It connotes eagerness, anticipation, expectancy, deep commitment and belief.  What each person brings to worship shapes the experience for everyone as much as what he or she finds there.  Passionate worship begins with each worshipping individual.”

Worship is something that we all do.  Each of us prays the prayers of worship.  Each of us sings the hymns.  Each of us hears the words of faith and the music of the choir.  And, we hear it as individuals who participate as one body.  Which is a way of reminding us that when we each invest ourselves in worship, our entire church benefits.

Marcia Mount Shoop - Theologian in Residence in the New York Times

I hope and pray you enjoyed our Theologian in Residence, Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop.

In so many ways, we are a richer congregation for her being with us.  Last weekend, Samuel Freedman from the New York Times was with us, following Marcia, speaking with her, and listening to her theology of incarnation and divine embodiment.  

His article about Marcia was published today.  Here is a link if you are interested, and the title suggests the angle he take and the testimony that Marcia gives:

A Rape Survivor Now Ministers Body and Soul

Thanks to Marcia for sharing with us and inspiring us to find the spirit and see the Lord in some new ways.

Thanks to Mr. Freedman for telling a part of her story well - may others finds the redemption and power and renewal that Marcia has found.

From the point of Oberlin and MacDonald,

Christopher

Just thought I would share this link.  Are these encouraging signs or signs of tougher times to come?  What would your ideas be to reverse these statistics and trends?

2011 PC(USA) Statistics

Thin Places

My friend Pete Perry calls Montreat a thin place - where the distance between heaven and earth is small.  Where the distance between the Spirit and the people is small.

Where are your thin places?