Andy's Blog: A Personal Word
May 2007 Archive
May 30, 2007
May. 30, 2007As a kid growing up in the eastern part of Birmingham, summers meant sleeping late, going swimming at East Lake Park, or fishing in the lake. Organized sports leagues were rare, so we kids made up our own games in the neighborhood. We would play “war,” hide and seek, or card games like Go Fish. Mostly we enjoyed the freedom of no school or schedule. Sometimes I long for those carefree days of childhood.
My life these days is filled with responsibilities: things to do, places to be, bills to pay, grass to cut, and weeds to pull. The list seems endless. But then I remember that those endless days of summer in childhood sometimes got boring. I missed some of my school friends who lived too far away to visit regularly. While we were free of school, we weren’t free to go just anywhere. I didn’t have a car. My choices were limited.
The truth is that every season of life has it own appropriateness. Every season has its opportunities and its deficits. The clue is recognizing and claiming the gifts of the season we are in. The book of Ecclesiastes puts it this way: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (3:1)
Jason Lehman wrote a poem which warns against living out of season:
It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
the warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was autumn, but it was winter I wanted,
the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
the freedom, and the respect.
I was twenty, but it was thirty I wanted,
to be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was thirty I wanted,
the youth, and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle-age that I wanted,
the presence of mind, without limitations.
My life was over,
but I never got what I wanted.
To everything, there is a season. Or as the old saying goes, “If you pluck the blossoms, you must do without the fruit.” Trust in God during all the seasons of your life. At Trinity we have a great summer planned. See you here.
May 23, 2007
May. 23, 2007Some of you are old enough to remember the Crest toothpaste commercial which features a boy of 8 or 9, who runs into his house holding up a report, and exclaiming, “Look mom, no cavities!” As one who had my share of cavities growing up, and suffered through lots of sessions with the dentist’s drill, I would have shouted too if I had gotten that report.
Good news begs to be shared. When we see a good movie, or find an exceptional restaurant, one of the things we do is to share our discovery with friends. “You gotta see this movie…We ate at the best place the other night.” Sharing good news comes naturally. It is not forced. In a sense, sharing good news completes our joy. We receive a sense of pleasure from knowing that we shared something good with another person.
The Greek word for evangelism literally means “good news.” Sometimes we have a negative view of evangelism. Maybe we have been on the receiving end of a hard sell or guilt inducing effort that has left a bad taste in our mouths. Or maybe we are just a bit frightened at the prospect of approaching someone about Christ. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Good news begs to be shared – naturally, without effort or effect.
Evangelism is a simple way of saying, “Hey, I have this great Sunday School class, would you like to visit with me?” Or, “I know of this great program called Alpha. You would love it.” Or it is listening to a friend in a time of struggle and saying, “Let me tell you about how my faith has helped me.”
Each year, our Conference gives an award for Evangelism to a lay person and a clergy person who has best exemplified sharing the good news. This year, Ray Robertson, one of our college students, received this award for our District. Throughout the course of the year, Ray has invited dozens of students to church. Many Sundays, he shows up with a dozen or so fellow students in tow. Ray is a normal kind of guy who believes that good news is meant to be shared with friends. And so he does.
Imagine if we had hundreds of members like Ray at Trinity, just doing what comes naturally, sharing good news! Try it.
May 16, 2007
May. 16, 2007In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is a poignant scene when the doomed lovers exchange their vows of undying love and devotion. They hope to devise a plan to meet again and be married, but their conversation is interrupted by Juliet’s nurse, who has been searching for her. The two lovers try to say goodnight but run back to each other again and again, until finally Juliet speaks the famous line, “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” The line captures both the pain of parting and the pleasurable anticipation of their next meeting.
It is that time of year, when high school and college students are graduating. They stand at that juncture between today and tomorrow – between parting and anticipation. When our children graduated from high school, it was an emotional time for us as we remembered the years, the trials, the accomplishments, the joys. That phase of their lives was over, and there was some pain in knowing that. But there was also a sense of anticipation and hope about their tomorrows. Parting can be such sweet sorrow. Yet, even as they/we said goodbye to one chapter in their lives, a new, exciting chapter was unfolding. We let go, to lay hold.
This is the last Sunday in the church’s Easter season. It is the Sunday on which we recall the story of Jesus’ ascension. As the risen Christ prepares to leave behind his disciples, there is apprehension on their part. It is hard to say goodbye. In fact, as Jesus is lifted up into heaven, the disciples linger there staring up after him not wanting to leave. But then two men in white robes say to them, “Why are you standing around staring into the heavens? Tomorrow will come. You will see him again. In the meantime, you have your marching orders to be his witnesses. There is work to be done.”
Faith is living out of this tension between what was and what will be. The temptation is for us to think that goodbyes are dead ends. Easter tells us that with God there are no dead ends, only new possibilities.
May 9, 2007
May. 10, 2007Someone has created Murphy’s Laws for Parents, among which are:
• The tennis shoes you must replace today will go on sale next week.
• The chances of a piece of bread falling with the grape jelly side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
• The shirt your child must wear today will be the only one that needs to be washed or mended.
• The item your child lost, and must have for school within the next ten seconds, will be found in the last place you look.
• Your chances of being seen by someone you know dramatically increase if you drive your child to school in your robe and curlers.
I don’t know if those are true, but we do know a lot about what creates strong families. A number of studies in recent years confirm that strong families share some basic characteristics, among which are:
1) Commitment - they are committed to making the family work. These families don’t expect perfection from each other, they accept responsibilities and work together.
2) Appreciation - people in strong families care deeply for each other and they let each other know this.
3) Positive communication - strong families listen to each other, speak openly, directly and honestly – they work at resolving differences.
4) Time together - both quality and quantity time. These families play, plan, and work together.
5) Ability to cope with stress and crisis - they have an ability to cope with stress effectively. These families are not immune from trouble, but they learn how to manage crisis in positive ways.
6) Spiritual wellbeing - successful families tend to have a strong spiritual commitment. They are highly committed to their spiritual lives.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, it’s a good time to remember and celebrate what makes families strong.
May 2, 2007
May. 2, 2007Luke tells us the story of Jesus’ encounter with two disciples on Easter evening. The disciples were leaving Jerusalem (running away?), when a stranger appears and walks with them. They discuss the events that have just transpired in Jerusalem. When they arrive at their destination, they invite the stranger to stay for dinner. As they broke bread together, they suddenly realized who this stranger was. It was the Risen Christ.
The Walk to Emmaus of the United Methodist Church takes its name from this encounter. The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. It seeks to create an opportunity for people to encounter Christ in new ways.
The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God’s grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The Emmaus Walk typically begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday evening. Men and women attend
separate weekends.
During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage participants to meet regularly in small groups. The members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations. The three-day Emmaus experience and follow-up groups strengthen and renew Christian people as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world.
Trinity has a large Emmaus Community. Many of our members have found this to be a powerful experience of God’s love. Dawn and I both attended a Walk To Emmaus not long after it was introduced into our Conference. I would encourage you to consider taking this step in your own faith journey. If you would like more information, please contact Rev. Suzanne Pruitt at 879-1737.
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