Andy's Blog: A Personal Word

June 2010 Archive

June 29, 2010

Jun. 29, 2010

Writer and teacher, Rabbi Harold Kushner, tells about a class on Jewish history that he was teaching to teenagers in his congregation. One day the class was studying the Holocaust, the destruction of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis in World War II. As the class read example after example of butchery and cruelty, Kushner would see the horror rising in his students, and felt their outrage approach the boiling point. That was when he asked them, “Why was Hitler wrong?”

The students were confused by the question. “What do you mean, why was Hitler wrong?” one student asked. “Do you mean he might have been right, that the Jews were an inferior race and should be murdered?” Another cried, “Why was he wrong? You can’t just take people and kill them because you don’t like them.”

Kushner observed. “Remember, the Nazis were careful to pass laws sanctioning everything that they did. It was all within the law. Was it still wrong?”
“Of course it was,” the first student replied. “Just because you pass laws permitting the gassing of children doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Kushner pressed further, “But why? Are you trying to tell me that some things are wrong, even if the majority of people think they are right? Are you telling me that there is such a thing as good and evil, some standards of morality that exist no matter how we feel about them, or whether or not we agree with them? Where do you get such an idea?”

Of course, Kushner knew where his students got that idea. They got it from their Biblical heritage, and especially from the prophets like Amos. For the prophets to say that there was a God was in itself a moral and political statement. The prophet, Amos, thundered against the religious and political authorities of his day, because of their failure to do deal justly. God’s authority trumps all earthly authority.

The writers of the Declaration of Independence stood in line with this prophetic belief in the ultimate authority of God over all systems. They gave as their rationale for separation from England, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed – that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.

There are those old adages that one should not talk about religion or that religion and politics don’t mix. If we believe in the God of the prophets, this is impossible. To say the name of this God is to make a political statement – it is to assert a claim over all of life. 

So on this Fourth of July Sunday, we are going to share the family story of Amos, who talked about religion and politics in the same breath.

June 15, 2010

Jun. 15, 2010

Well, it’s another one of those things people tell you that turned out to be true after all! Your children grow up in a hurry. It seems like yesterday when we were rocking them to sleep, teaching them to ride a bike, going to little league games. Now they are, well almost, grown and gone. Of course, once a parent always a parent. The job never ends, though the roles shift. Yet, that period of our most profound and lasting influence is short-lived. If research is to be believed, the first three years are the most critical. By 12 or 13, the die has been cast! The window of opportunity is small. With an average life expectancy of 78, we have about 17% of our years to do the most important thing we will probably ever do – be a good mother or father. 

Dads, this Father’s Day, take a moment to check the clock! Your kids will grow up fast.  You will never have these days again. Grandmother and Educator Esther Jantzen lists the five most powerful things kids need to hear from their father:

1. “I’m proud…you’re my son or daughter.” You can say this out of the blue; it does not need to be connected to any achievement, although it could be. They’ll also get this message when you say, “I notice…how your drawings are changing…how you seem happier…or how you’re doing better at school.”

2. “That’s okay…how can you learn from that?” Use this when there’s been a mistake or problem. It teaches kids it’s normal, necessary, and perhaps even healthy to make mistakes. We all do. The important thing about a mistake is what you can learn from it. If you can learn from it, the guilt and hurt often go away.

3. “I’m sorry…for ____.” Fill in the blank. Maybe it would be… for yelling at you the other night… for missing your ball game… for not keeping my promise. When adults apologize, kids learn how to clean things up between people, and that’s something they need to know. And, of course, the best apology is changed behavior.

4. “Tell me more…” or “Yes, and what else?” These words let a kid know you’re listening, you’re interested and you’ll give them your attention and time. These words encourage them to develop and express ideas. Believe it or not, they can help kids gain skills that are useful in school. And, of course, be sure you listen when they talk.

5. “I love you forever.” Even if you’re mad as heck or live far apart from your kids, they need to know you’re behind them and you love them for no reason except that you’re connected as father and child forever. Your love is their birthright.

Happy Father’s Day.

June 1, 2010

Jun. 1, 2010

As United Methodist Christians, we are a part of a connectional church. We do not see ourselves as isolated units. Each local congregation is connected to other congregations. Our understanding of church follows Paul’s view of the church as a “body.”

For just as the body is one and has many members – all of the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.

We belong to each other. Together, we are able to be and do more than we can apart. 

This organic/relational/bodily/connection finds its practical expression in our organization into “Conferences.” Each local church is a part of a “Conference.” In our case, we are a part of the North Alabama Conference, made up of 150,500 individuals in 759 congregations, both large and small. Together, we join in ministries such as Camp Sumatanga, the United Methodist Children’s Homes, United Methodist Homes for the Aging - including Fairhaven, Residential Alternative Home for special needs adults, and Birmingham- Southern College and Huntington College. By joining hands, our circle of ministry is
larger than it could ever be if we all trued to do it alone.

Each year the churches of the Conference meet together in what is know as our Annual Conference session. Our session of the Annual Conference will be held this week, June 3-5. All clergy are members of this body, along with lay delegates from each local church.  Trinity’s lay delegates include:  Kim Yarboro-chair, Carrie Carter, Lucy Lee, Allen McCain, Kirk Mills, and Tom Carter-alternate.

At our sessions, we will hear reports of our connectional work; we will worship; we will learn; and we will celebrate our life together. In our system, pastors are “sent” or assigned by the Bishop annually. As a part of the session, appointments of pastors to local churches will be fixed for the coming year. In the old days, this was kept secret until the last day of Annual Conference when appointments were read aloud and churches/pastors learned who went where. This made for lots of anxiety and high drama! Today, appointments are largely made and announced in the months preceding the conference, and the actual moving follows after the conference session. 

At Trinity, Dave Barnhart, Suzanne Pruitt, and myself will all be returning for another year.  Tim Tatum, our Associate Pastor of Evangelism and Young Adults, will be assigned to Valley United Methodist Church in Huntsville. We will soon be receiving a new person in Tim’s position. Drew Holland, who is graduating from Duke Divinity School, will be assigned to Trinity. Tim will be moving out in mid-June, and Drew will be moving in. We will have the opportunity to express our gratitude to Tim at a farewell reception on Sunday, June 6 from 3:00 - 4:30 PM in the Large Parlor.

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