The weekend message "wordled"

Here's a wordle of the message for this weekend. Wordles are word clouds based on a collection of text. The more a particular word shows up, the larger it appears in the cloud. Can you figure out the topic? Enjoy!

Monthly Epistle

Here's my monthly letter to the churches I serve - an advance read before the newsletter comes out. Enjoy!

Greetings beloved of God,

I’ve been reading a book called “The Monkey and the Fish” in which the author tells the story of the kiwi. Have you ever eaten a kiwi? Delicious! And if you had eaten a kiwi in the 1970’s or 80’s, the time when the kiwi market exploded, chances are it came from New Zealand. During this time the people of New Zealander became known as “kiwis”. The fruit became the key part of the economic and cultural foundation of the entire country. Then something changed. Other countries jumped on the kiwi bandwagon. Today if you eat a kiwi, it could just as easily have come from South Africa or Chile as New Zealand. As the global market of the kiwi expanded in the 1990’s, New Zealand’s economy was threatened. If the industry didn’t do something quickly, the nation could have been in serious trouble.

To shorten a much longer story, they decided to do things differently. New Zealand farmers entered partnerships with other farmers in Japan and the U.S., allowing them to benefit from the global market. They experimented with the kiwi so that today you can buy kiwis that come in all sorts of colors and flavors – some sweeter, some tangier. In short, they changed. They innovated. The leaders of the kiwi industry looked at the world around them and realized that they needed to approach things in a whole new way.

If you haven’t noticed, the church is in a similar situation. The world around us has changed, and is changing at an ever-increasing pace. And in reality, this has always been the case. The church has always had to adjust in order to find ways to make the gospel relevant. The difference is that we live in a time when change occurs much faster pace (think about the rapid change in cell phone and internet technology in the last 10 years). This isn’t about changing for change’s sake. It’s about the church adjusting its posture toward the world in order to connect with the hearts of people. It’s about finding ways to deliver the same message in new ways for the transformation of the world. As the author of the book mentioned above puts it:

“Just like the kiwi, the church needs to look different, feel different, taste different,

sound different, be different to the people in our churches and the people we hope

will be in our churches.

Same mission.

Same dream.

Same truth.

Same message.

Yet new forms.

New languages.

New containers.

New priests and messengers.

New relationships.”

Paul put it like this: “Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9: 19-23, NLT, emphasis mine)

As we enter our fifth year of ministry together, and the first year of a new partnership with the community in Marshfield, I would challenge all of us to keep our eyes open for the new ways we might connect with our community. What new “containers” might we need to use to reach others with the message of God’s love? What new ministries, new styles of worship, new partnerships, will we need to develop so that God’s vision of peace, compassion, love and mercy might be furthered here and now?

Because we all forget sometimes...

Here's a great video reminding us (or teaching some of us) what it means to be part of the crazy idea Jesus has called "the church." Enjoy - and may you have the courage to live it out and challenge me to do the same. Shaun also as a great song out entitled the same.

Kingdom Coming from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.

Divine appointments

This past week my son and I spent a few days in the woods around Grafton Notch in Maine, backpacking around the Loop. It was a very wet time in the woods, I must say, though we had some great moments, even a few dangerous ones as we climbed over Lightning Ledge and a very slippery East Baldpate Mountain top. (Pics at right.)

On the third night we made it to one of the lean-to's on the Appalachian Trail, very grateful for a dry spot to bunk down. However, as we prepared for supper that night, getting water, we found that our water filter had given up - and no back up! With only three miles back to the road, we decided we would cut our trip short by one day. So we got up at 5 a.m. the next morning, hiked to the road, and then walked the 8 miles or so down Rt. 26 back to where we parked the car.

On our way, we passed Screw Auger Falls, a spectacular spot to rest weary feet. (We also were a bit parched and risked getting Montezuma's Revenge by drinking directly from the stream - so far so good!) Anyway, while standing by the edge of the stream, another man came walking up, the only other person there. He asked where we had hiked and how the weather had been. I of course shared the stories of being wet and mountaintops mostly covered in clouds. He then shared his own story. He told me that the day before, he had buried his father. He said that as they gathered at the graveside, the rain and fog surrounded them as well, just as it had my son and me up on the mountain. It was appropriately somber weather for a somber event. The man continued.

He said, with a voice beginning to crack, overwhelmed with emotion as he recalled the scene, "Then, the time came to lower my father into the grave. As we did, just for that moment, the rained stopped, and the clouds opened, and the sun shone down right on us. I knew in that moment, the door to heaven had opened to welcome my father."

And that, for me, was a divine appointment - a moment God reached into space and time, speaking through the grief and heartache of this man and said, "I am here. Always here, present in every moment. Don't ever forget that."

Thank you Donovan (the man we met) for giving me the privilege of your story, and thank you God for your constant presence.

Time to get the word out!

Save the date!!!

Message Wordled

Here's tomorrow's message run through Wordle. Enjoy!

Important article

US News and World Report recently published an article highlighting the recent ad campaigns being offered by the more mainline denominations, the UMC included. This is a worthwhile read, and more importantly, important to reflect on what it means for each of us on the ground. If the reputation of the church in general is as poor as it seems to be, we have much work to do.

One of the more telling comments was that of Stephen Prothero of Boston University, that mainline Protestantism doesn't stand out in any way from the culture around it. The church has failed to be distinctive in its message. That should be a HUGE wake up call for people claiming to be representatives of a "kingdom" not of this world. Let's get real: if we aren't living, loving, serving, and forgiving in a world so desperate for authentic, sacrificial love and service, why are we even opening our doors?

I'm grateful to be living in such a time as these. There is a great opportunity awaiting for those who are willing to step forward and answer God's call to offer ourselves as a "holy and living sacrifice" to the world, seeking to bless the world around us. Not because we must, but rather because we can. As I was reminded by Zan Holmes in our closing Disciple class last night, we love not because we must but because we can. We love because are loved. We forgive because we are forgiven. We give everything, even if we are to die, because Jesus gave everything for us, even to death.

So, church. Here's our chance. Ads or no ads. Let us be God's people. Let us be salt, flavoring the world around us. Let us be light, shining into dark places. Let us be the aroma of Christ, so that when God's people are around, the scent of our love draws others toward Jesus like hungry people to the smell of a great meal.