The New York Times recently had a story about nonprofits that choose to go out of business when they feel their mission is accomplished. One of the groups featured was Malaria No More, which according to the story plans to shut down in 2005.
But the idea that malaria has been licked does not sit well with Larry Hollon, general secretary of United Methodist Communications.
He answers back in this blog post.
Disclaimer: I love Christmas more than any spoiled 5-year-old in America. I like the traditions, family time, midnight church services, sweet treats and the smell of fresh greens and peppermint...I even like the cheesy seasonal movies on Lifetime. I like Christmas.
But sometimes it seems like America recklessly kicks from Halloween gear straight into Christmas gear. Thanksgiving tends to be overlooked or watered down to football watching and late-night sale-shopping.
"There once was a day when another little holidaycarried with it a little more meaning.[Yes, he's talking about Thanksgiving!] It’s a holiday rather opposite of Halloween; a holiday unlike what Christmas at times has become. This holiday, which could very well have the power to redeem and recover the lost meaning of Christmas, is a simple day to remember that God is good and He provides. It’s a day to celebrate family; share secret recipes; hold a feast together and remember a journey," writes Jeff McLaughlin in a recent RELEVANT Magazine blog. "To dismiss [Thanksgiving] as insignificant is to forget that everything is a gift; life itself is a gift."
Seriously, click on the link and read the article. Jeff offers a humble perspective on the upcoming holiday, and it's not too late to rethink thanksgiving.
"If we celebrated Thanksgiving 2010 with a shift in perspective, thankfulness once again the end, not the means, what would look different? Envision it: an entire day in an attitude of thanksgiving; store advertisements, shopping lists, and holiday planning aside, asking God to birth in us the true heart of the ultimate gift that is why we even celebrate Christmas."
I'm thinking it could be Thanksgiving every day (minus the overeating!)
Hello, November and hello, election season. It’s that wonderful (note the sarcasm) time of year when politicians forfeit integrity, class and a hefty chunk of cash to bash their opponents.
Sure, it’s easy to point fingers and get swept up in the competitive nature of our society, but as Christians, what are we called to do?
“It seems the default formula for successful political ads is the negative attack against the opponent rather than the recounting of positive intentions of the candidate paying for the commercial,” writes Bishop Robert Schnase in a recent blog post.
He then goes on to ask the obvious question as to why today’s political ads have become so vicious and distorted. His answer: those ads work. (What a sick reality!)
“Those of us who receive these ads are willing to avoid the hard work of learning about the tough and complex issues of our time. We are happy to nod or shake our head based on a 30-second contrived presentation rather than delve deeper, to think beyond our own self-interest to the good of the nation and world,” he writes. “We’re willing to be seduced and deceived by oversimplification, to be animated and motivated by animosity and accusation.”
Bishop Schnase’s blog, rooted in Philippians 4:8, calls Christians to step up to the plate and to seek what is honorable, pleasing and commendable—both as politicians and voting citizens.
What's your take on "the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival?"
A recent episode of Fox TV’s Glee, a musical comedy-drama series about a high school show choir’s struggle to “fit in,” boldly pulled teenage spirituality into the spotlight, and churches are (or should be) talking about it.
Religion rarely surfaces in the plotline of young America’s most beloved TV shows, nor is it usually the topic of lunch-table discussion at the local high school... but that may now be changing.
The episode—“Grilled Cheesus”—focuses on what God means to each glee club member. Some students think God is a magical genie who grants wishes (or in Finn’s case, a prayer-answering sandwich). Others consider Him the faithful supplier of peace, comfort and healing, and some do not believe in God at all.
““Grilled Cheesus” may turn out to be a provocative discussion starter for churches (with teenagers and adults), launching conversations about faith, prayer, and how to be Christian in a pluralistic culture,” writes Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean on her blog.
She has also posted five points where “Grilled Cheesus” rings true and a few discussion questions (for teens, pastors and parents) that she and some other youth pastors cooked up. It’s good stuff. Check it out.
On Duke Divinity’s “Call & Response” blog, the Rev. Amy Thompson Sevimli, the assistant to the Bishop in the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, encourages pastors (especially those who are disregarding the Glee episode because of its lack theological substance) to not miss the opportunity to interact and connect with young people who are most comfortable with the pop culture representation of religion.
The issues the high school students in Glee face each week are by no means fictional. The way the characters talk about race, sexuality, popularity, family and religion mirror the conversations of “real life” high school students.
Instead of writing the show off as child’s play or defamatory or incorrect, maybe parents, pastors and youth leaders should ride the coattails of “Grilled Cheesus” into a substantial, theologically sound conversation with young people about faith.
Has “Grilled Cheesus” made its way to your dinner table yet?
I guess this question lends itself to two other questions: what defines art and what defines church? (I'll make it easy and let you choose!)
Painter and photographer, Melissa Kircher recently wrote an article for RELEVANT Magazine titled "Why Art Should Matter to Christians."
In the article, she writes:
In today’s society though, real art is slowly becoming less and less present. Our generation experiences art as a constant stream of marketing. Creativity is now harnessed to push product. When we only experience art in advertisements, web-sites, brands and logos, we lose the invaluable ways that it helps us understand who we are and what life is all about...
Modern culture has forgotten that art is worthy without first having to prove it’s worth...
Humanity is losing a vital connection to God and to our souls when the arts begin to become unworthy in society. In order to prevent this from happening, there needs to be action. We are all responsible to change things.
She goes on to suggest three things Christians can do to keep from losing such a vital connection to God.
1.) Explore artistic pursuits in your daily life.
2.) Bring creativity to your workplace.
3.) Help your church engage artists. (If you are one of those people who doesn't read the linked stories, here is your second chance to check out some of Ms. Kircher's ideas.)
The last one really got me thinking. Besides music and stories, there seems to be very little creative expression of life in my local church. (Maybe it is there, and I've just been too blind and ignorant to recognize it.)
Where does art fit into your church? Is there an effort to creatively display God's love within your congregation?
How often do you say you will pray for
someone or something and then forget to actually do it? When I was in
elementary school, I was always afraid of leaving someone out of my prayers.
After rambling off a list of family members, friends, teachers and pets, I’d round every prayer off with, “and
bless everything else too, God! Amen.”
Well, for the next 40 days the United
Methodist Church is making a commitment to pray specifically for college
campuses and you should too.
Why?
Because every fall, more than 17 million American students head off to college and university campuses (plus millions more worldwide) to become the next generation of teachers, accountants, mothers, fathers, doctors, CEOs, journalists and ministers. In college, they will grow and learn to make decisions that will shape their lives and the world around them, and it should be our prayer that as they make these decisions, learn these lessons and become these people that they do so having been shaped by Christ.
The purpose of Pray40 is to call the
Church to pray for college students and to help college students learn to
pray.
The prayers have been written by campus ministers, college students, bishops, authors, pastors and other leaders, and collectively, they express a heart for God to inspire, challenge and transform the lives of college campuses and individuals.
Here is today’s prayer from the Rev. Tarah Trueblood, the executive director and campus pastor at the Wesley House and Campus Center at University of California, Berkeley.
Ready, set, pray. Can you make the commitment to pray for college students from August 23-October 1? And don’t worry, you can sign up to get prayers by e-mails, texts or even via Twitter (@CollegeUnion). See, you really have no excuse!It's official, summer is almost over. School supplies and uniforms line every windowfront, camps are winding down and kids are getting anxious. Growing up, my family lived by the school calendar. The first day of school was equivalent to the first day of a new year. We made resolutions and ate black-eyed peas--the whole shebang.
It may seem ridiculous, but (minus the party hats) a "new start" is not such a bad idea. The Barna Group, out of Ventura, Cali., recently released a report on the changing priorities of Americans. Take a look:
Of course, experts credit these changes to the weakened economy. How has the economy changed your priorities? Better yet, how has the recent state of the economy affected your faith? Should it?
I found the jackpot of vibrant young people last Friday
night—over 4,000 messy-haired, skinny jeans-wearing people jumping around and
singing at the top of their lungs…about Jesus. I wish I had bottled up their
passion and energy; I could sell it to sleeping congregations across the
country and make a fortune. (Don’t worry; I’d give United Methodist churches a
discount!)
With more than 25,000 congregants, Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia is one of the fastest growing ministries in the world, and they’re responsible for the praising masses that gathered at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas last Friday. (Of course, the will of God played a part too!)
Generation Y wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. (I can confidently say this because I’m a Gen Yer.) A lot of them want to praise God, but they don’t want to hold a hymnal. They want to “go big or go home.” Many of them want to love Jesus out loud, but are looking for a platform where they can rise up and be heard. Hillsong’s music provides this platform and invites listeners to experience the presence of God.
For more than 20 years, Hillsong LIVE has recorded songs from its worship community that have resonated in churches across the world. Known for worldwide worship anthems such as “Shout to the Lord,” “Mighty to Save,” “My Hope,” “From the Inside Out” and “Hosanna,” Hillsong Music has recorded 20 albums and sold more than 11 million copies.
For the first time, the Hillsong worship team is on tour in the U.S. (Unfortunately, they only have two more shows…and they’re both sold out!)
Lucky for you, I was able to capture some of the highlights from their Texas concert. Check it out:
You should also check out Hillsong LIVE’s newest release A Beautiful Exchange. It’s an album designed to awaken the listener and generate awe for an infinite, and yet, intensely intimate God.
It explores themes of sacrifice, redemption, reconciliation and praise. This album redefines worship as a beautiful exhange—an experience in which we surrender life for freedom, just as Christ did for us.
It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over and in a little over two weeks, my son will be a college student. For me, this brings a whole mix of emotions: happiness, pride, anxiety and quite a bit of sadness. It is hard for me to grasp that raising my little boy to be independent and resourceful has reached the point where I now need to let go.
When my son and I attended campus orientation earlier this month, the union was lined with tables set up for every interest and activity on campus. There were tables about eating plans, housing options, transportation, recycling, sports team tickets and student organizations. It was crowded and very overwhelming. As we are getting ready to leave, my son made a beeline to the campus ministries table. I have to admit, I was proud that my 18 year old son would think to continue his faith journey on his own.
Mallory’s story on college campus ministries had me look into the school's Wesley Foundation and we now have contacts and information. I also signed up to be a part of Pray40 to pray for college students. It's comforting to know that others will be including my son in their prayers.
As I am preparing for this reality of moving my son to college, the feelings are similar to helping him to learn to walk or how to ride his bicycle. I know these events in his life have been preparing us both for this next step of him becoming a man. Just like learning to ride his bike, I’ll be here to brush off the scrapes and bruises and I’ll extend my hand to help him off the ground. I’ll give him a hug and offer encouragement and help him try again. That will never change.
And when I am praying for the college students during Pray40, I am going to add a prayer for the moms of these students as well. I know I miss those simple days of taking first steps and training wheels. And I know that I am not alone, as a mom, who could use the prayers for comfort and reassurance as I watch my son, a young man now, peddle down the road without me.
Our young leaders have wrapped things up at the 2010 Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly in Berlin.
Check out the closing worship ceremonies and check in again soon as we gather the scoop from some of this year's delegates. We'll be nice and let the jet-lag wear off before we bombard them with questions!
More to come on what legislation was adopted...
Participants at the Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly(GYPCLA) are not letting the rain stop them from exploring Berlin today.
Some of you are probably wondering how sightseeing ties into strengthening the church...or even the Christian faith. Well, here's what I think:
Consider what Berlin has to offer. There are still standing sections of the Berlin Wall, prison sites and concentration camps, the Memorial Church and the living testimonies of those who lived in a divided city. Such places provide the perfect backdrop for young people, and Christians in general, to see how the power of God can overcome oppression. (Note that such a lesson can also be learned from visiting South Africa...as many young United Methodists did last year for the GYPCLA.)
Seeing the work of such a faithful and gracious God in an extreme environment, like Berlin, is bound to give these young people hope--a hope that they, united with each other in Christ, can overcome the injustice and oppression they experience and see in their daily life--both, inside and outside of the church.
If anything, I think these young church leaders are "rethinking church" and taking it upon themselves to extend the church experience beyond the church doors by engaging in the world, the ultimate body of Christ.
For more thoughts from delegates at the Global Convo, visit the Global Young People Blog.
(Photos courtesy of Amy Miller)
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from my most recent story
about kids who leave the United Methodist Church, and here’s some more food for
thought…
On the Duke Divinity Call &Response Blog, Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology, religion and divinity at Duke University and director of the National Congregations Study, makes the claim that evangelicals lose fewer youth than mainstream Protestants. (This isn’t to say evangelical churches are not losing youth—they are; they’re just not losing as many as liberal churches.)
Such a claim contributes to the belief that evangelical
denominations have not suffered the same membership decline as some mainline
congregations.
[Trying to figure out where you plug into this picture? Most commonly, mainline Protestants include American Baptists, Disciples of Christ, United Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Congregationalists.]
It makes sense that (regardless of the religious group) churches with more teens are likely to have more resources for teens; however, Mr. Chaves’ research with the National Congregations Study shows that in churches with 50 or more teenagers, white evangelical churches are substantially more likely to hire a full-time youth minister than white mainline Protestant churches.
Why is this? Is it an issue of money or priorities?
Could it be that evangelicals have a deeper concern to reproduce the faith in their kids, which probably leads to hiring a full-time youth minister, which leads to keeping more youth in the church?
What do you think? No, not the robots. These transformers are an entirely different, world-changing kind.
Today UMR had its annual visit from a group of summer interns with Project Transformation. Part of the interns' service experience includes career exploration, and as a non-profit, faith-based operation, we're always happy to show them what we do and how communication can be a ministry.
These college students, and some recent graduates, are involved with Project Transformation because they want to make a difference, and through this experience they're already seeing the impact their lives can have in the world. As I told them, they're already way ahead of where I was at their age. I stumbled through a few attempts at careers before I found a place where my deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet, as Frederick Buechner puts it. My guess is that many of these young adults will have a clearer sense of vocational direction as a result of their time with PT.
Several of us at UMR spoke about how we live out our callings through our work here, then we gave tours of the facility and hosted lunch for the interns in our break room. They left with various examples of the work we do, a list of professional associations that might interest them and an invitation to apply for a scholarship to next spring's Religion Communicators Council gathering in Little Rock.
I always enjoy talking with them during lunch. They're full of good questions, and I get to learn something new about PT's ministry every year. And, thanks to the United Methodist connection (and this time, a Church of the Nazarene connection, too), we almost always have some friends in common. Most of all, I'm grateful to meet more young people who pay special attention to discovering how God is calling them -- for some, it's to seminary; for others, it could be a path more like the one I've followed.
Check out their blog if you have a moment, or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
Wednesday I interviewed Laura Hobgood-Oster, whose new book The Friends We Keep: Unleashing Christianity's Compassion for Animals is due out in October. Robin handed me the media review copy because of my involvement with animal rescue. (A side note to those who saw my column highlighting foster dogs Crystal and Pooh Bear: I'm happy to report that both girls now live in permanent homes.)
Yesterday I transcribed the recording of my phone conversation with Dr. Hobgood-Oster for an upcoming Q&A in the Reporter. I always type furiously during these conversations, but I never capture every word, so I like to make certain I have the full text before cutting it down to a reasonable (and more readable) size.
We were discussing the large number of cats and dogs euthanized each year, while Christians ignore the tragedy. “It is difficult to imagine a Christian theology that would find such a situation acceptable," writes Dr. Hobgood-Oster. One of the words spoken in our discussion of that quote was "euthanized."
When I typed "euthanized" into the Microsoft Word document, a red squiggly line appeared underneath it. Word thought I had misspelled something, so I checked to see what the program suggested I use instead.
One option it offered: "euphemized."
An ironic suggestion, because our culture euphemizes euthanizations all the time. Many people prefer the term "put to sleep," for example. But the reality is that across the nation, we give people the dirty job of killing healthy, but homeless, animals. It's the last thing these workers want to do; I know, because I help local animal shelters publicize which dogs and cats are going to die each week if nobody steps forward to care for them. They want them to go to good homes; to be spayed or neutered; to live as valued companions.
I happen to believe that if we can eradicate malaria, we also have a pretty good shot at humanely resolving our pet overpopulation problem. Bob Barker said it for decades, folks: Spay and neuter your pets. Encourage your friends to do the same. Before you buy an animal from a (puppy mill-supplied?) pet store, seriously consider adopting one instead. Allergic to pet dander? Contribute financially to an organization that can accomplish the work you can't do yourself. In whatever way you can, make a faithful response to this problem so your household is part of the solution.
And don't forget to pray about it, too. Remember, with God, all things are possible.
Did you know the median age of the population in the U.S. is 35, and the median age of attendees in the United Methodist Church is 57?
Did you know over 92 percent of U.S. United Methodists have earned at least a high school diploma, while this is true for 87 percent of the general U.S.?
Did you know in the last five years 360 new United Methodist congregations have been planted in the U.S, and in the last two years, 177 new congregations have begun worldwide?
These fun facts are among the many statistics found in the newly released 2010 State of The Church Report. The report is an annual look at where the United Methodist Church stands statistically in membership, giving and church growth. This year's report also offers key findings from the United States Congregational Life Survey and resources to help United Methodists stay up-to-date with important conversations taking place across the denomination that could impact church structure and processes in the future.
"In this annual report, we see signs of hope," said Bishop John Hopkins of the Ohio East Episcopal Area and chairperson of the Connectional Table. "United Methodists are making great strides in the Four Areas of Focus of the denomination. Also, this report captures how the church is making changes to address the declining membership trend we have witnessed in the U.S. and Europe."
The Four Areas of Focus include: Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world; creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations; engaging in ministry with the poor; and combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally.
Not only does the report give a comprehensive overview of the life of the church, but it also makes you wonder how we can better carry out the church's mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Go check it out. The charts and graphs are easy to interpret, and my guess is you will stumble across a something you did not know... now, anyone up for a game of United Methodist Church Jeopardy?
The United Methodist Church’s 25-member University Senate will vote this week on whether Claremont School of Theology will maintain its affiliation with the denomination after launching a multifaith clerical training project.
The United Methodist-affiliated seminary plans to offer -- in conjunction with the Academy for Jewish Religion and the Islamic Center of Southern California -- clerical training this fall for Muslims and Jews as well as Christians, according to a June 9 announcement by President Jerry Campbell.
It’s history in the making. While other theological schools – Hartford Seminary and Andover Newton Theological School, for instance -- have had some partnerships with Muslim or Jewish institutions, Claremont is the first seminary in the U.S. to offer theological leadership training within the three Abrahamic faith traditions.
Diana Eck, director of The Pluralism Project at Harvard University (which researches the increasing religious diversity of the American landscape), finds the Claremont project “a very exciting vision.” I’d heard Dr. Eck speak on interfaith trends at the recent Religion Communicators Congress 2010 in Chicago, and thought she might have some valuable perspective. This morning she chatted with me from her office at Harvard and gave me her take on the Claremont project.
Dr. Eck says the multi-faith project represents “not just the future, but the present of Christian ministry in the United States and in the world.”
“We live in multi-religious societies, so we enter the ministerial context with the need to have a much richer and deeper and richer understanding of the faith of our neighbors,” she said. “To build that into theological education is absolutely essential. It needs to be done.”
Not everyone is so keen on it. The denomination's University Senate suspended in January some $800,000 in funding toward Claremont’s budget for failing to consult with the church on “a substantial reorientation of the institution’s mission.” Senate members visited the campus in April to check into this multi-faith project.
But Dr. Eck says opponents who fear the project will dilute the seminary’s Methodist tradition are misconstruing what Claremont is attempting to do. In other words, it’s not a melding of theologies, but rather the opportunity to rub shoulders with people whose faith traditions are different than our own while gaining ministerial training.
“That doesn’t mean that we leave our own faith behind,” Dr. Eck said. She pointed out that many people gain not only a much “deeper and broader and clearer understanding of their own faith” by studying other religions, but also a foundation for engaging in dialogue with other religious communities.
“I think contact with real people of other faiths is absolutely essential for Methodist pastors or any pastors,” Dr. Eck said. “Many Methodist pastors do feel kind of isolated, as if there’s something that they shouldn’t be doing if they’re out there engaging with their Muslim neighbors or those of Hindu or Sikh traditions. This is the world we live in. And for the most part, people are not trained in a hands-on way that enables them as pastors to both appreciate that and to replace whatever fear or stereotypes may be in their mind with real experience.”
She also believes Claremont’s project is right in step with the old Wesleyan quadrilateral, particularly the parts about reason – i.e., learning how the Muslim faith has developed -- and experience with faith traditions outside our own.
“We need to experience multi-faith societies,” Dr. Eck said. “If we’re not, it’s because we’re being isolationist. And we can’t afford to live in that kind of world anymore. We live too close with each other.
“It may be awhile before the continuing education of the pastorate in Christian churches catches up with the reality of our society and our world, but we need to start down that road. I think this is a very good start.”
We’ll have a full report – including the results of the University Senate’s decision – in an upcoming issue of the Reporter.
There are some moments when I'm certain I've gotten old.
Last week was my local church's Vacation Bible School. This year's theme, Galactic Blast (brought to you by Cokesbury) featured a bright green gorilla puppet by the name of Galileo (wait, didn't the Church put Galileo under house arrest?), and lots of space-themed decorations, activities and songs. As is tradition in our congregation, the Sunday following VBS features the kids singing those songs (complete with choreography) as part of worship.
Pretty much every year, the songs deliver afresh the news that I'm old.
I understand that the lyrics, though downright goofy at times, are scripturally sound. I understand that in a culture where we receive marketing messages from birth to death, it's helpful to have a cohesive theme for Christian education.
What gets me is that these songs will only be sung for one week, one year. They're written to be disposable -- to land in the hopper with all the other old VBS curriculum that will be replaced with something new next summer.
Here's the line you've been waiting to read (hat tip to Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man character on SNL):
"In my day, Vacation Bible School didn't have themes! We didn't have puppets! We sang the same songs every year, and that's the way it was and we liked it! Yeah, we loved it!"
Yes, I still remember some of the songs we sang at Vacation Bible School in the 1980s. (Especially the ones involving one half of the sanctuary trying to out-sing [read: out-yell] the other half.) I don't particularly enjoy singing every one of them today, but I think singing them year-in, year-out had something to do with my faith formation. I wonder if, by switching out songs every time we switch out themes, we're losing some of the value and power of lyrics and their repetition.
I'm not trying to knock VBS themes here. I just wonder if we should hold onto a few things for a bit longer than one week.
Who doesn’t love donning red, white and blue, rooting for the home team and seeing how long you can yell, “goaaaaaal!” before turning blue in the face?
Soccer fans have waited four years to see the USA men’s soccer team battle for the title of the best of the best, and already, this year’s tournament in South Africa has captured the hearts of both the soccer junkies and the clueless, yet patriotic, game-watchers.
FIFA, the International Association of Football Associations estimates the cumulative (key word) audience of the 64 matches of the 2010 World Cup will be over 26 billion. Impressive. (If you’re thinking this is impossible, seeing how there are only 6 billion people in the world, check out CBS’s explanation of the calculation.)
And Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, one of the ten stadiums used in the tournament, seats 90,000 fans. This makes for quite the captive audience and United Methodists are taking full advantage of the gathered masses. What better place for the body of Christ to be actively present than at the largest event of the summer--a place full of joy, faithfulness and hope?
The denomination’s Upper Room International Ministries has teamed up (pun totally intended) with The Ultimate Goal (TUG), a Christian evangelism network, to distribute Upper Room resources—including magazines and devotionals—throughout South Africa during the month-long soccer tournament.
And, get this, the Upper Room magazine will even be available to traveling fans in their own languages, including Portuguese, French, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Arabic and English.
What appears to be a soccer game to some is actually a ministry opportunity to others. Could there possibly be more to the World Cup than just soccer?
Churches are usually good at giving. Youth groups will make
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and give them to the hungry. Sunday school
classes will take magazines to hospital waiting rooms and leftover alter guild
flowers to nursing homes. But here’s a new one: members of Shiloh United
Methodist Church in Illinois are giving teddy bears to those needing
“spiritual, physical or emotional attention.”
“It's something they can hold and snuggle with. Some cry
knowing someone cared enough,” said the Rev. Frank Phillips in an Ocala.com
article.
Each bear has a card that reads: “This bear has been among the congregation of the Shiloh United Methodist Church. It has heard the word read, prayers prayed, songs of praise sung and the sermon preached. It has been given love and loved others. Now it comes to you with the blessings of worship and love.”
My first reaction was, “What good is a teddy bear in a world that needs so much more?” A teddy bear cannot feed the hungry, heal the sick or shelter the homeless.
But once the ice melted from my cynical heart, I realized a teddy bear has the power to take a person back to a time of peace, comfort and security, and a teddy bear can make people smile—and it’s in those smiles we see Christ’s contagious love.
How is it these simple little acts give us more warm fuzzies than dropping a check in the offering plate?
Your challenge for the week: Give something—your time, services or possessions—to someone in need of a smile. After all, we cannot save the world (we are only human), but I'd like to think we can help save the day.
I’m a newbie here at The Reporter. Fresh out of Southern Methodist University, I’ve joined the team as a staff writer, and as I wrap up my first week in the real world, I must humbly confess my fall to conformity. I never imagined that I, Mallory “Adventuresome” McCall, would surrender to the confines of a cubicle…or join the Twitterverse. Gasp! I’ve fallen into the belly of the beast, but dare I say I like it here?
In the fall, Robin Russell was a guest speaker in my journalism and religion class. (Mind you this was the class, I relentlessly e-mailed the dean about reviving from the dead—I guess not everyone loves the complexity of religion and the subjectivity of writing.)
I remember walking out of class and telling my professor I could see myself writing for The United Methodist Reporter. Little did I know what would come from a few e-mails and interviews…
But as I think about how drastically my life has changed in the last few months, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness. (I’m fully aware this sounds like something from a graduation card, but there is truth in it.) In my hopefulness, uncertainty, hesitation, change, and even in my conformity, He is there.
And although there are times I wish I were sailing a boat around the world, leading hikes in the Rockies or working on a sheep farm in New Zealand, I am reminded that it doesn’t take big actions (or words, for that matter) to make a big difference.
Mover and shaker Shane Claiborne says “ordinary radicals” can change the world with little acts of love, and I like to believe that my new, “ordinary” life in a cubical has the potential to amount to great things. On my lunch break today, I spent a few minutes ripping "Lost Dog" signs off of light poles. It was for a happy reason, but it didn't feel quite right. Because what I really wanted to do was leave them up. I wanted to add to them. I wanted to slap a gigantic flourescent sticker on each sign to announce, "FOUND!"
Jay has appeared on this blog before. He's made a lot of progress since our friend and co-worker Cherrie adopted him from a rescue group, but he's still... well, different. Not an easygoing fellow. Which made it especially difficult when he got startled yesterday and bolted through the backyard gate.
Missy Buchanan, who writes the Aging Well column for the Reporter, has done much to raise awareness of the spiritual needs of older adults. So when I read a blog entry by a friend of mine across the pond, I thought of Missy's ministry, too.
My friend Kathryn is a vicar in southwest England. I'm delighted to have met her in person two years ago, and it has been interesting to learn about her ministry context. She pastors two congregations, and one of them has a nursing home nearby -- in fact, the facility was once the vicarage (parsonage) of one of the churches she serves, and it recently became more receptive to the ministry she and the churches can offer.
Read here about Kathryn's most recent visit. Her stories convey the history of the relationship as well as the uncertainty and hope behind providing spiritual care for another. I believe her telling of the second experience can serve as a powerful reminder that even when we don't quite know what to do, God goes with us.
Will Deuel will be ordained this year at the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference. On his blog, he has been pretty transparent about bureaucratic bumps in the road to becoming an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church. In today's post, he acknowledges that history, then goes on to tell readers how much he loves the UMC.
There's a lot of complaining about the church out on the web. Much of it falls in the category of constructive criticism; some of it is downright destructive. But here, Will presents an honest picture of who he is and what the denomination means to him. Here's a summary line: "My strongest experiences of God have happened in and through ministries of the United Methodist Church."
Go read the whole thing. I think his perspective probably strikes a chord with many folks in United Methodism.
Thanks, Will, for sharing the love today.
Calling all United Methodists: Today is the beginning of "Methodist Mondays" on Mark Beeson's blog. Mark is senior pastor of Granger Community Church (a United Methodist congregation), and he's going open-source with a book project. Today and the next seven Mondays, he's posting questions that he wants you to answer.*
And he's not starting out by lobbing softballs at us. Today's question: Could you give a friend a few good reasons to be ordained in the United Methodist Church?
Yikes. And there are more questions coming? That's a lot to ponder, in and of itself. Go have a look at the conversation already happening around that topic.
*If you want to answer Mark, please do so over at his place, not on the Reporter blog comment thread. It'll be more effective that way, I promise.
In many United Methodist churches, we're approaching the traditional time when confirmation class students decide whether to join the church. (In my memory, joining the church after confirmation classes was a privilege, and thus a foregone conclusion; I've since learned that for every confirmand, there's a different memory.)
I don't recall the exact date of my confirmation and joining the United Methodist Church, but I do remember I was in fifth grade, I wore a white cotton dress, and I'm pretty sure it was the first Sunday of May. I also remember my pastors at the time, the Rev. Dr. John B. Hays and the Rev. Carlos Martin, and the calligraphy-inspired handwriting of Dr. Hays on my confirmation certificate.
My friend Mary Brooke remembers her confirmation on Palm Sunday, 45 years ago. Read about it at her blog; she shares fascinating details from her memory of that day, including a particularly tender one of her father, the Rev. Oliphint (who would later become known as Bishop Oliphint).
Mary Brooke now serves as Executive Secretary of the Connectional Table of the United Methodist Church. I wonder, in this year's confirmation classes across the church, are there those in whom the memory of that day will live as vividly as it does for Mary Brooke, not just in her head, but in her heart and daily life? I pray that it's so.
Well, Dan Dick has once again gotten some good discussion going over on his blog, United Methodeviations. His most recent post reflects on answers to one question he asked various people over a period of years: "The United Methodist Church wants to... what?"
But what really got my attention was the discussion in the comments. Fellow Methoblogger John Meunier suggests that if we had the courage to make it a denominational goal to significantly shrink our membership, we might do a much better job of making disciples. From there, the comments really do get interesting, as Dan adds his "Cosmology of Church Participation" into the mix. Which of the five levels he describes fits your current discipleship behavior? Would you prune yourself out of the equation if the radical pruning did begin? Would I? Lots of stuff to ponder.
For anyone who might still have doubts, the Barna Group's latest survey reinforces that we don't live in a Christianity-saturated culture. When researchers asked a sampling of U.S. adults what Easter means to them, 67 percent defined it as a religious holiday. When asked to go a little further on that definition, just 42 percent said that Easter celebrates Jesus' resurrection or return to life.
Part of my church nerd cred comes from my involvement with worship in my local church. Yesterday afternoon, I met with the pastor, the music minister, and one of our congregation's youth to plan this year's Maundy Thursday service. As the three adults chattered on and flipped through hymnals and books of worship in what probably seemed like a random pattern to an onlooker, I glanced across the table at the one who will turn 14 years old this week and said something like, "So, this is how worship gets planned. Impressive, huh?" She responded, "Actually, I think it's kinda cool." Relieved to know that we weren't boring the living daylights out of her, I instantly felt more comfortable talking with her about forming a plan for how she and others will begin the worship service with movement and action as our pastor reads the words found in Luke, "Go and prepare..."
Our Maundy Thursday service is traditionally not that well-attended. I wonder now, having looked at the Barna Group's bar graph, how much our small numbers on that evening have to do with how few people, even in our own congregation, understand how significant that night was in Jesus' life, and in our life together.
Easter is coming. Let's tell folks about it.
Over the weekend a friend pointed me to Kevin Watson's recent blog post. Kevin and I have corresponded before, and the Reporter recently printed a commentary of his. In this post, he shares links to a blog series by Craig Groeschel, founder of the wildly successful LifeChurch.tv and a former United Methodist.
Craig has written half a dozen blog posts to offer suggestions for the United Methodist Church. And really, they are worth the read. So are the comments -- some from United Methodists, some not. A word of caution when you get to post number 6, though: Remember the lens Craig uses to view the UMC. Craig left the United Methodist Church, and he seems to see a clear divide where many current United Methodists would not. A few UMC folks posted comments saying that his categorization of liberal and evangelical is a false dichotomy. Of course, other commenters, both UM and not, agree with him and do see the division as cut-and-dry. Reminds me of a phone survey I participated in a month or two ago. The person conducting the survey asked me, "Would you consider yourself evangelical or born again?" to which I answered, "Yes." The questioner then informed me that it wasn't a yes-or-no question; I had to choose whether I was one or the other. "You mean they are mutually exclusive?" I asked. "I think someone should take a closer look at your survey questions."
So, in summary: Go read the series. Learn from it. Maybe even ask some hard questions of our leadership because of it. But think a little harder about Part 6. I, for one, believe the perceived division is a lot more nuanced than Craig Groeschel does.
I've been thinking about that traditional Wesleyan question since I reviewed the proof copy of Bishop White's most recent column (Feb. 26 issue).
Almost a decade ago, I took an 8-week course from my then-pastor called "The Methodology of Methodism." There were only three other people in the class, and one of them was my husband; yet, when we faced up to how the original Wesleyan small groups related to each other, the question "How is it with your soul?" just seemed too daunting. "We're not there yet," I remember my pastor saying. Everyone nodded in agreement and we moved on to our next topic.
Given that recollection, I honestly didn't expect much when I posted the question as a Facebook status update yesterday. But I got quite a few comments from that experiment, some of them amusing ("Medium Well") and others downright raw ("aimless and drifting"). And there were lots of references to the classic hymn text by Horatio G. Spafford (number 377 in the United Methodist Hymnal). While it's a helpful hymn to many, I couldn't help but wonder if those folks were giving the answer they thought I wanted.
Perhaps we should be more intentional about asking each other how we are -- how we really are, rather than that "How're you? Okay, well, I was calling because..." kind of inquiry. It can be hard, because to ask the question, we have to be willing to hear the honest answer.
Might make for a worthwhile Lenten practice.
Yesterday some professional sports team in the area lost some important game or something. And some big movie continued to dominate at the box office. And there was an awards show, too, I think.
But the information sources that had my closest attention were my Twitter and Facebook feeds, displayed on my phone. That's where I'd learned of Sam Dixon's death the day before. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the tens of thousands of casualties in Haiti, but Sam was someone I knew -- not personally, but by name and reputation. The same goes for Clint Rabb; we have a number of friends in common, though we didn't know each other. Sure enough, my little phone screen brought me the sad news of his passing yesterday.
There was plenty of need in Haiti before the earthquake; that's why Sam, Clint, Jean Arnwine and so many others were already there when the ground began to shake. But the need is much more prominent in my mind now. It's already starting to fall lower on the page in some print news (widespread interest in the performance of a certain area sports team helped with that).
In the near future, the youth of the church where I'm a member will assemble health kits for UMCOR (much like the ones pictured here, at the church where Questing Parson serves). Later this month, I'm part of a special event that features an offering to support the relief work. But I'm thinking longer-term, too. The destruction won't go away in a few weeks or months, even if most news coverage does. UMCOR won't leave, which means we as United Methodists won't leave. I pray I won't get caught up in my own little life and forget about us being there.
It's been a long time since I've been on a mission trip. Maybe it shouldn't be much longer.
Methoblogger Dan Dick makes some great plays on words. Take today's post: Christianaughty.
He doesn't stop with his headline, either. He goes on to tell us about some problem parishioners he calls Time Lords (no, not the cool Doctor Who variety) and Holy/Wholly Bovine. I've seen those folks, and have likely been those folks myself in one situation or another. It's shockingly easy to wind up in either mentality.
Dan offers some good suggestions for paths forward, and is staying in dialogue through the comment thread. Might take this one to the Ministry Council meeting I'm attending tomorrow morning.
...well, for 52 percent of the respondents to a recent Pew Research Center survey, anyway. I wasn't part of the survey, but I'll weigh in and say I'd fall in the category of the 26 percent who are "bothered by it a lot." I'm one of those people that ruins other people's Christmases by donating to a worthy cause in their honor
The central character in A Charlie Brown Christmas proclaimed Christmas too commercial -- in 1965. Wow, I think every year as I watch my commercial-free (though admittedly "commercial") DVD of the episode. They thought it was bad back then? They had no clue. Yet, at some point I note with an ironic twinge of disappointment that I'm missing the Dolly Madison snack cake ads that used to be almost as captivating as the episode itself. As Charlie Brown would say, "Aaaugh!"
There seems to be a new movement afoot, though, in the direction of a non-commercial Christmas. The Rev. Mike Slaughter is one United Methodist pastor on the forefront of the effort. Other attention-getting campaigns include Advent Conspiracy, begun in 2006 by five pastors wanting to make Christmas a revolutionary event, and the Buy Nothing Christmas campaign started by Canadian Mennonites. In the past week I've given to four different nonprofits in honor of friends and family, more than on last year's list.
So, yeah, Christmas has gotten more commercial since 1965. But perhaps heightened awareness of our culture's own excess is making a difference. The pendulum may be starting to swing the other direction.
I didn't know Gideon Addington, a voice in the Emergent conversation, but several people I follow on Twitter did. Or, at least they knew him through his blog, his Twitter feed and his Facebook status updates. In his brief bio on those sites, he described himself as, "Proto-Seminarian. Progressive Christian. Pluralist. Episcopalian. Blogger. Would-be Monastic. Practical Mystic. Wearer of pants."
Gideon took his own life a week ago.
There was a funeral in Tulsa a few days back, but today his online friends are remembering him as they share prayers and reflections through #tworship. Several have published reflections on their own blogs. For those like me who are interested in the spiritual dynamics of online community surrounding the death of a community member, clicking around is worth some of your time.
My condolences to family and friends of this man who was obviously beloved, and to those who are mourning his valued voice, now silenced.
In a timely Thanksgiving message (but too late for our print version), United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker (Florida) asks in his blog whether Native Americans have a place at the table today.
He reflects on the recent decision by the Supreme Court to decline hearing a lawsuit filed by Native Americans over the NFL's Washington Redskins team name.
Bishop Whitaker says:
"Naming sports teams by terms associated with American Indians may seem to be much ado about nothing. [But] I do think that this practice of naming teams this way is an indicator that we Americans have a long way to go in treating our fellow native citizens with the respect they should receive."
This is one of the "hot-button" issues for us here at the Reporter. Every time we publish something about the brouhaha over sports team names, more than a few readers heatedly tell us they think it's absolutely ridiculous to think of these mascots as offensive.
For an eye-opening cultural lesson in how we are unwittingly hurtful (still) to Native Americans, I'd suggest a book that Dakotas Bishop Deborah Kiesey recommends: Kent Nerburn's Neither Dog Nor Wolf.
For United Methodists, in particular, it seems like it would be simple enough: Do no harm.
Even when we don't "get it."
We are a weekly publication, so obviously our deadlines aren't as tight as dailies. But online news is changing the landscape. As reports came from Fort Hood about yesterday's shootings, the Austin American-Statesman started a Twitter feed dedicated specifically to that coverage. (Today, I've seen that they're using it to report on an Orlando shooting, too.) And factual reporting via Twitter is accompanied by editorializing from absolutely anyone who wants to add something; thankfully, I've seen and used Twitter as a conduit for prayer in these situations, too.
Anyone can do this type of thing, and just about anyone does. So it's not surprising that most of the people I follow on Twitter are somehow related to the United Methodist Church, and aren't afraid to put their thoughts out there, 140 characters at a time. Yesterday my most significant -- and snarky -- interaction via tweet was with Matt Kuzma, communications director for the Northern Illinois Conference, who put the math to one of the goals stated in the recent Call to Action issued by the Council of Bishops. It didn't take us long to come up with several sinister ideas for bringing down the average age of United Methodists by 10 years, within 10 years. (Adding 3.2 million 18-year-olds isn't the only highly unlikely way to accomplish it! <insert comically sinister laugh here>)
The goal itself makes me wonder whether anyone worked through the numbers before they released the letter. And it also makes me wonder if there's any hope of the United Methodist Church changing fast enough to keep up with anything at all. I believe that with God, all things are possible, but I have to admit that this particular goal is stretching it. Nevertheless, a bunch of us out here are willing to keep working, praying and watching for a new path to open for us. Count me among them.
It's October. We're approaching All Saints' Day/Dia De Los Muertos, and there's a fake cemetery set up in my front yard. So it's no surprise that my mind wanders to the morbid side of things.
A tweet from the CEO of social media guide Mashable appeared earlier today to let folks know that Facebook has a process for "memorializing" accounts belonging the deceased. Several other social media sites have similar policies, but not all are so prepared.
I joined Facebook on the last day of 2008. For weeks afterward, a certain friend suggestion kept surfacing in my right-hand sidebar, one I couldn't act on. But I let it keep popping up; it felt wrong to just click the little "x" to make it disappear. A few weeks before I first logged into Facebook, that friend had died... but her account hadn't.
It's an issue that has cropped up over the last few years: What happens to the online accounts of someone who has died?
We receive lots of review copies of books around here, and they’re often distributed according to personal interest or what news staffers have previously covered (or both).
One that Robin handed me recently is nuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation by Russell Rathbun. Why me? The words “Foreword by Shane Claiborne” appear on the cover. I covered a talk Shane gave on one of his visits to Dallas. (And yes, I confess I had him autograph my copy of The Irresistible Revolution afterward.)
I spent time on the phone with Russell Rathbun earlier this week, and got about double the material I needed for the Q&A that will run in our Nov. 6 issue.
My copy of nuChristian now has little red tabs sticking out all over the place where I’ve flagged things to revisit. It’s a thin book (88 pages), written in a conversational style. Some ideas in there might freak out your typical churchgoer, and maybe even depart a little from our Wesleyan theology so clearly outlined by Donald Haynes in his recent series of columns.
But there’s some good stuff in there (hence the dozen tabs I stuck on the pages). The author ends each chapter with a list of the characteristics of nuChristians. And there are little callout boxes with questions for pondering or discussing. Mr. Rathbun’s whole idea in writing this book is to respond to the invitation to continue conversation begun with the popular (popular in church-nerd circles, anyway) book unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. I think he succeeds. He even includes a conversation with his father, also a pastor, that lays bare some of the generational and theological differences the church is facing right now.
Look for the Q&A to appear online later this month if you’re interested in the kinds of shifts happening in church and culture.
I realized Tuesday night that something is growing in my house that I didn't know was there. It's not in the kitchen sink or the laundry hamper, either.
This is my first time to contribute to the Reporter blog. I'm one of the sales and marketing guys at UMR. They usually don't give me the keys to the company car, so to speak. My wife and I are both Elders in the North Texas Conference. We are no strangers to callings, and our family is well-acquainted with ministry and things of the church.
Tuesday evening started as many in our house - chicken nuggets, waffle fries and homework - but our family routine was soon interrupted by an unveiling of our immediate connection to the work of God through the United Methodist Church.
After doling out dinner to our kids, I sat down in the study and logged on to our home computer to watch Hope 10_13, the live streaming of the Service of Commissioning for 40 new missionaries being sent to serve by the General Board of Global Ministries. As I watched, my 8-year old daughter, Olivia, climbed in my lap and began to watch with me.
Checking in on a few bloggers earlier today, I noticed that John Meunier asks what might be a tough question for many of us: Have we made an idol of the church itself?
And, because not all blogs I follow belong to United Methodists... here's a tale shared by a Presbyterian clergywoman who is currently a Ph.D. candidate. Riding the city bus, she had an encounter that led somewhere she didn't expect: she invited a fellow passenger to the church where she worships. (Fitting that her blog URL is "sarahbuildsbridges," isn't it?)
Last week, my friend Mary Beth pointed me to her mother's blog entry about growing up in segregated Tallahassee, Fla. Ms. Butler's reflections, prompted by reading the book The Pain and the Promise, present one person's perspective of living in the South in the mid-20th century.
In the newsroom today, we received a reader's opinion that we focus too much on race in the pages of the Reporter. I recently completed anti-racism training offered through my own Annual Conference, and I feel the same way about racial issues that I did before that training: If we quit talking about race, we're all in trouble. Ms. Butler grew up in a place and time where nobody would talk about it. It took a long time to work through the problems, and we still aren't finished. If we are silent, we risk being able to pretend that racism is a thing of the past. Thank you, Ms. Butler, for sharing your experiences, so we may continue to speak and remember.
My friend the Rev. Andy Bryan posted a blog entry yesterday that gave me a new analogy for the church.
I have a history of enjoying unusual, perhaps less-than-proper, analogies for the people of God. For example, explore the whole Church-as-Body of Christ thing for a while, and it yields vivid descriptions for some of the less-noble ways Christians have been known to behave.
So Andy's position that the church is "just a bunch of turkeys doing extraordinary things so that we can be reconciled to God and one another" provides a new perspective I can appreciate. Just as a turkey can fly even though it looks like it shouldn't be able to, we can do extraordinary things when we respond to the call of God in our lives. Thanks, Andy.
In the Reporter's September 4 cover story, Mary Jacobs tackled the subject of tithing in hard times. Listening to her interviews over the cubicle wall and proofing the story before it went to print actually primed the pump for something I was preparing to do: mention the T word in front of my fellow church members.
Yesterday my husband and I talked about stewardship at both of our congregation's worship services. Even though we started thinking last month about what to say, and began a written draft of it early last week, we still didn't finish writing until 11:30 the night before (felt kind of like college... I'm thankful it wasn't an all-nighter).
Read on for the script, which is very similar to the words we spoke.
Last night my husband called me into the room where he was watching the evening news. An inspiring story about Seabrook UMC had been picked up by our local affiliate. Seabrook celebrated worship in its new building yesterday; they have a new building because the old one was destroyed by Hurricane Ike this time last year.
"Six hundred people," John said to me, referring to the attendance that morning.
"Next week it'll only be two-fifty," I responded.
"That's about what I was thinking," he replied.
And at that point we wondered together: What does that say about us? We're jaded, obviously. In need of an attitude adjustment, no doubt. But we've seen churches full on the day of big events, and not-so-full the week after.
I really want Seabrook's attendance numbers next week to prove me wrong, though. So I guess, even in my cynicism, I'm still a person with hope.
Take a quick look at social media sites today and most folks are reflecting on 09-11-01 today, which is only fitting.
Seems like we all recall exactly where we were that sunny Tuesday morning when, unbelievably, those planes flew into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
While I remember other awful historic moments in my Boomer lifetime -- from assassinations to catastrophes in space -- Sept. 11, 2001 was the first time I felt afraid myself, and fearful for loved ones.
Guess it was good I couldn't sit transfixed at a TV screen all day. As a religion writer for a daily newspaper at the time, I was sent out to get reactions from area pastors. (All I felt like doing was going to pick up my son from school and make sure he was OK.)
They say there are three types of people that run to danger: cops, firefighters and reporters. Here's to the brave souls who went "up the stairs" that day.
And here's a link to a New York Times piece on the day after. Really captures the fear and concern we all felt: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/nyregion/11dayafter.html
Tyra Damm and I became friends because we have a couple of things in common: We write, and we're United Methodist. We've run a couple of her columns in the pages of the Reporter.
Tyra's latest column for the Life/Travel section of the Dallas Morning News is a reflection on what her local church means to her, and she presents a picture of gratefulness for it that I hope every Christian has the opportunity to experience with a faith community.
What she doesn't mention in this column, but has discussed in others, is the amount of support and prayer she and her household have received from their church, their "second family," since her husband Steve was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2007.
If you're reading this post, join me in lifting up a prayer for Steve, Tyra, Cooper and Katie, and for the church family, Holy Covenant, that embodies the love of God for them during this time.
I've blogged about Michael Vick before.
I think I will always struggle with understanding the situations, mindsets and whatever other factors that lead people to behave in such ways toward the defenseless -- animals, children, you name it. And I admit I'm struggling with forgiveness in this particular situation. I make a point of being the opposite of Michael Vick when it comes to treatment of dogs (I even helped coordinate the logistics of a rescue this week). And if I were a Philadelphia Eagles fan, I'm not sure I would be one anymore.
Which brings me to some thoughts that the Rev. Greg Cox posted on his blog today relating to Michael Vick, forgiveness, and the NIMBY phenomenon -- sure, we believe in second chances, but are we willing to live it out, and be a part of it, in our own churches?
Friday's blog post on tithing prompted several comments, both here and on our Facebook page, so I thought I'd stick to the same theme today.
Everyone who commented regarding the "before or after taxes" question agreed: Your tithe should be calculated based on your income before taxes. (By the way, the question was tongue-in-cheek during the news staff meeting; I think everyone agreed that before taxes is the way to go.) That said, if you're working your way up to tithing, giving 10 percent of your after-tax income could be a worthy milestone to celebrate as you move toward the goal.
One commenter differentiated between tithes and offerings, with offerings being over and above the 10 percent given to a church's operating budget. There are probably differences of opinion on that one.
Another commenter provided some statistics about how proportional giving decreases as income increases. I'd seen similar figures before, but it's no less surprising to me now. It seems that widow's mite observation Jesus made still rings true today.
So, who's working toward tithing? Who's already doing it? Who's comfortable talking about it with, or in front of, their fellow believers? Just a few questions to consider.
In a news staff meeting earlier this week, we were bouncing around potential feature topics, and the subject of tithing came up: Who actually gives 10 percent of their income? Is that before or after taxes? Does it count if you give some of it to charities, or does it all have to go through your local church? Can we become fans of tithing on Facebook?
I once asked a pastor if my capital campaign giving counted toward tithing, and his first response was, "Nobody ever gets close enough to 10 percent to ask that question."
Wow.
Remembering the news staff conversation, I searched for "Tithing" on Facebook to see if I'd find a Page (for those not on FB, you can become a "fan" of an organization or idea that has its own Page -- like we do). There are a few low-membership Groups dedicated to tithing-related topics -- including one called "Christians Against Preaching Tithing" -- but no simple Page at this point. (Let me know if you start one!)
A quick search on www.umc.org yielded an 8-year-old resolution about teaching the practice of tithing and how it's generally a good thing, a goal to which we should all aspire. But it's my hunch that most church leaders are still afraid to talk about money.
I'm getting past that fear myself. I've watched too many church groups organize yet another fundraiser, when they could use that energy on a mission trip or a longer-term ministry... if only more of us tithed instead of having it coaxed out of our pockets five dollars at a time. So during my local church's stewardship focus this fall, I plan to put my mouth where my money already is.
I'm declaring today 'Personal Tangent Day' as far as my Reporter blog entry is concerned. You've been warned.
I have this friend; let’s call him Jean-Claude. Jean-Claude and I have known each other since the early '90s, but haven’t had much contact in recent years. But, thanks to Facebook, combined with an existential crisis he was having, we saw each other face-to-face on Friday.
Years ago, Jean-Claude had a problem that led to the end of his first marriage. It was one of those problems from which you must spend the rest of your life recovering, lest you fall back into the pit. And there was another factor or two compounding that problem, but he seemed to have it all under control. He has a new wife; he has a new job that gives him opportunities to make a difference in kids’ lives.
And I think he may have just thrown all of that away.
That's the common thread in today's post: Influences. Pretty thin connection, but here goes:
According to a report that aired on NPR's All Things Considered last week, Methodism camp-meeting culture had a significant influence on the shaping of the American concept of taking a vacation. (Maybe this bit of background explains why Mount Sequoyah has always reminded a friend of mine of the summer resort where Dirty Dancing was set?)
And, exactly how much is our faith being influenced by technology? Shane Hipps' book Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith has recently resulted in some thoughtful posts from Methobloggers. Check out Jenny Smith's series on it, as well as Kevin Watson's commentary, in which he brings up four points of irony at work in how he became aware of the volume and his reaction to it.
