United Methodist Reporter Blog

Grinch alert

In the latest battle of Christmas culture wars, First Baptist Church of Dallas is calling out businesses that aren't acknowledging Christmas in their store displays or greetings.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, the church's pastor, announced Tuesday the launch of www.GrinchAlert.com, where people can post on a "naughty" list the names of businesses that refer only to “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.”

"Too many businesses have bowed down to political correctness," Dr. Jeffress told The Dallas Morning News. "I thought this would be a fun way to call out businesses that are refusing to celebrate Christmas."

The website has brought criticism from area religious leaders, including William Lawrence, dean of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

"The appropriate thing for Christians to do at this time of year is to find new and more effective ways to extend the love and peace of the season to others, not to insist that such enterprises as commercial businesses put up Christmas trees," Dr. Lawrence said.

What do you think?

Read Sam Hodges’ story in The Dallas Morning News.

Tactless political ads call for Christian response

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?"

When kids ask about God

Bruce Feiler's "With a Child, Talking Points about God" raises the question: how do you talk to children about God?

It's been a couple of days since I first read this particular column in the New York Times, and it's still on my mind. So, like any responsible citizen of the blogiverse, I feel it is my duty to bring this column to your attention.

It's an easy read that will make you think hard. And although there are several "hit home" points, I especially like the rabbi's comparison of the "God talk" to the "sex talk"--both being cases in which skittish parents are so afraid of saying the wrong thing they end up saying nothing at all, ultimately forcing their children to seek answers from untrustworthy sources.

I don't have kids of my own, but I baby-sit quite a few, and I confess I've used the "ask your mom when she gets home" card more than once. My 6-year-old cousin asked, "If we call God our father and Jesus is his son, who do we call mother? Does God have a wife?" ...crickets...

Why do we get tongue-tied and hesitant when little kids ask the big questions? 

When it comes to talking to children about God, do you sugarcoat the gory details, pawn the curious lil' suckers off on someone else, use your iPhone to Google the answers or give them a simple, honest "I don't know"?

(Artwork by Thomas Fuchs)

Where does art belong in the church?

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? 

America's largest and fastest-growing churches

Outreach Magazine recently partnered with LifeWay Research and released its annual report on the largest and fastest-growing churches in America. Researchers contacted more than 8,000 churches to gather the self-reported data used to compile the top-100 lists. (The listings are based on February and March weekend attendance averages.)

If you are tired of the church-numbers game, rest assured you are not alone. In fact, the magazine's editor is quick to say this special report offers more than tally marks.

“As we approached the 2010 Outreach 100, we knew we wanted to tell more stories of churches to truly reflect their impact and to get to the heart of why they’re growing,” said Outreach editor Lindy Lowry. “So we increased the number of profiles from five to 15 and added several other feature-length articles offering the stories behind the numbers.

"Ultimately, The Outreach 100 is not so much about numbers as it is the individuals those numbers represent—people who have found hope in Jesus, and the churches pointing them to Him.”

This year there are three United Methodist churches among the 100 fastest-growing churches: Morning Star Church in O’Fallon, Mo. (ranked #61), Harvest Church in Byron, Ga. (#76) and Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas (#83).

Want to guess the no.1 fasted-growing church?

How about the largest?

 

For more fast fact click here or pick up the 2010 Outreach 100 Special Issue.

 

September 11: A Day for Prayer and Peace

The Council of Bishops has released a statement today (below) in regards to September 11. Let us all  remember to keep the day as one of prayer and peace.

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As we approach yet another September 11, we are reminded that the world we live in continues to be fragile place where emotions and tensions run high. There are not many of us who will ever forget where we were on that September morning nine years ago. We should never forget those whose lives were taken away in the horror of just a few hours.

September 11 should be, for all of us, a day of prayer for peace in this world. It should be a day for quiet remembrance and reflection as we seek to find and live in the ways of peace. We think of Jesus pausing on his way into the holy city of Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday. He wept over the city - not so much for what was about to happen to him, but because the people did not know the things that make for peace (Luke 19:41-42). We suspect he still weeps, looking out over the world we currently inhabit.

September 11 should be a day of prayer for rebuilding and restoring relationships, and for reaching out to find ways to work and live together in this world. It is not a day for burning the holy book of another faith tradition. Tragically one person has garnered headlines for advocating such a thing. There is nothing of Jesus in such an action. In fact, as we recall, there was a time when the disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven on the perceived enemies for refusing to receive Jesus. No, Jesus said; in fact he "rebuked" those who advocated such a means. (Luke 9:51-55). Such an action is not the way of Jesus, nor the way of peace and love.

There was a meeting earlier this week in Washington, DC, of religious leaders of many faith communities.  The United Methodist Church and its Council of Bishops was represented by its Executive Secretary, Bishop Neil L. Irons.  The members of the group, in a formal statement, said:  "We are committed to building a future in which religious differences no longer lead to hostility or division between communities. Rather, we believe that such diversity can serve to enrich our public discourse about the great moral challenges that face our nation and our planet. On the basis of our shared reflection, we insist that no religion should be judged on the words or actions of those who seek to pervert it through acts of violence; that politicians and members of the media are never justified in exploiting religious differences as a wedge to advance political agendas or ideologies... We work together on the basis of deeply held and widely shared values, each supported by the sacred texts of our respective traditions. We acknowledge with gratitude the dialogues between our scholars and religious authorities that have helped us to identify a common understanding of the divine command to love one's neighbor. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all see an intimate link between faithfulness to God and love of neighbor; a neighbor who in many instances is the stranger in our midst. "

"We are convinced that spiritual leaders representing the various faiths in the United States have a moral responsibility to stand together and to denounce categorically derision, misinformation or outright bigotry directed against any religious group in this country. Silence is not an option. Only by taking this stand, can spiritual leaders fulfill the highest calling of our respective faiths, and thereby help to create a safer and stronger America for all of our people." **

We urge all of us to approach the remembrance of September 11 in prayer and hope for peace; and in resolving to do everything we can individually and collectively to live the way of Jesus. It is our prayer that this weekend be filled with prayers and not the fires of hatred and irrational rage.

Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster

President, Council of Bishops

Bishop Neil L. Irons

Executive Secretary, Council of Bishops

 
**Full statement and list of attendees available at:http://www.isna.net/articles/News/Beyond-Park-51-Religious-Leaders-Denounce-Anti-Muslim-Bigotry-and-Call-for-Respect.aspx

 

Pepsi Refresh Project does good

Regardless if you are a Coke or Pepsi person, you've got to be in favor of feeding 9 million hungry Americans, and starting Wednesday, Sept.1, you can vote to make that happen.

Each month Pepsi grants 1.3 million dollars to fund ideas that will help refresh the world, and the Society of St. Andrew, a grassroots, faith-based hunger relief organization, will be competing for $250,000 in the food and shelter category. It's simple--the idea with the most votes gets the money.

The Society of St. Andrew relies on support from donors, volunteers and farmers as they glean nutritious excess produce from farmers' fields and orchards after harvest and deliver it to people in need across the United States. They figure with a quarter of a million dollars, they can provide 9 million servings of food to hungry Americans. All they need is your vote.

When Pepsi decided to forego advertising in last year's monumental Super Bowl and donate $20 million dollars to social causes instead, competitors thought they were crazy. But I can think of at least 9 million Americans who don't think that was such a crazy idea.

To learn more about the Pepsi Refresh Project and vote for your favorite refreshing ideas click here.

How are evangelicals keeping youth in the church?

 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?

Missionaries hurt in Uganda bombings

It is hard to understand why bad things happen to good people. It is also hard to remember, much less understand, how missionaries are not exempt from political, economic and social turmoil ...or natural calamities.

Six United Methodist missionaries from Selinsgrove, Pa., were injured in the bombing of Kampala, Uganda July 11 when they decided to stay longer than planned to finish building a wall around a church and school.

They were at a garden restaurant Sunday in Kampala watching the final match of the World Cup when terrorists set off a bomb beneath a table.

Unfortunately, the danger that lingers in the path of righteousness is unavoidable. However, that fear of wickedness and loss should not keep us from furthering Christ’s kingdom.

On CNN's Belief Blog, Thomas Kemper, the General Secretary of the United Methodist Church's General Board of Global Ministries, reassures us that no matter the risks, missionaries will continue to serve and God will continue to be present...even in the midst of unjust pain and violence.  

It's never too soon for a General Conference theme

 The Commission on the General Conference has selected the theme for the United Methodist Church’s 2012 General Conference. Drum roll, please…and the winner is: “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ to Transform the World.” (I hope the graphic didn’t give it away.)

Sound familiar? It should. The theme echoes the church’s central mission of the United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This is neither a coincidence, nor a product of a brainstorming meeting cut short. Instead, this clever alignment intentionally makes the conference more than a one-time event and more so a part of the ongoing ministry of the church.

“We sensed that people across the church are longing for clarity about our mission, and we believed that the theme of the General Conference should reinforce and celebrate that mission,” said Jim Harnish, a member of the commission and chair of the committee responsible for the theme and logo. “We hope that the Spirit of God will use this theme to unite and energize our people to fulfill this mission and enable us to set clear priorities for the use of our resources.”

Pretty clever, right? It gets better…

It turns out the logo is more than just a Clip Art graphic. The cross represents the presence of Jesus Christ at the center of the church's mission. The circles extending from the cross express energy and movement into ministry in the world and the bright sun and blue water representing Tampa, Fla. as the conference site. Also, the imperative verbs “make” and “transform” underscore the urgency of the mission and call for active response.

That’s good stuff.

The 2012 General Conference is scheduled for April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Fla., and the official conference website is expected to be up and running by early fall—so, mark your calendars and book your flights!

For a more detailed interpretation of the theme, click here.

 

Mark Beeson keeps asking the tough questions

Several weeks ago the Rev. Mark Beeson, pastor of the United Methodist congregation Granger Community Church in Indiana, began a "Methodist Mondays" series on his blog. So far, his questions have provoked some thought and discussion. (If you need to backtrack and catch up on what's been written so far, here are his first, second and third posts.)

Today's post asks the question, "What would happen if the United Methodist Church changed the formula for placing voting delegates in the Annual Conferences?"

Having been a member of different sizes of congregations, as well as a lay member of Annual Conference, I keep seeing this topic from multiple perspectives. I'm not ready to offer comment at this point, but for those of you who are, visit Mark's blog and see how the conversation is taking shape.

Sharing the love

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.

New place to discuss the itinerant life: Facebook

This development may or may not be a first, but it's the first I've seen: a Facebook Itinerant Ministry Discussion Group has been launched. It was started by the Rev. John Feagins of the Southwest Texas Conference, who states that the group will discuss "issues relating to the United Methodist practice of Itinerant Ministry, including but not limited to proposals regarding the abolition of guaranteed appointments for all ordained elders in full connection."

There are tons of concerns out there related to United Methodist elders' promise to go where the Bishop and Cabinet sends them. A recently-emerged concern involves social media itself: I know several clergy who have been very careful to keep news of their new appointments off of Facebook until all affected people have been notified via other communication channels, which is a kind and appropriate course of action.

Considering the broader concept, though, perhaps there hasn't been enough open dialogue about itinerant ministry among those who are most affected -- the itinerant clergy themselves. Groups like this one could prove useful for that reason and others. One practical advantage: When clergy move to another church, they get to keep the same Facebook account, so they can keep participating in the same discussion.

'That time of year' for UM clergy

Even though we are starting to hear more about mid-year clergy moves from some bishops, the common perception is that this time of year leading up to Annual Conference season is, unofficially, "Appointment Season." (Which, for me, triggers thoughts of Bugs and Daffy yelling "Duck Season!" "Rabbit Season!" at each other. I'm such a child of the Looney Tunes era.)

"What do you know?" isn't a casual greeting; it's a blatant request to share what you've heard churned out of the rumor mill. And, of course, there are always folks who can't say what they know, because what they know might not turn out to be factual. Jay Voorhees is one of those clergy caught in the limbo of secrecy right now. Check out his blog post reflecting on this uncomfortable waiting place in the itinerant system.

Confirmation remembered

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.

What if we really pruned?

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.

Health care: Where are we in the story?

I can usually count on the Rev. Ken Carter for a thought-provoking, but not argument-provoking, perspective on just about any issue he addresses on his blog. Today's entry is no exception, as he draws readers into the parable of the Good Samaritan. Check out his post, "Who is my neighbor? Why health care is always being reformed" for some thoughtful reflection, including this snippet:

A last question: Where do we locate ourselves in the story? What if you are the person who is suffering? The orientation for most of us is that, if it is someone else, we want care that is good but limited and efficient. If it is for someone we love--my daughter or sister, your father or grandmother, no expense is too lavish. When it becomes personal, it is different.

And because the health care debate has brought to light many failures at maintaining civility amid disagreement, I thought I'd include a reminder on that subject, too: Here's a link to Robin Russell's recent Q&A with the author of Christian Civility in an Uncivil World.

Pop quiz: What is Easter?

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.

Glenn Beck advises viewers to leave their churches

...if that particular church espouses any kind of "social justice" focus, that is. And, given Methodist founder John Wesley's teachings and actions, that recommendation sure seems to include leaving the United Methodist Church.

Jeremy Smith over at Hacking Christianity provides further details on what Mr. Beck has suggested.

There's this other guy we should be listening to, however. Jesus also had some things to say about helping the poor and needy -- the kind of things we might call "social justice" today.

Advice from a former United Methodist

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.

Plans forming for young clergy national gathering

I'm one of many people who received an email today from Jenny Smith, a seminary student I've gotten to know primarily through her work related to www.umcyoungclergy.com. She's asking folks to spread the word about a gathering of young clergy, tentatively set for October 5-6, 2010 at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan.

Jenny asks that anyone interested in participating fill out this brief interest form. When I replied to let her know I'd blog about her request, she told me, "I love social media. In just an hour, 45 young clergy have indicated their interest and given a ton of ideas as to how it might look."

Even as a connectional denomination, we have never had such ease of connection as we've seen develop within the last few years. It's amazing. (Every so often, I pick up my iPhone and think to myself, "I. am. holding. the. future.") This is another opportunity to take advantage of it. If you're "young clergy" or on track to become one, visit the links above. Share them with others. See what you can work together to build, for your generation and for those coming after you.

Changing the world

United Methodists, together as the church, share a common mission: "To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."

So it shouldn't be a surprise when we actually set about the work of changing the world. But I admit it got my attention when the Rev. Mike Slaughter actually called it out for what it is, right there in the title of his latest book, Change the World: Recovering the Mission and Method of Jesus.

Then there's the whole Change the World event, scheduled April 24-25 to coincide with World Malaria Day. It includes both local and a global goals: Locally, churches answer the challenge to get out into their neighborhoods and communities that weekend; globally, they work to eliminate malaria (something many of us have already been part of, thanks to Nothing But Nets).

So, I suppose we should get on with fulfulling our mission, shouldn't we?

Perception? Reality? Correlation? Another stinkin' survey?

Over at Hacking Christianity, the Rev. Jeremy Smith has an interesting discussion going. Here's how it begins:

The Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church has an online version of their "health and wellness" report.  It has mostly to do with pensions (Zzzzzz wake me when it's over), but there are at least three interesting nuggets of demographic data that could spark discussion....

The data have to do with the more spiritually-focused section of the health and wellness survey; specifically, differences in how Local Pastors (those who are not ordained, but have training requirements) and Elders (fully-educated and ordained clergy) answer questions about sensing the power of God, feeling God's grace and love and knowing that their prayers have been answered. There also seems to be a difference in Bible-reading and prayer habits between age groups, with the dividing line in this report being age 45.

As can happen with survey results, these answers seem to be raising more questions over in Jeremy's comments section. In particular, folks are bringing up possible underlying reasons as to why the answers are different. Go have a look.

Dangers of Christianaughty

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.

This just in: Christmas too commercial

...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.

Mourning in online community

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.

A Place for All

In the past couple of years I've become more aware of the need for our churches to more actively welcome persons with disabilities. Thanks to a few individuals with a calling, my local church has made strides in this area, and our North Texas Conference has, as well. More people are getting involved and realizing the importance of this intentional welcoming every day.

So it's encouraging that leaders from multiple faiths are part of this new documentary, A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities, and United Methodism's own Bishop Peggy Johnson is among them.

From the news release:

November 19, 2009— Making faith communities more accessible to persons with disabilities is the topic of a unique interfaith documentary that will air on ABC-TV affiliates nationwide beginning December 6.

A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities is presented by the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC), a coalition of Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic faith groups, as part of ABC’s 2009 Vision and Values series. 

The issue addressed by the program is critical, as it is estimated that 1 out of 5 Americans has a disability, says The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches.  In the documentary, Kinnamon notes that both the faith community and the persons with disabilities lose when special needs aren’t properly addressed.

Watch the first few minutes of the documentary here, and check with your ABC affiliate to see the rest.
For more information on this program and other IBC presentations, see www.interfaithbroadcasting.com.

Coming back for seconds

"Children are members of the covenant community and participants in the Lord’s Supper.... Children of all ages are welcome to the Table and are to be taught and led to interpret, appreciate, and participate in Holy Communion."  -- This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, page 16

We don't celebrate Communion every week at the congregation where I'm a member, but we (and many other congregations) will be celebrating it this Sunday. For a perspective on the sacrament, here's the latest blog entry from Questing Parson. It might create a little more anticipation for you, too.

Bootstrapping ain't easy

... In fact, it's pretty much impossible.

One of my most vivid memories of a college course has to be when Dr. John Farthing, a professor of religion and ordained United Methodist elder, sat down in the center aisle of the Mills A lecture hall at Hendrix to illustrate the sheer impracticality of the phrase, "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." Imagine a 50-something man rocking around on the floor, grabbing the straps of his boots and pulling as hard as he could, just to prove he would go nowhere by doing so. It put the truth out there in vivid fashion: We can't do it all by ourselves.

I thought of that illustration yet again as I read this blog post by Matt Lipan. He addresses ministry with the poor on an individual level -- he's been building a relationship with someone who really wants to turn things around, and sees God at work in his life. But bootstrap culture makes it a little more difficult to break the cycle of poverty. Matt reminds us that if someone tells you to pick yourself up by your bootstraps, they're assuming you already have boots.

Thanks, Matt, for calling your readers to step in and be the evidence of God's grace in the world.

Thoughts on nuChristian

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.

An idol and an invitation

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?)

Nobody here but us turkeys

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.

From cover story to lectern

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.

Pessiministry

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.

Church, or awkward teenager?

Full disclosure: I'm a member of a congregation that is chronologically old enough to be a senior in high school, if it studied hard. We've struggled with a membership plateau and are grateful and excited to have been selected to participate in our Conference's new Congregational Transformation initiative. For me, that work can't begin soon enough.

Sometimes when I come face to face with one of our problems, I picture our congregation as an awkward teenager. With acne and braces and glasses and a bad haircut. For some reason, that helps.

And sometimes I come across a piece of writing that lets me know we aren't alone in that awkward phase. This week it has been, once again, from Dan Dick, whose writing has occasionally appeared in the Reporter print edition. But what really drove it home this time was a blog entry from David Camphouse, pastor of St. Andrew UMC in Ojai, California, in which he linked to a post of Dan's. So read what David has to say, then click on through to Dan.

Also, in a more recent post, Dan reveals that he is an old fart. By his definition, so am I.

Second family

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.

Twitter and spirituality

In our July 31 issue we have a campus minister's commentary reflecting on the three months she's been using Twitter. And today, we received a press release highlighting "25 reasons why Twitter is spiritual." (In case you're not familiar with it, Twitter is essentially micro-blogging: your limit is 140 characters per post.)

Well, it doesn't take much to convince @amforbus. The first item on the list got my attention:

1.) Twitter challenges us to pay attention to what we are doing, to stay awake and totally alert.

Just ask my friend and co-worker Andy James (currently on a mission trip with his eldest daughter, as you'll see from his recent tweets). Andy took some heat for his frequent tweeting at our Annual Conference gathering this year, but he will tell you that he has never listened more closely to a laity address or a bishop's word to the Conference than when he was using Twitter to summarize what was being said.

And have a look at this one:

3.) Twitter provides opportunities to connect with others around the world so we can sense how self and world are linked in ever-expanding circles.

Specifically, yesterday it helped me arrange this morning's breakfast tweetup with @andrewconard. He's in town for a leadership conference and we were able to catch up before he heads back to his home base, Church of the Resurrection, later today. I don't think I would've realized his proximity to our office if it hadn't been for Twitter.

Go ahead, read the whole list. (And if you're tweeting yourself, give @umreporter a follow.)

White House: Church choice still pending

On Monday I blogged about Time magazine's report of the President's church choice.

Not exactly true, says the White House.

Religion News Service has a brief Q&A on the matter with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. In short: no formal decisions, no formal membership. Here's an excerpt from Gibbs' answer:

"I will say I think one aspect of the article that is true, as I mentioned here in that same discussion, was the concern that the President continues to have about the disruptive nature of his presence on any particular Sunday in some churches around the area."

From what's been reported about the First Family's visits to D.C. area congregations, that does seem like a valid concern.

Religion tidbit of the day: Prez chooses church

And it's probably a bit of a surprise to those D.C. churches... Time reports that the Obamas will worship at camp.

Camp David has a nondenominational location for worship, Evergreen Chapel, dedicated into service by George H.W. Bush during his presidency and often used by his successors, including the younger President Bush every Christmas during his time in Washington.

Read the Time story for some perspective, including a history of the problems Presidents have historically encountered as they've sought a spot where they could pray in peace.

(I would expect a service much like those I've seen in other military chaplain-run settings. But part of me is wondering if they sing songs with motions and gather around a bonfire for s'mores every so often. After all, it's at camp!)

The new, hot UMC number: 6

As the site to which I'm linking states, the UMC has 1 mission (no mention of 2 anything), 3 simple rules, 4 areas of focus (folks in the newsroom are sick of the plural "foci"), 5 practices, and now 6 questions.

6 Questions for the United Methodist Church is a follow-up to the 40-day prayer campaign spearheaded by Jenny Smith, Ben Simpson and others who have become involved at www.umcyoungclergy.com. I received an invitation earlier this week and added a few questions to the list myself. One of the people I invited has asked me how this effort is different from any other conversation we've attempted in recent years. My answer? I don't really know how different it is, but I figure it's worth giving it a try.

So, if you're curious, go visit the site, and follow its link to the list of questions on Google Moderator, where you can add new ones and vote for those already posted. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #6qumc, and become a fan on Facebook. We'll see what comes of it when the push concludes on September 30.

Inertia and the Church

In attempting to catch up with what Methobloggers have been saying these last couple of weeks, I keep finding a resurgence of a common theme: People are ready for change. There's a common secondary theme there, too: People are ready for change, but.

... but they don't know how or where to begin.

... but as leaders, they're afraid of introducing change to their congregations.

... but they view the latest attempts cynically, having lived through years of futility and failure.

... but they grow frustrated because it's not happening fast enough.

I feel each of these uncertainties and fears, too. I live in a seemingly permanent, loving-yet-exasperated frustration with the Church -- and within that, I include frustration with myself. I believe God is ready to do a new thing among us, but how, when, where do I catch that wave and get on with a new level of ministry?

Some links to posts that are prodding me along as I figure out how to get moving:

Cynthia Kepler-Karrer, a pastor in the Southwest Texas Conference, on starting her second year in her current appointment, getting back in the swing of things;

Wayne Cook, pastoring in the Holston Conference and weighing in on the nigh-eternal discussion of whether faith is all about numbers.

Survey: Men want 'proper macho songs' in church

According to a survey by Sorted Magazine (a UK-based men's mag geared toward a Christian audience), men who go to church regularly prefer "proper macho songs" as opposed to those with sentimental lyrics. These hymns comprise the survey's top ten:

1. Onward Christian Soldiers
2. And Can It Be
3. Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer
4. All People That On Earth Do Dwell
5. Be Thou My Vision
6. How Great Thou Art
7. Amazing Grace
8. Eternal Father, Strong To Save
9. Our God Reigns
10. Lord And Father Of Mankind Forgive Our Foolish Ways

Though only 8 percent consider church "too feminine," music often categorized as "love songs to Jesus" just doesn't fly with them. (Okay, who's surprised there?) Here's The Daily Mail's report on the survey, in case you'd like to read more.

Is there some common masculine thread to the songs listed above? Musically? Lyrically? The list contains several my favorites, and I'm a girl. (But yes, one of them kinda makes me squirm. Crusades imagery just ain't my thing.)

Dean McIntyre of the General Board of Discipleship has a discussion over in the New United Methodist Hymnal group on Facebook, if you're interested in joining that conversation.

Methoblogger/Twitterer meetup in Nashville

I'm at Congress on Evangelism, which this year had a lot to do with Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Bishop Robert Schnase's book.

Here's the group of Methobloggers, Twitter types, and friends who met up Wednesday night at Congress On Evangelism. Gavin has more pics and a good roundup of our discussion, which went on for more than 3 hours. Thanks, Wayne (TNRambler), for suggesting the meetup in the first place, and thanks to everyone else who jumped in, especially Bishop Schnase, one of the newer bloggers in the group that gathered. (Others pictured include Mid-Life Rookie, Reverend Mommy, Jay Voorhees, RileyByrd, Erin Richardson, and Amy Shanholzter.)

As effective as blogging can be at building relationships, being in the same room makes an immeasurable difference. I have tons of notes on the lectures and workshops, which I'll eventually distill into a Reporter article, but that evening session that wasn't on any official agenda is the one that meant the most to me as an individual.

Now, off to the last sessions of the event, and back to Dallas this afternoon. Hope your weekend's wonderful. (Saturday morning I'll be helping to lead a workshop at my local church on the first of the Five Practices discussed in the book: Radical Hospitality. Yet another reason I'm glad I came.)

Is UM social media too little, too late?

When I attended my very first Igniting Ministry event as a church staff member in 2001, the Rev. Sammy Hargrove got up on the platform and announced with great energy, "I'm here to tell you that the United Methodist Church is on the cutting edge of 1968!" It was one of those classic it's-funny-'cause-it's-true moments.

So, how far have we come since then? Have we hit the '80s yet? Sometimes I wonder.

Here's a bit that a couple of fellow bloggers (including the co-author of the resource it promotes) have highlighted recently:

A discussion has ensued over at Gavin's post (confession: I weighed in rather snarkily as my after-hours blogging alter-ego) about how the denomination is doing with social media. The consensus: not well enough (even admitted by one of the Discipleship honchos in the comment thread). Gavin mentioned there's fear associated with reluctance to have free, or even user-generated, content out there to create buzz. So, does it really boil down to getting us to admit that we're just a denomination full of control freaks?

Election prayers

In recent days I've seen election-related prayers from two clergy, one in North Carolina, one in South Carolina. Ken is in North Carolina, which currently has a "light blue" forecast (predicted to go for Obama, but not by a landslide), and Kathy is in South Carolina, which is a bold shade of red (indicating firm McCain support). Both of these pastors, like most (probably all) United Methodist clergy, relate to congregations that include people from a variety of political persuasions, and the prayers are appropriately sensitive to that aspect of our diversity.

Read them both after the jump.