Loved & Effective

I want to share a story with you today.  But it's bigger than that.  It's for everyone.  Too often I can be inattentive to the holy in life.  I'm hoping this story is a moment of listening, of breakthrough.  You get to decide.  Here it is:

I was running into the sanctuary to put my microphone back where it belongs, on Monday of this week.  (FYI I'm a pastor and Monday is clean-up-from-Sunday day.) I was literally running, I was in that kind of hurry.

When I got half way across the front of the church, up by the pulpit, I heard words, "sit down on the steps;"    I would call it God speaking, but I can work with me thinking to myself, or maybe you could say "I had a sense of", you pick the language comfortable for you, but I had a clear sense of the direction, "sit down on the steps."

I sometimes have thoughts out of the blue. When that happens I pause, think about them, and my mind spins off in a hundred directions trying to make sense of it all.  I dismiss the chaos. I move on figuring it to be my own thoughts. On Monday my brain just landed on the words, "sit down on the steps." No spinning. No extra stuff.

So there in the sanctuary I sat down on the top cold stone step of an empty church in a dimly-lit, sanctuary. and I said "now what?" (I not sure, but I may have even said it out loud.)

What followed were more words, "tell the people two things:"  (Remember  I'd say it was God speaking, but I understand if you're more comfortable with other language, like me thinking to myself, or maybe saying "I had a sense of", you pick the language comfortable for you.  I hope you're getting the drill by now.)  Those two things were clearly:

         1.  "I love you"   and

     2.  "You can make the difference."  

Sitting still, curious, and bewildered I looked up.  (I don't know why, but my eyes had been on the steps to this point.)  Now, no words came, rather a clear sense of the room feeling full of life and an exciting presence of audacious, life-changing love that  I can only express as God.  Maybe you have another word, but it's the kind of feeling I get working with a community of people to change the world, only to find myself changed.

I needed these affirming words on Monday.   I don't know if you need their invitation or encouragement today.  They are here for you if you do.  

One thing is clear to me.  I want to make sure you hear those two inviting affirmations from God. God loves you and intends to use you to make the difference.  Pass it on. 

10,000 Joys in Christ

Dave

7 Keys of a Powerful Life

Dillon Rooke at Hot Metal Bridge
Pittsburgh, PA -- A New Thing!

What a wonderful summer.  Thank you for making the time available. Thank you for the wonderful ministry that you cared for with such skill and faith.  Thank you for welcoming Pastor John for your needs;  he did a marvelous job.  Thank you for daring to be God's called people of Love.

Here are some quick observations:

Seven themes arose for me:

o Community -- intentional outward reaching relationships;

o Listening -- Deep, constant, responsive listening to one another and the world;

o Flexibility -- The speed and risk-taking were amazing, faith-filled, and a consistent theme;

o Prayer --  Every last group spoke of prayer and discernment;

o Authenticity --  Holding conversations about all of life in everyday language of faith;

o Focus -- on calling, people, mission and strategy at hand;

o Tables-- There was a lot of eating!  A place of relationships, learning, caring, & holy conversation.

Three Commonalities:

o All sought to Love with the "Everybody's Welcome" Love of God and it showed. 

o All worshipped-- and no two worship services were the same. 

o All cared for administration, staffing, funding, education familiarly and experimentally.

In the weeks ahead I'll be listening to you and to the Holy Spirit for where this takes us.  I have some ideas and invite you to what I hope will be monthly food and conversation.  I do know that we've accomplished some amazing things with God's grace and there are things we have not accomplished.  I do know that continuing to do exactly what we've been doing doesn't hold much of a future and I also know adapting quickly is hard and necessary.  And finally, I do know that God has entrusted this community and congregation to all of us, so it won't be me telling anyone what to do, but God guiding us all.

I'm excited about the possibilities.  Check out the September sermon series on some of the Themes, they're archived on www.pfumc.us.  Join in the fun of food and conversation together in the weeks ahead.  Pray diligently.  Talk with your Koinonia group about where God is leading.  God is doing a new thing!  Can we see it!

10,000 Joys in Jesus Christ, Pastor Dave

This was written for the Palmyra First UMC Newsletter October 2016

Study Renewal Summary

It is good to be home!

It is busy to be home with all the resting routines bouncing into place.

Here's a summary of the summer.

"The best experiences are surprises (beyond our control) or invitations (relational and personal)."

                                                                                                                                                      -Journal note Mon. June 27, 2016

"I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams[a] in thirsty lands."

                                                                                                                                                      -Isaiah 43:19  (CEV)

No easy answers emerged by taking time apart, but clarity and renewal surfaced.  The path yet ahead holds many challenges, all able to be met with God.  Experiencing God in this summer stands above the information, although the insights and learning will be vital.  God moments flowed. Here are a few:

•         On June 5th, the day before departure, I received two glorious prayers and one complaint.  The email complaint clouded my mind briefly until Dave Yascavage stopped in the office and offered to prayer for me as I set out.  What a gift.  Then Mike Poltonavage led the 9am congregation in prayer for me, hands laid, and encouragement abounding.  Unexpected.  Unparalleled.  Wonderfully uplifting.  God at work.
•         Toward the end of June (29th) I was driving toward Haywood St. UMC in Asheville, NC.  Frustration was high between their pastor being on paternity leave and playing email and phone tag for months, so I was just going to drop in and see what I could find.  150 minutes before my arrival I took a call from Haywood's Executive Director letting me know that their weekly meal was on Wednesday and followed by weekly worship at noon.  It was 9:30am Wednesday!   I made a bee-line to a most amazing worship service and ministry setting.  God's timing.
•         In July (26th) I spent a week with my extended family at Ocean City New Jersey, only to discover "A Future with Hope" United Methodist Housing ministry working 2 doors down from us.  I peeked my head in the door to meet Katie Quigley, their regional coordinator and a team of High School girls doing rehab work.  Turns out this work parallels our PF 6:8 work, and John Schol (Now bishop and previously long-time Eastern PA colleague) was instrumental in its beginnings.  A moment of celebration and learning from being present between the plans.
•        There are more stories about the amazing ministry of PFUMC with youth taking new leadership,  Noah's Little Ark team intentionally stepping into and handling new challenges, and SPRC hiring a new choir director.  I could add many "aha!" moments where God spoke deep in my soul to my dreams and my fears.  All important and ready for our conversations and work together.

These God Moments strengthened my faith, enriched the time of study and renewal, and illustrate the hope we have in Christ.

Of all the ministries I visited, 5 stand out as most relevant and most enjoyed. (See notes that follow summary)  All taught me something important.  The 5 are Haywood St. UMC-A ministry with the Homeless,  A Church for All People UMC-A ministry with the community, Calvin Presbyterian-A contemplative ministry approach, Rutherford Campus of Crosspoint UMC-a church restart with a homey feel, and New Birth UMC-a ministry rooted in the Latino community of Lebanon.  If I am to keep this report manageable I must move to the common ground these and other churches demonstrated to me.  As well as a few insights.

Small, large, rural, urban, new, established, contemplative, active...no matter the unique personality and circumstance of the congregation, they each shared these 7 attributes:

1. Community -- Each congregation found ways to build intentional outward reaching relationships that made a difference in the life of the larger community, that if withdrawn would be noticeably missed.  This was not a single ministry but an ongoing dialogue;
2. Listening -- Deep, constant, responsive listening to one another and the world.
3. Flexibility -- Each ministry could tell stories of hearing about a changing need or circumstance and within weeks adapting structure, funding, staffing and/or program to address that discovery.  The speed and risk-taking were amazing, faith-filled, and a consistent theme;
4. Prayer --  Every last group spoke of prayer and discernment.  It took varying forms in each setting, while consistently looking to God. More often than not, the prayers were non-traditional and interactive.  (Walking prayer, labyrinth, staff devotional exercise, intentionally listening conversations in the community...)
5. Authenticity --  Holding conversations about all of life, including sin and salvation.  Not a finger-point or blame game, but a consistent acknowledgement of our struggles and God's desire for transformation.  This honesty was always a mutual journey with one another, and never a spiritual fix-it clinic.  It's expression often used language of love, support, challenge and mutuality, grounded in Christ.
6. Focus -- Each church was persistently listening for their calling and continuously adapted to meet that calling by going somewhere new, ceasing something familiar, failing often and trying again and again and again.  This was a discipline of passion.
7.  Tables-- There was a lot of eating!  Eating around tables provided connection to community both within and beyond.  Tables openned to the homeless, the inquirer, the questioner, the friend.  Tables set weekly at a predictable place and portable meals.  The Lord's Table consistently showed up in worship on a weekly basis.  And tables were a primary place of relationship building, learning together, caring for one another... holy conversation.

What I haven't accounted for are the predictable church commonalities. 

• All sought to Love with the "Everybody's Welcome" Love of God and it showed. 
• All worshipped, even though no two worship services happened the same way or all at the preferred Sunday Morning slot. 
• All cared for administration, staffing, funding, education, and the variety of method continued to span the spectrum of familiar patterns to experiments of grace.

I note the alignment of these common observations with the Bishop's 5 Call to Action measurements of worship, small groups, new faith commitments, people serving in mission and resources given to mission.   I can see many of these elements in the work of Palmyra First UMC.

So what does all this mean?  My growing insights and thoughts are:

1. Pay attention to the common elements.  For PFUMC we struggle with focus and flexibility (quickness), perhaps most, but they all are important;
2. Build on Assets, strengths, and gifts.  Asset Mapping and encouraging people to work in areas where they have passion, gifts, strength, and interest is key;
3. Encourage Stories and Conversations.  We are a task culture and not always encouraged to share leisurely conversation or stories.  Testimony is story.  Teaching is story.  Strong community is built on healthy conversation and story.  We need to intentionally make space for these encounters;
4. Engage a systematic approach to life together (not legalistic) but a pattern to help with the routine.  (Remember these communities might change on a dime too!)  This was harder to quantify yet evident and anecdotally important to pastors and staff;
5. Focus with Love-- Hold tight to the mission and not the method. Welcome all knowing that our call may only touch a particular group today.  We trust that God is bigger than any one moment or movement.

Next Steps that I'm suggesting:

•        Study Renewal Conversation -Sept. 18th, 11:45-1:15pm.  The format is a coverded dish or simple lunch (30min), a 20 min laity presentation on insights from "Faith in Action" and summer,  a 20 min presentation by Pastor Dave on insights from the Study & Renewal time, and finally 20 minutes to begin a conversation and ask one another questions.
•        Plan Monthly conversation gathering(s) for 90 minutes around tables to explore Asset Mapping, our call, our focus and things that grow out of our learning.
•         Leadership look at staffing and structure for emerging ministry, consistently simplifying board/council/administrative structure and staffing for focal areas was a common observation.
•        Pray, Worship, Love -- stretching ourselves to renewed openness to the Holy Spirit.

There are many more stories and observations to be shared in sermons, around tables, in conversations, and beyond.  God was at work when I crashed into the bee on I-26 in South Carolina.  God showed up with power as I attended AA meetings.  God spoke to me through two Taiwanese strangers and my grandson.  Ask me to tell you more stories.  They are many because God's generosity is great.

Salvation/Discipleship is not a commodity to be distributed or traded, but an adventurous relationship to be invited into.  Places making disciples and making a difference in the community are engaging the 7 common elements listed and the predictable commonalities with passion, and God-given uniqueness, on a journey with Jesus Christ.

One last word.   On my return I am not planning to change everything.  The only changes will be God's.  I'm simply planning to ask renewed questions and share the stories of my journey and see where God takes us.  Remember that this journey unfolded with your willingness to risk a new experience of Study Renewal.  Never forget how powerfully God used you during these summer months.  Hold tight to the God who promises us new life and willingly walks with us in the good and the hard.   Onward in Christ!

10,000 Joys in The One Who Makes Us Whole

  

Pastor Dave

Adventure Ahead -- SRL Video 3

Video 3 is here.  It's a wrap-up with events from video 2 until now and has some next steps and common themes (Vital churches that are making a difference and making disciples all have open conversation, genuine listening,  missional focus,  radical love, amazing flexibility,  gathering around tables, and honesty that gathers brokenness to wholeness--sin to salvation in personal transformation and story.)

Adventure Ahead -- SRL Video 3

Video 3 is here.  It's a wrap-up with events from video 2 until now and has some next steps and common themes (Vital churches that are making a difference and making disciples all have open conversation, genuine listening,  missional focus,  radical love, amazing flexibility,  gathering around tables, and honesty that gathers brokenness to wholeness--sin to salvation in personal transformation and story.)

Emergency Vest -- No Worries!

The emergency vest is for servants.  I was serving at The Northeast Jurisdictional Conference of the UMC.  Here's the second update video from our Study Renewal leave.

Suprises & Invitations

Big Eds in Old City Market-Raleigh NC

The best experiences in life are invitations and surprises !

Invitations come from relationships.  Some come from passing relationships, striking up a conversation with a stranger or new quaintance. Others from deep friendships.  All lead somewhere of value to the one who made the offering, the invitation.

Invitations are how I have found many of the churches and ministries on my Study-Renewal Leave journey.  Friends like Alan Rice or Bishop John Schol or Vance Ross have taken time to reflect and share.  Invitations are how I find my way deeper into God's presence.  Just today, as I began exploring the streets of Richmond,  I felt a holy nudge, an inner sense, God's Spirit invite me to allow the day to be restful, walking and praying; to take time to be present to whatever came my way and breath.  That prompt was freeing for me.  It opened the door to 8 miles of walking, and much journaling.  All this comes from invitations.

Now, surprises are things out of my control.  They are not all evaluated as good when they come my way, but many of the great experiences I have begin as surprises. For instance, the recommendation to eat at "Big Eds" in Raleigh, was shared with me this week by a college.  Not only was the food and service great, but I stumbled upon a motorcycle show in the midst of the quaint shops on a historic Old City Market.

As I scanned the street from my table by the window; eating my burger and engaging surroundings lifted my spirits. This surprise guided my feet for an hour or so and put a gift in the day, when I was missing family.

God works with invitations and surprises.  I'm not the only one.  It simply takes being open to the possibilities, saying yes and seeing where they lead.  No matter where they go, there is a gift to be found.  Often there are experiences that mark a trip, a friendship, a life... when we are open.  On pastor I met in my travels said,  "If I can't tell you a new story of what God is doing in my life, from the last few days, then I'm not paying attention."

What invitations and surprises have you noticed recently?

Video Update on Study -- Making Disciples & Making a Difference

I'm back from Pittsburgh and Ohio areas and here's the video update.

I've noticed a few things about churches that are Making Disciples and Making a Difference:

1. They focus on the mission.  They are unique and can name that uniqueness, which connects with a passionate mission.
2. They are listening for God.  Everyday, every meeting, every gathering, every worship... all the time they are listening for God.  They are asking if what they heard is a holy nudge, God's call.  They discern  (figure out) that together as a community (large groups or small groups) and then act on it.
3. They are agile.  Change can happen quickly.  When they receive a holy nudge, a call, they don't wait, they act.  At Calvin Presby, Pastor Standish put it this way,  "When someone is called, we say,  'Go for it!'  Then our committees, our structure, asks , 'In what ways can we support this call.'"  
4. They connect.  Connections go deep with both God and others.  This requires time and flexibility.  It may involve creative paths or familiar tools. 
5. Official and unofficial leadership models all of the above.
6. They live on the edge.  Each pastor and staff member told stories of exciting ministry and a roller coaster of feeling in just the right spot, then wondering how God will bring everything together (and the later can feel very uncertain).  Yet they live in the tension and go for the ride with God, running to keep up with the holy, when necessary.

It's also true that no two of these churches, so far, looked the same.   Hot Metal Bridge on the South Side of Pittburgh has meets pretty obvious needs on their doorstep.  Calvin Pres. in the small bedroom community of Zelienople PA meets many needs, they can be less visible, and equally important.

What are you noticing about how God moves and works?  Where do you see God's people both Making Disciples of Jesus and Making a Difference for God in their neighborhood and world?

Family Rest, Sabbath Starts Study

A week of rest with family begins my study and renewal summer.  A great week with Penny, my son Jeremiah and his family.

I've noticed a sense of relaxation that doesn't  always happen in a week of typical vacation.  There is a freedom of schedule and task in not coming back to preaching the day after travel and leading a fully calendared week.

This week I've begun reading, again, Brian McLaren's "We Make the Road By Walking" as a devotional tool.  My previous look at this resource touched me and drew me to consider it as a tool to order preaching. I'll be sharing more of this great theological look at faith and scripture in a 21st century relevance mode.

A relaxing week also yielded some final travel plans, personal insights, and exercise.  What's God been doing in your week?