Random thoughts on this Monday

While eating lunch at VBS last week, I was discussing the finer points of Jesus' death and resurrection with rising Kindergarteners when one kid said, "And then, Jesus was raised from the dead by the force." I said, "That's absolutely correct." :)

Why don't all restaurants/coffee shops that sell beverages in #1 plastic recyclable cups offer recycling bins on the way out the door? If I was king, that would be a requirement.

Presence Centered and Passionate Youth Ministry

I'm currently stuck at home due to immense flooding in the greater Nashville area, so why not blog, right?

A colleague of mine recently resigned from his position in youth ministry after a long struggle with parents of youth at his church. I won't get into the details, but I definitely mourn the situation he found himself in. While I'm certainly not going to provide groundbreaking insight into the field of youth ministry in a single blog post, I do want to include a link to some great quotes and some reflecting: Presence Centered Youth Ministry Quotes

I've read both books quoted in this article, and found both to be spot on, for the most part. I also found myself thinking, "Do I dare ask the youth committee to read these books?" I wondered if I was ready to challenge the system enough by posing the questions offered by Mike King and Kenda Creasy-Dean. I was particularly struck the quote having to do with youth ministry as behavior modification. I admit to feeling those pressure to do youth ministry in such a way to produce "good kids" and not challenge the prevailing values of the community in which they live. I become nervous about emphasizing Kingdom of God language too much for fear of youth and parents accusing me of having a "liberal political agenda." Yes, those words have been thrown at me as I quote scriptures about loving neighbor and jubilee.

In the end, I wish that parents and church congregations would focus more on spiritual development for people of all ages (yes, parents too) and be willing to seriously re-consider some of the "values" that are held so dear by the communities in which families live. It is not my job to create good American citizens. It is not my job to train my youth in the positive aspects of capitalism. It is my job to live a God-bearing life and to point young people to God's story/stories as we find them in Scripture. It is my job to make every effort to live according to the mandates of the Kingdom of God and to invite others to join in pledging allegiance to that Kingdom.

That's all for now. I welcome any additional thoughts, comments, questions, and even arguments.

The digital age

So, I was at a wedding this weekend, and it seemed like everybody in the room with two x chromosomes had a digital camera out. This drives me crazy while I'm officiating a wedding, especially when people stand up in the middle of the service to get some sort of action shot. I mean, hello! Those shots never come out right. But this time, it wasn't the flashes in my face that were bothering me, as I was simply a congregant. This time I kept wondering, "Do these people realize that you can turn off the fake shutter sound and beep that go off every time they take a freaking picture?" I mean, really. Turn off the laser sound effect on your cameras people. It's not cool. You do not need a fake shutter sound to let you know your digital camera is taking a picture. If you don't know how to turn it off, ask somebody, or read the manual. Oy!

In unrelated news, I've decided to give twitter a try. My username is biggitybancroft. No guarantees that I'm a lifer, but I figure I'll give it a go.

Seriously, turn off the sound effects on your digital cameras...especially at weddings.

USMC Car Wash Fundraiser

Yesterday, I was driving down Hillsboro Road, and what did I see, but a Marine in full dress uniform standing on a corner with a piece of posterboard reading, "USMC Car Wash Fundraiser." He was joined by a couple of buddies in camo fatigues and green t-shirts. I've never heard of a military car wash fundraiser before. I'd say that too many of my tax dollars to go support military endeavors that I oppose, so I didn't pull in. And here's the kicker...It was happening in a church parking lot. That's right. The Church of Christ has decided to host military fundraisers. Something seems problematic with those who worship the Prince of Peace hosting military fundraisers. Anyway, that was my moment of "Huh?" yesterday.

Back in the Show-Me state

Well, folks, the adventure is coming to an end. In my previous post, I forgot to mention that on our way out of Wahoo, we found that the main road out of town heading towards Omaha was closed on the east bound side. The GPS attempted to reroute us and we found ourselves on a county road that was half dirt, half slush, and surrounded on both sides by a bog of some sort. When the car began slipping and sliding, we wondered if we would ever make it to the next, possibly equally treacherous county road. We decided to back the car out of there (the road was too narrow for any turning around) and try an alternate way out of town. It was probably the scariest part of our trip besides a snowy mountain pass on Thursday night.

After a stop off in downtown Omaha, which is cooler than you might thing, we headed south toward KC, MO. Around 6:00 pm, Wes and I arrived safely in Kansas City, MO and met up with our friends Meg and Jarrett who graciously provided dinner, lodging, and a wonderful evening of good times. My sister Anna, her husband Jimmy, and their daughter Kinsley also joined us for the evening. We currently sit at a Panera Bread in the plaza area of KC and will soon have lunch with Jarrett. Then, Wes drops me off with Anna and Jimmy, and he heads to Des Moines. It's been a wonderful trip full of fun, great conversation, random encounters, and amazing scenery. Check back for more reflections in the next week or so.

Also, I've posted pictures to the picasa feed on the right side of this blog.

All the way across Nebraska

The last two days have been full of driving. Yesterday we decided to take a scenic route from Salt Lake City, UT to Fort Collins, CO, thus adding an extra two hours to our trip. It was definitely beautiful, but resulted in a fairly late arrival in Ft. Collins. Thankfully, my friend Jill was totally up for taking us to some fun pubs in old town. It was a fun night with good beer and good conversation. I had forgotten how inexpensive New Belgium beers are in Ft. Collins. Reason #24 for why I would love to live there.

This morning we hit the road for Wahoo, NE. We made our way to Cheyenne, WY and then made the turn for Nebraska. And yes, we've been in Wyoming each day this week since Tuesday. We drove across the entire length of Nebraska on I-80 today, with stops in Ogallala to search for the Presbyterian church there (it's not there anymore), a town I can't remember the name of to see the original Pony Express building, and then Wahoo to see our friend Patrick Marshall. We got to meet the newest addition to the Marshall family who was born earlier this week. Patrick took us to a local Mexican restaurant where we greeted by one of his biggest fans. By the time we left, our waiter had already taken off to go party, or at least that's what the guy at the front said. He said we could come by tomorrow to pay. You gotta love small town America.

OK, the computer is running low on power, and so am I. Look for more pictures in the coming days.

A Random Day

Well, Wednesday brought more random adventure that even Wes and I anticipated. We awoke to a snow covered car in Jackson, WY. Thank goodness for the scraper with a brush that came with the Charger. We set off for Salt Lake City with planned stops in Bancroft, ID and Ogden, UT. As we were heading to Bancroft, ID for a fun photo op, we stumbled across Soda Springs, ID, an old mining town that seems to have dried up except for the rival fertilizer plants that sit on either side of the two lane highway. We saw a sign for a geyser and realized that we had arrived just in time for the time-controlled geyser to do its thing. Apparently it's the only man-made geyser in the world.

After witnessing the geyser in all its glory, we made our way to the local drugstore to ask about where we should have lunch. We found out that the local pizza place had gone out of business, but that the bowling alley had great pizza. So, you guessed it, we ate pizza and garlic bread at the Soda Springs, ID bowling alley. We met some wonderful people who were rather perplexed that we were actually going to Bancroft, ID simply because it's my last name and I wanted a picture with some street signs.

Bancroft, ID had more going on than one might expect by its relatively small dot on the map, but not a place to necessarily write home about.

Next, we headed to Ogden, UT, where Wes had arranged to meet another gentleman named Wes Goldsberry. We met him at the Taco Bell in the Pilot Gas Station right there outside of Ogden. Wes Goldsberry of Ogden, UT works for the Sheriff's department. We received a wonderful tutorial on his tazer, including a look at the voltage sparking between the contact points. It was truly a Storycorps moment.

Finally, we rolled in Salt Lake City for taco night with the Kyremes-Parks. Amy-Kim and Justin have some great kids. I helped their son beat a level on the lego Star Wars game for wii, which pretty much makes me a big deal in his world. :) The girl and I talked about our favorite Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift songs.

This morning included sweet rolls and a visit from Loyda Kyremes. All in all a good morning and a good start to another day on the road.

Here are some pictures:

Bozeman to Jackson

Hey there Renderings fans. After a fun night at the Montana Ale Works for dinner and the Bacchus Pub for drinks, Wes and I turned in for a wonderful eight hours of sleep. We barely made it down to the lobby for the continental breakfast, and were told as much by the lady who was trying to clean up.

As an aside: The hotel had Fox News on the TV in the lobby. I told Wes that Fox News pretty much alternates between covering what's happening in washington (usually bashing on the democrats) and showing stories meant to elicit fear for some reason or another. As we were sitting there, we heard how evil Pelosi is and then saw segments about pythons running loose in Florida, the orca that killed its trainer, an SUV crashing into a school, and a man's Prius that drove out of control on the highway. I'm sure all of that was Obama's fault...that's what happens when you elect a crazy liberal. :)

Anyway, today Wes and I have traversed many mountains, some barren, some snow-covered and have arrived in Jackson, WY. We took a roundabout way from Bozeman so that we could stand at the headwaters of the great Missouri river (see pics below) and explore the town of Butte, MT, searching for a Butte Beer sign that Wes saw in a friend's picture from many moons ago. We didn't track down the Butte Beer sign, but we did eat lunch at the Uptown Cafe. They were serving cajun sirloin with cheesy potatoes. It was pretty good. We discovered that there are a lot of Irish folks in Butte, and it seems as if the town is in a steep decline. Whatever they used to mine must have run out at some point.

Funny Road Sign of the day: Life is a Puzzle. Look for Jesus who is the missing Peace.

Museum of The Rockies

So far, Bozeman, MT gets my seal of approval. The people seem nice, and it ends up they filmed Part of A River Runs Through It at the Presbyterian church here.

I spent part of my afternoon at The Museum of The Rockies. You can see some good dinosaur pics below. I particularly enjoy the hair band dinosaur attacking the "the man" dinosaur. I'd also like to point out that this museum apparently doesn't know about Jesus being a dinosaur rider. I mean, humans didn't live with dinosaurs? Um, hello. Jesus had a pet dinosaur. Those in the know are laughing...everybody se thinks the light mountain air is getting to me. More as Wes and I continue on our adventure.











-- Posted From My iPhone

He's a good guy...He loves the Lord...He's a good guy

I'm sitting at a Panera on a Friday afternoon, attempting to find inspiration for the sermon I'm supposed to preach on Sunday. I just heard a guy, when asked about some other guy, say, "He's a good guy. He loves the Lord. He's a good guy." I've always been intrigued by that description of somebody. He/She loves the Lord. I guess it's just a given that the Lord loves him/her. Which lord? I mean, doesn't everybody love one lord or another? I guess the definite article helps us know that we're talking about Jesus. What kind of love are we talking about? Is this an active kind of love? A social justice-minded kind of love? An "I believe what they say about Jesus" kind of love? A "Jesus is my boyfriend" kind of love? Is loving the Lord what makes him a good guy? Is that the only thing that makes him a good guy? When I was in college, my friend Molly Nahm pointed out that whenever she asked me about guys in my fraternity, with one exception, I would say, "Yeah, he's a Beta, he's a good guy." She wondered about my qualifications for "good guy." I guess I'm wondering about He loves the Lord as an adjective. It seems like some of the guys in Acts would have been said to love the Lord, and it probably meant something different than it does today. Anyway, you never know what you'll hear at a Panera on a Friday afternoon.

Pastoral moments

Sometimes, being a pastor means being busy: Busy preparing lesson plans, busy making copies, busy collecting materials, busy with meetings, busy updating websites, busy, busy, busy. But sometimes, being a pastor means sharing intimate moments with parishioners. This week held more of those intimate moments than the busy moments. Here are two such intimate experiences.

Tuesday: I took a parishioner to lunch. We'll call him Tom. Tom needs a wheelchair to get around, so going to lunch is always takes more time and energy than simply meeting someone for coffee. On this particular day, we went to lunch and then decided to make a visit to another church member who is in a rehab facility following surgery. We'll call him Bob. While we were there, the Bob told a wonderful story of a Sunday, 20 years ago, when he was ushering and felt frantic, and saw Tom wheeling in the door. Bob asked Tom to help pass out bulletins as folks came in the door. As Bob told this party of the story, he got a bit teary-eyed, and Tom finished his sentence by saying, "And I've been doing that ever since." It was a beautiful moment shared between two old friends, and I had the privilege of witnessing it. Bob promptly told us to get out of there because we were making him cry.

Wednesday: Ash Wednesday. It was my turn to impose the ashes on the foreheads of parishioners and say "Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return." What a profoundly intimate moment that is, to remind every person there of their earthly mortality, while marking them with the sign of the cross...the cross that both reminds us of the crucifixion of Jesus and his eventual resurrection from the dead. Marking people with mortality and hope for an eternity spent with God. That's powerful stuff.

Travelers and "for here"

Despite all of my best efforts to be as eco-friendly as possible, I often find myself stumbling and bumbling. I've become a "publix bag" shopper, and I definitely recycle, and most of the time I drive around with a coffee traveler in my car so as to eliminate the waste caused by those paper cups at the coffee shops. As a side note, I'm currently down two travelers because I've left them places or they've been borrowed and not quite returned. Anyway, I didn't get to The Frothy Monkey with a traveler today, so I ordered my white chocolate skim milk mocha (yeah, I know, pretentious) "for here." Apparently at The Frothy Monkey that means I get to drink it out of a paper cup here at The Frothy Monkey. I swear they have mugs. I've also noticed that sometimes when I order a similar coffee drink at Panera, and give them my traveler to use, the person making the drink makes it in a plastic or paper cup, then pours it into the traveler, and...wait for it...throws the cup away. Oy! Maybe I just need to be more like Mr. Bancroft and just order coffee straight up. Good ole Mr. Bancroft...hip without even knowing it. :)

Proving your birth

I was at Southern Thrift Store in Nashville yesterday, buying a couch for my office, when I looked up and saw a sign announcing a senior citizen's discount. It read, "Discount for Seniors 65 and up with Proof of Birth." Um, isn't the fact that the person is standing there a proof of birth? It could be that the sign used to say Birthday. For now though, it brought me a chuckle.

Week 2, Day 2

Luke 1:5-25, 57-66 & Luke 3:1-20

Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist. I suppose I never took the time to notice that so much of the beginning of Luke's gospel bounces back and forth between Mary/Joseph/Jesus and Elizabeth/Zechariah/John. Clearly, the sees the stories as being related. The devotional guide for today asks: What stories in the Hebrew Bible should Zechariah have remembered when the angel told him he would become a father in his old age? Here are my answers:

• Abraham and Sarah...especially the part where Sarah laughs at the angels of the Lord.
• Jacob and Rachel
  
• Hannah and Samuel-I still hear Jim Forbes calling out, "And Hannah rose!" in that great preacher voice of his.

I find it sad that all of these women felt shameful about their inability to have children...that somehow society looked down on them because they weren't mothers. I know that was a cultural thing, but I think there are similar societal pressures today, and not just for women. Thankfully, I'm not in a church that puts the pressure on me to be married, and my family certainly doesn't. Sure, there are a few of the Moms at church who think that the solution to any situation in my life would be to find a wife (or for them to find one for me), but for the most part, I'm treated a fully formed person even though I'm not married. That's not always the case, though. It's not as if people come right out and say it, but they'll imply that somehow one's life isn't complete unless one is married. I went to some worship services with my friend Mark that were geared to young adults. There was a clear emphasis on finding a mate. Being married with children was held up as the ideal situation for all people: "When you find that special somebody" not if. Somehow, unless you get married, your life is incomplete, or you aren't OK simply being you. Last year, at the Montreat Collegiate Conference, Tony Campolo explicitly challenged all that nonsense and told an auditorium full of college students that the church has had it backwards all these years...that getting married and settling down isn't necessarily the ideal for people of faith...that Paul is pretty clear that remaining single allows you to be faithful to God in ways that the settled down set have difficulty doing. Anyway, while this "injustice" may not be the same as some others in the world, I hope that the church can be a place where we don't hold up any one model of life circumstance as normative.

Week Two, Day 1

Week Two: Expecting the Hope of the Earth

Hymn for the Week: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art:
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child, and yet a king,
born to reign in us for ever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 85

Day 1: Isaiah 35:10-10 & Isaiah 40:1-11
Both of these passages contain visions of creation being transformed by God, whether it be streams bursting forth in the desert or the blind seeing or rough places being made smooth. I was struck by the vision of the high places being brought low and the low places being lifted up. I'll admit that I'm not so sure I want to see that come to pass. Now, I'm a mid-western boy, so there's something comforting and heart-warming about being able to see the horizon in every direction. I love the look of rolling fields with silos, houses, churches, and various other buildings dotting the landscape. There's a stretch of road in southern part of Illinois on I-57 that takes me to a place of awe everytime I drive through it. But, I'm also a fan of the mountains. There are stretches of I-40 on the way to Montreat, NC from Nashville when one is completely surrounded by mountains, and I feel somehow safe in those places. I'm often reminded of Psalm 139:5: You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. I somehow feel hemmed in by God in those places. I'm not so sure I want everything leveled out into a smooth plain.

With a little nudging from the devotional guide, I was also drawn to the images of fresh water being poured out on parched lands (and people). I have certainly had my dry spells in life, and it seems like each time, God finds different ways to bring water and life into my dry wilderness. Sometimes it's a song that randomly shuffles onto my ipod at just the right moment. Sometimes it's friends who simply sit in the dust with me, and slowly let me sip from their living wells. Sometimes it's the people in the congregation who I'm supposed to be pastoring who end up giving me pastoral care...whether it be a sandwich and a pickle, or cauliflower and bean salad and tea sweetened with sugar and a lemon, or a round of golf, these people have been living water for me.

Week 1, Day 4

Week 1, Day 4
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 & Philippians 1:3-11

There are many Sundays when I use some form of these words from 2 Corinthians in the Assurance of Pardon, and I often wonder if they hold meaning for folks. Do we really think of ourselves as new creations in that moment each week? What about each and every day?

I was particularly struck by 2 Corinthians 5:18 today: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of reconciliation. The passage goes on to call us ambassadors for Christ. It always makes me sad to hear about studies where the top three things non-Christians say about Christians is that we're judgmental, anti-gay, and hypocritical. I'd say we're not doing the best job as ambassadors if that's the case. I continue to be a firm believer in making every effort to be a reconciler.

Today, as I was at Harpeth, helping with the hanging of the greens, that annual tradition of pulling out the wreaths and various decorations in order to spruce up the church for Advent. I was standing at the front of the church, looking out on the pews, and somebody on the stage right side asked me a question. As my eyes were pulled that way, I noticed that a beam of light was shining right on Mary Smith's old seat. The rest of the pew wasn't lit. None of the other seats in that area were lit. Just Mary Smith's spot. We had just been talking about reserving a couple of rows. For that brief moment, I felt Mary's presence there, watching over us as we decorated the sanctuary. I took a few moments to simply thank God for Mary's presence in my life. I miss that sweet woman. She ministered to me in so many beautiful ways. I hope to be more like Mary when I grow up.

Week 1, Day 3

Day 3
Romans 6:1-11 & Romans 13:11-14

I've been reading the New Living Translation the last few days, mostly because it was the first translation I came across on the shelf at home, but also because I enjoy it's straightforward language from time to time. It translates Paul's me genoita in Greek as "Of course not!" I like that. Of course we don't go on sinning so that grace may abound. That would be ridiculous.

Dying to sin: Do we really? I mean, do we really kill off that part of us that's "prone to wander" as the great hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing puts it? When we consider baptism, we seldom focus on "dying to sin" or "dying with Christ." These are the texts of the Bible that make we wonder if we're missing something by practicing infant baptism. Sure, sure, I know that the sacrament isn't about us, but rather about God. But, I wonder just when it is that we encourage folks in our churches to die with Christ and be "reborn" for new lives. In our focus on continual conversion, do we miss out on an opportunity to pass out the new clothes that Paul talks about in Romans 13:12?

"Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light."

As for the question in the book: How can we put on the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives? I do think that's a question that needs to be asked everyday. How can we embody Jesus and wear him on our sleeve in such a way that nobody would ever doubt whose team we're on? Here are a few quick possibilities, many of them taken from the minds/mouths of other folks:

• Seek first understand and then to be understood
• Spend enough time with Scripture so that its stories become our framing stories/defining narratives
• Be peacemakers
• Judge not, lest ye be judged
• Live simply so others may simply live

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Day 2...and a half

Wow. I start a discipline for one day and then blow it. In my defense, my parents are in town, and it keeps me busy keeping them busy. Here are my reflections for day 2 and kind of a half. At some point on Friday or Saturday, I'll make up two days' worth.

Day 2
Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9
The devotional guide draws a parallel between these strong words from Isaiah and the Pentecost story...both texts of God bursting onto the earthly scene in a radical way. I think I'm with Annie Dillard on this one. I don't think most of us show up to church actually expecting or even hoping for God to show up in a radical way similar to fire that makes wood burn and water boil.

I also wonder how often most of us church-going folks take the time to truly face our sinfulness. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all say the prayer of confession and know in our brains that we're sinful, but do we echo Isaiah who says, "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags"? Ouch. I'm quite proud of my righteous deeds, thank you very much.

Reflection question: What does Isaiah's image of God as potter say to us about God's continuing work of forming and changing us?
Great question. I love the potter imagery. I like Hands of the Potter by Caedmon's Call, as it explores clay in many forms. In fact, here are the lyrics to serve as the rest of my reflection for day 2:

Lord if i'm the clay
Then i've been left out in the sun
Cracked and dry, like the mud from the sty
Still clinging to the prodigal son

But I'm on my way back home
Yes I'm on my way back home

Into the hands (into the hands)
That made wine (wine) from the water
Into the hands (into the hands)
The hands of the potter

Lord if i'm the clay then
Let your living water flow
Soften up my edges, lord,
So everyone will know

But i'm on my way back home
Yes i'm on my way back home

And Lord, when you listen for the song of my life
Let it be, let it be, a song so sweet
Let it be, let it be, a song so sweet
Let it be...

Lord, if i'm the clay then lay me down
On your spinning wheel
Shape me into something you can fill
With something real

And I'll be on my way back home
Yes i'm on my way back home

Expecting the Unexpected for Advent

In an effort to set aside the Advent season as a time for reflection and preparation for the arrival of "little 8 pound, 6 ounce baby Jesus" I'm committing to blogging every day from now until December 25th. My posts will be focused on an Advent Devotional Guide one of our adult Sunday school classes is studying called Expecting the Unexpected by Blair Gilmer Meeks (For all you church professional types, Blair Meeks has some great resources for Advent, Lent, and general liturgical use).

There's a hymn assigned for each week, which I'll be posting on Mondays, including a link to the Cyber Hymnal, which will play a scaled down midi version of the hymn for you. There's a focus Psalm for each week as well. Then, there are daily Bible readings and reflections. I'll strive to throw out a few of the reflection questions and share my thoughts. As always, I welcome comments, but please leave a name if you aren't already a blogger user.

So, without further explanation, here goes.

Week 1 Expecting Christ's New Creation
Psalm 25:1-10
Hymn: Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending

Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of His train:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.

Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.

The dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears;
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshippers;
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for Thine own;
O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly!
Everlasting God, come down!

Day 1 Bible readings: Isaiah 2:1-5 & Isaiah 11:1-10

List the images of peace that caught your attention in the two readings from Isaiah:
As for Isaiah 2, I was struck by the emphasis on learning. People flock from all around to learn God's ways that they may walk in God's paths. And this isn't some heady, intellectual, ethereal lesson. This is one of those classes where you get your hands dirty. This is the art room in workshop rotation, or maybe the "real life application" room (Ruth's Real World at Harpeth). But instead of toilet paper tubes, cereal boxes, and old scraps of fabric, the call goes out for these folks to bring spears, swords, and other weapons of war. Instead of creating Christmas tree ornaments with popsicle sticks, God, the ultimate teacher, will teach the peoples of the world to make plowshares out of those swords and pruning hooks out of those spears. Weapons of war will be used to create the tools of planting and harvest. Learning the ways of the Lord does NOT include war. "Neither shall they learn war any more." Not only will there be peace, but people will quit learning how to do the war thing "just in case."

I want to go to that Sunday school class, but I wonder what I would bring for the art project. I don't have any swords, spears, guns, knives (well, besides the ones I use to eat). What do I own that contributes to war? What do I have that needs to be transformed for planting and harvest? What do I own that contributes to the destruction of God's beautiful creation? What would you bring to that Sunday school class?

Isaiah 11: That is a big bunch of animals all living together on that mountain, and, just as in Where the Wild Things Are, a little child shall lead them. Even the animals have learned the ways of the Lord, the ways of living peaceably with all. And in the midst of all these animals is the one with a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. People look at that mountain and wonder just what the heck is going on. Do our churches look like that holy mountain? Do people look at us and wonder just what the heck is going on? For the most part, I kind of doubt it.

Preaching to the homeless

On Wednesday, I was scheduled to lead the chapel service that takes place for homeless folks before they eat lunch at Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. Initially, I was going to talk about the call of Jeremiah found in Jeremiah 1:4-10. We're using that on Sunday for a "connect with youth" Sunday, and thought I would try out some of my stuff. Then, about an hour before the service was to begin, I received an e-mail telling me that one of the regular attendees of the chapel service and the free lunch on Wednesdays had been murdered while he slept the night before. Shot in the back of the head.

Needless to say, I didn't talk about Jeremiah. I decided to use Psalm 10, a lament Psalm, that names the pain and suffering of the "have nots" who are oppressed by those who always get/have what they want. I expressed my sorrow at the loss of life, and let the folks at chapel know that I believe in a God who hears our lament, and a God who expects us to be real with our pain, sorrow, doubt, frustration, and even hope. I asked folks to offer up some laments, and then we all responded with the response of "God, You are a revolution!" These are words from a David Crowder Band song called Revolutionary Love.

I'm scheduled to preach at chapel again next week. God only knows what the message will be. I do know that preaching in that context feels completely different than Harpeth. Sure, people are people, but it feels somewhat strange to stand before those folks and speak of matters of faith. Allowing Psalm 10 to do the preaching was the way to go this week. I wonder how the regular preacher does it week after week. Surely he doesn't use the same sermon he preaches on Sunday morning. Or, does he? Anyway, I'm schedule to preach at chapel again next week. God only knows what the message will be.