A Church for Starving Artists

Every time I was pregnant, I would look at the upcoming calendar and remember that there was a day coming – then unknown to me – that would become special for the rest of my life.

September 11 is one of those days for many people.

It’s corny and dramatic to say that 9-11-01 changed us all forever.  To me, being “changed forever” implies that every single day is different because of what happened on a particular day in the past. These are the days we didn’t see coming except as routine dates on the calendar.  But then something unexpected happened to shift your world into A New Normal.

If you lost a parent, spouse, best friend, sibling, or child on 9-11, your life changed forever.  If you suffered a chronic malady – either physical or mental – on 9-11 then every day is now different.

Some of my Life-Changed-Forever Days are:

• July 8, 1956
• April 8, 1984
• September 17, 1986
• September 16, 1988
• May 1, 2010

What about you?

I remember 9-11-01 very well.   It changed my life in that my heart still feels knotted up when I hear the old news accounts of that day.  But my trauma is nothing compared to others.

Today, let’s remember the survivors, the still-grieving, the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families, the families of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and all for whom this day is very personal.  Praying for peace with all of you today.  And may we treasure our special days – even the very hard ones.

I was reading Thomas Friedman’s article here about “working hard and playing by the rules” or –  what it takes to land a good job today.  It moved me to think about what it takes to get a call to a church today.  Believe me, it takes more than working hard and playing by the rules.

It’s – first of all – of course, about God’s call.

God moves us and God moves search committees towards each other.  But there are many good candidates for ordination to professional ministry who work hard and play by the (seemingly countless) rules.

It used to be true that seminarians had a call waiting for them upon graduation, but those were the days when churches were large enough to have associate pastors or even “assistant pastors.”  Some of us will remember those days.

Today it takes an average of 2-3 years to find that first call out of seminary.  Why?

• Sometimes it’s because the candidate still has required preparation to complete: Clinical Pastoral Education or an internship or more time to take/pass ordination exams.
• Sometimes it’s because there are simply not enough positions for first-time calls.  As I write this, there are 327 people seeking their first call and there are 140 openings.
• Sometimes it’s because we have second career pastors who already have FT careers and they can take their time looking for a first pastoral call, waiting for just the right one.
• Sometimes those deemed ready to be ordained to their first call have spouses or other family members to accommodate.  Finding two positions in a certain geographic area is at least twice as hard as finding one.

So what about working hard and playing by the rules?  Those things are basic.

And it’s true that some Search Committees are looking for a certain age demographic that does not describe you.  But honestly, I’m finding that there are  committees looking pastors of every age group, depending upon the job description.

For the 21st Century Church (and maybe this was true for previous centuries to a point) churches seem to be looking for:

• An authentic pastor leader – someone who can articulate a vision based on the leading of the Spirit that matches the real context of that congregation.  (Example:  don’t call someone who says he can draw in lots of new members who look just like them when the neighborhood no longer looks like them.)
• Someone who will love you enough to tell you the difficult truth (“Our church is not a big deal in town any longer.”)
• Someone who will love you even when you freak out over cultural changes.  (e.g. You just noticed that even Church Culture needs to change and this is both Biblical and faithful.)
• Someone you will follow.  One phenomenon I’ve seen is the “older member” church who calls a young pastor with the intention of controlling her/him.  Don’t do this.
• Someone who is teachable.  Don’t call the woman/man who doesn’t care to learn who you are, what you are about, what new things God is pointing out.  Beware of wise fools.
• Someone who knows how to interpret the Word of God in live action.  Every academic person can do a book report.  But it takes a pastor to interpret how Scripture relates to our real life – and not only from the pulpit.  [Note: Loved reading this morning that my friend MK’s church in Chicago opened their doors to striking Chicago teachers who needed to use the facilities.  A small but teachable moment.]

New pastors will need to do more than work hard and follow the rules.  The unique thing about seminary training as opposed to other professional training is that you can jump through all the hoops, take all professional exams, and complete all academic requirements and STILL not be called to professional ministry.  It doesn’t mean you aren’t called to ministry.  It means you aren’t called to this particular ministry.  This is Good News if you understand that God does the calling and speaks to us through a variety of human beings and life circumstances.

[Note: My colleague E is a genius .]

Bill Hybels writes in Move, “I can’t read the Bible for you.”  As Willow Creek has assessed its model for membership, it’s become clear that Scripture reading is a non-negotiable requirement for those who want to 1) join and 2) grow in faith.

Being a disciple of Jesus does not involve:

• Busying ourselves with church activities – even noble ones (choir, Stephen Ministries, Session, Deacons, etc.)
• Having our names on church membership roles
• Attending worship services

When we read Scripture, we gather insights on who God is and who we are.  The brilliant thing about the Bible is that we gather different insights depending on how we read it, what’s going on in our lives when we read it, and any number of other influences.  Today I might read the parable of the Prodigal Son and identify with the older brother.  Tomorrow I might read the same parable and identify with the younger brother.  The Spirit hits us between the eyes sometimes and other times we read a passage and think “Huh?”

As a pastor, I regularly study Scripture and let it steep, simmer, and percolate for days before writing down my reflections for sermons or studies.  Preachers put a lot of effort into sermons, but we can’t be the only ones pondering the mysteries of Scripture.  Like Hybels, I can’t read the Bible for my parishioners whether those parishioners are in a single congregation I serve or in the many congregations I visit as a Presbytery staffer.  We have got to do the theological work of disciples – studying, grappling, praying over, and talking about What The Bible Is Saying.  And then we live accordingly.

Being a follower of Jesus involves ongoing transformation.

I’m convinced that people crave good teaching and solid spiritual direction.  But the strongest spiritual communities grow in maturity because they take Scripture seriously.

You might be reading this and think, “Well, duh.”  But honestly, folks, many people in our congregations haven’t picked up a Bible in decades, if ever.  Too many are happy for their pastors to be the lone Bible expert while they sit on pews or sofas and passively learn something or find something interesting or experience an inspirational pep talk.

When was the last time we grappled with a passage of scripture with people in our community?  (I hope it was yesterday.)  This is essential if we are serious about moving deeper spiritually.  And our faith communities cannot thrive without this.

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I have a childhood memory of making “a party” with my Great Aunt, and as we were placing cookies on the tray to serve our Sunday afternoon guests, my Aunt G.  whispered into my ear, “Remember, the Edmistons are better than everybody else.” 

This confused me.

One, it was a random comment that had nothing to do with sugar cookies.  And two, it seemed to be in direct conflict with what I’d learned in Sunday School (i.e. I am a miserable offender).

I believe that my children are exceptional.  They are brilliant, kind, and creative.  I might even say I have the Best Kids in the World.  I call my extraordinary sister the BSE (Best Sister Ever) and  my husband is simply The Best.  I am profoundly grateful to be connected to these people.

Maybe you believe your kids/spouses/siblings are The Best as well.  I hope so.

Another random whisper came from a parishioner years ago as she was lying in a hospital bed which happened to be in one of the Top Hospitals in the U.S. according to a recent news magazine article.  We talked and prayed and considered her recovery.  And then she leaned over and whispered into my ear, “The United States doesn’t have the best health care in the world.”  She was originially from Asia and she went on to share how some of the care she’d received in that Top Hospital would be considered unacceptable in South Korea.  And yet, especially during these political conventions, we often hear that the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, the U.S. has the best health care in the world.  And the Olympics in London reminded us that our athletes are the world’s best.   Remember the U.S. is better than everybody else.

There is a difference between cheerleading on behalf of our families, our communities, our nation – Nobody does it better!  – and genuinely believing that we are better than other families, communities, and nations.  Considering ourselves to be exceptional can mess with our heads. 

Consider the church:  A gifted pastor I know, serving an Important Church, was equipping his leaders to share their faith in more hands-on ways with their neighbors.  One of the elders challenged this exercise saying, “We’re Big-Deal-Church-On-The-Hill.  We don’t have to do this.  People already know who we are and what we stand for.” 

The pastor responded in a way that would eventually cost him his job:  “Actually, nobody knows who we are and what we stand for.  No one really cares that we are the Big-Deal-Church-On-The-Hill anymore.”

There is a fine line (or maybe a not-so-fine-line) between knowing we are exceptionally loved, fortunate, and graced and believing we are better, bigger, and more powerful.  One evokes a response of gratitude in that we want to make it possible for others to be so blessed.  Another evokes hierarchy and a superiority that Jesus never espoused.  The unique thing about the Christian faith is this.  Our blessings are not to be exploited; they are given that we might serve others.

Are we the best nation in the world?  We should aspire to be.

Are our families the greatest?  Yes.  (I would love for everyone to be able to say this.)

Are we better than everyone else?  Not only ‘no‘ but if we believe this,  it’s – ironically –  proof that we are not better; we are simply prideful and confused.

Image Source.

Finally, beloved,  whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

I decided last week not to watch the Republican or the Democratic National Conventions and I plan to keep that commitment.  But hearing snippets of these events is unavoidable if you’re out in the world.  The snippets I’ve been hearing remind me that there are two ways to raise kids.

Yes, I’m being simplistic (there are more than two ways to raise kids) but stay with me here.

When FBC was about 8 years old, he and I were walking on a sidewalk behind another mom and her son – who also looked to be about 8 years old –  and we overheard this conversation:

Son:  Can boys have pierced ears?

Mom:  No, boys can’t have pierced ears.  That’s just for girls.

My own 8-year-old turned to me and mouthed “Michael Jordan” and I mouthed back, “I know.”  We got into our car and our conversation went like this:

FBC:  Why did that Mom lie to her son?

Me:  She didn’t want him to get his ears pierced, so she told him that boys can’t.

FBC:  But one day, he’s going to know that boys can pierce their ears and then he’ll know she lied to him.

Me:  You’re right.

I have a friend with young children who gets very nervous when I’m around her kids because they ask questions like “Can boys get their ears pierced?” and she is terrified that I will innocently blurt out “Yes” when she would probably say, “No.”  When I told her that my 7 year old nephew’s school was teaching the DARE program in the second grade, she was horrified that any second graders would have to hear about drugs.  The reality, though, was that there are kids in the second grade who have already been exposed to drugs in their families or neighborhoods and, at least in my opinion, it’s important to educate those kids that crystal meth and cocaine make people sick. It’s sad but it’s reality and talking about it in healthy ways makes a positive difference.  School might be the only place where some kids are told that drugs are bad.

And this brings me to politics.  As I unavoidably hear comments from politicians about everything from abortion to health care to unemployment, I long to have healthy conversations with people about what is real in our world versus what we wish reality looked like.

In my own little life as a pastor, I have witnessed multiples of these situations:

• Women making decisions about abortion based on difficult personal circumstances (rape, incest, potential health issues, threats from husband)
• Spouses having to make difficult end-of-life health decisions about their husbands and wives
• Women trying very hard not to get pregnant because of military service, troubled marriages, financial stresses
• Men sharing experiences of electroconvulsive therapy, “curative” ex-gay camps, and being shunned from their churches and families for being homosexual
• People addicted to alcohol, narcotics, food, sex, gambling, and porn – both recovering and not recovering
• Seriously mentally ill people with bipolar disorder, incapacitating depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia, and post-traumatic stress disorder

Churches are not communities filled with shiny happy people with everything going for them.  Or at least real churches are not like that – if people are being honest.

All of those examples have political implications, at least as far as this election goes.  Maybe it would be nice to imagine that pregnancies only happen when life is manageable and that all husbands respect all wives and that most people die peacefully in their sleep or poor people are lazy or responsible people don’t lose everything in fires or storms.  But that would be a lie, and like the little boy whose mother wanted to protect him from something she didn’t want for him, it breeds distrust when we withhold reality.

And while Paul wrote that we peace comes when we think of honorable and pure things, Jesus touched bleeding women and epileptics.  I wish he’d said something about homosexuality, but he didn’t.  He did say an enormous amount about money and those sayings convict us all.   The point of Jesus’ being with us is that God Was With Us in the muck and mess of life and we are supposed to be with those who are poor and sick and alone.

And this is what we are supposed to teach our children:  that there are many choices in life and we want them to make the best choices.  They will be able to choose everything from whether or not to pierce their ears to whether to vote Republican or Democrat or not at all.  We can teach them by flinging open the doors of life and being beside them in that journey, talking about real life.  Or we can pretend that such things don’t happen  – at least to good people.

I’m not saying we need to share the dirtiest things of life with our youngest children.  But when they ask, we need to be ready to share the truth in a way they can understand, reminding them that all of us have a responsibility to love our neighbors as ourselves.  It’s the most pleasing, most commendable way to live, and I believe it brings peace.

Image source.

Diane Rehm

I worked as the fry girl at Wimpy’s for exactly one day a while back.  Hated it.

My current work involves helping people match their calling from God with their dream job.  I could be called a Predestination Matchmaker, although that doesn’t make any theological sense if you know anything about predestination or Presbyterian Polity.  Actually my current work involves giving permission, opening doors, closing doors, encouraging exceptions, pointing in the right direction, making connections, shifting perspectives.

I love my job.  I loved my previous job.  I loved the job before that.  All of them, more accurately have been callings.  Honestly, I am one of the most fortunate people around.

Most people in the world do not earn money doing their dream jobs. We all know people called to do one thing, but they are doing another:

• Actors ushering theatre-goers,
• Chaplains filing papers,
• Writers mixing espresso drinks,
• Artists answering phones.

I believe that God uses us to do ministry wherever we happen to earn our money.  This is not permission to get stuck or to prostitute ourselves or anything like that.  But consider inserting your life’s calling into whatever you are doing now.

Sometimes we are truly stuck.  One former parishioner sewed the clasps on bras in a factory for 30 years.  It was soul-sucking, but she found an outlet for her ministry in the church.

Sometimes there are overwhelming cosmic roadblocks.  I remember a friend telling me she had finally realized that God was calling her to teach ESL students and she was preparing for a dream job in that field when her husband became terminally ill.  She traded her dream for the relentless job of trying to keep him safe, at least for now.

I often think about other dream jobs.  What would I do if I could go back in time?  Some of my favorite job fantasies:

• Spiritual Anthropology Professor
• NPR Interviewer (a la Diane Rehm or – oh my gosh – Terry Gross)
• Travel Writer
• Teacher in Near East Archaeological Museum
• Screenwriter (there’s still time!)

What are your dream jobs?  It goes without saying that our dream jobs imply being successful in those fields.  Nobody dreams of being a mediocre brain surgeon or an out-of-shape professional soccer player.

Where would you like to fit if you could choose?  (And note:  we can’t choose.)

Had a Duh Moment this morning:

I always thought Beloit College came up with their annual Mindset List to entertain the older generations with “Time sure flies!” information:  “Kids today have never seen a ‘real’ airline ticket!”

But I realized this morning that this practice is not done for our entertainment; it’s  done for the Beloit faculty to remind them who their students are.  This year, they were reminded that:

• Incoming college freshmen have never used World Book encyclopedias,
• Incoming college freshmen have always seen women in the roles of Secretary of State and Shuttle pilots,
• Incoming college freshmen have saved their photos on digital yearbooks, smart phones, and Facebook pages.

So – thinking about church world –  is any of this reflected in the way we do worship?  And here’s a bigger question:

Is our worship gathering planned and executed for those who have always been there or for those who are not yet present?

Because – believe me – especially those from the college Class of 2016  who have never been church people will not connect to a spiritual community that reflects the mindset of the 20th Century, much less the 19th Century.

Most of our ministry is created and executed with a dusty mindset.  That’s okay if we want to minister only to those who are already with us – who tend to be older than 50.  “Inviting the young people” is a joke unless we are willing and ready to change our mindset.

It’s not about candles and screens either; it’s about serious cultural shifts.

• If we say we are friendly but clearly don’t want strangers among us, we deserve to close as a church.  (Examples of not wanting strangers: we only talk to our friends on Sunday mornings, we don’t even see the new person or we ignore them; we see guests under the age of 40 as fresh meat or “targets”)
• If we say we are “about mission” but have no relationships with the people outside our own doors who are broken, we deserve to close as a church.  (Examples:  Do we even know what breaks God’s heart in our neighborhood?  Are we aware of the issues the high school kids face in local schools?
• If we say Jesus is our Lord and Savior but we continue to live the way we lived 20 or 40 or 60 years ago, we deserve to close as a church.  (Examples:  How have we been resurrected in the past decade as individuals and a community?  How has our behavior changed?  Are we still as stubborn/mean/selfish as ever?)

We can be entertained by The Mindset List, or we can shift our own mindsets as an act of hospitality.  For that matter, we can be entertained by church, or we can shift our mindsets as an act of devotion to God.

Image source. Go Tarheels.

The whole Ayn Rand thing at best confuses me and at worst devastates me.My Dad used to say – referring to certain life choices – “Maybe it’s a good way to live but it’s a mighty poor way to die.”  He believed that poor life choices resulted in a straight shot to hell in the afterlife.  I’m more likely to believe that poor choices can make this life hellish.  The kingdom of heaven begins now and we are called to serve in such a way that God’s will is done now – on earth as it is in heaven.

So, when Christians express appreciation, if not devotion, to the teachings of Ayn Rand, it wrecks me a little bit.  I would rather people be indifferent to Jesus than espouse objectivism.

Ayn Rand:  “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life . . .” (from Atlas Shrugged)

Jesus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18)

17th Century Protestants: Q. 1. What is the chief end of humanity?
A. Humanity’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever. (from The Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Greed is not good.  Living for myself is wrong.  Money is not the barometer of our virtue.  Following Jesus is the best way to live.  So there.  Call me a fool.

I like a good party.  But I won’t be watching the Republican Party’s Convention this week.  And I won’t be watching the Democratic Party’s Convention next week.  Just can’t do it.

I am embarrassed to watch people who self-identify as Christian – which means we are brothers and sisters of Christ together –  mocking people who disagree with them from the opposing side.  If we are supposed to love our enemies it seems logical that we are supposed to refrain from making fun of them too.

I don’t want to hear people explain Tropical Storm Isaac because of somebody’s sins.  I don’t like feeling cynical when both political parties make efforts to appear more diverse, female-friendly, tolerant, etc. when reality tells a different story.

I don’t want to watch deceptive, negative, mean-spirited, snarky advertisements that mock our democracy and our way of life as people who try to follow Jesus.

I don’t want to participate in the ugly truth that the most financially powerful people in this country get to control the election via Super PACs.  It might be legal but it’s not moral or just.  We are a better country than this.

The political parties have lost their way every time they would rather wake up to learn that their political rivals have screwed up than our nation has rallied.  This is sick.

Speaking of parties, seventeen people lost their lives in a most vile way in southern Afghanistan Monday because they were dancing and listening to music.  We live in a world in which the kingdom of heaven is hidden from too many.  I wish the political parties noted these horrors but chances are that nobody will mention this party when the politically powerful meet in Tampa and Charlotte.

It’s not good for my soul to watch the speeches, the videos, the media coverage.  It’s not good for the soul of our country when people base their politics on what’s good for them and their families first and foremost.  We are all blessed beyond the wildest dreams of most people in the world and even if money is tight and we fear losing our jobs, we are still called to serve the least of these.

So, I for one won’t be tweeting about Ann Romney’s or Cory Booker’s speeches.  Maybe they’ll be great speeches and I hope they are.  But I don’t think I can watch.

Becky Garrison’s 2010 book  –   Jesus Died for This? – asks the fundamental question as we try to be the church.  (Also, read the book. It is hilarious and insightful.)

Most of us spend our days doing chores, tasks, meetings, and conferences that – I think it’s safe to say – do not fill us with resurrection joy.  It’s tempting to say, “Really? Jesus died for this?” when I’ve spent the morning re-writing letters to the Board of Pensions because I forgot to use the word “currently” in the first version they received.  Or I’m breaking up a battle between elders whose fundamental differences with each other involve curtains in the fellowship hall.    Or I’m recruiting volunteers to do something they see no reason to do.

But today is the first anniversary of my ministry for the Presbytery of Chicago and I’m grateful and pleased to say that there have been many more Jesus-Died-for-This moments than not.  Really.  It’s quite wonderful.

May this also be true for your ministry wherever you are serving today, that there are more and more Jesus-Died-for-This moments in your life and work.

PS Jesus didn’t die for football or tschotskes.