The Emerging Mission........

                                         

The work of our District Mission Strategy Team is moving along at a measured pace. Watching, and listening to God is not a weekend endeavor. Catching a glimpse of God's preferred future demands patience and faith, both gifts from God. Our vision is still coming into focus, but if we were asked to name it on Thursday, February 27, 2014 - it would look/sound something like this:

The mission strategy of The Capital District is to intentionally partner  in sharing the good news of God's love for all people, revealed in Jesus Christ. We believe that God is a God of mission and we are God's sent ones. Therefore, we will link ourselves with the God who goes before us, and is with us, as we seek to be in mission with: 

•Our Public school children and their families

•Our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters, and

•Our hungry and needy neighbors, locally and globally

This week I'd like to take a few moments to consider our second stream. It occurs to me that in order to be on mission with God, with our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters, we must first acknowledge that many of us need help in seeing. To be on mission with God and with our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters we must begin from a posture of learning. I hope this video serves you as it has me. The very fabric of our culture is constantly morphing and changing. Such is the case with the 1 million new residents coming annually to the US who would call themselves Hispanic/Latino. I believe God is calling us on mission, together, and in the process is teaching us that "us" vs "them" must be replaced by "we". Watch the following video, and then ask yourself what new discoveries you make as a result. 

                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQnhuj11zgI 

This is an invitation for you/your congregation to acknowledge  how you are in this particular stream - today - with God. Streams wind, and twist and turn, but they move. In the next few weeks we would appreciate hearing from you. Could you and a few key leaders invest 30 minutes of time to pause, and celebrate how you are in this stream? Can you name the specific shape of what you are doing with God to address hunger and human need in your immediate community? to the ends of the earth??  Would you share these with our district team and help us begin to see with greater clarity what God is up to? 

Still In ONE Peace,

jon(theMethodist)

Last fall, Claire and I attended a weekend learning community sponsored by The Royce and Jane Reynolds Academy For Leadership Excellence which focused around the theme of what it means to be on mission with God in the world. In one of our times of shared worship we shared in a reading attributed to "The Elders, Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona. A portion of that reading follows.......

This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly. 

          Know the river has it destination. The elders say we must let go of               the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open,           and our heads above water. See who is there with you and celebrate.

                                                               

I embrace these words on so many levels. I appreciate how they begin with, "this could be a good time," and end with, "see who is there with you and celebrate." We have every reason to declare this time as a "good time", maybe even borrow Isaiah's vision of this being, "the acceptable time".  When we pause to look around us, we soon realize that there are others....many others....who are with us in the stream. 

The metaphor we believe God has given us is one of three streams which meld together into one mighty river. The three streams could be described as follows:

      *God in mission before us/with us, in our communities and the world,
      addressing the challenges and opportunities of hunger and human need.

      God in mission before us/with us among our growing Hispanic/Latino 
      neighbors; learning together as the stream carries us where God chooses

      God in mission before us/with us among children in our public schools,
      and their extended families, embracing the hurts and hopes we share.

So now is the time for us to begin naming the myriad ways we are joining God in facing the challenges and opportunities of hunger and human need......first in our own communities......and then to "the ends of the earth". Where are you/your congregation joining God in this particular stream? Hunger.........Human Need..........

This is an invitation for you/your congregation to acknowledge what a "good time" this is, and to name - specifically - how you are in this stream with God....with those whom God is seeking to touch. Streams wind, and twist and turn, but they move. In the next week we would appreciate hearing from you. Could you and a few key leaders invest 30 minutes of time to pause, and celebrate how you are in this stream? Can you name the specific shape of what you are doing with God to address hunger and human need in your immediate community? to the ends of the earth??  Would you share these with our district team and help us begin to see with greater clarity what God is up to? 

Some of us will need to begin with the realization that we are afraid. We cannot control the stream, much less the River it flows into. All of us know what it feels like to watch the stream flow by - but to choose the apparent safety of the shore. Please share with us the answers to the previous questions. You can e mail those to me or to Claire and we will begin to create a map that marks where God is at work 
before us.......with us........

In Christ,

jon(the Methodist)

A Missional Metaphor: The Capital Streams

During my most recent cross-country adventures I enjoyed a few days on the train. First, from Chicago to Denver, and then from Denver to San Francisco. My train and route even had a name: "The California Zephyr". I chose this train and route after careful planning and review. I knew that it would take me to/through places I had never visited, and give me at least a glimpse of the fabric of Americana. 

                                                 

In short, I was not disappointed. The train's observation car allowed me to gaze in wide-eyed wonder at the passing landscape. From a comfortable seat I tried to capture an image or two as we whizzed along; sometimes as rapidly as 80 mph. In all honesty I often lost track of  time. The beauty of the surroundings, and the sheer vastness of the landscape were often beyond my poor command of language to describe. So with Nikon in hand, and a lens or two nearby, I attempted the impossible. I wanted a way to remember some of what I was witnessing. I wanted to be able to share some measure of it with my friends.

The two scenes featured were taken as we passed through the Rockies. The first was taken of our train from my vantage point in the observation car as we curved our way through a mountain pass. The second photograph was snapped as the sun peeked out from the clouds following a flurry of snow. The river below us glistened in sunlight. 

In February I want to try and communicate (in images and words) the unfolding discernment which our district mission strategy team is discovering
as it relates to God's mission among us. We are hopeful that the image of three meshing streams will help us to cast God's vision before the entire district. The vision is not so much a picture of what God will be doing as it is one of what God is already doing; going before us, and inviting us to wade into the stream(s) with God, one another, and all our neighbors. 

Those three streams could be described as follows:

      God in mission before us/with us, in our communities and the world,
      addressing the challenges and opportunities of hunger and human need.

      God in mission before us/with us among our growing Hispanic/Latino 
      neighbors; learning together as the stream carries us where God chooses

      God in mission before us/with us among children in our public schools,
      and their extended families, embracing the hurts and hopes we share.

God - in mission - before us - with us. The good news is we can already identify the God of mission in our midst, clearly and consistently  We are not left to our own strategies and devices, but called and led by God, who as one liturgy notes is, "always working for our good". 

In the weeks ahead we'll explore each of these streams more closely, with the hope that as we press into the streams, we might comprehend the true landscape around us.  What if God is inviting us to a journey to/through places we have never visited? Could God be inviting us to leave our familiar shores and discover the vastness of a landscape too expansive to be confined to a sanctuary?  I guess the only way to answer these questions honestly is
to jump in and discover.

In Christ,

Jon(theMethodist)


      

The Sabbath Box?

So my first-ever sabbatical leave has come and gone, and now I am back in the proverbial saddle again. With this change comes the the expected tasks to return to; emails to write, phone calls to make, calendar issues to address, and yes, blog posts to create. There are appointive meetings looming on the horizon and the requisite preparations for joining in that form of discernment. In short, life has shifted again - from "park" to "drive". 

Nonetheless, sabbath beckons to me. The necessary tasks have their place and time (see Ecclesiastes 3) but sabbath does as well. The temptation to be a human doing rather than a human being hasn't waned. The foolishness of trying to substitute a "day off" for sabbath still pleads for my acquiescence. How about you?

It seems providential that a fellow pilgrim offered me a free copy of Wayne Muller's classic, Sabbath: Restoring The Sacred Rhythm Of Rest  as we worshipped together only a few Sundays ago. I told her that I was, "on sabbatical". She seemed amused, and a tad bit pleased to bear and share her particular gift that morning.

Some days later as I began reading the book,  a story of Muller's seemed to call for my attention. 

My friends Zalman and Eve faithfully keep the Sabbath. While I was visiting them last spring they told me that in some families it is customary to make a Sabbath box to hold all the equipment you do not need on the Sabbath - pens, car keys, wallets, etc.. "On Friday," they explained, "someone stands at the door with the Shabbos box and as people enter the house for the evening meal, they put in anything they know should not be taken into sacred space. Then, stripped of all our tools and machines, we can only pray, God, there is nothing I can do about these concerns, so I know it is in your hands."    

                                                           

The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) begins with the word, "remember". At first hearing it is word which seems focused on what is behind us. But in truth, it is every bit as much a word which calls us to the present. "Remember" occurs over 230 times  in the annals of the Old Testament. I'm pretty sure that it is more than a call to be nostalgic. Remember translates better as, "treasure". " (Treasure) the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy" whispers commandment #4. [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God) says The Amplified Version. 

Isn't it odd how easily we can view commandment #4 as a, "nice-to-have", rather than a gift; as an obligation rather than an opportunity?  But there it is anyway. Staring at us from the tablets of stone. What if we treasured the gift of sabbath in such a way that we refused to accept the bastardized substitutes that incessantly knock at our doors? What if we began to embrace sabbath as the gift it is intended to be for us? for God?  What if we began to embrace sabbath in such a way that we discovered the gift of working out of our rest rather than merely resting from our work? 

Then, I imagine, our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, family and friends would become curious about our lives in the ways that lead to questions of ultimate importance. Then, we would discover what it is to be the "light of the world". Then, we would discover the gift of being immersed in a healthy measure of God-dependence; no longer worshipping at the altar of independence or even worse, self-dependence. 

Wendell Berry's poem speaks to me in new ways now in the after-glow of my sabbath month.

Whatever is foreseen in joy
Must be lived out from day to day.
Vision held open in the dark
By our ten thousand days of work.
Harvest will fill the barn; for that
The hand must ache, the face must sweat.

And yet no leaf or grain is filled
By work of ours; the field is tilled
And left to grace. That we may reap,
Great work is done while we're asleep.

When we work well, a Sabbath mood
Rests on our day, and finds it good.

from A Timbered Choir

Still...........in ONE Peace,


Jon(theMethodist)

                

Intentionally Under The Wing ?

As one who occasionally "blogs", and "posts", I hope to engage others in reading and commenting on what I write in hopes that others might be encouraged. In some small way, I want to do my part in the creation of authentic community; even when it is an on-line community. Those who by intention monitor and occasionally comment on a blog or post have a name in the cyber-world: "followers". I find this ironic. The post-modern-world-wide-web-universe plunders a word: "followers", which is as old as 1st century Christianity, and in reality even pre-dates Jesus' followers.

                                                   

                                                  

As the new year looms on the near horizon I am reminded that the followers of Jesus do not become followers by accident. Someone extends Christ’s love to us. Someone takes us under the wing and nurtures us as disciples - that is, by intention, others assist us in becoming life-long, obedient, followers, learners, and servants of Jesus. Life-long suggests that discipleship is a process more than a destination. The primary role of a disciple is to....follow. In many circles today this intentional sharing of the journey is referred to as “mentoring”. The church is called to intentionally practice this nurturing – or mentoring in discipleship. The word used in the New Testament is “equipping”.

Author, Leonard Sweet gives us some insights as to why this should be important for us today.

We tend to forget…that the twelve disciples Jesus calledto found his movement were all lay people. Jesus had threeyears to save the world. How did he choose to spend thosethree years? Founding a mega-church? Launching a massmovement?? Building a temple??? Starting a new religion????He chose to spend what time he had training a small cell ofdisciples…….

The purpose, as noted by the Apostle Paul is simple:

 ...(so that) we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15b-16

Obviously I welcome "followers" of my blogs and posts, but the more significant issue is this: 

Who am I intentionally helping to become a follower of Jesus? 

Who am I willing to take under my wing and nurture in the way that is Jesus' way? 

New Year's resolutions will fail to make this happen. But I believe the same Spirit Who is active and visible in Jesus, is at work in me, making this calling a real possibility.

In Christ,

Jon(the methodist)

                                                    

The Beloved Thief ?

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."   Matthew 24 (NIV)

                                                                       

To an audience of frightened and weary followers Matthew wrote his gospel. His first listeners were people just like us. As one  Christian writer imagines, ‘they wanted to know whether Jesus’ delay in coming was part of a master plan, or whether he was missing in action? Was he  coming back to pull them from the edge of the abyss, or were they just going to hang there (white-knuckled) until their fingers gave out, and they fell onto the mounting pile of bodies at the bottom of the abyss?' It is to these 1st century followers, and to all of us, that Matthew recounts  Jesus’ warning: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

One might wonder if Matthew realizes there are only 12 shopping days left until Christmas? And that includes today! There’s eating, and drinking, and even weddings to celebrate, with poinsettias arranged just so……There’s work unfinished. So let’s finish putting up the tinsel, and make sure all the lights are burning on the tree.  Wreaths need to be hung. Crèches wait to be arranged. This Advent there are way too many items to check off our long lists of Christmas to-dos….

Now we who live between the Advent of His first coming and his coming again….wait…  Maybe this is why he comes to us unexpectedly, as if under the cover of darkness. The unexpected beloved thief.  Maybe he will find a crack in the door, a window unlatched, the alarm system mistakenly switched “off”. Then We will discover why he is to be loved; this one who comes not to take, but to give; who fills our lives with so much more than we can ever attain through our own plans and devices. 

To us this One says:  “KEEP WATCH”....“STAY AWAKE!” And maybe, just maybe, our watching will help us – not to keep the intruder out, but to welcome him in. 

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon (the Methodist)

                                               

Capital District Christmas Offering For Hispanic/Latino Ministries

"The image (below) is about the self-empowerment, creativity and determination of the Hispanic/Latino people to create a new reality for the church and all creation. From countryside to urban centers, and from within the canvas (meaning from within the community), it depicts the dreams of our people, who are painting a vision of God's children"

The vision of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry is that of a growing, dynamic, and inclusive church as United Methodist responds to the opportunity presented by the increasing Hispanic/Latino population of the United States. To be such a church, God need disciples who are faithful sowers of the Gospel in our world.

Our district has formed a Hispanic/Latino Ministries Team which seeks to encourage and empower every congregation to live into this vision. The Reverend Edith Salazar Veliz (Luz Del Pueblo: White Plains UMC Cary) serves as our Team Chair. Edith may be contacted via e mail @   edithsalazarv@yahoo.com

The National Plan For Hispanic/Latino Ministries is something each congregation should dedicate time to explore and understand. The plan is available for your review at the following web address.

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/plan/hispanic/strategy/index.cfm?i=27985   

The Capital District has established a special Hispanic/Latino Ministries Fund. These monies enable us to assist our Hispanic/Latino pastors in leadership development and education, summer and after school programs for children and youth, and the support of infrastructure for ministries in our district. This year we partnered with The Heritage District to purchase a used passenger van to help in transporting 30 Hispanic children to a ministry near Bailey -

La Estrella Resplandeciente (The Shining Star). Several of our Capital District congregations are supporting this mission with volunteers. Take a peek at what this ministry seeks to accomplish with our help. http://heritagedistrictnc.org/la-estrella-resplandeciente/    Please contact The Reverend Lucho Reinoso to discover how your church can partner in this hands-on ministry. 

His cell number is 919-495-2115

Will your congregation receive a special offering during Advent/Christmas this December to help expand our work among our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters across the Capital District ? Your generosity will help us to do together what no one church could ever accomplish alone. Your church's remittance to the Conference Treasurer should be earmarked: Capital District Hispanic/Latino Ministries. 

A few weeks ago I watched the video, "The New American Reality". 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQnhuj11zIg       This eye-opening animation is only 2 minutes 51 seconds in length, but it will change the way you see. Please watch it, and then share it with leaders in your church and with your neighbors and friends. 

Felice Navidad,

Juan (El Methodista)