Social Networking

After contemplating it for a long time, I finally signed up for Facebook a couple of weeks ago. There has been a lot of buzz about this phenomenon called "social networking." Like many things, trends like this, particularly related to new technology, have elicited a wide variety of responses. Some have become so consumed with it that they spend hours on Facebook, looking at pictures, reading "status updates," and playing all kinds of games. I've read articles about people who have sworn off of FB because they became addicted to it. Others decry it as unhealthy in that a person's time and energy is consumed in "relationships" with "friends" they really don't know at all and have no real relationship. Since I've gotten on FB, I've been annoyed by all the games and other "apps" that you continually being invited to play. Thankfully, you can "hide" them.

For some time, I've noticed that Facebook is the main way that my own young adult children keep in touch with friends, etc. With them, email is almost obsolete - like "snail-mail," something they use to communicate with old people like their parents and grandparents. They send Facebook messages (very much like email). I also was drawn to finally get on Facebook to provide an easy way to share photos with others without having to send emails with huge memory hog files.

Then I realized that as a member of a United Methodist clergy community spread out over all of Southwest Texas, it's an effective way of keeping up with people. Several times in the last couple of months, I have been talking to a colleague who has informed me of some happening in the life of one of our fellow pastors, and I asked, "Where did you hear about that?" and they said, "Facebook."

So I took the plunge (not before I had my 24 yr old daughter who is a FB veteran show me how to set it up with all the appropriate settings). What I've enjoyed and been amazed by is being able to connect with old friends and distant (particularly geographically distant) family. I was amazed that within a few days, I had become Facebook "friends" with almost 100 classmates, colleagues, former parishioners, old friends, as well as people in my new community (particularly youth and young adults). I have my "friends" divided into several lists: clergy colleagues, seminary classmates, college classmates, high school classmates, former parishioners, local friends, and family. I now have over 200 "friends," all people I have known in one place or another in my life's journey. I have heard from people I haven't talked to or been in touch with for years.

One remarkable development is that there was this little girl who was my good friend in 1st and 2nd grade - really my "girlfriend" (as much as one could have at that stage of life) who moved away out of state after 2nd grade, which for us was over 40 years ago. For years while I was still in school in junior high and high school, I alway wondered what became of her, and what her life was like as we grew older. Once the internet came around, I even did Google searches a couple of times to see if I could find her, but to no avail. But once I got on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, I searched for her by her maiden name (which was wasn't that common) and found about a half dozen people. I could tell from the pictures that most of them were young women, but one woman looked to be about the right age, and I actually thought it might look like her. I sent her a message and asked her, "I don't suppose you are the (name) who I went to elementary school in Burnet, TX in the mid 1960's? I was good friends with a girl by that name who moved away after 2nd grade....." Lo and behold, I received a "friend request" in just a few hours and then a message that said, "Yes, I am! And I remember my friend Jay in Mrs. Kroeger's class." She commented that I was the only person she remembered from way back then other than our teachers. Then to make things even more strange - she's the wife of a pastor! I thought, "This is amazing!"

As an itinerant United Methodist pastor, one of the difficult things is you move. It's hard to leave people that you know and love in order to move to a new place to form new relationships. But that's also one of the blessings. I think back of all the rich relationships I've had with people in various places throughout the years, not only in the churches and communities in which I've lived and served, but in college, seminary, and from childhood. Social networking, while not a substitute for real relationships, does provide a wonderful way to reconnect with old friends, dear people I have known in my journey; people with whom I have had a real relationship and probably wouldn't be in touch with now if it weren't for Facebook.

Just don't ask me to play "Mafia Wars," etc. I don't have time for that. I do have time to connect with people about their lives and to renew old friendships.

21st Century Christians? (Part 2)

It's been longer than I'd planned to write this second installment of this topic, but here goes:

Another of the ways the church needs to come on into the 21st century is in our use of the internet, websites and electronic communication. One of the things we're doing right now in our church is sending out our church's monthly newsletter electronically to those who are willing to receive it that way. So we have reduced the number of those sent by snail-mail by 30%. We estimate that this saves as much as $100 a month in postage, paper, etc. And not only is it more cost effective and less wasteful (and less impact on the environment), but it also allows us to use more color, better quality photos, etc.

Another way I've become convinced we need to fully utilize is providing a way for people to give money, to make financial contributions to the church online. I read an article a year or two ago (I can't remember the publication) that indicated that in 10 years, paper bank checks will be obsolete. And yet how does the church receive almost all of its contributions? By paper bank check. So the main way we receive revenue will disappear in perhaps a decade. This alone is reason to provide the option for people to give electronically. In the community in which I now live and serve, I have noticed myself at least half a dozen businesses that have within the last six months posted a sign that says "We no longer accept checks - only cash or debit/credit cards."

A perhaps even more significant reason to provide electronic and internet based giving is demographic. One of the struggles that all churches deal with is developing younger people as givers. And I've talked to many people of this generation (under 40), who don't EVER write checks. They pay bills, make purchases, etc. online, using a debit or credit card, or in some cases, a direct transfer from their bank account initiated on the web. So how are we to expect them to give if we don't allow them to do so in the manner in which they live their lives financially?

I was talking to a friend of mine recently who work in the area of stewardship for the church (a man in his 60's or so) who said he was rather uncomfortable with the notion of giving by credict card, and was quite disapproving when he saw a card swipe machine in a church narthex. He was mentioning this to a friend of his who is about the same age or maybe a bit older and the friend commented: "You know, early in the 20th century churches had to make the controversial decsion to start accepting checks. Up till then, they only received cash for contributions. And church leaders at the time objected or raised concerns about that. 'What if people don't have the money in their accounts to cover the bank note?' This is really no different than that." Of course, every church I have served has had the experience regularly of having contribution checks bounce or returned for insufficient funds.

In talking to some churches that have been receiving contributions online from credit cards for a few years have told me that the people who utilize this method of giving aren't those who struggle with debt. They are people who tend to pay of their cards every month and use them for convienience or for points/miles, etc.

Lastly, enabling people to "click to give" on the church's website increases traffic on the website. At the same time, people who frequent the website are more likely to give if they can do so easily. Other possibilities include providing for folks to register for camps, banquets, and other events and pay for their tickets, registration, etc. right there and the church office avoids the hassle of trying to collect for those things, determining who's paid and who hasn't, etc. (That alone seems a great reason to explore this!).

This issue is another application of something I heard Dr. George Hunter say in a conference a few years ago: "The church is poised and ready for the 1950's. Should they ever come around again, we'll be ready!"

21st Century Christians? (Part 1)

A number of years ago, I began using a Palm or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) as an organizer. I have never done well with paper calendars, to-do lists, etc. Neither do I do well with paper files, etc. I have pretty much transitioned all those things to digital formats - my calendar, my address book, my task lists, goals, etc. I can "sync" my PDA with my computer and have everything - my calendar, etc. on both my computer and PDA - with no paper. And I can keep all that information up to date and backed up quite easily. I've often told people who try to give me a piece of paper or document of some kind, "Do you have that on your computer? If so, keep that paper and then send me an email with the document attached." That way I can keep up with it digitally, which works much better for me than paper.

Just a few years ago, I went from using both a cell phone and PDA to using a "smartphone," which is a Palm device that is both a phone and PDA. That way I could enter information into my address book with phone numbers, email addresses, etc. either on my smartphone or computer and it would automatically be in both places. Although I'm a Palm user, people use other types of phone/PDA devices such as Blackberries and the infamous iPhone. These devices have all kinds of software applications or "apps," for everything from GPS to calorie counters, spreadsheets, music players, etc. I also happen to have a couple of astronomy related apps on my PDA.

However, the main extra app I use on my PDA is my Bible program. In fact, it has become the main Bible I use. I have four different translations of the entire Scripture (one with pretty extensive study notes), as well as five different other resources, like Bible commentaries & dictionaries. In addition to that I have a daily reader program, and one that has the Revised Common Lectionary Readings, which I often consult for sermon preparation. I always have my PDA/smartphone with me and use the Bible program on it for devotional readings, references to specific Scriptures, etc. Consequently, I almost never carry around a bound Bible, and rarely open one even in my study (where I have a multitude of copies on my shelf).

Often when I'm preaching or leading a devotional, I'll pull out my device and read away. Most people find it amusing. However, some people object to it. Somehow or another, some folks think a Bible's not really a Bible unless it's contained in a book, and maybe only then if it's a soft leather cover with gilded edges. To think that something like a computer or "phone" could contain the Word of God seems somehow unholy or disrespectful.

I think this is pretty ridiculous. The notion that the text of Scripture has to be welded to a particular method of transmission, rather than spreading the Word, actually becomes a hindrance to it. Otherwise we would never have used a printing press to print books and we'd still be reading Scriptures on papyri or scrolls (Can you picture folks having a holster for their scrolls on their belt?). And while we're at it, we'd better not translate the Scriptures into a more modern vernacular (or language) that everybody understands. Some folks do object to this, and think that we need to use the King James Version, translated in 17th century England. But why approve of that translation? Why not make everyone learn to read Koine Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written (or Hebrew for the Old Testament)? The whole point of any translation is to make the Scripture accessible and intelligible to people. And quibbling about the medium of communication is even more silly. The same words that can be read printed on a page can be read on a screen.

And that's not all. Palm PDA's, computers, iPhones, Blackberries, and cell phones are the very places where we ought to put the Word of God since that's exactly where people live. Putting the Scripture on their PDA's right next to their calorie counters and all the rest can help integrate it into daily life. The Bible ought not to be kept only in one means of transmission that might be outmoded for an increasing number of people.

The important thing is that our lives are shaped by Scripture. And for many (including me), to be able to read it on a device that is always with me provides a way to experience that.

Meeting God in "The Shack"

Back in 2007, soon after it came out, my wife read The Shack, by William P. Young. For her it was deeply thought-provoking, disturbing, and a wonderful blessing. She talked to me about it and a good bit of what it contained, but was eager for me to read it to see what I thought of it.

Although I had some interest, my attention was elsewhere and I didn't read it. Then over the next year or so, other friends in our church read it and asked me if I had. When they found out I hadn't, told me I really needed to read it.

Meanwhile as interest in the book mushroomed into a phenomenon and I read some review type material about it, I decided I needed to go ahead and read it. I took it along on our trip to Australia back in May, fully intending to read it on the long plane ride, but I just barely started it. Then a week after we got back from our trip, we moved. So life was pretty crazy for several weeks. But recently (finally, my wife would say) I got around to reading the book.

It was a powerful experience. It impacted me greatly and evoked deep emotions in me. I found myself in tears in various spots during the book. Although I would agree with some writers/reviewers that there are some theological points I would quibble with a bit, in the main it is very sound in its theology, particularly with regards to the main issue dealt with (although there are many corollary issues it's also excellent on): The problem of evil and suffering - How can a good God allow such horrendous evil and such devastating human suffering? The Shack not only articulates what I believe to be a very good, biblical theology in this area, it does so in a way that is very effective in fresh ways. First, it does so without the usual jargon, using very clear and understandable language and images. This book also forces you to move beyond some of the notions of God that we all tend to hold, perhaps even unconsciously. But something else - The Shack is not a treatise that mainly uses an intellectual argument, but one that is visceral. You can't read this book without it "messing with you," as one of my colleagues commented. The very notion of a person being called to go to meet God precisely at the very point of his pain pierces you right in the gut.

At least one of the reasons this book is so powerful is that it uses the same method of teaching Jesus himself used so effectively: telling a story - a story that is ultimately about us...and God.

The main message of The Shack is to communicate that God desires to be in relationship with us and is willing to go (and has gone and does go) to unimaginable lengths to reach us, and that the only way for us to be whole is through that relationship.

This certainly doesn't represent all my thoughts and reflections about this book (nor about the issues raised). I will continue to reflect on it and am planning a sermon series in September. An additional book I'm now reading is a theological reflection on The Shack entitled Finding God in the Shack.

I recommend reading The Shack. It will mess with you.

Giant Leaps

I've been doing a lot of reflecting the last few days (and particularly today) regarding the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. 40 years ago today, human beings first set foot on a world other than this earth.

In May 1961 in a speech before Congress, President John F. Kennedy made this startling declaration:
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

It sounded so outlandish. And I'm sure that as NASA began working on actually achieving this goal, it seemed even more so. Kennedy's next sentence even acknowledges the audacity of this goal:
"No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."

On this day almost 40 years later, after which we've experienced unimaginable technological and scientific advancement, it's STILL an impressive achievement. We can't really understand how ridiculous it seemed at the time almost 50 years ago. And yet our country did it, and with technology, computers, systems, etc. that seem almost Mickey Mouse compared to today. But for Kennedy and those intrepid souls at NASA in the 1960's, it wasn't just a dream; it was a vision - a vision that they then worked to see happen.

"One small step for a man...one giant leap for mankind" were the words that Mission Commander Neil Armstrong uttered as he set foot on the moon on this day 40 years ago, the first human - probably the first living being - to do so. But there's a sense in which the giant leap was not Armstrong's, but Kennedy's, who dared to be captured by a vision and then to provide the leadership to inspire a nation to see it realized.

So often in our lives, both as individuals and as congregations, we fail to have vision. Oh, we may dream big dreams, but we do it as fantasies that will never be realized. Our vision is often too small. We have too small a vision of what might be, not because of how great or capable we are, but our failure to see the power of God. And too often when we catch a glimpse of an audacious vision of what God wants to do in us or in our midst, we're so intimidated by it that we're content to allow it to remain a fantasy, rather than articulate it as a vision - as Kennedy did. Max Lucado on his Twitter page today said, "The worship of safety emasculates greatness. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear."

Paul says in Ephesians 3:21 (The Message):
"God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!"

God help us not only to dream great dreams, but be captured by an audacious vision - to "shoot for the moon" and be empowered to reach it, to cause the vision to come to be, as we allow his power to be at work in us.

Making a Home

My wife and I have been talking lately about what it means to “make our home” in Fredericksburg, where we moved last month. It’s been a bit strange in that on the one hand, we’ve been here for about a month or so now, so there’s a sense in which we’ve been “making our home” here for all that time – getting acquainted with the church, both the facility and congregation/staff, finding our way around town, etc. But on the other hand, we’ve only been in the house for a week (we lived in our 5th-wheel trailer for a month!), so we’re only beginning to “make our home” there. So it’s been a bit odd.

Of course, living the life of an itinerant United Methodist pastor, and my wife even living the life of an “Army brat” in her growing up years, home for us has a different meaning than it does for folks who’ve lived in the same community their whole lives (some even in the same house). One of the ways she is making this parsonage (i.e., church-provided home for the pastor) our “home” is filling the tops of the kitchen cabinets with all sorts of knick-knacks, etc. all of which have a special value or meaning from her life and our life together. That helps her to feel like it’s “home.”

I remember our daughter (who’s now almost 24) wrote an essay or paper while in college on this subject, and of course, did so from the perspective of the child of an itinerant pastor. Her main thesis was that for her, who has made her home in different communities, schools, neighborhoods, congregations, and houses, “home” is our family. That’s where the anchor is. She identified home not with place or location, but relationship. It’s also true, however, that as an itinerant parsonage family, we experienced a lot of change in other relationships.

But it occurs to me that these dynamics are true for many of the rest of us, as well, even those who’ve lived in one community their whole lives. The landscape changes, relationships change (old ones fade away, new ones come along, and the others go through changes, as well). For any of us, the only relationship that is constant is our relationship with God. Of course, that one changes, too – but it’s because we (hopefully) grow; God never changes. His faithfulness never wavers.

The Christian life is referred to both in Scripture and other Christian literature not as a place, location, or even set of human relationships in which we settle, but rather a journey – a “walk” in which we travel. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we “follow” – we move, rather than park ourselves. We are pilgrims, not settlers. But our most important relationship – the one we have with God – anchors us so we can move and be open to change; in our relationships and sometimes in our location. As a song about the Christian life says, “The journey is our home.”

My goal is to be so anchored in my relationship with Jesus Christ that I’m able to be open to all the new places and new relationships as I “make my home” in a new place.

Transitions - Part 2

I really intended to write this second reflection on "transitions" the next week or so after the last one, but I didn't until now for a number of reasons. One is that my life still feels a little chaotic and unsettled, and one contributing factor for that is we haven't yet moved into the parsonage to begin creating our "home." So as my wife Joan was saying earlier, we still feel like we're in limbo. Another reason I haven't written is perhaps I'm still in many ways grieving leaving Victoria. I know that will continue for some time to come.

But, on the other hand, we have been warmly welcomed here. The church staff has been very welcoming and receptive, as have the other leaders and members of this congregation. They have received me and express an openness to my gifts and ministry here. And although we'll feel better about things here once we've been able to move into the house, we still are feeling a bit more at home here. It is a beautiful town, delightful really, and it is in an area of the state that has always felt like home.

Aside from the specifics of being here in Fredericksburg, one of the interesting and exciting dynamics of moving to a new church no matter where it is, is the sense that you're starting afresh, having a new beginning. The slate is clean, in a way. Any miscues in judgment in leadership you've made in the previous appointment you had to live with the aftermath of have faded away, other than what you might be able to learn from them. It's a new day. For that I am thankful. Of course, now I'm free to make new blunders! But with God's help I'll endeavor to be a better pastor, better preacher, better spiritual leader here than in any previous appointment. We also look forward to new friends, new relationships, new partners in ministry. It would be my hope that we will be able to form relationships with people here in Fredericksburg that will be just as close as those it has been (and will continue to be) so painful to leave in Victoria.