Heard a very good sermon today by John Breidenstine. John and I grew up in the same congregation in Lancaster. John's a foreign diplomat stationed in Sonora, Mexico. He and his wife Judith are also students at Bethany Theological Seminary through the Connections distance education program.
What made for such a great sermon? Integrity. It wasn't that John was so dynamic. He's really a pretty "understated" guy. It wasn't that he shared any radically new thoughts on servanthood. I didn't hear anything that I hadn't heard before, or probably even preached before myself. But John and Judith and their son Victor really exemplify the servant posture and the pursuit of God's will for their lives that John was speaking about today.
One example of that integrity is found in this YouTube post that they put together recently. It documents the work of one mission in Hermosillo that they are actively involved in. Read John 13. Watch this video. Think about living with integrity. Live a life of service.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Power of the Towel
Power's a tricky commodity. We all have it. We all use it. It's not necessarily equally distributed among people, and it can be used for good or ill. There are different types of power: some power is earned, some is inherited, some is imposed.
One form of power which Jesus taught is power in servanthood. This type of power is most clearly exemplified in the John 13 story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet. In an outrageously counter cultural act, Jesus performed a power-filled act of service for his disciples, an act typically reserved for the powerless slave.
The faith tradition of which I am a part, the Church of the Brethren, recognizes the power of washing feet. It's symbolism indicates a world turned upside down, where power is shared and relinquished for the good of the other and the good of the community. As feet are washed in basins and dried with towels the balance of power is re-distributed, and the ultimate power in the universe, God in Jesus, is recognized as a serving, sustaining power.
Some years ago I wrote and recorded a song that captures a bit of this sentiment. A few of my friends and acquaintances have been reminding me of it lately, I suspect for its musical value, or perhaps some sentimental connection they have to it, or maybe because I need to be reminded of the posture of power that comes with a towel in hand. Whatever the impetus, here's the song. Feel free to use it in any way that's helpful to you and your faith community, except for selling it! (After all, it is copyrighted material).
One form of power which Jesus taught is power in servanthood. This type of power is most clearly exemplified in the John 13 story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet. In an outrageously counter cultural act, Jesus performed a power-filled act of service for his disciples, an act typically reserved for the powerless slave.
The faith tradition of which I am a part, the Church of the Brethren, recognizes the power of washing feet. It's symbolism indicates a world turned upside down, where power is shared and relinquished for the good of the other and the good of the community. As feet are washed in basins and dried with towels the balance of power is re-distributed, and the ultimate power in the universe, God in Jesus, is recognized as a serving, sustaining power.
Some years ago I wrote and recorded a song that captures a bit of this sentiment. A few of my friends and acquaintances have been reminding me of it lately, I suspect for its musical value, or perhaps some sentimental connection they have to it, or maybe because I need to be reminded of the posture of power that comes with a towel in hand. Whatever the impetus, here's the song. Feel free to use it in any way that's helpful to you and your faith community, except for selling it! (After all, it is copyrighted material).
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Singing strength
According to Pete Seeger (emphasis mine):
People ask, is there one word that you have more faith in than any other word, and I'd say it's participation. I feel that this takes on so many meanings. The composer John Philip Sousa said, 'What will happen to the American voice now that the phonograph has been invented? Women used to sing lullabies to their children.'
It's been my life work, to get participation, whether it's a union song, or a peace song, civil rights, or a women's movement, or gay liberation. When you sing, you feel a kind of strength; you think, I'm not alone, there's a whole batch of us who feel this way. I'm just one person, but it's almost my religion now to persuade people that even if it's only you and three others, do something. You and one another, do something. If it's only you, and you do a good job as a songwriter, people will sing it.
-from The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson, page 106
People ask, is there one word that you have more faith in than any other word, and I'd say it's participation. I feel that this takes on so many meanings. The composer John Philip Sousa said, 'What will happen to the American voice now that the phonograph has been invented? Women used to sing lullabies to their children.'
It's been my life work, to get participation, whether it's a union song, or a peace song, civil rights, or a women's movement, or gay liberation. When you sing, you feel a kind of strength; you think, I'm not alone, there's a whole batch of us who feel this way. I'm just one person, but it's almost my religion now to persuade people that even if it's only you and three others, do something. You and one another, do something. If it's only you, and you do a good job as a songwriter, people will sing it.
-from The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson, page 106
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Parade or parody?
Today we went to our town's 4th of July parade. I'm glad we went. It was fun and gave us some great insight into our community. The highlights were the Asian dancers, the high school marching bands (go Larkin!), the old cars and lots of diverse families lining the streets. There were also some things that raised questions for me.
How can we celebrate the blessings of our country without equating such privilege primarily with the military? It seemed that much of the parade was lifting up military personnel and politicians, the primary players in war-making. What would a parade that celebrates the unique freedoms and ingenuity of our nation look like? How could we celebrate the birth of our country with appropriate recognition that it was inaugurated through a bloody, violent, and self-righteous sequence of events? We seem to be stuck in such an "all or nothing" rut in terms of non-critically celebrating or being categorized as anti-American. Not so on either account.
The parade also had more than its share of churches participating. I'm glad to see our community's churches trying to make an impact. But I was left wondering what the effect of their parading would be. Do our churches really think that by marching together wearing ears, noses and whiskers that the "unchurched" will want to join their journey? Or that by rolling a stained glass windowed bellfry with a cross on it down the street that parade-goers will be motivated to take up the cross and follow Jesus?
And then there are social activists: environmentalists, peace advocates, political reformists, and health care whistle blowers. Again, I'm actually sympathetic to each of these causes, but I question the effectiveness of trying to out-shout the marching bands with one's war opposition, or pulling your float with a Hummer H3 while advocating political reforms, or driving a school bus (even a bio diesel one) while challenging our environmental practices. Paradox all over the place; I just wonder how many of the participants see these ironies themselves. It's clear that those looking on see them.
Finally, I was astounded at how the two and a half hour parade was basically a mile-long commercial. From towing companies, to various city departments, to gymnastics and karate academies, to politicians, to nut makers, to towing companies (did I mention this already?), to secret societies, to local eating establishments, it seemed that we were given invitation after invitation to help improve the economy. Apparently we've become so outrageously commercialized that even our holiday parades are for sale.
Ooops, one more thing: Candy. Everyone was throwing candy to kids and adults alike. I mean everyone. Guess that's a way to ensure future business for our two major hospitals...
I know this post sounds like a summer scrooge. Perhaps I really am at heart. But the joy of today for me is found in the freedom to write this blog, to think and speak critically about the community that I am a part of, and to do so from my second property (because my first property is still suffering from the real estate depression).
Really though, the joy of today is in spending it with my family, napping on the sofa, hearing/smelling/feeling the rain water the earth, and knowing that my earthly residence is a great place (the United States of America) but that when it really comes to citizenship, my primary allegiances are to Jesus Christ and the other way of living to which he welcomes me.
How can we celebrate the blessings of our country without equating such privilege primarily with the military? It seemed that much of the parade was lifting up military personnel and politicians, the primary players in war-making. What would a parade that celebrates the unique freedoms and ingenuity of our nation look like? How could we celebrate the birth of our country with appropriate recognition that it was inaugurated through a bloody, violent, and self-righteous sequence of events? We seem to be stuck in such an "all or nothing" rut in terms of non-critically celebrating or being categorized as anti-American. Not so on either account.
The parade also had more than its share of churches participating. I'm glad to see our community's churches trying to make an impact. But I was left wondering what the effect of their parading would be. Do our churches really think that by marching together wearing ears, noses and whiskers that the "unchurched" will want to join their journey? Or that by rolling a stained glass windowed bellfry with a cross on it down the street that parade-goers will be motivated to take up the cross and follow Jesus?
And then there are social activists: environmentalists, peace advocates, political reformists, and health care whistle blowers. Again, I'm actually sympathetic to each of these causes, but I question the effectiveness of trying to out-shout the marching bands with one's war opposition, or pulling your float with a Hummer H3 while advocating political reforms, or driving a school bus (even a bio diesel one) while challenging our environmental practices. Paradox all over the place; I just wonder how many of the participants see these ironies themselves. It's clear that those looking on see them.
Finally, I was astounded at how the two and a half hour parade was basically a mile-long commercial. From towing companies, to various city departments, to gymnastics and karate academies, to politicians, to nut makers, to towing companies (did I mention this already?), to secret societies, to local eating establishments, it seemed that we were given invitation after invitation to help improve the economy. Apparently we've become so outrageously commercialized that even our holiday parades are for sale.
Ooops, one more thing: Candy. Everyone was throwing candy to kids and adults alike. I mean everyone. Guess that's a way to ensure future business for our two major hospitals...
I know this post sounds like a summer scrooge. Perhaps I really am at heart. But the joy of today for me is found in the freedom to write this blog, to think and speak critically about the community that I am a part of, and to do so from my second property (because my first property is still suffering from the real estate depression).
Really though, the joy of today is in spending it with my family, napping on the sofa, hearing/smelling/feeling the rain water the earth, and knowing that my earthly residence is a great place (the United States of America) but that when it really comes to citizenship, my primary allegiances are to Jesus Christ and the other way of living to which he welcomes me.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
taken for granted
Just back from our big annual church conference where I had the privilege of planning and leading worship Sunday morning. It's always a great experience to be on the platform at conference, to look out on this gathering of God's people, to sing and pray and worship. Like I said, it was a great experience for me.
And apparently it was also a good worship experience for at least some of those gathered. I fielded quite a few positive comments about the service, for which I am appreciative. There were also some surprises in those comments.
Early in the service the kids were called forward, and I jumped down on the floor to talk with them about fear and love. The kids were awesome: full of energy, answering the questions, giving creative and insightful answers, like only kids can do. The surprise was in the number of people who said what a risk it was to have a story like that, how brave I was to take that on, and how unusual it was to have a children's time at conference. These comments all may have something to say about why we seem to have fewer and fewer kids in our churches! I didn't even think twice about meeting the kids.
The second surprise was the category of comments that lifted up the flow and integration of worship. Again, for me that's pretty much a no-brainer. Especially at this big gathering of Brethren, continuity, flow, and direction seem like priorities for worship. I'm not talking style, but rather quality. How else would we plan and carry out worship except with our best??
The third observation was that a lot of folks found the simple hymn chorus Don't be afraid to be very powerful as part of the response to confession. Many requests for this piece, which I got from the Church of the Brethren Hymnal Supplement.
The reminder for me in these observations it to not take for granted the gifts that I've been given, and to remember that just because something is "routine" or "expected" from my point of view that it well might be new, interesting and empowering to someone else.
And apparently it was also a good worship experience for at least some of those gathered. I fielded quite a few positive comments about the service, for which I am appreciative. There were also some surprises in those comments.
Early in the service the kids were called forward, and I jumped down on the floor to talk with them about fear and love. The kids were awesome: full of energy, answering the questions, giving creative and insightful answers, like only kids can do. The surprise was in the number of people who said what a risk it was to have a story like that, how brave I was to take that on, and how unusual it was to have a children's time at conference. These comments all may have something to say about why we seem to have fewer and fewer kids in our churches! I didn't even think twice about meeting the kids.
The second surprise was the category of comments that lifted up the flow and integration of worship. Again, for me that's pretty much a no-brainer. Especially at this big gathering of Brethren, continuity, flow, and direction seem like priorities for worship. I'm not talking style, but rather quality. How else would we plan and carry out worship except with our best??
The third observation was that a lot of folks found the simple hymn chorus Don't be afraid to be very powerful as part of the response to confession. Many requests for this piece, which I got from the Church of the Brethren Hymnal Supplement.
The reminder for me in these observations it to not take for granted the gifts that I've been given, and to remember that just because something is "routine" or "expected" from my point of view that it well might be new, interesting and empowering to someone else.
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