Friday, June 26, 2015

Summer Spirit: Spirit Gathered

There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp, and Montlureis finishing its fourth week! Pray for Stephanie Hamilton! Pray for the counselors! And pray for the all the children and youth who will be blessed by getting away from their routines in order to get into Jesus.
Last week I served as chaplain for the senior high camp andwas excited to bring this year’s theme at Montlure: Power Up in the Spirit. The fourthday’s lesson was taken from Ephesians 4:1-6, which says in part:
…Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
This passage was quite fun to teach as it allowed me to break out the story from Dr. Suess’ The Butter Battle in which two tribes from the same locale war over the correct way to butter bread: butter side up versus butter side down. I divided the campers into two groups and asked them to shout out their answer to the question, “What is the proper side of the bread to butter?” As each side made their voices heard, in ever increasing volume, the cacophony blurred into a single, guttural cry that sounded something like, “AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!” Sadly, this exercise is in some ways a metaphor for the Church.
There are seven “ones” in this brief passage of Ephesians: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. Seven being the symbolic number of heaven for the ancient Israelites, this passage speaks both literally and symbolically toward our unity even in the midst of our differences, the triumph of diversity over division for those who share in Jesus Christ.
But how is such unity in diversity accomplished? In the presbytery as it is in the church, in the church family as it is in the extended family, among all families and friends, the character qualities the Lord seeks of his people, and which draw us toward a common heart for the Lord Jesus, are humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance. To demonstrate the reconciling power of these character qualities, imagine the reverse of these traits. What kind of teamwork, unity and common purpose is found when members are arrogant, obnoxious, impatient and intolerant?
At the Camp Dance the evening of day four, the senior high campers – a famously cliquish tribe – brought joy to my heart as I observed them dance with one another almost exclusively in groups, large and small, constantly morphing, constantly changing who was dancing with whom. It was as if they had figured out that jocks and musicians, theater folk and brainiacs were all different and yet somehow one. Our presbytery and our churches can learn a lot from their example. Indeed, may we learn from their example the “new math” of the Kingdom: 1 + 1 + 1+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = ONE!
Pray on these things,
Brad


Friday, June 19, 2015

Summer Spirit: Spirit People

There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp, and Montlure is finishing its third week! Pray for Stephanie Hamilton! Pray for the counselors! And pray for the all the children and youth who will be blessed by getting away from their routines in order to get into Jesus.
This year I will serve as chaplain for the senior high camp andam excited to bring this year’s theme at Montlure: Power Up in the Spirit. The third day’s lesson draws from 1 Thessalonians 4:4-7, which says in part:
…our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you…You became imitators of us and of the Lord.
This passage reminds us of the importance of authenticity in the Christian life, of speaking not just a particular, Christian language but living the peculiar, Christian life, for the Gospel calls us not just to proclaim “simply with words” but to be the kind of Spirit infused people who live with a deep conviction in the Lord. Simply put: the Gospel calls us to move beyond our rhetoric and into relationship.
Please note the conjunction: and. As Presbyterian Christians, we believe creed and conviction live in harmony with conscience and call. We are called to live into God’s truth because we believe God is relational in God’s essential character and nature (Holy Trinity), because Jesus came to live among us as God’s living Word upon the earth (Incarnation), because this same Jesus sends us out in the power of the Holy Spirit to be instruments of reconciliation and work toward God’s justice and joy (Missio Dei). This powerful message is conveyed through our authenticity.
Paul’s asks the Thessalonians to imitate him and the Lord, to see the Lord through his (Paul’s) living. As I sit awaiting the campers’ arrival at Montlure, I am reminded anew of the significance of our example: our children learn the truth of their baptism as they see how we love them; our youth learn to live deeply into their baptism as they watch – and they are watching! – the faithfulness with which we seek to follow Jesus. Who we are matters!
May we throw ourselves into God’s mercy, trusting in his love, seeking to listen to the Spirit’s nudges that will lead us into joyful mischief that launches us toward sacred conundrums that cause us to learn anew of our absolute and utter dependence upon God, and that he is faithful to enable us to become Spirit people, the living stones of a Holy Temple, our adoption as children of the One, True God!
Pray on these things,
Brad


Friday, June 12, 2015

Summer Spirit: Spirit Power

There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp, and Montlurehas kicked-off! Pray for Stephanie Hamilton! Pray for the counselors! And pray for the all the children and youth who will be blessed by getting away from their routines in order to get into Jesus.
This year I will serve as chaplain for the senior high camp and am excited to bring this year’s theme at Montlure: Power Up in the Spirit. The second day’s lesson draws from Acts 2, which says in part:
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of passion Luke conveys. It is not just a wind from heaven but a violent wind, both to destroy former ways and to build new creation. It is not just tongues for speech to reverse the Babel curse but tongues of fire to burn up the detritus of human alienation in order to purge the way for true community.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of totality Luke conveys. It is not just the house but the whole house, as if more than the people but all of creation is included in God’s work of re-creation. It is not just the apostles but all of them, as if Luke is loath to allow even one saint to be forgotten or, worse, allowed to refuse the call of God upon them.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of utter and absolute dependence upon God that Luke conveys: as the Spirit enabled. This is a foundational conviction of Reformed faith: God first, then we respond to the movement of God. In Acts, the Spirit speaks, then the disciples preach; the Spirit enables, then the work begins.
Passion. Fiery, burning hearts. Being totally and completely devoted to God in any, all and every aspect of our lives. Utterly and absolutely dependent upon God, seeking only to step where God leads, only to act as a response to God’s call, yet convinced that if God has called then we are able, for God has made us able. Does this describe your life? Your church? Your presbytery?
I will answer this last question: no, it does not. But thanks be to God! We have room to grow as a presbytery! And you have room to grow as a church! And as an individual! May we throw ourselves on God’s mercy, trusting in his love, seeking to listen to the Spirit’s nudges that will lead us into joyful mischief that launches us toward sacred conundrums that cause us to learn anew of our absolute and utter dependence upon God, and that he is faithful to enable us to do all things through the Spirit’s power.
Pray on these things,

Brad

Friday, June 5, 2015

Summer Spirit: Spirit Nudges

There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp, and Montlure kicks off this week! Pray for Stephanie Hamilton! Pray for the counselors! And pray for the all the children and youth who will be blessed by getting away from their routines in order to get into Jesus.
This year I will serve as chaplain for the senior high camp. I am excited by this opportunity and welcome the chance to be in relationship with these young disciples who bring passion, energy and vision to the Church and our call to be God’s people for the sake of the world.
This year’s theme at Montlure is “Power Up in the Spirit.” The first day’s lesson draws from John 14:25-27, which says in part:
The Advocate (Counselor, Teacher, Comforter, Helper), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.
Reading this passage anew I am reminded of the universality of the promise: all followers of Jesus will be offered the gift of the Holy Spirit. That means you, me and everyone in our churches is offered God’s Spirit. Second, I am reminded of the intimate leading of the Spirit’s work as Advocate / Counselor / Teacher / Comforter / Helper. This means we should expect God to be personally involved in relating to us, but what happens if we do not notice the Spirit’s teaching, the Spirit’s counsel, the Spirit’s comfort, the Spirit’s “nudges”?
Are we noticing the Spirit’s nudges in our churches? Are you noticing them when you listen to a sermon and sense God’s invitation to act in a certain direction? Are you noticing Spirit nudges as you prepare and deliver that sermon? Are you noticing Spirit nudges as you get coffee in the foyer after services – who is God calling you to greet and welcome? Are you noticing Spirit nudges during a Session meeting, as a new idea is proposed that may not be the way you’ve done it before but very well may be the way God would have you move forward today?
Are we noticing the Spirit’s nudges in our communities? Are you noticing the opportunities to bless others throughout your day? Are you noticing the young parent overwhelmed with more young kids than hands, and how you can offer blessing? Are you noticing the pockets of poverty creeping into a neighborhood where it had not been before? Are you noticing the opportunities for your church, as a faith community, to bless others in your neighborhood?
Spirit nudges are always God’s blessing to us even if they often lead us into a joyful mischief that launches us toward sacred conundrums that cause us to learn anew of our absolute and utter dependence upon God. In such moments when our absolute and utter dependence on God is our only option, may we find solace in the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

Pray on these things,

Brad