Beginning of a Journey

My last revealed my intentions to take a journey of self-discovery. I promised the internet world that I would share some of what I learned. It's been almost a month since that post, and I've learned a few things about myself and have remembered a few others. So here's the first entry. I'll start with the easy: television.

I like the “figure it out” kind of television shows. Of course, there's usually some sort of drama throughout these shows too, which of course I get caught up in. I'll watch almost any of the crime dramas, but Criminal Minds and NCIS are my favorites – and I don't really like Law and Order, except SVU. I also love the medical dramas. I'm addicted to Grey's Anatomy, but I only watch Private Practice when there are “crossover events.” Thanks to tivo, I'm a fan of Mercy - I would have never had a chance to actually watch last season without tivo. Although I don't record it, I watch House any time I catch it on.

The “figure it out” theme fits the paranormal dramas of Ghost Whisperer and Medium as well. I was recently introduced to a few paranormal reality shows – for lack of a better description. I liked Ghost Hunters (Scyfy) from the first time I saw it. These former plumbers spend their nights investigating reportedly haunted buildings. In addition to seeking paranormal activity, they use scientific observation and sometimes plain ole common sense to debunk reports of such activity. Ghost Lab is a similar show on the Discovery Channel, which follows brothers whose team works out of a mobile lab. I was also introduced to Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. The concept of this show is similar to the other two, but the primary investigator is very dramatic and, in my opinion, annoying. Now that I think about it, there is an element of figure it out in these shows as well.

I'm also a fan of a good comedy. It's nice to sometimes sit in front of the television and just be entertained, not having to think. CBS Monday nights are some of my favorites – Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Accidentally on Purpose. The New Adventures of Old Christine on Wednesday night is pretty good too. A few weeks ago, I discovered that I actually get more channels through my cable than I thought, including Comedy Central. I've liked to watch stand-up comedy for as long as I can remember, so I was excited about that discovery. There was a time when I wouldn't watch various television shows because of “offensive” language or topics – because others told me there was “offensive” language or topics. (There's another discovery there, but that's another post.) I have been surprised to discover that I really like South Park. It's funny. I've also been known to watch Sit Down Shut Up on Fox late on Saturday nights.

So television is easy and maybe a bit superficial, but it's a start at self-discovery. More findings to come soon.

Getting to Know Me

Getting to know me

There's a scene in the movie, “The Runaway Bride” where Ike the reporter confronts Maggie, the bride who keeps running from commitment. Ike has been trying to find out why Maggie runs every time she gets to the alter. After observing Maggie and questioning her grooms, he confronts her with the following conversation.

IKE (cont'd)
-- Tell me something, do you really care about Mount Everest?

MAGGIE
It's fun! It's high.

IKE
Or the sexual habits of locusts?

MAGGIE
That was very interesting research George was doing!

IKE
What kind of Dead Head gets a temporary tattoo?

MAGGIE
I already explained about that.

IKE
And where you ever really going to run the leper colony in Molokai?

MAGGIE
(wincing)Brian told you that?

IKE
Or maybe you just wanted to wear the headdress.

MAGGIE
Every one of those times I was being supportive. Something you won't understand.

IKE
Supportive? You weren't being supportive. You were being scared.
Just like now. You are the most lost woman I have ever laid eyes on.

MAGGIE
Lost!

IKE
That's right. You're so lost you don't even know how you like your eggs.

MAGGIE
What!?

IKE
With the priest, you liked them scrambled. With the Dead Head, fried. With the bug guy, poached. Now it's egg whites only, thank you very much.

MAGGIE
That's called changing your mind.

IKE
No, that's called not having a mind of your own.

I don't know how Maggie got lost. Did she know herself at one time and lose her identity somewhere along the way? Or did she never take the opportunity to figure out who she really was? Whatever the case, she couldn't be truly happy and couldn't make a commitment to anyone else until she discovered her own identity – and how she liked her eggs.

Sometimes, I feel a little like Maggie. I know how I like my eggs (scrambled – done but not too hard, with salt and pepper, and not made with powder like those at work), but I'm not sure I know much else about myself. My preferred method of dealing with conflict in my life is avoidance. In order to avoid conflict, I tend to allow others to make decisions – where to eat, what to watch on television, what to do, small things, and large things. I like to think I'm just trying to make other people happy, which in some ways is true. However in the process of avoiding conflict and making others happy, I fear I've lost touch with my own ideas and opinions.

I have recently downloaded a horoscope application on my blackberry. I don't really believe what they have to say, but I think they are fun to read. Today, my horoscope said 2010 will offer opportunities for re-inventing myself. I don't know about re-inventing, but I'm hoping to rediscover myself. I want to try new things, various foods, watch different television shows – figure out what I like and what I don't. I think I'll try to keep up with me this time – and maybe I'll share some of what I find with the internet world.

Searching for God

Sermon from laity Sunday at First United Methodist Church, Pontotoc, MS on 10/18/09:

A friend emailed me the following story several weeks ago:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting in the park just feeding some pigeons.
The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.
The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.
Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?
"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."

If we were to set out looking for God, I wonder if we would know where to find him? Maybe Joan Osborne asked it best, “What if God was one of us?” What if Jesus were here? Would you want to meet him? How would you treat him?

In the scripture you heard this morning, Jesus said whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me. Tony Campolo, professor at Eastern College refers to this as Jesus in disguises. Shane Claiborne, in his book Irresistible Revolution, quotes Tony, “Jesus never says to the poor, ‘Come find the church,’ but he says to those of us in the church, ‘Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned,’ Jesus in disguises” (102)

Seeking a real Christian – someone who really lived like Christ – Shane went to India and spent time working with Mother Theresa in the House of the Dying and a leper colony. While there, he learned to see those he served as Jesus. He tells of volunteers being scolded for not putting enough gravy on rice, since the plate was being served to Jesus himself. (Irresistible Revolution, 78)

He tells of his time at the House for the dying:

As I looked into the eyes of the dying, I felt like I was meeting God. It was as if I were entering the Holy of Holies of the temple – sacred, mystical. I felt like I should take off my shoes. . . The reality that God’s Spirit dwells in each of us began to sink in. I had sung the old worship songs in youth group like “Sanctuary” but I don’t think I every realized that we really are the sanctuaries where the Spirit dwells. Our bodies are the temples of God and that’s not just a reason to eat less cholesterol. WE are the body of Christ, not in some figurative sense, but we are the flesh and blood of Jesus alive in the world through the Holy Spirit – God’s hands, feet, ears” (78-80)

Acts 17:24 reminds us that God “does not live in temples built by hands.” We are temples and the Spirit lives in us. God is one of us. He is EACH one of us. And in a very special way, as Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, in the least of these, we find Jesus in disguise. Perhaps we are just as likely to encounter Jesus over the dinner table, in the slums, in the streets, in our schools, or even in our prisons as we are in a giant auditorium or church sanctuary. (323)

Claudia Mair Burney illustrates this in a meditation published in Will and Lisa Samson's book Justice in the Burbs

Jesus lives next door. He's an eight year old girl and her three year old brother. The Son of Man looks like those starving Ethiopian children. He only gets breakfast and lunch at school, when he makes it. His mama is a crack whore. Nobody knows where his daddy is. I heard his mama lets her “Johns” do things to him.
Poor King of Kings.
Jesus is two houses down and has six children. Now he's pregnant with the seventh. I don't know if he hasn't figured out what birth control is, or what, but how does he expect his husband to feed all those babies on that salary? And you know with all those kids the Lord of Lord's can't work. That means hard working taxpayers' money has to go for Christ's food stamps!
He needs to get fixed!
The Lord is a crazy man – paranoid schizophrenic. If he doesn't take his medication, he walks up and down the street cussing and spitting on everybody he passes. He's homeless. Nobody knows where his family is – if he's got one. Digs out of the trash can for food. Somebody ought to get him off the street.
Jesus is nothing but a nuisance.
I'm starting to see the Son of God everywhere I go. He's always crying or begging or looking pitiful. Why doesn't he pull himself up by his bootstraps? This is America! Makes me mad. He's ruining our neighborhood.
Somebody ought to do something about him.
Somebody.

Have you seen Jesus? What can we do? How do we go about doing something about this Jesus? The Jesus that is in the least of these. Maybe the Beatles answered that question best: “All you need is love.” Mother Theresa is quoted as saying, “We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it.” See Jesus in everyone you meet and love them.

The scripture we read this morning says in the kingdom of God, we will be separated based on how we cared for the least among us – how we treated Jesus in these disguises. Shane Claiborne says that he is just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, ‘When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me,’ or ‘When I was naked you donated clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me.’” Don't hear me saying these organizations aren’t good or that you should not donate to them. I think they are very beneficial to our society, but as Shane states “Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity. He seeks concrete acts of love: ‘you fed me…you visited me in prison…you welcomed me into your home…you clothed me.’” (158) It's about love. When you love others, you begin to become more and more like Jesus.

Shane says:

Over and over, the dying and the lepers would whisper the mystical word namaste (nuh muh stey) in my ear. . . They explained to me that namaste means “I honor the Holy One who lives in you.” I knew I could see God in their eyes. Was it possible that I was becoming a Christian, that in my eyes they could catch a glimpse of the image of my Lover?

Shane went to India in search of a true Christian – someone who lived like Christ. He found that not only in Mother Theresa and those who served with her. He also learned to see Jesus in those they served. By serving those in need, he found he was becoming more like Jesus himself. Todd Agnew expresses the same desire in his song “My Jesus”

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like you Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Can we be like Jesus? I think we can. How do we become like Jesus? By seeing and serving the Jesus in disguise that is in everyone we meet – especially the least of these: the poor, sick, homeless, imprisoned; by seeing and serving the Jesus in disguise, we can become more like our Jesus.

Asbury seminary sends a daily reader to students each semester. This semester's reader focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven. Included in the reader are suggested application ideas: ways to love Jesus in the least of these. The suggestions range from easy to very radical, difficult things to do. They are suggestions of ways to love your neighbor as yourself – ways to serve the Jesus disguised in the least of these. Not all are possible for everyone, but the may spark ideas of things you can do for the least of these in our community. These are a few that have been listed up to this point in the semester.

Fast one meal each week until Christmas for the two billion people who live on less than a dollar a day.
Contact your local crisis pregnancy center and invite a pregnant woman to live with your family.
Ask your pastor if someone on your church's sick list would like a visit.
Join an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and befriend someone there.
Adopt a child.
Mow your neighbor's grass.
Volunteer to tutor a child at your local elementary school – try to get to know their family.
Grow your own tomatoes – and share them.
Ask a small group in your community to meet regularly for intercessory prayer.
Build a wheelchair ramp for someone who is homebound.
Read the newspaper to someone at your local nursing home.
Plant a tree.
Look up the closest registered sex offender in your neighborhood and try to befriend them.
When you pay your water bill, pay your neighbor's too.
Give your winter coat away to someone who is colder than you and go to a thrift store to get a new one.
Laugh at advertisements, especially ones that teach you that you can buy happiness.
Go to an elderly home and get a list of those who don't get any visitors. Visit them each week and tell stories, read the Bible together, or play board games.
Create a Jubilee fund in your Church congregation, matching dollar for dollar every dollar you spend internally with a dollar spent externally. If you have a building fund, create a fund to match it to give away by buying mosquito nets or wells for those dying in poverty.
Become a pen pal with someone in prison.
Wash your clothes by hand, or dry them by hanging to remember the 1.6 billion people without electricity or running water.
Begin creating a scholarship fund so that, for every one of your own children you send to college, you can give a scholarship to an at risk youth. Get to know their family and learn from each other.
Eat with someone who does not look like you. Learn from them.

What if God was one of us? Would you want to meet him? Would you invite him over for dinner and let him stay as a guest in your home? Or would you avoid eye contact? Would you cross the street or take the long road home so you didn’t have to be bothered by him? Would you share your Twinkees and Root Beer with him, or would you keep them to yourself? God is one of us. God is EACH one of us. Jesus is disguised in the people you meet each day. How do you treat him?

The final word I have for you this morning is NAMASTE (nuh muh stey): I honor the Holy One I see in you. See and honor Him as in those you encounter this week.

Have I Told You Lately?

It was a common occurrence when she was little. We'd be riding in the car, my mother and I in the front seat and 3 year old Brianna in her car-seat in the back. Mom and I having a conversation in the front seat when:

Brianna: Mimi
Mom and I continue to talk.
Brianna: Mimi
Mom and I continue.
Brianna (a little louder): Mimi
Mom: What, Brianna?
Brianna: I love you
Mom: I love you too, Brianna.

Mom and I would continue our conversation, and about two minutes later:

Brianna: Aunt Mandi
Mom and I continue to talk.
Brianna: Aunt Mandi
Mom and I continue.
Brianna (a little louder): Aunt Mandi
Me: What, Brianna?
Brianna: I love you
Me: I love you too, Brianna.

Somewhere along the way, this scenario stopped, but every time I see her, she still runs up to me with a hug (and sometimes a kiss) saying “Aunt Mandi! I love you.”

When we were children, we said what we felt, with no inhibition. At least in my case, there was no shortage of “I love you”s in my life. There was no social code saying it was not appropriate. Sometime around puberty, things seemed to change. It was no longer cool to tell your dad you love him or kiss your mom goodnight. Those three words became a phrase reserved for that “special someone” in your life – and that person didn't always stay after those words were said. Many times they were used inappropriately and became the catalyst for disaster.

So we grow up thinking the only love that exists is that between two people who are romantically involved. We believe the only people appropriate to hear those words from us are those with whom we are in a romantic relationship – and our children because they need to be taught love. And many of us who are not in married, engaged, or dating relationships may go days, weeks, months, even years without hearing the words, “I love you.” Some people go so long without hearing those words that they begin to think something is wrong with them – that they are unlovable or that they don't deserve to be loved.

I'm lucky enough that I still have plenty of people in my life who will say the words. My parents and grandparents still tell me they love me each time I see them. My nieces tell me they love me frequently, and I tell them the same. I'm also lucky enough to have some awesome friends who share “I love you”s with me.

There are others in my life that I love deeply. It's not romantic love, but true love. A love which I cannot explain except to say, I love because Christ first loved me. And sometimes this love fills up so much inside of me that I feel I have to let it out regardless of societal norms. Yet, there are many whom I haven't told how I feel. I'm not sure why I haven't. Maybe I'm afraid they won't understand or will think I'm a freak because I say it. But maybe, just maybe, they need to know that they are loved, that they deserve to be loved.

So I want to take a chance and say the words that may be uncool. If I haven't told you lately, I love you. And if I tell you again soon, please don't think I'm a freak, just know that I'm full of love and I need you to know not only that I love you, but that you deserve to be loved!

Open the Door

In 2001, the United Methodist Church began a national television campaign, running commercials during the Easter, Christmas, and Back to School periods of the year. These commercials branded the United Methodist Church with the slogan “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.” This year, the church is beginning a new campaign known as 10,000 doors. This weekend, many churches from around the state decorated doors and sent them to annual conference.

Doors have many functions. They allow people to come in or go out. They can be opened, closed, or even locked.

Thursday night, when Ginger brought me the programs for this morning, she knocked on my door and announced “It's Ginger!” I went and opened the door and stood at the door to talk to her. Because I am not the best housekeeper and was embarrassed to let her see my house, I did not invite her in. The theme verse for this year's annual conference is Revelations 3:20, God says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” I'm afraid too often we try the same tactic with God that I tried with Ginger. We may crack the door or even open it and let God see the living room, but we don't want to invite him in to the mess of our lives. We are embarrassed and ashamed, and what's more, we are comfortable in our mess. We are afraid God will say, “This place is a pigsty, I can't stay here,” but that's not what God promises. He stands at the door and knocks. When we open the door, he comes in and eats with us and joins us in our everyday messy lives. Sure, he'll eventually help us out and pick up some of the trash that's on the floor, because he knows it's not good for us and we don't really like it there, and mostly just because He loves you and He really just wants to be with you. So the first and most important function of the door of your life is to allow Jesus in.

In addition to allowing Jesus in our lives, we as the church have to be willing to allow others in. We can't be an exclusive club that doesn't let anyone else join. Are we really willing to let ANYONE come in the door of our church. Sure we may open the door and let them come worship with us, much like I let Ginger see my living room, but are we willing to let them become a part and get involved in our everyday lives with us? Sometimes we don't want to let others in because we don't want them to see what our lives really look like. The outside is pretty and we look like we have everything all together, so it is okay for them to come to worship and see us there, but we don't want to let them involved in our everyday stuff. The inside is a mess and we don't want anyone getting to know us because they may find out that we are messy people, not the “perfect Christians” we try to pretend to be.
Jesus tells a parable that demonstrates another reason we may not want to let people into our lives—or our church.

"There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. '
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " (Luk 15:11-32 NIV)

Just before telling this story, the Pharisees were complaining about the type of people Jesus received, welcomed and even ate with. Jesus was accepting sinners for who they are and the Pharisees didn't like it. The older brother in this story came home from working in the fields and about the time he got to the door he heard a party going on. When he found out this party was for his brother, he did not approve. He was angry and when asked, he let his dad know. His brother didn't deserve this after what he had done. It wasn't fair, he had never gotten to have a party with his friends and he done everything he was supposed to do. Sometimes grace doesn't seem fair. We are not always happy when others are receiving grace and we aren't. Sometimes we think “I do what I'm supposed to and I come to church every Sunday, I deserve grace, but her...well, I know where she was last night.” We get angry when we try do do right and others receive grace rather than getting what we think they deserve. We have the same response as the older brother said, “If he's in there, I'm not going in.” Or worse, we ask, “What is he doing at my church?” It's not YOUR church, it's GOD'S church, and he'll welcome WHOSOEVER will come and ANYONE who will open the door. John 14:2 says “In my Father's house are many rooms...” There is enough room for everyone.

There is only on door to the kingdom of God. Jesus said in John 10:9, “I AM the door,” and in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” There is only one door to the kingdom and that's Jesus, but there are many doors to the church. Each of you is a door. You have to open up and let people in so they can see Jesus and walk through THE door to the kingdom.

Doors aren't just for going in; they are also for going out. We cannot sit her all comfortable in our pews and say, “well, if someone wants to come visit, we'll open the door.” That's not what Jesus told us to do. The last time Jesus saw his disciples, he gave them directions to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Mat 28:19 RSV)” You have to go out of the doors of the church and tell people about Christ and invite them to come meet him. Invite them into your life—even if it's messy—let them see you and what Jesus has done for you. GO OUT and shout to the world that Jesus loves them.

Finally, I was reading on the conference web page about the doors that were brought to annual conference. More than 150 doors were brought to Annual Conference symbolizing various churches and how they were welcoming newcomers in and going out into the world. Two pastors
volunteered to put the doors on stands. They quickly ran out of wood and turned to connecting doors with hinges so two doors held up each other. What an awesome example of how we should be as Christians. We can't do it on our own, we must help each other out and hold each other up. Together, we can welcome even “the least of these” and in doing so, welcome Christ into our lives.

Visions of Church

During a required teacher's in-service today, the speaker made a joke that we, the audience, were staying with him pretty good. "It's like I'm a Baptist preacher and it's 12:30" he said, implying that he was boring, but we were trying to listen. He stated that there are a few places that you sit quietly facing forward including church and presentations. He also commented that we knew we weren't at church, therefore didn't bring our Bibles and have them opened.

Church - a place where you go sing boring old songs and try to stay awake while you sit still facing the preacher (a man who may or may not be wearing a costume) who talks about all the things you do wrong and why you are going to hell if you don't get saved/do the right things/go to church (all three of which sometimes seem to be synonymous). Oh yeah, and it usually starts around 10 or 11 on Sunday morning and better not go past 12 or people will be angry because the neighboring church people are getting all the cheese dip at the Mexican restaurant.

How close am I? Did I forget to mention the part after church where you go out to eat and talk about what everyone was wearing and/or what you (and other's in the church including the preacher, his wife, and/or kids) did on Saturday night -- the very things that were probably part of the sermon things you do wrong and you would have known that had you been awake?

This seems to be church for a lot of people. And if it's not quite accurate, it is at least the perception some people have of church. While church has been a place where 'Christians' gathered and sat to listen to the preacher for years, I'm not convinced this is what church should look like.

What if church was a 'place' you wanted to be, not somewhere you felt obligated to be? What if when you went to church, you sat facing each other, or you didn't sit at all because you were doing something for others? What if church was really a place where you felt like you could be yourself and not have to fake behaviors or emotions? What if during church, you didn't just listen to the preacher, but participated in a discussion?

I have a "vision" of sorts of church as a group of people participating in service ministry (cooking for homeless, packaging stuff for hurricane victims or soldiers, writing cards to homebound, etc.) and discussing the sermon of the day. I recall a conversation during a recent Bible Study group (details sketchy and may not be completely accurate, but point is the same): one member shared that her sons worked in restaurants and cooked on Sundays therefore didn't go to church. She also mentioned that they volunteered at the local soup kitchen. Our pastor mentioned why couldn't that cooking be part of worship.

I shared this with a few coworkers this week and each time I wonder, "could this be church? would it 'work'?" I don't know if it can or will. I know it won't without the Spirit of God guiding it, but neither will the way we do church now.

What do you think church should look like?

Costumes

I never was much on Halloween. I guess I liked it okay when I was little, but just for the candy. I don't really remember enjoying “dressing up” or wearing costumes. I know, strange to be talking about Halloween in March. Let me explain:

I attended the memorial service of a friend/coworker Monday night. Because such things are never fun, I went with several friends from work. The service was beautiful, but surprisingly (to me) formal. The speakers at the service were the Sr. Pastor, two associate pastors, and the youth minister. The three ordained ministers wore white robes.

At the end of the service, I looked up to see one of my friends (who is unfamiliar with Methodist traditions) rubbing her hands together. I gathered from the look on her face she had a profound question—well a question anyway, and one she was dying to ask. “What?” I asked. “Why did the one guy not get to wear a costume?” I giggled a bit and attempted to explain that he didn't get a 'costume' because he wasn't an ordained minister, which she understood, but still thought he should go buy himself a costume.

This conversation reminded me of another conversation that had taken place recently. It seems a local pastor's wife had found herself in the unfortunate situation of being caught “fraternizing with another man.” After a brief discussion of the fairness of preachers and their wives being held to higher standards (a topic for another day), the conversation led to the inevitable statement that churches are full of hypocrites.

Typically, the word hypocrite is thought of as someone who pretends to have morals, and beliefs but their actions contradict stated beliefs. Hypocrite comes from the Greek meaning a stage actor. Someone playing a part—pretending to be something they are not. And yes, the church, and the world, is full of people who pretend to be something they are not. However, I don't think it's always intentional—yes sometimes, maybe many times, it is, but not always. Some people don't know who they are—they want to be all things to all people. Some people rather than hypocrites, are chameleons. It's not that they are trying to be something they aren't, they just take on the characteristics and actions of those around them so as to blend in. Others, are trying to be true to who they are, but find themselves pressured to put on a mask in certain situations.
Debbie, from my experiences, was one person who was not a hypocrite. She was true to herself and her God and was the same no matter where she was or who she was around. This was obvious from the attendance at her service on Monday night—and the amount of laughter at a shared experience about a voice mail. In addition to being true to herself, Debbie did not judge others for being themselves. She was friends with a great number of people from many backgrounds and lifestyles. She accepted people for who they were—without question. For that, she was loved.

As I look at my life, I hope I can be more like Debbie. I don't want to live as a hypocrite—intentionally or not. I want to take off whatever costumes I might be wearing and be myself in all places around all people. I want to honor Christ by letting the world see me as I become the person he created me to be.

And on that note, I wonder what my readers think (both of you). Should preachers/ministers wear “costumes”, or should they dress in the same manner as their congregation?