Meeting Jesus / Finding Peace

Cultivating Angels

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Another Christmas has come and gone. We gathered with families and friends, exchanged gifts and shared about our lives, our years and our hopes. We listened again to the story of the birth of Jesus, whether from the mouth of Linus in "A Charlie Brown Christmas," from the pulpit of a meeting house or at home in our devotional times.

Angels are a big part of that story. An angel tells Mary of an unexpected birth. In a dream, an angel answers the confusion and anxiety Joseph must have felt. Shepherds hear the news from a heavenly host of angels. And an angel warns Joseph and Mary to leave before Herod can find and kill the baby Jesus.

Are angels still speaking to us today, or are they something we only find in the Bible?

To understand the question we need to understand what an angel is. When we think of angels we often picture white, glowing persons with wings. The angel's voice is usually filtered through a reverberation chamber and the angels visit is accompanied by various special effects involving lights and flying.

A New Testament angel is different. An angel in the New Testament is literally a "messenger." It is a word directly connected to "gospel" or "good news." Angels are the messengers who bring the good news of God's offer of deliverance. These messengers of God are an important part of the revelation of God through Jesus and appear throughout the ministry of Jesus. But there is no mention of wings, lights or booming voices.

Let's look at another messenger from God--

The gospel of John begins telling the story of Jesus at a different place than the other gospels:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-5 (NIV)
And, in common with the other gospels there is a messenger, but he is an "angel" of a different sort:
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. John 1:6-9 (NIV)
John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, a cousin of Jesus, is the messenger delivering good news.

Are angels still speaking to us today? Yes! God brings messengers in many forms into our lives to bring us good news and reveal to us God's deliverance. Like Mary, Joseph, the shephers and the Magi, we need to be listening for those messages.

We need to cultivate "angels." As we identify those around us who are delivering news that is from God and as we develop our listening skills, we discover God speaking to us as well.

I am thankful for the messengers in my life.

Keep listening,
pastor Bill

Grieving a Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Brent Bill, in Holy Ordinary, posted some thoughts on events in Western Yearly Meeting. I encourage you to read his post, and then my response here.

Yes, Brent, what's going on among us in Western is not pretty.

I want to suggest another way of seeing the current events in the Yearly Meeting.

When I was called to pastor at Plainfield, the search committee sent me a copy of Faith & Practice and asked me to indicate my agreement with it. The “Faith and Thought” section is a description of orthodox Gurneyite Quakerism with roots in the Richmond Declaration (it is online at: http://westernym.net/F&PPartII.htm#FaithandThought). I felt at home with it. The Yearly Meeting also made other decisions at the time that seemed to reinforce this basic understanding of who God is, who Jesus is, and how faith is experienced.

As I became part of Western I discovered different understandings of Faith & Practice. One of the more popular is the “Chinese menu” approach. In a traditional Chinese restaurant, you pick an item from “column a” and maybe two items from “column b,” and if your party is big enough they throw in the egg roll. Faith & Practice for some is a set of options to choose from, depending on one's theological preferences. The decision during Yearly Meeting sessions was, in many people's eyes, a de facto endorsement of Faith & Practice as “Chinese Menu.” Faith & Practice is not intended to be a “paper Pope” but it seemed to no longer even be a good description of who we are.

There are some sore losers, but most of the people I am talking to who are unhappy are grieving a loss. There is a feeling that we have let go of an important part of who we are. This is not a new thing among Friends. We have a long history of defining ourselves by what we let go of. Some things, like dress codes, are let go of because they get in the way of being good news for all. Sometimes, though Friends have let go of things at the heart of who we are and that are essential parts of that good news.

For me, integrity in the Yearly Meeting needs to include being who we claim to be. If our description of who we are is not accurate, then the action of integrity is to propose changing it. Instead, I hear people defining and redefining words and phrases in order to “proof-text” a preference. If a person wants to see a Yearly Meeting organized around theological diversity or any other basic principle, then that proposal needs to be presented to the body for action. Then Quaker process can do its work.

About the meeting on Sunday, August 30. I think it is very appropriate for people who are grieving a loss to gather together to look for a way forward in that loss, and that is my understanding of what is going on. Last year, some people in the Central area also gathered in meetings to look for a way forward in affirming who they were in Western Yearly Meeting. At the time I did not hear anybody calling that a threat to the integrity and authority of the Yearly Meeting.

The quotation from Edgar Dunstan challenges us to “define, with such clarity as we can reach, precisely what it is that Friends of this generation have to say that is not, as we believe, being said effectively by others.” As I see it, that is what is going on here.

Bill

Honey-Glazed Carrots and Vegetable Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:14:00 +0000

I have been talking with people about preparing for the upcoming yearly meeting. I also received a copy of a minute from Indianapolis First Friends. I am anticipating other minutes, expressions and opportunities for discussion in the next few weeks

It seems to me that part of what is going on involves different ways of seeing.

Western Yearly Meeting is a faith centered organization. It is a faith that has changed form since its beginnings in the seventeenth century. There have been disagreements and separations as various Friends chose to emphasize some elements of their faith and let go of others. This is a process of development, growth and change that continues today.

The current stress within the Yearly Meeting involves two significantly different ways of seeing our faith.

I am not fond of cooked carrots, but I do enjoy honey-glazed carrots. Good honey glazed carrots have a honey flavored sweetness that still allows the flavor of the carrots to come through. There also needs to be a slight saltiness or tartness to set off the sweetness, sometimes from the addition of a little mustard. While there can be variations in the recipe, there are some basics that need to be there for the dish to be identified as honey-glazed carrots. And if too many other things are added, it begins to look like something other than honey-glazed carrots

Carrots are also often used as a basic part of vegetable stew. Good vegetable stew will be seasoned in ways to maximize the flavors of the ingredients but there is a lot of flexibility in what those ingredients can be. Some people like more potatoes. Others prefer more exotic ingredients. I like a little garlic thrown in. My wife would much rather have onions. Some would always add tomatoes and others would never add tomatoes. Some prefer more pepper or spice. A good stew has a variety of flavors to be explored.

My understanding of who we are as Western Yearly Meeting is like honey-glazed carrots. There are some basic elements that identify who we are and that I see expressed in the Western Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice. Two of those elements that make up who we are an understanding that Jesus is uniquely divine and that his sacrificial death uniquely saves. There are variations in emphasis and differences in expression, but for me these basic elements identify who we are.

Othes see us as vegetable stew. Faith and Practice is a collection of ingredients to select from or add to. I would suggest that the June 2009 "Indianapolis Monthly Meeting Minute Regarding Theological Differences between Meetings and Individuals within WYM" expresses this way of understanding who we are (the minute is not available online). This minute affirms that the basic ingredient is Jesus ("We take our relationship with Jesus seriously, and affirm that being a Christian entails being like-minded with Him as we strive to take on His nature in our daily lives"). The minute goes on to argue that, "Since spiritual revelation is an ongoing, inward process and not a result of static dogma, we do not strive for uniformity of belief, but rather we center ourselves upon the guidance of Divine Love as we listen together for God's leading," with a goal of becoming "an ever more broad and living example of vibrant theological diversity."

So where is the conflict? Isn't it just a matter of preference? After all, combining the honey-glazed carrots and the vegetable stew would combine flavors in new ways. And the stew would still be stew.

But the honey-glazed carrots would no longer be identifiable.

That is the heart of my concern and the concern of many others. What identifies us as Western Yearly Meeting?

Bill

Preparing for Yearly Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:21:00 +0000

Western Yearly Meeting Sessions begin on Friday, July 31. The Yearly Meeting Program Committee has put together a schedule of worship, workshops and times for fellowship along with the usual business sessions. The program for children and youth has been expanded. I encourage you to attend as much of Yearly Meeting as possible. Registration information is available at the Meeting House.

Keep our Yearly Meeting sessions in prayer. Yearly Meeting is not just a business meeting. It is, in Friends terms, “a meeting for worship with a concern for business.” Pray for Jim Crew, Clerk of the Yearly Meeting, that he will be sensitive to Lord’s leading as he prepares for the meetings and as he presides. Pray for all the others in leadership as well.

There will be one item of business that has already drawn a lot of interest and generated a lot of discussion. The Yearly Meeting Board on Christian Ministries and Evangelism is recommending that Phil Gulley's recording as a minister with WYM be rescinded because of substantial disunity with WYM Faith and Practice. This is the culmination of a process that began six years ago when concerns were raised about Phil's theology as expressed in If Grace is True, written by Phil Gulley and Jim Mulholland. This minute is scheduled to be presented on Saturday, August 1, in the morning business session.

Unfortunately, over the years this process seems to have generated more heat than light. There has been anger and name-calling. Motives on all sides have been questioned. This is all the more reason that we need to be praying for wisdom, patience and God's grace on all who are involved in this issue.

I want to share a few of my thoughts on this issue as I prepare for Yearly Meeting:

Some see this as a personality clash between people who just don't like each other or who can't seem to get along. This is not true. I know from my involvement that the people at the heart of this issue deeply care for each other.

Some see it as a power struggle – a battle for the control of the Yearly Meeting. While it is true that we all deal with control issues on some level in our lives, I have not met anybody in this process whose goal is to “run the Yearly Meeting.”

As I see it, the immediate issue has grown out of some some deeper questions about the nature of a Yearly Meeting, and about Western Yearly Meeting in particular:

Is the Yearly Meeting primarily an administrative body concerned with taking care of property, managing endowments and running programs, or is it a body with some degree of authority over constituent meetings and issues of faith? Historically, Yearly Meetings have had a fair amount of authority but beginning in the twentieth century that understanding began to change. Meeting autonomy has become a more important value. Is this a good thing?

Where does the “Faith and Thought” portion of the WYM Faith and Practice fit in? Is it a description of who we are? Is it a set of faith statements that we pick and choose from? Do we want to have a common expression of faith? There has always been a tendency to emphasize some parts and pay less attention to others. Our contemporary desire for personal autonomy runs counter to the idea of a common faith.

Is the Yearly Meeting structured for ministry or are we just structured for maintenance? There is a lot of good ministry going but a lot of resources, time and energy are spent maintaining the organization.

Connected to all of these questions is the bigger question of community. What kind of community is Western Yearly Meeting? Communities can choose to organize themselves around many things -- common beliefs, a common history, common tasks, or common needs. What kind of community are we and what are we organized around?

These are challenging questions. I'd like to hear what you have to say.

Wait, pray, trust

pastor Bill

Another Great Junior High Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:26:00 +0000

I had a great time as a a Junior High Camp counselor at Quaker Haven last week. As you can see, the setting on Dewart Lake is terrific. (And we had great weather to enjoy the lake)

We had 79 girls and 35 boys. Here they are waiting to get into the dining hall to enjoy the outstanding food. (The good news - I only gained two pounds)

Group worship times were loud and meaningful. Cabin worship times were quiet and meaningful.

I observed some very creative water balloon activity. This basketball size one set a record.

And of course the Camp Directors are always trying out new games. This last picture is one they called "Thrive." It was a combination of capture-the-flag, a water balloon fight, and a watermelon hunt. (I don't think we ever found the watermelons)

A lot of junior high kids met Jesus last week in a lot of different ways. And it sure feels good to be part of that.

Bill

My Other Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Counsel to the Christian-Traveller: also Meditations & Experiences
by William Shewen is a new book from Inner Light Books.

William Shewen was a first generation Quaker, a pin maker and his house was one of the first meeting places of Friends south of the Thames River in London.

“Meditations and Experiences” is the largest part of the book. Shewen presents 70 short thoughts, possibly shorter versions of messages given in worship, that describe the Quaker faith as he experienced it. He invites the reader to enter into the same experience and know the satisfaction and fulfillment that he has enjoyed.

I was struck by his directness, his intensity, and the way the Bible is infused in his writing.

I have started blogging his "Meditations & Experiences" at It Is A Precious Thing.

Music Pick of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:47:00 +0000

While I'm working, I often have one of my Pandora stations going and I get to hear music I never would have come across otherwise. One morning Pandora started playing "Mercy Seat" by Anonymous 4. I was stopped dead in my tracks by one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. "Mercy Seat" is a traditional Sacred Harp song that is very moving by itself (watch this video). Anonymous 4 makes it transcendent.

Here's a sample of Mercy-Seat by Anonymous 4 courtesy of Amazon.com

Picture Of The Week

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Our lives are complete. We have done something very few Hoosiers have done. On our way to visit my brother in Ohio, we made a side trip north of Richmond and climbed to the top of Hoosier Hill, the highest point in Indiana. (Actually, "climbed" may be too strong a word. We "walked" thirty feet from the dirt road.)

I recorded our accomplishment in the official logbook. Later that day we drove near the Ohio highpoint, but we were running late and will save that adventure for another day.

One of These Things is not like the other. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:51:00 +0000

Is there a disconnect?

Do Without

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:16:00 +0000

On the afternoon of the 2008 Olympic opening ceremonies, our television died. It died of old age. It was 15 years old and had gone through three moves. The tuner has been fried for 10 years (somebody spilled a liquid that dripped into the back).

We decided we would save up for a new television. Not another 27 inch heavyweight hulk, but a really BIG flat-panel High Def Wonder. We figured we could get one by Christmas.

We went to a nephew's wedding in North Carolina in September, the car needed major front-end work in November, and we have a hefty tax payment coming up. The High Def Wonder got put on the back burner.

And then, about a month ago, I began to think the unthinkable -- Since we've gone six months without a television, maybe we don't need one. I tried to think about anything that I felt I missed out on in those six months and realized that even if there was something I might have wanted to watch, I didn't miss it. There are many better ways to keep up on current events than watching television. And a lot of my interests are the kinds of things that get ignored by television.

What finally pushed me over the edge was "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without," a blog post by Russell Arben Fox. He writes,

You want to be environmentally conscious and help conserve what resources we have left? Well, then quit buying all that expensive crap that gets shoveled out at us by the Powers That Be, crap that’ll have to thrown away as soon as you’re lured in by the next model car/range oven/purse/sneakers/lifestyle renovation/electronic gizmo. Resist change, cut back, slow down! Wear that sports jacket for another year! Exercise at home! Garden and eat your own food! Not everyone can do all of this; indeed, given how pervasively the habits of acquisition, competition, and consumption are threaded through most of our daily routines, most of us can’t do most of it. But here and there, we can and should make a stand, however wired our professions or home lives may be.

Our television seems a good place to take a stand. Media is the engine of consumerism in our society. The television culture turns everything and everybody into a commodity (but that's another post).

"We will do without a television." There, I said it. Let's see how it goes.

Unresolved Issues:
Colin Firth - Kathy really enjoys the five hour BBC Pride and Prejudice that features Colin Firth as the best D'arcy of all time. Is there some way we can still have Colin Firth in our lives?

DVDs and Videotapes - we have a lot of them. Do we invite ourselves over to the neighbor's house to watch our classic Fred Astaire movies?

Still working it out,
Bill

Silence and Listening

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:32:00 +0000

I was able to go to the Monterey Jazz Festival for several years in the early 1970s. It was a great opportunity to hear amazing jazz artists, wonderful vocalists and up-and-coming performers. There were five shows spread out over 3 days, winding up with the blues show on Sunday afternoon.

I was relaxing and watching television on the Monday evening following the Jazz Festival and realized that I was not listening to the words in what I was watching -- I was only tuned in to the music. Three days of listening to great music had changed the way I was hearing things!

I recalled this experience during the time of quiet waiting in the Friends in Fellowship worship group last Sunday evening. Brent had raised the question of whether the group should continue. Some people responded to the question and then we shifted into a time of quiet.

I came to realize that I was there for the silence. Extended silence changes the way I hear things, in the same way that three days of world-class jazz changed the way I heard things. One of the ways quiet waiting transforms us is that it changes the way we listen.

And to extend the idea--
The significance of any form of worship is in the way it changes the way we hear and see and experience things when we leave that time of worship. I am blessed by our worship on Sunday mornings, with hymns, a choir, prayers and preaching. My Quaker understanding is that those outward elements of worship are there to help me discover my relationship to Jesus Christ in new and fresh ways, not as ends in themselves. Otherwise it is only music and words.

In the same way silence is not an end in itself, but another opportunity to explore my relationship to Jesus. I hear the words shared in the silence within a larger context that includes the group, the world and the living presence of Jesus. And the way I listen is changed.

Bill

A Season for Meeting Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:24:00 +0000

The season of Lent, the 40 days before Easter week, began on February 25. For this Lent and Easter season my them is “Meeting Jesus.” This is what the “Meeting” in Plainfield Friends Meeting is all about. It is a verb – an action word. We gather together to meet Jesus.

What happens when people meet Jesus?

When we read the Gospels we discover that things change when people meet Jesus. Some people get healed, others get angry. Fishermen and tax collectors begin gathering in people rather than fish or money. Some are puzzled and confused when they meet Jesus. Thousands are fed and others are made aware of their emptiness. Nothing stays the same.

The Gospel of Mark begins very abruptly telling us about Jesus. He is “the Son of God” (1:1). John the Baptist declares that he is “more powerful than I. . . . I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you the Holy Spirit”(1:7,8). The voice form heaven declares: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”(1:11)

And then, after all this introduction, Jesus introduces himself: “The time has come,” he said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (1:15)

We are almost too familiar with these words. We don’t take seriously what Jesus is saying as he greets the world – and us.

“The time has come” – There is a purpose and significance to our time on earth. Life isn’t just “one thing after another.”

“The kingdom of God is near” – Jesus invites us to live in a different place, even while we live in this world. We don’t have to settle for the status quo and business as usual. God is within our reach, if we would only recognize it. And the things we consider so important in the realm we live in lose their significance.

“Repent and believe the good news!” – Jesus caused reactions in people because he calls us to reorient our lives around something besides ourselves. It’s a hard and uncomfortable thing to do. And it changes us.

Look for ways to meet Jesus this Easter season.

pastor Bill

A Failure of Trust

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:58:00 +0000

The news stories about the current financial crisis suggest that part of the problem is a failure of trust. The world of credit is built on trust. Letters of Credit, Loans and Mortgages are all built on a trust relationship. On the most basic level the bank says to the borrower “I trust you to pay me back”. And then some manipulated that trust, preyed on others and distorted that system of trust. And the system broke.

I worry that trust is getting harder and harder to come by in our world. And a lack of trust in society has deep consequences. Trust is a relationship word. It is a basic building block of relationships between individuals and communities of people.

Trust is at the heart of who we are as followers of Jesus. In the Bible “Faith” is a word that in almost every case would be better translated as “trust.” The word “faith” is often used to designate a set of beliefs, as in “What faith are you?” It suggests something set and static. Our set of beliefs is important, but faith is something we do, not something we are. That’s why the word “trust” is better. It carries with it the idea that we are acting on that faith. Trust is how we live out our faith.

As followers of Jesus I believe we are called to help a broken world relearn how to trust. Trust is a relationship word and a community word. It goes against the grain in a culture that is so focused on individual happiness and personal self-realization.

Psalm 37 touches on the question of how to live in a world that is broken, where those who do wrong seem to get rewarded while those who do good are forgotten. Trust is the answer:

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret--it leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:3-8 (NIV)

“I do trust. Help me get past my inability to trust.” Mark 9:24

Bill

Wild About Horses Bible ?????

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:23:00 +0000

When Bible marketing goes off the rails . . . .

(HT to Between Two Worlds)

"The Gluttony of Time

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Bob Hyatt on "The Gluttony of Time"

Is busyness an evidence of unhealthy appetites?

Why do we say yes to so much? Is it because we are guilt-ridden,
co-dependent angst monkeys who lack the willpower to say no? No. We say
no to a million things a day. Usually to things that are good for us,
but still...when we want to, we know how to say no just fine, thank you.

Is it because we have a drive towards self justification that works
itself out in our work and an ever-increasing load of commitments
through which we seek to earn the favor of others and God? In part,
yes...

Picture of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:40:00 +0000

What is a Half Way Baptist?

Make up your own punchline and submit it as a comment.

Actually, a Half Way Baptist is a resident of Halfway, MO who attends this particular church.

We go by this church whenever we visit my wife's family in Missouri.

How did Half Way, MO get its name?

It's simple - Halfway is halfway between Buffalo and Bolivar on Highway 32!

MAP

A "Taste" of Theology

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:35:00 +0000

What would Calvinism taste like?

What about Quakerism? Of course it would have to be Cadbury's. . .

Bill

Dealing With Disaster

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:09:00 +0000

It was a political, social and economic disaster. The country had been invaded. The government was gone. Large numbers of people were forced to relocate to a strange country.

A prophetic voice is raised up in the face of this disaster:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV)

This is not our usual idea of “disaster response.” When disaster happens, we want to get things back to the status quo. Jeremiah was addressing Israelites whose concern would be returning to Jerusalem, their houses and farms, and their familiar life in Judah.

God’s suggestion for disaster response is to “build houses and settle down” in this new place they have found themselves. The point the prophet is making is that God’s priority is not saving Jerusalem but saving people. “Settle down,” God says, “Seek the peace and prosperity of whatever place you find yourselves in.” God is not concerned with restoring their past – God wants them to build their future.

Jeremiah again:
This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,"
Jeremiah 29:10-14

Our world faces an uncertain economic future. We hear voices of doom and voices of hope trying to make sense of the credit and debt hole we seem to have dug. Some call it a disaster.

How do we respond? Jeremiah says we are to “seek the peace and prosperity” of the place where we find yourselves. God’s priority is saving people, not economic or political systems.

God’s “status” is not “quo:” “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future

Call upon God. Pray to God. And God will listen. When we seek God we will find God, even in the middle of disaster. That’s a promise.

Bill

New Book: Christless Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:02:00 +0000

I came across a review by Tim Challies of Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church by Michael Horton and have added it to my reading list.

The book appears to address the concern that, for many churches (including Friends churches and meetings), Jesus has become optional. The prevailing theology for many Christians in our culture is "moralistic therapeutic deism," which can be served up with or without Jesus.

Challies quotes from the last chapter:

"What is called for in these days, as in any other time, is a church
that is a genuine covenantal community defined by the gospel rather
than a service provider defined by laws of the market, political
ideologies, ethnic distinctives, or other alternatives to the catholic
community that the Father is creating by his Spirit in his Son. For
this, we need nothing less than a new Christian where the only
demographic that matters is in Christ."

What are you reading?

Bill

Candle Lighting

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:56:00 +0000

One of our Sunday School classes has been using some material on Quaker leadership developed by Jennie Isbell at the Earlham School of Religion.

Lesson five has this statement from Fred Rogers (better know as the "Mister Rogers" of PBS): "All I know to do is to light the candle that has been given to me."

It struck me that this statement is what ministry is all about, expressed in about as simple and direct a way as possible.

We spend a lot of time making it complicated--

As I prepared for ministry, I was directed to develop a "philosophy of ministry." This was to be a kind of road map of how I saw ministry in my life and in the church. I gained a lot from doing this . . . and then by philosophy of ministry met the real world of ministry. Was I headed in the right direction? Am I doing this in the right way? What comes next? I needed to remind myself: "All I know to do is to light the candle that has been given to me."

Life pulls us in lots of different directions. We devote ourselves to the important tasks like family, work and doing good. And it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture when we are working through all the details. We need to remind ourselves: "All I know to do is to light the candle that has been give to me."

We make ourselves important. Sometimes we begin to think that it won't come out right unless we take care of it. And when things don't go right we get frustrated, burned out or angry. It's time to remember: "All I know to do is to light the candle that has been given to me."

Bringing light into the world is what God has called us to do:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Mt 5:14-16

Let's go light some candles.

Bill

Turning the Quaker Family Tree on its Side

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Holiness: The Soul of Quakerism by Carole Dean Spencer argues that the heart of Quakerism is a robust holiness theology. The author presents evidence that Quakerism needs to be understood as a movement that combined existing elements of Christian holiness theology in a radical and innovative way. Spencer identifies eight characteristic elements of Quaker holiness and looks at how these elements of holiness theology were expressed,adapted, and reinterpreted through three centuries of Quaker history. Those eight elements of holiness theology are:
-Scripture
-Eschatology
-Conversion
-Charisma
-Evangelism
-Mysticism
-Suffering, and
-Perfection

The story is told through the lives and writings of individuals who have had impact on the development of Quakerism. For instance, the story of the Quietist Quakers of the eighteenth century is told through the writing of Anthony Benezet and Stephen Grellet. The divisions of the nineteenth century are described in the experiences of Elias Hicks, Job Scott, Joseph John Gurney and John Wilbur. The holiness revival is seen through Joel Bean, Walter Robson and Hannah Whitall Smith.

The chapter on "Holiness and Quakerism in the Twentieth Century" seems especially helpful in understanding the various streams of mystical, evangelical and liberal Quakerism in relation to holiness theology.

Sure to provoke controversy, the study suggests a "Re-mapping of Quakerism." The author presents the case that the fullest expression of that original Quaker holiness is found in contemporary evangelical Quakerism.

The study also reinforces an argument that I have occasionally made - that first generation Quakers were not establishing new forms of worship and structure, but were expressing a faith independent of forms. As Carole Dean Spencer says, "Forms are occasional and particular historical expressions of holiness" (p. 239).

The book is adapted from a doctoral dissertation, so it is a moderately challenging read, but this is also its strength. The documentation and annotations will help the discussion that is sure to follow this study. The three appendices on sources of Quaker mysticism, the connections between Quakers and other early holiness movements, and the connections between Quakers and Methodists in the eighteenth century are almost worth the price of the book by themselves.

Read it and let me know what you think.

Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:47:00 +0000

The Labor Day picnic at the parsonage was a lot of fun.

We had a lot of fun swapping stories and hearing about Kerry's showdown with the surgeon's knife. Kerry won.

We had a lot of fun watching younger people with a lot more energy play badminton.

We had a lot of fun eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Cliff says he ate four hot dogs, but I was too busy cooking to count.

True, it was a little warm. We just kept moving as the shade moved. And others stayed comfortable inside.

Thank you for all those delicious side dishes and desserts. There was something for everybody.

Let's do it again next year.

pastor Bill

A Street called Arbitrary

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:55:00 +0000

We have found the absolute shortest (I think) route from our home in Plainfield to our oldest daughter in Iowa. It involves going through part of rural western Illinois, through towns like Farmington, Roseville and Raritan.

Driving through Roseville, I spotted an interesting street sign. I double checked on Google maps to see if I saw what I though I saw. There it was - "N. Arbitrary St.":

View Larger Map

In fact, Roseville has the only Arbitrary St. in the Google map database.

There must be a story behind this, and it reminded me of my street-naming career.

I served two terms on the Pleasant Plain, Iowa town council (I was the highest vote-getter when I ran for my second term. Fifty-four people voted for me!). The council met once a month to review the street repair budget, listened to complaints about dogs and messy property, and commiserate about how little power we had over any of these things.

The county was setting up a county-wide 911 emergency response system and in order to make it work, all streets had to be named and each house had to have a number. Our Rural Route box numbers would have to go.

The only guideline was that we had to come up with street names that were not already in our Post Office's delivery area (Our Post Office was three miles away in Brighton). The County Road that ran along the east edge of town had an official designation - W57. The road that connected us to the County Road and the State Highway was unofficially called the "Pleasant Plain Blacktop." Under the new system the county labeled it 110th St and we decided we should keep that name on the part that goes through town in order to avoid confusion.

We had seven other streets that needed names. We had some old maps that had names on some of the streets. We talked about some local history references that might work. And we came up with our list:

Penn St. - Pleasant Plain is in Penn Township, named by its Quaker settlers)
South St., North St., East St., and West St. - Not very original, but descriptive.
Midway St. - A historic name for a section of road that connected the old County Road to the new County Road. It was "midway" between them
Railroad St. - On the west side of town there was a narrow-gauge rail line and stock yards. The railroad was moved about 100 years ago, but you can still find rusty spikes if you dig along the railroad right of way. It could have been called Mill St. for the remains of the old mill that still stood at the south end of the street.

The Post Office was happy, the County was happy, and most of the people in town were OK with the names.

It was all pretty arbitrary. So maybe the people of Roseville, IL should be applauded for their honesty about this whole street naming process. And maybe most of the streets on our maps are in fact "Arbitrary Streets."

Bill

Blogging Western Yearly Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:42:00 +0000

I am going to try blogging the sessions of Western Yearly Meeting, beginning Thursday morning. You can follow my progress at ...In Which Bill Attends the 2008 Sessions of Western Yearly Meeting.

Bookmark it or add it to your feed, and give me a grade when I'm done.

pastor Bill

Save the Planet - Eat Peanut Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:47:00 +0000

I have always like peanut butter. It was one of my favorite things when I was little. My basic breakfast today is peanut butter on bread or toast, milk and a fruit.
I was happy when Consumer Reports reviewed peanut butter and recommended eating some regularly because of its nutritional and antioxidant content. Now, there is even better news. Peanut butter can be part of my program to save the environment.

According to "The PB&J Project"
Each time you have a plant-based lunch like a PB&J you'll reduce your carbon footprint by the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over an average animal-based lunch like a hamburger, a tuna sandwich, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets. For dinner you save 2.8 pounds and for breakfast 2.0 pounds of emissions.

Eating peanut butter instead of animal-based food also saves land from deforestation and reduces the amount of water needed for food production. You can visit the website to find out more.

It may sound odd or silly because this involves thinking about our food consumption in different ways. But that is the secret to changing lives and changing the world - thinking about things in different ways.

pastor Bill