A MESSY CAKE

Do you remember? Do you remember the time your five-year-child, or your six-year-old-niece or nephew or brother or sister, worked very hard to decorate a cake for you? It was one of their first real “baking projects” and they did their best.

There was icing everywhere. The colors may have run together. The IU “trident” or the outline of a heart or the smiling face they worked so hard to make was barely visible.

They brought the cake to you as if they were in possession of a priceless work of art. You looked at them, celebrated what they had worked so hard and with such joy to create, and then you discovered-to your surprise-that the cake was more than okay: it was good! Oh, it may have been taken out of the oven a few minutes early or late, but with a little vanilla ice cream it was fine.

In a couple weeks we are going to begin a series of messages titled SIMPLE LIFE. We’re also launching a whole new set of small groups. (Have you signed up yet?) We’ll be working with a book by Thom Rainer and Art Rainer titled Simple Life: Time, Relationships, Money, God.

Now, here’s the thing: as you read this book you may discover what I have discovered. This book is a messy cake. I’ll just say what you might be too polite to say:
 

• The writing is neither elegant nor consistently theologically profound.

• The perspective of the authors is more conservative than progressive. (Some of us will rejoice in that and some of us will find it unsettling.)

• The authors write from a rather male-dominated viewpoint. There seem to be a lot of sports references – even for me! The pronoun “he” is consistently used when referring to God.

And yet, the book pokes at some of the issues that cause us the most pain in our family lives, financial lives, and our experience with God. The book leads us towards an honest wrestling with some of the obstacles that get in the way of a healthy, whole life.

Over and over again I see the pain caused in the lives of others (or experience it in my own life) by over-scheduling, a failure to attend to the key relationships in our lives, the financial mess caused by our need to own more than we need and spend more than we have, and a faith life that is too often superficial and thin.

Jesus says he came so that we might have abundant life.

And yet, out of a thousand persons surveyed by the authors of Simple Life, 44% said they would have health problems if their daily life continued at its present pace, 84% of married persons said they need to spend more time with their spouse, more than 68% said they would change the schedule of their daily life if they could, and only 28% of respondents agreed that they are living within their financial means.

We know the book isn’t perfect. We know the cake is messy. But we are also convinced that if you will honestly enter into a prayerful conversation about your time, relationships, money and journey with God that some very good things will happen! Our lives might look more abundant…the way Jesus dreamed they might be when we were created.

You might have baked and decorated the cake (that is this book) differently, but God has this habit of using imperfect instruments to reveal life-changing truth and divine grace.

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark

WE HEART STUDENTS: EMBRACING THE SPIRIT OF WELCOMING HOSPITALITY

Over the next few weeks, a phenomenon is happening around here that I am very unfamiliar with as a "newbie" to Bloomington. Classes are beginning, and half of the town's population is returning for another academic year. During this chaotic time, I have been forewarned to steer clear of Target and remain ever vigilant of vehicles with unfamiliar license plates headed the wrong direction down one-way streets. As the droves of students are busy buying boxes of Ramen noodles at the grocery store and unloading futons off of moving trucks, many of them will be searching for a place to call "home" in the midst of the uncertainty of major life changes. And it is from that group of students searching for community that some will walk through the doors of our place of worship in the weeks to come.

When those students file in to our church, how are we as a faith community making preparations to receive these guests with love?

To answer this question, during the upcoming weeks, I hope that you'll join us in offering hospitality by welcoming new faces, engaging them by asking questions, sharing with them about our Jubilee College Ministry, encouraging them to fill out connection cards, or asking for their contact information so that Travis or I can connect with them. In addition to these things, we'd like to invite you to purchase a "We Heart Students" t-shirt to wear on August 25^th, September 1^st and September 8^th. They'll be on sale in the Gathering Space, the Church Office, and at Open Door in-between services for $5.

These gestures might seem insignificant, but a genuine spirit of welcome and acceptance expressed to a new person goes a long way. A simple act of kindness can reveal a lot to a visitor about the culture of a faith community. One of my favorite theologians once said: "Welcome is one of the signs that a community is alive. To invite others to live with us is a sign that we aren't afraid, that we have a treasure of truth and of peace to share." As the influx of students return, I hope you'll be challenged and inspired to offer hospitality through sharing Christ-like peace in all of your encounters with new people, wherever you are.

- Sarah Sparks-Franklin

MISSING THE SHOWERS

Maybe you, like me, were standing outside in the middle of the night looking for the Perseid meteor shower.  Three nights in a row I stood on the deck at a retreat center on Lake Webster, looking up at the sky, and never saw one meteor.  The stars were brilliant, but I didn’t see one meteor.

I was disappointed by what I didn’t see happening in the sky, but I was amazed by a miracle here on the ground.  Last weekend my Dad, three of my four siblings, and our families gathered at the family cottage at Lake Webster for a three-day reunion.  There are so many of us we also rented a nearby lodge owned by a UM congregation in Huntington, Indiana.

It was a miracle that as many of us made it there because things come up.  Things come up, calendars get tangled, and somehow almost all of us were there.  It was only the second time we’d done something like this since our Mom, Anita, died over ten years ago.

And it was so good that words can’t describe how good it was.  We’re all different (I get excited about sports talk and skiing, one of my brothers gets breathless when he talks about bird watching), some of the kids go to Ball State and Purdue, this person is quiet and that person is loud, and yet it was good.

There was conversation and laughter.  My Dad told stories about growing up in Upland and his work on the mission field (we’d be in the lodge and people would start to chant, “Story… story… story!”).  Some people swam and some people went water skiing and some went tubing and some went kayaking.  Ella and Olivia were still up at midnight playing fierce games of UNO with the adults.  One night my brother David showed up with lighted balloons and we blew those up, and then all of us batted them around and laughed till we cried.  There was too much food…and there was grace.  There was a lot of grace.

I didn’t see meteors in that dark sky over my head, but I was standing in the middle of a star-sized miracle.  As I looked around I thought about what a gift community can be.  As I looked around I thought about what God had in mind when God gave life to the church.

Different people.  Loving one another.  Respecting one another.  Doing their best to let grace guide them through the tense and tough moments.

I treasure the gift God gave our family last weekend, and I treasure the gift God is giving us at FUMCB/The Open Door in this opportunity to live and worship and serve and love together!  Paul, in Colossians 3:13 and 14, talks about bearing with one another and forgiving each other and clothing ourselves with love.  Maybe God wants the church to be like a family reunion where different people find the grace to share the same space and time.

I missed the miracle of the meteors, but God still showered us with blessings.

See you Sunday for worship and the 10 a.m. ground breaking.

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark

STRIP DOWN AND NEVER QUIT

One of images we find in the New Testament for the life of faith is long distance running.  Long distance running never appealed to me.

I watched long distance runners at cross country meets, and I respected their effort and courage.  And every time I shook my head and thought, “That is something I would never, ever want to do!”

Writers of the New Testament use images of running when they talk about what it means to live the life of faith…to be a disciple of Jesus.

The rather mysterious New Testament book of Hebrews is written to people (according to Robert Jewett who once taught at Garrett-Evangelical) who were overwhelmed.  They lived in a world that seemed increasingly out of control.  The people faced two temptations: fear made them want to give up on God because life in this world could be hard, and fear tempted them to look to ritual/religion in an attempt to control God and guarantee their own security.

The writer of Hebrews knows the people feel like giving up, and he points to those who have lived with courageous hope.  They have lived by faith.  We have their example and so the author, in Chapter Twelve (The Message) writes:  Do you see what this means – all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on?  It means we better get on with it.  Strip down, start running – and never quit!  No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.  Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.

You and I both know people who have been (or are) on the verge of quitting.  There are people who are tempted to surrender to fear.  There are people who want to control God through some kind of magical ritual or secret knowledge or good deeds.  There are people who wonder if faith and love and generosity and serving are really the way to get through this world.

In a week (Aug 18^th) we will have a brief ground breaking worship service at 10 a.m. in the courtyard for a long delayed project to build a labyrinth/ peace garden/columbarium.  Some people wondered if this day would ever arrive –and now it has!

I don’t know if there is a direct connection between the passage in Hebrews and the completion of this courtyard project, but I can tell you that God often works slowly.  I can tell you that there is often a time gap between the beginning of what God is doing and the completion of a chapter.  I can tell you that life is difficult, and that it is easy to give up.  I can tell you that it is easy to surrender to fear, and it is tough to hang in there with God and the slow-moving vehicle that is the church!

So if you are in the middle of a particularly tough chapter, if your heart has been broken, if you are feeling overwhelmed, hang in there.  God is with us.  God is, Hebrews 12 says, at work, and God’s kingdom is unshakable  -despite the turmoil and uncertainty of today.

Don’t quit.  Keep running.  Keep your eyes on Jesus.  Remember where you’re headed and what your life is all about…that you belong to Jesus now and always.  In fact, you are so valuable that Jesus kept running all the way to the cross for you!

When you’re living by faith and your lungs are burning and your legs ache, remember that is the way it often is when men and women are following in the way of Jesus.  Faith in God in the middle of this broken world, trusting that the Jesus way is the way to an abundant life, is often a long distance run.

Strip off the stuff that tempts you to run off the course and give up.  Keep running!


In Christ and for Christ,

Mark

CHURCH COUNCIL VOTES TO GO INTO FRUIT BUSINESS FULL-TIME

God has this thing about living things bearing fruit.  In the story of creation (Genesis 1 & 2) the Hebrew account talks about “seed bearing plants and trees” and “trees bearing fruit with seed.”  In the 15^th chapter of John, Jesus says he is the “true vine”, and we are vines who can bear fruit only if we abide -stay connected- to him.

Today I listened as a member of our community talked about how their experience at The Open Door put their peace back together.  “The welcome, the music, the sermons…I was in pieces and I was put back together.”  That’s fruit!

Sarah Sparks-Franklin told us last Sunday about the youth mission trip to Detroit.  She said as our youth and adults repaired homes they had one God moment after another.  That’s fruit!

On the evening of the 25^th our Church Council voted unanimously to participate in a UMC-sponsored 2-year “team-based, leadership development discovery process” to help us clarify our understanding of our identity, our mission and our priorities.

Fruitful Congregations will include a First Stage in which 12-16 members of our congregation participate in a Shared Learning Experience (SLC).  They will work through 8 readable books on healthy, vital, fruit-bearing congregations.  They will meet seven times with laity from other congregations.  The group will also meet monthly together with our pastors here at FUMCB/The Open Door.

During this first stage the congregation will enter into a prayerful dialogue about our life.  The SLC group will share what they have been reading.  They will have sessions where you can talk with them about their “ah, ha!” moments.

Stage Two of Fruitful Congregations will include an assessment process.  We will work together and with an outside team to assess our strengths and weakness, to identify the opportunities before us.  There will be a weekend when the report of the assessment team will be received with strategic prescriptions for actions that will move us towards greater health, vitality, faithfulness and fruit bearing.  Our congregation will vote to accept or reject the steps to health.  That will be up to us!

The Third Stage of Fruitful Congregations will involve -if we vote to go forward- an implementation stage.  We’ll work with an outside coach and pursue these strategic steps towards health and greater vitality.

As we move forward I would encourage you to do the following:

1.    Pray.  Pray for our leaders, the FCJ process, and our congregation.

2.    Be in worship this Sunday as Tom Bunger and I talk about why the Church Council has taken this step, what it might mean for us, and how you can participate.

3.    If you know of someone who you would like to nominate to be one of the 12-16 SLC laity, please send an email to Courtney at FUMCB, Tom Bunger or me.

We’re looking for people who love Christ, love and are involved in this faith community, pray, love to learn, are open to new truth, are good at teamwork, a balance of pragmatists and visionaries, 2-3 persons who can teach the FCJ insights to groups and the congregation, and can attend 75% of the seven monthly sessions (on Saturday mornings from 9-1).

Watch The Chimes and Just a Thought or Two and our web site for more information.

Join us in worship for a conversation about all of this.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says that people perish without vision.  Over the next 18 months we are going to be letting God clear our eyesight and give us a compelling, unifying vision for the next chapter of our life together!  Join our leaders in leaning into the future God is preparing for us…

See you in the orchard!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark