Called Out

You offered lots of feedback on last week's sermon (which I always appreciate), and you were largely united in your comments. In fact, this one comment pretty much sums up your combined sentiments: "Oh, my God! You called us out!"

Un-huh. Sure did. Haven't you heard that the first obligation of the preacher is to comfort the afflicted...and afflict the comfortable?

But a couple of you took a different tack. A couple of you wanted to know, "Pastor, if there are so many people and projects in need of our money and time, then why are we going to spend so much money to build a new building?"

I'm glad you asked! It's a good question, and one that I know is motivated by wanting to discern God's will rather than planning our own agenda.

Let me offer you three reasons for why I think building a larger sanctuary is exactly the right thing to do now.

First, never does a week go by that someone does not tell me that finding MCC Austin has saved his life, restored her hope, or lifted her spirits. We want to have room for all of those who want to come and connect with us, but we don't. Studies suggest that when facilities (sanctuaries, parking lots, etc.) are 80% full, people entering experience a strong feeling that there is not enough room for them. During the winter and spring, we were over 80% capacity at 11:00 over 80% of the time, and even during the summer, when attendance is always lower, we're averaging 75% capacity at 11:00. Those of you who attend only on Saturday night or Sunday morning at 9:00 might not see it, but that's our reality. We also welcome 80% of our first time visitors at 11: 00. We do not want them, or anyone else, to get the message from lack of seats or lack of parking that we don't have room for them. (One thing to keep in mind for those of you who feel like the sanctuary is less full than it used to be: we've used all kinds of innovations and have added 50 additional chairs to the sanctuary over the past year.)

Second, until we provide more worship space, we will have to keep hiding our light under a bushel--or at least keep it dimmed a bit. We have stopped publicizing MCC Austin in any ways beyond our web site and your personal invitations. Why? For the reasons I laid out above. We would love to promote through the Chronical and other venues some of the truly amazing series and services that we offer, but we can't do that faithfully because we don't have room. We must rectify that. Part of our commitment to being a church without walls is breaking down barriers that would prevent anyone from coming into our fellowship; radical hospitality demands that we make sure we have room for all those who would like to join us!

And third, we need more room in our sanctuary so that all those who would like to fish can learn to fish. Have you heard the saying, "Give people fish and they eat for a day; teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime"? Well, worship offers us the greatest opportunity to teach people to fish--it's not the only way, not always even the best way, but it certainly has the greatest impact. Worship is the best way for us to provide education and understanding through sharing the Word, reminders of God's grace through the sacraments, and opportunities for community through fellowship. Additionally, we make sure that your gifts of time, talent, and treasure are not just one time charity, but are rather ongoing acts of social justice...compassionate acts motivated by love for God and sustained through the continuing nourishment of the Holy Spirit.

So it turned out to be a week of calling each other out, and I know it made some of you anxious. But don't be! One of the greatest gifts I ever received was when a dear friend called me out--out of my comfort zone and into ministry in MCC. That's what people in community with each other do: call each other out, draw each other in, and build each other up!

Always in Hope,

Shelter in God/Shelter-ing God

Since the beginning of August, we have used portions of “Eagle’s Wings” by Michael Joncas in our Sunday worship services. It is a beautiful work of art that soars just as its name suggests. Listen:

You who dwell in the shelter of our Lord,
who abide in God’s shadow for life,
say to the Lord: "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!"

Refrain:
And God will raise you up on eagles’ wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of God’s hand.

This weekend my sermon will be “Shelter in God vs. Shelter-ing God.” Reading that title, you might think that the “sheltering God” part is a description of God, that it refers to God’s act of sheltering those who seek shelter. But I’m thinking of something different. I’m thinking of the many ways and means by which we humans attempt to shelter God. I’m thinking of how often we slip from seeking the shelter of God’s providence, protection, and grace into seeking to shelter God…to protect God.

There are many ways we do this. Sometimes we, like the people of Israel, seek to place God in a box—a small one like the Ark of the Covenant, or a larger one like the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. Our motivation may be to keep God near and be assured of God’s presence, but this effort is often less than a half-step away from an attempt to exert our own control over God. “Let’s keep God right here, in this denomination, in this sanctuary, at this altar so we know at all times where God is and what God’s doing!” Next thing you know, we’ve gone beyond keeping God in a box and are suddenly permitting or denying the requests of those who would dare to request access. You see, now that we’re sheltering God, we must protect God from all kinds of imagined affronts and intrusions.

Then we become small and our faith becomes small…

I invite you to think about these things as you read the scripture passage for this week. (Actually, I encourage you to read all of I Kings 8 if you can.) Ask yourself some questions: What are my tendencies to shelter God? Do I try to protect God from my shortcomings? From what I perceive as other’s failings or impurities? My desires? From what do I seek God’s shelter? From circumstances? Pain? To whom should I offer shelter?

And finally, I want you to keep this in mind. We at MCC Austin have declared that we discern God calling us to be a church without walls. Do you hear the hope in that? Do you hear a desire NOT to be a box in which we keep God? I think it’s a clear sign of hope and a very good start…

See you in church!

Come, Holy Spirit

Like many people who write regularly as part of their vocation or avocation, I am blessed to have a muse. My muse and I have a complex relationship. I don’t own her and can’t predict her arrival. She won’t schedule appointments in advance. She shows up unbidden, always sure I’ll be happy to see her, and I always am.

But there is one thing I’ve learned to count on over time--the more I prepare myself for her arrival, the more likely she is to come around. By that I mean that my muse likes to weave words from a variety of fabrics. If I’ve collected threads of stories and strips of ideas from books and movies and a heart and ear tuned to life, she shows up happy and gets right to work, helping me spin off sermons and series, and I delight in her presence.

But if I’ve cut myself off from the warp and weft of life, too busy to pick up a book, not paying attention to the vignettes unfolding around me, she shies away, dancing, I’m sure, on more inviting playgrounds.

Seems to me that this relationship is analogous to my relationship with the Holy Spirit. As we’re reminded in the Fourth Gospel, the Spirit, like the wind, blows where it will. Surely the Spirit delights to settle into a space that’s made warm and welcoming by a willing heart, an open mind, and a compassionate soul. Conversely, I can imagine the Spirit choosing to move on, to keep looking for a kinder resting place, when confronted by a no-vacancy sign on a heart or a mind whose Day Planner section has even the margins filled with “stuff.”

Over the last week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to prepare myself for both muse and Spirit. For the muse, the stirring beauty of the Pacific Ocean, the energy and romance of the streets of San Francisco, the wonder of the Museum of Modern Art, and the tastes and smells of all the world stretched out like an endless banquet. For the Spirit, the inspiration and encouragement of shared ministry, the renewal of morning devotionals and reflection, and the soul-deep impact of Taize and candlelight.

When the Spirit moves near you, will she want to come in? Will she see an invitation to dwell in spaces made warm and welcoming by prayer, rest, devotion, creativity, and passion? Or will she find doors closed and areas sealed off by obstacles such as over-work, worry, negativity, and self-doubt?

Take a moment…

Turn everything off…

Light a candle…

Breathe deeply…

Sing to the Spirit…

She will come. She will come.

Peace,

BIG Things are Happening!

As you read this, I’m in San Francisco attending the MCC Large Church Pastors Conference. Yes, as you might imagine, there is plenty of “size matters” double entendre being bandied about. The fact that we’re meeting in MCC San Francisco’s sanctuary in the Castro seems to encourage the jokes, probably because “size matters” is one of the prevalent themes of window displays and advertisements.

Now, you might think I digress in beginning with this description of the conference, but actually, I’m right on task. The point is, size really does matter, especially in churches. Some of you will remember that in the two years before leaving to serve as Elder, Rev. Ken Martin began to work with the Board and other church leaders in the area of church size dynamics. One of the themes of my candidacy week with you included numerous conversations about the congregation’s willingness and my ability to lead us into our “big church” years.

“Big church” is variously defined, but for our purposes, the label means an average weekly worship attendance of 350 or more. Reaching that kind of size has many implications for a church. One of the greatest impacts, as we often talk about, is the changing role of Sr. Pastor. Most noticeably, perhaps, has been our shift from a congregation in which the Sr. Pastor provides the majority of pastoral care to a model in which our 25 Deacons are now trained and supported in providing a great deal of pastoral care for the congregation at large and the Sr. Pastor provides pastoral care for the Deacons. The Sr. Pastor or another member of the pastoral staff also provide care in any situations beyond our Deacons’ training or confidence level.

Last year, I attended the LCP conference a mere 3 weeks after being installed as your pastor. The experience was invaluable in two ways: First, we received excellent training from a member of the Alban Institute staff pertaining to large churches and multi-staff management. Second, the introduction to new colleagues and friends from the denomination’s other large churches opened up a collegial support and information sharing network that I relied on over and over throughout the year.

This time, I’m not quite so green, feel much more comfortable participating in the give and take of ideas and resource sharing, and am (if possible) even more excited about getting back to you and beginning to implement some of the ideas that have been shared or inspired through our sessions.

Size dynamics is such an important area that a great deal of our Elders’ new structural model takes into account the size of churches. Rev. Elder Darlene Garner will still serve MCC Austin as our “care” Elder and will still work with us in areas of connection, communication, and care as well as moderate our Region VI conferences. But beginning in August, Rev. Elder Ken Martin and Rev. Elder Lillie Brock will be working more directly with MCC Austin as they take on the responsibility of providing leadership and resources to the MCC churches that already are or are moving toward the “large church” category.

All jokes aside, I know talk of “big church” and “size dynamics” is not a comfortable or exciting topic for many of you. Some of you have loved MCC Austin for years and your greatest desire is for it to keep that smaller, “we’re a family” feeling. Some of you still aren’t sure that it sits well with you for your pastor not to be the one you count on for all your care concerns. Some of you wonder how much time we have left before being part of MCC Austin starts to feel institutional or impersonal.

Friends, we (I say “we” because we share responsibility for how we grow.) are not going to let that happen. If we do what we’ve dreamed about, talked about, and sung about since Advent and draw the circle wide, we’re going to have a BIG circle with ever more souls on the inside. Whether we continue to feel “at home” and “part of the family” at MCC Austin is up to us. The staff and I will work diligently to provide worship and connection points through ministries and other opportunities. The board will continue to work hard to ensure that we have the financial health and resources to keep improving and adding to our programming and other connection points. And you will keep making sure that MCC Austin feels like home to our faith family as you continue embracing our mission to affirm everyone’s gifts and journeys, connect people with God and each other, and create hope and healing.

I’ll be coming home next week after I enjoy some vacation time with my family, and I promise you I won’t leave my heart in San Francisco. How could I? I left it with you in Austin.

BIG Love and BIG Blessings,

The Bible on Broadway: Seasons of Love

We bring down the curtain on our Broadway series “Redefining Family” this weekend with the music from Rent. I know some of you can’t quite bring yourself to “appreciate” this series and won’t be sad when it’s over, but I for one will miss it when it’s gone. For one thing, I think using the music from Broadway allows us truly to celebrate worship. I love to look out and see you smiling, singing along, tapping your feet, even occasionally shouting out as you did last week. And I love seeing the way the music moves you, not just the rousing anthems, but the ballads, too.

I especially appreciate the way that connecting scripture and our faith stories to the music and stories of Broadway keep us connected not only to each other within our individual faith community, but with a much larger community. Theologian Karl Barth once said, “The Pastor and the Faithful should not deceive themselves into thinking that they are a religious society, which has to do with certain themes; they live in the world. We still need - according to my old formulation - the Bible and the Newspaper."

Now, I know Barth specifically named the newspaper as the source that connects our faith with the “here and the now.” But I think the arts do the same. Great books, plays, poems, paintings, and musical compositions can be vehicles that open us up to spirit, truth, and light. And they don’t have to be OLD to do it. We know in our gut when something is destined to be a classic, when it speaks truth to us in new language. If you think the standard for sacred text is that it be at least 1500 years old and written in a language other than English, try rereading “The Gettysburg Address.” Try listening to the theme from Rent, “Seasons of Love.”

525,600 minutes!
525,000 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes –
How can you measure The life of a woman or man?In truths that she learned,
Or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or The way that she died.It’s time now to sing out,
Though the story never ends
Remember the love!
…Measure in love.

Call me sacrilegious, but I’m telling you, if Jesus had had an iPod, this song would have been on his Favorites playlist.

And you can bet he’ll be in church this weekend…and he hopes to see you there.
Love,

The Healing of Racism

Last Saturday, a group of 45 ministry leaders, staff, and board members gathered for a six-hour workshop with facilitators from the Houston-based Center for the Healing of Racism. The workshop was made possible by One Love Ministries, MCC Austin's diversity ministry.

CFHR is unique among such organizations in that its emphasis is on healing. The CFHR trainers first educate about racism, then facilitate the process by which people can begin to counter the effects of racism on their lives and become empowered to interrupt the cycle of racist attitudes. We are all hurt by "isms," the trainers stress, whether we are the recipients of oppression or whether we perpetrate oppression on others OR ourselves.

It's not possible, nor is it permissible, for me to delve too deeply into the contents of our day together because the CFHR believes in creating a "relational space" in their workshops in which people can allow themselves to become vulnerable to sharing all the hurt oppression has brought them. Only then, after that personal and communal acknowledgment, can healing begin. But I can share a story from outside the workshop that might help bring into focus for you just how prevalent a hurt and a challenge racism in the U.S. still is.

Staceyann Chin grew up, as the title of her new memoir tells us, on The Other Side of Paradise. She grew up on the impoverished side of Jamaica opposite the beaches and resorts and paradise enjoyed by tourists. That in itself was enough to give Chin a difficult childhood, but to compound that, she was never claimed by her father and was neglected by her mother. And she was gay. To be gay in Jamaica is literally to be in fear for your life-to be verbally and physically abused relentlessly, even to face death at the hands of vigilante groups unhindered by police. Chin made the decision that she would live as an out lesbian, and the only way to guarantee that she would stay alive to do it, was to come to the U.S.

You might assume that with all our anti-LGBT laws and discriminatory practices, the U.S. still offered a much better life for Chin. You would be right. But here is the part of her story that issues a stinging wake-up call. In her own words, Chin found it "almost as problematic to be black in America as to be gay in Jamaica." Call her over- reactive. Divide her assessment by two. Remind me that we now have a black president. It's still appalling.

In closing, I want to answer a question I've been asked several times: "Why address racism in a church setting? There are plenty of other topics more suited to pursuing at church." I think it makes perfect sense that efforts at healing any kind of "ism" begin in the faith community. By beginning in the faith community, we begin with an absolutely necessary ingredient: the desire to love each other as Christ first loved us. Efforts at healing "isms" may find a start and even achieve some momentum within the realm of politics or society at large. But by placing this work in the church, we ground our human efforts in prayer, allow ourselves to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, and give our goals over to God who "is still doing great things"!

Always in Hope,

The Bible on Broadway: Tenderness and Tenacity

This week we'll be exploring "Tenderness and Tenacity," and once again there appears to be a contradiction in the two terms. If you're not sure what I mean, try this. First, call forth images of tenderness... Now, images of tenacity. How many of them were the same?

My guess is not many. The two qualities seem to be at odds with each other. But let's look a little more deeply. Consider the tender love of a father for his child. Then consider the tenacity with which that father will protect the child. Imagine a woman's tender, compassionate love for her aging father. Then imagine the tenacity with which she will combat insurance companies and health care facilities for her father's right to life with dignity.

Often we find ourselves in instances where our path is not a clear and direct one. Often a single, specific approach is not enough to lead us to our destination.

I can think of many examples from our MCC Austin faith story in which we approached things from seemingly contradictory directions. Several of our members, committed to compassionate and supportive community for HIV positive friends and family, pushed hard and long for an HIV support group. Finally, out of this two-pronged approach of sensitivity and stick-to-it-iveness, Positive Perspectives was born.

Another example of the results born of the partnership of tender love and tenacious drive is our Saturday @ 6:24 worship service. Over 5 years ago, a small group of MCC Austin members told Rev. Elder Ken Martin of their desires for an additional worship service. They hoped to offer a different expression of worship that included praise music and personal testimony and prayer time. Their dream grew from a tender place in their hearts, but it became reality through the tenacity of their will and lots of hard work.

This weekend, as we mark the 5th anniversary of our Saturday service, we offer special thanks to those who began it. We are grateful for your faithfulness, for your vision, for your tenderness, and for your tenacity. May God bless you and keep you!

Always in Hope,