Jim's Place

This week causes me to reflect on my mother and her influence over me and my siblings.  Mom passed a few years ago and there is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t think about her in some way.  I know most all of us would speak with equal reverence for all of our mothers, but allow me to share just a bit about Dorothy.

“Dot,”as she was known, was born and raised in Burns/Dickson Tennessee.  She was one of five siblings who remained close throughout their lives.  Mom is the first of the sibs to pass away.

She was a nurse at Nashville General Hospital her entire career.  She worked many of those years as the Pediatric Charge Nurse for the “skull shift”—the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift.  She worked that shift so she could be a mother to us in the traditional sense, as well as hold down a job.  I doubt that I ever fully appreciated the sacrifices she made to do that. 

Nashville General was the hospital that seemed to get every abuse case, gunshot or stabbing victim.  One of my memories of mom was the weekly story of some child that had come through her department.  It was as if the staff “adopted” these children for the time they had to spend in the hospital.  Those were the moments when I knew of her compassion for others.  She passed that on to me.

Of course as a nurse, she was able to “practice” medicine on all of us children.  And as a nurse, she didn’t get particularly rattled at the sight of a little blood on one of us.  If we didn’t have a limb dangling and hanging by a thread, there were rarely any “emergencies” that she couldn’t navigate.  And it was up into my teenage years before I learned that there was such a thing as an oral thermometer.  Thanks, Mom.

She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh.  The five of us gave her plenty of opportunities to do that.  She was the “calming” influence in our world.  If one of us messed up badly enough and knew we would have to deal with the “whipping” from our dad, it was always mom who formed a “buffer” to disarm the worst of it.

In her later years, I was amazed that she was able to quit smoking—cold turkey—at the age of 72.  One day she just said I need to stop it and did.  I thought that took tremendous strength on her part.

This Sunday we celebrate and remember our mothers.  It isn’t really a religious holiday.  It’s more of a “Hallmark” holiday.  But I’m glad there is a day we have set aside to celebrate.  It also makes me proud that it was a Methodist woman—Anna Reeves Jarvis—who first spearheaded this celebration at her church in Grafton, West Virginia.  I think it’s important for all of us to know why she did it.

Born in 1850, Anna Reeves Jarvis was alive during the time when soldiers from the Civil War were returning home.  In a place like West Virginia, there would have been significant numbers of men from both the Union and Confederate armies returning to the same town.  There were tensions between these folks and it was Anna Reeves Jarvis who envisioned this celebration of mothers as a way of cultivating peace among those returning Civil War participants.

Whatever else you do this Sunday, be sure to be thankful for your mother.  If she is living, be sure to be in touch and to say thank you.  If she is already passed, take a little time to remember and be thankful.

PEACE
JIM

Two things have occurred this week in the world of “United Methodism” that I thought I would share with you.  First, we received word from our Bishop and District Superintendent that I have been projected for reappointment as your pastor for the coming year (July 2012 through June 2013).  I share this only as a “teachable” moment.  I am aware that many of our visitors, regular participants and not just a few of our active members don’t really understand the appointment system we Methodists use to lead churches.  I thought I might try to help.

There are some 350 plus churches in the Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church.  Our geographic conference covers all of Middle Tennessee between the Tennessee River to the west, Crossville to the east and everything in between.  There are two other geographic conferences that exist within the state of Tennessee (I didn’t say this explanation would be easy).  Since we have such a long state, we actually have three, unique areas within one state.  It’s why our state symbol features three stars.  Each conference is led by a Bishop.

We have a Bishop and a group of six clergy known as District Superintendents whose primary responsibility is to identify and appoint clergy to these local churches.  This is a daunting task and we should be in prayer for them as they complete their work.  Because those of us as clergy belong to a unique “covenant” with one another and with The United Methodist Church as a whole, it is the Bishop and superintendents who make appointments and they are made one year at a time.  Some other denominations “hire” their own pastors through a type of “call” system (i.e. Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, etc.).
 
Each year, the Bishop and superintendents enter into conversation with the Staff-Parish Relations Committee of our church to discuss how things are going, if the church is growing and if it is important for the current pastor to remain in place.  If the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, as it assesses the life of the congregation and listens to the voices of the congregation, feels a change is in the best interest of the church, then a consultation process begins with the Bishop and the superintendents.  In the end, the final decision of pastoral appointments rests with the Bishop.

Although many persons have believed the popular myth that we Methodists move way more frequently than others, the truth is the national average for the length of stay for a pastor in all denominations is 3 and ½ years.  Like other denominations, we understand more and more the value of longer pastorates.

Tari and I are thrilled to be reappointed and honored to serve as your pastoral family.  We have grown to love you all very much and we feel your love toward us, too.

The second big Methodist thing going on this week is called General Conference.  The General Conference is a once every four year gathering of delegates from every Annual Conference in the United States.  There are also delegates from the various conferences around the world.  The purpose of the General Conference is for our church to take stock of where we are and where we hope to go.  Our own Don Ladd is one of just five, lay delegates from our Annual Conference (along with 5 clergy delegates).

Many important issues will be discussed and voted upon over these next two weeks and I ask that you remember this meeting being held in Tampa, FL in your daily prayers.  We have a great church and we have an exciting future — as long as we continue to follow John Wesley’s Three Simple Rules:  Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay In Love With God.

As we all love God and love our church, powerful things will happen.

PEACE
JIM

The Ten Commandments are back in the news.  It seems there is a legislator(s) who is once again pushing the inclusion of the commandments on public spaces.  The “reasoning” behind this, we are told, is because the 10 Commandments serve as the basis of our judicial system and, therefore, serve as a compelling, historical document that we must display for our children to see.

This issue has been fought and defeated in most every instance—although I am aware that there have been a few cases in which the courts sided with the proponents.

What intrigues me is the rallying cry from people of faith who seem to believe that including the Ten Commandments in the same breath and with the same importance as, say, the Magna Carta represents a “victory” for God.  I suggest that it actually does exactly the opposite.

When I was a chaplain in the Army, we heard from a quite brilliant General officer named Israel Drazen who told us about a case he knew of in New Jersey   (Drazen was the highest ranking lawyer in the Army at the time).  He described a case where the local clergy and others had risen up over a decision to remove the nativity scene from the front lawn of the county courthouse in their small town.  The local churches were all up in arms over how the city officials would dare remove these symbols of the Christian faith.

In the end, the lawyer representing the clergy won the case by arguing that the Nativity scene had become widely known as a symbol for a “secular holiday” and, as such, had no religious significance.  The local Christians cheered that their beloved Nativity had been restored—and they never seemed to understand that they lost so much more.

With the Ten Commandments, suggesting that they are no more important than the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence doesn’t add to their importance—it takes away from their importance.  It’s one thing to take on this battle—for better or worse—on the merits that the Commandments “ought” to be displayed because they are such an important religious document.  It’s quite another to claim that they are just one more document among many.

“Winning” such a case does not advance the cause of faith—it only erodes faith.  And by the way, I don’t know all that much about the many facets of our judicial system, but I don’t remember the first four commandments having anything whatsoever to do with our system of meeting out justice and I’m not sure the other six are all that informative for our courts, either.  I will defer to the lawyers of our congregation to set me straight on this, if I’m mistaken.

I recommend we put up copies of the Commandments anywhere and everywhere we can—let’s just make sure we tell people that we’re doing it on purely religious grounds.

PEACE
JIM

An awful lot of good stuff happened around here last week.  We’ve been having a good time with Adam Hamilton’s study called “When Christians Get It Wrong” on Wednesday nights.  Then we had a great Maundy Thursday service with leadership from our young adult class and others.  Communion around the small table and serving one another is always special.  And the music was sublime.  On Friday we had a very meaningful service of light and shadow known as Tenebrae.  Our choir led us and various individuals offered readings from the Scripture leading to the crucifixion of Jesus.

On Saturday, our Easter Egg hunt was the best ever.  The weather was perfect and we welcomed dozens of children and their families—many of whom were neighbors and many of whom have their children in our terrific Day School.  It was a real joy and your Children’s Council made it happen.

Easter sunrise was led by our youth outside on the front porch as nearly 50 persons gathered for singing and praise.  Our 8:31 “IGNITE” service and the 11:00 service were both packed and we witnessed a wonderful drama performed by our youth movement team (special thanks to Andrea Nelson), a tremendous prelude featuring Amity Marsh and Gwen Cassidy, and a stirring anthem by our Chancel Choir.  Your pastor did his best not to “lower the bar” that had been so wonderfully set.  Person after person came out the back with a glow about them and nearly everyone commented on how much they loved the service.

Simply put, it’s hard to imagine a better week.  I need to offer thanks to our Worship Committee who made sure we had plenty of volunteers to “redecorate” the sanctuary for both services.  Our ushers and communion stewards always perform their tasks beautifully.  Bob McLeary had a major role, of course, in coordinating and leading our special services and we are deeply grateful for his creativity and dedication.

Most of all let me thank all of you for being here on Sunday.  For your love and support of your church and its ministries.  And thank you for your support of the church staff.  We need your love and we can feel it.

All in all on Easter Sunday, we had about 400 in worship.  If you were here on Sunday and was a part of one of the services, you know how good it feels to fill our church.  We are on our way.  400 in worship every Sunday is not as faraway as you might think.  We are growing our membership and attendance and I know you are reaching out and welcoming new persons in our midst.  Let me ask you to keep on keeping on when it comes to sharing the love of the Risen Lord.  Be active in welcoming new persons to your neighborhood and be sure to invite them to worship.  Offer to come pick them up.

We have a terrific church and it’s getting better by the day.  Tell your friends.

PEACE
JIM

In some ways, the “flow” of the Christian calendar resembles a funnel.  Everything we do throughout the year seems to make its way toward Holy Week.  And why not?  The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus serves as the “ELAN VITAL” of the church.  Without the events of this week, there is no need to discuss things like advent and Christmas. Without the events of this week, Peter and Paul never get on with the business of building a church. No, Holy Week is the hub from which all other spokes emanate.

As much as we all want to glide over Friday to get to Sunday, Holy Week can never be complete until we face the ugliness of the betrayal, arrest, trial, beating, and crucifixion of Jesus.  There is nothing to triumph over if there is no death.  I’m like you–I don’t want to see it again.  But our joy on Sunday is hollow unless we fully grasp the horror of the days leading up to it.

We like to call ourselves “Easter People.” There’s a good reason for that.  The empty cross on the rear wall of the sanctuary reminds us every week that death didn’t win.  But that doesn’t diminish the reality of Jesus’ suffering and death.  One of the earliest Christian heresies was known as “gnosticism.” The gnostics, among other things, questioned whether Jesus was really “real” or if he was merely an apparition.  The reason for that was they considered the death of the Son of God to be such a repugnant thought, it couldn’t have really happened–it only appeared to happen.

That is not the faith of the Christian Church.  The suffering was real.  The death was real.  That is not only true for Jesus, but it is also true for us.  All human beings suffer and die.  There is no real way around that.  True, some suffer more than others, but all humanity shares the similar story.  So, too, is the resurrection for all of us. The Good News is that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” and in His resurrection, we are all brought to new life.  Not just some of us–all of us.

This week we will revisit the story again.  On Thursday we will gather in small groups around the table–just as Jesus and the disciples did.  We will stop for prayer at the altar and offer our deepest fears to God–just as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.  We will have the opportunity to have our hands washed and to wash the hands of others–just as Jesus did with the feet of his disciples that night.  On Friday, we will participate in a service of worship called “Tenebrae” in which we move from light to darkness a little at a time until darkness is all that’s left as we recall the crucifixion.

There are no shortcuts to the empty tomb.  Come walk with us.  It will make Sunday all the more meaningful.

PEACE
JIM

Trayvon Martin.  We all pretty much know who he is now.  Or who he was.  For those who might have missed it, Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old boy who was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida, by a “neighborhood watch” man.  Predictably, there are conflicting stories about what happened and no eye witnesses to corroborate either story. There is a taped phone call from Mr. Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch man, to the Sanford police department reporting a “suspicious” young man walking in the neighborhood.  We are told that the police advised Mr. Zimmerman not to continue following the young man, but he apparently did, anyway.  Mr. Zimmerman is a caucasian/hispanic man.  Trayvon was an African American boy.  We are told that Trayvon did not have a weapon of any kind–only a bag of skittles and a bottle of tea.

That’s all we seem to know.  Mr. Zimmerman claims the young man attacked him and he was forced to use deadly force in self-defense. Trayvon Martin cannot speak for himself anymore.  The Sanford police did not arrest or detain Mr. Zimmerman and this has led to a national outcry.  Protests have arisen all over the country in support of Trayvon’s family.  These protests are demanding Mr. Zimmerman’s arrest and trial.  Relatively recently, the State of Florida passed a new gun law that allows a person to use such force in public if the circumstances merit.  It is popularly known as the “stand your ground” law.

The head of the Florida law enforcement association commented on this case and said it was predictable.  Their association of law enforcement officers from across the state lobbied hard against this law in the Florida legislature, but lost.  The head of the association reported that since the law went into effect, these kinds of “self defense” homicides are up 300% from previous years.

How will this turn out?  Who knows?  None of us really knows enough to make an informed judgment because we weren’t there.  New information will probably emerge–it usually does.  Investigations have been launched by various law enforcement agencies.

I’m not a lawyer or a law enforcement professional so I don’t know how to approach this issue from that point of view.  But as a Christian person, I do have a responsibility to ask “what is theologically significant about this case?”  How should a Christian respond?

Let me suggest that perhaps our first responsibility is to take a step backward and gain some perspective.  Emotion is generally a bad platform from which to make good decisions.  We believe in the power of prayer and I believe we should be praying for the healing of the families of Trayvon Martin AND Mr. Zimmerman.  What happened in Sanford was a tragedy and it doesn’t really matter why it happened.  A 17 year old’s death is tragedy enough.  I can’t speak for Mr. Zimmerman. I don’t know what was going through his mind.  I wish he hadn’t followed the boy.  We should all be in mourning.

This episode underscores the fact that we still have a ways to go in our quest for racial equality.  We’ve made strides, it’s true.  But episodes like this remind us that there is so much more to be done. Someone asked what might have happened if the neighborhood watch man had been African American and the boy had been white.  Would that have made any difference?  We’ll never know, but it’s worth pondering.

For my own part, I wonder why it is elected officials would refuse to listen to the people they pay to enforce the law?  This isn’t just a Florida problem.  The same scenario played out here in Tennessee last year and in many other states.  Law enforcement officers are overwhelmingly cautious about expanding gun rights to citizens–especially when it comes to carrying weapons in public.  They are overwhelmingly in agreement that the vast majority of gun permit holders are not sufficiently trained to handle firearms in public situations.

It chills me to hear that the association head say the word “predictable.” Law enforcement officers knew this would happen–not necessarily to Trayvon Martin, but to someone.  To many “someones.” Turns out, they were right. We should be in mourning.

PEACE
JIM

     VANDY WINS!!  I am unashamedly a Vanderbilt sports fan.  As most of you know, Vandy fans are long-suffering in most sports.  Yes, we have a good baseball team right now, but over the years, the only consistently good team was the basketball team.  So it came as quite a shock to me that it had been 51 years since my team had even been to the finals of the SEC tournament.  That was a shocking fact to me.  So it feels extra good to bask in the glow of an SEC championship (and with all due respect to Condit and Rhonda Steil and all the other Kentucky fans, it tastes even better that it was at the expense of the “evil blue nation”).

      Fans are a funny breed.  Most of us learned the fine art of being a rabid fan (short, or course, for “fanatic”) in Jr. High School.  We were conditioned to demonize our rivals and we learned catchy fight songs–like, “our team is red hot, your team is doodly squat.”  At times this friendly competition would take on what seemed like cosmic proportions for some–especially coaches and parents of players.

      I was a TSSAA basketball referee for a number of years.  In all of the games I called, I don’t remember one incident involving a player, but I could rattle off dozens involving coaches and parents.  Some role models THEY were.  I quit in order to ensure my safety-no kidding.  It just didn’t seem worth it to have your tires cut or have a knife flashed in your direction for the $25.00 you earned.  I was never a math whiz in school, but I knew instinctively that that didn’t add up.

      This past week we have been hearing stories coming from the NFL about certain coaches and teams offering a “bounty” (a financial reward) for intentionally putting an opposing player out of the game.  Most of us–I hope–are understandably appalled at that idea.  But how many of us were genuinely surprised?

      I suppose this column is generally about “winners” and “losers.” 

     I personally don’t get too offended at the behavior of rabid fans–they are usually pretty funny as long as they aren’t throwing things.  They are typically great supporters of their team and they like the feeling they get when their team wins (see first paragraph).

      But, when the notion of winners and losers infiltrates the life of the Christian Church, then we have a unique problem.  Have you noticed how many times I have told a joke/story about how funny Baptists are or Presbyterians are or Catholics are?  Let me help you–to my knowledge, not one.  From time to time I may tell a joke/story about how funny METHODISTS are because we need to have the capacity to laugh at ourselves.  But I can’t tell you how many of those OTHER stories I’ve heard coming from pulpits where one denomination makes fun of another. 

     Sometimes those stories are pretty funny, but they also represent an erosion of the Body of Christ.  And in the end, they are almost always about winners and losers.  I make myself look or sound better at YOUR expense.

      If our study of the scriptures has taught us anything, it has taught us that God has a special love for losers.  Page after page we meet people who are beat up, poor, hungry, lame, blind, or lost in one way or another.  And if you need final proof of this, look no further than the crucifiction of Jesus.  THAT was the defining act of God’s activity on earth.  We talk about Victory in Jesus with the cross, but if the cross represents a “win,” it’s only after you come to terms with what a great loss it was.  And the Resurrection testifies to the loss.

      I dare say most of us, if not all of us, know what it is to lose. 

     Some of us have dealt with what seems more than their fair share of it. 

     Good to know that God loves us losers–He made so many of us.

PEACE
JIM

     For the past three years, we have held a “Ministry Summit” in early February.  This Ministry Summit has been a time for sharing thoughts and ideas about who we are at Forest Hills UMC and who we hope to become.  We have invited a cross section of church members to participate each year and have tried to be inclusive of our entire membership.  For the most part, we invited people to come without the particular “hat” they might wear in the church.  For instance, if we invited Randy Mantooth, it wasn’t because he chairs Staff Parish Relations.  Mostly, we wanted everyone to be on the same footing in order to share their ideas.

     For the record, this Summit has generated a number of ideas that we have implemented like the Farmer’s Market, the Summer Academy, the All-Church Retreat, the Church-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner, and many other great ideas.

     This year, we concentrated a lot of our thinking on growth.  Our church HAS been growing, slowly and steadily.  Most of our growth has been “natural”—by that I mean we have families that visit with us pretty much every Sunday and there are some of those who like what they find and stick with us.  A few families come because they have been invited by you.  We need more of that.  What is undeniable is that churches grow when the membership reaches out to invite their neighbors and friends.

     One of the ideas that continued to emerge at our recent Summit was to make more use of our front lawn.  We have this terrific piece of property and it could be used to attract people in the community to come find out about us.  That’s what the Farmer’s Market has done and there were several ideas that came up to use the lawn for other things.  One idea was to have a worship service on the lawn sometime this summer.  We are working on that idea already.  Other ideas included having occasional vintage car shows on the lawn or even a “flea market” on the lawn.  We can surely find ways to bring people to our property to introduce ourselves and find ways to link these events to a mission of some kind.

     We talked about “training” our membership on ways to invite neighbors and friends.  For some, this comes easily.  For others it can be intimidating.  Our Evangelism Committee will be working on an “event” that can help us all.  Another idea was to have special Sundays where we honored various service groups and agencies in the community such as the police, firefighters, teachers, etc.  Yet another idea was to be more intentional about reaching out to our Day School community.  We have one of the finest Day Schools in Middle Tennessee and most of the children and their families are not “connected” to our church, except through the Day School.  Surely, many of these families are involved in a church nearby, but there are some—maybe many—who are not.  We need help creating the best strategy to connect with those families.

     These are just some of the ideas that emerged and we are thinking our way through them.  Do you have other thoughts??  We need them and we need everyone to assist with our growth as a church in whatever ways you can.  You have unique gifts for this and we need them all.

     Let me know what you are thinking.

PEACE
JIM

I was nearly run off the road a couple of days ago.  Nashville drivers are not known for their “mad skills” behind the wheel.  In this case, the offender was driving a Yukon.  If you don’t know what a Yukon is, it is roughly the size of a battleship on wheels.  It is apparently built to carry a small army—or an entire soccer team.

The driver was female.  I only mention it to say that this isn’t a slam on all female drivers.  I mention it only to state the fact on this occasion.  She had what looked like a 79 ounce cup of coffee in one hand, the other hand on the wheel and a phone between her right shoulder and her ear.  This caused her to have to lean her head to the right in order to maintain the phone there in a stable way. 

I suppose that explains why she veered to the right and into my lane.  After all, if you have your head cocked at a 45 degree angle, it’s hard to know what “straight” really is.  I drive a fairly large truck.  It’s hard for me to imagine how someone might miss it or not see it.  But she didn’t.  I was literally forced onto the shoulder and she finally realized that my truck was not a TDOT vehicle and must have been on the shoulder for a reason.

She threw me a wave of deep contrition as she sped away.  No joke—she had a CHOOSE LIFE sticker on her bumper.  All I could do was shake my head.  I wondered why she wanted to TAKE mine?

I find that life is a lot like driving in Nashville.  There are a lot of places in town where you have to merge very quickly and across multiple lanes of traffic.  At those places there are only two kinds of drivers—the quick and the dead.  Survival often depends far more on velocity than on maneuverability at these places.

I tend to think many of us are moving very fast without the benefit of being able to change direction when necessary.  In some ways, the season of Lent is about changing direction—maneuverability.   Lent is a time to slow down and consider where God may be leading.

I wonder, is it possible for us to slow down?

PEACE,
Jim

Like you, I get an awful lot of “come-ons” in my mailbox and email.  People are always trying to sell me something.  I don’t pay attention to most of it, but one came over my email a couple of weeks ago that drew my attention:  “Cheap Ashes for Ash Wednesday and Cheap Palms for Palm Sunday.”  How could any self-respecting minister not be attracted to that?

I can get enough ashes for 1000 people for just $12.75.  That seems reasonable.  And I find that ashes don’t spoil over time, so the unused portion can be kept for next year.  The Palms are a trickier matter.  I have to decide on the appropriate size—should I buy the 24”-36” strips or the 13”-20” strips?  Could it be that we should stay away from the 13” strips because that’s such a –you know—unlucky number? 

The palms are recyclable, too.  Traditionally, you are supposed to burn this year’s palms used for Palm Sunday for next year’s ashes for Ash Wednesday. 

We enter the season of Lent this week.  Lent commences in the Christian Church with Ash Wednesday, a service of repentance and focusing our attention on our relationship with God.  In this service, we invite persons to come forward to the altar to kneel for prayer and to have the sign of the cross placed on the forehead with ashes.  The idea is to enter into a season of forty days of reflection about our commitment to God.

 The notion of forty days comes from two places.  First, the number “40” is a special number in scripture.  There were two periods in which the number “40” was of great significance in the church.  The Children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness following their escape from Egypt.  These wilderness wanderings were a time of “preparation” for them as they became a nation.  The other reference was Jesus, himself, spent 40 days in the wilderness dealing with temptation.  He emerged from that wilderness and those forty days a much stronger person and prepared to accept his role in following God’s call upon his life.

There was another reason the church embraced the number 40—with a certain amount of mathematical sleight-of-hand, 40 days came to represent a “tithe” (tenth)of the calendar year.  Setting aside a tithe of the year to focus on our discipleship seemed like a reasonable idea.

In the earliest days of the church, baptisms took place only on Easter Sundays.  The season of Lent was the time when those wishing to be baptized were taught the history and doctrines of the faith.

For us, Lent is still a time for us to focus on our own faith, to be reminded of our baptisms and the fact that we belong to God, to Christ, and to the church.  Many of us use this time to “give up” something as a way of helping us to focus on God.  This giving up something is a form of sacrifice and a form of “fasting,” one of the church’s spiritual disciplines (like praying, studying, attending worship, etc.).

The season culminates with the Passion Week as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem, is tried and executed, and then is risen on Easter.

 We invite you to celebrate Lent beginning this Wednesday at 6:30 with Ash Wednesday.

PEACE
JIM