Oh my goodness it is HOT today

over 100 degrees! what kind of craziness is this?!?

I was perfectly happy just one post ago and I was trying to keep some equanimity when they told me that it would exceed 100 degrees just one day after my birthday on the same day when I had arranged for a group of guys to come up to church and remove the majority of the pews from the sanctuary in preparation for a congregational banquet. I called the moving off, nothing like trying my best to not endanger the lives of the congregation. But it is hard to live a non-air conditioned life.

I suppose that it’s good for the grapes and therefore the wine’ll be good in a couple of years.

but MAN is it HOT

Christian does not mean schmuck

A man in the neighborhood had a confrontation with one of the preschool teachers the other day. I was in my office so she brought him to me for some resolution of the issue. He was agitated and was seeking to use our playground for his children as he has in the past. That is not out of hand, but preschool was still in session and we couldn’t allow anyone onto the playground because we have a responsibility to the parents of our kids to provide a controlled environment.

Got the lay of the land?

The thrust of his argument seem to be that since we were “in the business of saving souls” (actual quote) that we should be more open and welcoming. I interpreted this as “if you were “really” a Christian, you’d let me have my way.” (my interpretation) Hackles raised instantly.

In one form or another I have heard this argument and I am getting quite tired of it. A child raised in a Christian home pulls it on her mother when she cannot handle her children. “A Christian would take her from me and raise her!” she shouts.

In this case, a wealthy man (he lives in a very nice neighborhood) seeks a relatively private playground for his children and he doesn’t want to pay for it. There is a public park less than a mile away but he prefers our place. His taxes pay for the city park, but he wants access to ours for free. Unless I cave to his demands, he accuses me of being un-Christian. And he says he’s got 12 years of parochial school to tell him what Christian behavior is. (I really wanted to tell him to go and try playing on a Catholic playground) therefore he knows better than I do how I should behave.

Do I need to mention that I was practically shaking with anger at this time? Not proud of it, it’s just true. I just have a hard time having patience with people who seem to deliberately try and manipulate me on the basis of my patience.

Message to the outside world: We are not stupid. We love Christ and we are striving to love you no matter what. But we are not going to let that stop us from standing up to abuse or scorn or worse, manipulation and deceit. We will share but sharing is not always giving outright. We have a right to live also, and to care about ourselves and to have hope for ourselves and for that to sometimes not include you.

Gracious Lord, make us gracious. Empower us to give but not to be taken. We are taken away by you and you alone. Let us now give knowing that we have all that we need.

Is this REALLY Time magazine?

Rather than flacking for one side or another for the sake of readership and sensationalism, there is an excellent article in Time magazine about the virtues of doubt in both the religious and public/political arenas. You can read it here and I think it’s worth the time. (get it?) Andrew Sullivan, editor of the New Republic and a self described “South Park Republican” is completely cogent and is a delightful read.

check us out Lord, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but it’s always interesting. Laugh with us, cry with us, and in the sharing of our lives, clue us in on your vision for us and for all creation. Show us how to make the view pleasing to you.

I’m NOT yanking the rug out from under

I think I should clear this up.

it appears that whenever I bring something up, people might assume I’m going to change something in some kind of drastic way. Let me state clearly:

This is a forum for discussion, not a decisions-making body and not a place where I’m announcing change

I want to hear what you think, not how hard you’ll fight to defend your territory. I want to know what you love about something, not how well it works in Fresno cuz let me tell you, this ain’t Fresno. I’d love for you to disagree with me but not to fear what I’m gonna do. Even when we changed the worship service there were five meetings where the possibilities for worship were discussed and what changes happened were the direct result of those meetings. I am not in a mood to yank the rug out from under anyone, I just want this to be a forum for ideas

because I’m gonna get on your nerves a lot more if I don’t know what you think and I just blunder from issue to issue

This is not to say that I’ll stop advocating for my position, that’s pretty much why we define positions, so we can convince other people of them. I went to the seminary because I wanted my opinions about the church and its business to have some sort of foundation in theology, specifically lutheran theology. Out of that come a lot of my opinions, and I’m convinced of them. But theology seldom builds a church, most of the time it’s people, diverse, strong, weak, simple, complicated stubborn people like you and me. I’d like us to try and find a space where we can disagree openly, completely and still come away the children of God, joined at the savior, so to speak without the whole thing descending into rancor.

try and convince me, and I’ll try and convince you, but I promise that I’ll not just yank away something essential for your worship because I think I’m right. You may also expect me to call you on it if I find you doing the same thing, though.

just food for thought

Holy Lord, each time we are confronted by something we find rightening or unpleasant we have a choice. We can tread the path of fear or the path of grace. One way will keep us safe and comfortable because we will circle around the things we hold dear to protect them. Remind us that when we are gathered around our precious things, we are in effect hiding them from the world so that nobody else can find them precious. The other path is also fraught with peril because we must walk this path blindfolded, arms open, our hearts exposed. As in all things, remind us that no person can drive another down the path, but we must choose the paths we will walk and respect the paths of others because if we don’t, we cannot expect their love or respect in return. As the Buddha reminds us, let us seek the middle path and find peace,