tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47775184283803808572024-03-12T21:34:44.024-07:00mark it 8Cities full of hatred, fear and lies.// Withered hearts and cruel, tormented eyes
---RUSH, "A Farewell to Kings"Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-15593633716219609652009-07-01T18:54:00.000-07:002009-07-01T18:56:20.534-07:00New BlogHey Guys,<br /><br />I am going to be leaving this blog and heading to a new one, Apostolic Obsession. You can click on the link under Check out My Peeps.<br /><br />Also, I am going to be out of pocket for about 3 weeks. I don't know when I will post. Check back.<br /><br />Thanks for all the love and see you at the new place.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-41216126319347453212009-06-29T17:39:00.000-07:002009-06-29T17:46:44.212-07:00It's Funny How Things Work OutNacho Libre is the movie of our life. If you haven't seen it, go now, so we can talk of holy things.<br /><br />Saturday, we were reminiscing about how the boys called Jessie "Sister Encarnacion."<br /><br />About a month ago, we had a discussion. What are we going to call her? Not just Jessie. Or other names they have for her. Joe has called her "Mommy" quite a bit. John has been hesitant. For the longest time we thought it was about divided loyalties. But he kind of broke down and said that if he called her "mom" he was afraid something bad would happen to her, too.<br /><br />He got that out, and now he and Joe both call her "mom," and keep "Mommy" for Melissa.<br /><br />So back to Saturday. They started singing Jack Black's Encarnacion song, but changed it to "encarnaci-mom."<br /><br />I had to fight back some tears through hilarious laughter when John said, "Orphans, smile and be happy..."Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-36599938825310155702009-06-27T14:25:00.001-07:002009-06-27T14:25:24.228-07:00Slowing DownMichael and Becca Hughes came over to the Friday night dinner. They are moving into the neighborhood, just down the street, so we are very happy to have them with us. But they also came over because Michael and I are doing some music tomorrow in worship: “He Reached Down,” an Iris Dement song; “Moses Put Your Shoes On,” a kind of fast bluegrass number; and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me, Lord?” I am playing mandolin on the first and last, which is an instrument I am really getting to love. Luckily, Michael can carry a lot of the load, so I just show up and play a few chords—cause that’s all I know…<br /><br />Around the dinner table, Michael, Rebecca, Melissa, Jessie and I got into a discussion that started out on how if you love the medieval period (and Michael and Becca did some architecture studies in Italy), this “postmodern” thing is no surprise. They may be nothing more postmodern, Michael said, than a baptistery he saw in… and I can’t remember the city! I agree; the cathedral of Notre Dame—postmodern. James Joyce knew that the Pearl-poem was more “modern” than his novel, Ulysses.<br /><br />We got into crop biodiversity. And the slow food movement. And why the slow food movement has not necessarily invaded other aspects of our lives—such as relationships, or work. Michael opined that it’s because of a perfect storm that happened in urban planning and house development: cars, air conditioning, and t.v. Cars have us going all over, abandoning the “places” of our lives for significant stretches. AC means no more big porches. And t.v. means you look at the box, and you don’t have to talk to anyone.<br /><br />Can technology aid the slowing down? So far it doesn’t look good. My Blackberry does if I make it—that is, I get more done during the day and turn it off at night. Otherwise, I ended up doing stuff I did not finish at home. Michael and I were on youtube looking up Bob Dylan and Bill Monroe. So there’s a chance to use it for a purpose besides something that is just done alone.<br /><br />It will take some real thinking about how to slow down.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-77461329370450761402009-06-27T14:24:00.001-07:002009-06-27T14:24:45.169-07:00Largest Black Methodist Church in KentuckyA few weeks ago, Dwight Ashley came to the Rock. He has a music ministry that is really something. He just has a powerful voice and testimony and praise. He sings across all styles it seems, but he has a decidedly black flavor. It’s soul music in every sense of the word!<br /><br />That Sunday morning, Michael Hughes said he had thought about going to a black church, but came to the Rock… you just never know what it’s going to be!<br /><br />We are within striking distance of being the largest black United Methodist Church in Kentucky. But we’re not black. Not white. Not Hispanic.<br /><br />Tomorrow, Anthony Everett is coming to preach. He is the director for African American church development for the Kentucky United Methodists.<br /><br />Can we dream that we will worship, not according to the color of our skin, but the confession of our souls?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-81829240782687321962009-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:002009-06-26T20:23:14.371-07:00They peed in my baptismalIt is a Lebowski moment. Andres points out that someone peed in our watering trough that we use for baptisms.<br /><br />Whose hide do I take this out of?<br /><br />Who is the Jackie Treehorn behind this. The nihilists, I can find them easily enough...Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-65523703151227959392009-06-26T20:19:00.000-07:002009-06-26T20:20:57.962-07:00I'm an UncleMy brother Nate and my sister-In-law Heather, have had their baby girl, Emersen.<br /><br />Click on the link to their blog under "my peeps" to see that sweet little babyAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-17478494826542784842009-06-26T20:17:00.000-07:002009-06-26T20:19:33.273-07:00Science Fiction ChurchI grew up around Air Force personnel, on Air Force bases, and I spent a lot of time in the library. Air Force libraries have pretty decent science fiction sections, because so may of the airmen are in such high tech jobs, that science fiction is not far off from their day to day. Radar technicians, jet fuel labs, weapons/payload masters, jet engine mechanics, you name it. Occasionally I would meet them in the library and they would point me to the classics. I spent a lot of time reading Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Poul Anderson. In a lot of ways science fiction did not seem far off to me, either. Part of sci-fi is a kind of mind-numbing and exciting diversity of cultures. On some days I woke up, went to my neighbor Urban’s house, had good German bread with hot chocolate made from fresh sheep’s milk, then I’d go to the base where it was little America, but still a little tweaked. We moved a lot, made friends with all kinds of people.<br /><br />Some days I would wonder, “will it be like Stranger in A Strange Land? What will it be like to interact with completely different people and mindsets?” And then I came to The Rock. It’s hard to tell what drives things. Have we accreted the groups we have—White and Hispanic to begin with, then African, then seeing class as culture in the white population, then African American, now possibly an outreach to refugees from Nepal—have we become this and it looks like Ensign Flandry’s world, or the court of Shaddam IV? Or is it something in our imagination, something embedded-- a kind of speculative anthropology—pulsating, in the Gospel?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-9115072952248414632009-06-20T11:48:00.000-07:002009-06-20T11:49:14.528-07:00more of the good, the bad and the uglyFriday was a huge evangelism day. I mean, that’s all it was, and I needed it. There is a part of doing evangelism that is therapeutic, something the Lord provides. Any time I start complaining, my friend Steve says, “who have you shared Christ with today?” Usually the answer is nobody! So I go out and find someone. Pretty soon, you realize that there is great need out there for the salvation that is found in no one else but Jesus, and what was bugging you while it may still be there, doesn’t seem so important.<br /><br />Friday was visiting in the neighborhood and then helping Rosario do some evangelism downtown.<br /><br />First house I met someone home, I knew it was a mistake to knock. I remembered the house as my hand was knocking. It’s a family where the two sons like to get drunk and grope women and the mom will cuss you in a heartbeat. Well, after I knocked, I hear a hard, woman’s voice (close your eyes if you’re of delicate sensibilities): “God damn it! If that’s Mike, I’ll run his ass off! That son of a bitch!” For information purposes: Mike is her son…<br /><br />She flings the door open, I smile sweetly and say, “it’s not Mike, it’s worse. It’s the preacher.”<br /><br />She came out kind of sheepish, but then was right back at it. “I know you, you’re that preacher at the church with that woman from the Bottoms!” I know she means Martina, our administrator. Martina used to be the pastor at the Nathaniel Mission in Irishtown, sometimes called Davis Bottom, or simply “the Bottoms.”<br /><br />“That woman was hateful to me! Ran me off from the Mission, and I was born and raised there!”<br /><br />“Well, to tell the truth, I have known Martina for 12-13 years, and that doesn’t sound like her. She must have had a reason.”<br /><br />“She didn’t have no reason…”<br /><br />“Do you remember what you were saying when I knocked on the door?” I repeated what she said. “You were jacked up before you even knew who was here. I bet she did have a reason.”<br /><br />She said something about never coming to my church. That’s fine, it wouldn’t do her much good in that state anyway.<br /><br />So I ambled on down the street, but she went right behind me to every house and said who knows what. I figured the day would be a wash with her hot on my tail, so I went to the only place on that street I knew a crazed preacher could be treated right: there’s a porch full of drunks in various stages of recovery and sobriety, so I sat with them until I figured mean old lady was back in her house and it was safe to go home…<br /><br /> ____________________________<br /><br />Kingsford Competition Briquets are some good charcoal. Last night, I smoked some ribs, and that charcoal burned long and hot enough to keep the smoke from the applewood rolling. A kid we know came by and asked nonchalantly if he could spend the night. Jessie knew right away what was up and why he did not want to go home. So we let him stay. We talked about what was going on and how for a couple of days he has thought about banging on the door late at night to see if he could stay. He said we ought to put one of those yellow Safe Place signs on the house. When you work with the poor, when you do evangelism, there is a never-ending line of people ready to kick your butt. But if you do the work, you’ll know why you do it, and why you’ll take the beating. So we stayed up late, smoking more ribs, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.<br /><br /> ___________________________________<br /><br />Roz is having a series of 3 welcoming services building up to a big service in the Fall, hoping to increase visibility, let people know about the church. So we have been passing out ice-cold water this week downtown, along with information about Embrace, his church. Couldn’t have asked for better days—hot, so people want the cold water.<br /><br />Most folks are receptive, a few don’t want to be bothered, one hates church, one said he won’t come, but wants the water.<br /><br /> ____________________________________<br /><br />A word about the future. The church in America will be on hard times by the end of my life. It’s not just about declining numbers, or the secularization of the Church. It’s not even about the attack on the church by ACLU-type legal activity. It’s more about being a minority. When you are a minority, you can guarantee that your rights will be trampled, and beyond that, what you do will become more difficult. While we may like to think that the society and justice work on ideals, they really operate on what’s popular. So while taking prayer out of schools and ten commandments out of courthouses is a problem, it’s only a symptom. An example, the reason smoking is being “phased out” is not so much because of health, but because fewer people smoke. Alcohol is a serious problem, but there’s not near the effort put into stamping it out because enough people want to drink that they’re willing to put up with billions in lost productivity, death, serious health problems and dysfunctional families.<br /><br />It won’t matter that people believe in the ideal of freedom of religion. When people are more secular, when Christians become more and more of a minority, no one will care. We might ought to hasten this along. I say let’s lose as many “rights” and privileges as we can. Then what we’ll have left is serious Christians, because the lukewarm people won’t want to be marginalized. Then maybe we can have a real revival.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-88334892128871261922009-06-18T19:11:00.000-07:002009-06-18T19:24:01.508-07:00The Good, The Bad, and The UglyJohn Owen is in love with the AME pastor's wife. He thinks she looks like Tina Turner. I know, he's a mess. In the innocence of children he says, "I think I am going to marry a brown woman." For those of you who don't know, the AME church is the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which broke off from the larger Methodist Church over integration issues a long time ago, 1790s if I remember.<br /><br />John can't figure why if they're Methodists and we're Methodists, why aren't we all together? He says we ought to have the "All Methodist Church." Amen.<br /><br /> _________<br /><br />There's a drunk maintenance man in the neighborhood who has it out for me. A few weeks ago he was spouting off at a pretty bad car wreck. I mean, really, you hate the preacher, we get that, but let's help the medics work.<br /><br />Last night he came over and cussed me pretty good. Mama Itoula and Ines were planting peanuts and cassava. Luckily they did not understand what he was saying. I asked him if he could lean over and talk to the plants because the crap coming out of his mouth would really help them grow. They didn't teach me that in seminary. Actually, Jesus did (see Mark 7:1-23, The Parable of Those Whose Butts and Mouths are Reversed) What a jerk. He cussed Osman a few weeks ago. He really hates the church. I asked Leo about him and all Leo would say was, "That dude preached my funeral a time or two..."Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-77334912390451078502009-06-15T15:36:00.000-07:002009-06-15T15:55:03.002-07:00Live from St. Anthony'sWe just got out of the worship service at St Anthony's. That's what we call our Monday night ministry amongst ourselves. St Anthony was a man dedicated to serving the poor, and that's what Monday night is all about-- a service, a meal abd felllowship, and then families leave with a food basket.<br /><br />The crazy thing-- a guy got up out of service, pissed because he "didn't come to hear abour religion" and at the communion rail another guy thanks me for serving the Lord's Supper.<br /><br />What I want to call attention to tonight is the communion ritual. We have been using the hymnal, a ritual. What - have in mind is that for a lot of people who can't read, repeating the same words over and over is how they learn. Those of us who read the ritual usually miss the content...<br /><br />So tonight, after four weeks, some people know it. It was loud. It wasn't just that 60 of us were in the small chapel-- no, they were primed when I asked them to "proclaim the mystery of faith:" and they rocked, in various cadences but clearly: "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.". It makes a difference when you really need Him to come, more than when you just sort of think it's cool He might come."Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-76039023193307277942009-06-15T06:57:00.000-07:002009-06-15T07:03:57.266-07:00Live from the courthouseWe are at court with Ines. She is a refugee from Congo with 5 kids. For a variety of reasons she had to leave the apt where she had a lot of support. John abd LG were there. The Itoulas. Now she is across town and it's hard for her to find anyone to watch her kids. So she' facing neglect issues.<br /><br />What gets me is I know some families that should lose their kids. I have called and called, and nothing. I can't figure out how this works.<br /><br />Thankfully, it seems that this is a preliminary hearing, and we can work on bringing her back close to us. By African standards she is a simple woman, so you can imagine how weird this country seems to her. We'll have to surround her with a family. Maybe North Broadway--Idlewild--Highland Park can be a new village?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-12898591116313218172009-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:002009-06-13T11:33:06.797-07:00More on Why We SuckGo to the post on Why We Suck a few entries down, and you'll see a great comment from Inis, a blog friend and poster-of-challenging-comments.<br /><br />Inis asks how it is that I push that the Church can't accept homosexuality. She asks, if I say we'd accept it because we cave, wouldn't not accepting it be caving to another side?<br /><br />My answer is no, because this is the Church's position, that it's not acceptable. There may be many who dispute this, but that does not change anything. Maybe soon I'll post on Vincent of Lerins' formula for Christian Doctrine, "what was believed from the beginning, by all, everywhere."<br /><br />But for now: Inis refers to the prohibition in Leviticus against homosexuality. That's not the only place the Bible prohibits homosexuality in the Old Testament. But more to the point for Christians, the New Testament prohibits it as well. In the first instance, homosexuality was rampant in the 1st century world. Jesus, following the order in Genesis, sees marriage as only one man and one woman.<br /><br />Romans 1:27<br />1 Corinthians 6:9<br />Jude 7<br />Revelation 21:8<br /><br />Additionally, Inis remarks that the Gospels don't condemn people for what/who they are. Yes, they do. Otherwise there'd be no call to repent. If we were just fine, Jesus would never have come, much less died for us. The gentleness that Inis sees is the kindness of God that sees the helplessness of humanity in its sinfulness, and God's grace in providing a remedy through Jesus Christ-- homosexual, adulterer, murderer, slave-trader, me-- all these things can and MUST be changed.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-54130879894399273192009-06-13T10:47:00.000-07:002009-06-13T11:09:30.092-07:00The Night That Was ChurchLast night, we had a birthday for Jose (pronounced Jo-say), a boy from Congo. He got here with his family almost 3 years ago. What changes! He was so traumatized in those days. He saw horrible things in the war, in fleeing for his life, not knowing if he would be reunited with family. Then some years in a refugee camp in Gabon. Then here, a new culture... but a good church family.<br /><br />People have rallied around him and his family.<br /><br />LG and John wondered if we could make Friday night's dinner a birthday party for him. Of course!<br /><br />It was one of those bittersweet moments. It was so good to be with everyone, but that was the problem. It was church, and I wonder why that's rare, why Sunday is not like that, why church gets bogged down in organization and structure and money? There we were, eating together, playing together, laughing together-- white, African, Hispanic, young, old. The gifts ranged from sports equipment and money to some salted fish, an African delicacy that put a pong in the house!<br /><br />See, even really bad news was ok. Unfortunately the Africans think that I have some pull and knowledge as a pastor. One of our flock is just totally beat down and might be losing her kids. She is distraught, unable to understand how it is that she could come here and have her kids taken away. So I get to be the one to say it will probably happen, find the way to help her understand that we can work on getting them back... it really pisses me off when they don't make any effort to translate, can't get the kids' name or sex right and then expect anyone to understand what they're talking about... they told her in English that she could get a lawyer or have one appointed. She is poor (and the poor are forced into decisions that got her where she is, about to lose her kids), and would have the court appointed attorney. The refugees' experience with court appointed lawyers is not so good... Misty and James, we need you down here!!!<br /><br />I can handle being "Papa Pasteur," and all the outrageous demands and expectations that come with that when we're all together loving and eating. But too often church isn't church. We should have taken up an offering and preached a sermon... but then, I guess we did.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-22219961778560114822009-06-06T18:54:00.001-07:002009-06-06T18:54:47.656-07:00The Little SeminaryAnnual Conference, Again<br /><br />One of the great things about Conference was the boys had a great time. They’ve been coming to Annual Conference since they were born. They actually want to go and be in the evening services. They got to see Rosario be commissioned.<br /><br />Well, I think they are still thinking about some of the things they heard. Saturday evenings, I rehearse my sermons a few times. John went out with me about a month ago, walking around the block, just listening. Well, he wanted to again tonight. And then Joseph wanted to, as well. So we walked around the block and I worked on my sermon, and they were very quiet. They held my hand now and then, held each other’s hands, whispered to each other now and again. When I finished, Joseph started singing, “There’s Something About That Name.” That song has never been sung more sweetly.<br /><br />I hope that maybe we can do this each week. Maybe, if the Lord calls them, they will have a jump on sermon preparation. But more importantly, it’s a time to be together, to plant seeds, to deepen their discipleship. Funny; you can be so intentional about something you forget about it. It becomes natural. Our house and family is what I looked for: a little seminary.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-30990672115825474382009-06-06T14:52:00.000-07:002009-06-06T14:53:33.597-07:00Annual Conference is overWe had a good time at Annual Conference. Bishop Davis really keeps things moving. We had a lot of really good times, and it seems to me that the “real” work of Annual Conference is in a hundred conversations and lunches where old friends and new get together and where people in similar ministries share stories.<br /><br />There was a great lunch at Molly Malone’s for those of us in what I call “freaked out ministries,” those ministries that work in marginal areas. There are a lot of opportunities for soul-saving ministries, but we struggle with a lack of resources. There is a lot we could do if we had the financial base a more prosperous church has. What I can’t figure out is why it is so segregated? Why are there rich churches and poor churches?<br /><br />The Mission Night was awesome, raising more than $43,000 for a pension fund for pastors who have given it all for 30, 40 and more years in the third world, retiring with nothing. It’s amazing, isn’t it? The church is in decline in America, but the pastors here have it good. The church is growing and on fire, but the pastors have nothing. Can anyone doubt that in the Western Church, many other things besides Jesus occupy the pastors’ time?<br /><br />When Conference was over, Roz, Jess, the boys and I ate lunch, and got to see some more friends on the way out. I slept as Jessie drove, and slept some more when I got home. I didn’t sleep much at Conference. A lot of things were on my mind, well really only one thing: how long does a ministry to the poor survive when everyone thinks the economic situation means hunkering down? The need is greater than ever, but the resources slimmer. But I had some really refreshing moments with Larry Stoess and Anthony Everett. So I caught up on some shut-eye with a full heart.<br /><br />Got up, mowed, fixing to grill some yardbirds, and then see how the gardens are doing in the evening cool.<br /><br />So, tomorrow it’s back to the valley, a good place in its own right.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-65547817763450423252009-06-04T19:03:00.001-07:002009-06-04T19:03:54.763-07:00Why We Suck, and other thoughtsRandom Notes from Annual Conference<br /><br />It has been a good conference, I think. I mean, parts of it are boring and tedious. And then I wonder, what would a neutral observer learn about the church? A related question: is Annual Conference important? If it is, then a neutral observer should come away with some sense of what Christianity is. But I don’t think they would come away with what Christianity is about. So maybe we need to change what Annual Conference is and does.<br /><br />The New Church and Congregational Development (NCCD) Committee report was good news. The Rock was started by NCCD, and they are helping us plant Roz’s church downtown. The reason I say it was a good report is that it vindicates our work. The United Methodist Church in Kentucky had a net decline of 400 people in worship from 2007 to 2008. But the new churches started by NCCD provide the church with 2000 worshippers. So the decline would have been pretty steep without us.<br /><br />In those moments you snatch from Conference, I compiled a list of reasons as to why we suck. Actually, the list came in response to the Indiana Bishop, Michael Coyner, pointing out that there is not a county in Indiana where Christians are in the majority. Man, if you lose the heartland, what are you going to do? So here goes:<br /><br />Why we suck (or, causes for the ineffectiveness of Christianity)<br /><br />1. We’re not relevant. I don’t mean doing things the way “the world” does to be relevant, because even hard-core pagans know the world is not relevant to real life! I mean we don’t help people live life. Most of this is because we don’t preach from the Bible, the source of life-wisdom. Another part is that we ourselves don’t understand life. We miss how terrible and wonderful it is. We reduce it to some strange saccharine middle ground where all is well if you smile hard enough.<br /><br />2. The people in the pews are not committed. They don’t tithe, they don’t invite, they barely worship beyond showing up. It’s a miracle I even show up for church. Seriously, if it weren’t that I know how wild Jesus is, and how much He wants to do with me, I don’t think I’d choose to worship in most churches.<br /><br />3. The people in church don’t believe Jesus saves. They don’t believe that if you don’t believe in Him you go to Hell. If they do believe this and have not told anyone, they are the most hard-hearted, pitiless people the world has ever seen.<br /><br />4. We’ve let the world in. Whatever the world does, we do. So when the world wanted to own slaves, church members and even clergy did, too. Because the world wants homosexuality, the church will swallow its convictions and cave there, too. That’s contextual ministry for you.<br /><br />5. We are purveyors of Cheap Grace. We teach people, by precept and example, that there is no need for repentance. You might not even need to feel bad. All you need is to trust your cosmic sugar daddy to tell you it’s all going to be ok. This goes back to being relevant. A sinner in the grips of his sin knows that’s crap. He’s begging for a way out. But as long as you’re still ok with your sin, it’s time to join the church.<br /><br />6. We privilege “brokenness,” creating a climate of hysteria where we won’t let Jesus fix us because we like the attention we get—both for being broken, and “ministering” to the “broken people.” (if you can’t tell, I hate the word “broken.”) This is no more than co-dependency. We’re more prone to have a prison ministry than a victim ministry. I have seen first-hand how this hysteria grips a church. We had a sad case of adultery, lack of repentance on the part of the adulterers, and when they were sent packing, we had people trying to defend them, even to the point of attacking the spouses who had been left.<br /><br />I know this doesn’t sound like a good conference, but this kind of thinking spurs me on. I love getting to hang with old friends, guys who push the envelope—the kind of guys who ask what was your most spectacular failure, because they know the lessons learned are where success will come from.<br /><br />Our new Bishop, Lindsey Davis, will he shake things up? Will we live into our job, nothing to do but save souls?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-20890302094625988702009-05-29T10:24:00.000-07:002009-05-29T10:57:56.076-07:00StrawberriesSo we had our first really good strawberries. we have been fighting the robins for them, finally won with a net. We picked the 10 or so ripest ones. They just melted in a blast of sweetness.<br />When we visited my grandmother's people in France, Bernardo the gardener would pick fresh strawberries and pour sweet red wine and sugar over them. Let's just say he and I had a few of those before dinner. I was 12, and hit the hay early that night.<br /><br />These front-yard strawberries are so good you can't even call what you get in the store strawberries. My love for Santa Cruz notwithstanding, these are the best strawberries ever. I think next year we grow hundreds of plants in the garden and sell them.<br /><br />Jessie's potato idea, of stacking tires around them is working. These taters are so tall some are ready for a second tire! The theory is covering up the leaves makes more tubers. Well, that's not a theory, it works. BUt what we're not sure about is how high you can force the plant to grow. One guy claims he got about 40 lbs from one plant growing them in a barrel. If that's true, and we get 20 lbs from each of ours that will be more than 500 lbs of taters in a little backyard spot.<br /><br />I'll put some pics up when I figure out how to do this from my crackberry. Which by the way is awesome. Charlotte gives me all the info on new visitors. Used to be, I'd have that on a card or an email, and then I would look the number up and call. NO more. C-lotta sends me an email and then boom! I scroll down to the number, it's highlighted, I hit the trackball, call made.<br /><br />Or how bout having my daily agenda sent to me first thing in the morning? My major disappointment has been my calendar. I have to write it on a paper calendar or call Charlotte to write it down. No more. I have my calendar in my hands, I can add to it wherever I am (and as some of you know, my confession is that no preacher's work gets done in the office), and Charlotte can add to it, and I get it.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-48490199804837959582009-05-26T16:05:00.000-07:002009-05-26T16:06:33.740-07:00Check this outThe Drudger Report has a link to a California paper about the CA Supreme Court's Ruling that the voter-enacted gay marriage ban will stand.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-85445913806679197962009-05-25T18:34:00.000-07:002009-05-25T18:41:31.055-07:00TimeWhat a day!<br /><br />Brandon and Erin, the boys' aunt and uncle brought them back from a fun-filled weekend at Mammaw's. It was so good to see B and E and to have the boys back. We had a day of rest and remembrance: the boys occasionally watched The Longest Day with me. How do you explain all that to them? And I think of Steve McKinney's wry words: the worst time to have a boy is 18 years before a war.<br /><br />We lounged around. Ate lunch at DQ.<br /><br />Wrestled. I was on fire. I won what is now called the "Pile of Babies" Match, in honor of my finishing move, pinning John by pinning Joe on top of him. I think they have been talking and strategizing because they worked me over tag-team pretty good.<br /><br />We went to Half Price books. Joe got an Iron Man activity book and John got a book n Frederick Douglas, his new hero.<br /><br />Then we took a short nap.<br /><br />We ate some serious roast, green beans and Ica's mashed taters.<br /><br />Then a pillow fight with all of us.<br /><br />We wrestled again. I did not fare so well. I must say tho, that I out both of them in a figure four leg lock and then pulled their underwear over their foot, effectively hog tying them.<br /><br />Then dessert and bed time.<br /><br />A sabbath.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-48069890631755021762009-05-18T17:19:00.000-07:002009-05-18T17:20:14.745-07:00Orthed OutWe just finished with the Monday Service. This evening’s was the best service I can recall being in. Blake and I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying about the service. I am actually pretty jealous of him—he is getting to work on this service and take it in some amazing directions.<br /><br />For a few weeks, we have been wanting to have communion. We have been preaching on it and preparing the folks in the service. There are faithful, believing Christians, backsliders, non-believers, and the confused. So we had communion for the first time with them tonight. Blake and I practiced the ritual. When the time came, it was beautiful: the folks responded along with us. There were people locked in on us in ways I have not seen before in the service.<br /><br />When we served communion, it was a high and holy moment. Two folks came up with tears, both of them saying, “It’s been so long…”<br /><br />The chapel at The Rock is small. Fits maybe 70 comfortably. There is a beautiful stained glass window, of Jesus consoling Mary at the Resurrection. So we have this beautiful picture. We have words and songs to hear. We walk up and touch the bread with our hands. We taste it and the juice. All that we’d be missing is the sense of smell, but we busted out the incense and totally orthed it up. When we prayed, we put the incense on and Blake went out and censed the congregation. We reminded them that the smoke is a symbol of our prayers rising to God, a pleasing sacrifice of praise.<br /><br />There was a different feeling tonight. People left in such a good mood. Not really a mood or feeling, a sense that something important had happened in the life of the church. At dinner afterwards, many people commented on how they loved the service. We gave them Jesus.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-11322501844255151482009-05-18T11:59:00.000-07:002009-05-18T12:09:53.534-07:00Salad DaysThis evening we have picked our first salad greens from the kitchen garden. Spinach, 8 kinds of heirloom lettuce and fresh picked radishes. It's fresh, local (as in outside the kitchen), organic. If you got a salad like this at a restaurant, and it would have to be a luxury restaurant, it would cost you $8 for three leaves.<br /><br />I hope that everybody loves it! It's one of those things that's really easy to do... we can give the most needy a most excellent salad, and bring people together in growing and picking and eating.<br /><br />The Lord is so good to us. I get a laugh out of where this is all going. People are paying big bucks for organic food, paying more the more local it is, paying even more if the varieties are heirloom... and here we are giving it away! Maybe we should open a restaurant and get paid big bucks for all the wild stuff we're growing...Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-87580841934665784472009-05-16T18:01:00.002-07:002009-05-16T18:02:09.072-07:00Glandion CarneyWell, what a week. We are all dead, I think. Johnny G and the youth put on a great talent show. They had worked for months and it showed. And then today was the garden. People at work all over the place. We sat back and looked at the calendar and saw that there is something going on at the church every day of the month. At first, I was a little worried, because we are trying hard not to be a “program church.” We’re tryingto make disciples, not keep people “active.” Sometimes there is so much you can do that you just end up doing, and not becoming anything. I think, however, that the activity is generally a sign of doing things that connect us to God and the neighborhood. What had me specifically worried is that we more or less had to kick Gordon and Fran out!!! They were at the church every day one week! Ah, but what they do… it gets after the mission.<br /><br />And how is all this supposed to work? How does a church have a mission? I don’t mean a mission statement. It is difficult to be a church in the traditional sense of members, because that tends to mean that there is a focus on the people that are already “in.” But as our District Superintendent, Paige, says, “Meat eaters take care of themselves,” by which she means you have to get out and find the lost sheep. She also says, “The Gospel is precious and time is short,” so we move out of the church and into the neighborhood. This is an important piece of being a disciple-making church. Yes, we have Sunday worship. And it is a high and important time.<br /><br />But so is Wednesday prayer and fasting. And Bible Study. And street evangelism. And scaring atheists in coffee shops. And Monday nights, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.<br /><br />In all this, how do we survive? That is, ministry to the least is hard. Living in the middle o fit harder still. And when we asked folks to commit to not just doing ministry to people, but doing it with them, from them (within their midst, but also allowing the poor to determine what the poor need most), this got hard. Frustration. Getting in over our heads. We needed spiritual sustenance to get us through, but everything about our society and even the church tells us that we do it on our own strength.<br /><br />Enter Glandion Carney. He works with Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. I have known for more than 10 years that I would need to work with Glandion. He gets the inward spiritual development that is desperately needed. But he also gets—because he is a black man from Oakland and, as he says, “a 60s guy”—how that inward spiritual development flows to and sustains a hard-core outward focused life: evangelism and justice.<br /><br />Glandion is an Anglican priest, ordained in Rwanda for the Anglican Mission in America. This past week was the second retreat he has led with us. We focused on the spiritual disciplines, of course, but with an eye towards writing a “rule,” an agreed-upon way we as a staff will live together. It’s not a vision or a mission statement. It is a path to sustain us, to allow us, as Glandion pushes us, “to do and suffer all things for the sake of the Kingdom of God.”<br /><br />I think that we have hit our stride in this process. Since Glandion’s first visit in January, we have met regularly for spiritual accountability and encouragement along some very specific lines. And two weeks ago, I think we hit the spot of trust. This past week with Glandion, we blew it wide open: we found what we need to nourish us when we’re worn out, criticized, confused, frustrated, angry at the injustice of the world, the destructive behaviors in the neighborhood, put out with each other.<br /><br />He comes back in September, and we will continue our work as a staff, but we will be turning our attention to how we bring spiritual development to the church especially to the volunteers who jump right into ministry. Glandion will be coming in the New Year to lead the church in spiritual formation. It’s so easy to get burned out, and if there is anything we have seen, the pace of the work and the intensity drains people, and next thing you know, another soldier is down. May God bless us with the sense of Him that keeps us going!!Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-39532428458603219552009-05-16T18:01:00.001-07:002009-05-16T18:01:37.003-07:00And Now Deservedly This Easy ChairToday, we planted the garden.<br /><br />I did not sleep much last night, as this think is huge. I was guessing 17,000 square feet, but I think it might be more. It’s a lot, way bigger than anything I have ever considered. Of course, only part of it was planted today. First Methodist Church will plant some on Tuesday. We planted tomatoes and peppers today. In a few weeks, we’ll hit beans, cukes, melons, okra and some other things. But it is still big. I was worried about all the stuff we had to do.<br /><br />But we got after it. Me, Jess and the boys, Bob McKinley, Larry Stewart, Benjamin (from Chiapas, I forget his last name), Melissa McDonald and Katelyn, Bobbie Fullwood, Regina and Keshandon Fuller (they just showed up at church wondering what was going on!!), and then the Posse: Matthew, Chris, Seamus, and Jose. Martina came towards the end and watered it all in.<br /><br />This is how many tomatoes we have: we had to buy an engine-powered post hole digger. It’s close to 300 maters. About 100 peppers, and more to come. We plan on selling some stuff in addition to feeding the folks. We’re hoping the garden can begin to raise some money for the church’s ministry to the poor—we have fewer resources in these times, and more need.<br /><br />At one point, Melissa took a picture—there was Larry, Bobbie, Regina, Benjamin and one of the youth working together. Melissa’s comment—“there’s a group that has no reason to know each other.” White, young, old, African American, Hispanic, African. But that’s the whole point of the Kingdom of God, our church. And so it shouldn’t be too surprising that we see it in our garden. I think we just like seeing it, being reminded of it. It’s crazy, not supposed to work, all that jazz.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-47913288992406145162009-05-09T06:43:00.000-07:002009-05-09T06:44:18.740-07:00PicaresqueTwo Sundays ago:<br /><br />We had a meeting after church. We left about 1:30. As we were pulling onto Limestone Street, a truck turning off Lime almost ran into us, driving like a fool. Jessie noticed that the truck turned into the church lot and went behind the building. Well, we have had trouble back there. Especially people messing with my greenhouse.<br /><br />So I head back there. The truck has pulled between the dumpster and the greenhouse. Just as I am getting out to tell the guy to head on, Jessie says, “Uh, I think there’s a woman in there with him and they are up to something…”<br /><br />Sho nuff, when I tap on the window the guy jumps and looks at me in utter bewilderment. And then I recognize the woman. She lives not too far from the church and I see her around quite a bit. I saw more of her than I wanted to as she got her clothes back on. They peeled out of there, and I was glad one of the boys had not got out of the car, because that dude pretty well had no control of his car.<br /><br />I called the cops. And of course, I was able to tell the cops exactly where he was; he stopped at White Castle. I guess you work up an appetite.<br /><br /> ___________________________________<br /><br />Last Friday:<br /><br />I went to pick up a guy who said he wanted to come to the Friday night dinner at my place. Well, he lives in pretty much the roughest part of Lexington, which isn’t saying a lot, except in a relative sort of way. He had told me how he suffers down there. He’s old and getting weaker. He struggles with alcohol (ok he doesn’t struggle—he stays lit) and is at least fighting his cravings for drugs. He had a birthday here a week or so ago, and that marked the tipping point: he had no longer spent half his life in prison. But I digress. He suffers down there because people just come into his house and stay there. He says they pretty well leave him alone, but they have robbed people who come to his house.<br /><br />So I go to get him. Before I even get to the door, three thugs get off the neighbor’s porch somehow thinking they’re going to check me out or something. They start the whole We’re-going-to-talk-about-you-as-if-you-aren’t-here thing. But no big deal; my bs threshold is pretty low these days and I walk right thru them and head to my bud’s place. Then one of the thugs says, “don’t knock, just go on in; he’s home.”<br /><br />Well, I go in and there’s some rough dudes in there and a girl they’re pimping. It hits me that there I am in my ragged out pants and a hoodie, long beard and all. They think I am there for drugs or the girl or maybe both. My bud comes out from the back and says, “Oh, hey, that’s my preacher.” Even this group of people snapped to. But my friend could not come; his toilet was backing up and he was cleaning up, and, he sadly noted, he had gotten drunk and was not going to come like that. I invited everyone to church. They didn’t come, so now I have an excuse to go back and tell them they hurt my feelings. They need a pastor.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4777518428380380857.post-22917577073805537662009-05-05T11:56:00.000-07:002009-05-05T11:57:35.905-07:00Church Planting is a CrockSo, about two weeks ago I was hatin’ life. There was the usual piece in the local paper about a new church “plant” in Lexington. I could not pin it down, but something about what I was reading made me think that church “planting” (starting new churches) was a trend, a fad, the latest thing to ease the mind of the mainline denominations who know they are dying and dying fast, in a loud and grotesque train-wreck sort of way.<br /><br />I was sick to my stomach. Seriously. I thought I was going to puke. I had a sinking feeling that maybe I had been sold a bill of goods on this whole church planting thing. Maybe it is a trend. A fad. I put a lot of money and way more personal capital into The Rock’s Church plant downtown, Embrace United Methodist Church. I thought I had a sober perspective. Who could doubt that church planting was the way? Has it not always been the way?<br /><br />I was stressing out for a few days and then I got my wits about me. “It was just an article that hit you wrong, kid” is what I told myself.<br /><br />Enter Rosario, the pastor and planter of Embrace, the man of whom I proudly say, “You can’t train Rambo and expect him not to kill.” We’re sitting at Frisch’s, and he says, “what if church planting is a crock?”<br /><br />Now look, church planting is the hardest kind of evangelism there is. The most successful, but the hardest. Especially the way Rosario does it—going to the most secularized places. I mean, he could just move to the burbs, throw up a building from the General Steel Co and raid a few churches for members. Nope. Boozers, fornicators and atheists. That’s his target. And so it is really easy to get bummed as day in and day out you get pummeled.<br /><br />So I said to Roz, “I am so glad to hear you say that.” We breathed a sigh of relief, having confessed to some deep dark secret sin. [You can tell the Bishop me and Roz had this conversation; we’re pretty transparent dudes. We wear our gospels on our sleeves.]<br /><br />Here’s why we’re ok talking like this: it leads us deeper into mission. It’s gut-level talk about our love for bringing people to Christ. Not to church, to Christ. The reason we were bummed was because we were worried that maybe we’re just stupid and naïve. We know that we are the kinds of pastors you seal in glass, break only in case of rampant pagan revelry. We’re “big dumb animals” as Roz says. Did we get duped into doing something to save the denomination?<br /><br />That’s the heart of our depression and worry. The talk in church planting sometimes drifts to: you have to plant so that the denomination keeps growing. For example, in an official United Methodist publication, you read: “Statistics are showing us that we need healthy and existing churches plus new churches in order for the denomination to progress and to grow” (Interpreter, March/April 2009, p. 15). This is from one of pour most successful church planters. I know what he means, because I too have said it. It IS true—the denomination WILL die without new churches. But we can’t plant churches solely to keep the denomination alive. It’s not just that that’s not much of a reason, it’s that it is doomed to fail.<br /><br />Pretty soon you’re right back where the United Methodist Church is today—more interested in supporting an institution than being a witness for Jesus Christ. When being a witness for Jesus is unpopular, we back down. People might leave. There might be less money. We have a church institution that, in spite of well-meaning and faithful people, does what all institutions tend to: it serves itself. The survival of the institutionalized forms is more important than the mission. <br /><br />Church planting has to be about the mission: bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ.<br /><br />Roz and I were wondering if we’re at cross purposes with the church planting movement. Big dumb animals that we are, we went to work for Jesus. We sat back and took a deep breath and we’re back, more determined than ever that this about Jesus and His people. In that same Interpreter issue is what we’re trying to do: “look for those rare Annual Conferences [a regional administrative division of Methodism]… where the church is still growing. In every case all of their growth is accounted for by the growth in their newest churches…. This isn’t about church institutional survival. It’s about the Great Commission. It’s about sharing Christ with the next generation” (p. 13)Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15818173428406867448noreply@blogger.com1