Queue

Isn’t that an interesting word? It looks interesting. You write it and you’re not sure that’s really how it’s spelled. And it just sounds like “Q” so why do you need all those other letters anyway?

I’ve been thinking of this word for a few days. It felt like a “good word” but there really wasn’t much to associate with it. It wasn’t forming into a blog post; it’s just been sitting there in my imagination while I’ve been digging for something more to say about it.

I guess my first experience with “lining up” is from my earliest days at school. We lined up at the ringing of the bell to be brought in to the classroom in orderly fashion. “Lining up” required a particular protocol, mainly involving quiet and not poking the person in front. I recall my first day as an elementary school teacher, standing there at the front of those two (yes, properly separated boys and girls) lines of expectant faces, wondering who I was and what we would be experiencing together as the school year unfolded. Usually the girls’ line was the quiet line (without poking) while they waited for the boys to settle down.

Later queue experiences in my life—at the bank, at the grocery store, the license bureau, the passport office, the airport—are not quiet. I tend to visit in a queue. I find it a great place to speak to strangers. What is there about being in a line that encourages the questions: how are you? Where are you off to? How are you dealing with this humidity?

My children used to ask me: do you know that person? In fact, they used to ask me: do you know everybody? And for an introvert such as I, it is somewhat unusual just how comfortable I am with speaking to strangers in a queue.

What is there about a queue? Is it the safety of the limits of the line? We know it’s only going in that direction and at the end we’ll go our separate ways. I do like speaking to people in a line. I like making that little connection. Life is about making connections after all. It might even be good practice at reducing the fears Carman wrote about recently. After all, we are all God’s children, moving unavoidably through life towards the inevitable “same place.” Might as well be present with each other as we inch along.

Think about that, the next time you find yourself in a queue.

Posted by Marion

Form or Inform

For some time, I have been thinking about the difference between form and inform, or to put it in its noun form, the difference between formation and information. My reflections on this subject have to do with how we experience worship in church.

I have talked with many people about worship and it is clear that not everyone is blessed by the same approach. For some people, ideas are very important. They feel worship has been good or helpful if they are challenged with a new and stimulating thought or idea; in other words, with new information. For such people, a sermon that offers a fresh perspective about God is often a blessing as it offers them “something to think about.”

For others, ideas are not as important as experience. For these folks, it is important to have a sense of drawing near to God in worship. For them, music and testimony are often more important than sermons because these elements help them come into the Presence or “feel the Spirit.” For these folks, information or ideas appear not to be as important as spiritual formation.

The difference can be surprisingly polarizing. If you attend church regularly or have in the past, you may have instantly identified or aligned yourself with one of these two positions. Whether people find a worship service to be a blessing or a waste of time may be determined by where they are on this continuum. What is more, two people attending worship in the same chapel may have the exact opposite reactions to the service!

My intent here is not to determine that one approach is right or wrong, or that one is more important than the other. What is important is what is helpful to the person, and we cannot decide that for anybody else. Is it possible that we can provide both formation and information in worship? Ahh, now there’s a challenge!

For many worship planners and leaders, it is easier to provide information than formative experience; in fact, they may not have even thought about the difference. Even prayers are often more intellectual than formational, more head than heart. For others, sensing the Holy in worship is everything.

Have you thought about this puzzle? What do you find helpful in a service of worship? Are ideas that give you something to think about more important than experience? Is the experience more important than ideas or teaching? Perhaps you have a different take on the question altogether.

The question may be important. Can we have a conversation on this subject? Will you share your thoughts or experience?

Posted by Carman

Distance

From my upstairs window, I look over the roofs of the houses across the street to the fields beyond. This time of year, in the cool, early morning light, those fields are covered in mist. The scene is lovely.

It occurs to me that were I standing in those fields instead of in my study, I probably could not see the mist. It takes the perspective of a certain distance to perceive it. I always appreciate the beauty of this scene.

Of course, there are many details I cannot see from here. For instance, were I standing in those fields, I would be able to see the stubble from the cut grain, undoubtedly some weeds, perhaps some rocks and obstacles I cannot see from a distance. They are out there, but I do not perceive them. The bigger picture is better.

Is this what God is like when surveying our lives? Does the Divine Artist look at Her children with a certain objectivity that allows for recognition of their sacredness and beauty? Does God paint the bigger picture, shrouded in mists of grace, without recognizing the weeds and stubble that we see in our own lives and think are so important?

As we go about our day today, may we hold the bigger picture in our hearts. May we see the beauty in God’s world, and know we are surrounded by grace and love. May we regard those we meet from this perspective, recognizing their divine holiness and beauty rather than holding on to greivances, and may we offer to ourselves the same grace.

Posted by Carman

Classic

I’ve been unpacking some book bins from reunions, reshelving, sorting and classifying. It’s been a good summer in the “book business” and I’m glad that many of my good friends out there are in possession of some of my good “book friends.” I hope you’re looking forward to a time of reading or studying. I suspect many of your new books are sitting in a pile somewhere waiting for your time or attention. That’s OK, I’m enjoying the last of this wonderful summer weather too.

One thing I expect to do soon is to feature some of the excellent congregational support resources that are still left on my shelves. From time to time over recent years I’ve brought them to your attention—especially if you are a pastor or congregational leader. CPI, their mentors, newly ordained or about-to-be-ordained high priests, or participants in this or that Temple School class.

The nice thing about so many of these great books is that they really don’t get stale. They are classics that always have something useful to say to someone. Book people recognize that you don’t really read the same book twice—no matter how often you revisit it. You are different; times are different; circumstances are different. You wonder why you highlighted or underlined that paragraph last year. And a whole chapter just makes so much more sense now, you can’t believe you overlooked it before.

So watch for some book titles, recommendations, maybe even a quick review or summary coming your way soon. These classics are just too valuable to sit on this shelf any longer. What are the questions that are on your mind just now, Brother or Sister Pastor, Christian Ed Leader, novice (or tired) Preacher? I may have a classic just for you.

What are the classics that you return to again and again? Any titles you'd like to add to our list? All recommendations are welcome. Let's share some of our favourites.

Posted by Marion

Fear

I stand at the top of the ski hill and peer over the edge. It seems dreadfully steep! For a moment, fear grips me. Then I think, "I can do this. What’s the worst that can happen? So what if I fall; I’m not going to die!” At last I take a deep breath and ease myself over the edge. It is the stuff of powerful memories, and a rich experience I will not soon forget.

As a non-skier, how I came to be at the top of that hill is a long and amusing story; too long to share here, but I thought of this experience again this morning as I read the following words in the August, 2010 Herald.

Fear holds us captive, hindering our first steps toward living by Christ’s example.
Fear is our greatest foe. Fear of failure to open ourselves to God’s directions. Fear of being too tired from every day life. Fear of being able to keep meeting the needs of the congregation. And fear of the unknown.
- Alisha Bauman, Teamwork Overcomes Fear, Herald Vol.157 No.8, p 31

In this article, the author describes the process by which her Indianapolis congregation overcame fear and began to interact with the neighbourhood surrounding the church. She shares what a blessing that new relationship has been.

Reading of their experience prompted yet another memory. I was the newly assigned President of Southwest International (USA/Mexico) Mission Centre, and visiting one of the five San Diego congregations for the first time. I was early, so I drove around the neighbourhood, observing that this was a residential area, and that the church property was right beside a park where many children and their families came to play ball. And yet there were no welcome signs out to the community. The only church sign was very small and high on the wall of the building, and the access to the parking lot was gated to prevent the families of ball players from filling up all the spaces.

Inside the church building, a meeting was in progress to plan a fellowship event and fund-raiser; a spaghetti supper. A date for this event was suggested and rejected because one of the other congregations was having something that same evening. It was clear that the intent was to invite church members from the other congregations, while right outside the door were thousands of people who would not be invited, or even thought of! Pointing this out was met with a thoughtful silence; the silence of fear. It wasn’t that the neighbours were scary; it was a fear of the unknown, of trying something new, of failing or of being rejected. It was a fear of all the time it would take to invite all those neighbours, and then what if nobody came? Or what if they all came? Fear does, indeed, hold us captive!

What are the fears that keep you from trying something new? And in your congregation, what fears need to be faced and overcome in order to reach out to the community?

We stand at the top of the hill and peer over the edge. It seems dreadfully steep...

Posted by Carman

Better

You've heard it. You've probably said it; I know I have. "I wish I were better at..."

You name it. We wish we were better golfers, writers, time managers, bookkeepers, housekeepers, better with children, better at making new friends. Being involved in some planning sessions, identifying visions, missions, setting goals and objectives, we're all wishing we had some better church planters, outreach specialists, creative worship planners, visionaries, transformation specialists, and on and on.

Today I found this list that really contains nothing much new , despite the fact it comes out of Harvard! It's pretty simple; if you truly want to get better at something, you can do it. Any human being can, in fact, develop any given skill or capacity in the same systematic way you do a muscle, by "pushing past your comfort zone, and then rest." We tend to fall back on the old assumption that some of us are just naturally gifted with certain talents and abilities. But this author Tony Schwartz says that's really just a cop-out. It's that we don't work hard enough at it.

His advice does speak about a need for passion and prioritizing and focusing. And if those are problems for you, you can fix that too.

It's that time when we're starting to think about going back--to school, to church. Is there some area you've been wishing for better? Look into this concept and see how it works for you.

Here it is again: Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything, from the Harvard Business Review

Posted by Marion

Perfection

The morning dawns cool and crisp. In the pre-dawn light the quiet stillness can only be described as lovely. Slowly, the sun rises above the horizon and spreads its light across this part of the world. The light quietly illuminates the leaves on the trees and the mist that hangs above the open fields. The fog glistens. It is a perfect morning.

Perfection. The morning quietly fulfills its purpose with quiet energy and resolve. It is a simply a work of art.

May I follow its example today. Let my life be filled with grace and light, quietly giving that same light and peace to those I meet. May I move forward doing what matters most within my true purpose, and may I do it with the same quiet energy and resolve. Today, may I be a blessing to those I meet.

May you be blessed with grace, beauty and perfection today, and may your life also bless those whose path you cross.

Posted by Carman