Go World!

I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and I'm overwhelmed, as I am every time this comes around, by the beauty of the whole thing. Sara commented, "This is so amazing! There is nothing else like this in the world."

True, isn't it? For me, the Olympics represent a wonderful hope for peace and a spirit of unity as sisters and brothers from countries that span the planet gather to celebrate what's best about humanity. Some will leave with medals and others without, but what matters most is not who wins the Gold, the Silver, or the Bronze, but rather the ideals of peace and harmony and the realization that there is a oneness that runs so much deeper than any differences in language, dress, color, religion, or culture.

Have you seen the Visa commercials? I wish they weren't for Visa, but the message is wonderful. In the voice of Morgan Freeman (ironically, recovering right now from a serious car accident): “There are six billion of us. We all come from unique places, with unique ways of looking at the world. We don’t always agree but for a few shining weeks we set it all aside. We come together to stand and cheer and celebrate as one. We forget all the things that make us different and remember all the things that make us the same. GO WORLD."

Go World. That will be my prayer during the days ahead, and long after the 2008 Summer Olympics have come and gone.

Broken Eggs

This morning, I was cooking some eggs, when two-year-old Rachel decided to reach up and grab the carton from the counter.

I was looking the other way when I heard the telltale sound: eggs cracking on the floor.

I turned around, and there stood Rachel, frozen, staring at that upended carton and six broken eggs, spreading out in a yellowy, oozing mess. The world stood still as she and I both assessed the damage, and the look of shock and panic on her face spoke volumes: she knew she had done something terribly wrong.

"It's okay, Rachel -- you made a mistake, but we'll clean it up," I said, wrapping my arms around her in a big Daddy hug. And at that moment, she and I both learned something about God's grace.

Learning from HopeSpring

Yesterday we participated in worship at HopeSpring in Winter Garden, FL -- originally a new church start that began as a daughter church of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Orlando, now considered an extension campus of St. Luke's. That may sound like an insignificant distinction, but actually it represents a huge and challenging change in identity for the people of HopeSpring, resulting from concerns about sustainability based on projections for worship attendance and financial solvency.

Our visit to HopeSpring provided some helpful learning:

• Hospitality, hospitality, hospitality! We were warmly greeted -- in the parking lot, at every entrance, in the worship service -- and afterward, we were treated to a tasty lunch, complete with little buckets filled with treats with our table settings.
  
  
• Holding worship in a school is challenging. They shared that with only one morning a week in the space, and no permanent "home base," it's very difficult to cultivate a sense of identity among people in the community. Additionally, they talked about the incredible commitment of resources -- time, energy, and finances -- it takes: about $20,000 a year in rent, plus all the equipment and the movable units for storing it; and human resources for transporting everything in a big trailer, schleping the stuff in and out, and setting it all up and taking it all down week after week. Add to that the challenges of working with school administration, time constraints, and difficulties with consistent air conditioning (a particular problem in Florida!), and it hasn't been a breeze. In a few months, HopeSpring will be moving into a more permanent home for worship and mission: 10,000 square feet of an old Winn-Dixie supermarket, which they're converting into ministry space.
  


• Mother-Daughter relationships between congregations aren't easy either. Lead pastor Gary Shockley planted a church in Pennsylvania before -- a parachute drop -- and he went into this one naively thinking that it was going to be a piece of cake with the energy and passion of a large team of people already on board and significant financial resources to invest. Even with two years at St. Luke's building a culture of invitation and hospitality and nurturing a core group to prepare them, before the church plant even began, and even with significant funding from the mother congregation, the district, and the Conference, he's found it incredibly challenging to navigate all the dynamics. Particularly with the recent change from daughter church to extension campus, and all the resulting changes in budgeting and staffing relationships, it's been complicated.



• Planning is an imperfect science. When they made their plans to plant HopeSpring in Winter Garden, the housing market was booming. They specifically targeted this community because there were plans for 60,000 new homes and a town center to be built. They did their homework, studying demographics and designing their worship and ministry to meet the needs of the people with whom they expected to be neighbors. However, only about 12,000 homes were built, and with the economic slump, everything has come to a screeching halt. The school is literally in the middle of nowhere -- a stark reminder that projections are only projections, and lots can change without fair warning.



• In spite of all the challenges that accompany any church planting project, God is faithful! HopeSpring leaders are genuinely excited about this new venture, and lives are being transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ. I suspect HopeSpring will be successful, even if it's not exactly what those who began expected, and even if it's not according to the timeline they originally developed.

Notes from Orlando, Day Three

Wow! Today was the best day by far. Honestly, some parts of the School of Congregational Development have been a bit disappointing, because I feel like a lot of what we're receiving is based on an older model of congregational development that isn't likely to engage younger generations or those in progressive cultures like Portland -- but today was really good.

First, we heard from Carol Howard Merritt, a young Presbyterian pastor from Washington, D.C. and author of The Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation. She started out by telling a story about one of her parishioners, a member of the church council (or whatever they call the governing board in Presbyterian churches) who arrived late for a meeting, apologized for her tardiness, and explained that she'd run into a friend on the way there. When it accidentally slipped out that she was on her way to church, she'd felt the need to explain... to clarify... "No! It's not what you think it is! My church isn't like that!" And Carol confessed she finds herself doing the same thing, all the time, when people learn that she's a pastor.

Oh, man! Does that sound familiar?!

"Yes, I'm a pastor, but it's not like that! My church isn't what you think it is. We believe in peace and work for justice, and we don't reduce faith to moralisms, and we aren't homophobic or sexist or narrow-minded, and we don't think you have to be a Republican to follow Jesus!"

Yes, all too familiar!

"Church can be very scary," Carol says. "If you go to church and you still dare to admit it, you have some explaining to do."

As a young adult in ministry (although getting less young all the time, I must confess: I turn 38 tomorrow!), I found it fascinating to hear Carol's presentation. So much of it rang true, from my experience, both personally and with others from my generation. A few things to hold onto:

• Six million people who used to go to church no longer do -- they're under age 45. They are "The Missing Generation." Six million!
• Too often, we in the church think in terms of life cycles. We celebrate a child's baptism, we raise them in Sunday School, and we celebrate a big "graduation" when they complete confirmation. Then we send them off, expecting they'll come back when they have kids of their own. Then we plan ministries for Mom-and-Dad-and-the-kids, but we don't offer much for those in between. The problem is, only 25% of households have Mom and Dad and kids. 51% of women in our society aren't married. When the single young adult comes to worship for the first time, the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) message we convey is, "You are not what we're looking for."
• Misunderstandings about young adults:
  - Employment: that young adults quit their jobs if they don't fit in with their yoga schedules. Truth: many, many young adults are in temporary employment because it's the only work they can get. They work long hours, and their productivity is higher than previous generations. Because they're in temp jobs, they have few benefits, and they are often the first to be laid off. 30% of people ages 19-29 have no health insurance -- particularly troubling when you remember that this is the time period when people have typically had babies... today many young adults can't even get a doctor's appointment!
  - Finances: that young adults prefer to "mooch" off their parents. Truth: young adults find themselves in terrible financial hardship because of the tragic combination of enormous student loans, the high cost of housing (particularly in urban areas, where young adults can find work), and stagnant wages. She described college students with whom she works who hold down four jobs while taking a full course load, and then celebrate that they've been able to keep their student loans to $50,000.
  - Commitments: that young adults are "commitment-phobic." Truth: marriage rates are lower (often because of financial insecurity), but among young adults who are married, divorce rates are lower, too. And commitment to a job can't be measured fairly, since so many young adults find themselves forced to work temp jobs.
• Young adults aren't looking for entertainment in church: they find contemplative prayer and labyrinths to be incredibly engaging. Often the parts of worship that appeal most to this generation are times of silence.
• Gen X (ages 25-45) is the most innovative generation ever in our nation. Young adults are eager to start new things. Gen Y (under age 25) is huge -- bigger, Carol says, than the Baby Boomer generation. At the same time, Gen Y is more institutionally minded than Gen X. So what if, she asks -- what if we allowed Gen X to develop new communities of faith to engage Gen Y? Wow! That question is rocking my world right now. It sounds to me like a recipe for the most incredible transformation of the church... the next Great Awakening, yes?

And then from Marcia McFee, the coolest stuff ever about music and worship! If I had come just for this seminar, it would have been worth it. Just a few snippets, because it's late and I'm tired:

• One size does not fit all. Use the full repertoire: jazz, traditional hymns (including with new arrangements and even new melodies), bluegrass, old and new contemporary (which really is not an oxymoron), global, Taize, blues, Iona, popular songs...
• Question: Is this the right song for this moment, to evoke the feeling I'm trying to create? It's not just about using the right genre.
• Question: How do we create an environment in which to experience the Holy? ... for this message... for this place... for these people?
• Think like a filmmaker: create a "score" or "soundscape" for our experience of the Holy. Use music for transitions. Let it be the glue for the layers of worship, connecting the verbal, the visual, and the visceral.

Good stuff today! Lots to process! Lots to utilize!

Personality and Prayer

In some spare time this afternoon, we made Erica take the Myers-Briggs test, and learned that she's an ISFJ. Sara is an INFJ, and I'm an ENFP.

Carlie (a fellow ENFP) shared this blog post (ignore the title and subtitle of the blog) that shares prayers for each Myers-Briggs type. They're pretty funny.

The prayer of an ENFP: "God, help me to keep my mind on one th - Look! A bird! - at a time."

What are your Myers-Briggs letters? Don't know? Take the test here.

Notes from Orlando, Day Two

Greetings from steamy Orlando -- day two of the School of Congregational Development.

The day began with Mark Beeson, senior pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana, whose talk was called "Innovate or Die." His presentation was very inspiring. A few nuggets:

• Most of the people in our churches are underchallenged. Our churches are full of what Beeson calls "high capacity" people, and we ask them to do things like hand out bulletins, when they are capable of so much more.
• If you can do your ministry by yourself, your vision is too small.
• The most dangerous person on your team is not the person going backward while everyone else is moving forward, and not the person going completely in a different direction -- everyone knows they're completely off. The most dangerous person is the one who's just a little bit off, who claims to be on the same page when you confront him/her. This person will wear you out, Beeson says. You need to deal with it.

I'm a little confused about Granger Community Church, though. Apparently they're a United Methodist congregation -- at least that's how they were presented today -- but I get conflicting information when I do a Google search. Their own website says "nondenominational." What's the deal?

I went to two excellent seminars: "Creating a Discipleship System," with Claudia Lavy (formerly of Ginghamsburg Church, now part of the consulting team Deepening Your Effectiveness); and "Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit" with Lovett Weems of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Both were very helpful.

A few nuggets from Lavy:

• The church is called to the ministry of life transformation. We get so caught up in the day-to-day stuff of the church that we forget our calling: life transformation.
• Lavy's workshop included a quick run through some excellent stuff about the stages through which people develop a deeper and deeper trusting relationship with God. I recommend the book Deepening Your Effectiveness: Restructuing the Local Church for Life Transformation by Dan Glover and Claudia Lavy, which provides an in-depth look at these steps and how they ought to impact the ministry we develop.
• Particularly helpful: at stage 3, the new or rededicated believer is asking the question "How can I help?" Be careful! When we take energetic new believers and invite them to serve before they are spiritually developed, we push them on a road to burnout and cynicism. The real question they're asking is "How can I fit in?" So how can we invite them to deeper spiritual development? The question for us: Do we want actively serving believers or spiritually developed servants? Lavy says our churches are full of actively serving believers, but they're drying up on the vines because we're not providing the spiritual nourishment they need to become spiritually developed servants.

A few nuggets from Weems:

• In 1784, Methodists were called "the most insignificant religious body." Eighty years later, in 1864, Methodists were the largest denomination, and 50% larger than the next largest denomination. How did that happen?
• We should develop "so that" statements for everything we're doing -- i.e. "We offer Vacation Bible School so that..." Everything should be organized to accomplish the mission.
• Thousands of churches across the country have said, "We love our traditions more than our children." We refuse to change, even if it means we are failing to pass on the life transforming message of God's love to the next generation.
• In the early days of a church, that church will be very responsive to the needs around them, but gradually that changes. Instead of looking upon the world as our parish, we begin to look upon the parish as our world.
• "Leadership is helping God's people take the next faithful step." -- Scott Cormode
• An alarming statistic: from 1980-1990, there was an increase from 1.8 million to 4.3 million people who claim prison as their primary residence. From 1990-2000, that number saw another 70% increase.
• A district superintendent is not the steward of the United Methodist Churches in his or her district -- pastors do that. A district superintendent is, rather, the steward of the United Methodist witness within that geographical territory. This is an important distinction.
• The primary question a district superintendent should be asking: How do I improve the quality of pastoral leadership for the pastors in my district?

Notes from Orlando, Day One

Here we are in Orlando, and today was Day One at the School of Congregational Development.

It felt a little like we limped into the event, which was kind of disappointing. The welcome and opening music were extremely low-key -- almost as if those organizing the event weren't quite ready for it to start, or maybe that they've done it so many times before that it ceases to inspire any excitement or energy -- but fortunately things are picking up a bit.

We heard a great sermon from Bishop Minerva Carcano this afternoon. She is a great storyteller. I especially appreciated her stories about visiting with church planters in the Philippines, where there is such passion for sharing the Gospel with nonbelievers, and about Christians ministering to immigrants on both sides of the border with Mexico. Clearly she is a faithful servant leader, and I appreciate her impassioned witness.

I am participating in an urban ministry track, called "God at the Crossroads in the City," led by Kelvin Sauls of the General Board of Discipleship. Here are a few nuggets from our first track session:

• More churches are closing in urban contexts than anywhere else.
• Cities are at the crossroads.
• Churches are at the crossroads.
• Cities are coming alive again. Urban flight is over, and people have moved back -- not the same people who left, but young people, many of them single.
• Urban churches have mostly reorganized to serve the poor, but those coming back to the cities are not necessarily the poor.
• How do we undertake an innovative both/and ministry that cares for the poor and advocates for the poor, while engaging newcomers?
• Newcomers to the city are experiencing "Post-Suburban Syndrome" as they react against the decisions their parents made. They are not churchy, but spiritual. They don't care about denominational labels. Largely, they think the church is irrelevant to their lives. They may not come to a worship service, but they're eager to engage worship through service.

And a couple of nuggets from tonight's plenary with Ed Jones, founding pastor of The Living Water UMC in Pearland, Texas, which we received as a live feed from Grand Rapids, the second site for this year's School of Congregational Development:

• We must lead from the overflow of our devotional life.
• Take the values off your charts and plant them in people's hearts.
• Pray for eyes and hearts to notice what Jesus notices.

And the summer is flying by!

Probably no one else has noticed, but last night on the telephone, my father-in-law said, "I haven't seen any new posts on your blog in a while" -- so I guess it's time!

A few random thoughts:

I counseled for a week of Middle School Camp at Rolling Ridge, our United Methodist retreat center in North Andover, MA. Pictures here.

On Sunday afternoon, we had a special family birthday party for Rachel, who turned two last Friday. Pictures of our fun on Friday here, and pictures of the party here.

We are leaving today for Orlando (such a great time of year to visit Orlando!) for the School of Congregational Development. Erica and Carlie from New Light are going with us. It should be a good time of learning and connecting with others who share our passion for helping communities of faith to thrive.

I had a great time with my 13-year-old nephew, Jake, who came on Sunday and stayed until Tuesday morning. Among other things, we saw The Dark Knight and had crazy-delicious ice-cream at Cold Stone Creamery in the Old Port.

Super exciting developments for Chestnut UMC - the small established congregation we serve here in Portland, Maine - and by association, for New Light as well. It's too early to be specific, but excitement is in the air! I'll disclose all the specifics as soon as I can...

My alma mater, Boston University School of Theology, has announced the appointment of a new dean. I'm impressed and hopeful!

My brother, Brian, has written a second book -- a wonderful resource book with facts about every U.S. president, their vice-presidents, and their Cabinets. It will be published soon, and I'll be sure to post a link.

Summer blessings!

Catching Up...

~ We had a great time at the family camp on Center Pond on the Fourth of July... good food, time with family, kayaking, swimming, sleeping on the porch, lots of (illegal) fireworks over the pond... good times.

~ I'm praying for my friend David and his whole family as his father, Jim, is in critical condition at Maine Medical Center. Pray, please.

~ It was fun helping Ben & Melissa move into their new parsonage in Haverhill, MA last week. We're excited for them as they begin their new ministry there - another clergy couple sharing an appointment and imagining exciting new ways of being church!

~ I spent some time this week - overnight and a meeting the following day - at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, CT, which will be the site of our New England School of Congregational Development in November. I'm on the planning team, and it's coming together. What an amazing facility!

~ Next week I'm at Rolling Ridge, counseling with middle schoolers for the week. Pray for us!

~ We're looking forward to a couple of days with Paul Nixon, our new coach, coming up. Paul is pastor of Epicenter Church in D.C. and author of the book I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church.

~ We're also looking forward to the School of Congregational Development in Orlando, July 31 - August 5. Anyone else going to be there?

~ Fingers crossed for a possible new site for worship and ministry... We're not there yet, but it feels like we're making good progress...

~ Rachel turns two on July 25. Is that really possible?

~ Where is the summer going already? And how do I make it stop?

An Independence Day Prayer

by Kerry Walters

Lord, we are a mighty empire,
proud of our arms and our wealth.
We fancy they make us independent.
We believe they are signs of our righteousness.

But arms and wealth -- they are idols,
abominable in your sight.
They stunt our hearts and bind our spirits.
They breed fear, distrust, arrogance, greed.

The temple we have raised for them is called
Fortress America.
We are prisoner-priests within its walls.

Move us this day, good Lord,
to yearn for real independence.
Open our eyes to our self-imposed shackles.
Rip asunder the veil of our temple-fortress.

Stir our hearts, that we might seek
vulnerability rather than power
service rather than dominion
peace rather than war
reconciliation rather than preemption.

Inspire us to witness to the world by
demolishing our killing instruments of war
giving our wealth to the needy
practicing apostolic simplicity
forgiving our debtors
and renouncing our mania to be a superpower.

Let us repent of empire, gracious God,
that we might embrace your Kingdom. Amen.

_________________

The Rev. Kerry Walters is an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, peace activist, author, and co-editor of Episcopal Peace Witness.

Three years and counting...

Three years ago today, on a blistering hot day, Sara and I exchanged vows of love and faithfulness and began the adventure of marriage. It was an intimate little service with 350 of our closest friends and family members, at First United Methodist Church of Hudson, where I was serving as pastor, with 12 pastors officiating (all of them family members and close friends -- that was our wedding party!), lots of music, Holy Communion, and many special elements, followed by a dessert reception (chocolate fountain and all!) at Rolling Ridge.

We're headed out to dinner in a few minutes to celebrate (we have a babysitter and everything!), and tomorrow, while Rachel plays with her grandparents, we're taking the day to relax and enjoy each other. We don't know what we're doing yet, but it doesn't even matter, because we'll be together.

I am blessed to have a wonderful wife, life partner, and partner in ministry.

Leadership

As I think about my ministry as a pastoral leader, one thing is abundantly clear to me: there's a big difference between being a leader and being a manager.

It's a tension in ministry that almost every pastor I know faces. So much of day-to-day ministry demands effective management: keeping track of all the finer details of ministry, day in, day out; making sure tasks are completed, worship is developed, a sermon is prepared, people are cared for, records are in order, budget numbers are reviewed, phone calls are made, e-mails are read and composed, and all the required forms are completed and submitted according to deadline. These are important aspects of ministry. Each of them helps to ensure that ministry continues, and yes, ministry is about impacting human lives.

Most of the time I'm able to stay on top of the management responsibilities -- sometimes very well, sometimes adequately -- but I'll confess that in my less effective moments, I can feel like little more than a machine churning out ministry, without passion or conviction and with hardly a nod to God. I note that I've used the passive voice to describe these tasks, and that's significant because there are days when I can check all the boxes on the task list and still remain fairly passive. Too often I get caught up being a manager and find there's little time for the real stuff of leadership.

Management is important for any effective organization, but the church calls out for leadership! There's the old expression, "Leadership is doing the right thing; management is doing things right." It seems to me if our primary focus is on doing things right, we might easily manage our way into extinction.

If management is about reducing risks, leadership is about pursuing opportunities. If management is about managing tasks, leadership is about leading people. If management is about seeing the present clearly, leadership is about articulating a vision for an improved future. If management is about tracking progress, leadership is about initiating change. If management is about reacting to perceived needs, leadership is about taking a proactive stance. I'm convinced it takes both effective management and visionary leadership to enable the healthy, growing church God calls us to be.

My prayer: God, help me to grow in my leadership abilities, and kindle in me a passion to pursue opportunities, to lead people, to articulate a vision for the future, to initiate change, to take a proactive stance, to lead with my head and my heart, for the sake of your church and your Kingdom!

Back from Annual Conference

We returned on Sunday night from our New England Annual Conference, held at Gordon College in Wenham, MA from Thursday night through noontime on Sunday. It's always a joy to be part of a worshiping congregation of 1,000 voices, and to celebrate some of the ministries around our New England Conference which are impacting lives with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I'm still processing all that took place... There certainly were frustrating moments, but also many joyful moments. A few highlights:

• great energy around the Nothing But Nets campaign, with something like $50,000 raised during Annal Conference to purchase bed nets, which will help to alleviate the spread of malaria in Africa, which causes such suffering
• the report that $6.3 million has already come in through our "Together for Tomorrow" capital campaign, supporting congregational development, camps and retreat centers, pastoral retirement support, local church ministries, and our covenants with the churches of Nicaragua and West Angola
• Eric Dupee winning the Ziegler Preaching Award and sharing a fantastic sermon challenging us to simply love God and love our neighbors
• Saturday night's ordination & commissioning service - congratulations, Rick!
• many opportunities to connect with old friends
• having Rachel's four grandparents there all at once!

Check out some of the news from Annual Conference, courtesy of our Conference communications staff:

News from Friday, June 13
News from Saturday, June 14
News from Sunday, June 15

What kind of church do we want to be?

What's This Really About? - an excellent post by Jan Edmiston on her blog, A Church For Starving Artists

... and from Mark Batterson, lead pastor at National Community Church, some really helpful thoughts in a post called Random Firings of the Synapses.

Why?

The other day I went to the hospital to visit a member of the congregation, whom I'll call Lucy. When I walked in, right away, I noticed her husband sitting next to her and a woman I didn't recognize standing at the foot of the bed. It turned out this visitor was the hospital chaplain, who had stopped by to say hello and offer her services.

"Oh, this is my pastor," Lucy said to her visitor. "And this is the hospital chaplain," she said to me. "Isn't it nice that she came to visit?"

We shook hands, and I thanked her for coming to see Lucy.

I was glad for the chance to visit with Lucy and her husband. Both have been dealing with some serious health issues, as well as a number of complicated life situations -- really a lot on their plate all at once.

"I was just telling her," Lucy said, "how my minister is always saying, 'God never gives you more than you can handle.'"

Ick. How to respond?

I promise, I have never said those words to Lucy or to anyone else. I detest those words.

I couldn't tell if those were words of comfort in that moment.

I wanted to scream, "Who are you talking about? I have NEVER said those words to you!"

What is the implication? That God gives us challenges, and then challenges on top of challenges, because God knows we can handle them? That somehow God pushes us to the breaking point, because God knows it'll make us stronger? That God is somehow orchestrating all the details of our lives -- orchestrating the tragedies, sending us pain and sadness and then piling on more, for some greater good?

I don't believe that. In fact, I'll be the first to say that sometimes I think the situations of life force people to face more than they can handle, and it's downright unfair.

Oh, I do believe that God works in powerful ways in the midst of challenge and tragedy, giving people the strength they need to weather the storms of life. I've seen some truth in Romans 8:28, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God..." I celebrate moments when I've seen God transform despair into hope, hatred into love, misery into joy, and conflict into peace. That's the miracle of Easter, isn't it? But that's not the same thing as saying that God causes our pain, orchestrates the challenges we face, or trips us up to make us stronger. I don't believe in that God.

I'm tired of platitudes. God never gives us more than we can handle -- but sometimes it seems like life does. I've walked with too many people through life's pain. I look around and see too much suffering. Frankly, I think there's a lot that happens in life that's completely beyond God's will, and in those situations, I think God wants to be a source of love, hope, joy, peace, and strength.

I have a long list of questions for God, and I suspect there are no easy answers, but I hope God gives me the strength to be present with people in the midst of their suffering and without offering shallow explanations that ring empty, allow them the space to wrestle with the biggest questions of life, which always seem to start with "Why?"

Home from our travels...

We had a wonderful trip to Northfield, Minnesota to spend time with friends Heidi and Alan and their new baby, Addie, and to Fargo, North Dakota, where we had a great time with Sara's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Greg. If you're interested, there are lots more photos...

On the plane I read The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne - a book I've been meaning to read, and which I've skimmed around, for quite some time. (Yes, I know, the rest of you read this book eons ago.) Wow. Powerful stuff. I have a lot to process, and a lot to examine about my life. If you haven't read it yet and you want to be serious about living a Gospel-centered life, it is an absolute must-read.

After 13 hours of traveling - rental car from Northfield to Minneapolis, plane to Milwaukee, plane to Boston, bus to Portland, and cab to our house - Rachel was very tired, and so were her parents. It was a great trip, but we're glad to be home!!

WOW - 2008 School of Congregational Development

I'm on the planning team for WOW: The School of Congregational Development for The United Methodist Church in New England - November 6-8, 2008.

It's going to be a great event!

Overheard on the plane

Just a couple of rows ahead of us on the plane, there was a young mother with two sons, maybe 3 and 4 years old. She spent a considerable amount of time getting the two boys situated in their seats on one side of the aisle - seatbelts on, snacks out, toys to keep them occupied available - and her seat was to be on the other side of the aisle, next to a woman with white hair.

Son #1: Mommy, where are you sitting?

Mother, pointing to her seat on the other side of the aisle: I'm sitting over here.

Son #1: Over there with that old lady?

Everyone nearby: embarrassed laughter.

The Best Care in the Air

We're in Northfield, Minnesota tonight, where we're staying with friends Heidi and Alan and their new baby, Adelaide. Tomorrow we'll head to Fargo, North Dakota for several days with Sara's sister Elizabeth and her husband Greg. We are really looking forward to the time with them.

For tonight I just have to say Midwest Airlines is the best! They call their signature service "the best care in the air." Three things did it for me:

• extra wide leather seats, making for plenty of room
• Dr. Pepper on the menu
• complimentary ooey, gooey, warm chocolate chip cookies, baked on the plane! Does it get any better than that?

Called to Ministry

Almost two and a half years ago, the established church we serve sold their enormous facility - a sanctuary with seating for 850 people, 44 rooms, a full-sized gymnasium, several apartments, and a separate office building with a chapel - to a developer who built a six-story condominum complex in the parking lot. The small remnant congregation has been meeting for worship in a synagogue on Congress Street, at the invitation of that congregation, while undertaking an intentional process of discernment. Although there has certainly been plenty of nostalgia about the past, this new building-free identity has also opened up lots of new possibilities! Without an aging, outdated building tying up all its time and financial resources, the congregation has felt a refreshing freedom to focus on ministry, and to consider an entirely new identity apart from its physical structure.

Since last fall, we've been meeting weekly with a group of leaders of the congregation, to continue this discernment process and to get serious about articulating a vision for a new and very different kind of ministry in Portland. We've met with city leaders, pastors and leaders of other churches, and leaders of social service organizations. We've gone on several field trips to visit the sites of other organizations doing work to care for people in need, both within and beyond Portland. It's been an exciting process.

After months of researching needs and opportunities for ministry within the city, in February we identified the neighborhood where where we feel led to sink down some roots. It happens to be the most densely populated square mile in the State of Maine - a neighborhood of mostly several-family homes and apartments, some of them in serious need of renovation, many of them rented out by landlords who live in other parts of the city or even out of state. It's a neighborhood with a reputation for drug use and trafficking, as well as prostitution and domestic violence -- all of which are still present, but expressed in more subtle ways than they used to be. Since it is the most affordable neighborhood in the city, it tends to be one of the places where recent immigrants and those who are recently homeless settle, but residents also tend to be very transient, moving on when they can afford to go elsewhere. It's also a neighborhood where students and some young professionals have chosen to live, and where a neighborhood center and a community policing program have had a very positive impact. Our vision for ministry in this neighborhood is taking shape, and although we have a lot of work to do to implement the vision - including talking more with people who live in the neighborhood to determine if our vision really meets a need they feel - we are hopeful and excited to get on the ground.

Yesterday at our weekly meeting of the team, an 82-year-old woman who's a relatively new member of the church and an active member of this team, said, "I've been praying that I live long enough to see this vision become a reality, because this is the first time in my life that I've ever felt called to something."

How powerful is that? We had a great discussion about that sense of being called, and I've been living with that comment ever since. Wow. God is good!