Off I Go

              I am through security at the airport, which is always a trial by fire for me. I am not a nervous flyer, but neither am I a confident traveler. Just don’t fly frequently enough to be comfortable with the whole process.

              That said, a few thoughts as I prepare to depart for St. Louis.

              The first blogs I have posted have been longer than I expect the balance to be. Part of the reason for that is my desire to lay out some of the basic groundwork and issues before the United Methodist church. And in fact, later tonight I will post one more longish piece, which is my attempt to work-through and share my own thinking about the scriptures, especially, that are marshalled in the debate, one side to the other—and about “how I read them,” how I understand and apply them.

              Not that I am altogether clear in my own thinking. One of my hopes for St. Louis is that I can hear and learn more across the board—what frightens and inspires, what comforts and challenges, what people feel is at stake. But I am working-through it. Still thinking, still praying and struggling.

              I am clear that many people quit thinking too soon—decide too quickly, as Bill Gates said of Henry Ford, that they already know all they really need to know to make a decision. They may not struggle or pray at all.

For my part, I think we have to keep learning lest we be trapped in prior perceptions of reality. Reality is what it is, but perceptions of reality are another thing. In light of God’s reality, I pray that God will change minds and hearts in St. Louis, will lead us to become more and more the church that the Spirit wants us to become. Whatever that looks like.

              I shared that hope with a friend, recently, who replied that the notion of "What we think the Spirit wants the church to become" feels scary… I agree. But we are always struggling, or should be, to become what the Spirit wants us to become. That is what we do at Church Council or staff meeting: we try to make decisions for the current and future of the local church that reflect what Christ has called us to be. What else might it mean when Paul says, “work out your salvation in fear and trembling,” believing that “the One who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the Day of Christ Jesus”?

Fear, trembling, scary… yep. But if fear causes us to bury our one talent in the ground…

So, I’m off. Look for the longer piece later, if you are interested.

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At a personal level, I am still pretty puny. Some of you know I have been sick this week. I took a couple of days off, which I almost never do. Midge called to check on me, afraid that I was being “consumed” by what is before the church. I don’t think I am, but I surely am attuned. Jacob, my son, says he wonders if my bum stomach is psychosomatic, and a metaphor for the next few gut-wrenching days. Perhaps.

The good news, it is close to swimsuit season and this week has helped get me shredded!