Distractions

Two months ago I thought I was a reformed blogger. After years of sporadic posts I was on the road to consistency. I felt good about the frequency of my posts; I was on a roll. Oh the dangers of confidence! It has been two months since my last post. 

I can offer some credible reasons for my lapse. First, our plans to replace the flooring in our home morphed into a comprehensive home renovation. We moved out of the main floor of our house, storing our furniture, library, and the contents of our kitchen in an offsite storage unit and every spare inch of upstairs space. Five weeks ago our small kitchen was demolished, taken down to bare walls and naked slab. Custom built cabinets are slowly appearing and there is hope that the renovations will be finished before our older son's wedding on October 22nd.

Second excuse reason: William Cody (our first grandchild) arrived five weeks early. Adorable, adorable and worth every bit of distraction. I wouldn't trade anything for the week we spent in Santa Fe welcoming this precious addition to our family.

Reason three: Chaos in our home creates chaos in my mind. I find it difficult to think in the midst of a mess. And there is so much to think about: paint colors, granite, floor tile, hardwood, back splashes, draperies and a million other decisions (all dependent on one another), my presentation for ACU's Summit, the resumption of my small group Bible study, the wedding and much more.

Sooooo, watch this space for updates on Cody, renovations, Summit, and the minor prophets.

Third reason:

My Tribe

Often I find reading a blog to be a Hansel and Gretel experience. I start with one blog, which refers to another blog. Because I respect the wisdom of the bloggers I follow, I often check out the posts they recommend. I am especially susceptible to those handy links the blogger provides. One quick click and I am off the beaten path, following a trail of bread crumbs and trusting that I will finally arrive at a worthwhile destination.

Today, the trail of crumbs led me to a blog by Seth Godin. Seth writes primarily about marketing and the spread of ideas in the marketplace, but his current post concerning tribes spoke to me in a totally different way.

God established the nation of Israel with a structure of twelve tribes. The tribes had a shared ancestral heritage as descendants of Abraham and heirs of God's promise.  Each tribe also had a "personality" inherited from a son of Jacob. For centuries the twelve tribes remained one nation in spite of their tribal differences.

Israel of the new covenant is the church. While God intended the church to be one tribe, in reality there are many "tribes," each with an inherited personality. I belong to the tribe known as the Church of Christ. When I read Seth's statement, I immediately applied it to my "tribe."

In the mid-twentieth century, Churches of Christ were excessively tribal. We were known as sectarian, legalistic, and arrogant. Some members of the tribe would deny this description, asserting that we were simply right. Others recognize the truth of the description and continually rehash the faults of fifty years ago.

Here is where Seth Godin's view of tribes comes into play. Seth says,     

"The stability, power and longevity of a tribe is directly related to the way it is treated by its members."

Churches of Christ are in danger of extinction at the hands of those who grew up in the tribe. When those of us who grew up in sectarian and legalistic congregations continually talk about the past we are mistreating the church. We are painting a picture of Churches of Christ that, by and large, is no longer accurate. Every time a Christian speaks about the church in a negative way we undermine the stability and influence of the tribe as a whole. 


Instead of looking to the past and retelling our failures, let's look to the future praying for God to use our congregations in mighty ways. Let's pray that he will lead every church by means of godly elders who listen for and follow the urging of the Spirit. 


Let each of us serve in the present. Let's thank God for the way he is using our tribe to minister to the lost, the lonely, and the oppressed at home and around the world.  Let's make a list of these ministries so that we can pray for them and speak about them in a way that honors God and our tribe. Finally, may each one of us find a place to serve in a ministry of the church for the glory of God. 

Paring Down

This week I've been on garage sale duty. Actually, it is garage sale prep. Our family moved into our present home 27 years ago and since then, we have accumulated an amazing amount of stuff. This house has reached capacity, so it is time to clean out closets, empty cabinets, and ask the critical question: does this go or stay? It is time to pare down, and pass on before we qualify for an episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive.


So far, I've filled two large crates with miscellaneous books and home decor items marked for Saturday's sale. I hope to fill at least two more before I run out of time. Consigning various items to the sale has been relatively painless and it is a good feeling to open a closet or cabinet door and see empty spaces instead of clutter and chaos.

It is more difficult to pare down in other areas of my life. I can accumulate commitments in the same way I accumulate china (I have seven or eight sets). If I'm not careful, I find my life feeling cluttered and chaotic. When I "retired" last month I made a promise, to myself and to God, that I would not make any long-term ministry commitments for the next year. Instead, I will spend that time cleaning out my "spiritual closets" and listening to hear how God wants me to serve.

Walmart and Karl Barth

     I loved this Walmart commercial as soon as I saw it. As the mother of two boys (men now), I was immediately captivated by the "star" of this commercial. I couldn't help but laugh at the seriousness with which he denied his use of the towel, even in the face of irrefutable evidence. There he stands, covered in mud, carrying a bucket of mud, with his muddy face clearly stamped on the towel and still he proclaims his innocence: "I never seen that guy in my life." 
     I wonder how many times God has shown me the evidence of my disobedience and I have refused to acknowledge my guilt? How often do I refuse to honestly look at myself--covered in  mud, carrying it around in a bucket? There I am, my likeness reproduced in mud-- sin and disobedience--and I deny my guilt. How can I dismiss the vanity, selfishness, and arrogance that is so clearly evident? How can I reject God's call for repentance? I can't, so I offer this prayer (based on Karl Barth's prayer number 43).
     Lord God, you know just what sort of person I am, and I know it too. Before you, I cannot deny it anyway: my hard heart, impure thoughts, disordered desires, and everything that has come of this and still comes of it -- my errors and transgressions, and so many words and deeds that do not please you and by which I can only disturb and destroy peace on earth. 
     Things do not work out without your speaking and working in me. I hold to your promise of grace and mercy, that Jesus Christ, your dear Son, has come to bring good news to me as one of the poor, to proclaim release to me a captive, and recovery from my blindness--to rescue me a sinner. You can do what I cannot. I believe and trust that you will do it--not because I am good and strong, but because you are. Amen.

More from Fifty Prayers by Karl Barth.

Prayer number 39:

Dear heavenly Father, we thank you that today is Sunday. You now allow us to rest from our work, that you may be able to speak to us and rightly work in us. You have gathered us here through your living Word, our Lord, Jesus Christ. So remain with us and draw us in the Spirit to your Son, that he may draw us in that same Spirit to you.We cannot build ourselves into his community; only you can do that. To that end, hallow, enlighten and bless our human action, our praying and singing, our speaking and hearing. To that end, reign in our midst. Amen.

For several years I have attempted to "keep the Sabbath." This practice of intentional rest is considered unnecessary by many of my friends. For them, it is a discipline that belongs to the old law and has no place in the arena of Christian freedom.

Yet, Karl Barth has a different perspective. Barth sees rest (the cessation of work) as necessary if God is to speak to us and work in us. Just as physical rest is essential for maintaining physical health, the cessation of striving and accomplishing promotes our spiritual well-being. In our rest God speaks words of renewal, reflection, and refreshment to us.  It is in our stillness that we can hear what God has to say and the sanctifying work of the Spirit takes place. In our shared rest, times of Sunday worship, God builds us into a community, the church. 

Your Choice

Frequently, almost every day, my inbox includes an e-mail from my uncle. Inevitably, this is a forwarded complaint about some aspect of life in the US: "reported threats" to Social Security, Medicare, and/or religious freedom; the dangers of the "liberal media"; the problems in our public schools. While these may be legitimate concerns, I wonder if mass e-mail is the most effective means for Christians deal with these issues. 


Consider the following excerpt from Karl Barth's prayer number twenty-two.


Bless what comes to pass in this church and in the other churches and communities that are now still separated from us, that it may be a testimony to your name, your kingdom and your will! Reign also over all of the various concerns of the government authorities, administrations, and courts here and all over the world! Strengthen the teachers in consideration of their high task for the growing generation; the people who write newspapers, conscious of their grave responsibility for the public opinion they influence; the doctors and nurses, for genuine attentiveness to the needs of those in their care! Substitute your comfort, your counsel, and your help for all that would accuse the many lonely, poor, sick, and confused among us! And let your mercy be apparent and powerful to all who are here in this house, along with their families!


We place ourselves and all that we lack and that the world requires in your hands. Our hope is in you. We trust in you. You have never let your people be put to shame, whenever they earnestly called on you. What you have begun, you will surely finish. Amen.


Personally, I'll go with the power of prayer over the power of e-mail complaint every time. How about you; which do you choose? 

The following is Barth's prayer entitled You Know Who We Are.

Lord, our God, you know who we are: People with good and bad consciences; satisfied and dissatisfied, sure and unsure people; Christians out of conviction and Christians out of habit; believers, half-believers, and unbelievers.

You know where we come from: from our circle of relatives, friends, and acquaintances, or from great loneliness; from lives of quiet leisure, or from all manner of embarrassment and distress; from ordered, tense, or destroyed family relationships; from the inner circle, or from the fringes of the Christian community.

But now we all stand before you: in all our inequality equal in this, that we are all in the wrong before you and among each other; that we all must die some day; that we all would be lost without your grace; but also in that your grace is promised to and turned toward all of us through your beloved Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We are here together in order to praise you by allowing you to speak to us. We ask that this might happen in this hour in the name of your Son, our Lord. Amen.

There are several things I like about this prayer: I like the way Barth speaks not only to God but also to those gathered for worship. I like the way he acknowledges, without judgment, the diversity of spiritual maturity and/or commitment among those present and the way he reminds the congregation that some come to this time of worship in deep distress.

I especially like the way Barth draws the hearers to a common place: a place of communal confession and hope. In my faith tradition, we encourage personal confession but we seldom acknowledge the universality of our sins against God and each other. Here Barth not only leads the congregation in communal confession, but reminds them of forgiveness that is theirs through Christ.

I like the way Barth reminds the congregation of the purpose of the assembly.They are present to praise God. Not by singing or by speaking but by listening. Isn't that interesting? Listening to God is praise. I wonder why I've never thought of that; it only seems logical. If we honor our family and friends when we respectfully listen to what they say, then of course we honor God when we listen to his instruction.

In his statements, "You know who we are" and "You know where we come from," Barth reminds the congregation that God is aware of each one of them. God knows them and what they bring with them to this time of worship. So Barth has only one request of God: speak to your people at this time through me.

This is a powerful prayer expressing human diversity and similarity, the grace of God, and the nature of worship. I can't help but think it would change my worship experience and my attitude toward my fellow worshipers if I prayed this prayer each Sunday. I think I'll try it; how about you?