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September 01, 2011
Emerging Christianity by Rev. Robyn Michalove
Robyn Michalove
Whatever may be true about the overly-used and highly-nuanced term “postmodernity,” there is no doubt - that that in some way or another - we have all experienced a paradigm shift in our culture and, in particular, in our churches. Whether the impetus of its arrival is overcompensation for rational modernity, or the advent of technological advances, or the September 11 attack, and/or a combination of all of the above, times have changed.
From the way we get information (instant technology) to who has access to information (no longer accessible to experts only), to the way that information is processed (pluralistic tensions and paradoxes), a new day has arrived. Where we work (virtually, globally) and our social interactions through new mediums (chat rooms and Facebook) cause us to reconfigure life in the 21st century world.
What does this mean for our Christian faith and how we express in the local church? Is it simply moving in couches and beaming up PowerPoint and twittering our prayers? How do we hold on to the holy when ‘life as we knew it’ feels threatened and unstable? What do ancient Christian practices like spiritual disciplines and social compassion to the least show us about contemporary discipleship? How can understanding Jesus in his 1st century context help us navigate our times? How does engaging in authentic Christian community as the body of Christ encourage us to live into all that God calls us to be?
Join the hopeful conversation with fellow pilgrims as we explore the four cornerstones of our emerging faith at the upcoming conference on September 30-October 1.
Posted September 01, 2011
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July 29, 2011
Liminal Christianity: The Sacred Place In Between
Suzanne Stabile
In an era of curt sound bites, too many catch phrases and a plethora of options, why would you choose a word like liminal to entice people to give up a Saturday in the Texas summer heat to be with people they don't know to discuss something they never heard of?
The answer: Because it is one of the best words we can find to describe the status of mainline denominational churches.
Author Phyllis Tickle, speaking at the Associated Church Press Convention in 2008, described the cyclical upheaval of the church as a "semi-millennial giant rummage sale."
"About every 500 years, the Christian church feels inclined to throw everyting up in the air and see what happens," she said. Those of us who are in ministry in mainline denominational churches, both lay and clergy, know that we are not what we were. According to William Willimon, a UMC Bishop in Alabama, the average age of both a United Methodist and UMC clergy is older than the national average and our denomination has been decreasing in size for 40 years. The question is, will we lament or will we labor? And if we labor, where do we begin?
For me, I had to begin by defining where we find ourselves. I needed a word, an idea or a theory that could become a foundation for me, and I wanted it to represent hope. Liminality is my choice.
The Latin word limina means threshold. Father Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, N.M., defines liminality as "a special psychic and spiritual space where all trasformation happens."
It is when we are betwixt and between, when we are not in control, a place where quesions are plentiful and answers elusive. Some have said liminality is the most teachable space and othes say it seems that God intentionally led people, one after another, to similar threshold experiences.
If what is taking shape is going to endure into the next 500 years, we would be wise to get together form time to time to talk about it. That includes those active in church and those who aren't, as well as those who are hopeful and those who aren't, to discuss our faith, and our fear, our dreams and our emptiness, our past, present and future.
Please join us. You can register on the home page by choosing "Liminal Christianity ....." on the right. Posted July 29, 2011
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May 28, 2011
The Death of a Hero
Suzanne Stabile
One of my heroes died quietly this morning in a hospital in central Texas. She is the loved one of two of my dearest friends and I’ve been praying for her for a long time now, even though we never met. The world will be less without her and yet one would describe her life as somewhat obscure. Auntie A, the affection obvious in the name, was gay, bi-polar, on dialysis, pitied, loving and someone’s beloved. In hearing the stories of her life it seems that sometimes Alix was out of touch with reality and at other times representative of a Reality that is too real for the rest of us to accommodate.
In a life where mania and depression are the parenthetical markers I wonder how one would describe the ordinary middle where most of us live our days. Perhaps as less than, or without texture; or maybe she would have said the place “in between” is peace-filled and quiet. Alix lived and shared life between those markers with her beloved partner for forty plus years. Susan’s love was big enough to accommodate the extremes of Auntie A’s moods and their shared commitment was strong enough to withstand the added polarization from a culture that is fixated on homosexuality.
It seems important to note that after these many years of love and care, the most significant person in Alix’s life is not the legal heir to their belongings, she is not the “next of kin,” and Susan’s deep and devastating pain will likely be camouflaged as something other so she can safely mourn.
Young gays and lesbians who are free to be “open” about who they are on college campuses today should know that Alix helped pave the way for their freedom. Her integrity combined with the love of good parents enabled her to be among the first to take a stand for gay rights.
Parents and families of bi-polar loved ones should know that Auntie A left a legacy that proves that mental illness does not necessarily exclude a life fully lived in relationship with another. Her ability to love well, in spite of her disorder, and to be loved deeply and honestly is a gift for all of us who hope and pray for the same for our children, siblings or close friends.
The wisdom teachers of our time say that the important lessons in life are learned either from immense suffering or from great love. To that I would say Billie Alexander Hargrave must indeed be wise. She suffered. She was loved. And she loved well in return. I believe, with all of my heart, in an all loving and all benevolent God. So today I can imagine that a gay, bi-polar, well loved and weary soul has fallen into the arms of that Benevolence and that she is at peace.
Auntie A left the world better than she found it. It is our task to do the same.
Posted May 28, 2011
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March 08, 2011
The Journey Downward
Joseph Stabile
The holy season of Lent begins tomorrow. I know that doesn't mean a lot to very many persons these days but for those of us who are striving to follow in the path of the Lord Jesus it is a most important time. This liturgical time in the church calls for us to give serious consideration to the direction of our lives. We are invited to join the Lord on a journey of descent; a journey that is foreign to most persons in our first world culture.
Everything in the world around us is calling for us to journey upward. How can I be successful? How can I make a name for myself? How can I achieve a reputation or greatness? What will give me the most prestige or position? All of the advertising that we take in through the media calls for us to have more, get the newest and best; it is all about power, possessions and prestige, the exact opposite of the temptations that Jesus faces in the desert during his forty days of ministerial preparation.
The call of Lent is for us to journey downward. And Jesus is the ultimate example of this journey. Not grasping equality with God to held on to, He humbles himself in human form to come among us. Born in a cattle feed trough, no place to lay his head while traveling in ministry and ultimately dying on a symbol of condemnation and punishment. His entire life was lived as an example to us of "letting go" "less is more" "journeying downward".
The challenge before us during this season of Lent: are we willing to walk this downward journey, which in reality is the journey upward to the Father? What can we do to get our "ego" out of the way, for it is the "ego" that is always looking to move up higher. The three suggestions of the scripture on Ash Wednesday give us a hint in the form of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Each of these call us out of ourselves to focus on something other than ourselves, other than continuing to shore up our own personal self. In prayer we are asked to focus on God and God alone and surrender our will to His Will. In almsgiving, we are challenged to stop thinking so much of ourselves and think more of our neighbor, particularly those with whom Jesus most identifies, the poor and the needy. And in fasting we are called to think not so much of our own bodies and put our emphasis on anything that is other than the "self". Each of these will become for us important tools on the downward journey.
May your season of lent be fruitful for your personal spiritual growth; may you know the joy of surrender and letting go; and may your soul be prepared to walk the way of suffering and death that leads to a joyous Resurrection.
Posted March 08, 2011
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December 25, 2010
And now...peace, be still...and love
Susie White
When I started writing these blogs a few weeks ago, I remember asking the question: "What are you waiting for?" Last night, as I sat with a few family members, chatting quietly in the aftermath of a very large Christmas party, I thought again about all of the anticipation of Advent...
We had arrived...it was the Night...O Holy Night...Silent Night...and in a way, I began to feel the icy fingers of disappointment and let-down creep around the edges of my mind. In our common experience of dashing through the traffic (or snow, depending on your location), we have rushed for these last few days to get everything taken care of...to buy the food, wrap the gifts, remember not to forget those things that we always forget...I forgot what they are, but you know what I mean! We forgot the butter...the juice...the gift for Aunt Julie! Suddenly, the clock on holiday preparation runs out...and the frantic pace must give way to stillness...
And now...here we are...Christmas Day. What is there to do, but allow it to come? Peace, be still...and love. Love the moment...love the people you are with...and love Jesus who came. The scripture word for today? Love.
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him....dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
May your day be full of love today, because when our days are full of love, we can know for certain that God is present with us!
Thank you for sharing these Advent blogs with me...for reading along and following all of the different thought paths along the way. I wish for you the merriest of Christmases today, that God will make his face to shine upon you, and bless you.
May you be filled to overflowing with his joy, and the knowledge of his love for you...and may you experience his peace through every season of the year to come.
Posted December 25, 2010
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December 24, 2010
Surely the Arm of the Lord is not too Short...
Susie White
"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear..."
Thus begins an important prophetic passage in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. The sub-title for the chapter is "Sin, Confession and Redemption." It speaks to the fact that all of mankind are similarly stuck in a state of separation from God. We stumble through life, the blind leading the blind, unable to work ourselves into reconciliation with the God whose blessing we crave and need.
At this intersection of God's love and the neediness of man, we find the one thing that separates Christian teaching and belief from all the other religions of the world...after surveying the situation, and the fact that mankind is in such a state of need, Isaiah says this about the Lord's response:
"The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene, so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
Having recognized that man's sin and shortcomings create a separation between us, God took it upon himself to intervene...to bridge the gap, and bring us home. Jesus is God...he is the reason that God's arm is not too short to save...he brought God's arm with him when he became a man...he brought his eyes and ears to earth, to hear us, to see us...and to know us. In the New Testament book of Philippians, we read about the significance of Jesus' coming:
"Jesus...who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross."
The Christian faith is unique among religions of the world, precisely because of passages like this one from Philippians...we teach that God comes to us...we are not striving to get to him, to climb some metaphorical spiritual ladder of legalistic perfectionism. We do not, and in truth, we cannot work our way to him. Our arms are too short...our efforts are to imperfect and too weak to span the distance.
But God's arm is not too short...his ears are not too dull to hear us. He knows our frame, and that we are but dust. He hears us, and his heart is attuned to the broken and contrite heart. He chose himself to intervene in our affairs and make things right between us...to come to our place here on earth, so that he could ultimately prepare a place for us in heaven.
Later this evening, many of us will attend Christmas Eve services...we will take a few moments to hear the story read...to sing the songs of joy...to light a candle, and be silent...and in the quiet, may we truly know that the Lord's arm is not too short to save, and that he is Emmanuel...God with us.
Posted December 24, 2010
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December 23, 2010
Jingle Bells, Mary's Song...and Confidence
Susie White
Last night I joined with 3,000 other folks to participate in Dallas' annual Jingle Bell Run. Among the highlights? A man dressed as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, including the full body of a reindeer (with legs...and wheels). How he was able to run 3.2 miles with that thing attached to his body, I'll never know...but he absolutely wins the prize for "best costume." Among the runners were Santas and Elves, and people with Christmas tree lights wrapped around them...it was very cool! Way cool! I'll have to work harder on my outfit next year, since my only costume last night was peppermint-striped socks with white fur cuffs, and a jingle bell bracelet. I guess my socks were pretty cool though, because 4 or 5 people stopped to ask me "where did you get those socks??"
Note to self: Keep the peppermint socks in 2011, but add Christmas tree lights to complete the outfit (multi-colored, flashing lights would be best).
The Gospel reading is from Luke today, and is known as The Magnificat (or also, The Song of Mary). It is a beautiful passage, in which Mary praises God for all that he has done for her, and is her response to the realization that she is pregnant with the child who will become the Messiah for his people. Passages like this one, that have been the focus of attention for so many years, are often less impactful to me; however, tucked into the Gospel reading, just ahead of The Magnificat, was this verse:
"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
This verse spoke to me of one thing: confidence. Mary had, deep within her, a confident belief that what the Lord said to her would be accomplished. The word "confidence," among other things, means to have complete trust in the power, reliability and trustwortiness of the person or thing in whom your confidence is placed. When we consider the immensity of the promise made to Mary, it makes her confidence even more significant.
All through scripture, we are told that what God cherishes most is our trust in him...our confidence in his character, his goodness, and his reliability to accomplish all that he promises. He doesn't cherish religious rituals, or empty worship that is more lip service than life giving...he has no need of these things. What God desires is our confidence, our faith in him, and our heartfelt trust that all he promises to us will be accomplished. But there are times, I know, when it is hard to keep our confidence...circumstances and events roll over us, and life seems to happen in ways that are painful and unwelcome.
Have you lost your confidence in his power, his realiability, or his trustworthiness in recent days? I'll close today with a portion of our daily reading from the Psalms:
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit....His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who trust him, who put their hope in his unfailing love..."
I mentioned the Jingle Bell Run today because the process of running a race continually reminds me of how easy it can be to lose your confidence...life is very much like a race...we start out with a sense of excitement and anticipation, and then our legs get tired, and the breathing becomes difficult...and the finish line seems so far away. We need confidence in order to make it through the race...to endure the bumps and hurdles along the way...to stay the course.
Maybe your trust is wounded this Christmas...perhaps your heart has been broken, your confidence shaken...and the race seems too overwhelming. If so, take comfort in these words, and in the knowledge that our God is a gracious God. He is a kind and compassionate God, and in his time, all that he has promised to you will be accomplished. So, strengthen the legs that are weary, and the knees that are weak...and stay the course. All will be well in the end.
Posted December 23, 2010
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December 21, 2010
The Rest is Still Unwritten...
Susie White
As I was driving yesterday, I heard the song Unwritten playing on the radio. It's sung by an artist named Natasha Bedingfield, and even though it's been popular for a few years and I've heard it many times, the words grabbed my attention in a new way. Here's a part of the lyrics:
I am unwritten, can't read my mind,
I'm undefined.
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned.
Feel the rain on your skin,
No one else can feel it for you,
Only you can let it in.
No one else, no one else,
can speak the word on your lips.
Drench yourself in words unspoken,
Live your life with arms wide open.
Today is where your book begins,
The rest is still unwritten.
Her poetry describes, I believe, precisely why we have the ability...at any given moment, to live a wonderful life! We live forward, not backward...and though our past experiences have brought us to where we stand today, they do not determine what we write as our story for tomorrow. I love the idea that no one else can experience our lives for us...no one else can feel the rain on my skin...no one else can speak the words on my lips...and the same is true for you.
In Proverbs 14, there is a verse that I've always found very compelling..."Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy." Not in any way meant to be a "downer," this verse reminds us that we travel this journey as solitary beings...my journey is my own...and your journey is yours alone...even though we share our journeys with friends, lovers, family, and the like...no one else can speak your words, see what you see, feel what you feel. Your life is your story...and the rest is still unwritten!
In the gospel reading from today's Daily Office, the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she will become pregnant by the Spirit of God, and will give birth to the Messiah...what a story for her life! When she questions the angel about how this could possibly happen, he responds this way:
"Nothing is impossible with God."
And so it is with us...let us intentionally live with arms wide open, because nothing is impossible with God, and the rest is still unwritten.
Posted December 21, 2010
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December 21, 2010
It's a Wonderful Life
Susie White
Do you know the movie? George Bailey and his story of self-sacrifice and dutiful service to anyone and everyone that needed something from him? George got caught up in the hum-drum dailiness of his life, and became very sad and depressed about all that he had missed. He was given the chance to see what the world would have been like if he'd never been born...and he learned that he really did have a wonderful life.
For the last several days, I've been thinking about an idea for the blog that had to do with running...as in, jogging...I couldn't quite figure out how to approach the subject, and certainly not how to approach it in a way that would have meaning for all the people in the world who do not run or jog...
You might wonder why I've spent so many days trying to figure out a way to write on the topic, given that it's Christmas, and the subject matter of this blog is Advent...but the act of jogging has saved me in many ways, and I wanted to find a way to talk about it. Some years ago, I had a seminary professor who told our class the story of how she ran as a means of working through her grief. Her husband had been killed in a plane crash, and in the months after his death, she ran...and ran...and ran. The story made an impression on me at the time, and now...in the wake of a period of deep grief in my own life...running has also helped me to sort through my feelings, and to get in touch with the part of me that can recognize my own wonderful life.
Last night I read a devotional, and in it, the writer talked about the glory of the Lord. He refers to something that an early church father said (Ireneus, in case you'd like to look him up in the archives) about God's glory:
"The glory of God is man fully alive."
Did you know that Jesus was a good-times kind of guy? He was known for attending parties, and having a good time with his closest friends. Laughter and joy are very much needed to help us get through the daily-ness of life...because it really can get pretty boring...routines and chores, and work and school...and then do it all over again tomorrow.
Somewhere in the midst of it all, we can connect with the glory of what it means to be fully alive...if we are healthy, we can run and jump and play...and if we are healthy, and our bodies allow, I would propose that we should run and jump and play. We can make a choice about whether we just exist from day to day, or whether we revel in all that life has to offer. We can embrace laughter, and whatever the present moment offers to us, or we can be like George Bailey, and wallow in the sadness of what we missed.
The thing is, most of us won't have an angel named Clarence visit us and show us what the world would have been like if we'd never been born...and it would really be a shame if we missed out on the fact that it really is a wonderful life! We'll have to figure out a way to learn the lesson, without Clarence, and I think we can do it...
You might not be into jogging, or any other kind of physical exercise, but somewhere, somehow this Christmas week, use your imagination to visualize your life as a wonderful life...and then live into that reality. If it isn't wonderful now, make it wonderful in 2011.
Posted December 21, 2010
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December 20, 2010
Immanuel
Susie White
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel -- which means, 'God with us.'
I remember a series of TV advertisements recently that focused on the idea of being with someone...we all want to be with, rather than alone. Life is more joyful, less lonely, when we are with someone. By becoming one of us, God has chosen to do life with us.
But how is he with us? In yesterday's sermon in church, the pastor talked about how God is with us...he is with us because he has come to live among us...and he is with us because he supernaturally lives within us...and, he is with us because he takes sides with us. He is with us in that way we would say to one another, "Are you with me?" Jesus would say, "Yes, I'm with you!"
In Paul's letter to the church located in Rome, there is a wonderful passage that echoes this message:
"If God is with us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all --how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
God is with you...he is for you...he is on your side. His is the kind of love that will give up everything for you. Fear not.
Posted December 20, 2010
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