Morality

I've been reading a book by Donald Miller that he wrote in 2004, "Searching For God Know What." It's a really good book and has stirred my thinking on a number of things. I'm getting close to the end (and I'll be moving on to his newest book that just came out, "A Million Miles In a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life"). I just finishing up the chapter on Morality and there were a couple of things he wrote that I thought I'd share with you for your reflection:

"Morality..., if you think about it, is the way we imitate God. It is the way we imitate the ways of heaven here on earth. Jesus says, after all, to know Him we must follow Him, we must cling to Him and imitate Him, and many places in Scripture the idea is presented that if we know Him, we will obey Him."

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"The hijaking of the concept of morality began, of course, when we reduced Scripture to formula and a love story to theology, and finally morality to rules. It is a very different thing to break a rule than it is to cheat on a lover. A person's mind can do all sorts of things his heart would never let him do. If we think of God's grace as a technicality, a theological precept, we can disobey without the slightest feeling of guilt, but if we think of God's grace as a relational invitation, an outreach of love, we are pretty much jerks for belittling the gesture.

"In this way, it isn't only the moralist looking for a feeling of superiority who commits crimes against God, it is also those of us who react by doing what we want, claiming God's grace. Neither view of morality connects behavior to a relational exchange with Jesus. When I run a stop sign, for example, I am breaking a law against a system of rules, but if I cheat on my wife, I have broken a law against a person. The first is impersonal; the latter is intensely personal."

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"There are a great many other motives for morality, but in my mind they are less than noble. Morality for love's sake, for the sake of God and the sake of others, seems more beautiful to me than morality for morality's sake, morality to build a better nation here on earth, morality to protect our schools, morality as an identity for one of the parties in the culture war, one of the identities in the lifeboat (lifeboat: thinking that some/we are better than others for various reasons, thinking that some/we are worth saving because of met standards verses those who do not)."

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Quotes from David Adam

I'm reading a book by one of my favorite authors - David Adam, Walking the Edges: Living in the Presence of God. In this book, building on stories about several Celtic saints, he looks at what it means to live in the presence of God. Here are a couple of quotes from the first several pages:

"Faith does not come without effort on our part, faith asks us to move out of our limiting security."

"If you want to understand the doctrine we have to be willing to live the life: if we want to understand the way of heroes we have to be willing to live heroically, there is no half answer. If you do not enter fully into the life of faith, you will not be aware of what the written word is about. Secure theories can be learned by anyone; true faith involves us fully and leads us to frontiers. God is never on the edges of mystery and the unknown."

"So often when we look back on what seemed to be against what we had planned we discover that it was a point of growth and learning. God does not work only within the confines of the Church or of our own ideas: it is often when we are forced to do other than we planned that the great Other works through us."

Within each piece of creation,
within each person,
the hidden God waits
to surprise us with His glory.

Within each moment of time,
within each day and hour,
the hidden God approaches us
calling our name to make us His own.

Within each human heart,
within our innermost being,
the hidden God touches us,
to awaken us and to reveal His love.

Everything, everyone is within God,
all space, all time and every person.
The hidden God asks us to open
our eyes and our hearts to His presence.

I can't recommend his books enough! They're great devotional reads and I find them especially inspiring during the "hard" seasons for me - Winter, that's when I often reread them. He has written several books on the Celtic saints, as well as on prayer and meditation.

Nothing to Say

Someone asked me the other day why I haven't written anything on my blog. I said I've had nothing of importance to say. In truth, I haven't been willing to put into words what has been rambling in my head, in part because I haven't been able to grab the tale of my thoughts and get them formed into something that would make sense nor have I not wanted to put myself in the uncomfortable spot of writing something that would be controversial or contradictory to what others opinions may be on various topics and have to deal with the negative reaction (been there, done that). So I've kept it to myself.

But maybe there is also the thinking in the back of my head that what I have to say really is important to no one else but me and, when you have that thought in your head, you just aren't really motivated to share what's on your mind to the general public out of fear that they will see it as self-aggrandizement.

So, there you go. And here I am. But it could all change tomorrow and I might get inspired or finally have enough concerning something that is going on and the words will come and I will again fill a page with my thoughts.

Until then, I invite you to join me in reading a very thought provoking book by Donald Miller, "Searching For God Knows What." It has been a wonderful read and makes me wish I could write like him. I will soon be done with that book and amlooking forward to moving on to his newest book, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life," which I have already purchased.

I also just picked up a copy of one of my favorite devotional writers, David Adam, "Tides and Seasons." He has written a number of books on modern prayers in the Celtic tradition and on a number of Celtic saints. His books never cease to stir me towards a deeper level of prayer and commitment. I go back to his books over and over, pulling out paragraphs and chapters and prayers and poems. He is well worth reading.

Well, it's late, my body is tired, my eyes are heavy, but, as usual, my mind is racing with thoughts and ideas. If there were a way to "tap" into my mind and have it all recorded so I could sort through it all during the day, I would have such amazing sermons, blog entries, and even a book or two. But more than likely, it would be just static hiss.

One Small Step in the Fog

It was 40 years ago today that man landed on the moon and took a little walk. We all watched as Neil Armstrong took that little jump and landed on the moon surface. We heard him speak those now famous words, "It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." All of us were able to finally let out the breath we were holding and then smile and cheer.

I was 11 then. This was a BIG DEAL. It was a big deal because 1969 was a really strange time in America. I don't remember much about it, not because I was doing drugs but because I was still a kid. But I heard about a lot of stuff that was happening. The Vietnam War, protests on college campuses, massive music festivals where youth were "getting high and getting naked" (the getting high part didn't interest me but the getting naked....well, I was entering puberty then).

In many ways 1969 marked and transformed a generation. At least, so we have been told.

But this, this moment, took science fiction and turned it slightly on its ear because now what was only dreamed about had become fact: man was on the moon and it wasn't made of cheese! It was a major feat for the USA, a positive in the midst of a lot of negatives. I suppose it was the shot of hope that America was yearning for. I mean, if we can make it to the moon, walk on the surface and them make it home again (a major feat in itself), well then, we can overcome anything and even change the world.

But we Americans are a rather fickle lot, aren't we? Actually, we humans are a very fickle lot. We grow bored to things pretty quickly. We made it to the moon, now give us another "grander" event. It didn't take long before people didn't pay much attention to rockets going into space (it took a near death crises with Apollo 13 for people to tune back in, briefly). The country didn't get any better; the Vietnam War came to an end, eventually, with a non-victorious crash, but other wars just came up to take its place. The 60's movement of love, peace and music just progressed into sexual disease, selfishness and disco.

And the footprints left on the moon surface got covered over with moon dust.

NASA says thay want to go back to the moon but there are some of those astronauts that have been to the moon and into space who are saying, "We've already been to the moon. Forget the moon. Let's go to Mars." I think it would be pretty cool to go to mars and bring back a bag of rocks from there. I guess the expense would be worth it. I'm not sure what the status of the moon rocks are but I'm sure they served an important purpose in helping humankind progress and better itself.

I've been watching online some of the footage of the moon landing and moon walk. It brings back some memories of being 11, but those memories are foggy. Nothing "major" stands out about then except that a few months after the moon landing I was moving from Georgia to Rochester, NY. That's really all I really remember clearly about that year. Everything else, just a fog. But I know that 1969 and that event of July 20th forever changed me. I just don't have a clue how!

He Keeps Me Moving

It has been a long couple of weeks, filled with emotion and sadness, anticipation and excitement. Over the last few weeks we have been going through the emotional and mental transition of leaving a wonderful congregation that we had grown to love and accepting the inevitable change and appointment to a new church (in the Methodist church, the pastor is appointed to a church by the Bishop), and preparing for the move.

Boxes, boxes everywhere. As each day passed, more and more of our house got stuffed into a box and furniture that had finally molded to our personality and body shapes found new homes to dwell (the parsonage is furnished). By our last week here, we couldn't eat at home because everything in the kitchen had been packed.

It's hard leaving a congregation that you have grown to love and that you know loved you. Good Samaritan was made up of wonderful people - young, middle and senior adults. The grew to not only accept changes but to embrace them, to be open to different ways of worship, music, outreach. They even encouraged it and participated in it. It was wonderful and freeing. So, when we knew that we were to have to move, it broke my heart. I hoped that I could make the change but I was pretty frustrated about it all.

There are a lot of doubts that take up residence in your head when you find out about where you are being moved to. Question keep popping into your head: Will they like me? Will I like them? Will we have anything in common? Will they accept my style of ministry? What is their desire for the church? How close does their understanding of the purpose of the church line up with mine (or vice-a-versa)? And so on. It really can be unsettling.

Today Heather and I went to Zion to attend the Senior Adult luncheon - "Friends and Neighbors." There were about 50 or so people. We had good conversations with many of the folks, who were warm and welcoming. There was some good laughs with a number of them, even some friendly jabs and joking.

Then we went to the office and spent a couple of hours to set up and there were several folks hanging around there. Same thing took place - good conversations, joking around, sharing. It was good and positive.

When we were done Heather and I headed to the local Wal-Mart and on the way there I said to her, "I feel good about this and I am excited about coming here." She smiled and nodded.

I don't understand how God works sometimes or why He allows things to unfold as they do. But He never ceases to amaze me, when I am able to move beyond my own limited and narrow vision. I may not be able to see the final outcome, and I may never fully understand everything that is involved in the whole process, but ultimately I come realize (again and again) that "all things work out for good to those who are called to His purpose," which means my responsibility is to look for and head toward living out His purpose - which is to glorify Him in all the areas of my life. I don't have that down yet but He keeps giving me opportunities to work on it and be more consistent - He must have faith in me because He obviously hasn't given up on me, and He's lead me to Zion so that we (the church and I) can grow in our glorifying God together.

And in case you may be wondering, He hasn't given up on you either!