Two Great Newpaper Articles about Boulevard Presbyterian

Check out these two great articles about Boulevard Presbyterian Church...

This first is about our beloved Boulevard Quilters and their +30 year commitment to the traditions of handmade quilts. Click the link below to the article.

Quilters pursue traditional craft

The second article is about Boulevard's Community Christmas Basket program that partners with a multitude of Grandview and Tri-Village groups to make Christmas a bit brighter for over 380 families and their +1000 children. Click the link below to go to the article.

Boulevard Christmas Package project aids more than 380 families

Cartoons, Child Abuse, and Facebook

On December 6th every Facebook profile photo was to be a favorite childhood cartoon. Why? To raise awareness of child abuse.

For the weeks leading up to December 6th the Facebook landscape slowly (and sometimes not even all that slowly) turned into a red-carpet Who's Who of cartoon characters from our respective childhood. Older Facebookers had Yogi & the Flintstones. Those who were closer to my age donated their spaces to GI Joe, the Thundercats, the Adventures of the Gummi Bears, and more. Still others resisted, often with the following status update:

Please do not think that I support child abuse because I haven't changed my profile picture to a cartoon. I just don't see how it will help.

When the rumors died down the meme was the work of pedophiles, or that it was a crafty way to hack your Facebook profile, and December 6th came and went, the question remained unanswered: So did it help? Were children less abused during the Facebook run-up to December 6th? I doubt it.

I also doubt that it was a waste of time, or some viral stunt just to see how many folks could get rolled up into the eSnow-Ball barreling down the slope of the information super highway. The creators of the meme hoped to raise awareness & I got to believe the thousands if not millions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that popped up in the days leading up to December 6th did in fact create "awareness" of child abuse. Someone had to have asked "why do you have Papa Smurf as your profile pic?" Hopefully the wise old Smurf replied.

Like it or not, we are going to be seeing more and more of these kinds of things via Facebook, Twitter, and the myriad of other social network sites. The success of the Cartoon/Child Abuse campaign cast that in stone, and truthfully, I am a fan. In a world where this humble, often neglected blog already has 10 views today (now 10:00 AM Eastern), and since its launch has been accessed 18 times from users in Malta, I can communicate across a landscape that is both humbling and empowering. From Malta to Turkey to the Netherlands to Palm Springs, CA and right back here to Columbus, OH, folks have read what I wrote (mostly opinion) and when you amplify that by the traffic of Facebook or Twitter, the potential grows in a way that should produce humility...hopefully.

I am small potatoes. My sphere of influence is minuscule. Just ask my dog. Yet somebody somewhere reads this (thank you by the way). Somebody read my Facebook status update today and when I "donated" it to the Human Rights Campaign they read that update too. I missed out on the Cartoon profile pic meme (sadly) but I do not need a blog, a Facebook page, Twitter account, or one of those banners they tow behind planes at football games to raise awareness and neither do you. Every time you tell somebody that you are busy Sunday because you are going to church, every time you object to a racist/sexist/homophobic joke, every time you stand firm for your convictions be they reusable grocery bags or animal abuse you live out the best campaign ever - a person who puts their faith and convictions into action.

As Jesus said, "Go and do likewise."

Mulitple Personalities

In January of 2011 I am teaching a class about the changing face and character of Jesus in America. The topic has been an interest of mine since that first Religion in America class some 10 years ago at Whitworth College (now University) in Spokane, Washington. I found it compelling that from the Puritans to Thomas Jefferson to the Pro & Anti-Slavery movements, and beyond to the Hippie “Jesus Movement” and now in modern times, Jesus has undergone a series of radical face-lifts and personality changes. For some he is a enlightened teacher of morals. Others see him as the sweet and loving savior who wouldn’t hurt a fly. In the time of Billy Sunday, who once called the current state of Christianity in America as “effeminate” and “sissified”, Jesus was a manly, hard-nosed, take no prisoners Son of God who told it like it was, and was a stark contrast to the Hippie Jesus who graced the cover of Time magazine in 1971. Today we have Jesus “characters” like Buddy Christ who is everybody’s friend, and the popular t-shirt slogan “Jesus is My Homeboy” that stand in stark contrast to the Jesus of the Westboro Baptist Church whose members picket the funerals of soldiers with signs proclaiming all the things Jesus hates. Using photos, music, video, scripture, a bit of theology, history, and pop culture, we will dive into the “American Jesus” and see just how the Son of God became such a iconic American figure.

History tells us that Jesus was “used” differently by different groups at different times. The Pro and Anti-Slavery movements both invoked Jesus’ name to add credence to their interpretation of scripture and the events of the day. Their visceral, opposing rhetoric made it seem that their Jesus was the just and correct Jesus and the other side’s Son of God was an imposter. Like the two football teams that pray before kick-off for victory over their opponent, Jesus gets drafted into service and wields his holy dominion for both sides. Both sides, each with competing agendas and opposing viewpoints or goals, claim Jesus. The truth is, this reality plays out on a personal level as well.

I saw a woman pray out loud at the counter of the gas station where she purchased her lottery tickets. “Jesus, make these numbers the right ones”, she prayed as the machine randomly selected her lotto numbers for the hundreds of millions of dollars up for grabs later that night. I assume she didn’t win because I didn’t see her on TV or in the papers that next day but for our woman in question Jesus had thoughts about the possibility of her being rich.

Millions of men and women prayed on the Sunday after the earthquake that rocked Haiti about a year ago. We prayed for the health and well being of those who survived and for the families of those who died in the quake. We prayed because we believe Jesus had thoughts about those who suffered in Haiti.

“Jesus, make me rich” and “Jesus, care for the poor.” Can it be both? Are we giving the Son of God a split personality?

Broken TV = Blog Post About Habits

Anybody who knows me even a little bit knows I am a fan of TV. I watch about seven programs religiously with the help of my TiVo, a computerized video recorder known as a DVR. Figure in following my favorite sports teams, watching games that are interesting, and sports related programming like SportsCenter on ESPN, and my total TV time can grow to levels not usually deemed acceptable. Adding to this grand total is the new acquisition of Netflix, an on-demand video service that allows me to watch whatever available show/movie I want whenever I want. All in all TV is a fairly consistent presence in my down time.

Now that you get the general gist of things, you can understand my despair upon discovering one November day that the TV had died. Given up the ghost and where my sitcoms and endless sports coverage once was proudly displayed was a momentary field of thin blue lines followed by nothing. No amount of smacking and pounding brought the picture back.

Being that this is a January Newsletter- the first letter of the year - you might be prone to think I am going to say something like “I decided we would go without the TV and spend more time together as a family” or perhaps “I put the broken TV in the garage and have now spent the time I used to watch TV reading.” You would have a fair amount of justification for such an assumption. January newsletters, blogs, sermons, and other transmissions are often full up with pity stories of turning a new leaf and discovering the benefits of starting afresh in the newly minted year. Advertisers bank on such a spirit blowing through the culture, and now that it is January I can bet each of us has received or heard something about the low rates at our local gym or Jenny Craig. Something in the way we do business as a society provides the first month of the year to make, to start, to promise, or to commit to do something that would seem to make life better. The term we tend to use is a “New Year’s Resolution.” I think that it is bogus.

It wasn’t 12 hours before I hauled our 2nd TV down to the basement & within minutes had everything hooked up and ready to go. Sure, I could have taken up reading in the place of TV. I could have spent my time learning the art of French Cuisine, learning how to work on my car, or brushing up on my fading Spanish language skills but I didn’t. I plugged the TV in and got back on the couch.

Going from TV to no TV would be a radical change in my life; a radical change which would almost certainly result in epic failure. The key would be a step down approach. Now that the College Football season is over, don’t watch TV on Saturdays. That is something I could live with. Incremental, baby-steps, slowing chipping away at the excuses and variables can over time lead to an ingrained habit. The same is true for someone’s spiritual life. Nobody wakes up on January 1^st and says, “I am going to be spiritual now.” Or if they do, it isn’t met with much success. Like anything else cultivating a habit takes repeated exposure over and over again. Setting aside a five minute window to be still and silent is more doable than a weekend of silent meditation, and saying a prayer while the car warms up is a lot more productive than saying you are going to read the Bible cover to cover and then not doing it.

In the end life is about creating habits. What we begin slowly now can lead to a rich life in the future. Like deciding to run a marathon, you start running a mile before you tackle all 27. If a deeper connection and relationship with God is something that you desire for your years to come then lose the New Year’s Resolution and begin small.

Another FAIL in Relgious Literacy

Thanksgiving

When I think of Thanksgiving I think of Grandma's house. My Grandma was a better cook than your Grandma. Her Oyster Dressing was better than your Grandma's Oyster Dressing, that is if your Grandma even had the guts to try making Oyster Dressing. Everything was awesome. Grandma and my memories of Thanksgiving are why I rate Thanksgiving right behind Christmas as my favorite holiday of the year.

One especially memorable Thanksgiving (you will see why in a minute) took place during those years when I was too old not to be useful but still too young to be trusted with anything of value or importance. Grandma was making dinner and it was almost ready. The family who had gathered that day were milling around in the family room (where the TV was) which was only steps from the dining room. My job, handed down by Grandma herself, was to announce that Thanksgiving was ready and it was time to go to the table. After much anticipation the time arrived. Grandma gave me the nod and off I went.

"Thanksgiving is ready. Come sit down", I announced to the gathered family in a fashion that I remember was much like the guy who announces the President when he/she enters the Senate for the State of the Union. Unlike the guy who does the announcing, nobody seemed to either hear me or care. Everybody sat there unfazed by this very important news. Thanksgiving was ready. Perhaps they didn't totally understand what that meant. The Oyster Dressing was ready. The Turkey was ready. Even that Cranberry Sauce still in its canned molding was ready. Nobody moved.

I tried again. "Thankgiving is ready. Come sit down." It was like I was wasn't there. "Thanksgiving is ready. Come sit down", I tried again. And again. And again. Finally I walked over to the bar that opened into the kitchen and shot Grandma one of those "its not working - HELP" looks. "Its ready", she said loud enough to be heard from the kitchen but not nearly loud as I had been proclaiming. You can guess what happened.

When everyone was gathered at the table, but before they sat down I sensed my moment to actually complete the task set before me. "Everyone sit down", I once again proclaimed in my be-heard voice. Once again nobody sat down. "Everybody sit down", I said for maybe the fourth time. Nothing. It was at this point that I remembered something I saw on TV.

When people on TV wanted to be heard and do so with dramatic emphasis they would spell out the important word. "I L-O-V-E love you" & "Get out! O-U-T out!" and the like. Turns out you need to be able to spell in order to garner the desired effect. Turns out I didn't know how to spell sit. I gave it my best shot. Turned out to be the trick to getting attention.

"Everybody sit down. S-H-I-T down. Sit down." The word "sit" has no "H" in between the "S" and the "I". I had everybody's attention now. Yet nobody was sitting; mostly they were staring. Then came the yelling. I am not sure I did an adequate job defending my ignorant outburst but to my credit I have always been a turibble speller.

Now that I am older, I look back on those times with a fair amount of perspective. As a kid Thanksgiving equaled the meal. Thanksgiving was about eating, something that could happen with or without other people. Thanksgiving was about Oyster Dressing, Turkey, Cranberry Sauce. People were like those goofy paper hats they put on the ends of the Turkey legs; they might have added something but not in any real way. Maybe that is why I remember proclaiming "Thanksgiving is ready" and nobody getting up to run to the table. Thanksgiving was about what was happening in the family room: family gathered, laughing and joking around, telling stories, and watching TV together. The real "feast" had nothing to do with Turkey and Oyster Dressing.

I am away from my family again this Thanksgiving. My brother in Oklahoma and my parents in California. I long for a table for all of us to gather around. My wife's parents and grandparents will join Kate and I in Columbus on Thursday. Around that table with Kate, with Steve and Barbara, with Grandfather and Othenia, I imagine a table big enough for the WHOLE family and am immensely thankful for the one I will soon share with them. Thanksgiving Day carves out a space to recognize that despite the distance, we remain in the family room laughing and having a good time purposefully ignoring the call to a table we are unable to share.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sermon: Sympathy for a Pharisee - Luke 18:9-14

Note: This sermon was delivered on October 24th. It is a taken from Luke 19:9-14

My education has not done a good job over the years showing Black Hat we like to see the Pharisees wearing when we read the Gospels wasn’t always earned. The fact that the Pharisees were something of reformers, seeking to move the focus of personal religious life away from the temple and into the every-day life of the home – in effect being some of the first “Priesthood of all Believers” fans[1] - alluded me in college. So much so that when I was asked to help design the dorm t-shirt I proposed the witty “4 out of 5 Pharisees agree Warren Hall stinks.” Aren’t I clever?

If what I say is true, if the Pharisees as a whole weren’t crazy about the Temple, then what can we make of the Pharisee in out story? He is labeled a Pharisee but isn’t acting like one. As someone who often gets labeled “Christian” and isn’t always found acting like one, I have sympathy for our lone Pharisee, and through this story find cause to locate those inconsistent places in my own life where I might seek to bolster my own self-esteem by crushing and stepping on others.

Many of you know that I don’t like to write my sermons in my office. Too sterile, and all those books remind me that I am forgetting something but they don’t make it easy to figure out what it is I am forgetting, so I do most of my sermon reading and writing at places like Panera and Coffee Shops like Stauf’s. Safe bet that if it is the 3^rd Thursday of the month around 2 pm you will find me, my laptop, a stack of copies, and a plastic cup of soda I have refilled more times than the Panera people might appreciate, sitting by the front window of the Grandview Panera working away.

I was doing some research on a Saturday at the Upper Arlington (UA) Panera Bread, and from the moment I walked in there it was the State of Nature, the Lord of the Flies. Here I am trying to study the Bible, listen for the Spirit, and the UA Panera is kill or be killed. People are getting yelled at for cutting in line, numerous if not countless people are stealing soda and coffee, moochers are trucking in their outside food and laptops are bogarting the free wireless internet connection as their users nurse a cup of the most inexpensive thing on the menu and pilfer the free samples. And here I am feeling like an island of civic responsibility, eating and drinking the things I paid for, and thinking “at least I am not like those line cutting, soda stealing, internet mooching, sample hoarders.” Now, where have I heard something like that before?

Where my sympathy finds its end with regard for our Pharisee is precisely the same place that I recognize my own inconsistency. I too, am like those soda stealers. I too, am like those sample moochers. I too, am like that Tax Collector; I have nothing to boast. I am proud, and I am righteous; arriving at those conclusions on the backs of others. History tells me that I am not alone.

The prayer that the Pharisee lifts up to God, no matter if it is uttered in the Temple or in the home, is nothing unique to the times. Prayers of the day drip with the language we hear in this parable. One well known example praises God for the decision the supplicant to be in the library studying the word of God and not like those shopkeepers opening their stores and hocking their wears. Out in the rabble the shop-keeps undertook lesser pursuits. One should be thankful for God’s ordering their life to desire study over making money and the like. The issue at hand is as real today as it was back then. It is the thing that keeps the Pharisee from going home with God’s justification.

There is nothing wrong with living a Pharisee life. There is nothing wrong with living like the Older Brother of the Prodigal Son. There is nothing wrong with ordering your days around God and seeking to follow God as best as we are able. There is nothing wrong with that; the church wouldn’t exist if it were not for people who sought to live their lives pleasing to God. Live your life, but avoid the word “this” like the Pharisee uses it. Avoid the comparisons, avoid contrasting; stay away from believing yourself to justified because you are not like them. There is already so much of that in the world.

How many of us turned on the TV, the radio, or the computer to find story after story of young men and boys taking their own lives? How many of us heard stories of bullies kidding, joking, exposing these young men and boys to humiliation because they were or were thought to be gay? In perhaps one of the most depressing, anger inducing, crushing news cycles, report after report came in from all over the nation telling us that this was not a local incident; it was a national disease. What this Parable has to teach us, what this parable reveals is that those who seek to bully, those who seek to lift themselves up on the backs of others find themselves in relationships with these so-called “lessers” – the Tax Collectors, the “different” middle-schooler, the closeted college student. These relationships are essential for their own understanding of self. The bully needs a victim. The Pharisee needs a Tax Collector. And as Christians seeking to follow in the example of Jesus, we too often look for the Tax Collector in our own midst; someone to be thankful we are nothing like. Forgive us, O God.

Justification ends this parable as told by Luke. The Tax Collector beats his chest before the Temple and walks home with it. The Pharisee finds justification elusive, and we are reminded that our rightness before God is not found in the purity of humanity but in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Understanding that no matter how you are, or what you are, or who you are, none of those compares to whom which we belong; we lean into the grace of a God who places us in right relationship to the world around us. Right relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of Life, right relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters, right relationship with the creation, and right relationship with ourselves; this is the justification of a loving God who provides for us the only thing we have in which we can boast: the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

---

[1] Johnson, E. Elizabeth, “Luke 18:9-14 Exegetical Perspective”, Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 4, WJK, Louisville, 2010

Continuing Education

Forgive me for my hiatus. I have been away on what we call Con Ed.

Continuing Education, aka. Con Ed, is one of the wonderful things about being a pastor. We get to go off to conferences big and small and hear new ideas and be reminded of old ones. My 2010 Contuning Ed year has divided up into small, medium, and large conferences/festivals/gatherings/etc.; ranging from a small gathering in Penfield, Pennsylvania to a medium festival and reunion in Louisville, Kentucky, to a massive Festival of Homelitics (aka. preaching) in Nashville, TN. But now I am done. Out of money and out of time. Now is the time for reflection.

Here are some things that I learned & some things that I have be reminded in 2010's Con Ed...
- Every profession has its celebrities pastors included. Mention Tom Long, Craig Barnes, Anna Carter Florence, or Barbara Brown Taylor to a group of pastors and they exhibit the same behavior as folks talking about their favorite athlete, musician, or actor.

- Lectures are where the money is at. Anything featuring the words "break out", "home group", "cohort", or the like is going to be disappointing. If you want to get a question answered, say that you enjoyed their sermon/book, or try to network, you are better off finding the presenter at a bar or during the refreshment time.

- Stay away from anything called a "christian comedian."

- Con Ed is always better when you are with some friends. I take most of my Con Ed collaboratively with fellow pastors and Louisville Seminary alumni. The experience is ALWAYS better. You have someone to eat a meal with, someone to share an expensive hotel room with, and most importantly, have someone to hear your snarky comments about terrible "break out" groups.

- Understand that jealousy is par for the course. The finest preachers in the world think of things, write sermons, string together stories, and do it all with a presentation style that you will make you burn with envy.

- It sounds counter-intutive but stay away from Q&A sessions. They are 100% dominated by folks with axes to grind, those wishing to show off, or well-meaning folks who tell stories with implied questions. Actual Q&A happens at the aforementioned bar or refreshment time.

- Beware of the post-Con Ed sermon. A week spent with your mind on super-stimulated overdrive will no doubt feed whatever it is that you were excited about on Monday through Thursday into Sunday's sermon no matter if it fits or not. I am very guilty of this.

- If you return year after year to the same events, you will see the same people year after year. This is a blessing, or at least can be. Knowing this, it is a good idea not to say such things as "let's work together on this", or "I will come down and visit you", or "let me send that to you." Better keep it relational, or at the least, network in such a way that they will remember you if/when you call.

I love Con Ed. I feel blessed to be in a profession where it is not only expected but often mandatory that a PCUSA pastor engages in it. You don't have to twist my arm.

Complete Book of Etiquette

Last month I picked up a 1952 copy of Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living from the Covenant Presbyterian Rummage Sale. I was attending a meeting at Covenant and walked past the book table and this tattered copy jumped out at me. To be honest, I bought it for a joke or maybe a sermon illustration here and there. It has some real gems. There is a section on welcoming a new servant to the household, or how to rank the people at your dinner party in order of importance. The section on religious holidays is, for me, pretty darn funny for its outside-looking-in generalizations about Advent, Lent, etc. One dollar very well spent.

The more I read, the more I was reminded that from Amy Vanderbilt’s perspective this was all serious business. There were things happening behind the scenes of the dinner party or the way in which you welcomed people into the home that conveyed something foundational. In one section entitled Making Your Overnight Guest Feel At Home, Vanderbilt lays out the bare essentials a host should provide the guest. The list would put the Holiday Inn or Hilton to shame. Bathrobe and slippers, current magazines and a mystery novel, ash trays and a bed time snack on the bed table; these are the bare essentials. She goes on to list the contents of The Well-Appointed Guest Room which further convey that for Vanderbilt, the host was charged with caring for the needs of the guest whatever they may be including the shining of shoes or the occasional headache. Burden or blessing, it was important to show the guest welcome.

Many of my generation would laugh at Vanderbilt’s “no gray area” commands for gracious living. Myself included. Yet I wonder if we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize that behind the dos and don’ts there was something important about hospitality and how it wasn’t allowed to be a “gray area.” Guests or visitors never went unacknowledged, never walked around without a cup of coffee or someone asking to take their coat. Love them or hate them, a guest is a guest and hospitality was the only response. We could all stand to remember that. Myself included.

The Promise of a Prepetual Tomorrow

Someone reminded me that I have promised a "blog tomorrow" for sometime now. Like the neon sign in the window of the local bar promising "Free Beer Tomorrow", tomorrow seems to either never come or you realize that you are living in the tomorrow you still thought you had.

Today I am feeling like the latter. I am living in the tomorrow that I thought would perpetually be there. A date on a calendar months away, a promise made for something you never think will happen, an amorphous project without a deadline; there is always another day. Until there isn't. Worse yet, when you realize that your far off dreams of what was possible have slipped past you, and are now old-hat. Like a parent wishing that they could see and talk to their child living overseas whenever they wanted but isn't aware of Skype, or video chatting, let alone web-cams. The futuristic "video conferencing" of decades ago is what he or she thinks of when he or she dreams of seeing a grandchild or talking to their son or daughter. Locked into the dream, they miss the reality. Subservient, captive to the "dream" of decades ago, so often we fail to see the truth of today because we have spent too much time dreaming of "what it should look like when it gets here" and not what it really does. If you were waiting for the 1960's dream of video conferencing, you would miss the 2010 reality.

A trip to Best Buy and $50 solves the video conference problem. What seemed far-fetched at one point is now accomplished in an afternoon. Tomorrow is today, and tomorrow will quickly be yesterday if we do not continually renew our dreams of what is possible. I will give you an example. I have a good friend who lives in the Cayman Islands. We both have BlackBerry Smartphones and will frequently send messages back to each other via a program called BlackBerry Messenger. For the first couple of months after I got my BlackBerry, I was amazed that I could be "chatting" with my friend instantly from across oceans. It was cool, but I got over it. If I stayed impressed, convinced that chatting with folks in other nations would be the apex of what I thought to be possible, then I would quickly be left in a cloud of innovative dust.

This is a personal lesson we can learn from the world of technology. We must never believe our dreams are too big. Like the dream of a video conference "machine" in your own home, the danger of seeing an idea as too big, too complicated to ever happen will always result in you being asleep too long and unaware when the tomorrows of the past become the yesterdays of the future.

How this applies to your life, the church, etc? I will leave that up to you.

Busted Stuff Update

My finger isn't 100% by any stretch of the imagination but I am back to normal typing duties.
Look for a blog post tomorrow.

Sunday Sermon - From Here to You

Busted Stuff

It appears as though I have broken, or at least really jammed by left pinky finger. I will spare you the details and tell you that no, it didn't happen while playing kickball.

Sufficed to say, this is a rather detrimental injury to my typed correspondence & blogging. I am trying to answer emails with my BlackBerry (speaking of my BlackBerry, that is where the crummy photo came from) so I can type with my thumbs, and avoiding Facebook Chat for fear of lagging behind my fully-functional friends.

Therefore, I am calling for a blogging hiatus. I will post last Sunday's sermon at some point but for at least a couple of days I am on the DL.

October Newsletter Article

Late last night while Kate & I watched TV, we found a program entitled “Freaky Eaters”, a show about people who have severely abnormal eating habits like a man who only eats cheeseburgers, or a woman who eats candy three meals a day. Almost always the diagnosis saw their habits as evidence of addictive behavior, including last night’s individual who drinks 30 cans of regular cola (aka. not sugar free or diet) a day, and has so for many years. If you do the math, the totals are staggering: 30 cans a day times 365 days a year gives you a whopping 10950 cans of cola a year which equates to roughly 25 pounds of sugar every couple of days. Was this individual 500 pounds? No. Was she diabetic? No. Was she someone who sat around all day? No, she is a medical professional! She works in a hospital as a nurses aide.

Evidence like our soda-swilling friend and experiences that we all share go to show that knowing something is bad or good for you and actually applying that belief to your life are very different things. As a church & as people of faith we fall into this trap too. We often know precisely how it is to get the things we want - involvement into the community, mission projects, fellowship, an active prayer life, opportunities to serve - and recognize that without these things we might move in unhealthy directions but something often prevents us from making it happen. Something that we can not always name immediately.

I would like to suggest that we take the month of October and be intentional about finding the things that we can do both personally and together as a church family that continue to propel us in a healthy direction, and for some, provide a new path towards a greater sense of church and self. It might be a month of hard questions and difficult answers, but like the transformation the leaves undergo during the start of fall that ultimately leads towards a rebirth in the spring, what we do now carves out a place for the rebirth and renewal God can bring in the days to come.

Total Depravity beats Beloved St. Luke's, Makes Playoffs

Despite a rocky start, Total Depravity managed to secure their 3rd win of the season in a 9-6 defeat of upstart Beloved St. Luke's. Victory over St. Luke's not only cemented Total Depravity's first winning season but also forced a 3-way tie for 3rd overall in the Grandview Parks and Recreation Kickball League, a tie that resulted in Total Depravity's #3 seed in the four team 2010 Kickball Playoffs.

Making the playoffs for the first time in team history was all the motivation Total Depravity needed to rebound after 2 rough innings that featured St. Luke's jumping out to a 4 run lead before the first Total Depravity run crossed the plate. Forcing the defense to make outs in high-pressure situations, St. Luke's kicked through the heart of the order before the first out was recorded in the top of the 1st inning yet when things settled down Total Depravity began to put together a fine defensive outing with latter innings featuring no St. Luke's base-runners. Highlighting the defensive effort was Mary Clifton's 1 out "triple-play". Catching the shallow pop-up at 2nd base, Mary doubled up the runner at second, and for the "extra" out of the Triple Play tagged the runner on 1st who failed to tag up. Despite not officially counting as a Triple Play Mary Clifton becomes the first player in Total Depravity history to achieve such a feat.

While defense played a large part in the 9-6 victory, smart base-running and strong individual efforts pushed Total Depravity into the win. Jon Stephens, Total Depravity's all-time leader in Home Runs, added another round-tripper to his season total of 3, as his blast scored Mary Clifton around from 1st and put Total Depravity's first 2 runs on the board. Hustle and heads-up play on the part of Total Depravity, the kickball team of Boulevard Presbyterian Church, turned the tables on St. Luke's, forcing them to make outs in high-pressure situations as runners advanced on every opportunity.

As Total Depravity looks ahead to their September 19th playoff contest against #2 Bird is the Word it is worth noting the playoff structure. Like a classic bracket tournament, teams in the Grandview playoffs will play a single-elimination qualifier with victory insuring a place in the championship game to be held at 7pm on that same day. Early favorites have to be reigning champs #1 overall The Sparkly $2 Bills who remained undefeated for the 2nd year in a row as the beat Total Depravity's future opponent Bird is the Word 4-0.

Fans of Total Depravity may remember 2009 season's opening game against the blue-clad Bird is the Word. Like most of the season, Total Depravity was on the ropes in the early innings, allowing 6 runs before they settled down and scored a few of their own. This loss was "officially" avenged this year as Total Depravity was scheduled to play The Bird is the Word in the first game of the season but when The Bird's were not able to field enough players to make it an official contest Total Depravity took how the forfeit victory.

Root Total Depravity on as they take the field in the first playoff appearance in team history on Sunday, September 19th at 5:00 PM at C. Ray Buck Sports Park located off Gooddale Blvd.

The Official End of the Summer

Just a short note to say that today is officially the end of the summer for us here at Boulevard. Regular Season begins on Sunday, September 12th as we get back to our "regular" life - 2 worship services, educational programs, etc. As I take the last 15 minutes I am going to spend in the office today to write this, I thought that I would conclude the summer with a highlights blog post.

So, without further ado...

The 2010 Summer in Review: Highlight Edition

• Our kickball team, Total Depravity, wasn't the worst team in the league this year. At least there is that
• I developed a taste for coming into work early, but still haven't figured out how to get out of here before 4pm.
• Thanks to very industrious members, we have some newly renovated spaces here at Boulevard. Sadly, all the junk that I was storing in those spaces is now in my office. You win some, you lose some
• I was "defriended" by a friend because of something that I said on Facebook regarding Prop 8 in California.
• I fulfilled something of a workplace fantasy, and started wearing shorts to work fairly regularly.
• Went on vacation to rural Oklahoma - yes, you heard that right.

Well, there were more highlights to be sure...they might have just been things that I remember about the summer that was, but that is as close to a highlight as I am going to get.

I hope that you enjoy your weekend, and I will write again during the Regular Season.

Is Jesus for Hire?

My feathers have been ruffled, and continue to be so every time I hear of the church in Ganesville, Florida that is planning on burning copies of the Koran on 9/11. To be honest, it makes me furious. Furious that such an event will could even be conceived, but furious also to think that when described over NPR or various other news outlets, this lunacy is couched in "Christian Minister Plans to..." or "Christian Church will..." It turns my stomach because "Christian" is the word that they use for me, my congregation, and the beloved community of churches that seek to follow Christ. We are all called "Christians."

Christians are a diverse lot. For every Koran Burning congregation, or one that will bring its guns to church on the invitation of their Pastor, there are churches that march in gay-pride parades as a sign of solidarity, or are instrumental in interfaith dialog. For every every church that protests funerals, or advocates racism, there are other churches that provide free HIV/AIDS testing, or congregations that provide shelter for teenage mothers. We are diverse, and thankfully so yet in the end there is, or should be, the one foundational element found at the so-called heart of the "Christian" church: Jesus Christ. Christ is the uniting factor, and Presbyterians can work with Baptists, Episcopalians, Evangelicals, and the like because, at the end of the day, we are all rooted in Christ. At least that is what we say. Sometimes it is hard to tell.

Christ comes across looking fairly schizophrenic in the religious landscape of America. In Stephen Prothero's wonderful book American Jesus, Prothero showcases the variety of ways Jesus has served as the spokesperson for a variety of causes; lending his voice and integrity to issues both far and wide. Slavery and Abolitionists both used Jesus to back their cause. In modern times, both human rights groups and those who fight to limit rights to homosexuals and their relationships use Jesus to stump. One might conclude that Jesus has become a contractor - like that of Blackwater - and is fighting for whoever pays. For modern American and international congregations, churches, movements and causes, it is time to pause and ask: is Jesus for hire?

Jesus is getting dangerously close to becoming a Mall Santa - looking the part, live in the flesh. He says the right things at the right time, and even has answers for doubters, yet if there is a "real Santa" out there somewhere this guy isn't it because the other mall has one too. Hundreds of Santas dot the landscape, each with a red suit and convincing jiggle. Each hired to lend their "ho ho ho" to the cause until the time comes when New Year's and Valentine's Day replaces the candy canes and gingerbread houses, and Santa's Village goes dark. Jesus, like Santa, is a seasonal employee: there when we need him, off the payroll when we don't.

In the end, Jesus is all to often co-opted into unfamiliar territory. The man who proclaims loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, and treating such neighbors as if they were Christ himself, seems to be advocating the opposite through the pulpits of many congregations. The man who spoke about money more than just about anything else (including all the really hot-button stuff) is often full of good news on how to get rich, and how God wants you to fly 1st class. What is there to do? The answer comes, I believe, when we move from the labels to the person. A personal, engaged faith can transcend labels of "liberal", "conservative", and yes, even "Christian" and seek to follow Jesus along the road as an individual walking in the midst of a community. Hope comes in getting to know Jesus "on the road" and not from a fixed position behind dogmatic bunkers. If we have any hope of combating the Mall Santa approach to Jesus the Spokesperson, we must become an engaged faith community - one where we know Jesus not through slogans or soundbites but through encounters with the Risen Savior.

Total Depravity Falls to 2-2 After Beatdown

The Sparkly $2 Bills, the reigning champs of the adult kickball circuit, lived up to fears and handed Total Depravity their 2nd loss in as many games. Moving Total Depravity to 2-2, The Sparkly $2 Bills improved on their undefeated season and cemented their standing as the juggernaut of Grandview Kickball with a 13-0 beat-down of the short-staffed Total Depravity, the kickball team of Boulevard Presbyterian Church.

Hopes were high as game time inched closer and closer to the 8 PM first pitch. The Sparkly $2 Bills, known by many as the Pink Team due to their t-shirts, appeared to be set to declare a forfeit as they lacked the necessary number of female players to make the game official but like most of the evening, Total Depravity's hopes were dashed as two females clad in pink emerged out of nowhere. With hopes of a forfeit gone, TD took the field and from the 1st pitch forward found themselves playing catch-up as a lead-off home run was surrendered before the defense could even exhale.

To Total Depravity's credit, the Sparkly $2 Bills were held to a 2-0 lead for a number of innings thanks to solid defense and less than stellar kicking but all good things come to pass. Eventually scoring 13 runs over 7 innings, the $2 Bills employed their trademark agressive base-running and solid defense to both blank Total Depravity and run up inning after inning of runs. In the end, no one thing could be pointed to as the cause for Total Depravity's shutout.

With our Labor Day hiatus, Total Depravity looks forward to a pivotal game against fellow church group The Beloved St. Luke's, kickball franchise of neighbor St. Luke's Lutheran. With Total Depravity sitting at 2-2, a playoff bearth hangs in the balance as St. Luke's (0-4) looks for their first win, and Total Depravity looks for a chance to compete for the title.

Plan on attending the Sunday, September 12th contest at 6 PM (C. Ray Buck Sports Park) after attending the Boulevard 2010 Fall Fun & Food Block Party running from 2-7 PM. Free food, music, activities for the kids, and more await all those who come on by. See you there!

Two Game Win Streak Snaped, Total Depravity Drubbed 11-1

If excellent defense and big-time kicks were responsible for propelling Total Depravity to a 6-5 win over Barley last week it was the lack-thereof that doomed Total Depravity as they fell to a younger, faster Grasskickers team 11-1 on Sunday. Scoring only one run, Total Depravity never was able to find a rhythm and settle down into the play that prevailed the week before.

The Grasskickers, a youthful newcomer to the Grandview Kickball League, jumped out to an early lead on solid kicking and shaky defense going up 4-0 before Total Depravity ever lined up to kick. From the 1st inning on, The Grasskickers superior speed was able to exploit the cracks in the defense, scoring runs in most if not all subsequent turns at the plate, and holding Total Depravity to the one run scored by "rookie" Jim Savage who scored from 2nd.

By looking at the score, one might conclude that nothing went right but that was not the case. Total Depravity's showing last Sunday provided a lot of opportunities to celebrate as we welcomed back 2nd year stand-outs James Sledge, and Travis Williamson. Both Sledge and Williamson pick-up where they left off, with Williamson showing some solid defense from the Right Center position as he saved numerous runs and recorded many spectacular outs. Sunday's outing was also our largest turn-out of the season as first time players Ian, Kyme and Julie Rennick, Kristy Wathen, and Ken Odiorne took the field for the first time.

Next week Total Depravity takes on defending champs Sparkly $2 Bills (aka the Pink Team) at 8:oo PM at C. Ray Buck Sports Park.

Special Teams

Note: The following has been taken from the September 2010 Boulevard Good News, our monthly newsletter.

Special Teams in football is dirty work. Thankless except for the kicker and the guy who catches the kicks, players on Special Teams got virtually no credit for when it went right and all the blame when something goes horribly wrong. I remember one game in particular when we had given up one touchdown and one near touchdown to what could best be called a mediocre team. Guys were not tackling, which happens to be the sole job of kickoff special teams, and so when the kickoff team took the field after an interception turned touchdown, the Special Teams Coach raced up and down the sidelines shouting “If not you, who? If not now, when?” Flapping his arms, shouting at his players, the coach continued up until the point the opposing team fumbled the ball, picked it up again, and went 80 something yards for yet another score.

I took the field as the kickoff return squad came off the field, and was not present for what had to have been an intense sideline intervention. Perhaps unluckily, my offensive unit made short work, scored quickly, and upon kicking the extra point, the previously inept kickoff crew took the field. Much to everyone’s shock a tackle was made minus any fanfare or celebrations. The 2nd sting Linebacker who made the stop trotted off the field, took off his helmet, and awaited what happened next. Being a friend of mine, I asked him the day after what transpired on the sidelines, and he said the Special Teams Coach went to every member of the squad and asked “If you don’t tackle this guy, who will?” My friend later remarked, “he made it personal.”

Boulevard has not fumbled the ball nor have we given up any touchdowns. We have not shirked our responsibility nor have we thought following the Call of the Spirit was “someone else’s job.” Boulevard has been faithful and true to the Call that runs throughout this congregation, and it is not because we have not, but precisely because we have listened for God’ Call that we are embarking on a new era of being the church; an era of imagination and possibility.

Starting now, and continuing into the Fall, meetings are happening and plans are in the works to provide opportunities for everyone to get involved on personal level and take ownership of how you engage your faith. We will see more and imaginative missions and community outreach, we will see the formation of small groups around topics, service, and much more, and we will see the dreams many of you shared with our Appreciative Inquiry group, the aptly named Dream Team, work to come alive and viable. But none of this happens automatically just because we want it.

“He made it personal”, replied my friend. Like the responsibilities of a special teamer to tackle the runner, we here at Boulevard must also take the work of the Church personally too. We must
reorient our passions, our energy, and even our time to help make the things we dream about like mission trips for the youth, outreach to the community, and fighting hunger and poverty personal and by doing, make these things possible. I hope you will join us!

Finding Jesus in the Scrambled Eggs

Today was the Men's Prayer Breakfast. It started at 7am. But the food doesn't cook itself. So to say it started at 7am is a little misleading. I really started around 5:15am when I got out of bed.

Folks here at Boulevard have heard me say that there is very little in life that cannot wait until 9am. It is not so much a personal rule but a guideline. I, as you may have already picked up, am a reluctant morning person. I am highly functional, articulate and require no assistance from coffee, but I am those things only when duty and service to humanity calls. For the great guys that make up the Men's Prayer Breakfast here at Boulevard I will gladly wake up early and do what I can to make a tasty breakfast. It is my pleasure. The same holds true for the other times in life when early rising & productivity is helpful to those folks I care about like my wife who will need to be at the airport on a chilly Sunday in November for her 6am flight to Denver. I am glad to do it. But I have to wonder... would I get up at 4am make breakfast, drive to the airport, or wait in line for concert tickets for a total stranger? Would I sacrifice my sleep, my routine for you, unknown blog reader? The honest answer is probably not.

Jesus always seemed to have something to say about loving and respecting your neighbors. Love them as you love yourself was one of his greatest hits & a personal favorite of mine but the rub is this: 4am. I am ready to wrestle bears for the Lord or neighbor at 10:30am, but 4am seems like a deal breaker. It is a bit more than I am willing to commit, which is personally convicting in light of the passage from Romans that we read together at this morning's Men's Prayer Breakfast. Paul writes, "present yourselves as a living sacrifice...", which as James pointed out, meant that like the saricifces of old, what you brought to the Temple you were not bringing back. To put it bluntly: what we give to God isn't ours anymore.

We all have growing edges when it comes to understanding the personal side of faith. The work of God in Christ isn't available for personal compartmentalization in the same way that many of us can distinguish and separate between the pulls of life (ex. work life vs. personal life). We will all need help seeing that the love Christ speaks of when it comes to our neighbors is bigger, more expansive than our limited understanding, and one that will provide constant opportunity to be stretched and moved to a more inclusive faith - one that compels us to serve without limitations and barriers.

So 4am it is.

Walk Off Home Run moves Total Depravity to 2-0

Solid defense and smart base-running set the stage for Jon Stephen (pictured to the right making a catch) & his walk-off home-run in the bottom of the final extra inning to propel Total Depravity, Boulevard Presbyterian's Kickball team to 2-0.

The game began with some ambiguity as Barley, our black-clad opponents were unsure if they had the minimum of number of players to field an official team for the August 15th 6:00 PM outing. A last minute female, who came to the game as a spectator, thus explaining her stylish footwear, stepped in gave Barley the minimum and cleared the way for the contest.

In the early innings, solid defense prevailed for Total Depravity as it held Barley scoreless and jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the 1st of Jon Stephens' two home-runs. Barley's scoreless streak would become short lived, as they found their footing and quickly tied the contest that would turn into a sew-saw battle all the way into the bottom of the 7th and only extra inning allowed by Parks and Recreation rules.

With the game tied at 5-5, Barley stranded the go-ahead run when the last out was recorded on an infield fly. Clearing the way for walk-off heroics, and Total Depravity's second win of the season, Barley took the field in their standard alignment. Enter Jon Stephens, who had already recorded Total Depravity's 1st home-run of the year with a shot to right field, lined up and booted the ball deep left field, bouncing past the left fielder as Stephens rounded 1st. Hustling, Stephens approached 3rd when the cut-off fielder got control of the ball, and sensing destiny and his chance at Boulevard recreational sports immortality, Stephens rounded 3rd and beat the throw home amid the cheers and celebrations of his fellow teammates.

For Total Depravity historians this game represented a number of milestones. Our 6-5 victory over Barley represented the first time back-to-back victories were recorded, as well as the first time a player has kicked two home-runs in one game, as well the first walk-off victory. Individually, Stephens' home-runs puts him in the All-Time lead. Also Adam Anderson, a 5-tool newcomer for Total Depravity, executed the first (intentional) slide to reach 3rd base.

Join us next week Sunday, August 23rd at 6:00 PM as Total Depravity defends its win steak against newcomers The Grasskickers at C. Ray Buck Sports Park.

Sermon: The Present Time - Luke 12:49-56

Last Sunday it was hot.

Let’s be honest, its been hot just about all this month, and try as we might, sometimes it is hard to get this sanctuary comfortable for worship. Because the choir was singing this old fan right above me was flipped on to blow some relief to the members of the choir. Depending where I stand up here I can feel the breeze it produces, and last Sunday I really enjoyed having it on. But something funny happened.

Did you ever have one of those memories that just shows up, out of nowhere, and hijacks your thoughts? Maybe it was triggered by a smell, a sound, a song, or in my case, from the breeze from a blowing fan. Standing up, singing the opening songs and hymn, I was transported back to my early high school years and there before all of you I stopped singing and I was terrified to realize I could think of only one thing: Baywatch.

The fact that my mind flashed back to Baywatch when we were worshiping the Holy, Everlasting God may be counted as further evidence of my depravity, but there is was: Baywatch. With it’s red swimsuit beach bunnies, and slow motion running; hair constantly being blown to and fro, and its almost universal appeal to my former demographic of 14 year old, puberty riddled high school freshmen. I say “almost universal appeal” because even at 14 I didn’t like the show. Now, I understood why my friend David did. Shoot, I understood why everybody did (I am not sure if you can see me but I am raising and lowering my eyebrows suggestively), but I needed something a little more than buxom beach babes to require my attention. But then again, I have always been the holder of minority opinions.

I don’t like Bob Dylan’s music, I like Oatmeal Raisin cookies over Chocolate Chip, I unabashedly wear white after Labor Day, I voted for John Kerry, I think Pete Rose should go into the Hall of Fame, and on that summer day in high school I told my friend David I didn’t like Baywatch. Actually I told him I thought it was dumb, and he was being a jerk for running the ol’ bait and switch. I rode over to David’s with a 12 pack of Mountain Dew under my arm, for promises of pizza & a night of video games. When I arrived the pizza was there but the video games were replaced by the blondes of Baywatch bounding across the aptly named boob-tube. What happened next was what I think it was what the fan was trying to get me to remember as I had our scripture floating around in the back of my head. I got up, and made sure that David, and really anyone within ear-shot heard my thoughts on his shenanigans, Baywatch, and a few choice remarks on friendship, and left. Riding home that night, sans my Mountain Dew, I knew that standing up, and speaking out was going to affect my friendship with David, and it did.

Maybe for you it isn’t Baywatch, or TV at all. Maybe for you it is politics, or your work situation. Perhaps you and your brothers and sisters don’t agree on how best to care for aging parents. Then again, maybe it is TV, but it is here that you make your stand. You lend you voice to an issue, you debate, engage, enrage, isolate, alienate; your cautioned that you are making a scene, coming too close to the 3rd rail. So you abdicate, regress, confess, readdress the issue softly, jokingly like it never was a big deal, and hearing the words of Rodney King echoing somewhere in the corner of your mind, you decide “yes, I think that we can all just get along.” Certainly Baywatch, Bob Dylan, or Pete Rose isn’t worth the social equivalent of the Alamo – an ill-fated last stand that everybody seemingly wants you to remember.

“Can’t we all just get along?” seems like a worthy goal, doesn’t it? For many of us it might even be a prayer. Wars rage, genocide is a word our children will grow up knowing all to well, and in the crucial moments of history, when a glimmer of hope shines in the darkness of terrible situations it seems that we always find men and women arguing rather than coming together to effect change. Wouldn’t it be easier, or rather, wouldn’t it be better if we put our partisan bickering aside and got to work? Rolled up our sleeves and helped people without all the hot-air and blue ribbon committees? What if we all just got along? If this is indeed our dream, the passage from Luke today is profoundly upsetting.

"Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” Father against son, daughter against mother, and while I didn’t need Jesus to tell me that I wouldn’t always see eye to eye with my in-laws, the hard truth of this message is that disagreement will be a constant companion for anyone seeking to live out the Gospel. Families, communities, groups of people all the world around exist in some way due to the harmony that comes with the status quo. The perpetual predictability, the entrenchment in safety, and the elimination of the stress of doing something new, trying something different is built into the fabric of society & we are taught at an early age that individuality is ok but conformity is better. Schools reinforce it, companies exist by it, but the “voice crying out in the wilderness” was not proclaiming the coming age of business as usual.

Like John the Baptist before him, Jesus raises his voice to offer a new way, a different way; a minority-report on how to live, love, show grace and mercy, and to care, and respect the stranger. It is from Jesus that we hear “you have heard it said, but I say unto you”; words that help us understand that Jesus sees his mission not to ordain and validate the status quo but rather to show a new, a better way. Jesus was, and still is the voice of dissent. The Gospel that we believe in and seek to live our lives by should never be put on the back-burner in favor of conformity, in favor of the status quo. The Gospel is by definition something different, something loud and obnoxious to be lived out in the very communities that tend to favor everyone getting along. It requires decision and commitment, and therefore families will disagree about it, communities will splinter along issues, and churches will have its factions but ours is the faith of a “new way” and silence is never golden.

The world today, the Present Time, needs your voice. The divisions that come will one day lead to a true reconciliation, but first we need to divide, to set apart – not by splintering and forming new churches and institutions but by grabbing the 3rd rail, and speaking out when it isn’t popular, or perhaps even welcome, but we grab the 3rd rail confident that its there that we find all the power. Power to be part of the Kingdom of God breaking into the world. A world where evil goes unchecked because as Edmund Burke famously remarked good people “do nothing.” Power to stand on faith though our voices may still shake. Power that by speaking out, we inspire others to lend their voices, just as those who came before have inspired us. The Book of Hebrews speaks of the “great cloud of witnesses”; generations of the faithful who have gone out before us, inspiring us, and giving us a model of how to live faithfully in trying times. From their ranks we find those who spoke up against tyranny, slavery, injustice, and oppression when the culture wanted to hear none of it, but it is there too that we find men and women much like yourselves who have stood up for what they thought was right, and have paid the price. My relationship with David wasn’t ever the same, and many of you have paid far worse but in that moment I hope you can see that you were not alone.

We need men and women to speak out and show that faithful, intelligent, passionate people disagree over the fundamental, the elemental building blocks of life – human rights, law, the poor, the oppressed, and more – and in so doing crave out place where with respect, grace and love we engage the issues that define our life. I remember the first time I had a fundamental disagreement with my Mom. Neither one of us would concede, and I remember thinking “My mom is kind of crazy.” Around and around we went, and it wasn’t until she paused and told me she understood what I was saying, why I said it, and why it was important to me but she just didn’t agree with what I had to say. She went on to suggest that perhaps we could start over, this time with an understanding that we didn’t come to our views casually but they were born out of something deep and impacting.

I am found of a story I heard from a Rabbi, who told of two men who both worked in a mine, and whose job it was to carry heavy loads of rocks from the valley to the top of the hill. One day, one of the workers lingered too long at the top of the hill and overheard the men who took his rocks that what he carried contained diamonds. What an honor he had been trusted with, especially when the other man carried only rocks. The next day he lingered at the top of the hill and overheard that the rocks the other man carried contained emeralds, and so each and every day thereafter the man walked up the hill with deep respect for his fellow worker. If we, brothers and sisters, know of the diamonds we carry, it is easy to see the emeralds in the basket of others.

It will not be easy.We cannot do this alone. We must lean into the witness of those who have come before and into the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.We pray that our voices be strong, our convictions steady, and may we walk in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ with confidence that the Kingdom of God is indeed near, and with it comes a true reconciliation.

I don't like Bob Dylan's music

There I said it. It has been brewing up for sometime now and I have decided it is time to stand up and declare that despite the fact that he is a so-called "genius", despite the fact that he is an "icon" in American music, despite his intriguing life and lyrics, I just plain don't care for Bob Dylan's music. I could get into why. I could tell you all about how his voice drives me nutty, or how fans of his music always want to sing along in an impersonated Dylan voice, but my reasons aren't the point. The point is this: I don't like Bob Dylan's music.

I bring this up because in my specific circle of friends, like many of your friends, there are some realities that will distance you from the pack if made public. The music of Bob Dylan is my social leprosy; casting me out to the far reaches of the acceptable circle where only those along the watchtower can keep an eye on my movements. Knowing this, I keep my mouth shut for the umpteenth time and I grin and bear it. But no more! I am standing up before cyberspace, and whoever else may read this and declare I vote NAY on yet another spin of Blonde on Blonde. Popularity be damned.

Real dissension isn't usually centered around Bob Dylan. Real dissension, the kind for which your standing up might produce fractures and upsets along relational, social, and institutional lines, is the 3rd rail of living in community. Touch it and die. Resist the status quo by standing up for what you believe, what you feel your faith, your love, your sense of right and wrong dictates and you quickly become "that person" who "crashes" city council meetings, and can't leave well enough alone. How many voices have been silenced because we prefer the status quo? How many times have we settled on preservation of the institution rather than listen to voices of dissent?

The 3rd rail might kill you but it is only because that is where all the real power is. Stand up and let your voice be heard.

Kickball Begins Sunday, August 8th

I just got word this weekend that the Grandview Heights Adult Kickball League begins Sunday, August 8th. For the good folks at Boulevard who are risking (or guaranteeing) pulled muscles, minor injuries of body and pride, and the occasional over-zealous Kickball All-Star, the season truly is a highlight of the year and a great way for people to get together and have some fun.

Come on out next Sunday, August 8th. Games are held at C. Ray Buck Sports Park located on Goodale Ave. Game time is 4pm.

A Brief Look at the 219th General Assembly

Note: the body of this post came from my August Newsletter article for the Boulevard Presbyterian Church Good News.

Last month Presbyterians from all over the nation gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), our denomination’s biennial gathering. General Assemblies or GA, for short, can often be ripe with hot-button issues and less than civil behavior, and while the 219th GA was full of controversial issues, it was reported that all was civil and faithful dialog was the norm. By the end the seven day event, some 300 actions were taken, including the following:

• Elder Cindy Bolbach, a lawyer from the National Capital Presbytery (Washington DC area) was elected Moderator after 4 ballots. Her Vice-Moderator is a very good friend of mine, the Rev. Landon Whitsitt, a pastor from Liberty, MO. The photo above is of Landon's installation as Vice Moderator
  

• The assembly voted to approve the report of the Middle East Study Committee entitled “Breaking Down the Walls” which affirms Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders. The assembly also recommended for study “A Moment of Truth”, a statement by Palestinian Christian leaders, and a paper on Christian-Muslim relations that calls for greater dialog, understanding and cooperation was adopted.

• The often debated section in the Ordination Standards of the PCUSA that requires “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness” was recommended for deletion by a close vote of the assembly. This action will be sent to the individual 173 presbyteries for approval.

• The assembly voted to maintain the PCUSA’s current definition of marriage as “between a man and a woman.”

• By an over 200 vote margin, the massive revision of the Form of Government that has been in the works for four years was approved. The hope of this revision is to make the way we do government more in line with the changing shape of “being church” now and into the future.

• The Belhar Confession, 1980s response to racism and apartheid by South African churches, was approved for inclusion in the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions.

• 15 new Missionaries (known as Mission Co-Workers) were commissioned and sent out to their various appointments.

• A number of actions were taken falling under the heading Social Justice, including a vote to refrain from holding national meetings in states where immigrant Presbyterian or Presbyterians of color might be subject to harassment or racial profiling. Similarly, a number of peacemaking actions were taken including a call for the end of military operations in Afghanistan.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about the actions taken at GA and the ramifications of these actions here are some links to explore:

1. The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA website
2. A post-General Assembly letter from PCUSA Leadership
3. The GA Junkie: The Politics of Presbyterianism (Blog)

Boulevard's eRecycling Day

Saturday, July 17th Boulevard Presbyterian Church held its first ever eRecycling Day in the parking lot. Thanks to the hard work of many members and some great advertising, we collected an entire moving truck worth of old computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, and the like. The photo to the right was taken roughly one hour before we closed up shop and quit for the day.

To read the newspaper article that ran about the event please click the link: Boulevard Church to host eRecycling event Saturday

Like the articles mentions, the idea for this event started in an Adult Sunday School class and was nurtured by people who wanted to find ways to put what they learned and what they believe into action. It was something truly inspiring to be a part of.

This is the new model, the new "norm" for Boulevard. No longer letting faith become something academic, something to learn and remember, but rather to ingest like food and let the energy it produces propel us to new places. It is going to be exciting!

Christmas in July

I wanted to let you know about the book I am now reading. It is called Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present by Hank Stuever. Perhaps a little sadistic to be reading about Christmas when it is in the 90s and 100% Humidity but it was next in the stack.

Tinsel takes place in Frisco, Texas, a suburb in the shadow of Dallas. By all accounts Frisco is built for commerce and the town is growing. Stuever embeds himself in the Christmas preparations of Frisco, a place the dust-jacket refers to as "happy, megachurchy, shoparific", to witness the excesses and beauty of the modern Christmas.

I will keep you updated as to what I find. I will note, that I am reading this with a special eye towards a potential book study here at Boulevard. If the book lives up to my hopes then I would imagine that it would be ripe for discussion during the holiday months.

And Now for Something Completely Different

Church can sometimes feel like a Monty Python sketch. You show up one Sunday and everything looks as you expect it. The Choir is singing, the sacraments are celebrated, the Pastors are in their robes, and preaching and everything seems decent and in order. The next Sunday there is one service instead of two, there are balloons everywhere, and a pot-luck after the service. Come back the next Sunday and everything is just as it was the first time. The Sunday after that they are back to one service but it is at a different time then it was two Sundays ago, there is no choir only a couple of singers leading music, the bulletin is different, the robes are gone and one of the pastors isn't even wearing a tie, communion is every week and the services are a little longer. Just when you get used to it all it changes again. The choir is gone but so are our music leaders. In their place is an amplified band with guitars and a bass. They are playing "contemporary" music - some not even expressly Christian - and it is loud. The pastor isn't preaching, a member is, and when it was all said and done there was cake. Next Sunday, you ask? Oh, we are back to our normal Summer worship.

Some might say that it is too much. Too much change. Too much experimentation. Too much like the normal 11:15 AM service and not enough like the 9 AM service, and visa-versa. Some might say that it puts people on edge - never knowing what service they are going to walk into - and others might say that it keeps folks on their toes. Two sides of the same coin I suppose. Yet it forces us to confront something very important and usually not very popular. It provides a space to ask why. Why do we do it? Why do we invite a band to worship? Why do we change the time? Why do we have members preaching when we have pastors? Why is there different music? Why no choir? Why do any of this at all? Why?

There is this hot new workout routine that I have been hearing a lot about. It's secret to success is apparently something they call muscle confusion. Meaning that their workout is constantly changing exercises and motions so that the muscles do not get into a habit and plateau. By changing motions and exercises, muscles don't know what is going to happen next and thus have to work. What might be good for the body is difficult for the Body of Christ. We have been exercising for so long in one way that the muscles of the church know the motions and what it can bear without much true exercise. Incorporation of different exercises feels funny & it requires our muscles to go in different but still very beneficial directions. In the end, the "new exercises" help make us stronger because they show that we are strong not just in one way but strong throughout. New ways of worship, new ways of church, new ways of community life force us to exercise muscles long dormant so that we may be fit for all expressions of what it means to follow Christ in the current age.

On Vacation

This is going to be the last post for a while as I am on vacation. My goal is to spend this time reading and NOT watching TV. So far so good.

Today I finished a book that I really enjoyed but neglected for a couple of months entitled A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Anglea. More than causal readers of this blog might remember mention of this book in January as a much beloved Christmas present from my Dad. I mentioned it in a sermon entitled A Tale of Two Lords that, for whatever reason, is not on the blog.

Riding the excitement of finishing the abovementioned book, I am going to start War by Sebastian Junger this afternoon. Follow this link to read a good treatment of the book & its aims by NPR: Click Here

Something we do together...

The video is a little cheesy but I can't deny the power of the footage of people from all over the nation (and the globe) coming together to watch Team USA's game against Algeria.

The World Reacts to Landon Donovan's Goal @ Yahoo! Video

July Newsletter Article

Despite not being much of a soccer fan, I am enjoying watching and keeping up with the World Cup. Any time nations compete I am interested in the outcome be it soccer, the Olympics, or even those lumberjack competitions ESPN broadcasts every once in a while. While I am pulling for the American team to do well and go far in the tournament, I have other “favorite” national teams that I like to watch and root for. I like Argentina, I like Nigeria, but my favorite team is Mexico.

The sports opinion website SB Nation published an article entitled 2010 World Cup Likability Ratings, Or How to Pick Your Team in Scientific Fashion and ranked Mexico #28 out of 30 teams on the likability index. Italy and North Korea being the only two nations less likable than Mexico when it comes to soccer, the author writes, “Mexico may not be pulled for at any time unless you are actually Mexican. If they play Italy somehow, root for a meteor to strike the stadium. There are no exceptions to this rule.”

Mexico gets a bad rap. They are a very physical team that some would call dirty. Their exploits are legendary and it is safe to say that most teams know what they will be in for when they enter the pitch with Mexico. With that said, most World Cup teams carry around with them baggage of some sort that creates expectations, and preconceived notions of their ability, play and style - true or not. It is the way the game works and when it comes down to it, it is up to the team to either cultivate or dispel.

Expectations, preconceived notions, & stereotypes are dangerous - that much is clear - but in a real way they also present opportunities. Just as a student who is dogged by expectations of unruly behavior can be hampered all year long with teacher expectations, we as a church have the great opportunity to change minds and hearts by the way we fight to change minds and hearts. Jesus said it best as he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said...but I say unto you” (Matthew 5) - Jesus himself was at work breaking and transforming the expectations of life to something more full and whole. We as a church need to be mindful that transformation, reformation, regeneration is the most feared enemy of the stereotype and mundane expectation. Our fight will be uphill and won’t take place on a soccer pitch where the rules of the game dictate. Our rules come only from the Spirit of the Living God who moves within this community and calls us to abandon precedence and fear as we seek to live within the community of our common Presbyterian heritage and strive to be the church that thrills the heart of God.

Sermon: Opposite Galilee

The following is a reflection on Luke 8: 26-39

First, let me say Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads, and those who have been like Fathers to many.Secondly, since it is indeed Father’s Day I thought that I would tell a story about my Dad & me.

Sometime in the late-1980s my Dad moved to Michigan, which, in case you were wondering, is a long way from California. My brother and I lived in California but would spend the entire summer in Michigan with Dad and we would have a lot of fun. When we were younger we went to camp in Michigan, and went to baseball games, and when it was time to return to California for the start of school we would load up the old 1984 Chevy Blazer and hit the open road. To be honest, I have no idea how long it took to drive from Michigan to California, but as a kid it seemed like forever. But as an adult, looking back, I wouldn’t trade those trips for anything. We saw Mount Rushmore, had a cool drink of water at Wall-Drug, ate Buffalo Burgers in the Dakotas, fell into a creek in Idaho, played at Circus Circus in Reno, endured psychological torture involving a stuffed pig and an open window, got caught in rainstorms with the luggage on the roof in the plain states, and stopped for picnic lunches featuring my Dad’s famous Tuna Sandwiches at rest stops that dotted the route west. But when you total up the amount of time spent forming these memories at Mount Rushmore or eating the Tuna Sandwiches it pales in comparison to the hours and hours driving. Yet, it is this part that my memory is the sharpest. There were these tapes that we purchased at a Shell Gas Station. Greatest Hit compilations from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, that featured Bill Haley and the Comets, Little Richard, The Temptations, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, and all the other sounds that defined their eras. We would pop these tapes in when our own singing of Christmas Carols, and songs from a Winnie the Pooh VHS would grow wearisome, and we had each perfected the Three Stooges shtick Swinging the Alphabet.

Those tapes were the soundtrack of my childhood and it was some time before I cared or knew anything about any music recorded anywhere near my then current era. I can close my eyes and picture the interior of the Blazer, the landscape of the plain states passing by and hear “Good Golly, Miss Molly”, “Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire”, and “I know you want to leave me but I refuse to let you go” which still to this day I would contend is just about the clearest description of God’s relationship to us every written, and today, on Father’s Day, I am especially reminiscent of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

“Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you.” Marvin Gaye sang it, but Jesus embodied it, and it is in our scripture that I hear it echoing... functioning as a refrain, a prayer and a promise; poetry for those who find themselves in the far off places in their lives. Places like that feel like the opposite of Galilee.

The Jordan River connects the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee, and just as modern day Israel and Jordan are on opposite sides of the shore, so too is the landscape of our story. Galilee on the western shore, populated by the people of Israel who knew their God and what was required of them. People could make sacrifices, people could pray at the Temple, and if you could afford a lamb at Passover, avoid the gentiles, and appear to keep the law as you eek out living then you are all set; you can blend right in. On the eastern shore was Gerasea, one of the Decapolis, ten cities belonging to the Roman Empire. Gentile as gentile could get. The temples were Roman, the customs were suspect, and the rules of Galilee and the rest of Israel don’t apply here. No Sabbath to keep, no kosher, no anything; it was a different land. It was very much the opposite of Galilee, and a place that we hate to think of ourselves residing in. And I say that, because I do believe that many of us struggle with the places in our lives that are opposite of Galilee, places where we hide the things we don’t want anybody to see, things that would upset the status quo of our lives as we seek to live them out exclusively in Galilee.

I recognize that I am really trying to work this metaphor. I think that it is a good one but let me say it another way. There are places in our lives, like the cemetery from our reading, that we would really rather never discuss, or have exposed. Places where we hide pain and shame, guilt and regret, and these places seem to exist solely for this purpose. We chain those memories up, throw away the key and try to do our best to live a Galilee life, but like our story, the chains simply do not hold. The people of Gerasea hid their problem in the tombs by the sea shore, places where people rarely go, yet time and time again the problem came back to haunt them. In the cemetery across the lake of our own lives hides many of the regrets of life yet the chains break away and do not hold.

Rabbis were never to enter cemeteries. They were unclean by ritual custom. So where the possessed, and Gentiles were no prize either. Everything in this story screams this land is not your own, this is foreign, Godless territory, and yet Jesus goes there too bringing light to the darkness, healing to the broken, meeting every objection and trepidation with something a whole lot like “Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you.” The deepest and darkest places of our lives where the no one is welcome are the places to which Christ will cross the sea to get to, will stride through a cemetery to get to, and will walk right up to the shame, guilt, the pain, the anger, the forgiveness you never accepted, and say, “What is your name?”

Naked except for the broken shackles, unruly, and unacceptable – there for all to see – the man we have come to call the Geresene Demoniac falls down upon his knees and when he arises he is a new man. So it is with Christ. What falls down before him arises anew. If our scriptures are true, if Christ could heal this man, if even the darkest demons are overcome with just a word, will you too open those places in your own life to Christ? Will you accept the promise that there isn’t a shameful memory, a guilty heart, or a bruised and broken piece of your created soul that is too dark, to far away, too bedraggled and neglected to overcome the liberation, the freedom of the irresistible grace of a loving God? Will you?

What happens next is the work of the Spirit. I can’t pretend to tell you what lies in store but I can say this: Christ never once healed without creating a witness. Christ never once healed without creating a missionary. Our unnamed, formally broken man was left there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee not because Jesus didn’t want him but rather because Jesus needed him. Our scriptures tell us, “The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” Jesus left the man right where he found him. “Remember me?”, he might later say. “Remember where I was? Remember the chains, the wailing and the tombs? I am healed, a new man. Do you want to know why?” Brothers and sisters, the Gereseas of our lives are precisely where Christ leaves us. Leaving us there in the midst of the community where we previously hid our shame and buried our pain. It is here that we are left so we might too become missionaries, proclaiming to those who too may be on the opposite of Galilee and need to hear about the Liberator, the Christ, the Prince of Peace, who holds us in his had and sings “Ain’t no Mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough to keep me away from you.”