Journeys

No, not the band.

Laura and I head out today for what will be an eleven day tour, spanning, Tennessee, Alabama, and the country of Panama. We're looking forward to it all, but I'm already getting tired thinking about all the places we'll be going.

We will be spending most of those 11 days in Panama, with several of the younger clergy from the North Alabama Conference, and Bishop Will Willimon. This is part of a UVIM training trip with the idea that we will be trained to be group leaders so as to be able to take other groups to Panama to do missions. Also, the Bishop wanted this time to spend with the younger clergy so as to get to know us better and to have a dialogue about the changing face of ministry. If anything, it should at least an interesting trip just to see a different part of the world.

So, Merry Christmas to all, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, and for the rest of us, Happy Festivus! I will be back next year with updates and a journal of our trip.

--MATT

Redistricting

Last night, Laura and I went to a meeting at Wesley Memorial UMC in Decatur, AL concerning the re-districting of the North Alabama Conference. We went, like many others, hoping to get some details about what this new structure was going to look like. All I knew was that there had been a study committee appointed a couple of years ago to look at what several other committees had looked at over the past 30 years. And, that this committee had made the recommendation to reduce the number of districts from 12 to 8.

I guess you could say that the theme word for the night was "fluff." At several points during the two-hour meeting it felt very much like we were at a political press conference. It almost became humorous the number of times their "talking points" were repeated. "Vision" this, and "challenge" that. "Trust" and "empowering leadership" were also up there.

The whole point is this, the North Alabama Conference has lost over 30,000 members in the past 30 years and the current structure is not cost effective. Though the number of churches have stayed the same or have increased, the number of people in those churches have decreased and financial resources have become increasingly limited. The committee picked the number of new district to be 8, so as to best re-align our existing resources. However, no rationale was given for the choosing of this number, nor what the new District structure would look like. The only information that was given was a new vision for what the role of the District Superintendent (DS) ought to be.

The whole focus of the presentation was about how the new structure would allow DSs to do less administrative work and more coaching and ministry. It sounds good, especially with the challenge to local churches to be more connectional and cluster their resources and ministries. But, the confusion still lay in the apparent paradox that somehow the DSs were going to be able to have more time to do this when the number of churches that they were responsible for increased.

After a while, after an hour of talk in generalities about how clustering and sub-districting would allow DSs to be more efficient in training several churches at once instead of one at a time, the people there were finally beginning to get it. THEN, Dale Cohen (the Director of Connectional Ministries) "mentions" that to help the DSs they would have an assistant to help in the administrative work. This goes over like a lead balloon because we had been talking all night about cutting costs and now they're talking about adding 8 more people (as assistants) to the mix - an overall INCREASE of 4 people! Not many people heard it, but supposedly the assistants won't be paid, or might even be shared among the Districts.

Granted, I get that our current structure is not working and we need a change, but two things have been very frustrating. One, there was very little, if any real information was given. The people just wanted to be able to say, "OK, this is what the new structure is going to look like and this will be what the new role of the DS will be. And, this is where we plug in as a local church." Granted, that's not what the vote will be bout in January at the Called Annual Conference (the conference can only vote on the number of districts, not the structure), but there was nothing that people could sink their teeth into and say, "This new idea might work." There were no ideas, just concepts, and, when you are talking to people in the Decatur and Huntsville Districts, you'd better give those Rocket Scientists something more than just a buzzword to plug into their logic.

The second thing that has bugged me is something that came up during our Order of Elders Meeting: trust and the trust that comes through communication. I could sense a deep feeling of mistrust by many in the auditorium that they were skeptical that reducing the number of districts would solve our Conference's woes. The reality is, is that there are a number of things that need to be addressed before the Conference is doing ministry as efficiently as it could be. There were many, like me, that were thinking, "Why are we focusing our time on this, when there are more pressing needs facing our local church's ability to do ministry?" Things like the skyrocketing cost of the mandatory pastor's insurance, the role of the pastor and the local church, and new ways of looking at itineracy, these affect a local church much more than how many districts we have. I hope that these things will be addressed soon by the Conference. I know that this will probably be one of the many conversations that I will be having with the Bishop as we and several other young clergy go on a mission trip to Panama.

By reducing the number of districts to eight, the conference will save close to $300,000 when all is said and done with salary, insurance, housing, etc. for DSs. but, how that money will be used is the question. It would have been nice to have heard just one program, event, something that these newly re-aligned resources would be able to provide. Just something that was on the books and we could see how it would make a difference in doing ministry in the North Alabama Conference.

Going to eight districts will not fix all of our problems, maybe not any of them, but I do hope and pray that this truly is a start in the right direction. At least serving as a wake up call to the whole Conference that we need to do something different.

Message from Bishop Will Willimon concerning Redistricting

'tis the Season?

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Apparently, unbeknownst to me, there is a war going on. No, not the war in Iraq. No, not the cola wars. But there is a war on Christmas.

I’ve read a lot of articles over the past week and a half, seen loud-mouthed commentators on TV, and even heard people discussing it as they were doing their shopping, over whether or not Christmas was in danger. Frankly, I’ve been quite amused. Of all the holidays in the world, Christmas is not only one of the largest, if not THE largest, but it is also celebrated by more people than any other holiday in the world. I don’t think there’s any danger of losing Christmas, if we did, every major retailer would be put out of business. They wouldn’t make any money.

And really, that’s what’s driving this whole thing that’s going on. Money. Money and publicity – which translates to more money.

Ahh, I remember not too long ago, a simpler time, when Christmas was about preparing our homes and spirits for the Prince of Peace. We retold the stories about how God loved us so much that he sent his son in the form of a baby to teach us how to live and be in relationship with God and each other. We would listen to the hymns about baby Jesus in a manger, the shepherd, the wise men, and how hard it is to find a hotel on Christmas Eve. And we would hear preachers rant about the commercialization of Chrstmas. Now, the stories are about which stores are saying “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas.” And it seems our salvation is based, not on the Resurrected Christ, but on where we decide to shop.

I’ll be honest with you, it doesn’t bother me a lick when I hear someone say, “Happy Holidays.” I say it myself. I don’t mind it for several reasons, one because it’s a sign of tolerance and understanding, and two, for what the word “holiday” really means.

The word “holiday” is a shortening of the words “holy” and “day” – “holy day.” At Christmas time, we are focusing on one particular day, but aren’t all the days leading up to it pretty special? I mean come on, we’re not burning these candles in the wreath for nothing, people! Even the days following Christmas day are pretty special as they lead up to Epiphany. So, when I hear “Happy Holidays,” I’m not only hearing well wishes for people of other faiths as they celebrate their own traditions, I’m hearing a reminder that we are in the midst of a very special time that cannot be contained in just one day. Happy “Holy Days,” indeed.

Our gospel text again turns to John as we are reminded of the holy days that he lived in. I wonder how many others felt it. If there was an energy in the air? A buzz, or a feeling that something amazing was about to happen? I imagine too, that like us, there were some who knew that something special was going on, but they were looking in the wrong place, distracted by all the flashy lights and the people who were trying to yell louder than everyone else.

John was out there in the wilderness, baptizing people, getting them to repent, and helping them come to a new relationship with God. He was reminding people to worship God and not themselves or the Pharisees. But of course, the Pharisees didn’t like that, John was cutting into their profit margin. So, they send out the priests and Levites to do their dirty work and undermine John’s credibility. Rather than question the validity of what he was doing, they attack his character. It seems to be a pretty good indicator that your position is the reasonable one when the only thing the other side can do is attack your character. It’s a sign of them having nothing else to stand on.

So there is John, breath stinking of bugs, beard dripping with honey, and as humbly as a loud-mouthed wooly-booger could be, he says, “I’m doing this to help people recognize the Messiah when he comes. Most of you are too dense to even sense something special is happening, but for those who are ready, they will see something great!” Granted, that’s from the New Reed Version of the Bible (in stores in time for next Christmas), but that’s the essence of what he was saying. “I’m only preparing the way and pointing people in the right direction.”

It hurts me to see people heading in the wrong direction. I’m not just talking about the “Happy Holidays” thing, but headed in the wrong direction in their lives. People who are living without a relationship to God and are wasting it on self-centeredness. You see it in many forms, from addiction and abuse, to greed and power-hunger, to wanting to impose their viewpoint on everyone and eliminate everyone who disagrees, we’re a pretty self-centered bunch.

That’s not what Christ offers. He offers an alternative to focusing on our needs. He offers a relationship that is based on love and hope. A relationship that eliminates the need for mindless indulgence with an invitation to focus on God.

And that’s what Christmas is about. The ultimate form of someone reaching out to be in relationship and love with someone. Christmas should grab our attention, set us on the right path, and remind us that God reached out to us in self-sacrificing love and that we are called to do the same. Christmas reminds us that God loves us so much that he put his life on the line for us.

I saw an article this weekend that gave me hope that the spirit of Christmas is not dead. From Reuters in Indonesia there was a report concerning security for those who were wanting to worship on Christmas day there. With fears of bombings and attacks, that might be repeated from Christmas Eve bombings in 2000, the police said that they were going to step up security.

However, despite these fears and thoughts of dangers in years past, something amazing has happened. A youth wing affiliated with Indonesia’s largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, who are 40 million strong, told reporters on Friday that its members would guard churches for the coming Christmas celebrations and it had persuaded youths from other religions to join the project. Can you imagine, Muslim youth and youth from other religions, standing guard outside churches, putting their lives on the line so that their neighbors could worship in safety?

The spirit of Christmas is not dead, it just seems that non-Christians are the ones who have it. Would you be willing to stand guard for someone of a different religion? Would you put your life on the line as Jesus did?

We are in the midst of some very Holy Days, open your eyes and see the path of truth that leads us through the wilderness.

Sermon delivered 12/11/2005