Thoughts on a Long Day

An Inkling

When I was in sixth grade I did a social studies project on Stonehenge.  I researched Stonehenge’s history and construction, and wrote a report.  I painted a 3x3 piece of plywood green, and made little gray clay blocks, which I mounted on the board in a scaled down Stonehenge pattern.  As an eleven year old, I was fascinated that these ancients could figure the sun’s course and move gigantic stones (sans bulldozers!) scores of miles in order to celebrate, worship, calculate, ______  – you fill in the blank – we’re still not sure exactly what they were doing.  I was amazed to read that in the forty plus years since my report, not many of the Stonehenge knowledge gaps have been filled in.

A couple of days ago I was reminded of my youthful Stonehenge enthrallment with news of celebrants gathering at Stonehenge for the summer solstice – pagans, new-agers, and lots of curious people.  Happily for them they got a good clear sunrise, and sure enough, it rose right over the “Heel Stone,” the one the ancients set in place to mark the sun’s most northward course.  Cheers, horn blasts, and dancing greeted the sun.  Many expressed delight in reconnecting with their ancient Briton roots.  Stonehenge continues to fascinate.

And I’m fascinated at yet one more picture of how the human spirit yearns to find meaning.  G.K. Chesterton gave that yearning a wry description a century ago:  When a man stops believing in God, he doesn’t then believe in nothing, he believes in anything.  Rather than tut-tutting that people would believe anything, let’s major in clarifying why we believe God created the heavens and the earth.  Then we can let the contrast speak for itself:  a celebration of stones erected to recognize the course of the sun, or a celebration of the One who set the sun in its course.  Many of those whose yearning has led them to believe anything will recognize how lame anything is compared to the one living God.

It’s one facet of living and telling the good news.  We major in how that one God has redeemed us in Jesus Christ.  But let’s not leave out how the One who redeemed also created this amazing world.  May he be praised – especially at summer solstice!

All day long,

Keith

Herding Cats

An Inkling

For many it’s the favorite biblical image for our relationship with God: “the Lord is my shepherd.”  So reads Psalm 23, depicting in just a few lines some truly prized aspects of our relationship with God.  Jesus picked up the same image, and described himself as the good shepherd. 

In both Old and New Testament versions, if the Lord is the shepherd, then we are the sheep.  As you know, that’s not exactly high praise!  While sheep provide the essentials for cozy sweaters, they aren’t especially well known for their cerebral capacities.  But one thing you can say for sheep:  they do follow a good shepherd.

Not so cats.  Ever heard of something being “harder than herding cats?”  It’s not a biblical image, but it’s definitely picturesque.  Imagine a shepherd with a bunch of cats – trying to get them to lie down in green pastures or to lead them beside still waters.  Cats are so independent and contrary that they can hardly be led, much less herded.  The master must win the cat’s confidence in order to lure the fickle feline toward the desired end.

Would that we were as responsive to the Good Shepherd as are sheep!  But in fact we’re more like cats, constantly shooting off toward our latest headstrong whim.  Thus our Lord has a challenge.  He can use raw power to accomplish his purpose in our lives.  He has plenty of such power to use.  Yet his goal is not to beat us, but to win us.  And given our contrary nature, winning us is no small thing.

May it be that the Master’s love would so captivate our hearts that we would readily lay aside our cat-like obstinacy and follow his lead.  For he really does lead us to green pastures and still waters.  And we would do well to become more “sheepish!”

Baaaaa,

Keith

Church Houses

An Inkling

Last week Sarah and I spent the week in New York City to celebrate our 35^th Anniversary.  Go ahead and say it loudly: “she must be a saint!”  Indeed, she is.

The sights of New York are many, and particularly so for me, since this was all new to me.  I’ll not bore you with a travelogue, but I do have some reflections on the church houses we saw.

One of the most interesting was not a church house per se, but a Hunter College lecture hall, which serves as one of three sites for a very vital church, Redeemer Presbyterian.  The hall seats well over a thousand, and it was nearly full for a 6:00 p.m. service on Sunday.  Tim Keller, the Pastor, has a national following as a preacher and author, so many of those present were visitors, like we were.  This “church house” didn’t look like a church house – just a band on a stage, and a music stand for the preacher’s notes.  Yet the worship that evening was truly alive with the Lord’s presence – and it was filled mostly with young adults.  Wow!

We also saw St. Paul’s Chapel, across the street from the World Trade Center.  We didn’t see an actual worship service there, but were touched by the pictures of what happened there in the days after 9-11.  It survived the attack, and soon became the go-to place for relief workers needing solace and prayer.  Memorials, pictures, and banners recalled what God had done as people brought their sorrow and were met with his peace.  Thousands of lives were changed by those spontaneous services in the fall of 2001.

We also visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  The Catholics surely know how to build beautiful church houses!  The sanctuary had about 200 people or so at mid-day, a mix of people touring and praying.  I was most taken, however, by the sight that faced us as we headed out the door.  Directly across the street was the Rockefeller Center statue of Atlas holding up the heavens.  So from the doorway, one could look in one direction and see the titan of mythical strength, bearing the heavens, and look in the other direction toward the chancel and see the One who had made those heavens, on the cross, bearing the sins of the world.  The muscle bound Atlas definitely suffered by contrast.

Of course God is not confined to any church house.  But those places which house his worshiping people often point to facets of his goodness and glory in fresh ways – one of his many gifts.

Blessings,

Keith

Love Letters

An Inkling

It’s not often that any part of my preaching comes back by popular demand.  Once is usually more than enough!  But I’ve had a number of requests for a copy of my love letter to Sarah that I read a couple of weeks ago as an illustration.  So I’ve copied it below.

Apparently lots of people need help in the romance department – especially us guys.  So guys, feel free to use this as a model for your own love letters.  No credit need be given.  But I must warn you – the passions it stirs in your beloved may be more than you bargained for.

And if you need any further pointers on love letters or romance in general, give me a call.

With love,

Keith

**********************************

Dear Ms Hill: 

This correspondence is to notify you that I continue hold you in high regard.  Your virtues, when put in ratio to your vices, continue to rate positively.   Anecdotal evidence gathered from your peers and associates verifies that you are indeed worthy of continued fondness.  That conclusion is corroborated by my own experience.  Please count this as your official notification of affection for 2010. 

Copies of this correspondence have been placed in your file, and you now have the certified copy yourself, as demonstrated by the notary seal. 

Cordially yours,

Phillip Keith Hill

Leading the Way

An Inkling

The pay is low.  Those who imagine that it will be prestigious soon find out differently.  Complaints tend to be more prevalent than compliments.

Which is not to say that it is without rewards.  Those who are called to a task that seems beyond their abilities find great joy as they see God lift them to new levels.  And the fellowship they find in the common quest to respond to God’s calling is both deep and lasting.

About whom do I write?  Our St. Giles Elders.  They are your Elders, in that you chose them.  But in a prior sense they are God’s Elders, for he chose them through you.  We’ll be installing the Class of 2013 during worship this Sunday.

We believe that God guides our church.  If he wished, he could do so by writing in the sky.  But ordinarily he guides by writing in the hearts of those whom he has called to lead.  In the Presbyterian Church, that is the Elders.

Elders lead by envisioning.  Through prayer and discussion they seek God’s plan for our church.  Elders lead by loving.  Although that is the business of the whole congregation, Elders show the way.  Elders lead by growing.  There are no finished products among the Elders – if there were, their leadership would be irrelevant to the rest of us.  Rather, as they deal with their own wounds and failures, availing themselves of God’s grace, they demonstrate for us all the joy of becoming more like Jesus.

Many folks do tasks around the church house for which they receive very little appreciation.  Let’s do what we can to alleviate that situation.  And let’s start with the Elders. 

Thanks!

Keith

Here, There, and Everywhere

An Inkling

“Missional.”  It’s a major buzzword around the church these days.  And yet, judging from the many ways I hear it used, its precise meaning is not really very precise. 

I’ve attached a two minute You Tube video that should help firm up the term.  (You might watch it now…)

Welcome back.  Two minutes hardly does justice to the kinds of paradigm shifts that are necessary as the church is “dis-established” in our culture.  But you get the idea.  Instead of assuming that our mission will become more effective as we’re increasingly clever about attracting people into the church house, the missional model affirms that effectiveness comes primarily with an outward focus – getting Christian people engaged in everyday settings and relationships.  Imagine that! 

Actually, there is nothing new about an outward focus – see Jesus, “Go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19)  But what is new is the realization that more and more people in our culture no longer assume that they really should get around to finding a church.  Indeed, many view the church with great suspicion.  So if we’re to connect with them with the love of Christ, it will have to be through our friendships and mutual interests in the settings where they live and work.  That sounds a lot more fun than running a public relations campaign for the church.

It’s not as if we no longer need to gather for worship, study, fellowship, etc.  In fact, there is a pretty good scriptural precedent for that as well in the vibrant early days of the church:  “They gave themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  (Acts 2:42)  Gathered to be scattered, to be gathered to be scattered,…

Here, there, and everywhere,

Keith

Days of Our Lives

An Inkling

One of my surprising discoveries as a young pastor was how many people watch soap operas.  I learned this while making afternoon visits in the homes of some senior church members.  When it got to be 2:00 or 3:00, the scheduled time for their soap, I’d see them get fidgety.  They were hoping I’d take the hint and leave.  The more forthright simply told me that it was time for their “story,” as they called it, and that they couldn’t miss it.  That’s what alerted me to the fidgets in the others.  Thus I gradually learned which times to avoid, lest I come between people and their stories.

I really didn’t get it.  Why would a mere story have such a pull?  The older I get, the more I understand.  Stories have great power – for good and for ill.  I find myself spending more and more of my time following stories about the days of our lives.

Last week I did so in Kansas City for three days with 20+ guys for the annual gathering of our “pastors covenant group.”  Our covenant is one of care and accountability.  I’m in a group of five within that larger circle.  Our smaller circle checks in with each other monthly, usually via email, and then we catch up with the broader circle more generally once a year at a gathering.  I enjoy these gatherings for a number of reasons – a surfeit of good food and nonsense being among them.  But even more I enjoy the stories.

I still don’t really get the contrived drama of soaps.  But the real life dramas of friends are endlessly fascinating.  As we tell our stories and then unpack them together, our eyes of faith begin to discern patterns that point to the One who has both a grand plan and a stunning imagination.  He spins a tapestry like no other with threads of tragedy, comedy, mystery, irony, adventure, and love, and in the process he even writes our improvisations into his over-arching tale in astonishing ways.  I know of no better entertainment, education, or edification.

The days of my life don’t seem particularly interesting to me, but my covenant brothers tell me that they see the hand of the Divine Author at work.  That’s encouraging!  And I certainly see his hand at work in their stories – which leaves me all the more eager for the next installment.

Tuning in,

Keith

Our Press Releases

An Inkling

Are you as good at fooling yourself as I am?  It’s not just those in Washington who have a knack for rationalization.  We all come by it honestly.  Remember the famous lines from our forebears?  Adam said, “The woman you gave me gave me the fruit.”  Eve added, “The serpent beguiled me.”  And we’ve been at it ever since.  So we do have an excuse for our excuses!

Now we’ve been perfecting the subtleties of the art for eons.  “My schedule won’t allow me....”  “Later, when (choose one) I’m out of school, the children are older, my career is more settled, we’re retired....”  “This (choose again) new office, house, job, boat has really been keeping me busy....”  And we learn so young – “Mom!  My glass fell over again!”

I hear lots of excuses.  Somehow just seeing a minister makes people feel the need to spill forth with excuses.  Usually they’re offering reasons for why they weren’t in worship last Sunday.  Most of their reasons sound fine to me.  It’s hard for me to separate the truth from the half-truth from the baloney.  And actually, it looks to me as if it is equally hard for the person speaking.  We human beings are masters at self-deception.  We really do believe our own press releases. 

So I’d like to suggest an exercise that’s helped me cut through my own baloney.  Whenever you find yourself working hard on a “press release,” try saying the same thing to God.  Whether an excuse stands or falls depends in large part on to whom we are speaking.  For example, we don’t have to trot out our Grade A excuses in order to fool six year olds.  They'll believe almost anything we tell them.  But God wasn’t born just yesterday.  He’s a bit harder to fool.

In my imagination I can see Adam and Eve offering their excuses to God.  They began their sentences with a sure sound and no little volume.  But the very difficulty of lying to God’s face caused their voices to trail off, and their eyes to fall to the ground, so that by the end of their nonsense they were merely mumbling. 

Find a friend who doesn’t mind telling you the truth about yourself.  But do more.  In prayer look God straight in the face, and offer him your thoughts on a particular decision.  If you can do so without gulping, you might well be on the right track. 

No foolin’!

Keith

Wild Goose Chase

An Inkling

Does God speak to us today?  The testimony of the scripture has been borne out in my own experience:  indeed he does.  Occasionally he bowls us over with a visionary experience or an audible voice.  But most of the time he speaks in a way that only a faith-enlivened attentiveness recognizes.

Chic Silver told me about such an experience earlier this week.  He is preparing to go with our group to Kazakhstan, to visit Interlink, our ministry there with orphans.  As he was praying about what he is to do there, he felt a warm sense of God’s presence, and had the impression that he is to spend his time in Shymkent with Dr. Laurie, one of our ministry partners.  About that time he looked out the window and four geese flew over.

Geese?  And the point is what?...  Several months before Chic had read about how the early Celtic Christians thought of the Holy Spirit not as a dove, but as a wild goose.  Chic said he’d been pondering on how you can’t tame wild geese, but if you listen to their haunting call, they’ll take you on an adventure.  One day, when he had first read about the wild goose image, he was running late to catch a flight at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.  He offered one of those quick prayers that airports inspire, “Lord, please help me make my flight,” and just then he saw a goose fly over his head.  You guessed it, the plane was delayed just enough for him to make his flight.  And he’s had an eye out for wild geese ever since! 

Call it coincidence if you will.  All I know is that God is into coincidences.  The Anglican Archbishop William Temple once said, “When I pray coincidences happen, and when I don’t they don’t.”

I like the image of the wild goose.  The Spirit is anything but tame, and yet he is faithful to give us some signs along the way.  A chase to follow God’s promptings, complete with such signs – that is an adventure worth pursuing.  And it gives a whole new meaning to “wild goose chase” – from a chase with no purpose, to a chase with high purpose.  When our team returns from Kazakhstan, I’ll be eager to hear how the chase played out – and whether there were any “goose” sightings.

Blessings,

Keith  

Blue Devils Bedevil

An Inkling

I was disgusted when I saw the headline – “Blue Devils Beat Butler.”  I had hoped Butler’s David would slay Duke’s Goliath, but such was not to be.  Apparently I was not alone in that sentiment, and not just because Butler was the underdog.  Leading up to the big game several sports commentators described Duke as the team people love to hate.  Why?  I’m not sure.  I knew I didn’t like them, but I didn’t know I had so much company.

All of which has gotten me to thinking about my sports passions.  I hate to admit it, but the Blue Devils have much to admire.  Coach K is a class guy who has produced excellent teams for years.  He’s now led his team to four championships, and he’s done so while enabling his players to graduate – a rare combination.

So when did I begin to scorn Duke?  I don’t know.  And why?  I don’t know.  I’ve told myself that I couldn’t pull for a team supported by the smug, self-important, rich kids that fill their stands.  But that description fit me exactly when I was courtside as a freshman at Vandy as they won the S.E.C. championship.  And I can still be pretty smug and self-important when “my” team wins.

For some of my loyalties I can identify roots:  they were the home teams where I grew up, or they had heroic coaches or players.  Thus I’ve always pulled for the Alabama and Texas football teams, the Dallas Cowboys, UNC basketball, and the Atlanta Braves.  But I have villains to match my heroes – the Yankees, Notre Dame, Duke, and the Oakland Raiders.  And when I ask myself why they’re the villains in my sports dramas, I don’t know for sure.

Hmmm.  I want to think about this some more.  I don’t want to take this too seriously.  Sports should simply be fun.  They’re not made to be platforms for meaning of any import.  So I expect that I’ll continue to indulge myself in most and least favorite teams. 

But I do want to take seriously the Lord’s warnings about holding others in contempt.  (See Mt 5:21-26.)  In some recent sermons I’ve touched upon how such contempt is poisoning our political scene these days.  But I think I’d be well advised to ponder on the roots of a similar contempt in my own heart.  Seeking understanding in an arena that doesn’t really matter might enlighten me in some that do.  So the Blue Devils bedevil me in more than just basketball!

Regardless, congrats Coach K!

Keith

Our Dysfunctional Family

An Inkling

It’s a sentiment I’ve heard many times:  “when I joined St. Giles, I joined St. Giles, not the Presbyterian Church (USA).  So I heard again last night at the Elders training meeting.  It’s a sentiment I frequently share, especially considering how dysfunctional our larger Church family is.

When we marry we do so for the love of our spouse.  But with our spouse comes a family, with all of the attendant banes and blessings.  It takes a while to sort the banes and blessings of this new family.  Likewise, it takes a while for the family to sort out the banes and blessings we brought with us into the family.  But over time we realize what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

God uses families.  It’s obvious how he uses the blessings.  Less apparent is how he uses even the banes.  This is not to say that bane is blessing.  There are healthy and unhealthy patterns of family life.  But it is to affirm that God is so powerful that he can bend even banes into blessings, a la Romans 8:28.  As he does, he uses the family to shape us, and us to shape the family, to the good of all.

So it is with our extended Church family, the PCUSA.  Through God’s providence, our immediate Church family, St. Giles, is joined with an extended family that comes with both bane and blessing.  And, of course, we’ve brought some of both into the union ourselves.  As with our “family family,” so with our “Church family” – it’s an area where God does his reforming work both in us and through us.

May God use us with our larger Church family, even as he uses them with us – and all to his glory!

Blessings,

Keith

Simple Truth

An Inkling

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

If you were to pick a verse to summarize the good news of our approaching Holy Week celebration, which verse would you choose?  Many would choose the verse above, John 3:16.  It is about as basic as our faith gets.  Yet at the same time it expresses some central mysteries of our faith.

Often we think of “the basics” as something we do so that we can move on to more advanced levels.  We begin with basic grammar so that we can move on to competent writing; with basic math so that we can move on to calculus; with basic science so that we can move on to chemistry.  But the basics are not lost – they are just assumed.  For example, one cannot solve a problem using a derivative equation without the assumptions of basic math.

So it is with our faith.  We begin with the basic understanding that God so loved..., only we never really move beyond that.  We go on to study complex issues:  theological questions about the nature of God and humanity, and ethical questions about war, abortion, and so on.  Sometimes the complexity of such matters causes us to lose our awareness of the basics.  But if faith is a component of our understanding, then we can never move far from those basic truths.

In fact, one factor that persuades me of the truth of Christianity is that its deepest mysteries are found in its simplest truths.  It is not as if we ever move beyond John 3:16.  We need not, for it holds both enough mystery for a lifetime of pondering, and enough good news to make life worth living.  Thanks be to God!

Simply thinking,

Keith

Living Stones in a Rocky Land

An Inkling

It’s great to be home from our Holy Land pilgrimage.  Thanks for your prayers.

We called it the “Stones and Living Stones Pilgrimage,” because our intention was to encounter not only the archaeological “stones” of the biblical era, but also the “living stones” of the land – i.e., our Christian sisters and brothers (see 1 Peter 2).  When I went to the Holy Land for the first time in 1995, I met only the stones, and determined that it was a shame to miss the very living stones who abide in the land that originated such living stones in the first place.  And now, having been several times, the stones are familiar, but the living stones continue to fascinate.

The Holy Land is a tough place to be a Christian.  Life is hard there for all Palestinians, but in addition to being on the downside of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestinian Christians also suffer at the hands of the majority Muslim population, many leaders of which are increasingly militant.  Thus the Christian population is shrinking dramatically, particularly as young Palestinians go abroad to study (their university opportunities at home are severely limited), discover how good life can be abroad, and stay.  I hear that Messianic Jews also find life hard there, but I’ve not yet gotten to know any of them.

Here are some of the living stones we met (without names or exact descriptions, lest this internet posting inadvertently make life even harder).  The first Christian we met is a young man who runs a school for Christian, Muslim, Druze, and Jewish children.  These kids actually grow to like each other, giving promise of a rising generation that will be less divided.  But we found the young man himself to be so full of bitterness at how the Palestinians are treated that he gives a mixed message – idealism paired with seething anger.  The mixed message that arises from his mixed heart makes me wonder about the overall effect on the children, and about the future of his ministry.

We also met a 70ish couple in a mid-sized town.  He is the pastor of the church where we worshiped, and she plainly has an important part of the ministry there.  We asked them how life is for them there.  She told us that it is very hard, for the reasons stated above.  Indeed, their own children have moved to the U.S., but they feel called to stay and minister there.  They glowed with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and with the joy that comes with being where one is called to be – even if it is a hard place.

There were others, but that gives you an idea of the sorts of living stones we met.  Just like the living stones here, some are saintly, some are struggling, and all are worthy of our prayer support.  With Psalm 122’s direction, we will “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and especially for those living stones whom God is using there.

Bless ‘em Lord!

Keith

The Land of New Vision

An Inkling

Tomorrow we head to the Holy Land.  That means today is a scramble.  But in the midst of the rush I’m starting to meditate on this pilgrimage, and what the Lord might do with our crew of 32.

Traveling abroad is exciting.  It’s fun to see how people do life differently in other places.  Housing, meals, traffic patterns, schedules, commerce, TV – you name it, it’s amazing how such ordinary pieces of life can vary.  It’s that variance that gives us new eyes for how life works here too.

That travel benefit takes on a different flavor in the Holy Land.  People commonly refer to such trips as a “pilgrimage,” and not simply as a tour.  We tour London; we take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Why?  I think it’s the new eyes we gain for what matters most.  There’s something about seeing the topography and flora of the land that fills in the sketches of imagination as one reads the scripture.  That’s a great gift.  Archaeological sites do the same, as one sees the size and shape of biblical era buildings and walls.  And of course such sights bring a sense of awe – “Wow, Jesus walked here,” and so on.

But it’s not just new eyes for the scripture stories.  It’s new eyes for the wide variety of Jesus’ followers. Visiting the shrines at the various holy places, with their gold gilt, incense, and multi-lingual crowds of pilgrims, expands one’s view of the church.  Considering the decline of the church in western culture and its ascendancy in the developing world, that’s the very sort of vision we need.

And then there are the eyes one gains in the Holy Land for how desperately our world needs a Savior.  You can’t ride alongside of the security wall, pass through check points, see machine guns everywhere, and read the dueling graffiti, without being well instructed in just how difficult it is to make peace in that land.  If the Prince of Peace is not in the middle of it, it can’t happen. 

Of course you don’t have to go to the Holy Land to see examples of how much we all need the Prince of Peace.  Look around.  And while you’re at it, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  There will be some pilgrims there praying for you.

Blessings,

Keith

Wise as Serpents...

An Inkling

Here’s some wisdom for living from some youngsters.  “Never trust a dog to watch your food.” (Patrick, age 10)  “When you want something expensive, ask your grandparents.” (Matt, age 12)  “Never smart off to a teacher whose eyes and ears are twitching.” (Andy, age 9)  “Never try to hide a piece of broccoli in your milk.” (Rosemary, age 7)  “Don’t flush the toilet when your dad’s in the shower.” (Lamar, age 10)  “When your dad is mad and asks you, ‘Do I look stupid?’ don’t answer him.” (Heather, age 16)  “When you get a bad grade, show it to your mom when she’s on the phone.” (Alyesha, age 13)

Is that not the way the world works?  With some bumps and bruises along the way, these youngsters have already learned that it’s well to understand how things work around here.

So Jesus observed when he told his disciples to “be wise as serpents.”  The world can be a harsh place, and it is well to understand how it works. 

But Jesus wants more of us than shrewdness.  So to his “serpent” directive he added another, that we’re to be “innocent as doves.”  It seems an odd pairing:  “wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.”  But Jesus knew that shrewdness and scheming are not the same thing.  We can know the ways of the world without living by the values of the world.

Jesus wants us to be effective – wise as serpents.  So study up.  Observe the world around you and what’s current in the culture.  But know that Jesus wants you to be effective for him – innocent as doves.  Such character is formed in us by God, as we are presented to him through the various disciplines of the faith, such as worship, study, prayer, fellowship, and service.

God’s intention with you is to do worldly-wise one better. 

May it be so!

Keith