E.C.O. Beauty

An Inkling

Having lived in Richmond for seven years now, many sights are now familiar to the eye.  Even so I try to keep my eyes open to the beauty of this place – trees flowering in the spring and brightly colored in the fall, flowers of every hue, a varied terrain, and the diverse forms of four seasons.  I still shake my head at times in amazement.

Last week Sarah Marsh, Larry Moffett, Sarah Hill, and I attended the annual gathering of our new denomination, the E.C.O.  It’s still so new that my eyes are not at all accustomed to its sights.  The whole of the gathering took place in a standard issue conference center in Dallas – no sight worth noting there.  But the beauty of the gathering itself was eye-popping.  Here’s how:

• In a two and a half day meeting, only four hours were spent doing business in the Synod and Presbytery meetings.  The rest was all worship, teaching, networking, and fellowship.  I found that striking because I was so used to the reverse portions for denominational gatherings.
• Our worship had passion, diverse artistic and musical forms, and an unapologetic, singular focus – God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  That seems like a no-brainer, but for years I’ve been at denominational gatherings where Trinitarian language was carefully minimized or avoided.  What a simple and profound beauty!
• Our speakers addressed such matters as:  how to foster deep community by pursuing mission together, how grace can be central in relationships with sexually broken people, pointers on how to make covenant groups and church partnerships work, how a church culture can be changed from an inward to an outward focus, the messiness of engaging with people in need, how to partner with International Justice Mission for local and global engagement, and how to plan worship.  Again, such topics seem like no brainers, but their beauty stood out to me in part because I had not seen such at this kind of gathering.

I have been a Presbyterian pastor for 33 years.  But in this new ecclesiastical terrain I am finding beauty like I’ve never seen before.  My eyes are popping.

Obviously not everyone gets to enjoy the beauty of life in Virginia.  And truth be told, every place has its own kind of beauty.  But I’m very grateful for the beauty of this place, where God has planted me.  And I can say the same for our church’s new home in E.C.O. – it’s beautiful.  Thank you Lord!

Blessings,

Keith

FaceTime

An Inkling

Last week one morning about 9:30 I got a FaceTime call, apparently from my daughter, Dorothy.  But when I answered, I saw two year old Caroline instead.  She said, “Hi Pop.”  Even as she did the phone was in motion, and I saw her face, then her tummy, then the ceiling, etc.  Gratefully I’m not prone to motion sickness.  

I had a hunch that Caroline had called me on her own, and sure enough when I asked where mommy was, she told me she was in the other room.  So we had a nice little talk – about half of which I could understand.  It ended abruptly when she hit the End Call button.  It was great fun.  I had never had a call from a two year old before!

I felt honored that she would want to call me, and even more honored when I later learned how it happened.  Her mom had let her play on the phone with a couple of FaceTime apps – FaceTime with Elmo and FaceTime with Cookie Monster.  These apps make it look like you’re conversing with Elmo or Cookie, complete with your own face in the corner, etc.  So for Caroline to pause those conversations to find me – well that felt like a special honor.

I’ve always heard that a two year old moves seamlessly between real and pretend worlds.  Did she recognize any difference between Elmo, Cookie, and me?  Hmmm.

For that matter, a lot of us wonder about how real our cyber encounters are.  Maybe fifty-nine year old Pop and two year old Caroline can be partners in sorting such things out.  That will surely be done best with an in the flesh FaceTime.

But in between such moments, I’m happy to have a FaceTime with a two year old!

Blessings,

Keith

Get Real!

An Inkling

“Get real!”  So we say when someone’s not taking full account of reality. 

It’s good advice.  Life doesn’t work so well when our eyes are closed to large parts of its reality.  If we’re to live well and wisely, we must know what we’re facing.  Thus the counsel:  “Get real!”

So how do we do that?  Usually we mean recognizing the cold, hard facts, and double-knot tying our wishes for what could be to the actuality of what is.  Those who fail to deal with the facts of life we tag as hopeless dreamers – not because they lack hope, but because their dreams are so detached from actuality that they’re silly.

All of which brings us to the Sanctuary.  What?!  Isn’t that where we go to get away from the cold, hard facts?  That’s how we tend to think.  We think of the Sanctuary as a safe place, apart from life’s harshness.  And in a way it is.  The Sanctuary, as the primary place for us to gather and celebrate God’s goodness, is a safe place.  There the Spirit does comfort, and we are met by the Prince of Peace.  Thus we think of our Sanctuary time as a preparation for facing the real world again.

But really that’s backwards!  If we’re to “get real,” the most important factor to include in our assessment of things is God himself!  We’re not being realistic until we factor in the One dominant reality in every situation.  How real can we be if we’re not recognizing him?  Not very.  Yet that’s what tends to happen through the days of the week – we lose sight of God. 

Not so in the Sanctuary.  There we are tangibly reminded of God’s presence, and reawakened to his dominant reality.  Eyes glazed over with mere facts are opened to the One who transforms the sum of such facts by his very presence.  And that’s no dream.  That’s reality.

So, “get real!”  See you in worship.

Blessings,

Keith

Truth AND Love

An Inkling

It’s one of the most helpful aphorisms I ever heard, and I believe I heard it first from John Claypool:  Truth without love is brutality; love without truth is sentimentality; the Lord wants always to hold truth and love together.  And when we don’t?  Well, just look around.

But how?  It’s not as if we can simply decide to be people of truth and love, and then become so by sheer willpower.  Yet the gospel is clear that in Jesus, whose very life defines truth and love, we, too, can become people of truth and love.  And we stand most ready to receive such gifts when we take up particular disciplines.  Two disciplines are particularly important for such readiness.

First, study.  Study is the central discipline for becoming a person of truth, and the center of our study must be the scripture.  Do you have a plan for scripture study, and are you working the plan?  If so, truth will advance in your very being.  An effective study discipline will also include learning from good teachers, of which there are many.  There are also a lot of erroneous and trivial teachers.  Check with one of the pastors or elders as you sift what is worth your while in study.  God intends to work his truth into your very being!

And then service.  Service is the key discipline for growing us in love.  What do you do regularly for others that demands self-sacrifice?  I go to the gym regularly, and that demands self-sacrifice, but I’m doing it for myself.  Service is for others, and it’s the for others part that begins to reform our natural bent toward self-centeredness.  From that soil love begins to grow.

Study and service are not the only means God provides for becoming people of truth and love, but they are key means.  There are many who major in truth, and many who major in love.  Either alone brings distortions to life.  In Jesus both together bring life to distortions.  How is that working for you?

Blessings,

Keith

Friends

An Inkling

The studies are in:  friendship is in trouble in America.  Nearly a quarter of Americans report that they have no close friends, and more than half report two or fewer confidants.  Thirty years of data shows a surprising drop in the number of friends, and especially in the last two decades.

Why?  That’s harder to figure.  Some conjecture that longer working hours and commutes play a role.  Others suggest that television and home air conditioning have added to our isolation (no porch sitting or down the street visits).  Whatever the causes, weakened friendships are a troublesome sign for our society, which very much needs the stability and safety net such friendships bring.

What does this mean for us as Christians in metro Richmond?  It means that a lot of our neighbors and co-workers are lonely.  However much of they have of gadgetry and the good life, it doesn’t suffice as a substitute for companionship.  We all need friends.

We Presbyterians are famously inept at evangelism.  You may have heard the old joke:  “What do you get when you cross a Jehovah’s Witness and a Presbyterian?  Someone who knocks on the door, but doesn’t know what to say.”  Oh dear. 

But what if evangelism were largely about making friends?  It is, and we can do that.  When we build friendships we build a context for sharing about what is important to us.  In time our friends can’t help but know that Jesus is important to us.  That’s a big part of evangelism.

Who are your friends?  Some of them are with you at St. Giles.  Because many cultural factors tilt us toward isolation, we are intentional as a church about fostering friendship.  Small Groups, Discipleship Classes, Wednesday dinners, Sunday lunches, and dozens of ministries all create friendship contexts.  Are you making friends here at St. Giles? 

And how about beyond the church?  Who are your non-Christian friends?  How might you build such relationships?  Take the initiative.  Join a club, have a neighborhood cook out, go to lunch with a co-worker.  Be creative.  Such simple initiatives both satisfy our hearts and advance our mission.  Be a friend, make a friend, and thereby serve our Lord.

Blessings,

Keith