Texas Conference Constitutional Amendment Balloting

Here are the numbers given this morning at Annual Conference for constitutional amendments

# + -
1 398 704
2 373 716
3 166 932
4 148 944
5 164 927
6 309 785
7 175 930
8 852 238
9 812 256
10 150 908
11 220 876
12 162 934
13 149 942
14 173 919
15 613 451
16 168 937
17 827 258
18 176 923
19 888 187
20 160 924
21 177 909
22 662 404
23 153 929
24 165 931
25 162 919
26 149 944
27 164 933
28 161 939
29 163 936
30 160 938
31 159 941
32 160 939

Numbers came from the screen displays put up at TAC on 5/28/09. Hopefully got all these transcribed well from the notes taken by a colleague. Very interesting numbers.

Memorials & Remembering

Each year, the first action of the Annual Conference as it is called to order, is to participate in a worship service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance...or, in common parlance, the memorial service. Until we shortened conference, it was always after lunch on Memorial Day; now, it's the night before.

As the rest of the society celebrates the sacrifice of soldiers for their country, our conference remembers those who have spent their lives for the Kingdom of God. It's a profoundly counter-cultural statement for the church to make. Our national heritage will ultimately fade away, even with the sacrifice given willingly by our veterans and their families. But we understand that the Kingdom of God will not pass away, and the gift of a life in its service is one which will be everlasting.

So while others might be headed to the beach or firing up the grill, we were doing something completely different. Music as diverse as a new choral setting of "God of Grace and God of Glory" and "Seasons of Love" from Rent gently encouraged us to consider the motivation of these pastors and spouses. The sermon, from Dr. Elijah Stansell, reminded us of our mandate and delight to bear witness to the immense love of God. And we sang our way through the liturgy for Holy Communion, which gave us a tangible, visceral experience of the sustaining grace of God.

One of the pastors I've known the longest in the conference was remembered at the service--Rusty Watkins died while getting ready for Sunrise Service on Easter. The funeral packed the sanctuary and overflow areas of one of our larger churches, and I know that many of the folks who came to last night's worship remember his wacky sense of humor, his capacity to listen, and his deep, deep love for God and God's people. As his name was read, I realized that there was so much else I could be remembering at this time, or the hundreds (1ooo+?) of folks present for the service could be remembering. And yet, the choice we made on a humid Saturday night near Houston was to remember the One who hosts the Communion of Saints.

What is it that you remember? What is it the you memorialize? For what do you spend your time, your life? And how long will it last after you've gone? I hope that we will be intentional in seeking after the things that have true reality, true worth...truly eternal things.

How Shall We Pray?

It isn't as if we have a choice. Prayer is like breathing, or communicating with our fellow human beings. We do it, whether we want to or not. I doubt it will even cease after we take our last breath.

The question, then, is "How shall we pray?"

What will our prayers be like?

For what do we pray?

Far too often, the prayers uttered on our lips throughout our week (and even spoken by pastors on a Sunday) are selfish. They focus on what we think we want, how we want it, when it would be best for us. They are prayers focused inwardly on our community, and rarely take into account where the Spirit is at work outside of the 4 walls of our congregation.

I think these 40 days of prayer for the United Methodist Church are different from such self-serving prayers. Yes, it's prayer for who we are as a people; but it is with the knowledge that we need God's wisdom, not our own. It's not prayer for a specific thing so much as for a way of looking at things, at ourselves, at our world. Of course, they aren't perfect prayers. But they are rooted deeply in our experience and (poor) practice at being the people of God.

Over these next 40 days, let's work together as a people--not to advance a particular political agenda, nor to put certain people in power, nor to marginalize a group--but to bend all of our collective will towards the discernment of where God is calling us. Invite your congregation to join in--I wrote about it in my church newsletter for this week. Share it with folks in your Annual Conference. Invite Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and blog readers. Spread the word that God is not finished with us yet!

40 Days of Prayer

I've been involved with conversations about what it means to be a young person called to ministry in the United Methodist Church for quite a while now...it's become something of a career in and of itself! But I got hooked into the conversation that's going on across our globe about a year ago at the Church's quadrennial General Conference.

That discussion has become something much larger--not just what the place of young adults in ministry and church, but what kind of church are we becoming. Who are we called to be, as Methodists, as Christians? And the quick answer is...we're not sure. We know that what has worked in the past doesn't work now; yet the gospel remains the same. We don't all agree, operate from the same perspectives, or have set starting points.

We do have something that is bigger than all of our differences and individual viewpoints: the One in whom we live and move and have our being. So a grassroots, social-media-enabled movement began to root whatever it is that we are in the process of becoming in prayer. Ben Simpson got the ball rolling, and it's being supported by UMCyoungclergy. You're welcome to read more about it today from these sources and the other folks who are blogging about it today. I'm writing one of the 40 days, and there are many more who have committed to the hard work of praying what we're setting down. This pilgrimage of prayer occurs during the yearly season in which Annual Conference sessions are held.

So I invite you: Pray with us. Pray that in the "dark night of the soul" which we often find ourselves in that our faith will be strengthened. Pray for God to continue to illuminate the path we are on. Pray for the renewal of the church. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen +

Top 10 Ways for Pastors to Observe Holy Saturday

Stop working feverishly on your Easter sermon...don't plan the Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Take a day for you--yourself, not you-as-pastor--to observe something of the events of Holy Week. I don't know a lot of places that hold a worship service on Holy Saturday (at least, before an Easter Vigil)...so with your free time, try one of the things on this list:

10) Launder or dry-clean your robes and/or stoles so they will be fresh and clean for Easter.

9) Listen to some appropriate music: classical Requiems, Taize choruses, traditional hymns, Gregorian chant, Latin motets, contemporary songs...take your pick. But wait until Sunday for peppy Easter music!

8) Put away the leftover Christmas decorations that never got into a box.

7) Reflect on the places where you've failed in the past year. Ask for forgiveness and "time for the amendment of life," as the old prayer says. Remember that Jesus knows the shame of failure in the cross, and that he died for that as well.

6) Garden. There's a reason that God put Adam and Eve in a garden, the lovers of the Song of Songs in a garden, and a garden at the heart of the city of God in Revelation...not to mention Jesus' resurrection. Go pull some weeds or plant some bulbs.

5) Volunteer at a social ministry on your own time. Spend some time in the abandoned places of empire, with people that society has discarded. It's what Jesus would do.

4) Observe the old English tradition of "beating the bounds." Walk (or drive) around your parish--not your church, but the community you're appointed to. Go to the places you never make it to or that make you uncomfortable. Remember why you got into this ministry gig in the first place.

3) Pray. It's hard to find time for your own relationship with God as a pastor. Get with a friend, your family (gasp!), or just find some time for yourself to be honest and open with God, and to hear what hope the Spirit has for your future.

2) Read something you want to read...not to prep for a sermon or a study group. Even if it's just the funny papers.

1) Rest. “On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56b) Take some sabbath time, for yourself to rest in what God has accomplished for you, your family, your ministry, your community.

May waiting in the desperate faith of Holy Saturday lead you to the joy of resurrection on Easter Sunday!

Preschooler Theology, Part I

Sitting with Ben this morning, who isn't feeling well. So we were reading out of the Psalms, 118:19-24, and talking about the events of Holy Week. In trying to explain about the imagery of the "gates of justice" and "God's own gates," I asked, "Sometimes we go to visit God--where do we go to visit God? At church?" and he says, "Yes." Then he paused. "And sometimes if we are sick or not feeling well, God comes to visit us!"

For an almost-4-year-old, Ben has a pretty good grip on the Biblical story and character of God, I think.

A Good Day

They don't come as often as I would like, but I want to celebrate when they do: it was a good day today!

I'm not saying it was perfect (or that I was!), but it was one of those days where you feel like you are doing the right thing. I was a pastor, priest, preacher, and teacher today. I saw new life begin to unfold. I saw new possibilities. I saw people I've known for a while in a deeper and truer way. I saw the Spirit of God move.

I have been working on a sermon about expectations, so the question of what do I expect of myself, of God, of others has been on my mind. I wasn't expecting today to be anything other than routine, catch-up, administrative work. And I was surprised by grace and joy and peace. I hope you are ambushed by your vocation--by a Christ-experience--as well.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word;
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

New Year, Old Problems

Today wasn't supposed to be this way.

Actually, neither was yesterday. But here I am, 3 in the afternoon, with nary a thing done at work. You know, the work of God. That stuff I'm totally and completely responsible for.

I'm fooling myself if I think what I call work is really opus Dei. Churning out emails, program creation, and the like. Administration, but not the heart of ministry. And so when I don't get to do that in the way and on the schedule upon which I've decided things should get done, then I'm not a happy camper. I need to make sure these things happen, I need to be in this place by this time, I need to...well, you get the picture. In the pressure-cooker of accountable ministry, I turn into Alexander in the middle of his terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.

In short, I hate letting other people down. I want to be, with Paul, all things to all people. I've come to discover Paul either had no life, or he was fudging the truth a bit. Probably some of both. I struggle to find the right balance between church, campus ministry, connectional responsibilities, and--oh yeah--family. Not to mention time for myself to read, think, create, and simply be.

So, I grab drive-thru for lunch and conveniently forget the banquet feast prepared for me. I run around like a chicken with my head cut off...and still sign all my emails with "grace and peace." Is this an area of life where we believe, "Yes, we can"? Or is this an area where human initiative and bootstrap-pulling-up is fundamentally flawed?

So I'm realizing a few things (and have been for some time now): it's not my ministry to make work, it's God's; and trusting in God means letting some things go or giving them away. It's not hard for me to be chief technician manipulating the religious machinery. It is hard to trust in a transcendent God who is willing to share ministry with me, though not on my terms.

Christie and I were talking last night about something else entirely when I made the point that the work of mending our own deep brokenness is work that takes a lifetime (and that's when God's doing the mending). Talk about preaching the sermon you need to hear the most!

The lectionary this week is an invitation to the vocation of disciple. May the living, life-giving God grant me, and you, and the entire church the grace and peace to be shaped by the Spirit into true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Final Notes about Cote d'Ivoire

A followup Beaumont Enterprise story is available here:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/southeast_texans_help_to_net_disease_in_africa_11-25-2008.html

You can view my Cote d'Ivoire photo album at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055775&l=5f9c3&id=3003527

Photos and more are available at http://umns.umc.org and http://www.txcumc.org

Thanks for everyone who followed along with the blog, on Twitter and Facebook, and said prayers or sent words of encouragement! May our Thanksgiving celebrations this week make us truly thankful and extravagantly generous.

Worship

Well kids, the word of the day is “worship.” Why?

Find out at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=154

And I hope you have read all the posts, not just mine, on the conference blog page, not to mention the wonderful other bloggers listed on the blogroll. Merci beaucoup!

Que c'est la nouvelle?

What is the news? This question is the first one asked upon arriving in a village, especially for an official visit to the chief or the church. It’s apparently protocol for “What are you doing here? What’s your business?”

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=129

Hope

Two stories from today: one from the Catholic hospital in Alepe, the other about our Gendarmie (national police) guard who accompanies us everywhere we go.

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=126

Simplicity

Simplicity is not a choice here, not for the vast majority of the people I’ve met. One of the team members shared last night about going into a home to see the nets we’ve been distributing all week actually being used. This was a four room house, with each room smaller than the hotel room we’re staying in here. A family was sleeping in each room; 17 total people living in the house.

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=85

Beaumont Enterprise article

Here's a link to the article about the trip from the Beaumont Enterprise:

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ent-life/net_gains_give_life_in_africa_11-07-2008.html

Priorities

...It's not that I don't like football; but is that really what our highest priority ought to be? I couldn't help but think of the contrast between the Friday Night Lights and what is going on here this week in Cote d'Ivoire.

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=79

Travel Update

There's a travel update posted on http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=60 and some nice pictures as well (including one of me!). Please find out about how the past few days have gone, and excuse the lack of posting--it should be more regular from here on out!

Juxtaposition

It’s one of my favorite 25-cent words: juxtaposition: what happens when you place two things side by side. You can’t escape it in Cote d’Ivoire.

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=57

Leaving, on a jet plane...

Well, the team has assembled (loosely) in front of our gate at Intergalactic Airport Houston. I can’t speak for the rest of them...

Read more at http://www.txcumcmedia.org/africablog/?p=35

Africa trip information

Well, tomorrow will be a week until I head to Africa. I wanted to let my vast readership know about how I will be keeping up while I'm gone. I highly recommend visiting my comprehensive trip resources page at http://www.wesleylamar.org/africa for that information. You can also download the complete 12-day prayer guide for the time that we are gone.

Please donate to Nothing But Nets, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, read my blog, visit other peoples' blogs, and pray for us. We trust that the Spirit of the Living God will bring us together with the people of God and those doing the work of God so that the Kingdom of God will be revealed and enacted here on earth.

Nothing but Nets

One of the reasons I got into this pastor gig is because I felt the responsibility to do something constructive, creative, restorative with what I’ve been given. A lot of days, I feel like this is a goal that goes, at best, unfulfilled. (Catching up on emails, filing reports, committee meetings, and the like may be necessary, but rarely seem world-changing.) So when I got the call that invited me to be a part of my Church’s Net Distribution Team, I was beyond elated…but let me explain.

The people of the United Methodist Church are partners in the Nothing But Nets initiative, along with Sports Illustrated, NBA Cares, the United Nations Foundation and many more. Nothing But Nets is a grassroots initiative to eradicate malaria in Africa through the use of long-life, insecticide-treated bednets. Malaria accounts for 50% of all hospital and outpatient admissions in Africa, and 3 out of 4 people affected are children under the age of 5. Malaria is a nasty, killer disease, but the most effective means of curbing its spread and effects is through a simple $10 net.

So this November I’ll be distributing these nets to children in Côte d’Ivoire, where Texan Methodists have a relationship with Ivorian Methodists. Over a 10-day period, our 35-member team will be working with NGOs, the Ministry of Health, and the Church to distribute over a million nets (885,000 of which were donated through Methodists in Texas). That will still leave 6 million at-risk Ivorians unprotected, though...

...which is why I’m sharing this with you. It's not so that I can pump my own ego :) but to invite you to participate. If you haven’t already been to http://www.NothingButNets.net, I encourage you to do so to find out more about what this campaign is doing. You can donate, buy shirts & hats which advertise while providing a net, and share media & news. If you would like to help defray the team’s expenses, you can talk to me directly. I hate asking for money considering natural disasters and economic crises, but let’s face it—almost all of us are ridiculously better off than these infants, children, and pregnant moms. It’s an opportunity to be a part of mending the creation—making the world a better place—or being a good neighbor in the global village. And you can read about the distribution as it happens here at The Expatriate Minister.

Spend $10. Send a net. Save a life.