My Prayer Companion Died This Morning.

June 30, 2009

My prayer companion died this morning. Each morning as I prayed, Sam faithfully and quietly sat with me, joining in my time of silence and meditation. This would not seem like much until you realize that Sam was our cockatiel.

Sam was a member of our family for almost 16 years. He came into our family one Labor Day weekend, after an extensive search for a hand tamed, hand fed cockatiel. He was the last one in the pet store. The pet store owner didn’t seem to want to sell him and tried to offer us a lovebird instead.

Literature described cockatiels having a sweet demeanor. Sam never read the literature. He was often loud, demanding and opinionated. He had specific likes and dislikes and wasn’t afraid to express them. He insisted visiting family members greet him shortly after coming into the house. He liked fruit, vegetables and pasta, particularly if it came off of your plate.

Each morning he sat with me as I ate my breakfast, drank my coffee and read the paper. When I prepared to leave the table and go to my home office, he’d recognize the signs and begin to lobby to be taken with me. When I would enter my time of prayer, he quieted down until I was finished. I think he prayed with me (or maybe even for me).

Sam believed he was a human. I think he considered us kind of slow, because we couldn’t fly. He loved to fly, including buzzing his grounded family members.

He liked his head rubbed by selected family members and was willing to sit on the shoulder of knee of persons he chose for that honor. He was content to sit in his cage in the room with a family member. When we’d forgotten this, he’d scream until we remember and brought him into our room.

He liked classical music and didn’t like Tobymac.

Sam died this morning and I’ll miss him. He was my longest living pet. But even more he was my different specie friend who was always glad to see me. His absence leaves an empty space in our home and in my life.

Mike

Traveling Adventure Near Miss

In the middle of the week, I decided to check on the bus schedule to Logan airport. I planned to catch a plane on Monday evening to Richmond, VA and attend the Extraordinary Leadership Training. (The name is a bit audacious, I admit. My goal is to become a good leader or at least a good enough leader.) This is my third and last year in the program. So I’ve made this trip seven other times. I’d purchased my plane tickets last October and had this date in my Palm for almost a year.

It was in the midst of checking the bus schedule that I realized something wasn’t right. In the past I’d traveled on Presidents Day. But my plans were to leave a week earlier. This led me to check my datebook, a recent email for the training and the website for the sponsoring organization.

Imagine my shock when I discovered I’d entered the date incorrectly. I was only a few days from another “traveling adventure” which would feature me standing at a retreat center around midnight with no place to go and no one to help me. I’m sure it would make a great story and glad I don’t get to tell it.

So why share this little story? I guess because I’m grateful to have missed this latest adventure. I wonder how many such near misses I never even notice.

Also I wonder about the opportunities I miss because I am not paying attention: opportunities for acts of kindness, for words of encouragement, for sharing my faith experience with someone else.

Maybe I’ll pay more attention this week so I don’t miss the opportunity to give thanks for near missed miss-adventures or to help someone else who wasn’t so lucky.

Mike

Who is my neighbor?

The last couple of weeks’ circumstances have me asking the question: “Who is my neighbor?” My family spent four days without electrical power or heat during a recent ice storm. There was lots of company as our entire street and much of our town of Amesbury, MA was without power. (Just a note, some folks in this region are still without power, two weeks after the storm.)

We learned during the outage that you can heat a room with candles, the old Coleman camp stove still works and cold showers lose their charm very quickly.

My older son and daughter–in-law stayed with us during those days as well. So they also learned that I snore. (According to them it was a toss up whether my snoring or a chain saw was louder.)

All through the dark nights the rumble of portable generators accompanied my dreaming and my waking. Of the seven houses near us, 4 had generators. (I wonder it that was the noise my family thought was my snoring!)

After the return of power, I had opportunity to reflect on the entire event. Here are some of my observations:

• When you are cold it is hard to think of much else.
• The novelty of candle light wears off after a while.
• None of my neighbors, who had generators, checked to see if any of the non-generator folks needed help.
• Before I become too smug, I realized I didn’t check on any of my neighbors either. I at least had a warm room and warm beverages to offer.

When I listened to the stories of some folks from one of the churches my wife serves, I realized what a lousy neighbor I had been. One fellow told of checking with his neighbors up and down his street to see if they needed help. He had borrowed a generator, but only needed it for a few hours at a time. So he offered it to other to help warm up their homes and cool their food.

I realized this fellow had demonstrated what it means to follow Jesus, to be a true neighbor, far better than I. I took it to heart and began to think of ways to help my neighbors. I’ve already snow blown a driveway and helped dig out a water delivery truck stuck by the side of the road, because I want to be a better neighbor.

See how one example can inspire us all to a greater good. I think that is what followers of Jesus are all about, living in a way that inspires the best out of others.

Who is your neighbor? Jesus had something to say about that. Those who follow Jesus have something to do about it.

Just one person trying to reform his neighborly ways,

Mike

Christmas Challenge for Jesus' Followers

How does a follower of Jesus celebrate the birth of Christ amidst the onslaught of a cultural Christmas?

This time of year offers the greatest challenge for followers of Jesus to remain or become more faithful. As our culture kicks into Christmas high gear, Jesus followers are challenged to step back and slow it down.

Over the years an unease with Christmas has grown in me. As our society places greater and greater emphasis on buying, giving gifts and getting gifts, we’ve moved farther away from anything to do with the birth of Jesus. The pressure to support the economy, purchase more, do more seemingly escalates each year.

So this year I am trying to approach the cultural Christmas as an outside observer. My primary observation is that we approach Santa as a god. Listen to the language used around Santa. It is religious language. In November, Macy’s Department Store took out a two page advertisement in the Boston Globe exhorting us to “believe” in Santa. Stories and movies about Santa hinge on people believing. Belief is even encouraged by adults. Santa has taken on mythical and mystical characteristics.

In a culture that centers around consumerism Santa is a perfect god. What do you do with Santa? You ask for gifts. What does Santa do for us? Santa brings us things. If you do not believe Santa is a god, try saying that Santa is not real in church. Then step back and prepare for the backlash.

I do not begrudge our culture it’s holiday. I think there are many good things about it. But I do not wish to confuse the cultural celebration with the birth of Jesus.

I invite you to step back from Santa and our cultural Christmas. Ask yourself what is a suitable way to celebrate and remember the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. Feel free to share your ideas. Find those who will join you.

Perhaps these words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer will help:

Who will celebrate Christmas correctly?

Whoever finally lays down

all power, all honor,

all reputation, all vanity,

all arrogance, all individualism

beside the manger.

Grace & peace,

Mike

Christmas Already?

Have you noticed? The Christmas barrage has begun. Right after Halloween I began to hear Christmas songs in the stores.
I sense a deeper anxiety around Christmas this year. Stores are worried people won't spend. Shoppers are worried they do not have enough to spend or dare not spend what they have.

Recently four young adults have posted a YouTube video inviting folks to rethink their Christmas giving. It is called "The Gift of Presence." Click here for the link.
They invite us to give our presence as a present this Christmas.
Watch it and let them know what you think.

Blessings,

Mike

P.S. For the sake of full disclosure, two of the young adults in the video are part of my family.

Leaf Drop

Carpet of leaves
Rose up overnight
Blanketing my yard
Covering imperfections
Hiding anything left behind

Carpet of leaves
Funeral shroud of summer
End of this life cycle
Leaving behind branches bare
Preparing for new possibilities

Carpet of leaves
Herald of winter
Time to sleep
Sleep to renew
Awaiting what is yet to be
Food for the future

Carpet of leaves
Leaving behind what has been
Letting go of what was
To make room for what will be
Release my grip on the past
Let what has been
Become the food for what will be

Mike

Not More-Different!

I'm in the thick of church conferences. As a District Superintendent I lead the annual meetings of the congregations I serve. Between late September and Christmas I will conduct around 30 church conferences. Currently I am around half way done(some may think I am really just half baked.)

One theme I try to share at these meetings relates to our changed reality and how the church needs to respond. I speak about focusing on moving out into the community rather than waiting for folks to come to us. During the question and answer time of the meeting I'll often hear a question like this; "Mike, our plates are already full. We have trouble finding enough people to do the things we already do. How can you ask us to do even more?"

It is a great question. I believe the answer is not doing more, it is doing different.
These times challenge us to focus our energies where they will have the greatest impact. Frankly, that is not in our church buildings. More committee meetings, fund raisers and church suppers will not make our church strong. Neither will they advance the Kingdom of God. Now before I get too much hate mail, I don't object to committees, church suppers or fund raisers in principle. But if we have to choose between doing things in the church or being out in the community, then going out should win out.

It is time for us in the church to do differently. It may mean we need to leave behind some long standing activities in order to respond to God's call into our communities. Recently one church in our District stopped a 60 year old tradition of meatball suppers in order to find the time and space to do something new. It was a hard decision, but the right one.

What different focus is God calling you to? It is time to do different! Listen up, God is speaking to you.

Grace & peace,
Mike