Western Hills United Methodist Church, El Paso Texas

I have just come from having a tremendous honor.  Pat Swaney asked this nasally, twangy-voiced preacher to be the “pronouncer” of words for the St Clement’s Children’s School Spelling Bee.  I was in a full sanctuary with children and their parents who were pulling for their children as they spelled.  It was interesting for me to note my own enthusiasm for the students as they boldly stepped to a microphone to hear me say, “The word is ….”  The students did admirably through the first few rounds, then began to drop out of contention over words like zigzaggedly, lugubriously, xanthium, and virulently.  As one would suspect, the looks of confidence and the looks of panic swept over faces as I spoke them, reminding some of how well they studied, and how well they hadn’t.

It was remarkable how caught up we adults were in the outcome, not of the bee, but of each and every speller at the mike.  As they would struggle for letters and their sequences, hear words used in sentences, listen for alternate pronunciations, the tension would heighten, then would come sighs of disappointment or relief.  The young lady who won was gifted and performed flawlessly, even taking time write the words with a finger in one or the other palm.   The one glaring error I made was to find my tongue unable to wrap itself around the “v” word above.  Rather than see me botch it twice and confuse a child, Pat marvelously communicated the word with excellence when I could not.  I found myself grateful to God for all of the complexity with which we are made and all of the ways we have to excel for the sheer pleasure of it.  I can just imagine the pleasure of a creative God seeing all of that unfold in some of the best that humanity has to offer.

Wherever we see it, experience it ourselves or simply hear about the grandest of human achievement and excellence we sense that rush of possibility for ourselves and for humanity at its best.  If it weren’t for the marring of sin, this place would truly be the Eden God designed it to be.  As we are giving thanks this week for all of God’s genius and provision to us, let us not forget to thank God for all that makes us truly experience the best we have to offer God and our neighbors.  And, let us not forget that some have nothing excellent in their lives at all.  Offer a prayer of thanks, and offer a prayer of change for those who have missed the excellence of God in their lives.

Blessings,

Pastor Mark

Finding Joy

Sailboats and Cruises

I once called it “yachting for the middle class,” even though the cynical sound of that in no way expressed how much I enjoyed the cruise we took as a family.  All of the right elements are there – lots of everything to indulge and enhance the experience of being on the water.  What I loved most perhaps was the fact that no phones worked and internet costs prohibited us from even thinking about email.  Mass cruising of course, gives loads of people an opportunity to see places and experience things they might never have available to them any other way.  Just think about the experiences if you’ve been on cruises – how would any of us ever be able to continually afford the benefits of cabin stewards, table stewards, beautiful and tasty food, ice cream on demand, or the simple fact one can have almost anything the ship has to offer at any time of the day or night?

One of the other reasons I love a cruise is the simple fact that I have always had great affinity for the ocean and sailing.  I can stand in a marina, on a bridge or on the coast watching sail boats all day long.  If I were not a desert-dweller, I am sure that I would live near the coast and have a boat.  Now, I know mass cruising is really not sailing.  However, I once did a lot of research and found a company that actually placed people in small crews that allowed them to sail a large sailing ship.  I was intrigued and wanted to book passage, but not everyone in the family felt as I did.  They wanted a vacation, and I wanted an adventure.  The desire to find one’s way by the stars, hoisting and lowering sails, tacking against the wind and all the rest that goes with sailing was particularly strong. However, I resigned that desire for one that allowed me to be pampered rather than prepared to help sail a boat.  For some reason, the adventure of helping the boat along has always been more appealing than sitting back in a chair sipping pineapple juice and being waited on.

Now, it occurs to me, that people can also approach the church in the same way.  Some can come and participate in all the church has to offer, watch others make the ministry happen, be waited on and sample the best of spiritual food without a single thought they should be involved in the adventure or give anything back.  Many people would rather feel the gentle churn of massive props under the boat than the slapping of wind-whipped nylon and canvas while hoisting sails.  Many don’t consider the destination or journey, and many never think about what is needed to make the journey happen.

It has been observed that in a lot of organizations like the church, the Pareto efficiency is alive and well (20% of the organization accomplishes 80% of the work).  Staff and active volunteers are viewed to exist to serve the minimally involved and the organization, and to also take the good ideas of those minimally involved – like assignments to be handed out rather than calls to ministry in which to involve themselves. Often, when staff or others involved in ministry say no, there is offense and withdrawal from even minimal participation.

What is missed, at least for me, is the adventure of being on board with where God is taking us.  What is missed is the excitement of participation. What is missed is the opportunity to emerge out of ourselves and the self-centeredness encouraged by our culture and becoming involved in the calling God has issued to us.  The truth is, the church cannot be all it can be until we all answer the call and remember Jesus: “The Son of Man did not come into the world to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”

I hope you are on board with the adventure called Western Hills.  One never knows what will be found on a journey that asks a lot of us and gives us back so much more.  Take one more look at the prayers, presence, service, gifts and witness materials in the Narthex this week.  Where is God calling you to be involved in each?  If your calling is not yet part of a list of choices, talk with us about it.   Our new vision is meant to create the opportunity for all of us to set sail in God’s call to each of us as we seek to achieve that vision.

See you soon in the place where the Holy Spirit calls all of us to the adventure of God’s Kingdom.

Pastor Mark