Listening for a Voice

Yesterday I spent some time with a reporter who was aking me about my forty years in ordained ministry. She wanted to know how I knew I was called to this work and if I had ever doubted or struggled with the call. They were perceptive questionsand challenged me once again to consider my sense of the nature of God and my belief in God's Spirit giving direction to my life. The truth is that my initial sense of being called to pastoral work was an inner, persistent nagging at my heart and spirit. Unlike others who can claim to have been "struck by lightning" or having heard a distinct voice speak to them, there was no such dramatic experience for me. I was led by an inner desire to commit my life to a work that would matter. Because of the guidance of my church family, my pastor, and a college chaplain, I came to a realization that maybe, just maybe, God was calling me.

It was seventeen years after my ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church that I heard a Voice. The blessing was that this came to me at a time when I was going through one of those regular periods of self-doubt that plague so many of us. In a period of silence following a reading of Jesus's commission to his disciples, I clearly heard that Voice say to me, "Are you listening? This is for you." No matter how we hear it, God can speak to our hearts and our spirits only as we are listening and open to be led. Forty years on, I still wait each day for God to say to me once again, "Are you listening?"

At Home in the Community of Faith

When I was a child, the church was a place where I was welcomed, accepted, affirmed, and encouraged. I didn't know the inner workings of an institution; I knew only the heart and character of a people of faith. It was in that place that I first learned a sense of community, where I truly felt I belonged. Since then, I have experienced some of the other aspects of that community as I learned that we don't put aside our own character when we enter the church.

We bring everything about us wherever we go, so why should the church be different? What can be different about being a part of the Body of Christ is that it is here where we most consciously commit to learning and growing as disciples, followers of Jesus, children of God. The church ought to remind us of what we can become through the grace of God. When we realize that, here and now, we are God's children, we can open ourselves to what we might ultimately become. It is an amazing journey of trust and hope that we don't need to undertake alone. The true heart and character of a people of faith will always be one that welcomes, accepts, affirms, and encourages. Despite its weaknesses, the community of faith is still my home.

Living the Resurrection

For thirty-nine years, I've been leading worship and preaching on Easter Sunday. To do that requires a bit of reflection and pondering in my own heart and spirit concerning the accounts at the heart of this celebration. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter that just ended contains some of the most powerful imagery of the Christian tradition, and for me it has always been the heart of my faith journey. To believe and trust in a God who acts in powerful and mysterious ways to overcome the negative forces of life is the foundation of hope. It is the only thing that enables me to let go of fear and anxiety, while living with the realities that confront all of us. Sometimes the rational evidence around us seems to contradict the truth of a compassionate God, which is why it is so important to hold fast to the witness of faith that helps us be strong. It is that trust which enables us to live in ways that affirm rather than deny life. Our gift to the world can be resurrection living, a way of being in the world that refuses to give in to negativity and division while embracing the joyous diversity of God's Creation. Maybe we are called to be the evidence of God's nature in our world. So, the question is: how have I let God's light shine through me today?

Faith & Courage

This morning in worship I shared the story of this blog's beginnings. In truth it exists, but no one knows where it is. It occured to me that I approach things cautiously, but once I'm in, I'm in. I'm not sure when or where along the journey I began to trust the presence of the Spirit; I only know that it is still an uneven trust. I tried to convey today my sense that courage comes from that trust and is manifested in the ways we represent God's compassion, mercy, grace and justice toward all people. Courage is acting in ways that offer life to others even when our own security is at risk. While I pointed to rescue workers, firefighters and police officers as examples of true courage, some people only heard the reference I made to politicians who are taking unpopular stands on the current debate on Marriage Equality in Vermont. No matter where you stand on that issue, the question at heart is how your actions represent the justice, grace, mercy and compassion of God. The truth is, each of us must answer that question for our own actions. I cannot determine whether someone else is right or wrong; I can only pray that what I do reflects those realities. My faith and my relationship to God must guide me.

Getting Started

This is the beginning of an experiment in faith. The whole notion of blogging is still a bit unusual for me, but I thought it might be a way to get some conversations started with folks who want to explore the nature of faithful living in our contemporary world. The postings will be random and may very well depend on whether anyone wants to chat. Let me know what you think.