Church is about God and People, Not Just People

This weekend, the Diocese of San Joaquin voted to withdraw from the Episcopal Church. I do not know if they are right or wrong. I do know that what they did hurt a lot of people.

You see, church is about God and about people. It is a house of God where people go to find comfort, to find safety, to find renewal, to find their own faith and spirituality. I know that some go to church for other reasons, some less noble. But what about all of those that are there for the right reason, to find God.

What happens to them when politics and bias get in the way. What happens to their journey of faith when all of this gets in the way?

Pray for the people in the Diocese of San Joaquin.

God Visited Twice This Week

Last Sunday was bad. I was put in a position that I had to notify law enforcement authorities about something that happened with a member of my Youth Group. It was a tough day and truly a test of both faith and human feelings. Nevertheless, I did what I had to do. Interesting results.

Monday and Tuesday were tough. Tuesday night, I got an e-mail from a kid I ministered in Oklahoma. He had e-mailed me a couple of weeks prior to Tuesday night. We had exchanged messages back and forth. Long story short, he asked me, after noticing that I had a different Youth Group after moving to Maryland, if I was still his favorite or had he been replaced. He wrote to me later in the week with this message.

Will noted on his Facebook Page, "It occured to me the other day when I was talking to a friend of mine who moved away, that the people in your life can never really leave you, they may be gone but they will always hold a place in your heart. This friend's name is Steve Seely (Steve-O). He is my old youth pastor and I saw that he had a new youth group, and then I made the comment on his wall and said, "So I see you have replaced us, are they better than us" or something along those lines and he sent something back. The message is at the bottom of the note and I think you should copy it to memory. I did and I think about people all the time that I have not seen in months or years. I had some free time the other day and called a friend when I was in town she did not answer the phone but I left a message and hope we can hang out soon."

Here is the message I had given to him.

"You can not be replaced. You will understand one day that some things stay with you forever. ECOTR (Episcopal Church of the Resurrection) Youth is one of those things. God gave me a gift with the kids at ECOTR and each one has a special place in my heart, my prayers and my memories. By the way, I do not have a new youth group, I just added on to the one I had."

Just when you think that what you are doing and your ministry is perhaps less effective than you strive for it to be; God sneaks in and shows you that you need to keep believing and doing. And sometimes the message comes from the most unexpected place.

Later in the week, I heard from the sheriff regarding the youth that I referred to in the beginning of this post. Turns out that the youth, which was simply crying out for help, was befriended by the deputy and that seem to be turning out pretty well too.

So, here's the moral to this story. You do the right thing, you keep doing the right thing, and, when in doubt, do the right thing. The result is eventually the glory and living examples of the Kingdom of God. Silly humans, sometimes we forget in our own despair, the power, the love and the strength of God.

Blessings and Peace.

"Load the car, we're going on a trip."

In the last several months, actually several years, I have been "pestered" by God. In some author's words, "pestered" is how they characterize the calling by God to you for a ministry. So, in that context, the pestering is a good thing, although it can be just as annoying as a negative pestering as well. More on that later.

Nevertheless, in early 2006, I came to the realization that God was calling me into ministry in the form of the vocational diaconate. This journey has not been without trial, without doubt, without delays or without the many different ways you can be tempted away from the purpose of God's work.

This past weekend, I spent time at a retreat for the purpose of discernment. I am convinced now, more than ever, that this is the direction God has for my life. I met some really great people who helped me clear the focus of what I see in myself. I know that in this process of following the Father, there are things that will change. Some of the changes will be good and welcomed. Others, will likely be harder to accept.

Regardless, I am focused on God's will. It is crystal clear to me. So, "load the car, we're going on a trip!"

God, especially when we need Him

Today, right after I got home from church, Ann and I were having a sandwich when the call we were expecting came. One of the girls I have in Youth Group had lost her mom.

The dad said to me, "We just lost Kim and Amanda needs a friend". I immediately went to be with the family. When I pulled into the driveway with Fr. David, we got out of the car and Amanda and her BFF (also Amanda) came down the driveway. Amanda came to me and wrapped her arms around me and held on.

Amid all of the sadness, stories by many different members of the family and the struggle by those left behind to cope, the Holy Spirit was present. You see, God was there and each person was grabbing hold; most without the realization of His presence.

The next several days will be most difficult for this family. However, I am sure that the hand of God will be over them and those around them.

Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Another Lesson Learned . . .

Last night, one of the kids in my youth group called upset. There was something going on in his life that was causing him great distress. But, in the process, he was seeing God. He asked me several times if I thought this was a test from God. It made me think about a couple of things.

First, in the middle of this young man's emotional pain, he was seeking God. Too many times in our society, we look to blame someone, emphasize how we are a vcitim and focus only on the event of the pain. But not this young man. He was hurting but also seeking the wisdom of God as a resolution to the feelings he was experiencing. I am very proud of him.

The second thing that occurs to me as a result of this is to some degree a little selfish but more importantly, it is a testament to the effect my ministry is having and how I sometimes underestimate this and forget to trust the Holy Spirit that the ministry is making a difference.

As I wait for my journey into the diaconate to continue, this incident reminds me that this is our Father's world and we are called to be faithful unto him. Sometimes, our being human gets in the way. It is not about what results you see right away. It is more about having faith in the Holy Spirit that the work of God is indeed happening through your ministry and that you are making a difference without focusing on the human 'reward and satisfaction' elements we all fall to from time to time.

Let us go forth to love and serve the Lord.

Find Quiet Time

It is Sunday morning, 5:16 am. I have helped our Youth and today, we all present the service of Morning Prayer. They have a great skit worked out from the Gospel reading for today that relates to listening to Jesus.

Do you listen for Jesus? When is the last time you sat down in a quiet place and reflected on the recent events in your life and found all the times He was talking to you and you were to wrapped up in your world to discover Him?

Find a moment every day to hear God. He talks to us all the time, we just have to stop and listen. Then we have to accept that sometimes His words are not what we expected or wanted to hear. That is when faith gets really hard.

The Peace and Love of our Lord.

Loving the Unlovable

I am a simple man. Here is a complex issue.
I have no great theological training except growing up learning to love the Lord. God has blessed me with a gift of common sense and logic.
God says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
I sometimes wonder about the tests of human loving that present themselves to us. How do we love people who are not lovable?
The first thing that occurs to me is that we look at the person and find the good. What is it that is good or perhaps, was good in that person that has gone away? And then ask yourself, is this trait still there? Is it buried as a result of the human experience? Is it gone altogether and then what would God have us do?
But, how do I do this all the time and get around the fact that I am man?
God is in each of us including the unlovable. Not by our choosing, but by His.
One of our great challenges as we strive to live the life Jesus would have us live is this. Find God in that person. Is God, in that person, buried so deep that our seeking of Him is for our own spirit to grow and to learn?
Or is it different?
Is it that the Holy Spirit is working through us to help that person either find or rediscover God and His goodness in this world?
In either case, we are called to follow the great commission. And, in either case, we are forced to put our own human and personal emotions and prejudices aside and open ourselves to the goodness of the Holy Spirit so that God’s will be done.
Easy to do? No. Should we? Of course.

Okay, I am back..

I started this journal with one thing in mind, listening to God. However, I have found that it a good way to record a part of that journey, my pursuit of God's call to me for the vocational diaconate.

An update on that. Approximately 18 months ago, I came to realize that God had a job for me. God is calling me into the ministry as a deacon for the Episcopal Church. I had felt this call for a long time, however, it was early last year when I realized that it was time to pursue this.

The funny thing is you think it is time and you are doing what God is asking and you discover that it is still on his terms. At the time early last year, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDOW) had referred this process of discernment to the Commission on Ministry. The standards were expected to be completed by Diocesan Convention in January. No, sorry. God is not ready yet. The next date was the annual clergy conference in May. Oops. God still is not ready. Now we are looking at fall of this year.

The human side could say many things about these delays. I could get frustrated, and I have. I could develop opinions about the efficiencies of the human factor, but I will not.

You see, this is on God's schedule. It is up to my faith to be God's servant and to wait, watch and learn from the experience. So, my Father, I am here, ready and waiting for you. Amen.