So, perhaps what I want to know is in depth detail of how things have changed. Have they changed in that now every ministry, budget line etc. is now categorized under one of the five, but beyond that all is the same, or has there been strategic changes to ensure  that the ministries of the church are actually living out the mission of the church in deed. Have we changed any program, gotten rid of any program, added any program due to these 5 initiatives? Are we taking time to actually ensure all resources truly are being used to their fullest for the mission of Christ. Are we re-aligning how we run various facilities of the church? Are we making the historic sites focus more on these initiatives 9allowing spiritual formation, discipleship formation, witnessing become a greater part of them, or just continue to run them as we have as educating people about history and PR for the church with the spiritual and discipleship activities secondary, a bit of passive witnessing and active witnessing even further down the line? Are we aligning the employees of the church with their giftedness and talents and the initiatives, and adjusting roles to better reflect the ministry needed in this world that we have been called and gifted to provide? Or have we just indicated that various former roles are still needed and justify them by saying they are under x y or z, without making sure they really are? I hope we re-evaluating, changing etc… but I just don’t know. the information I have seen publicly being shared, seems very surface level, glossing over and lacking depth of sharing what is truly going on. In many ways I crave and need more detail…

I got a bit more detail a couple days ago, but not really much… and it was the detail, and the lack of it, and the way it came, that made me start to think, start to reflect, and well write this post as a way for me to flush out the thoughts that are running through my mind right now.

Community of Christ HQ in the past year or so ahs sent me various mailings regarding giving. Some directed at me as an ordained minister, some more as a church member. They have focused on the financial side of things, more than other ways of giving… The most recent is no exception. I struggle with this, because while financial is important, so is the giving of time, talents, and other resources. If we focus to much on the financial giving, we may, and perhaps have, moved into a place where those in the pews feel all they need to do is show up and write a check. I know that is not what we are trying to do, the resources on discipleship formation clearly show that is not what a disciple is… but we send mixed messages when we focus on just one bit of stewardship.  I also ponder how much of our limited resources have been used toward encouraging increases in ones financial giving, compared to other aspects of ministry, and what impact have they had? Have they increased the giving by more than they cost, and thus allowed us to expand our ministry or not? Have they also led to people giving more of their time? have they helped lead people into living the mission of Christ closer to 24h/7d a week rather than 1h/1d a week? I don’t know, a doubt anyone knows, except for how it has impacted themselves.

It is also hard for someone like me, with little financial resources, trying to work one’s way out of some financial difficulties that are in part due to health and in part due to my sacrificial giving of self, time, and resources to the mission of Christ as expressed primarily through the church, and preparing myself for further ministry in and with this body of believers and get back on my feet, to be hounded with messages of specific dollar amounts to increase per week… I can’t do it. (I  would be in a much, much better financial position right now, and would probably fared better through some of my health issues,  if it was not for my time with Community of Christ Historic Sites). Yet, while I have not been able to increase by the numbers they toss around, my giving has increased significantly over the past two years, and NONE of it was due to the mailings, etc… but rather my response to the grace and love of Christ, my sense of calling, and evaluating what I could give…. But my greatest financial gift, is one that has been my years of education, to better prepare myself for ministerial service in and with the church. In my mind the cost of my M.Div, and most if not all of the B.A. is truly a sacrificial gift to the mission of Christ, to help empower and strengthen me in my ministry and witness of the church… But there’s no accounting of that in the church’s books, nor recognition of the gift… instead just “as a member”  or “as an ordained ministered” we seek to embrace the mission of Christ, this is what $10 a week more could do… But what about this is what 10 hours a month of volunteer service could do? this is what 10 hours of week engaging in Christ like ministry could do? Well inviting “ten people” or “helping 10 people be baptized” is mentioned on one page of sixteen pages of this newest mailing… and perhaps implied, but never directly engaged in the descriptions of the 5 mission initiatives and the church aligning to them, rather the focus in on the financial… Hmm, I just realized that financially, my giving of one week to serve as a counselor at camp, not counting my expenses, just the missed work… was over 1/2 the amount they asked me to increase my giving in a year, and as I did not serve as a counselor last year… perhaps I have gotten close, but again, no record, nor recognition (which I am okay with, except they keep hounding on the financial aspect rather than on the whole of stewardship so in a way seeming to de-value other needed and important forms of giving and stewardship). Perhaps as well I struggle as I want my church to be contacting me to say “hey, here are ways to utilize your gifts, talents, resources to live out the mission of Jesus the Christ, in and with your sisters and brothers around the globe” instead of “hey if you and everyone else in N. America increase giving by x a week, we can do x y and z…” in a way that seems as “others can” not “I and others can.”

Enough of that, lets get back to the 5 mission initiatives:

1. Invite people to Christ – 18.64%
2. Abolish Poverty, End Suffering – 14.04%
3. Pursue Peace on Earth – 7.61%
4. Develop Disciples to Serve – 38.57%
5. Experience Congregations in Mission – 21.14%

The percentages following each initiative is the percent of the budgeted world mission tithes giving that has been assigned to each priority. It is these numbers that give me some pause… though I must remember that this is the percentage of 51% of the budgeted income. Income from other sources make up another 49% and the mailing does not include how that 49% is divided up. Since 20 of that 49 is endowment support, and the Temple and its ministries fall under Pursue Peace on Earth, and there is an endowment fund specifically for the Temple perhaps  when we add in the 49% of total income Pursuing Peace is closer in its funding to that of other initiatives than the tithing portion alone indicates… But that’s the thing, we don’t know. All I know for sure is what has been shared, the amount of the 51% of income that comes from contributors that is budgeted toward each of these categories, and that if those levels are not met from giving directed at each initiative, then that given to “use where needed most” will go to fill it out, and then other income sources to try and make sure those amounts are realized…

So I have some problems, which may not be problems depending on how that other 49% is divided up, and what all falls under each of the 5, and how these %s will change over time. I believe in concept and description all five are needed, and meaningful. I however am worried about how we are (possibly) prioritizing/valuing the 5.

Yes, we need to help develop members (and others) on the path of discipleship so that they become active in the sharing of their time, gifts and talents… so that they are spiritually fed, and can feed others, to live in Christ focused ministry/mission 24/7 and not just show up to church once in awhile, not grow in relationship to Christ…. We need to have educated and trained leaders… (I would not have spent 9 years of my life in undergrad and seminary if I didn’t think so)… but should that receive more than the combined amount for the two initiatives that clearly are aimed at ministries focused on healing creation? perhaps it is needed at first, perhaps we need to train, educate, and empower people in their discipleship so they will respond and serve to embrace these needs… If these ratios stay the same over time and are truly this vast when we include the other 49% of income, we have a major problem. Community of Christ since it was founded in 1830 as Church of Christ, has been called to alleviating poverty and ending suffering…we’ve made a lot of mistakes, but it is a major part of our historical calling, our present calling and until the day poverty, hunger, suffering, war is no more a major part of our future calling… yet only 21.64% combined for these to initiatives…. Perhaps it could be explained by the other income sources, perhaps it can be explained in that many ways of using resources, many ministries could fall under several of the 5 initiatives so while Developing disciples get’s 38%, perhaps a significant part of that, and of the congregational ministries’ 21.14% could also be classified into Poverty/suffering and Peace?

Well, I’ve got to go rest a bit so I can go preside over a service in the morning… but I’m glad I wrote this, for while it may sound like a lot of complaining and concern 9which yes there is some) it has led to me see with new eyes the possibilities than when I started… Perhaps the division isn’t as bad as I thought once we add in the other income, and realize so many things can fall into various initiatives, and it seems they have chosen to let them fall in one or another… still I would like more detail of how we have “aligned” ourselves… what actual changes have transpired and are expected to happened due to embracing these initiatives?

How will we start to change the message from a focus on financial stewardship and giving to a holistic message of discipleship including all forms of stewardship and giving and not just monetary?

Peace,

So what is this “isn’t me” but in truth “is me.” thing I am about to do? I’m about to go and live out a part of my discipleship and ministry by going forth and proclaiming the good news. But I said I ‘m not preparing a sermon, and no I am not going to go preach. So what is it? I’m going to to go speak on behalf of the voiceless. I’m going to go speak on behalf of the hungry and poor. I’m going to go into the halls of power, sit down with the people who are elected to represent me, (or work for them),  and proclaim the living, restoring, liberating news of the gospel by  advocating for justice. Lyle, the shy, quite, little spoken in one on one and small group conversation, is going to speak up, and say we need to protect the poor and vulnerable.

As I prepare to do this my mind drifts to spring 2007 in hot and humid Independence, MO. it was here that I sat in the conference chamber of the Auditorium as I heard Prophet-President Steven M. Veazey share words of counsel to the church. Words of counsel, which he was not presenting to the church for consideration to be canonized and included in the Doctrine and Covenants, and yet words that spoke to me and many others. Words that as I heard them felt  as if they were scripture, and should be embraced as such. The Spirit moved amongst us, Steve by mid week had presented them for inclusion and felt a peace in doing so. When these words were being considered by the Aaronic Mass meeting I spoke on their behalf and the stirring that was within me. I have no idea what words I said. I know not what words ran through my head as I voted on each paragraph and the document as a whole, there as a member of the Aaronic Order, nor as we did the same as a whole conference.

What I can tell you, is as I heard these words, as I read these words, as I prayed over these words… I did not see myself where I am today. As I’ve used these words in sermons, papers, reflections. I did not see myself here today. Yet this morning as I awoke on lobby day, these words came to my mind:

Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go.

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation. Generously share the invitation, ministries, and sacraments through which people can encounter the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through redemptive relationships in sacred community. The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.

You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness. Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural, political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace. There are subtle, yet powerful, influences in the world, some even claiming to represent Christ, that seek to divide people and nations to accomplish their destructive aims. That which seeks to harden one human heart against another by constructing walls of fear and prejudice is not of God. Be especially alert to these influences, lest they divide you or divert you from the mission to which you are called.

God, the Eternal Creator, weeps for the poor, displaced, mistreated, and diseased of the world because of their unnecessary suffering. Such conditions are not God’s will. Open your ears to hear the pleading of mothers and fathers in all nations who desperately seek a future of hope for their children. Do not turn away from them. For in their welfare resides your welfare. The earth, lovingly created as an environment for life to flourish, shudders in distress because creation’s natural and living systems are becoming exhausted from carrying the burden of human greed and conflict. Humankind must awaken from its illusion of independence and unrestrained consumption without lasting consequences. Let the educational and community development endeavors of the church equip people of all ages to carry the ethics of Christ’s peace into all arenas of life. Prepare new generations of disciples to bring fresh vision to bear on the perplexing problems of poverty, disease, war, and environmental deterioration. Their contributions will be multiplied if their hearts are focused on God’s will for creation.

The words bolded, italics, or both, especially the both, are what resonated in my head the most. For you see, without thinking about it, I found myself on a journey of embracing these words in new and different ways than I had before. I found myself learning, growing, speaking, and now today after three days of engaging speakers, worshiping with others, conversing, praying, learning, I’m going to the hill to live out these words. In particular as they relate to the suffering of my sisters and brothers around the globe who are hungry, those who are the verge of being so. (I have a lot of sisters and brothers, over 6 billion and  your one of them). I’m going at a time when there is this mode of “slash everything” being expressed by some, this mode of governmental expression that includes  proposals that will make those suffering the most suffer more and those who suffer least suffer the same or even less… I’m going to speak of healing, I’m going to speak upon those who can’t speak, for those here who may get the right to vote but seldom are heard  and for those who don’t get to vote as they live elsewhere in the world, but whose lives and well being are on the table. It’s not a task I want to do, it is not a task I am comfortable in doing, but it is a task that as a minister of the Risen Living Christ, and as a disciple of Jesus the Christ, I am called to do. I encourage you to write your leaders, wherever you live, and advocate for the voiceless. To make phone calls, to visit in person. To advocate for those who you are called to serve. Even if you are not a follower of Christ, you are a member of the human family, and as such you are called to help ensure we bring an end to the pain and suffering in this world.

Please if you read this on 14 June 2011, keep all of us who will be visiting our members of Congress and our Senators today to speak on issues of hunger in your prayers and thoughts.

Peace be with you,

Friday was the execution, it didn’t hit me, at least not right away. I mean this great man, this miracle worker, this person who could see through the masks and cloaks I wear and see the real me was executed. You know this man who said hey you, you are of worth, you are loved, now go and love. This man who said that I and you could change the world, this man who preached and expounded the Holy’s love, who lived it, and told of a better day, a day when we would all love one another, a day when our willingness to engage the Holy’s love and each other would bring about much needed healing and restoration to the world that the Holy created and called good, was killed in horrific fashion by the government. We thought he was going to be with us, and now he is dead… except that was nearly 2000 years ago… We know the story of what happens, but this time of year I pause, and go… No I don’t know the story… I let my body flow through the cycle of life that is before us. I allow myself to grieve, to wait… unknowing that which I know. So the execution, this horrific act, sometimes hits me right away, but it didn’t.

It took time, it wasn’t till Saturday evening, as my body ached, and screamed stories of being tired and worn out to me and needing rest that I finally felt that execution. I finally started to morn executed Christ. Part of that morning was about the ways I have stumbled, the ways I have failed to live in response to the message He proclaimed, and I feel called to live. Part of it was the realization of how worn out I feel, how I struggle to engage the Holy when life seems full of stumbling blocks, when I find it hard to find the doorways and pathways, and trails and… that I can engage to help share the love of the one who was just executed, be it many many years ago. In my mind last night I went, “I don’t think I’ll be ready to celebrate the good news in the morning…”  I wonder what the early disciples would have thought had they realized the resurrection that was to come, a resurrection hinted at, but not understood by them. I wonder what they thought, not knowing… I wonder how it is that we find ourselves sometimes executing the Christ representation which we are called to be… you know how we fail to act, how we fail to share, to love, to heal… 

Last night, I went… I’ll go to the tomb, and if I find it empty… I think I’ll just sit there, I don’t think I’ll be able to embrace the realization of the empty tomb, I won’t be able to understand the messengers, or see the reality I encounter as I see the Christ… When I first awoke, the sun yet to rise, I still was in that place, but when I awoke with the rising sun, and as I heard the birds chirping outside, I knew different. Christ has risen, yes indeed.  Still I want to sit and ponder at the empty Tomb, but I am seeing, I am realizing the reality that it points towards, the hope and truth found in that emptiness, and emptiness which is full. Full of love, of peace, of hope, of strength. Strength to go forth and bring healing to a broken world. Hope, that I too can be restored, healed resurrected from the depths of my struggles, into the creation that the Holy formed and called good. Hope that I can find the pathway I need to embrace to be one of many proclaiming the peace of Christ, sharing that peace, sharing the love, and bring forth the peaceable community where all are loved, where creation is known to be sacred, the worth of all is known, respected, and embraced by all, where relationships a whole and healed… you know the community Jesus the  Christ proclaimed, lived taught… the peaceable community, aye even Zion (as my tradition would say).

My mind ahs drifted to 2 Easter’s past. I was serving an internship as a Hospital Chaplain, and was on duty that Sunday Morning. As such I lead the Sunday worship service, gave the Easter message to a group of perhaps 20-30 gathered in the Hospital Chapel. As the service came to an end, the pager on my hip buzzed, and soon afterwards I found myself sharing with a family, and with medical personnel in the last moments of their loved one / patient’s life as they maid the decisions that would bring a form of peace and healing, but also a form of loss. It was not my last visit with them that day. I’m not 100% sure why this memory comes to mind, why I can see the cards taped to the wall, the face of the young D.O., the nurses, the patient.. at this moment in time. What I can say is in this encounter, and in this memory, I find myself saying “What.. The Tomb is Empty ‽ What shall I do, how will I respond? How will my life be different with the awareness of the continuing presence of the Holy, who can I, you, us live out the resurrection of Christ. How can we keep that mission going, How will we Live the mission and hope of Christ this day?”  I find myself as well, knowing a bit more about myself, and the ways I have to serve, and hope that I will find that path, even if at times it is hard to see past the emptiness, and find the fullness that resides within it…

So let us stand from our pondering, and start to live the peace, passion, and mission of  Christ. Let us allow ourselves to be healed, to be “resurrected” and go forth and do help heal, restore “resurrect” all of creation…

Peace be with us all

Last night I was unable to get to sleep, and once I did I woke often, and then I had to rise to go and prepare for a priesthood meeting. While at the time I felt awake, it would be for a bit of time.  By the time the meeting was over, and the worship service was over I was zapped. between the meds I was taking, the limited and poor sleep, and the medical issues the meds were for and the drain that was having from that as the meds were not helping much, I was drowsy. I perhaps didn’t realize how much so until I sat down in the car to drive home.

I started the car and I drove home, I could tell my senses were not what they should have been to be behind the wheel, but I need to get home to rest. As I drove I wished my life was at that point in time where I had found her… but not for the normal reasons of desiring life long companionship, a sense of being more whole in and through relationship… but just so I might safely get home without endangering myself or others. For if I had found her, or more likely she had found me, and we were together, she could be the one behind the wheel rather than I. Perhaps then I would have remembered taking my second exit, (from one freeway to the next) and be ready for the third (leaving the freeway system) before I was upon the third and going “when did the change the sign?” thinking I was at the second and the realizing I had already taken that exit and  now was at the point where I would exit the freeway system. Driving drowsy is not safe, and you also miss things. I shouldn’t have been driving, I should have either taken a nap in the car, or gotten someone to drive me home or… but I didn’t, I risked it, I risked the welfare of others to reach my goal. It wasn’t the brightest act I have ever made, I fairly sure it wasn’t the first time I have driven while not fully alert, and while I would like to say it is the last time, I have a feeling I will at some point make the mistake again.

The thing is, this encounter relates a lot to life, and to our discipleship. (For those of us who are disciples… if your reading this and are not a disciple, be it of Christ or of someone/thing else, perhaps some of the basics can still relate to your faith/spiritual path and life). Within Christianity we make a commitment at some point (or points) to embrace and follow Christ, to become disciples. Then we move forward in life, but I think we often fail to live up to the commitment that we made in our act(s) of becoming disciples of the risen, living, Christ. We step onto the path of the Discipleship while drowsy, and not fully aware.

We go through the days without being fully aware of what is going on, of why we do what we do. We go to church, or don’t, but we often don’t pause and think about what is around us, we do things out of habit, and perhaps without even realizing it, just as I made the exit, without recalling making it. We feel called to help all those in need, but we walk by the person sleeping on the sidewalk, and perhaps offer a quick prayer, think “oh that is sad”, but don’t take the time to think “why is he there,” we don’t take the time to engage in the needed process to make long lasting changes so there is no need for her or anyone to be sleeping without adequate shelter. We see the hungry, we hear of the hungry, but we work to just address the immediate need, and not to work toward addressing the larger picture and making sustainable changes to how we do things, individually and as a society to create sustainable changes so no one goes hungry and ensuring that the worth and dignity of each person is honored and recognized.  We go to church and see a national flag in the worship space, in a fellowship hall, outside…, and don’t stop to think “should it be there?” What does it convey to me, to others… what does it say about us by where it is placed, about our relationship with our sisters and brothers in Christ of other lands, or of the land that that Government took over, or… about our priorities.  We choose to use disposable products that can’t be recycled, or that can and we choose not to… without thinking through the actions.  We hear the preacher call us to embrace our discipleship, to proclaim the peace of Christ, and the next time we hear a prayer, say a prayer, think about Christ is a week later when we are sitting in the same pew. Not taking the time to be an intentional reflection of Christ’s peace, of God’s Love… to those around us. Not taking time to see that person cry in the back row as communion is served, and offer a prayer for her and her struggles, not taking time to see how she is doing, when she walks out of the sanctuary at the end of the service. We miss a week or to, and no one calls, no one checks on us, and we complain, without thinking of how many others have missed a week or two and we never called, we never visted, or even noticed they were not amongst us. We go to church and don’t greet a person seeking a new home, thinking someone else has, and never learning he went home feeling alone, unwelcome, unloved and never finds the peace they might have found if we had just taken the time to wake up, to see, to care.

We go through our discipleship drowsy, we miss a lot of opportunities to care… like driving drowsy we can harm others, like driving drowsy we can harm ourselves as well. We can forget to be refilled, we can forget to fully engage, to make the correct turns, to be healed…. We set our eye beyond the horizon at the goal of the peaceable community, but forget to look around, to engage and bring that community into being.

So the question on my mind now is: How do we wake up, reenergize, become alert and aware in our discipleship? Are we willing? What would happen if we were to all stopped being drowsy and became alert?

Unlike driving drowsy, where one should not drive until rested, with discipleship we must keep being disciples, but we need to be intentional, we need to ensure we are getting fed and rested as well as serving… We do need to “stop” but stop to: pause, reflect and engage, which is part of being a disciple. It is the stopping of the busy distractions, so we can hear the still small voice, the stopping of going through the motions and not being aware, the stopping of not fully caring….

It’ll be tough, but I think the Holy is calling us to be awake, to be alert and be faithful, dedicated disciples who truly seek to live out the message and passion of Christ with the wholeness of our beings. We are going to stumble lots, but lets keep getting back up, lets keep waking up, and seek to be the people we are called to be.

Peace,

Lyle II