God, Line 1 is For You

I'm teaching a study for the next five weeks called "The Gospel According to Johnny Cash."  It's based on a book of the same name (yes, really).  And for week 1, one of the songs we'll listen to is "I Walk the Line."  This song is an "ode" to fidelity -- both to Cash's first wife Vivian and to his Creator.  It puts forth an impossible standard where both are concerned -- especially for Cash, whom Merle Hagard joked was "out of line" all of his life.  But it presents an interesting image -- especially where our relationship with God, others and ourselves is concerned.  Walking the line.  And I suppose as a vocational pastor, it seems as if in some respects walking the line is an exercise in vigilance.  A balancing act.  Let me explain... Last weekend I spent about 4 or 5 hours taking an online course related to clergy ethics. One of the things that this training stresses is what it called a power differential.  Basically, people te

Something that I think about a lot is what I call "soul work."  Basically, it's the belief that each of us has a unique task of dealing with who we are.  Our issues.  Some of these issues are genetic -- we're just wired that way.  And some are learned -- influenced by our families, our surroundings, and our experiences.  And if we try to dodge this work on this side of eternity, it will still be there when we die.  (That's just what I believe.)  Some folks think that death brings with it some sort of "get out of jail free" card. After all, Jesus died for us and so all the heavy lifting for our wrongdoing has already been done.  We're home free!  Well, this may be true where our shortcomings and mistakes are concerned, but it doesn't wipe out our pre-assigned soul work (again, just my opinion).  So get to work! I was listening to our senior pastor today share the story of a preacher friend who had a life-changing accident.  He was working on a hou

 It wasn't until I was in my 40s that I began reading and learning about "family of origin" and the ways that our experiences as children keep being replayed over and over again in adulthood.  (Or rather how we keep replaying them or looking for them or confusing them with "real time" events -- you get the idea.)  Anyway, I am the youngest sister of three brothers.  When I tell this to some folks they remark, "Oh, they must have really looked out for you."  Uhhh ... no.  I guess we grew up in a household where it was every person for themselves.  And the brother nearest my age was known to deny that I was his sister when we were in middle school (but hey, that is probably classic middle school shenanigans). A number of years ago, when the health of our mother was failing, it was my brothers who carried the weight of caring for her.  They banded together like a team. This was as much by my choice as theirs.  I had done a lot of heavy lifting when our fa

I was visiting with a husband this week who came to see me with his wife.  He is from Iran and would like to be baptized.  He said his parents, who still live in Iran, have been living as Christians for 40 years.  He wants the baptism to be private, for the sake of protecting his family who might be threatened, harassed or persecuted for his profession of faith.  That led to a discussion about how relatively easy it is to be a Christian in the U.S.  There is not much in way of martyrdom going on here!  If I want to go to church, I go to church.  If I want to read my Bible at the coffee shop, I do so.  If I want to talk about my beliefs openly, I may get a few rolled eyes or silent stares, but I certainly don't run the risk of losing my life over it.  Does this mean I am not having an authentic Christian experience? Today I was reading one of my favorite theologians, Henri Nouwen.  He wrote, "Sometimes we have to dare to be fools for Christ."  And then he went on to unpack

 Sometimes I create drafts with a title and one line.  The idea is that I'm going to come back to it and write it later.  I have three posts in draft mode right now.  One is called "Oh So That's Humility?" and another "The Way that Heals You" and the third "Missing God."   All three, great, undeveloped ideas that will probably remain in my draft folder for quite some time; maybe forever. Or maybe not. Maybe I'll just take a shot at one of them here.  Why not? Oh So That's Humility? I won't lie, humility is right up there with "atonement theory" in the category of things that mystify and fascinate me.  I'm amazed by people who are naturally humble.  And they don't even think of it as being humble (because I guess if you tell yourself, "Wow I'm so humble," that wouldn't be humble).   Joel Goldsmith explained humility this way: "Humility in the sense of realizing that whatever it is we are, it is be

Several of the gospels record Jesus as weeping over Jerusalem.  In the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 23:37), Jesus said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"  But in Luke, Jesus lamented, "... You did not recognize the time of your visitation from God." (Lk 19:44) Matthew's charges are a little clearer; but Luke's are sad; terribly sad. I think we can all probably look in the rearview mirror and recognize moments in which we missed our visitation from God.  Some of us are too busy.  Others assume God has better things to do than engage with humanity on a personal level.  Luckily, God doesn't give up on us easily.  Always, God is determined to woo us, to draw us in.  If we could just hit the pause button on our agenda, we might just see it! Have you ever shared with someone that G