I read the following in an article in the New York times recently:
Most clergy don’t sign up to be soothsayers or entertainers. Pastors believe they’re called to shape lives for the better, and that involves helping people learn to do what’s right in life, even when what’s right is also difficult. When they’re being true to their calling, pastors urge Christians to do the hard work of reconciliation with one another before receiving communion. They lead people to share in the suffering of others, including people they would rather ignore, by experiencing tough circumstances — say, in a shelter, a prison or a nursing home — and seeking relief together with those in need. At their courageous best, clergy lead where people aren’t asking to go, because that’s how the range of issues that concern them expands, and how a holy community gets formed. (G. JEFFREY MacDONALD, The New York Times, “Congregations Gone Wild,” Published: August 7, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/opinion/08macdonald.html?_r=1&th&emc=th# )
It really struck a chord with me. Sometimes ministry is way too much about entertaining – I know I can fall into that trap. Sometimes it is too much about minutia and smoothing ruffled feathers. Odd, isn’t it, when the New York Times reminds me of my calling?
Wait a minute! It’s our calling:
• Doing what’s right in life, even when what’s right is also difficult
• Reconciling with one another before receiving communion
• Sharing in the suffering of others, including people they would rather ignore
• Leading where people aren’t asking to go
It’s not a perfect list. It leaves out Jesus Christ – It is a main-stream newspaper after all – but it’s also right, and it’s challenging. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in “church” that we forget why we are really here. We get so wrapped up in our traditions, our meetings, our services, our music, our property, that we forget why we are really here.
Jesus wasn’t a “get saved, feel good, go home” kind of guy! He wanted to free us from our sin . . . so that we could be his disciples. He made salvation easy for us. He made discipleship a tough road: Righteousness; reconciliation, suffering, leading where people aren’t asking to go.
Matthew 7:24-25 (NRSV)
24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
How Kids Stay In Church!
Do you remember Church Camp? I do. What I liked best about it were the things that every kid likes: The pool, the friends, the wilderness, venturing out on my own. But I came away from camp with something more: An increased awareness that I am a loved child of God, and a better understanding of that community of Christians that we call the Church. I had the seeds of faith planted in my home and watered by my church, but it was at camp that I went from a sapling to a tree.
At camp, the gospel was presented and God was worshiped without “stodgy” music, without the sermons and prayers of “grown-ups” that I didn’t understand. Instead, we acted out the parables, sang hip songs about Jesus, and hugged everybody. Even the “grown-ups” were mostly college-aged and the coolest things on two legs. We could call them by their first names! When they talked about faith, I listened. When they demonstrated faith, I imitated. When I was a teenager, one of my biggest dreams was to be a camp counselor. I eventually did it, and since you can’t exactly be a camp counselor forever, I became a pastor. Just call me “Ken.”
When I was in confirmation class, they kept telling us that being a Christian is not just about coming to church and saying your prayers. A Christian needs to serve! When we said, “okay, we want to serve,” they said, “you are too young to do very much.” It wasn’t long after that my church started youth mission trips. They/we discovered that young people could build a Habitat house in a week. Within a few years it was two houses, and then three!
On mission trips, I discovered the joy of serving, the pleasure of hard work, and the character-building of sleeping on the floor and sharing limited showers with 110 dirty people! I discovered that God could deepen my faith, when I put myself into a foreign culture, into hard work and hard floors, and into a profound experience with sisters and brothers in Christ. Mission trips are a big part of why I am a Christian and why I am a pastor today!
We all know some young people: our children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends. One of the best ways that we can pass along the faith is to get these children and youth to camp and/or on mission trips. It’s a little late for camp this year, but we have a wonderful church camp. Montlure has a wonderful property, and even better staff. It’s not too early to start thinking about sending a kid to camp next year.
Orangewood also has some great mission trips: Rocky Point, Mexico; Copantle, Honduras; and a new weeklong mission trip for youth that will likely become an annual event. You could talk a youth into going on one of these trips and maybe even sponsor them, OR you could stretch yourself and come yourself. Our faith is strengthened, not just by Sunday morning worship and weekday prayer, but also in action and in intentional community.
At camp, the gospel was presented and God was worshiped without “stodgy” music, without the sermons and prayers of “grown-ups” that I didn’t understand. Instead, we acted out the parables, sang hip songs about Jesus, and hugged everybody. Even the “grown-ups” were mostly college-aged and the coolest things on two legs. We could call them by their first names! When they talked about faith, I listened. When they demonstrated faith, I imitated. When I was a teenager, one of my biggest dreams was to be a camp counselor. I eventually did it, and since you can’t exactly be a camp counselor forever, I became a pastor. Just call me “Ken.”
When I was in confirmation class, they kept telling us that being a Christian is not just about coming to church and saying your prayers. A Christian needs to serve! When we said, “okay, we want to serve,” they said, “you are too young to do very much.” It wasn’t long after that my church started youth mission trips. They/we discovered that young people could build a Habitat house in a week. Within a few years it was two houses, and then three!
On mission trips, I discovered the joy of serving, the pleasure of hard work, and the character-building of sleeping on the floor and sharing limited showers with 110 dirty people! I discovered that God could deepen my faith, when I put myself into a foreign culture, into hard work and hard floors, and into a profound experience with sisters and brothers in Christ. Mission trips are a big part of why I am a Christian and why I am a pastor today!
We all know some young people: our children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends. One of the best ways that we can pass along the faith is to get these children and youth to camp and/or on mission trips. It’s a little late for camp this year, but we have a wonderful church camp. Montlure has a wonderful property, and even better staff. It’s not too early to start thinking about sending a kid to camp next year.
Orangewood also has some great mission trips: Rocky Point, Mexico; Copantle, Honduras; and a new weeklong mission trip for youth that will likely become an annual event. You could talk a youth into going on one of these trips and maybe even sponsor them, OR you could stretch yourself and come yourself. Our faith is strengthened, not just by Sunday morning worship and weekday prayer, but also in action and in intentional community.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Upon the 20th Aniversary of My Ordination
Wow! What a great party, and a complete surprise! The twentieth anniversary of my ordination was something that had crossed my mind, but I didn’t really dwell on it – Just another day, month, year of ministry. I’d like to share some highlights with you:
• God has completely turned some people’s lives around, and used me to be a little part of it. Alcoholics, addicts, suicide attempters, kids going down the wrong path, husbands and wives straying, angry people – God is not done with any of us. To be honest, there were times when I personally had no hope for some of these people. I was simply playing a role at times: “How can I represent God’s love?” God has taught me that “With God, all things are possible!”
• Mission trips have played a vital part in my ministry. I’ve led trips to Mexico, Jamaica, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Harlem, Vermont, Maine, Cuba, Pennsylvania and Honduras. It is so easy for us to begin to think that everyone lives the way we do. When we get out of our comfort zone, our worldview expands and God can deepen our faith as well. I have seen many people become life-long Christians and life-long missionaries while sleeping on the floor in a church basement.
• I have been privileged to hold people’s hands in crisis and even in death. That’s a hard thing to do, but it’s also a beautiful opportunity. God’s presence is often palpable in those times of crisis. I have witnessed people of extraordinary faith go through difficult times, and they taught me much about trusting God. I’m sure when my time comes I’ll be whiny and have my doubts, but I’m just as sure that God will love me anyway!
• I’ve been honored to work with some wonderful servants of God. There are many gifts for ministry that I lack, but God has provided partners. At Orangewood I am blessed in partnership with Peggy’s dedication and commitment to all things behind-the-scenes; by Christopher’s musical talent and Southern grace; by Bernale’s passion, wisdom and creativity; and by Tully’s insight and youthful willingness to step outside the box. Add to that all the volunteers, the deacons, the elders, the ministry of all believers and it is clear that God is at work.
• The Scriptures continue to be a wonderful treasure. If you had asked me when I was a new pastor at 24, I would have been sure that after 20 years of preaching, I would have run out of things to say. I would have been right. God taught me that preaching is not about what I have to say, it is about seeking God’s Word. God’s Word is always fresh to those who are willing to read the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
• God’s people have been wonderfully receptive to my ministry, and always ready to minister back to me and my family. There have been some crises for me and my family over the years, and God has used you as pastors. That is what I will remember most, when I look at the beautiful crystal bowl you gave me, and remember the wonderful lunch put on by my partners in ministry. Thank you!
How about ALL OF US go for another 20!
• God has completely turned some people’s lives around, and used me to be a little part of it. Alcoholics, addicts, suicide attempters, kids going down the wrong path, husbands and wives straying, angry people – God is not done with any of us. To be honest, there were times when I personally had no hope for some of these people. I was simply playing a role at times: “How can I represent God’s love?” God has taught me that “With God, all things are possible!”
• Mission trips have played a vital part in my ministry. I’ve led trips to Mexico, Jamaica, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Harlem, Vermont, Maine, Cuba, Pennsylvania and Honduras. It is so easy for us to begin to think that everyone lives the way we do. When we get out of our comfort zone, our worldview expands and God can deepen our faith as well. I have seen many people become life-long Christians and life-long missionaries while sleeping on the floor in a church basement.
• I have been privileged to hold people’s hands in crisis and even in death. That’s a hard thing to do, but it’s also a beautiful opportunity. God’s presence is often palpable in those times of crisis. I have witnessed people of extraordinary faith go through difficult times, and they taught me much about trusting God. I’m sure when my time comes I’ll be whiny and have my doubts, but I’m just as sure that God will love me anyway!
• I’ve been honored to work with some wonderful servants of God. There are many gifts for ministry that I lack, but God has provided partners. At Orangewood I am blessed in partnership with Peggy’s dedication and commitment to all things behind-the-scenes; by Christopher’s musical talent and Southern grace; by Bernale’s passion, wisdom and creativity; and by Tully’s insight and youthful willingness to step outside the box. Add to that all the volunteers, the deacons, the elders, the ministry of all believers and it is clear that God is at work.
• The Scriptures continue to be a wonderful treasure. If you had asked me when I was a new pastor at 24, I would have been sure that after 20 years of preaching, I would have run out of things to say. I would have been right. God taught me that preaching is not about what I have to say, it is about seeking God’s Word. God’s Word is always fresh to those who are willing to read the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
• God’s people have been wonderfully receptive to my ministry, and always ready to minister back to me and my family. There have been some crises for me and my family over the years, and God has used you as pastors. That is what I will remember most, when I look at the beautiful crystal bowl you gave me, and remember the wonderful lunch put on by my partners in ministry. Thank you!
How about ALL OF US go for another 20!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
God Knew What God Was Doing
I was an impressionist, and she was a realist. In my church in Pennsylvania, my clerk of Session was a very different person from me. I’m all about painting in broad brush strokes and she was all about dotting the i and crossing the t. I’m all about the end product with many possible paths to get there (as long as it’s ethical); she was all about established procedures and rules. There was definitely plenty of reason for us to have clashed.
We never did. Instead, we complemented each other. A broad stroke painter can use someone to cross the t and dot the i. A person who’s all about established procedures can benefit from a coworker who wants to think outside the box. She and I were more together than we were apart – we did better ministry for the church together than we did apart.
What a joy that God created different people with different gifts! While we might sometimes yearn for others who think the way we do, can you imagine a whole church of Ken Pages! Yuck! Even Ken Page doesn’t want to be a member of that church!
1 Corinthians tells us:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Let’s value one another with our different gifts. Let’s thank God for one another with our different gifts. God knew what God was doing when he created each of us, and when God gathered us together in this church. The Lord even knows how to use our differences to deepen our walk with God. We just have to let God work in us. We just have to trust. Take some time to look at all the different kinds of people that God put in the world, and give thanks for each of them.
We never did. Instead, we complemented each other. A broad stroke painter can use someone to cross the t and dot the i. A person who’s all about established procedures can benefit from a coworker who wants to think outside the box. She and I were more together than we were apart – we did better ministry for the church together than we did apart.
What a joy that God created different people with different gifts! While we might sometimes yearn for others who think the way we do, can you imagine a whole church of Ken Pages! Yuck! Even Ken Page doesn’t want to be a member of that church!
1 Corinthians tells us:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Let’s value one another with our different gifts. Let’s thank God for one another with our different gifts. God knew what God was doing when he created each of us, and when God gathered us together in this church. The Lord even knows how to use our differences to deepen our walk with God. We just have to let God work in us. We just have to trust. Take some time to look at all the different kinds of people that God put in the world, and give thanks for each of them.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Don't Take the Preacher Too Seriously!
Some people are taking what I preach too seriously. Is that a weird thing for a pastor to say? Don’t take me too seriously!
I had an epiphany, early on in my ministry, that my job was to preach the Scriptures. More specifically, my job is to preach the Scripture of that particular week. I shouldn’t try to harmonize that Scripture with all Scriptures; I shouldn’t try to harmonize that Scripture with my theology; I shouldn’t necessarily even try to harmonize that Scripture with good theology. Sometimes a Scripture is meant to clash with our beliefs, poke holes in time honored theology, balance other much-beloved Scriptures. Preach the Word! That is my job.
There are at least two problems that come up in regards to this. The first is that sometimes my theology, my biases, even my politics poke through. I try hard not to let it happen too often, but I am human and it does happen. It’s not all bad, when it does happen, though. Don’t take those parts of my sermons as gospel. Rather, take them as “here is one person’s attempt to apply this Scripture.” Then, even my biases can be blessed moments. The goal of a sermon is to help us to apply God’s Word to our individual and corporate lives.
Your application may be different. My application may be wrong! My job is to keep trying to apply the Scriptures and take you along for the journey. Your job is to go on that journey and see where the Holy Spirit takes you with your application of the Scriptures.
The second problem that comes up is that sometimes people assume they are seeing my bias, when what they are really seeing is that week’s Scripture. I don’t always like what I preach! Some of God’s messages are as hard for me to hear as they are for you to hear. I try hard to preach them anyway, and to preach them without too much hedging. Sometimes we just need to let a Scripture be hard! If we try to explain, hedge, harmonize, contextualize, and qualify too much, we wind up saying nothing of value.
If I say something you don’t agree with, so what! If it was just me talking, roll your eyes and move on. It’s also possible that it was the Holy Spirit talking. Each of us is responsible to figure that out prayerfully with God. Sometimes the Spirit wants us uncomfortable, wants us challenged, wants us angry, even. If we hear something from the pulpit that we don’t agree with, we have to prayerfully figure out where it came from. Did it come from the Scripture? Did it come from the Spirit? Or was it just the preacher?
If I say something you don’t agree with, then come talk to me about it, or send me an email. Sometimes I’m wrong, and I’ve been known to admit it. Sometimes people misunderstood or I didn’t make myself clear, and a conversation can clear things up. Sometimes what ticked someone off really came from God, and maybe together we can figure that out.
We Christians are supposed to disagree sometimes, and we are supposed to learn from it! Sometimes we are supposed to come to agreement. Always, we are supposed to come to love!
Romans 12:9-10
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
I had an epiphany, early on in my ministry, that my job was to preach the Scriptures. More specifically, my job is to preach the Scripture of that particular week. I shouldn’t try to harmonize that Scripture with all Scriptures; I shouldn’t try to harmonize that Scripture with my theology; I shouldn’t necessarily even try to harmonize that Scripture with good theology. Sometimes a Scripture is meant to clash with our beliefs, poke holes in time honored theology, balance other much-beloved Scriptures. Preach the Word! That is my job.
There are at least two problems that come up in regards to this. The first is that sometimes my theology, my biases, even my politics poke through. I try hard not to let it happen too often, but I am human and it does happen. It’s not all bad, when it does happen, though. Don’t take those parts of my sermons as gospel. Rather, take them as “here is one person’s attempt to apply this Scripture.” Then, even my biases can be blessed moments. The goal of a sermon is to help us to apply God’s Word to our individual and corporate lives.
Your application may be different. My application may be wrong! My job is to keep trying to apply the Scriptures and take you along for the journey. Your job is to go on that journey and see where the Holy Spirit takes you with your application of the Scriptures.
The second problem that comes up is that sometimes people assume they are seeing my bias, when what they are really seeing is that week’s Scripture. I don’t always like what I preach! Some of God’s messages are as hard for me to hear as they are for you to hear. I try hard to preach them anyway, and to preach them without too much hedging. Sometimes we just need to let a Scripture be hard! If we try to explain, hedge, harmonize, contextualize, and qualify too much, we wind up saying nothing of value.
If I say something you don’t agree with, so what! If it was just me talking, roll your eyes and move on. It’s also possible that it was the Holy Spirit talking. Each of us is responsible to figure that out prayerfully with God. Sometimes the Spirit wants us uncomfortable, wants us challenged, wants us angry, even. If we hear something from the pulpit that we don’t agree with, we have to prayerfully figure out where it came from. Did it come from the Scripture? Did it come from the Spirit? Or was it just the preacher?
If I say something you don’t agree with, then come talk to me about it, or send me an email. Sometimes I’m wrong, and I’ve been known to admit it. Sometimes people misunderstood or I didn’t make myself clear, and a conversation can clear things up. Sometimes what ticked someone off really came from God, and maybe together we can figure that out.
We Christians are supposed to disagree sometimes, and we are supposed to learn from it! Sometimes we are supposed to come to agreement. Always, we are supposed to come to love!
Romans 12:9-10
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Health Care Fear
I attended a seminar on Health Care Reform yesterday. One of the speaker’s main premises was that this debate is being largely driven by fear. People are afraid that:
• There will be a government takeover of health-care
• I might lose my good coverage
• The cost will bankrupt the nation
• We will wind up waiting for surgeries like they do in Canada or England
• Medicare will go belly up
It’s hard to refute that fear is playing a big part in this debate on both sides. As I listened yesterday, I was critical in my own mind of fearful people, and so I decided to see what it would take to get in touch with my own fear on the matter.
I have great insurance. That’s one of the things that you and the Presbyterian Church do for your pastor. I was surprised by how quickly I became fearful when I imagined “What if health care reform takes away my insurance?” Whoa!! I need that insurance! I’m a heart attack survivor – who else is going to insure me? Then I imagined, in our current health care system, having no insurance and a kid who needs a major operation. We all know people that are in this boat. I’d be afraid real quick if it was my kid, and no money to give them the best of care. It didn’t take me long to become fearful about this issue. I’m afraid of a change to my health care coverage, and at the same time I’m afraid that our nation will settle for the mess we have currently.
Then the speaker read to us a Scripture passage: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
As people of faith, we know what to do with our fears. When we are afraid to stay the same and afraid to change as well, we will not become paralyzed with fear. God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline.
Power! We have levels of power to effect change that are unprecedented in the history of humanity. We have a representative democracy with relatively low levels of corruption. We have freedom of speech and expression. We have unheard of wealth. We are better educated than anyone ever. We can get health reform right!
Love! The love we have been given by God requires us to use the power God has given, not for our own gain; not to protect the piece of the pie we already have, but to perform deeds of compassion and justice for the poor, the oppressed and the down-trodden.
Self discipline! This will require self-discipline. Health Care abilities are so advanced that tough decisions will need to be made about what we cover. Do we pay for a heart transplant for an 80 year old, or do we provide pre-natal care to 3,000 mothers with the same money? These are tough decisions and they will require self discipline.
With a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline, we can do this. I’m not endorsing a particular health care reform, but I am stepping out to say that what we have now is not working. Americans now spend 16.6% of our Gross Domestic Product on health care, and it is expected to rise to 21% in the next decade.1 In 2007 even before the recession began 19% of Arizonans and 17% of Americans didn’t have health insurance.2 Many of our nation’s poor use emergency rooms as their only health care. This is the most expensive place to receive health-care, and we are footing the bill. We are the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t have universal health care.3
We can do better. I’m sure we won’t get a perfect bill, but we must work together (Democrats and Republicans) to get something done. An imperfect bill can be tweaked as we go along. This is a watershed moment in American justice. Let’s not be so afraid that we let it pass.
1. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/25_NHE_Fact_Sheet.asp.
2. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2009/08/20/what-is-the-actual-number-of-americans-without-health-insurance.html.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care.
• There will be a government takeover of health-care
• I might lose my good coverage
• The cost will bankrupt the nation
• We will wind up waiting for surgeries like they do in Canada or England
• Medicare will go belly up
It’s hard to refute that fear is playing a big part in this debate on both sides. As I listened yesterday, I was critical in my own mind of fearful people, and so I decided to see what it would take to get in touch with my own fear on the matter.
I have great insurance. That’s one of the things that you and the Presbyterian Church do for your pastor. I was surprised by how quickly I became fearful when I imagined “What if health care reform takes away my insurance?” Whoa!! I need that insurance! I’m a heart attack survivor – who else is going to insure me? Then I imagined, in our current health care system, having no insurance and a kid who needs a major operation. We all know people that are in this boat. I’d be afraid real quick if it was my kid, and no money to give them the best of care. It didn’t take me long to become fearful about this issue. I’m afraid of a change to my health care coverage, and at the same time I’m afraid that our nation will settle for the mess we have currently.
Then the speaker read to us a Scripture passage: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
As people of faith, we know what to do with our fears. When we are afraid to stay the same and afraid to change as well, we will not become paralyzed with fear. God has given us a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline.
Power! We have levels of power to effect change that are unprecedented in the history of humanity. We have a representative democracy with relatively low levels of corruption. We have freedom of speech and expression. We have unheard of wealth. We are better educated than anyone ever. We can get health reform right!
Love! The love we have been given by God requires us to use the power God has given, not for our own gain; not to protect the piece of the pie we already have, but to perform deeds of compassion and justice for the poor, the oppressed and the down-trodden.
Self discipline! This will require self-discipline. Health Care abilities are so advanced that tough decisions will need to be made about what we cover. Do we pay for a heart transplant for an 80 year old, or do we provide pre-natal care to 3,000 mothers with the same money? These are tough decisions and they will require self discipline.
With a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline, we can do this. I’m not endorsing a particular health care reform, but I am stepping out to say that what we have now is not working. Americans now spend 16.6% of our Gross Domestic Product on health care, and it is expected to rise to 21% in the next decade.1 In 2007 even before the recession began 19% of Arizonans and 17% of Americans didn’t have health insurance.2 Many of our nation’s poor use emergency rooms as their only health care. This is the most expensive place to receive health-care, and we are footing the bill. We are the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t have universal health care.3
We can do better. I’m sure we won’t get a perfect bill, but we must work together (Democrats and Republicans) to get something done. An imperfect bill can be tweaked as we go along. This is a watershed moment in American justice. Let’s not be so afraid that we let it pass.
1. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/25_NHE_Fact_Sheet.asp.
2. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2009/08/20/what-is-the-actual-number-of-americans-without-health-insurance.html.
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Adversity
First we got held up at the border, and then we had a truck break down in the middle of the Mexican desert. Our Rocky Point Mission trip was not off to a good start! Half of us got about 3 ½ hours of sleep. The other half got 2 hours. Then we had to get up at 5:45 and build a house!
I expected some grumpy, whiny people. It never happened! Everyone worked hard – no one whined – and everyone supported the rest of the group. There is something about adversity that brings out our true selves. The true selves brought out on our trip were pretty great!
However I think something else was going on too. What are the odds of getting 27 people together, ranging in ages from 12 to . . . well . . . much-more-than-twelve, and having all of them demonstrate true mettle in the face of adversity? Even for Presbyterians, that is pretty extraordinary! Come to think of it, it’s pretty extraordinary for this Presbyterian. My true, inner self is not that beautiful, not that strong.
I believe there is also something about adversity that allows God to do some of God’s best work in us. When everything is going great, we don’t allow God much room to work in us. When tough times hit, then God get’s an opening.
I sometimes wonder if the problem with modern America is that we don’t face enough adversity. Hence less and less people turn to God and even those of us in the fold already don’t experience as much deepening of our faith as we should. None of us would welcome more adversity. No thanks! But there are a couple things we can do. The first is to make sure we open ourselves up to God when tough times do hit. And they will! The second is to seek to stretch ourselves, go on a mission trip, volunteer for something out of our comfort zone, go visit a neighbor who is dying, give more than we think we can, whatever. Sometimes God just needs a way in to our lives in order to make great things happen.
I expected some grumpy, whiny people. It never happened! Everyone worked hard – no one whined – and everyone supported the rest of the group. There is something about adversity that brings out our true selves. The true selves brought out on our trip were pretty great!
However I think something else was going on too. What are the odds of getting 27 people together, ranging in ages from 12 to . . . well . . . much-more-than-twelve, and having all of them demonstrate true mettle in the face of adversity? Even for Presbyterians, that is pretty extraordinary! Come to think of it, it’s pretty extraordinary for this Presbyterian. My true, inner self is not that beautiful, not that strong.
I believe there is also something about adversity that allows God to do some of God’s best work in us. When everything is going great, we don’t allow God much room to work in us. When tough times hit, then God get’s an opening.
I sometimes wonder if the problem with modern America is that we don’t face enough adversity. Hence less and less people turn to God and even those of us in the fold already don’t experience as much deepening of our faith as we should. None of us would welcome more adversity. No thanks! But there are a couple things we can do. The first is to make sure we open ourselves up to God when tough times do hit. And they will! The second is to seek to stretch ourselves, go on a mission trip, volunteer for something out of our comfort zone, go visit a neighbor who is dying, give more than we think we can, whatever. Sometimes God just needs a way in to our lives in order to make great things happen.
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