Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Coaching

News flash is that coaches weren't allowed to march in the Olympic opening ceremonies. They needed to cut back on the number of participants and the coaches were the ones to go. US coach Geno Auriemma is quoted as saying "To be honest the Olympics are about the athletes. No one really remembers who the coaches were. No one remembers who coached Jesse Owens." True enough coach, I certainly don't remember. But Jesse Owens did have a coach, as has every outstanding athlete in history. I was visiting the exhibit at the Blanton and saw a BCE bas-relief showing the coaches preparing young athletes in the "gymnasium." The coach is the one with the nerve to look the fastest runner on the planet in the eye and tell him/her they can run faster, and this is how to do it. Everybody needs a coach. Stewards in training need coaches as well. When I started this idea of an anonymous Steward's Circle that could exist virtually, I may have overlooked the importance of community for spiritual growth. Can we achieve that type of community virtually? Can we carry on our personal spiritual growth without a coach to call us to task? John Wesley didn't think so. That's one thing his small groups were for. Can we re-create the ethos of the spiritual coaching tradition we have inherited?



Sunday, July 29, 2012

Curling is a winter sport - you won't see it this summer. It is one of the strangest sports I have ever seen. I first encountered it when I moved to Wisconsin and I thought the people playing this odd game on the ice had lost their minds. In case you don't know the sport, one person tries to slide the stone across the ice to a goal. Teammates sweep around the stone in an effort to help guide it. They are not allowed to touch the stone, only to create an environment around it that helps guide it to its goal. This sport, which you will see in the Winter Olympics, describes for me of the life of a steward. I'm not allowed to jump into anyone's life and make them experience God or carry out mission work, or act in any particular way. My task is to be a good sweeper - to create an environment in which every stone is best enabled to reach its destination. I like this analogy for a couple of reasons, one of which is it helps keep me from taking myself too seriously. When I get all tied up in knots I imagine myself sweeping away with my little broom. Watch a curling video and see what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXeXNHRPMMI

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Getting to the Starting Line


Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas (the bone in the calf of the leg). This summer he will compete as a sprinter in the Olympics. What kind of limits did his parents accept for their handicapped South African son? What kind of training did he have as a child that made him think he could do this? How did he get the courage to appear in front of people as the “Blade Runner.?” What affect will his appearance have on the thousands of young Americans coming home from the war without limbs?

Part of the controversy around Pistorius is the question of whether his artificial limbs are actually an advantage that should disqualify him from running. Scientists explore whether a set of prosthetics that would not give him an unfair advantage might be created. Meanwhile, Richard Hirons, clinical specialist at the company that manufacturers the prosthetics brings up the human side. “Sprinting is a small part of any runner’s daily life,” he commented. “Most people just see him on the starting line. But it’s also about carrying his bags to the starting line, taking a bath or a shower, going up stairs. It’s about what he’s able to do to get to the starting line.”

That’s the point isn’t it. What did it take for him to get to the starting line? What teams of specialists and family members have supported him along the way?  What does his story offer to the Steward in training? What do we have to do to get to the starting line?

Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Backstory

The TV networks fear the drama of athletic  competition alone isn't exciting enough to entice us to watch the "minor" sports. To lure us in, the sportscasters give us backgrounding. One Olympic broadcaster in particular is sometimes criticized for dwelling on the  tearjerking life stories of Olympic athletes more than their actual athletic accomplishments. The person of the week seems to be women's soccer goalie Hope Solo. Now I couldn't have made up a name like that for a novel and gotten by with it. But then, I couldn't have made up a character like Hope Solo and gotten by with it either. If ever I am tempted to give up and run away from a challenge or a mistake, her story would serve to inspire me.

We all care more about the game and its outcome when we feel a personal connection to the players, when we know their story, particularly if there is drama in the story. Young athletes benefit from hearing about the struggles their heroes have gone through. Spiritual athletes in training are inspired in the same way. Stories of faith journeys inspire, capture the imagination and the heart, and make the faith story real, personal, and accessible. In the church, we call that witness. Stewards share their stories (appropriately) to help others on the way. Telling one's own story may seem egotistical or self centered. Sometimes it's just embarrassing. But my story, like all things in my life, is a gift to me, one that is made sacred by sharing it with another pilgrim.

Stewards who have stories share them. Stewards in training ask to hear them.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A New Look at Grace

I came across this quote recently in a book entitled Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered by James Wilhoit.  "Grace is God's sustaining and transforming power."  We Methodists talk a lot about grace. We've even given it a bunch of first names, (pervenient, justifying, and sanctifying). United Methodist Women has a great outline of what we mean by grace on their website. http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/walk.stm/. They explain grace as God's gift, freely offered to humankind, with us from birth, with us when we enter a new life in Christ, and with us as we try to live out that new life.

I always thought of grace as sort of a gift from God that forgives my shortcomings. Wilhoit brought a new picture to mind, grace = power. He says in the Book of Acts grace essentially equals power. Those people who were full of grace were also full of power to preach and work mighty miracles. If I think this way, when I gratefully accept God's grace, I also accept that God has given me the power to live gracefully in the world and share that grace and power with others. Musing on this, I remembered something from the confirmation service language and looked it up in a hymnal. One of the questions is, "Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?" Through this sacrament, God is offering me freedom and power. The question wasn't do I believe it, the question was, do I accept it. I must have answered "I do." My name is on the rolls. What does this mean to me today as a Christian steward?

As a Steward, I am set free from whatever restraints might hold me back from doing God's work - and I have been given the power to do what needs to be done. The Bible is full of stories of people with all sorts of reasons to think they couldn't do what God asked, and some seemed by earthy standards to have failed (like that inconvenient crucifixion). In today's world where fear and protectionism dominate the public psyche, God's stewards are called to act with courage. Fortunately, we have been given the power to do that. We access that power through faith, but also through the practices and disciplines that sustain that faith.

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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Distractions

Into the Olympic news comes the scandal of athletes' outfits made in China. No opinion will be expressed here on that fact. As the one who used to have to craft press releases and sometimes do damage control, I applauded the response from the Olympic committee saying pretty much we're focused on training athletes and winning medals right now. I hope the athletes can be similarly focused and not distracted by sensationalist "news" reporters. The conductor of a musical organization I play in refers to the intrusion of "monkey brain." I'm thinking about my next notes and all of a sudden find myself wondering which lane on the freeway will be closed when I drive home after rehearsal. Oops - missed that note! Practicing intentional mental focus consistently improves our ability to focus, but the world doesn't support that sort of thing - just the opposite. I live my life as a mother, grandmother, sister, employee, spouse, citizen, church member, Stephen minister..... Wow! How do I make choices of time and attention. How do I know who I am?

That's when the focus brought by one of the phrases I mentioned last week really helps me. "Leave your house like a shepherd." If I live my life as a Steward, living out all of these relationships as a shepherd, then all of these roles are the ways in which I carry out my stewardship. My relationship with God is primary. All these roles are my opportunity to strengthen that relationship, come to a deeper understanding of it, and by living as God's representative in the world, be a means through which others can also develop and deepen that relationship. For me, that puts a whole new spin on every role I play and helps me to make necessary decisions about priorities.

We ask our Olympic athletes to be clothes models, hucksters for products, ambassadors for our country, promoters for the Olympic committee, and myriad other things. But just before the starting shot, in that moment, they know are competitors and all of their focus will be on one thing. I want to go into my day like a shepherd, but also like an Olympic athlete who has trained and practiced, ready for the race.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Stewardship "Olympic" Training

Have you been following the Olympic trials? These Olympians have been training for a very long time out of the spotlight for that one moment of competition. Olympic training made me think of some of the times in the Bible when the Christian journey is compared to athletic competition. John Wesley in particular was aware that while belief is necessary, belief alone isn't enough. He developed a lifestyle that people made fun of, calling it's followers Methodists. The name went from derisive to one of the most respected Christian communities in the world.

Wesley's method was NOT a means of earning grace from God, it was the means of recognizing, learning about, and living out the grace already surrounding us. We may want to be Stewards, but we need to know how to do that. As my husband said when I was talking about this with him, he saw a current analogy, "If you want to be a Fashionista - you can't just sit at home and watch ads on TV, you have to go to the store." (Thanks to a certain retailer for that concept.)

Wesley's Method wasn't just for beginners. It was the way in which those mature in the faith maintained their faithfulness as well as acting as inspiration and teachers for newcomers.

So - I invite you to take part in an experiment, using the 6 weeks between now and the end of the Olympics as a Stewardship Olympic Training period. Remember, being part of the Circle of Stewards doesn't consist of doing any specific stewardship task, but in creating a mindset in which everything we do is done from the point of view of a steward. This Stewardship Olympic training regimen is simple and can take as little as 5 minutes a day, although longer is of course better. Here's the plan. Set aside some specific time to read one of the Stewardship thought starters I will provide below (or use one of your own choosing) and then let your mind be open to thinking about it, feeling how it makes you feel, asking God to help you understand its meaning, or if you can practice stillness, opening you mind in silence to hear what God may be saying to you. That's it. Six weeks, 5-20 minutes a day focusing on a Stewardship meditation. You can do this any time anywhere. I plan to use the Olympic logo as a reminder each time I see it to be faithful to my six-week plan, and remind me of the meditation I've adopted. If you are a person who journals, it might be interesting to record how you feel about this project or about the meditation you have adopted as the 6 weeks goes by.

Below are some meditations. I invite you to post your own suggested meditations to add to the list.

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Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received...so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.  (I Peter 4:10-11)

From the poet Rumi
Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

Time is a gift, not a burden to be managed or to be crammed full with dubious activities. (From Afire with God)

Joseph had a dream. (Genesis 37:5)

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

I am about to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. (2 Chronicles 2:4)

The foundation of all charity is the discernment  that you as an individual or a congregation have something of inestimable value that gives you hope for tomorrow.  (From Beyond the Collection Plate)

Now finish the work so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. (2 Corinthians 8:11)

First go and be reconciled with your brother. Then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-24)

As a goose flaps its wings it creates uplift for the goose flying behind it. By flying in a V formation, the entire flock adds 71% more flying range than as if each goose flew alone. (from Generous People)

God requires only one sacrifice, myself, and therefore my lifestyle and God's mission are one. (From Beyond the Collection Plate)

If anyone wants to be first, he must be the servant of all. (Mark 9:35)

Not what I will, but what You will.  (Mark 14:36)

In all these things we are more than conquerors though Him who loved us. (Romans 8:36-37)

We would offer Thee this day with sobered minds what we are that to the enrichment of our lives, and of all life, thou mayest make of it what thou wilt. (We Would Offer, by Paul Scherer)




Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July!


Lincoln said in a famous address to Congress, “Fellow Citizens, we cannot escape history.” I would paraphrase, My fellow Christians, we cannot escape stewardship. Too harsh? My point is, we are all stewards, it comes with the territory of being human. The only question is what type of stewards we will be. It's kind of like the gift of being born a citizen of the United States. That status is our birthright. We choose whether to be active or passive citizens, but we are born citizens. Citizenship may be gift or a burden depending on what we are called to do and how we view that call. The same is true of stewardship. We all have gifts, resources, time, talent, the only question is how and for whom will we use them. We have all been given the Earth and human relationships, the only question is, how will we care for them? 

John Wright shared a bit of church history with me that got me to thinking in a new direction. It seems that the administrative structure of the Methodist Church originally used the term Stewards rather than Administrative Board for its chief administrative body. My initial reaction was we lost something when we adopted a corporate rather than Biblical language for our church. Then a different interpretation came to mind. If there is a small group designated as Stewards, that lets all the rest of us off the hook. If we have a Stewardship Team, do we delegate the stewardship function to them and not take responsibility for our own stewarding?  Out of these thoughts has come the experiment called the Circle of Stewards. Thanks for joining our circle and have a joyful and safe July 4.


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

A Matter of Perspective

I was reading a meditation in "God Calling" today about perspective. It had to do with going out, service, and meditation or prayer, spending time with God. Most of us spend our lives in the "going out" phase and try to set aside some of what we have left over for God. The perspective of the meditation was that if we viewed all of our time as being with God and set aside some for "going out" stuff, we would do a better job of everything we do on both levels. The meditation didn't advise use about where we put our body, but where we put our mind as our body carries out necessary tasks or service work. That seemed to me to relate to stewardship. If I started my day with the question to God, "What are we going to do in the world today to further building your kingdom on earth?" I wonder how my day would go?