Faith Stories

I have recently returned from six days in Detroit.  My mother is ninety-five years old and recently has had a series of minor heart attacks.  They have determined that she has congestive heart failure.  Because of her age she is not a candidate for any sort of procedure to relieve the blockage.  Uncertainty clouds her future.  I decided I wanted to spend some time reminiscing with her.  Her mind is as sharp as ever, and oh the stories she can tell.  I was blessed in that our sons, Peter and Mark, were able to join me, as well as our oldest grandson, Andrew. 

Many of the stories involved church and growing up in a Lutheran worship community.  In her case she was baptized, confirmed and married in Iroquois Avenue Christ Lutheran Church on Detroit’s eastside.  At hundred and fifteen years, the church is still active and a presence in the community.  I was able to take Mark by the church, and while the building was closed, he was able to get a sense of her spiritual roots.  After they were married my parents joined St. James Lutheran Church in Grosse Pointe.  That is the church where I was baptized and confirmed.  Until I left for college George Kurz was the only pastor that I Knew.  One of the Vicars, Alan Harre, played a huge role in my decision to enter full-time church work. 

We all have stories to tell.  Unfortunately, in many cases people go to their graves with many of their stories untold.  For us as Christians it is vital that those stories, especially the faith narratives, be shared.  I recall many of the Old Testament stories.  In that context the oral narratives were all they had.  I suppose we could have recorded some of mom’s stories, but in some ways that runs counter to the process.  It is my responsibility to carry on her legacy and in the process share some of my own faith stories. 

Don’t wait to share your faith stories with the next generation.  Jesus is active in our lives and his desire is that we share our experiences with those who will follow.  Our transparency might encourage those who hear them to write their own faith story as well.  Pass the Torch.

Caffeine and Kids

I recently met a friend at a local Starbucks on a late afternoon.   Two young men were ahead of me as I headed to the store.  One held the door for me and even greeted me with a friendly smile.  In this case they were "really young" men.  My guess is that they were middle school age.  They were definitely the youngest Starbucks patrons I had met, at least without a parent or guardian.  While I was ahead of them in line, I did linger long enough to see what two boys their age would order.  One had a regular iced coffee and the other an Iced Caramel Macchiato. 

While I will acknowledge we live in a world where Starbucks has passed McDonalds as the top restaurant chain, I have to wonder what we have come to when grade school kids are kicking back coffee after school.  I did not start drinking coffee until I was in college.  It seemed like the adult thing to do; again I stress the word "adult."  The initial article for this issue deals with sleep deprivation among teenagers. One unfortunate result is that many teens rely on caffeine to help them function.  It is not just coffee, but often high powered energy drinks and even carbonated beverages like Mountain Dew. 

If we sense the possibility of this is a detrimental behavior, I think the best thing to do is have a healthy conversation with them.  We need to be aware that one of their responses might be that they are only modeling what they see in us.  While that is a valid point, the difference is adults are not still growing and developing.  Sleep deprivation and too much caffeine can be harmful to a teen.

Reflections of MLK Day

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. Having lived through the turbulent sixties, I marvel at how things have changed. I recall sitting in a junior high classroom and hearing my teacher talk in an angry tone about how disgusted she was at seeing a "nice young white man" give up his seat on a bus to a "colored woman." I have visited the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit where the bus that Rosa Parks took her historical stance on is displayed.   I recall reaching the back of that bus where I found a mom explaining the significance of the event to her two grade school age children. This time it was a White family in the back of the bus.

I once almost had a close encounter with Dr. King. I was in 8th grade and a member of our church basketball team. Our games were played on Saturday morning in the gym at Grosse Pointe High School. Grosse Pointe was, and still is, a very affluent suburb of Detroit. In those days it was highly segregated. Dr. King was scheduled to speak at the school that afternoon. His appearance was high controversial. There was a strong police presence as we left after our 11:00 AM game, some angry people stood behind barricades.  They were holding signs that said some pretty ugly things.  It was scary.

I was home in Detroit on spring break from college on that night in 1968 when Dr. King was shot. I was at church. I had been recruited to sing with the church choir for Easter. A member of the bass section was the one who broke the news. "The King is dead," he said with a smile. There was a real sense of satisfaction in his voice.   I knew differently.  My dad had taught me that.  He loved all people, regardless of race.   It was that attitude that allowed my parents to live in the same neighborhood on the Detroit’s eastside for over sixty years, until their health failed in 2004. 

Today we live in a house where my neighbors are Hispanic, Indian, Vietnamese and Cambodian. I recently remarked, "all we need is a Black Family to move in to make things complete."

Thank Dr. King for being the catalyst for change.

My New Year’s Wish List

I have always enjoyed the music of Christmas.  In my mind Chris Rice’s Welcome to Our World captures the impact of the Savior’s birth in a most meaningful way.  I still marvel at the way Michael W. Smith can take traditional carols and enhance them in a contemporary format.  For Barb and I, one of our memorable evenings was hearing Michael W. Smith and the Dallas Symphony in a Christmas concert a few years back (made even more special since we were in the front row). 

During the most recent holiday season I found myself drawn to song I had previously viewed as a little "simplistic.”  The song, Grown-Up Christmas List, was first made popular by Amy Grant.  The chorus expresses a desire to see some things that on the surface might seem idealistic; “a world where wars would never start and everyone would have a friend.”  We might be moved to ask, where is the message of the Christ Child in the lyric?  This year as I listen I I found myself thinking but isn’t that what Jesus desires from his followers; a world where grace and peace over-rule conflict and war. 

Now I would like to offer my “grown-up” New Year’s list.  They are dreams that I have for the New Year.  Granted, like the words of the song they might seem a little idealistic but they are things I truly believe Jesus desires from his disciples. So, here are the dreams that I have for faith communities in 2017.

No Prejudice: We need to seek to know and understand those who are different from us.  The obvious is to try to reach across cultural lines and get to know those who come from different ethic and spiritual traditions.  Less apparent is those within our worship communities that have different perspectives and values.

A Church without Walls: For too long we have thought of the church as a building.  The church is really the people of God.  That is why I choose to use the word “worship community.”  In my mind the people who gather for worship on Sunday are a worship community.   The church is those same individuals when they leave that experience and venture out into the world.  This has all kinds of implications from Bible studies that meet in a local restaurant instead of a church classroom, to a pastor who makes the local Starbucks his part-time office.

Less Emphasis on Number and More on Relationship: The number of people who occupy the pews on Sunday morning is not as important as the number of lives those individuals touch during the week.   Consider the life of the Savior.  His ministry never happened inside the walls of the synagogue.  He met people where they were at.  With few exceptions, there is little indication they ever became part of his community of followers.   Still, there is no doubt that because of their contact with The Savior their lives were never the same. 

That is my prayer for The Church is 2017 and beyond.

Christmas Peace in the New Year

I am a traditionalist when it comes to the celebration of our Lord’s Birth.  I take the carol of the Twelve Days of Christmas to heart.  The season of Christmas begins on December 25^th but continues until January 6^th.  Our decorations are still up and each day the magi move a step closer to the manger scene.   They will finally arrive on Epiphany.  Daily I revisit the Christmas story.  As we enter the New Year the initial words of the angel to the shepherds ring in my mind, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy for all people.”

As we enter a New Year I sense a lot of "fear" and uncertainty among people.  Almost on a daily basis we hear reports of terrorist attacks, or mass shootings.  On a political level, I cannot recall a time when our nation is more divided.  We will soon have a new president, even though over have the population voted for his opponent.  I sense that many of those who support our new leader did so because they fear the threat of change.  In their minds, new immigrants and the growth of other culture within our country are a reason for fear.

On a personal level I must acknowledge I live daily with fear.  As I age I worry about my health.  I am also aware that my wife is a cancer survivor and every six month we have to go through follow-up visits.  We fear the cancer returning.  Okay, I am even afraid to get behind the wheel of my car sometimes.  Driving in Dallas can be scary.  I worry about the welfare of our kids and grandkids.  Life is so delicate and at times it seems like we are hanging by a thread.

Then I remember the words of the angel.  “Do not be afraid.”  Jesus has conquered sin, death and the devil.  The stuff that happens here is just temporary.  My eternity is secure and Jesus will never abandon me.  There is so much more.  This is “good news of great joy for all people.”  If all people are come to know the joy, it must happen through me.  When I live joyfully and fearlessly, I open the door for them to see Jesus in me. 

That is my challenge to you as we begin the New Year.  Live fearlessly!  Live joyfully!  If the next generation is to get that message, it must happen through us.